Wednesday Morning in GuangZhou

Well, first let me apologize to anyone who thinks my last posts might be a little too edgy. I found going to museums and learning about China's history fascinating...but also found the different perspectives that I observed and experienced in conversations I have engaged in, equally fascinating. It's not that one perspective is right or wrong...they are just different. Right now, there is a lot going on between China and the west over the situation in Tibet as this country prepares to host 500,000 foreigners and be televised around the globe. A lot is being said about what is being written in the western press which may expresses a different perspective than that being held inside of China. What I learned is that the source of some of our differences runs as deep as each of us holding different personal definitions of important terms and concepts like freedom - and that our difference in definitions and perspectives is deeply rooted in what we have experienced as well as what we have been taught. I am neither qualified nor interested in making philosophical comments about differences in systems of government or world politics...my observations are much more personal...they are about the everyday lives of people who live in an environment that is very different than what I have experienced thus far in my life. For me, it has been captivating.

The picture of me and Maggie in the red chair is sentimental for me. It is the very same chair I came in and sat down on with Maggie strapped to my chest in her baby carrier. The 12 families had just arrived from Xiamen and Melody and Sampson were getting us checked in. We were so tired, I fell asleep in the chair holding Maggie. So here I am, holding her again.

Once again, we had a wonderful day of sightseeing. We started off with what has to be the world's best breakfast buffet here at the White Swan. This hotel is truly a luxury hotel which has now become famous for hosting adoptive families. You cannot walk through the lobby without seeing dozens of families newly united with their adopted children...or as Dwyatt Gantt would put it "forever families." We weaved our way through dozens of tables with little china babies having breakfast. It was very interesting for us. You couldn't help feel a special bond amongst all of us. It is hard to explain...but this process and event is a very emotional one. We understood, as each of these families understood of the others, what they were feeling. It was funny how, now with our china baby almost 13 years old, we could pay attention to all that was going on around us. At the time, we were so myopically focused on the task at hand; taking care of this young life now in our charge, and ensuring that we were following all the instructions to the "T" to secure the finalization of paperwork and the adoption process, so afraid that we didn't know what we were doing that we didn't really notice anything going on around us. So it was somewhat humorous to watch these new families, oblivious to their surrounds as we were, stumbling through the initial steps of becoming a family. It was so nice, to be back and soaking in all the details of our surroundings that we had missed so many years earlier.

At 9:30 sharp we met up with Simon in the lobby, boarded our van and were off on our sightseeing adventure around Guangzhou. Our first stop was the Baiyun Mountain Scenic Center. It was like a state park with a mountain that went up about 300meters (900 feet...OK, it was a really big hill, but it was pretty!). We started out by taking a golf cart up to the peak. This is a hike that takes about 2 hours to walk, typically. Many of the locals hang out here on the weekends to get away from the city, and get back to nature. It is really gorgeous, quiet, serene and a nice relaxing spot to get away.

On the way up we saw some interesting sites. One was a number of local folks doing Tai Chi and dancing. Dancing has become very popular and way of exercising everyday; at least as I understand it. We also saw lots of folks play "hacky Sack." We found out, this is the universal name for this game as the Chinese refer to it as "Hacky Sack" as well.

Once reaching the peak (it is really the 2nd peak, the real pick is a bit higher and can only be reached by hiking), we entered the aviary to see some of the natural wildlife. We got to see the bird show.. it was hauntingly similar to the one on Gu Lan Yu island. The best part was the guy who was the master of ceremonies (aka "the birdman"). The look on this guys face and mannerisms was priceless...you could add all kinds of subtitles..."I live in a place that guarantees for employment and a job for life...look what I end up with; talking to birds" or "I hate my life...I see you people out there...I'm going to get you, all of you...I will have my revenge."

Now I learned something important at the show on Gu Lan Yu...if you want to clear out a Chinese audience, ask them to hold up some cash for the bird to come and take. Once you do that..."shows over" and the audience is on the way out. This guy did the same trick, except this time I gave Becky 5 Yuan to hold up. Darned if that silly bird didn't come and take it. Other members of the audience held up bills, but the bird would have nothing to do with it (turns out, they were holding up 1 Yuan...the bird was no dope).

We walked around the aviary and saw some very cool wildlife. There was a very colorful bird, not sure what he was, but he scooted along the ground and stop to pose for us. There were numerous peacocks and exotic chickens.

At this point, we headed towards the cable cars. I was very apprehensive. Do you remember my comments about the cable cars on Gu Lan Yu...well that went double here. These things were WAY UP in the air and I wasn't the least bit sure about their construction, maintenace or operation and if they got stuck I don't know how long we might be hanging around (if you know what I mean). In any case, and adventure is an adventure and go with it. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the manufacturer was an Austrian company. I figured if they made these things to go up the alps... a Chinese hill should be no problem.

The ride was very pleasant. Unfortunately, it was an overcast morning so you did not get great views of the city. But, it was neat to have the overcast sky as you road through the very lush forested area...it was very peaceful and quiet.

We ended that part of our adventure and headed out to Simon's next idea...let's go boating. There was a moderate size lake as part of this "forest preserve" type area. It had a place where you could rent boats. They had battery powered motor boats...that was my vote. We could rent two and race. I was over ruled and we ended up with a peddle boat for six (a geriatric cruiser if there ever was one). The girls and I took turns and Linda and Simon went for a relaxing ride. We did one big lap out around a little island in the lake. It was a good work out...the girls kept taking turns on the pedals. It was a breezy, cool morning. And despite the sight of tall buildings and the big city off in the distance, it was very quiet and pleasant. The surrounding trees and vegetation were breath taking. There was a large restaurant that was right along the water where people could sit outside and enjoy there meals overlooking the lake. Simon said that when people eat there, they like to try to sit by the windows or on the deck. The waiters charge you by counting the number of plates and utensils you use. He said the reason the Chinese want to sit by the water is so they could throw there plates and utensils in the lake and not have to pay as much (it's funny how the Chinese want to tell jokes that imply they are cheap!) We were teasing Lina when we were buying some souvenirs. We noticed a few things...first, when you give someone in China money when you buy something, they check to see if it is real. They scratch it, look at the watermark and go through every bill. On the buying end, Lina made sure she opened everything we bought and inspected it...and of course, you don't buy anything unless you bargain over price. We were buying one thing in particular, and Lina got in a discussion with the clerk and immediately began opening everything we were buying...she looked at us and laughed saying "sorry, I'm Chinese...that's how we do it." I was glad she did.

Now that our boat trip was over ...it was time for lunch.