Patty's Journal

For a portion of the time that we were gone Patty kept a journal that I recently discovered. It does not cover the entire time that we were there but a good portion of the time is covered and it is interesting to now look back at that amazing adventure. We knew many of the people already as many of them had lived with us in our home in California for 5 months at a time. These were our experiences--

The adventure begins… late January to early May 2013

January 29-30

In spite of a 9-hour delay for our first flight, the trip to China went smoothly. The overseas flight provided individual screens with nearly endless movie choices, so the time went relatively quickly. Jenk slept a bit, while I watched 6 movies, 4 in English and 2 in Chinese, with subtitles. Beth would like one of them. It was called the “Soul of bread”.

The air in Beijing was definitely “thick”. We arrived about 2 p.m. local time, but it was semi-dark. The entire area was covered with a gray mist or fog. It was 32 degrees F there, so our coats were useful, even inside the airport. We didn’t get our boarding passes for the second flight at LAX so we had to hustle through formalities to enter the country and then line up to recheck our luggage. Still we made it to the boarding gate with about 15 minutes to spare.

We were met at the Xi’an airport by the principal’s driver, Fan Hui (exchange teacher for year #3) and her husband. I got a huge bouquet of flowers and we headed off to eat dinner. It was a dim sum restaurant and we enjoyed it though we weren’t particularly hungry as we had eaten on the plane. (In my opinion the food on the plane was probably the best airplane food I have had – other than on Air France.)

We arrived at the school and were met by Li Xiaolan (who takes care of the international programs for the high school campuses) and taken to the 8th floor to our small apartment. We have a bedroom (with a desk, king-size bed and cabinet), a living room with a couch, small fridge, tv, coffee table and water dispenser, and a bathroom which also has a small washing machine. As is typical in China there is no shower enclosure, so shower water runs to a drain in the middle of the bathroom. The apartment is heated by radiators – at least until vacation begins, and it was actually too warm for us. (We do have a supplemental room heater that we can use when necessary.) We left 3 windows cracked open overnight, and today I have the window open as well. Yanli (exchange teacher from year #2) gave us shower sandals to use in the bathroom and warm slippers for the rest of the apartment. Fan Hui and her husband helped us to understand how to use the shower and answered some other questions. Then Yanli, Li and “little” Linda arrived and the others left. Li had purchased a phone card for each of us, but the sim card was too large for my phone. Jenk’s phone number is (86) 15702929153. (I will have to find a store to see if I can get a sim card for my phone).

We opened enough of the suitcases to get what we needed and got to bed at 11 p.m. It had been a very long “day”.

January 30

We both slept very well last night. We were told that we should meet at the school gate today at 11:50, so we had time to unpack a little, take showers and drink coffee and hot chocolate (which we brought with us). Xiaolan drove Fan Hui and us to a restaurant where we ate lunch with Principal Madam Wang. We were joined by Junying (year #6), Nelly (summer camp) and Raymond (year #8). It was a delicious lunch and a good time to meet with friends. Before we left home Xiaolan sent us a schedule of who is to be “responsible” for us during the spring festival holiday. We don’t think we need “baby-sitting” but the teachers have said that they are happy to show us around. The schedule begins on February 2.

We had planned to walk to the store this afternoon, but one of the teachers planned to drive us there. However her meeting lasted very late so we decided to go tomorrow. Jenk worked on his computer – at his desk – and I studied Chinese and read. We had decided to skip dinner after such a big lunch, but Fan Hui asked us to meet her in the cafeteria, so we split a kind of vegetable roll and sat with her. It was a terrific first day in China.

February 1-5

On Friday we had lunch in the teacher’s cafeteria with Fan Hui. It was the last day the teacher’s room will be open until after the holiday as it was the last day of school for nearly all of the students – except the seniors who will have another week of classes. Lots of the students who live in the dorm were moving out for the next couple of weeks .

After lunch we walked to “Lotus” the closest “supermarket” which is more like a super Walmart with some other small stores around it. It is about a mile from here but the walk was interesting. The weather is cold but we have plenty of warm clothes. We had fun shopping for the necessities of dorm life. We bought toilet paper, shampoo, a water bottle for Jenk and a “cool” mop/squeegee necessary for clearing the water from the floor of the bathroom after showers and maintaining our white tile floor .

That evening we met Fan Hui at the end of the school day (6:30) to walk to her home. Her husband had made us a delicious dinner, and we spent the evening talking before walking home. (She lives just around the corner from the school. )

On Saturday morning we met Fan Hui, Junying and Junying’s son to go to a wedding. The groom was a graduate of this school, and his mom (now retired) was a teacher here for many years. (Females are required to retire at the age of 55 and men at 60.) We arrived just as the ceremony was starting with the bride and groom walking down the “aisle”. The wedding was held in a huge room in a government building because the bride’s parents are important government officials. This was my third Chinese wedding and in many ways it was the same. There is an MC who conducts the event. There are speeches by people who are important to the couple – employers, officials, etc. Then an official of the government that gives the couple the small red book that will be their family record. After this the couple serves tea to the new parents-in-law and the parents speak. Then there is a toast of the couple and the formal ceremony is over. All of this was accompanied by slide and light shows. There were between 800 and 1000 people at this wedding, seated at round tables seating about 10 people each. There were snacks on the tables during the ceremony and then after the ceremony the main part of the meal is served. During this time the bride changes from a white gown to a red Chinese dress, and the parents of the couple walk from table to table to toast everyone, followed by the couple who do the same. As soon as the toasting is over workers start cleaning up the room and everyone leaves. Our table just had time to eat before the table was folded up. What we found interesting in this particular wedding was that much more time was spent talking about the bride’s accomplishments than speaking of the groom. The bride has a PhD and has studied at several prestigious universities, but the time talking of her was surprising. This is more so since in China the wedding is totally paid by the groom’s parents.

We returned to the dorm just in time to meet Nelly (summer camp 2012) and her husband for our time with them . They helped us resolve some small problems – an anti-theft “knob” that was left on a mat that we had bought, and getting my phone card cut down to fit my phone. My phone number is 8615702929152.

Nelly and her husband live on the 16th floor of a very up-scale apartment complex. It is nearly new and very comfortable. After tea and talking they made us a delicious dinner. We sat and talked until late. We had planned to leave early the next morning to travel to a town about 4 hours away.

However, when we got ready to leave on Sunday it was sleeting and raining. It didn’t seem like a good idea to drive so far. So we went to a park in a new part of Xi’an where we walked around a lovely lake. The location is where a former emperor had his gardens, and they have tried to maintain many artifacts of the time. What was amazing was how few people were there – it was a weekend, but of course it was cold and slippery. Nevertheless we enjoyed ourselves. We had lunch in an elegant restaurant in the park and then went to visit the “Cool Cave”. This is an example of the type of cave inhabited by many people of this province for generations. While there are still a few in use in the countryside it is no longer common. This is one of the few remaining in an urban area – which was, of course, not an urban area only 30 years ago.  

That evening we had dinner at a restaurant which serves vegetarian dishes and is owned/run by a Buddhist organization. After the meal we visited the various meeting and study parts of the facility. The food was very good, even though we had trouble guessing what we were eating.

On Monday morning we set out in the fog to visit a Daoist Temple about 60 miles from Xi’an. There we saw where Laoze started his teachings of the correct way to live. The temple is still a kind of a monastery. We had a guide who stopped our car as we entered the area to offer her services for the visit “in order to save us money”. We doubt that we saved money, but she did explain a lot of things that Nelly translated for us.

Our next stop was lunch in a small town about 30 minutes further away. We once again tried all kinds of new and different foods – all of which we enjoyed. Then we took a more scenic route back towards Xi’an, along bumpy roads through small towns and villages where we saw all kinds of open markets or fairs where people were buying food and supplies for the coming Spring Festival. Everyone needs to get red banners and paper lanterns for their homes, along with new clothes, food etc.

After our return Nelly, her husband and Jenk all took naps while I read. Then we had dinner and sat talking for a long time. Nelly really wanted us to stay another night, but we wanted to get home. We got back about 10 p.m.

The morning dawned clear and warmer. The sky was nearly blue in places – something that is unusual in Xi’an. Jenk went for a walk in the park across the street, while I did laundry and read some email. Then we met Junying and her “brother” by the gate. Her “brother’s” daughter, Sofia, is going to school in California, so we have seen her there, as recently as just after Christmas. We had lunch along with two friends of the “brother” in a restaurant specializing in local delicacies. Everything was very good, but once again we seemed to eat too much. (I use “brother” because he is not the son of her parents but we are not exactly sure of the relationship. In China they sometimes call a cousin a “sister” etc.) We returned to campus just in time to meet Yanli (exchange teacher year 2) and Li (her husband) to go to a market which sells food, clothes and other items in preparation for Spring Festival. It was located in the city convention center in several buildings. We saw all kinds of special foods such as dried or smoked meat, nuts, alcohol, dried fruit etc. We were the only westerners in sight, but felt truly lucky to be there. I will try to put up some pictures tomorrow or as soon as I have time. Yanli and Li bought various items for us to taste or for the celebration of the new year.

We spent about an hour in traffic heading for another new shopping area where the mall is built in an old style. We looked around and took some pictures before heading to dinner at a hot pot restaurant. We all enjoy the food very much. e finally got back to the dorm about 9:30. I put away some of the laundry I did this morning (we have a small washing machine in our dorm ), then sat down to write this. We need to be ready to leave by 7 tomorrow morning, so I need to get to bed. I’ll have to proof -read this another time.

February 6-8

On Wednesday morning we had to be at the school gate by 7:00 a.m. to get a ride to the international campus of GaoXin No. 1 High School from Li, Yanli’s husband. It was a foggy, cold morning, so we were invited to sit in the guard station until the others arrived. The mini bus finally left about 8:30 for the long ride to a village located 3 ½ hours from Xi’an. We chatted with Yanli, the assistant principal in charge of the “international division” (where they prepare students to attend U.S. or UK classes taught at least primarily in English), and others on the bus. We made one stop along the way, prior to leaving the “high speed” toll road. From the exit to the village took another 30+ minutes over increasingly more narrow and rougher roads.

Once we arrived we were invited into the courtyard of a traditional Chinese home. We went into one of the rooms to greet the bride who was attired in a white wedding dress and seated on a “kang” the traditional Chinese kang – a type of platform bed/stove. It is a large slab area with quilts or mats, but a fire can be built underneath the kang keeping the bed and room warm. We were then provided with bowls of noodles after which there was a break and we wandered around the village. (I will put some pictures up as soon as possible.) This is apparently an area where they grow tobacco and produce milk – though in this case most families had just one cow.

At 1:00 the formal ceremony began. The courtyard was filled with about 100 family members as well as neighbors, and a group of about 16 people from the high school in Xi’an. The groom is a physics teacher in the international division who works with Yanli. The bride and groom came out together and there was a very brief ceremony where they were awarded their family book. The mother of the groom then said a few words and the couple bowed to her. Then the friends of the couple sprayed them with silly string and confetti. Each of them wore a quilt cover folded and pinned over their shoulders – like a sash at a beauty pageant. Then different members of the family gave them more and more until they looked like walking quilt covers. Then it was over and time to eat. The food was made outside by friends and neighbors and included at least 10 different dishes. While we were eating an uncle of the groom (his father died when he was young) came to toast us with “white wine” (read white lightening) and then his mother did the same. But for his mother we had to empty the small cup 3 times each. Finally the bride and groom came to toast each of us, followed by all the men having a cigarette lit by the bride. (Jenk took one or two puffs and let it go out.)

Due to the long ride home we had to leave early. We finally arrived in Xi’an just after 6 p.m. Unfortunately we were to meet a group of our former students (Linxiao, Holly, Allen and William) at 6:00, but we made it there by 6:45. It was a lovely dinner with these fine young adults. They are in their second year at universities in Shanghai and Beijing, but are home for the holiday. (Only Max was missing since he isn’t yet home.) It was great to see them. We took a taxi home arriving just before 11 p.m.

Yesterday, Thursday, we met Junying and her husband at the school gate in the morning. We drove about 3 hours (in a different direction from the previous day) to visit Dang Jia village. It is a village of about 3000, most of whom are named Dang or Jia. It is located at the bottom of a small canyon so was not easily seen from the flat geography of the area. A number of the homes were built as early as the 14th century. Junying’s husband had planned for us to have lunch when we got there, but since it is winter nothing – including the hotel/restaurant was open. (Usually the village requires paid admission but not in winter.) Finally the owner of a small café located in the back of their home agreed to cook for us. We ate noodles and some vegetables and sipped hot water. After lunch we continued to look around the town, wandering into open doors at times. We were lucky to meet a lady from Xi’an, there to visit her mother. She told us a lot of history and even invited us into the bedroom to see the kang and other objects. There are no tours this time of year, but we got one by chance!

We arrived back in Xi’an by 9:00 and met some friends of Junying’s at a hotpot restaurant in town. We spoke with the daughter of the friends, a bright 16 year old with a good grasp of English. Once again we got home just before 11 p.m.

This morning we awoke to a lovely white world. About one inch of snow had fallen, and it was still snowing lightly. We met Raymond at the gate and walked with him to his apartment (right next to the school). There we met his wife and son over breakfast. Then we set off to complete “Raymond’s plan”. We drove to Xianyang (30 minutes away) where we parked on a snowy bank of the river. Steam was rising from the river. Next we walked through an open market where one could buy vegetables, meat, bread, etc. from open tables. There were also the stands selling firecrackers and banners for the celebration of lunar new year. After a walk along the river we ate lunch in a dumpling restaurant. It was crowded and noisy, but fun. The food was delicious.

The next stop was meant to be a museum, but it was closed for the holiday, so walked through the busy downtown area with Xuege, Raymond’s wife, while he went back to get the car. The traffic was crazy, with all the last minute shopping for the holiday. Nevertheless we made it out to visit the tombs of the earliest Chinese dynasty – The Zhou Dynasty from more than 3000 years ago. We saw only two other people there. We all climbed up to the top of one of the mounds, while the others climbed a second. (The tombs are right below the flight path to the Xi’an airport.) We visited the one display building open and enjoyed the scenery. There was a lovely tree with tiny yellow flowers that were really blooming. I say “really” because elsewhere today we saw other “flowering” trees with artificial flowers tied to the limbs.

February 9-11

The 9th (Saturday) was New Year’s Eve on the lunar calendar. Jenk and I took a bus to the international campus which is directly across the street from Yanli’s home. Linda (12 years old) met us as we got off the bus. (I guess they were worried.) As I have stayed with them many times it was no problem to find their compound, but it was easier to get through the gate and into their building with Linda.

When we arrived we were met by Yanli, Li, Linda and Grandma, who I know better than any of the other relatives because she often stayed there when I was here in earlier years. She is a great cook and a lovely lady, even though we can only communicate in my limited Chinese. At lunch two of Li’s brothers brought Grandpa from the village along with one sister-in-law (the other was working) and two nieces, one of whom I met last year. We ate a huge lunch with 8 cold and 7 hot dishes followed by dumplings (my favorite). We also had many toasts with “white wine” (read hard liquor) but luckily with all the food we were fine. After lunch we all took a walk to the park where the kids played badminton and the men played ping pong (including Jenk) while we ladies talked.

The remainder of the family (except Grandma and Grandpa left in early evening for the two-hour drive home. We watched tv and talked. At 8 p.m. everyone gathered in front of the television for the annual New Year’s Evening Gala. It is a variety show featuring all of the most well-known singers, actors and comedians from China. This year Celine Dion joined a Chinese lady to sing a traditional Chinese song, and then Celine sang the theme from Titanic. Of course we couldn’t understand most of it but it was fun. (Jenk “rested his eyes” from time to time.) We had snacks all evening and then a noodle dinner later. At 11:45 we all put on coats and went downstairs for the fireworks.

For the last two days we have heard what sounded like a machine gun from the building next door to the school. We finally figured out that the noise is caused by a long string of firecrackers connected together. One lights one end and they go off in rapid succession – one by one. But I have never heard the noise of that night. A man in the building across from Yanli’s set off a string of firecrackers right when we got down – and before I saw them. I jumped behind Jenk and closed my eyes. The noise is deafening close up, so for a few minutes my hearing was muted. Then I learned to plug my ears before one went off. But firecrackers and sparklers are tame compared with what we saw in the entrance to the compound. People (including Li) had large boxes of fireworks. They lit the bottom and there followed a show like we only see at the park or an amusement park. It was incredible! All around the neighborhood others were doing the same thing. We had sparklers, small rockets and a few other things, but it was tame compared to the big boxes. Li didn’t say anything but the next day we saw where he had burned his face.

Li brought us home by about 1:00 a.m. but the fireworks were going on much later. The last one I heard that night was at 2 a.m. followed by a wake-up of more at 7:00 a.m. They have continued each evening since then.

Yesterday was New Year’s Day or Spring Festival as they call it. Jenk and I planned to take a bus or a taxi to Yanli’s home, but no buses came on our route and the few taxis on the road were all full. We finally had to call Li to pick us up, but we hated to do it. (Before we left we had the chance to speak with both kids on Skype.) When we arrived we ate another big dinner with home-made noodles and dumplings, but with less “white wine” and more regular red wine. After lunch many people were tired so while Grandma, Linda, Yanli and I watched tv (reruns of last night’s gala and other special shows for the festival) the men slept. (Once again Jenk just rested his eyes…) About 5 p.m. we drove to the “Day and night” mall. There is a blocks-long central park with roads on each side, lights, Chinese “gates” and we saw our first New Year’s tree – that looked just like a Christmas tree… Along the road are a new concert hall, a new art museum, a hotel, a multiplex movie theater etc. Such huge urban renewal could only happen in China since they had to remove all buildings from a huge block of land. (Many of the decorations are just for the Spring Festival, but others remain all year – huge statues, one of the only Chinese Empress, and other monuments. At an outdoor stage in one part of the mall they had a show of songs from Shaanxi (this province) traditional opera. Every few minutes there was a fireworks show which brought “ohs” from us.

By the time we got back to the car Li and Yanli said it was time for dinner. Neither Jenk nor I were hungry but we went to a “fast-food” restaurant where Linda could order “western food”. Jenk had a small bowl of vegetables and I had 4 dumplings. Then they drove us back to the dorm. It was an early evening – we were home by 9:00. The firecrackers and other fireworks were still going off most of the evening.

Today, Monday, we met Ma Xueting, the first exchange teacher, outside the gate at 11:00. It was sleeting at that time, and throughout the day there was snow and/or rain. We walked to her home – in the complex next to the school – where we met her husband, son, daughter-in-law and parents. I used to joke with Ms Ma that her family was imaginary since in my many visits they were never at home. In fact her son and daughter-in-law live in southern China and her husband works in the northern part of Shaanxi province so he is not often home. We had a lovely lunch with many dishes plus home-made noodles. (They have a hand cranked machine to make this kind of noodle.) Jenk and Xueting’s husband toasted with “white wine” MANY times! After lunch Xueting took us to the new “Grand Tang West Mall”. It is another huge urban renewal area with a hotel that looks like a palace. We had been there a few days before but it was not open. Now for Spring Festival there were many booths selling all kinds of food. Xueting bought us “churros”, candied fruit and other items – even though we were not hungry. There is a huge underground shopping center there with all kinds of stores. We walked around, but had to ask for directions several times – and even the employees were not sure of where things were. We went to the supermarket – like Target – and bought a few supplies. Then Xueting insisted that we have dinner. We had been eating non-stop, but we finally ate a little at a spicy food restaurant. Then Xueting dropped us off at the school at about 7:30.

I may have mentioned it before, but for one week the entire school is closed. That means that we are the only people living in this 11-story building. There are gate guards who let us in and out, but it is definitely quiet – except for all the fireworks next door.

February 12-14

Today was another wonderful day with Yanli and her family. We took the bus to their home by 9:00 and then Li, Linda, Yanli, Jenk and I set off to the countryside near Xianyang where Yanli’s parents have an office/museum/home built in the old style with one main 4-sides courtyard with rooms in the back and on two sides, and two side-courts where in former times sons or other family members could live. It is an amazing structure with new construction mixed with antique wooden doors and furniture. One finds there the type of chairs and tables which we might normally see in a museum with a “do not touch” warning. In the larger compound they also have 4 sheep, chickens and rabbits plus a couple of guard dogs. Yanli’s parents, brother and sister-in-law plus her nephew were there along with a retired teacher/art collector, driver and a cook/caretaker. (Since the place is so valuable they have constant surveillance and someone on the site 24 hours per day.

After visiting and drinking tea we sat down to a delicious lunch of about 14 or 15 different dishes accompanied by “white wine”, red wine or orange juice. We sat on antique chairs at a huge antique table. It was a lovely lunch, including many toasts from one group to another. After lunch some people took naps (on antique beds of course) while the rest of us visited, drank tea and had snacks (as if we needed more food…) Then later we had a smaller dinner followed by fireworks in the courtyard in front of the house. It was a clear night and we could see many stars. Such views are not common in Xi’an due to “light pollution”, smoke and pollution. We returned to our dorm room at a “usual” late hour. It was another great day.

On February 13 we were able to sleep in a bit since we didn’t need to be at Fan Hui’s home until about 11:30. Since she lives right next door to the school it only takes about 10 minutes to walk there. We were surprised and pleased to see Hongmei there as well, helping Fan Hui to make dumplings.. (Fan Hui’s husband and Hongmei’s were busy at the time.) We had a wonderful dumpling only lunch. (Usually dumplings are accompanied by many other dishes, so we can’t eat many, but this was a day to really enjoy them.) We sat and talked for most of the afternoon, until it was time to leave for Tang Paradise. Tang Paradise is a park built in the style of the Tang Emperors (600-900 AD). Fan Hui’s husband dropped us off. This year the annual Lantern Festival celebration was moved from the city walls to this park. Both Jenk and I have been there before, but never this time of year, and never at night. We got there before dark and enjoyed walking around. There were endless small stands selling food, candy, gifts, etc. One stand was selling popcorn made the traditional way in China. A man cranks a handle to turn a metal cylinder under pressure, while at the same time pushing billows to make a small fire hotter. When the container reaches the right pressure it is inserted into a long leather bag and hit with a stick. The container bursts open to spill the popcorn into the bag.

As it got dark the lights reflected in the lake were spectacular. At the same time the park got ever more crowded. At 7:45 they have a “water movie” something like Phantasmic in Disneyland. Our view showed only part of the show, but apparently it was about the traditional story of the “Monkey King”. At the end of the show there were some fireworks and then we met Fan Hui’s husband to drive to a restaurant for dinner. Neither of us were hungry, so we ordered only a small amount of food. We got back to the dorm before 11 p.m.

The 14th was our 37th anniversary. Hongmei and her husband picked us up at school at 11:30 and took us to a restaurant that offered the best whole meal we have had in a restaurant during this stay. Everything was truly delicious. We ate a leisurely lunch and then her husband dropped us off at a park near the “small goose pagoda”. Due to the Spring Festival there were all kinds of stands with food from all parts of China. There were games, various kinds of entertainment and the Xi’an Museum. (Jenk tried shooting a type of rifle at balloons, and hit all but one. The people around were all amazed at his results, as was Hongmei.) There was also a small exhibit room which included the first official comments that I have seen of the Cultural Revolution. It was interesting!

The Xi’an museum had some exhibits similar to what we have seen in earlier years in the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum. The entire park was full of people and, of course, lots of lanterns. We spent about 2 hours there.

Our next stop was the Great Tang Day/Night Mall. This is a newer area (built beginning 2010) that is still not complete, but is still massive. We had been here on New Year’s Eve with Yanli and her family, but this time we walked on another part. After a dinner of Japanese style noodles we went to the Concert Hall where we listened to a wonderful concert of music by a Japanese composer who mostly writes music for movies – both animated and live-action. We were initially amazed by how young all the musicians were, but continued to be amazed by their talent. While the orchestra played we also saw scenes from some of the movies that used the music. There were two singers for a couple of songs as well.

Hongmei’s husband picked us up after the concert and we spent nearly an hour trying to get out of the traffic around the mall. We got home by 11:00. It was a wonderful anniversary day.

February 15-18

Wu Yanjun, her husband and son picked us up this morning for the trip toward Hua Mountain. Our first stop was for lunch at her sister and brother-in-law’s home. I had been there once before, so it was nice to see everyone. Her sister’s son is now 18, and is in school in Xi’an, but was home for the holidays. We were given a huge box of “Flower bread” a kind of steamed roll made in the shape of different animals. After a terrific dumpling lunch we headed to the home of Yanjun’s aunt and uncle, with whom she lived while attending high school. (It is customary for people to visit relatives during the Spring Festival – generally families stay at home on the first day, go to the wife’s home on the second, to the husband’s family on the third and then everyone visits each other.) She later taught at the same school. We stopped there next. It is a very old school with a history for more than 100 years. It was also the location of many meetings in preparation for the communist revolution of the 1940’s.

After leaving the school we went to a Buddhist Temple at the foot of Mt. Hua. The usual cost was waived for Spring Festival so there were many people there. We walked around the temple, lit incense and looked at nearly 100 windows, each of which has a different shape. (I don’t know the significance of this.) Due to the crowds there were already more than 2000 people in line waiting to climb the mountain!

Yanjun had planned a hot springs spa as our next stop. I told her that while I could not take the hot bath that I was happy to wait for the others. It turned out that her husband and son did not want to go, so in the end the plan was adjusted. Instead we drove to the highland farming area where her husband and she had grown up. We visited her husband’s mother who lives alone in a big traditional Chinese house. While we were there her husband burned paper money at his father’s tomb in the family field. (This is typically done on New Year’s Eve and on Tomb Sweeping Day in the spring.) The area is made up of wheat fields and some orchards. The air was very cool but clean and fresh after being in the city.

The next stop was at the home of Yanjun’s uncle and aunt. They are farmers living in a village of about 1000 people. We ate dried figs (a kind that cannot be eaten without cooking and then drying) and walnuts. Then the uncle took us to see Yanjun’s grandmother’s house. She lived there as a child. Unfortunately the earthen home collapsed a few years ago, so it is empty, but Yanjun told us stories about what it was like when she lived there.

We left the highlands in the late afternoon, and drove to another town where we ate a steamed dumpling dinner in a small restaurant. After dinner we checked into a local hotel. Our room was quite big with a sitting area and two beds. We left our things and went upstairs to an even bigger room where there was an automatic mahjong table. Yanjun’s uncle, brother-in-law, husband and Yanjun tried to explain the game to us. (I had played before but it is complicated and requires recognizing characters.) With Yanjun helping us we eventually won one or two rounds and got 15 RMB – even though we don’t exactly know how we won.

The next morning we drove back to Weinan where we went to Yanjun’s brother’s home. Yanjun’s parents are staying there this winter since the heat is not working in their own apartment. Unfortunately for her mother it is a 6th floor walk-up so it is hard for her mother to get out. Nevertheless, it is a very big and beautiful apartment. We talked with her parents and ate snacks until her brother and sister-in-law came home for lunch. Then we all (except her parents) went out to lunch before heading back to Xi’an. We got home early – by 4:00, so we had time to do some laundry, write email and I worked on my Dropbox folder.

Yesterday morning we took the bus to Hongmei’s apartment. We had a lovely day with her. She made us a terrific lunch, then we watched the movie Phantom of the Opera, which neither Jenk nor I had ever seen. We later watched a DVD of the show that all the teachers of GaoXin No. 1 High School campuses had put on before Spring Festival. The costumes and presentations were outstanding. I can’t imagine the same happening in the U.S.!

In the evening I watched and helped Hongmei make dinner and then later she drove us home. It is the first time we have seen her drive. She did a good job! Of course !

This morning we were planning to visit the Daming Palace Historical Park in Xi’’an. We knew that it was scheduled to rain and snow, but decided to do it anyway. Hongmei came to pick us up in a taxi, and we had a dumpling luncheon in a famous dumpling restaurant near the Bell Tower in downtown Xi’an. After lunch we took the subway towards our destination and then a “bong bong” a motorized tricycle with an enclosed passenger area to the park. Riding in it was bumping, but dry in the rain.

Daming Palace was used by the Tang Dynasty in the 8th through 10th centuries. The new park opened in 2010 and its size is huge! (Early excavations were begun in the 1950’s.) We saw a 3-D video about the palace and a legend of those days. Then we walked through the rain (in a near empty park) to the exhibit hall. While there we saw a 25-minute show telling the story of a Japanese young man who came to China as part of a group of ambassadors. While here he excelled in Chinese, eventually passing the Emperor’s court test to become a scholar. After 30 years he was granted permission to go home, but eventually died in China. He is considered a kind of hero to the Chinese people.

By the time we came out of the exhibit hall it was snowing. We headed back towards the area displaying the remains of one of the gates. That hall was colder than the outside, but it was interesting to see.

Hongmei was able to find a taxi to take us back to the High Tech Zone. By this time it was rush hour and still snowing, but not heavily. We spent nearly an hour in the taxi, and went directly to the restaurant where we met Rebecca, one of the students from the second group to Saugus. It was great to see her. She is getting a law degree from the top university in China this year and will attend school in the U.S. next year. She has already been admitted by top law schools, including Georgetown, UCLA and others but is still waiting for some other acceptances. It was so nice to spend a few hours with her.

By the time we left the restaurant the snow had stopped. There was more water than snow in most places. I was glad to get home – and to get dry socks. (I neglected to wear my boots this morning….)

Tomorrow we leave early for another two-day out of town trip.

February 19-20

Dora (summer camp), her husband and son picked us up this morning at 9:30. We drove for about one hour to a “small” town named Yanling. There we met friends of the family at the Northwest A & F University. The two friends, a husband and wife, work at the university in accounting and made arrangements for us to have a special tour. This university was founded for agriculture and farming, but now has 18 colleges, including law, medicine etc. Our first stop was at the older part of campus . There we visited the goat cloning area where China has had success at cloning animals both by body type and gender. A lady explained the milestones of the program begun in the late 90’s. While in England the sheep was cloned from breast tissue, here they were able to do so using ear tissue which resolved some issues. It was an interesting talk, translated by Dora’s son, a second-year student at the “Harvard” of China, Tsinghua University. After the talk we visited the animal area, including a visit to the barn with all the mothers and 5-day old babies. They were so cute! We also saw a breed of goats that have been modified and cloned to produce more milk. Before leaving this part of the campus we also saw the older buildings, including one that still has bullet holes from the Japanese army who thought the building was a military office.

After the farm area we went to lunch in a Peking Duck Restaurant. There were 8 of us with the friends, their son, Dora’s family and us. Dora’s husband and the two accountants all went to school together and are great friends – and really funny. We had a delicious meal and an enjoyable time talking with them . We drank Chinese wine that has been developed by the university. It was excellent.

After lunch we went to the Museum Garden part of the school. It has a very large garden, several museum pavilions and many special agricultural display areas. We had guides lead us through the history of agriculture in China museum, one building all about insects, another about butterflies and still another about the different kinds of soil in China. We also saw a display of old farm equipment (much of which Dora had used in her youth in a farming village), herbal gardens, flower gardens, etc. In one of the museums we saw the first two “westerners” of our trip. They were two young black men. When I asked where they were from one said China! I asked him – Is that Haiti/China, or Jamaica/China (based upon their accents), but then we learned that they are from the Fiji Islands, One of the men has been in China for 3 years and speaks some Chinese, while the other is in his first year and knows little Chinese. Apparently they are part of an exchange program which includes 8 Americans .

The two young men with us decided that they had seen enough of soil samples so we drove to a nearby village where we visited a hot house owned by a local farmer. In this particular one they are growing strawberries, so we all went in and picked fresh strawberries. It was warm in the hot house which was nice since the museums were not heated. These hot houses are put together by the farmers with one wall of dirt, then bamboo bent to support the plastic with bamboo mats available when there is no sun. We said good-bye to the friends and headed to Dora’s home in an 18-story building in a newer complex near central Xianyang. For our stay Dora’s son and husband stayed in their old apartment with her husband’s parents so we could have a room. It is an exceptionally beautiful apartment with carved wooden doors, and all kinds of high-end decorations.

Later we went out to dinner at a mushroom hot-pot restaurant. We were joined by one of Dora’s colleagues and her daughter. I had helped correct her statement of purpose for grad school a few months ago, so they wanted to meet me. After dinner Dora turned on her internet tv and we watched Notting Hill in English with Chinese subtitles. Jenk even stayed awake!

Yesterday we left the apart ment about 9:30 and drove to a small village about one hour away. I had visited the village two years ago with Fan Hui, her family and Hongmei, but this time there were no crowds. We tried different “snacks” such as home-made tofu in spicy soup, “pancakes” with egg and green onion in them (yum!), a kind of thick flat-bread with vegetables in the middle and some sweet rice and dates. It was all very good.

Our next stop was the village where Dora grew up (although the whole village had been moved due to a high water table when she was in high school). We visited the home of her sister-in-law where we saw both the old part and a new part built recently. Then we walked in the apple orchards before saying good-bye.

Soon our hosts began talking about lunch (as the above was supposed to be breakfast). We assured them that we didn’t need lunch so we drove back to Dora’s apartment. Jenk watched a comedy called “Churchill” with Dora’s son while I checked email (since Dora has wifi and I could use my phone). We also ate some fruit – so that we wouldn’t be “too hungry”!

At 2:30 we drove to Dora’s school – Xianyang #4 High School – to meet with some of the school leaders. We sat at a huge conference table where they told us about their school, their strengths and “weaknesses”. In China students can pick their high school, so the best students often try to find a campus with the highest number of students accepted to one of the top universities. As a result their campus, which had been at the top, has less of the best students since these kids often go to school in Xi’an . Nevertheless about half of their seniors are accepted into universities, a good success rate for a high school in China. (We can compare that to a lower percentage who attend 4-year universities from Saugus.) I also explained about how students are assigned schools at home, and that we may not always have the “most successful” students, each school has good results. We all do our best!

I spoke about Saugus, telling the men that our missions were very much similar with our goals of promoting good citizenship, academic excellence and preparation for a good future. They would REALLY like for us to accept some of their students as part of an exchange, but I explained that this was not possible. On the other hand I did say that I would try to find another school that might be interested. I said that I would ask our principal for help.

After the meeting we visited the history room of the school which is something like the ones at the GaoXin campuses. They have posters of the teachers, best students, successful alumni etc.

Our last stop on campus was the best! We were ushered into a lecture hall where there were about 80 sophomore students. They all welcomed us and then asked a variety of questions. Some were about life in the U.S. or how to study there, while another asked if she really needed to study physics since she doesn’t like it. Another girl asked what we thought of young students having boy/girlfriends, while another asked us about our “love story”. They were articulate and inquisitive. We were scheduled to stay for 30 minutes but there were too many questions so we stayed longer. They wanted pictures with us and to get our email addresses or give theirs to us. We were each given a bouquet of flowers. Then we had group pictures. One girl gave me a small butterfly ornament. They were all so cute. I really hope we can do something to help this school.

After the meeting the assistant principal and another school leader took us all out for a dinner of a special kind of mutton soup that is popular in this province. Then Dora and her husband drove us back to our dorm. They really want us to come another time. In fact we really enjoyed our time, but they both took off from work to spend time with us, and their son is returning to Beijing tomorrow.

We came home, checked email and did laundry. We were scheduled to meet Fan Hui tomorrow, but she has to work, so we will have a day of rest! We went to sleep without setting an alarm!

February 21-24

Today was our first day more or less on our own since our arrival. Jenk took a long walk in the park across the street in the morning, while I did some cleaning. However Jenk decided to climb the stairs to our room on the 8th floor, and since the stairs are VERY dirty from the Xi’an dust, he brought in all kinds of dirt onto the just cleaned floor. (Here nearly all apartments have white tile floors, so cleaning is a constant battle. They are also quite slippery when wet.) When Jenk returned we had our brunch of fruit, coffee, hot chocolate and today finished some filled biscuits that Li and Yanli bought us before Spring Festival. Many friends have given us fruit, small cakes and other snacks, so we never lack for food.

This afternoon Jenk worked on his computer while I studied Chinese on mine. I was finally able – with several computer restarts – to get the website working from our dorm room. I try to do some each day.

This evening we met Sherry, Jenny, Vicki, Buck, Teresa and Raymond for a hot pot dinner. It was a lovely evening, and the kids even paid for our dinner! After a long dinner Raymond drove Sherry and us home. Raymond lives in the complex right next to the school, and so does Sherry. Parents picked up the other kids.

On the 22nd (Friday) we had another restful morning. Jenk took an extra long walk, then we had brunch and did our “usual activities”. At 5:30 we met Richard Wang, our travel agent, near the front of the school. We also met Brittany Stevens from Brookline High School in Boston. Her group of 8 students and she arrived last week, and will be here until early May. Richard took us all to a delicious dinner where we talked of many things – including some details for our trip to Shanghai and Beijing in April.

Yesterday (the 23rd ) was the first day back to work for most of the school employees. I got several calls from Li Xiaolan, the lady who deals with exchange programs on this campus regarding the summer program, my work schedule – still to be determined, etc. She wanted to be sure that we had been fine in our weeks “alone”. I also spoke with Nelly, Yanli and Fan Hui.

After lunch we walked to Lotus – a supermarket surrounded by other kinds of shops. We discovered an upstairs that I did not remember with a food court. (Later I learned from Yanli that it was only added about 2 years ago.)

In the evening we took the bus to Li and Yanli’s home for an early Lantern Festival dinner. (Tonight is the real date, but they had time last night and had to work today.) We had a great dinner of all kinds of dishes, followed by Tang Yuan – a kind of sweet dumpling in sweet soup that is traditional for this festival. We also drank a traditional kind of semi-sweet rice wine and beijiu (strong liquor) . Being with them is so fun and comfortable. They are also able to help explain things to us that I don’t understand.

Today was Lantern Festival Day. It concludes the 15 day Spring Festival, and is accompanied by parades, lots of lanterns and MORE fireworks. (In fact there have been some every day since we arrived, but sporadically except for the lunar new year and new year’s eve.) They started about 7 a.m., with frequent bursts of firecrackers. However this evening the noise is deafening. Xiaolan sent a man to fix our tv today so now we get CCTV channels as well as regional ones – instead of only one fuzzy channel. As a result I turned on the tv to watch a program about Lantern Festival activities in different parts of China, followed by another “gala” (variety show – with huge musical numbers) but it is difficult to hear it because of the noise from outside our window. I think there are even more tonight than for the lunar new year. (Yanli says that this is the last night to shoot them off so everyone finishes what they have. We’ll see…

At 1:00 we met Buck at the school gate to walk about 40 minutes to a K -TV place where the other kids from this year’s group met us. In China karaoke is done in private rooms with a computer to select music and several microphones. We rented the room, then bought some drinks and snacks for the kids. It was great fun to spend the time with them. Today was their last school holiday before the start of the semester, so they were ready to have fun. (And since they had missed one semester they have, in fact, been in class for a good part of the vacation time.) They sang Chinese and English-language songs with a few Japanese songs sung by Buck – as he can read it and also has a very good voice. Of the U.S. singers Taylor Swift was the most popular. Sherry rode the bus home with us since she lives next door.

Junying called to say that she would bring us some tang yuan so that we, too, can enjoy them this evening. It was an excellent day.

February 25-March 1

The 25th was definitely quieter than the days since we arrived, with fewer firecrackers and fireworks, but there certainly were some – even though we were assured that it was no longer allowed. We began a kind of daily schedule where Jenk walks at least twice per day – exploring the area, while I study Chinese (when I can connect with the website…the internet connection here is problematic and often frustrating), then usually in the afternoon I take a walk with him . I sometimes help the English teachers with grammar questions, but so far I have not done much to help the school. We have started to eat lunch daily in the staff part of the cafeteria. We have sometimes spoken with Brittany, the teacher from Boston, and also with WuYanjun, Fan Hui and others whom we know. The food is quite good. In the morning we eat fruit and some of the snacks brought by friends, while in the evening we have more fruit, yogurt and some things we get from the store that can be eaten without heating since we have no cooking facilities. We certainly could also eat dinner in the cafeteria, but it is better for Jenk to eat less salty (though delicious) food.

I was asked to teach writing a personal statement for a small group of students who are trying to earn a scholarship to study in Singapore. I have helped earlier groups prepare for the interview part of this competition, but this year is the first for the essay. I spent several hours preparing materials on Monday and Tuesday, and then taught Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. Most of the students had drafts the first day, but they needed work. After the lesson on opening paragraphs and thesis statements they worked on improving their work. On the second morning I got the rewrites and spent most of the day correcting, making suggestions etc. The kids all write well, but the second efforts are a great improvement. One boy found it difficult to accept that his work was less than perfect, but he eventually made some changes. I told him the choice was his. It wasn’t my essay but his.

Yesterday morning I asked how to find one of our friends from the first year – “Mandy”. And then before I had a chance to look for her office we met her at lunch in the cafeteria and had a lovely visit. The weather has been warmer for the last week – in the upper 50’s, but today it was again cold – in the 30’s and 40’s. I again wore my heavy coat for our walk. The last few nights we have also started watching Roots – our Christmas gift from Marc. We are enjoying it.

Today is Friday. I decided to take on the challenge of washing --- and drying our sheets. We dry things on hangers and on the radiators – which works quite well, but is more of a challenge for sheets. Nevertheless they were dry enough by this evening.

Tomorrow we will spend the day with Hongmei, and Sunday have time with Fan Hui. Fan Hui is teaching seniors this year which means that she works at least 6 days per week. This week she has a half day free on Sunday so we can see her.

March 2 – 5

It is Spring in XI’an!

On Saturday we were scheduled to spend the day with Hongmei , but she called at 9 a.m . to tell me bad news – she had been called to work that day anyway. So, we decided to meet for dinner instead. She called later to tell me that Fan Hui would join us (a good thing!) but also she would “help us get there”. I assured Hongmei that we could easily take the bus, and anyway we wanted to do some shopping in that area, so we agreed to meet her at 6 at her apartment gate.

Since we were going to be home most of the day I decided to take on a good cleaning of the apartment. Jenk thought I was crazy for doing so much, but at the end it was much cleaner that when we arrived, and I felt a sense of accomplishment. It looked a lot better! Afterwards I was tired (cleaning the floor and the ledges along the floor takes a lot of bending over…

About 4:30 we left to get the bus to the International Campus area where Hongmei and Yanli live. As we were walking toward the store we saw a China Mobile office and decided to check on my phone. Although I am receiving calls I haven’t been able to send messages today. And in any case I have had trouble calling out since our arrival due to a message telling me that I haven’t “registered the phone to make long distance calls”. But, since I am not making long distance calls I couldn’t understand the problem. I decided to try to resolve the problem myself.

Of course my first question was whether or not the man spoke English. The answer was a definite NO, so I started off. After all I have been studying Chinese diligently so… It turned out that the first problem was that there was no more money left on my card. That was an easy problem , so we added money. But then I still had the same dialing problem. Eventually we understood that the problem is that I have an American phone which is set to automatically add a “1” to any calls perceived to be long distance. Now I just need to try to contact Verizon as to how to resolve the problem.

Our next stop was the nut and snack shop near Yanli’s home. She had bought some peanuts for Jenk from there that he liked, so we got some more. Then we did some shopping in the small market nearby until Hongmei called us to eet her at her gate. We spent the next hour in her apartment talking and having tea and snacks – of course. Then at 7:00 we met Fan Hui at the local hot pot restaurant.

It was chilly when we arrived, but between the pots of boiling soup in front of us and two bottles of wine we warmed up and had a great dinner. In fact we were there so long that the cleaners were waiting for us to leave. We took a taxi home with Fan Hui, who lives next door to the school . 

On Sunday morning we met Hongmei and Fan Hui at the school gate at 11:30 – just as Fan Hui was finishing her morning test proctoring. Since Fan Hui teaches seniors she often only has ½ day off per week. We were happy that she chose to spend those hours with us!  

We walked across the park to a food court type area in a newer building (where Yanjun lives). We saw a fast food area where one buys a “credit card” and can then order from any of the different windows. Then we ate a delicious lunch of fish, beef and vegetables nearby. After lunch we walked to the movie theater located in a very expensive shopping center. (Jenk saw a Kenmore toaster for more than $135 – that is American dollars!) It was my first time at the movies in China. We saw “Les Miserables” in English with Chinese subtitles. I had seen it with Marc for my birthday, but I was happy to see it again. We all enjoyed it and Jenk was awake for most of it ! Then Fan Hui walked home with us while Hongmei took a bus since she lives much farther away .

On the way to the movie theater we stopped at Fan Hui’s home to get the tickets that her husband had bought us earlier in the day. There we saw pink flowers on the trees, and went to look to be sure they are real. In China there are often flowers on trees in winter – but they are wired-on silk flowers. These are real – on some kind of peach tree we were told. The only other flowers we have seen were a kind called “welcoming spring” that we saw at a temple on one of the days it snowed. We have seen those lovely yellow flowers here for the last 10 days – ever since it has warmed up. But these pink flowers were amazing.

Yesterday (Monday) Fan Hui called in the morning to come to our place for me to help her with some English questions. In fact I got to see her three times in one day as I helped proofread some documents for her. When I was trying to help her find some things on the computer I finally got fed up with the slow computer connection. I wrote to Xiaolan, and she soon sent a computer guy to try to make it better. (It was taking me from 30 minutes to never to get logged on to most accounts – including yahoo… and I got bounced off frequently.) It is better now! Hurray!

In the afternoon Junying called to invite us to dinner, so we met her and her husband at 6:30 at the end of the school day. We had a delicious dinner in an elegant restaurant with several dishes we had never tried. They were all very good and we ate too much of course.

This year the new president of China wants people to waste less food so people are more careful in ordering. (In fact government officials are losing some of their perks, such as nearly unlimited spending for meals, and many of the cars provided for officials.) Nevertheless there is usually too much food, so now many places will pack up left-overs. In this fancy restaurant it was delivered in an elegant bag as well!  

After dinner we drove to central Xi’an. The lights on the Bell and Drum Towers have been redone, and the colors are beautiful. We parked and walked through the “Hui Min Jie” or Muslim Market. I have been there many times, but never at night. Walking down the narrow streets with many bright lights looked like movies showing China. Junying’s husband said that it looked like Shanghai in the 1940’s – the time my dad was there in the Navy! We saw some different kinds of ethnic food that we tried. It was a lovely evening of walking and talking. We got home at 11 p.m .

Today Fan Hui – our resident “spy” who looks at our windows on her way home at night, asked about our late night!

Today, Monday, I was able to study Chinese without waiting 30 minutes to get the site! Jenk took his morning walk while I worked on an invitation letter for the group that is coming in a couple of weeks. We had lunch with Fan Hui and the teacher from Brookline (Brittany Stevens) in the staff cafeteria, and then later took a long walk. The weather was warm and the sky blue – as long as one just looks up – not in the distance. Just when we returned Yanjun called to see if we wanted to walk to the Lotus supermarket. I was tired, but Jenk decided to go with her. When he returned watched another episode of Roots. It has been fun watching it again after all these years!

March 6-9

On Wednesday, March 6, we were invited to have lunch with Mr. Wang, principal of the middle school, an assistant principal, Mr. Zhang, Jane and Kevin Shi. Kevin picked us up with a car at 11:30 and we went to the Lotus restaurant where we had lunch with Madam Wang 3 weeks ago. The food was delicious and included some items we had never seen or tasted. One dish looked like a pan of browned bread, but it came with a wooden mallet. I was asked to hit the “bread”. On my first try I barely made a dent while on the second and third time I cracked the crust a little. The dish was taken away and returned a few moments later. It turned out that what looked like bread was a thick layer of salt placed over some leaves, under which were leaf-wrapped fish. We were told it is a type of fish which only eats shrimp. It was very tender and delicious – with no taste of salt. I assume it must have been baked somehow though baked food is highly unusual here. We had good discussions of our exchange and we explained about our non-profit. We were welcomed again to come live on the middle school campus another year when I could teacher the bilingual classes. I told them that as time permitted I would be happy to teach a few hours there each week.

That evening we took a long walk, but I was quite tired because I have a sinus infection. I had to rest a couple of times, but it gave me time to people watch. We also were able to take pictures of a building we have seen being slowly destroyed. The entire building fell over like a pile of legos. Just when we returned Yanjun called, excited that she got to leave school one hour earlier today so she asked if we wanted to walk to the store. I said no, but Jenk went with her. They were gone for a couple of hours – taking time to eat some ice cream. 😊

On Thursday morning Xiaolan called to ask if I would teach a short Model U.N. class that afternoon to help the students with their oral English. She said there were 24 students, but there were only 11. I learned that on Thursday afternoons the students in grade 10 have the chance to pick an elective class ranging from sewing to cooking, sports or literature. I prepared a lesson to help get the kids to talk. It went quite well.

Then Xiaolan asked me to take this class every week. (Later I learned that this is supposed to be her class, so I am helping her.)

My class was over at 5:40, then I came back to get ready to go out to dinner with Yang Tian – my first host sister and her husband. We had a lovely dinner and a great talk. Her husband’s English has improved a lot since that time. Their IT company has morphed until they do a lot more property management throughout China in addition to offering various kinds of IT platforms. They both travel a lot. Of course we spoke a lot about Chenchen – or Claire as she now uses in her studies in the U.S. (She is at Cornell right now.)

On Friday we had a quiet day. I studied and Jenk took a very long walk and almost got lost as he got so far from campus, but he found his way back without trouble. I spent that time cleaning the apartment. We had lunch in the cafeteria, talking with Fan Hui and another English teacher. After lunch we took a short walk to try out our ATM card at the local bank – it worked but we were limited to 1000 yuan per day – much less than our card actually allows. We may be able to do better in another bank.

Then we looked in some stores, and Jenk quickly identified that one sold ice cream. It was the hottest day so far – about 80 degrees, so we both enjoyed the ice cream. Then we looked at property for sale signs in a real estate window, and came back to our room to cool down. We watched the last episode of Roots. It was fun to watch it after all these years.

Today, Saturday, was cooler than yesterday but the air is awful. People who have lived here for many years say it is the worst they have ever seen, and it is certainly the worst I have seen here. It looks like Beijing did the day we arrived in January. The wind was blowing so the dust or sand was everywhere. I knew we should have closed all the windows, but it was still too hot to keep the windows closed – especially as the radiators are still cranking out the heat. (The heat will go off next week.)

Jenk took a walk this morning but wasn’t gone as long as other days. We were invited to Li and Yanli’s after 1:00, but Yanli never called back to confirm a time. So we left after 1:00 and took the bus to their home. It was more crowded than usual, but apparently it was due to the fact that it is Saturday.

We were supposed to go picking wild herbs in the countryside, but with the bad weather they decided it was not a good day. As a result we sat and talked (and ate a few of Li’s homemade noodles). Then we drove to the electronics store where Jenk wanted to look at DVD’s. Linda, Yanli and I went into a large Walmart type store where we each bought some small things that we needed – laundry detergent, fruit and vegetables, etc. It was fun to do with a Chinese speaking person rather than to have to depend upon my ability. Eventually we all met up – a challenge since Yanli’s cell phone has no money on it and Li had a dead battery... Then we all went to a restaurant for dinner. (We had invited them to dinner, but had to insist to take them and pay.)

Ordering food in China is always a challenge – even for the Chinese. It took about 15 minutes to figure out what to choose, but everything they chose was delicious. We enjoyed our time together. While we were there one of last year’s summer camp students – Season – came to the table. She and her family were sitting at the next table! She has a little brother who is as round a boy as I have seen here. Her parents were charming.

We got home about 9:30. When we came in it was still hot, but less than other days, however I had to wipe off the dust from the couch to sit down. We both checked email and went to bed to read. It was a lovely day.

Raymond called Jenk to say that the air was so bad that he would bring us some face masks tomorrow morning. In fact, I had no trouble breathing today, and have only felt the air quality twice in our time here.

***This is the last of Patty’s journal that I could find in February of 2013. It’s possible as I continue to go through all the archived information on the computer that I may find the rest of her journal as we stayed here until about May 3 in 2013….I’ll keep looking, but it has been nice to kind of relive those days through this journal.