It's Official

We had the great opportunity to go to the doctor this morning to make sure Michael's wounds were healing correctly--and might I add that we were in and out in under 20 minutes!!!! While there we learned that Michael is now 4 ft 7 5/8 in tall. Now this might not mean much to anyone else but it means that he is within a foot of my height. At this rate he will be taller than me by the time he is 12. I guess I was my height when I was 12 as well but I stopped growing. I wonder how tall he will get?

Our first stitches

There comes a time in every parent's life that shows that their children are growing up and having adventures of their own. Michael was hurrying home for dinner last night and took a big spill that scraped him up pretty well, and we were hoping to just clean him up and love him back to health. Unfortunately further examination of his inside lower lip did not support our hopes, and the it was obvious that his teeth had nearly bitten on his entire lower lower lip. Luckily they never went through, and despite 48 hours of a liquid diet, he's doing quite well. How do you keep a carnivore sated on liquids? Argh.

When we told him he had to go to the hospital he went pale and asked "Am I gonna die?" We assured him that he would not, but that hospitals were where doctors helped us feel better. He was amazing at the hospital, and returned home with high spirits, an antibiotic, strict instructions and a new nickname he gave himself: Big Lip Michael.

He looks so old, doesn't he?

China Day 9—Beijing

This was our last day, and it dawned wet, snowy, and cold, and got worse from there. Not only did the snow increase, the temperature drop, and our dampness factor increase, but we had to say goodbye to our adventure and family so far away. As we rode the escalator down to the airport shuttle I cried; what can I say? I'm a big boob to be sure, but we all like those, don't we?

We did get to the zoo before we left and saw both the Giant Pandas and the Golden Monkeys, the latter of which can be seen only at the Beijing Zoo. It was cold and snowed continually, but we enjoyed our journey through the animals and even heard a white tiger roar. It was pretty awesome. It was also only the second time Jodi had ever been to the zoo; deprived childhood, don't you think? It was definite fun. After checking out of the hotel we enjoyed lunch at the same restaurant as last night's spectacular success; it was amazing again.

Unfortunately the snow also prevented our flight from leaving on time, but our 3 hour delay was rewarded with business class seats in which we slept beautifully all the way home.

This is a late post, and I've pondered often on our trip and every time I do, I'm both happy and grateful that we were able to enjoy such an amazing adventure. It was Liz's first international trip, her first passport stamp, and her first not being able to speak the language. I've been to a few different countries, but I've never gone East, and it's been six years since the last time my passport was stamped. I think this trip helped cement for us many future trips to various parts of the world. This one, however, set quite a high standard for me. The ability to live in a normal apartment and experience the world day to day was a choice experience. The landmarks were amazing, of course, especially that wall, but the opportunity to live and shop and move among people with a completely different culture was unlike any sightseeing I've ever done. I still can't speak any Mandarin worth bragging about, but I loved hearing people laugh when I attempted to say "thank you" with my much-practiced, but ultimately unpolished "xie xie." I also loved watching the older women fawn over Jaime and still wish I could ask them about China without the One Child Policy, "Good for the Nation, Good for the People." Since they predate the policy, how do they react to a little American baby who they know will likely have siblings in the future? Do they only see the beautiful and unusual baby, or do they see memory and hope? I see women who sleep on a makeshift bed behind a sheet hung in their three-walled food shop and work literally from dawn to dark making jian bing for customers on the street. Do they regard this as a slave's life? Are they discontent with a job that would be condemned on this side of he ocean by society, civil rights groups and the health department? Do they see their lives as struggling day to day to survive, or are they members of a proud working class that have marketable skills and a good place to sell their wares? It is questions like these that are never asked at the imperial palace in the midst of a multinational crowd armed with cameras and fanny packs. Unfortunately I'm not properly equipped to ask these questions, but encountering a reason to ask them of myself is vital and will be forever more rewarding than a mass-produced stone buddha or a pair of silk pajamas.

I'd like a few more vacations like that one, and I'm not so secretly hoping to have another in Nanjing before the summer ends. We'll see if I can get on the planes. I do hope so.

China Day 8—Beijing

Today was a day for the Forbidden City, Tian’anmen Square, and whatever else we could fit in without exhausting ourselves, or at least without hurting ourselves severely. We opted to walk to the center of the city because it was quite close and the weather was beautiful. In our travels we encountered several important and imposing government buildings as well as the Beijing Center for the Performing Arts, a massive steel dome that was built in a way that it appears to be floating in the middle of a lake. It was beautiful, although every activity known to man was prohibited on the grounds, including firecrackers, kite flying, roller-blading, and building fires.

The square sits directly in front of the Tian’anmen Gate of the Forbidden City, but we didn’t get to go on the square, much to my disappointment. The area was swarming with Chinese police of all type and flavours; there were S.W.A.T. teams, complete with vehicles as well as trenchcoated official looking police and green-uniformed patrols that seemed rather military-oriented to me. They were checking identification, searching people, and had the entire square blocked off. I don’t know if there was a special reason for this, or if this is just normal practice in this hotbed of Chinese protest.

We entered the forbidden city and sauntered through, enjoying the brilliant colors and impressive architecture. It was, for me at least, a little underwhelming. All the buildings are the same, and visitors are only allowed to look inside some of the most important ones, rather than enter to explore. It is also home to the Palace Museum, which is principally a collection of artifacts from the Ming and Qing dynasties who ruled from the city from 1420 to 1912. The museums did not attract us, but we enjoyed the stroll and picture taking, and exited from the North Gate and made our way to lunch and further adventure. In the metro we ran into the Australian couple from yesterday, and they were heading the same place we were. It was amazing to run into them again, and it was such a chance meeting that we regarded it as miraculous.

From the Imperial Palace we made our way to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of religious buildings where the emperors would go to offer sacrifices and prayers for successful harvest. It is commonly referenced as Taoist, but the Emperors’ heaven worship predates the establishment of Taoism.

While the buildings were beautiful, the most entrancing aspect of the area was not the architecture or the historical significance, but the masses of Chinese Nationals gather together in the park. There were groups of people hacky-sack games, singing songs, performing small concerts, doing karaoke, and playing cards on almost every bench there. It didn’t feel like a tourist site, but a real park where people gathered to exercise and play. I learned on this trip, that this is the kind of place I like to visit. While the Forbidden City was magnificent to behold, it was rather uninteresting to me. The park full of people, however, afforded both the experience of the important site and the immersion in the Chinese culture.

We were close to a famous market, so we stopped by to browse and maybe shop. Well, we definitely shopped, and picked up some fun things for Justin and Jodi, us, and the boys. It was so fun to barter and taunt, and walk away, even though the vendors were convinced that their “Lookie! Lookie! Cheaper for you!” would change our minds. Justin and I even embroiled ourselves in a rather heated argument with a salesman who sold me a defective bag. Ultimately, however, we were victorious, and I left with my money and pride still intact, despite his attempts to derail me through constant insult. “Are you a baby?” Yeah, good times, and our wives were so kind and patient while their crazy husbands fought the good fight in multiple languages. Hey, it was worth the ¥200.

By the end of day eight, a person starts to drag. We were planning to look for another feeding frenzy at a night market, but we decided a good sit-down dinner for our last night in Beijing was definitely in order. We found a place that looked satisfactory a few blocks from our hotel, and took our chances. It turned out to be absolutely spectacular, and some of the best food we had the entire trip. We enjoyed a classic Kung Pao chicken, cilantro flavored beef, and an amazing lamb tomato noodle dish that I simply must try to recreate. Family style dining at a Chinese restaurant is awesome. Everyone just takes what they want and piles into their own personal rice bowl. Everyone gets some of everything and we enjoy the meal together. It’s a winning situation, and one day I might just open a restaurant that operates in just the same way.

After dinner Jodi and Jaime went to bed and Liz, Justin, and I sat up looking at photos. I bought a card reader at the market so I was able to get the photos Justin took during our adventures. Another glorious day followed by a tired night. An excellent final full day in China

China Day 7—The Great Wall

Today was one of the great adventures of our travels, and we were definitely amazing as we wandered far from our normal comfort zones in a foreign land! We hopped on the train at 11:15 last night and started our journey from Nanjing to Beijing, migrating in style from the Southern capital to the Northern. Chivalry and frugality struck a satisfactory balance as Jodi, Jaime, and Liz enjoyed the comforts of a sleeper compartment and Justin and I sat up in second class. It wasn’t a bad trip, much like a similar sojourn in Economy Plus, but without friendly service, food, or well-kept bathrooms. I don’t know what it is, but bathrooms struggle to stay clean in this particular part of the world.

With only a few aches and my terribly swollen feet, we arrived in Beijing a little early, just before 7:15 am, and headed straight for our hotel. We did the luggage pull in Shanghai, and we were not going to do that again in Beijing. One room was nearly ready when we arrived, so they stored our luggage for us while we ran for breakfast at the Cake Shop. Perhaps one day I’ll rhapsodize about Cake Shop, Cakes, and especially Cake Lady, but now is not the time for such wanderings.

We returned to the hotel, stuffed all our stuff in one room, then headed for the Wall. We had some strange issues with transportation and communication, waited almost an hour for a bus that might never have come, and finally joined a couple from Australia and two women from Europe and rented a van to take us there. It felt so venturesome to just band together on the fly to accomplish something so amazing. They were a little misleading about the size of the van, so our trip was a bit on the close side, but it was only 45 minutes, and he took us right to the gate of Juyongguan Pass where we bought tickets, arranged a meeting time with our comrades, and set out for adventure on the winding slopes of the pass.

The wall really is a marvel; even the limited view we had of it was spectacular, awe-inspiring, and humbling. It was built over several centuries as individual walls of defence were slowly joined together to form a long undulating wall that served simultaneously as protection, watchtower, and warning system. The location we visited was a stronghold built in the valley, and was completely enclosed on all sides by wall that then ran in different directions from there.

We were informed that we needed to scale the Western mountain rather than the Eastern because Mao Zedong indicated that you cannot be a true Chinese man without having done so. In that light, we headed west up the steepest, most uneven winding path I’ve ever experienced. I counted myself lucky, however, because Justin had that baby strapped to his chest the entire time. As we ascended we got warmer and warmer and were down to our regular shirts despite the snow clinging to the mountainsides and sides of the stairs.

It was a victorious experience to make that climb, and I was grateful for the things I’ve done in my life to make such a journey possible. The descent may have been more difficult than the climb, but we made it with about 15 minutes to spare before our meeting time. We wound our way back into the city, and parted company with our friends at the metro stations as we headed to our hotel to feed, relax, and regroup.

We were keen to scout out a night market for dinner, so we asked the concierge, and he sent us to a nearby place that we never found. We did enjoy a nice walk through the area around our hotel, but we never did find that great local market. The weather held nicely for us, hovering in the mid 40s (F) and while we longed for the 60s and 70s of Nanjing, we were grateful for the mild day and evening.

During our stroll we came across a band of drummers at the street corner, yes, at 9 in the evening. They were drumming and dancing, and the leader was keeping time with these medium-sized cymbals. It was a wonder to behold, especially in the middle of a giant city on the street corner as the evening wore on. That brings me to another list:

1. Evenings are a busy time in China. Both in the North and South we noticed that shops are always open until 8 or 10 at night, and they stay busy. Grocery stores, barbers, streetside cafes are all open late into the evening. I think it has to do with the large working class—these aren't people of leisure that can zip out during the day or take a long lunch, or leave work early. They own their own business and shops and tend to have only evenings to do their running around. This did, of course, make for some fascinating night market experiences.

2. Bicycles and scooters are not considered motor vehicles, and are therefore not bound by the lesser law of traffic signals. This was more pronounced in Nanjing than Beijing, but only because Beijing had separate signal lights for the pedal traffic. This led to some scary moments for us as pedestrians and as bus riders. I don't know how more people don't die.

3. There is no common law of right of way. Pedestrians, Bikers, Cars, and Scooters all seem to have equal right to all parts of the roads, side roads, and sidewalks. Again, scary stuff.

Quick update—China Day 7—Beijing

Today we spent on the Great wall of China. There's more to that story, but tonight all you get us is at the top of the western mountain above Juyongguan Pass.


Oh yes, and a couple to prove that Justin and Jodi are here with us.

China Day 6—Nanjing

What a day! Justin and I started early by running to the train station to buy tickets for our train to Beijing tonight. It was fun to spend the time together chatting and conversing about life, culture, and growing up. We grabbed the tickets, which thankfully were still available, and headed over to meet the ladies near one of the gates in the city wall. At this particular gate they've built a series of large islands that house amusement park-like rides, an aviary, a small zoo, beautiful gardens, lakes, ponds, and divers other things that we only touched on during our couple of hours. It's called Xuan Wu, or Black Tortoise Lake. The weather was beautiful, FINALLY, and got into the 60s (F) with clear sky and a light breeze that kept us happy and cool. It was exactly the type of spring weather we would have planned for the entire trip had someone consulted us on the subject. Unfortunately, Beijing will not be the same since it's 1000 km North. Alas, we cannot appreciate the warm without a bit of cold. We had fun, but I can imagine that when the islands are in bloom, it is magnificent to behold.

We saw several wedding parties, although I expect they were only doing photo shoots rather than holding actual weddings on the island. It was fun to see the brides in their fancy dresses with coats over them to keep them warm between shots. They all looked so happy, as well they should.

We stayed too long, and the bus back inched slowly through traffic, so Justin ran back to the apartment as soon as we alit so that he could prepare for his class. We met him so he could order us lunch, but we were surprised to see that he didn't have his school things. Apparently he didn't take a key with him when he left and had to run to school as he was. We were sad for him, but I think he survived.

While he attended class we took the bus to Carrefour, a European market, to gather some things we wanted to have before returning home: practical, yet inexpensive chopsticks, and some fun little souvenirs for the children. It was a long ride, but we all had fun together, and returned home just before Justin.

For dinner and evening activity we did one of the funnest things in the whole world: we headed down to the Confucian Temple and surrounding area, called Fuzi miao. We were going to go inside the temple, but it was rather a high admission rate, so we opted not to, and headed down the street for a vendor dinner. We enjoyed so many things you'd never buy in the states, much less on a stick from a street vendor! The sugar cane was delicious, but spitting out the pulp can be tedious. The watermelon was not as ripe as one would like, but the pineapple was luscious, as always, and much less acidic than what we get in the States. We enjoyed the best meat buns to date, and then headed into a central square with food vendors lining the entire perimeter. We walked through and enjoyed seasoned skewered lamb while we chatted, and it was the high bar against which all the remaining food was measured. It was juicy, flavourful, and just dripping with succulence. Justin and split a meat sandwich of some sort with carrots, lettuce, onions, and cilantro, and then the real fun began. I ate my first fish on a stick (watch out for bones!) as well as my first cooked-from-raw-in-front-of-my-eyes squid. Both were delicious, seasoned intensely, and worth every bite. I topped off my meal with some nicely fried ice cream, and we headed into the shopping square for a little fun.

The area was lit with lanterns and neon and lit dragons, and there was a canal running through on which dimly lit boats floated, probably burgeoning with well-sated tourists. We wound through the streets, listening to the "hello" from every shop keeper as we browsed and talked and laughed. Jodi lost Jaime a couple times to excited Chinese women, and Justin and I tempted ourselves with brocade ties which ultimately stayed in their beautiful boxes on their beautiful shelf. We eventually wound our way home and are just now finishing up our packing so we can head for the train. We leave around 23:15 and we'll arrive between 7 and 8 in the morning. We've arranged a hotel close to the forbidden city, and I think tomorrow is our day for the wall. We'll be sure to take pictures. Pray for good weather for us! I'll try to update with photos tomorrow, but I give no promises!

China Day 5—Nanjing

Today was day without Justin because he had classes all day long. Needless to say, we were adventurers! We started with our breakfast Jian bing, but this time without seaweed, which we liked better than the previous, although I didn't dislike the seaweed version. From there Justin headed to class and we headed on a bus adventure to the Nanjing Massacre Museum. Jodi and I found our way along the bus line by checking road signs and comparing the characters Justin wrote down for us with the ones on the bus map. I think we need to brag a little and let everyone know that we didn't make a single mistake getting there or getting back, nor did we knock over any old ladies on bicycles. Liz and I each got a turn with the baby wrap today, although it didn't work too well for me, so Liz did the majority of carrying.


Tensions between China and Japan have existed for centuries as the two large and mighty kingdoms have attempted to exert dominance over the other. In fact, in Mandarin Tokyo is "Dongjing," or "western capital." The other capitals are the Northern (Beijing) and the Southern (Nanjing.) There were open hostilities in the 1880s, and tensions built with land gained and lost on the mainland over the next 50 years. After Japan seized portions of northern China and Taiwan, in 1937 they set their eyes on the capital. They attacked first in Shanghai and seized the city, then moved inland. In my mind I imagined armies marching old-style through the countryside until I remembered this was the twentieth century, and the Japanese attacked with bombs, planes, gas, and bacteria. After Shanghai fell, the Chinese government decided to move the capital from Nanjing to inland Chongquin to avoid the inevitable seizure of the capital. The story is told on the following plate.





The museum was akin to our National Holocaust museum, and it was beautiful and moving. It was one of the most modern, most beautiful things we've seen yet in the country. Around 340,000 people were killed, many execution-style, during the massacre, and the government is keen to ensure that it is not forgotten. I got the impression that many of the scripts were added fairly recently (perhaps since winning the olympic bid?) and focused on painting the Chinese as a peace-loving people and warning against forgetting the past and believing the Japanese accounts. There were dozens of first-hand account, both of Chinese Nationals as well as foreigners who were living in the city at the time. There was a sense that the nation needed to prove that such an atrocity actually happened, and from what I could gather, the Japanese government still denies it, although the military leaders were tried and convicted by international war crimes tribunals, just like the Nazis. It was a sad and solemn place, and we enjoyed the visit immensely.

While the day was ten degrees warmer (F) the wind was still a little icy, and we headed home for lunch. Jodi decided to keep Jaime in for the afternoon to warm and stretch, so Liz and I headed for high adventure and braved the city without a guide. Justin gave us directions to Purple Mountain, the mountain that houses the tomb of the first Ming emperor, his household, and his minions. It also the final resting place of Sun Yat-Sen, commonly known as the Father of China, and one of the few Chinese politicians to earn respect outside of the Chinese mainland. He espoused democracy, and was instrumental in overthrowing the Qing dynasty, China's last imperial rule, in 1911. The mountain itself is peppered with museums and gardens. Unfortunately, Justin's directions sent us the wrong direction on the bus, so we spent an hour and a half finding our way there by alternate means. But, FIND IT WE DID! It was our first great accomplishment of the day. It involved two bus transfers and a great deal of gesturing, but we did it. The museums were closing up, but we did get to pop into the museum of the ming tombs and saw the Dragon Chair and learned some about the architecture of the time. We strolled back down the mountain and opted for an alternate route home. It was a little scary, but it worked! We arrived back in familiar territory in only 20 minutes, and heartily congratulated ourselves on a job well done.

We spent the evening eat enjoying Justin's fried rice and planning our trip to Beijing. Fun times ahead!

China Day 4—Nanjing

We didn't get out as fast as we wanted this morning, but it was okay, and it gave us time to enjoy smoothies and pineapple for breakfast. It also allowed a few moments to catch the beauty of the morning.

That's right, folks, snow. White, wet snow on the rooftops of Nanjing. I might not have mentioned this yet, but it is cold here; like winter cold. Liz was able to borrow an extra coat of Jodi's, and I'm doing my best with my sweatshirt and raincoat, hat, and gloves. Justin normally doesn't have class on Tuesday, but he had one moved to this afternoon, so time was at a premium. We set out and grabbed Chestnut rolls and watched the pastry chef decorate another cake before heading for real adventure.

The weather continued cold and wet through the day, although it only snowed for a few minutes early in the afternoon. The sun also paid occasional visits, and we welcomed his warm presence when we could get it. Today's adventure was Lion Mountain, a mountain with a tower along the old city wall. It was spectacular to behold, and I took a multitude of photos, although many of them were just me trying to capture beautiful images that I might one day frame. I thought of you, Marquie, while I was framing up beautiful shots like this one:

The tower is surrounded by various outbuildings and gardening, and I was sad that it was still too cold to fully enjoy the gardens. We climbed and climbed and climbed to the top of the mountain, and, not surprisingly, it was even colder up there. Inside the tower is a museum explaining the tower, its function, as well as art and artifacts and vendors selling crappy souvenirs. It was seven stories high, and we visited each one in turn marveling at the art, architecture, and information. There was a floor with portraits and descriptions of each of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and here is Liz with Tai Zhu, the first emperor of the dynasty, who declared Nanjing the capital of his new empire.

The mountain and tower sit near the Yangtze river, and you can see the far past the river on a less foggy/smoggy day, proving it an excellent vantage point for protection.



After a couple of hours there, Justin had to go to his surprise class, and I was feeling cold and vulnerable, so we headed back for an afternoon of work and rest. We stopped at the video store, checked in to see if there were any cakes being decorated (I love it!) and settled ourselves for our dragonfruit snack and complaining about the internet being down. Jodi made plans for dinner, and we enjoyed her favourite squirting dumplings before walking to the grocery store to pick up a birthday cake.


The walk was cold, but it was so fun to be out and about together.

Since it was my birthday last week, Justin and Jodi thought it would be fun to have a party, complete with fireworks. It was too cold to do the fireworks, so we saved them (and half the cake) for the continuation of the party tomorrow. I don't like to think of myself as a wimpy traveler, but these long days of walking and wind and cold really wear a person down. I fell asleep while we were watching Invictus, but what I saw was excellent.

More things I've learned in China:

1. They are conscious of the "dfferently abled" of their population, and every sidewalk has a path for the blind that they can feel with their feet. Sometimes there are cables and trash cans in the middle of them, but I guess they figure the blind won't notice.

2. Mao, the brilliant, declared that everything South of the Yangtze was warm, while everything North was cold. Positively Medieval, don't you think? As a result, heat is not necessarily a standard commodity in shops, homes, or public places. After all, if you're in warm China, why would you need heat? Luckily we've been above freezing most of the time here, although not at this moment.
3. China is communal as well as communist. People are always up in each others' business, piping in their advice, completely unsolicited, whether you can understand them or not. They will tell Jodi that her baby is not warm enough and gather on the street to fight with one another about who to blame for a scooter/bike accident.
4. Justin is a wall compared to the Chinese women on bikes. I don't want to accuse anyone of anything, but someone just might have stepped in front of someone else on a fast moving bike and stopped her in a dead crash. Just sayin'.

China Day 3—Nanjing

We slept in and it was awesome.

That needed to be its own paragraph. Justin had class this morning, so Liz, Jodi, Jaime, and I started Nanjing market day without him. We watched through the window of the cake shop as the chef inside decorated a cake.


We started with breakfast made by these two ladies who live behind that curtain behind them. We had Jian bing: a sticky dough smeared over a hot plate then smeared with egg, seaweed, spices, a piece of fried dough, and other things, I'm sure, all folded up together like a giant Chinese burrito.


We then headed to market where we saw rows of beautiful vegetables

plenty of meat

live fish

dead fish

eel

and of course, frogs.

We also saw some of these

and one of these. I mean, what home doesn't need one?

We also met some not shy people in the supermarket that kidnapped Jaime. Sometimes the ladies just take her right out of Jodi's arms and run her around to show people or have a little fun.

We also bought one of the most elegantly peeled pineapple you've ever seen.

Here's Liz in a garden at Nanjing University through which we waltzed on our way back home.

This afternoon it started raining and the wind picked up, so we headed home for a little rest and work.

We spent most of the rest of the day in talking and laughing and resting. We ran out for eggs and tomatoes over rice for dinner and brought it back to eat in the warm room. Tonight we even got to "shower," a task we've been putting of as long as possible. I don't want to be graphic, but it involves two plastic jugs, boiling water, as little soap as possible, oh, and washing between the sink and the toilet. Life is an adventure. Tomorrow's forecast? Snow, rain, and more adventures in Nanjing.