Finishing Up in Kunming

Dec. 28 Tuesday
This morning Chris took us to the Agriculture University to meet some teachers and the Dean, Martin. Chris picked us up at 9 AM it took a while to get to the university. At the school, Martin and two other teachers met with us. It was an informal meeting with an exchange of ideas. Martin asked some great questions about the school systems in the US and he also spent at least a year in Pittsburg. Martin is interested in getting volunteers into his university, maybe with Global Volunteers.



Chris teated us to lunch at a local restaurant. Chris was very good about answering regarding Chinese life. Most property in Kunming is quite expensive and not affordable for most. Property is really owned by the government and the people can easily have their land taken from them. Learning about China and its culture is just beginning for me but people here are glad to share, which is nice.

At school, we taught some new classes again. Students continue to be enthralled with our presence in the classroom. Some of the younger students seemed to have a better speaking ability than other older classes. For example, my last class was the youngest, yet they had good grasp of much of what I said. I played a Boggle Game with them and we ran out of time, but I think they enjoyed it.



Dec. 29 Wednesday
Today, instead of English classes, the teachers planned an afternoon at Green Lake Park. Two teachers, LInda and Silverness, came at noon to take us to lunch. We drove to the school first, then walked to a nearby neighborhood restaurant. This restaurant specializes in cross bridge noodles. At the restaurant, first they bring us a very hot broth, then they put in the raw meat, and finally the noodles. With this we eat some small servings of other foods. We finished and walked by to the school for short rest. At the school, we wait for a bit and then drive to Green Lake Park. At the Park, about 12 teachers walk with us through a nice amusement park. Along the way, we have continual conversation in English teaching them many good words. All these teachers are so eager to use English correctly and to learn more words. They were taking notes on all the words they didn't know. Also, they all get along so well, and have great humor. They want to know about the U.S. and about our lives. They carried along some fruit to for us to eat too. It was a wonderful afternoon. I should be tired just from talking so much. The only bad part about today is I forgot my camera.




Then they took us a very fancy restaurant for dinner. We sat in a private room, all at one big round table. and two teachers ordered food for everyone. We must have about 10 different foods, like eggplant, mushrooms, beef, chicken, raw quail eggs and many special foods. I think the conversation with the few people around me was like talking to old friends. I laughed so many times, and they really enjoyed treating us. I was worried that the teachers were having to pay for all this food, but they told me the school is paying for this, so that was good to know.

I hope I sleep tonight as the whole day is still "playing" in my head. It will be hard to leave these teachers.

Dec. 30 Thursday
Today, I had arranged to take one student for lunch. He had written me a wonderful letter regarding being the first foreign teacher he had ever experienced. I went to the Wi Fi place first at the mall and then decided to buy new shoes. I had tried the day before but was very unsuccessful. It seems that the stores only have one size or two sizes-7 and 8-but I don't understand this as everywhere I see some bigger Chinese people. I must have tried 7 different stores, and some even showed me their computer which listed nothing in size 11 or 10. So today, I decided to check at the Mall for shoes. I took only open toed sandals, and they might not be great if it snowing in Xi'an. Plus, I have had these sandals for several years and I think they might be wearing out. haha!

Today, I finally found a store that had my size, but not in the brand I wanted but I decided to buy them. I paid them and they had to give me change. Wow, was that an ordeal!! They ran around to about 8 different places trying to get change. Finally, after about 15 minutes, I had my change and Shoes! I hope they work out!



I walked back to the hotel, and walk to the school to meet the Yue, the student who I was taking to lunch, instead of taking the taxi. I knew the way, just didn't know who long it would take. I did fine until the end, when I made a wrong turn. I had to backtrack but ended up at school, with no time to spare. Yue, the student, invited two other friends to come also which was great. I told them to pick the place, which was a hard decision, but finally came up with a place and we were going to take the taxi. In the taxi, I realized that we were going back close to the hotel. The restaurant ended up being a place where I had eaten already several times. In the restaurant we had some good conversation and I showed them some of my photos. We walked back to the school as it was faster than waiting to flag down a taxi.


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Weekend

Merry Christmas. It seems strange to be in China on Christmas day but here we are. Mr. Ma picked us up at 8:30 AM to take us to Stone Forrest, which is about one and half hours out of Kunming. It has been a major tourist site since 1972. It is a huge area with all these rocks projecting up from the ground like weeds. Stones and huge rocks everywhere. Milt's knowledge of this geology is far superior to mine, so he understood it better than me. It is very interesting and unusual and it is the thing to see if you are here. We walked around on different paths and lots of times Mr. Ma would tell us a story about a particular rock grouping that supposedly concur up an imagine of someone or something, like Napoleon, or George Washington. Most of the time, I couldn't see it. After walking in the stone forrest for about 2 hours, we had a nice lunch at a local restaurant. Roasted duck was the specialty. It was quite good. Then we walked through a Yi Village. Many house looked plain, nothing inside, and made from adobe. It looked quite poor. Then back in car for the drive back to Kunming. At Kunming, we went to a large vegetable garden and Green Lake. Some vegetables I don't recognize it was very interesting. At Green Lake, we saw hordes of people. It is an amusement park for some people. In one part, called the Music corner, people come and play music and dance. Each ethnic group has there own area. Finally, we went back to the hotel.

Sunday Dec. 26



Mr. Ma and his driver picked us up again at 8:30 AM. We drove south out of the city to the largest Flower Market. Traffic wasn't too bad this morning for a Sunday but I must say that traffic is probably one of the biggest problems in China. It is almost impossible to move in the city at any time. There seems to be no alternate roads. And it is going to get worse in China as they are buying more cars everyday.





At the flower market, we enjoyed looking at rows and rows of every kind of flower. The market opens at 4 AM in the morning. It is both a wholesale and retail market. After this, we visited the countryside. The country here is very different than what I see in the U.S. All the farmers seems to have their houses together in a certain area, hence a village. You don't see any farm homes alone when driving down the highway: only farm land or nursery greenhouses. At the village, we walk around down an alley and back street. The most striking thing is the open gutter or sewer. I see people actually using it like a toilet, in the open too. Later, a woman comes to get water from a community well. She has a bucket with a rope on it. This water can be used for cooking. She invites us to visit her house, so we walk back with her. Her house is quite far from the well. Inside her house, she lives with her parents and brother's family. The family is very friendly and invited us for lunch. We decline.



We find a place in town to eat lunch. A Moslem restaurant which is as cold inside as outside. Mr. Ma ordered all the food but too much. One thing ordered is mutton soup. Mutton here is goat. We also have salty duck, and indeed, it is salt. Tofu and rice are some of the other food.

We leave to see Dianchi Lake. The expressways are very modern and seems to work well, except when you encounter construction! I can't tell you how long is took us to go through this construction. There is no one directing traffic so every car or truck makes their own way through the chaos. Long lines of backups. It took a long time to get through this and this is common everywhere.




We visited Zheng He Park in Kunyang, a city south of Kunming. Zheng He was an explore for the Chinese before Columbus. His life story is fascinating and there is a small museum at the park which show his ship, voyages, and some artifacts. There is a best seller written about his voyage to America called "1421".

In the end, Mr. Ma and the driver couldn't find the road to the Dragon Gate, so we decided to go back to the hotel. It was an interesting day.

We find a place in town to eat lunch. A Moslem restaurant which is as cold inside as outside. Mr. Ma ordered all the food but too much. One thing ordered is mutton soup. Mutton here is goat. We also have salty duck, and indeed, it is salt. Tofu and rice are some of the other food.

We leave to see Dianchi Lake. The expressways are very modern and seems to work well, except when you encounter construction! I can't tell you how long is took us to go through this construction. There is no one directing traffic so every car or truck makes their own way through the chaos. Long lines of backups. It took a long time to get through this and this is common everywhere.

We visited Zheng He Park in Kunyang, a city south of Kunming. Zheng He was an explore for the Chinese before Columbus. His life story is fascinating and there is a small museum at the park which show his ship, voyages, and some artifacts. There is a best seller written about his voyage to America called "1421".

In the end, Mr. Ma and the driver couldn't find the road to the Dragon Gate, so we decided to go back to the hotel. It was an interesting day.
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At the School and No Wi Fi

I know I haven't written for a while but my access is very limited here. I need wi fi and they don't have it at the hotel, nor any place else but still looking.



The first day at school, we had a very nice welcome by the staff and headmaster. I think there must have been at least 14 people we were introduced to. (I am with another volunteer , Milt). Many have titles that escape me but at least two were from the "party", and they seem to be the most important. This is a high school and middle school combined. A population of about 2000 and a public school. The meeting lasted about one hour, then we walked to a very nice restaurant for lunch.





At the restaurant, I sat with the headmaster who was very interested in NBA basketball. He doesn't speak English except for a few words, but knew about the Trailblazers. ha!! Some at the table asked me about the economic situation in the U.S. I thought it was a good question. The food was endless and very good. They even served local red wine, which was very good. It might have been the best meal I have ever had in China. They keep wanting to me to eat more. Some food in China can be very spicy. I had another meal later at a restaurant that made my mouth burn so bad that I wasn't sure it was ever going to stop.



The English teachers at the school that we have met all seem very interested in speaking English. Students all take English class, but they mostly teach the grammar and writing, no conversation. We are the first native English speakers the school has ever had.




I am teaching several high school junior classes(ages 16 or 17 years old). Students seem very attentive but can't really speak to you other than "hello" or "good afternoon". The class size is about 25, so not bad and no behavior problems. I see no students with mobile phones in the class and all have the proper school equipment. English teachers have been also attending my classes and say they are learning a lot. mmmm? Teachers here only teach about 16 hours a week, and this is considered full time. The teachers can not teach private classes at home: it is not allowed. We have also had some teacher classes only, which is mostly just talking about life in general.




The weather here remains cool in the morning and evening but sunny during the day, which is good. At night, it is always an adventure to find a decent restaurant to eat at, where we can understand or communicate our needs, and not too expensive. Yesterday, some how we ordered three things and ended up with four dishes. haha! Last night, we did find a good restaurant, but it was more western than Chinese. In the malls here, you can find McDonalds, PapaAldo's, Pizza Hut, and KFC. People here are really leaning towards many western ways. One student told me he he really loves western culture. I see it in there clothing; you would never know by the way they dress that you were in China.



Ok, I know this isn't very earth shaking, or maybe even boring! But that is life now. Take care to all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, NOT YOUR GIFTS.


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My Second Train Ride

I left my wonderful hostel in Guilin about 4 PM to catch the train to Kunming. I am coming here a few days early because it is hard to get a sleeper berth on a specific day and the weather has been pretty awful, especially today. It was raining and so I was going to get a taxi even though it is a fairly short distance. But as luck would have it, when I needed one, there was none to be found!! Drats! So, I decided to hike it. It ended up being further than I thought though I walked at fast as I could. And I got more than damp, which was another slight pain. Mostly it was cold, about 38 Degrees, so all these things made me miserable. But then I entered the station, ready to enjoy a dry and sheltered place.




I show my ticket to the first guy, he immediately motioned me upstairs. Of course, I notice my train number on another marquee on this floor, but oh well, upstairs I go. The stations all have waiting rooms for each scheduled train. Again, I find another train official to check my ticket; he says NO. 1. Ok, I guess I know where that is.. I forge my way through some seated passengers and into a vacant seat. One young man tried to talk to me but he has limited English. I learn that he is a student and that they are a group of 14 traveling together. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves and they had the same ticket I did, so I could relax. When boarding was announced, they sheltered me through the line like the elderly guy that I am. ha! But then we parted because they were in a different car than me.




I found my car, and again squeezed to the front-if you don't do that you might never get in. Next I found my berth. I had bought a lower berth, just to make sure I couldn't have to crawl up into one of those upper cots. Smart! Except, when I got there, another woman was already there. After showing her my ticket, she agreed to move.




I, of course, was the only foreign tourist in the car. I was now a part of a group of 20 Chinese tourists that have been traveling for 10 days. They were farmers and paid about 350 USD to go several places in China by plane, ship, and not train. They were older, most, and very friendly but didnt' speak Any English. The only reason I found this out was that their tour guide did speak English. So they asked me lots of questions and she translated.




They brought food with them, so they were always offering me some food. I could safely eat most of the packaged food, so this was good as I didn't bring any food for this 19 hour sleep train ride. The older guy across the berth from me, opened a bottle of colored water, poured about a third of a glass full and offered it to me. I smelled it and knew it was alcohol. Maybe home brew. I declined as politely as I could. He asked me about 3 times but then accepted my answer. I wanted to but I knew this was not the place to be sick or not have all your wits about you. Another one of his friends took it, and after one swig, he was complaining that is was very strong!!

About my bedtime, and I had a blanket and even a pillow. This was a hard sleeper berth, but it felt fine with a thin mattress. About this time, some guys decided to play cards at the end of my bed. One sat on the end of my bed but did ask me first. Everyone else was mostly sacked out while these guys slammed the cards down on a small table with lots of comments to boot. In the train, you can only smoke in between the cars, where the rest rooms are. And there are some serious Chinese smokers. A few couldn't contain themselves so they would walk through the car with their lit cigarettes. I feel very sorry for the women who have to use these squat toilets. They are not the cleanest to start with and with the train moving it is easy to lose your balance, which could be disastrous. Guys have it easy for the most part. Ha!

At 10 PM, all lights went out except for a few aisle lights. The card playing came to an abrupt end. Now, six of us in the carriage, two above me and three opposite me. I slept some but I think the others slept better. In the morning about 7 AM, people began to stir. At about 10 AM, I could tell we were nearing Kunming. We arrived at 10:45 AM, which I think was earlier than scheduled, which was good.




After disembarking, I said goodbye to my Chinese tour group, and wonder if the person from the Hostel I had booked would be there to pick me up. I had phone the hostel the day before, and they plan to send someone and we would take the local bus back to the hostel. And there she was!! So we walked a bit, then got on the bus, rode five stops, and got off. I was in Kunming..





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Guilin

Some things that I noticed about the city: the poorest people seem to smile the most. I saw a woman collecting cardboard on the back of her peddle bike that looked like it must have been at least 100 years old. I mean it!! There is a steering wheel on some bikes with a hand brake on the center column. Anyway, she is riding through the alley, sees me and gives me the broadest smile for no reason. My observation is that most Chinese are not that quick to smile. After you meet them, yes, then they smile and are friendly. On the street, most will not smile even as I smile at them. Students or older senior citizens are more likely to smile. Maybe Vietnam spoiled me. hahaha!



The front desk at the hostel told me that all taxi drivers are cheats. They will try to run up the cost and never use the meter. I haven't taken a taxi yet but I did met one taxi driver walking on the street that talked English. We had an nice visit so I hope I can find him again if I need a ride somewhere. Also, at the coffee shop, an older woman approached me and wanted to know where I was from, then wanted to talk English. She was from Taiwan. After a few minutes, she wanted me to visit Taiwan instead of HongKong. Ha! Generally, most Chinese, can't help you with directions even if it is in their language. I am able to read some information from the bus stop signs now.



I see some Christmas decorations in stores and music playing in many. It is very strange to hear Christmas songs in Chinese. Often, I have to stop and think of the song even though it is very familiar.



In the morning or at night, there are thousands of people doing TaiChi or some form of it in the street. The groups can vary from 40 to more than 100. They all seem to be into and serious. The most interesting things I notice is that there is very few men. Maybe the men do something else.



I went to Ballet Circus the other night. I invited the two university students who have been a big help to me in Guilin. We arrived early to our VIP seats(I paid a little more for better seats). This show is preformed every night. The performers put on a great show. Lots of acrobatic feats, ballet dancing, and slapstick comedy. The show is nonstop for about one and half hours. Performers range in age from about 7 to 50 years old. I didn't see one mistake. The only time I was nervous was when I was watching a young woman balance herself atop about 8 stacked wooden chairs. She was about 10 feet from me. The students thought the show was great too and didn't even know about it before now.



I decided to get a haircut yesterday. The question was where? I saw a few upscale places that just catered to young people, all with their Korean hair styles. Then there is the very local barber. The local barber is just one block off the main street but the difference between the areas is like night and day. Main street is very Hollywood like, yet, one block over, it is like you have walked into the bowels of the city: very poor, rundown, and basic subsistence. I finally found one shop that wasn't to expensive and a few steps above basic. Haha! I stood outside for a few seconds, trying to read their signs. Inside, I could see about 6 or more stylists/barbers, many without customers. Inside, at the front desk, I just tried to tell them I only wanted a haircut, gesturing with my hands. No English spoken here. And then trying to guarantee the price. 40 yuan (about $6 USD). A woman took me to the back, and wanted me to lay on this bed for a shampoo. I tried to explain that I wanted to skip this part but they kept insisting. I thought I would have to leave without getting the haircut. Finally, a young man, about 30, escorted me to the chair. He gestured that he would cut my hair. After wrapping a large towel around my neck, be began to cut with scissor and comb. Now, my presence is starting to attack attention. Many younger stylists came and stood over me, watching quietly and commenting occasionally. My stylists continued cutting: it is not a difficult job and he couldn't really screw up. haha! In the end, he shaved my sideburns and neck with a straightedge which made me a little nervous, but he did a good job. I left satisfied and probably the first foreigner to come to their shop.

Raining again today. ahhhhhhh!

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Li River

I spent one day traveling down the LiJang river on a big river boat. I signed up for the 4 hour cruise with English guide at my hostel and joined about 19 others that day. Some other tourists were from Sweden, Austria, South Africa, Malaysia, China, and three of us from USA(CA.). It took us about 30 minutes by bus to get out of town and board the boat to YangShuo.

The Li river originates in northern Guilin and flows 83 KM to Yangshou. It is a winding river among many peaks and limestone mountains. The river reminds you of a ribbon meandering around each peak, albeit not too high of peaks. The river was crystal clear and didn't appear to be that deep. Along the way, the guide tells you about the different imagery that you are suppose to be able to see in the limestone cliffs. For example, in one place, he pointed out the Painted Hill of Nine Horses, and the Female Buddha. You really have to use your imagination a lot of this but I could see "some" of this after looking for a while. Ha!! The Chinese really find imagery in everything. In one particular place on the river, the view the same one that is printed on the back of the 20 RMB bill of Chinese money. Also, it is the view used on Windows 7 computers in Asia.




The weather that day was very misty which is suppose to be better or more in tune with the Chinese mystic view of the area. Along the way some locals living along the the shore, would use a bamboo raft to come out and sell food or some souvenirs. I thought their boat skill was amazing. We were told that all the stuff they were selling was fake even though they might tell you it was real jade.



The tour provides a nice lunch on the boat and I ate with three Chinese men about my age who were traveling to this area for the first time. They didn't speak any English but we communicated through an interpreter or sign language. They gave me some good green tea.



After we arrived in Yangshou, we had an hour to shop( I needed far less time) and then some of us were going on another optional tour. We were all to met in front of the KFC-where else?



About 10 of us, including me, walked to the Dragon Hill bridge, where two commercial movies have been made. I forget the titles now. After that we walked to another shore where we were going to board some small bamboo rafts. This was the part I was not sure of. These rafts are 10 bamboo poles across(I counted!) and now we were going to float or pole down the Yulong river to some water buffalo. Actually, another local was going to be the one pushing the raft with a long pole through the water. I was just to sit in this easy chair and not fall out. Ha!! It proved to be very safe and quite stable. I felt sorry for the guy doing all the work. Along that way, we past a young couple posing for their wedding pictures outside along the shore.




After a bit, we stopped to pose with the friendly water buffalo. Obviously the farmer and the buffalo were used to this but it was a nice photo-op. haha! Back on the raft, we headed back. Now in the middle of this river was a fisherman with his cormorants. These are birds that are trained to catch fish in the river then return to the fisherman. They can't swallow the fish because they tie a rope or string around the neck to keep them from swallowing. Once back to the fisherman, he dislodges the fish and sends them back to find more fish. After some time, the fisherman stops, taking his fish to market to sell. I think they said there are only 6 people allowed to do this now. It was very interesting.



The last little thrill aboard this bamboo raft was going over a small rapids. It was man made and only a short distance , mostly splashing water up over my pants. The harder part was actually getting the raft back over the rapids. I did tip this guy quite a bit as I thought he earned it. I was with my Chinese friend on the raft the whole time.

I don't think my photos are that good. Part of it has to do with the weather, but maybe you get some idea.




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Nanning

After Thanh left me, I emailed Brent(Yin), a university student who lives in Nanning. Brent came by bus to met me and take me around the city. I thought this was extremely generous and hospitable as I am sure he had other things to do. Brent and I took the local bus to his university. This is the largest univ. in the Province of Guangxi Zhuanozu Zizhiou. He thought the school had about 40,000 students. But there are many universities in the city besides his. I met some of his friends who belong to a bike club which he formed. They were all very nice and open. Also an English teacher from the university who invited Brent and I to lunch at her apartment.




What surprises me about China is how open a conversation you can have about anything, especially politics. They seem to not worry saying something that would be interpreted as antigovernment. They did say that in a more public place, like a classroom, these opinions are not expressed and if you did, you would be reported to the Party. Still, fascinating.




We took the public bus everywhere. One yuan(about 15 cents), of course you often don't get a seat and it takes a while, but they run very often. I enjoyed this and saves on taxi fares, plus the taxi driver doesn't always have a meter, so a gamble. The traffic seems like rush hour continually, but it is somewhat worse from 4 to 7 pm.




China is full of modern building and western looking places albeit everything is written in Chinese. Tall skyscrapers throughout the city, large billboards advertising anything and everything. Lots of places for shopping and malls. Now, you can also shop on the street for everything too. Street vendors sell everything too, like tattoos or batteries for phones or jewelry. And street food everywhere. It never ends. In my case, it all looks good. haha!




The people seem to be conditioned to make more of an effort to not litter. I have noticed that most Chinese do not just throw paper wrappings on the ground, and there are more waste cans around. Today, I saw a city street worker picking the cigarette butts out of the flower beds with chopsticks-Now that is tedious work!! But the main streets are very clean and wide sidewalks, so it is easy to walk around, even if there are a lot of people. The problem with the sidewalk is that they ride the motorbikes on the sidewalk too. In fact, everything but the car and bus. ha!

Brent took me to the train station to buy my train ticket to Guilin. It is a 5 hour trip and cost about $15 USD. I couldn't have done it without him as it was all in Chinese again and the staff speak no English. He also showed me where to go to board tomorrow.

I can't access my Facebook Acct in China. Trying to solve that problem but maybe will not be able too.


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Location:Xinyi Rd,Guilin,China

Train to Guilin

Tuesday Morning, when I left LotusLand Hostel in Nanning, I walked with my bag to the train station. Brent, a university student, had already showed me where to enter and how it would work. Also, I met a Canadian man at the hostel, older than me, who had been to China 40 times, and he had lots of advice and tips about the train, much of which would prove to be faulty. This man loved China yet couldn't speak any Chinese and we almost go into a verbal argument over Korean island problem.



At the train station, they make you show your ticket before entering. Once inside, there was supposed to be signs with the train numbers. I did see one sign, read through all the train numbers, and to my dismay, my train was not listed. I looked around for another sign. Nothing! So, before panicking, I look for a local friendly face to help me. This local tried to find my train but couldn't either, then we both discovered there was a back stairs and another upper floor. So, I proceeded upstairs, but only found one dark large room. Inside plenty of people waiting in the dark. I decided I had to verify this before staying. I found another man entering, asked him about my ticket; he shows me his which is the same train number. So now I in the right "waiting room"



A few minutes before 8 AM, they unlock the gates to the platform for boarding the train. Like lemming, everyone tries to crowd through a single turnstile and get a final checking of the ticket. I decide I have to do the same, not knowing for sure if I have enough time if I wait. Inside, I look for my car. I have car No. 1, and of course, it is really the last car now, so the greatest distance to walk.



Inside the car, I easily find my seat. The seats are in groups of 6, three seats facing 3 other seats. I have the middle seat. If I had thought, maybe I could have chosen a window seat. On one side of me, there is a middle aged business man who texted the whole 5 hours. His battery went dead so he switched to his backup battery. On the other side of me is one young lady, who later tells me she is doing post graduate work in Guilin and only comes to Nanning to visit her boyfriend. She slept most of the way. The other three in my group made no attempt to visit or even smile.



The train was full. The train only stopped one place in 5 hours. The train route seem to be through either deserted areas(homes) or just rolling hills and prairie. Never really saw any people or farming along the way. A few lumber areas, and some sugar cane, but not much rice or any animals. I couldn't tell how fast the train was traveling but maybe faster than it felt. They did sell some food but most people carried their own. In fact, it looked like many had gone shopping in Nanning.



After 5 hours, I arrived safely in Guilin. Brent had contacted a friend who agreed to meet me at the train station. Again, so thoughtful and made it easy for me. So for a few brief seconds I stood outside the station before Cai and Du came up and introduced themselves to me. I told them where I thought my hostel was and we could walk. Even though I have only have one bag, it does get heavy after about 15 minutes. After 20 plus minutes, I wasn't sure we were going to find it. But then someone spotted the sign. And after carefully crossing the street, I checked in feeling successful after my first train ride in China.


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China

I left Vietnam Sat. morning about 9:30 am. Mr. Thanh and I took a taxi to another hotel where we would catch the bus. I guess it is a Chinese hotel in Hanoi. This bus ride would prove to be an anomaly in VN. Not only was it a great bus, it left on time and only 14 passengers. I thought for sure it would pick up more but it didn't. The road was towards Lang Son where we crossed the border and changed buses.




At the border crossing, you have to go through VN immigration first, then China's. Everyone crowds to the front window and shoves their passport toward the officials. The officials always take their jolly old time looking at them. Some people had to take off their glasses. Finally, they call your name and give it back. I thought there might be problem because I never got a certain paper that you generally need to show at the airport, but no problem.



You ride a golf cart to go from the VNese side to the Chinese. At the Chinese immigration, I thought we were making great headway as the line was short and moving fast. Get up to the official, he immediately shoved it back to me and yelled something, pointing vinously. NO English of course. I found out that there was a card I needed to fill out first, so then, after doing that, I was back in a long line. Ha!! But after a bit, I finished and back in the golf cart and to the bus.




On the China side, we changed buses. Again, only a few people on the bus. The road to Nanning was a two land divided highway the whole way. The driver practically had the whole road to himself as no traffic and you could see the rolling hills landscape with no people. It was like I was in a dessserted country. The young woman who worked for the bus co. as a aide, was exceptionally nice. She tried to speak Eng and apologized by for her Eng but it was ok. The time is one hour different and the total bus ride took about 9 hours.



The young woman, JoAnn, called our hostel as I didn't have the address, only the phone number. She found out where it was so we didn't get off at the bus station but rode to the bus terminal. She then told me she would get us a good taxi and "he will not cheat you". Now, it was dark, so this was very helpful. It took her a while to get the taxi, and we were going to tip her but she refused, saying I had already been so kind to her. She even paid for the taxi, which was 10 yuan, about $1.50. I didn't want her to do this but then she ran off.

In the taxi, after a few minutes, I could tell the driver was having trouble. No meter too. Not a good sign. I showed him the phone fo the hostel and told him to call it. He finally did. It seems we were almost sitting right out side its front door. The hotel person came out to get us and we went inside and the driver never asked us for money.

The hostel itself was good but getting registered was difficult. I had reserved online for three nights. The front desk wanted me to pay in advance for all three nights, plus a deposit. I could have gone to the ATM which they said was down the street but I had already had one CC problem, and I didn't want another one right away here. So I didn't know what I was going to do. We had some Yuan but not enough. Another guest here form Amsterdam heard our plight and offered me 200 Yuan and I could pay him back after I went to the ATM on Monday. WOW!! Talk about a random act of kindness. I took it after talking to him a bit. So then we went to our room and slept through the night.

Sometime about 6 am, Thanh gets a call from VN from his girlfriend saying his father had a terrible accident and had a broken leg, maybe more. Thanh's phone seem to accept calls from VN but he couldn't call VN. Of course this was very upsetting to Thanh, who was going to travel with me but I knew he had to go back to Hanoi now. So, off we were to find the bus station. You would think it would be easy as we just came from there last night. But, No!! We did have a map and it wasn't far, but asking people they either didn't know, or just seem to point in a random direction. Finally, I thought we found it. Lots of buses outside and big ticket counters and lines inside. Nothing in English though. The problem was time was of the essence because according to the hostel, there were two buses that would leave for Hanoi at 7:30 am and 8:30 am. And inside the station I found a nice man who was willing to help us. He went to the counter and translated. But now we were told that the time would be about 6 pm. I told him no, and we got our money back. And the translator felt bad because he couldn't help more. It was then that we found out we were at the "Train" station, not Bus station. Then he directed us to the bus. We would have never found it alone or on time. Thanh bought his ticket 7:15 and the bus left at 7:30. I hope he can get some better news when he gets home.




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Winding Down in Hanoi

Quote: The heart that gives, gathers.



Began the day as usual with communal breakfast and team meeting. Off to school for a long day. My first class was with Ms. Mai and her 6th graders. I have seen this class at least twice before so they know me now. I decided to ask Ms. Mai to write some exercises on the board while I played Simon Says with them. They were quite involved today.

After this class, our team took a field trip to Mr. Hoa's farm. We went in the school bus with Mr. Hoa and Mr. Quy. It took about one hour or more to get there. Along the way I saw many people selling their corn on the highway. Part of the way we were on National Highway 2 with a beautifully landscaped median.

Mr. Hoa's farm is 6 hectares(14 acres) in size and populated with many mango and dragon fruit trees. Mr. Hoa also has chickens and geese who greeted us with enthusiasm. The house on the farm is very nice and traditional with mostly open space, bathroom, and bedroom. The other main building is a large wooden building with high ceilings and a cement floor. Mr. Hoa intends to bring students from the school to his farm and teach them some camping skills and life skills. I would be really interested in knowing how the students handle this new school project.





Mr. Hoa wanted to show us the farm so we "trekked" along the perimeter of the property. Some to the terrain presented minor obstacles but with help, we all managed quite well. On the upper side of Mr. Hoa's property, you have a nice panoramic view of the area.
Back at the house, we were treated to some good food which was chicken, fish, and vegetables. I worried a little about the chicken because is was pink. Time will tell.

After dinner, we all napped. I knew there were not enough beds in the house for all of us so Mr. Hoa took all the woman inside the house. Next he brought out a pillow and directed me to the large wooden building where we had eaten lunch. Inside the building they took the doors off the hinges and put them on stools, put the pillow on the door, now making it my bed. One door would have been sufficient but they thought maybe I would roll off with only one door, I guess.. I did sleep some.

One of things that I noticed was the relationship Mr. Hoa had with workers at his farm. He was very cordial and friendly to them, and they were very relaxed with him, smiling a lot and eager to engage in conversation with all of us .




In the evening we spent an hour in rush hour traffic to have dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Hoa, Mr. Quy, and two of the English teachers. Ms. Mai took us to Mr. Hoa's house but she wasn't sure where he lived, so a neighbor actually had to help us find it. Inside, we sat upstairs and had tea, then took a tour of part of the house. It is a very nice home but you would never know it walking down the alley to get there.

The food at the restaurant was very good and lots of it. Fish, shrimp, beef, beans, soup and spring rolls, all served on a lazy susan. It was the end of a long day but enjoyable. We were sorry that Frankie developed an allergy and couldn't attend the dinner hosted by the school. I hope she feels better tomorrow...



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