Day 8, Arrival in Guangzhou

Hi all,

We were up at 4:30am to catch an early flight to Guangzhou, saying a bittersweet goodbye to our incredible guide, Helen. It won't be the same without you at the restaurants, Helen! Kevin will miss his spicy food buddy, Qun Qun will miss his auntie, and I'll miss my friend. Ah well, Qun Qun did very well on the flight for a 2-year old, flipping through magazines, throwing every one of his toys on the floor and laughing, etc. Too cute.

We'll take lots of photos tomorrow. Unfortunately, our camera died today so we have no pictures of our arrival. So, instead here are some observations on China from Kevin and me (he promised to post at least once), but first a video of Qun Qun's first bath!

Comments on Chinese Culture

China is an amazing place. On one hand, you see the mobs of people all vying for a spot on the road, yet road rage is nonexistent--you just push forward with everyone else.

Noone yields for pedestrians (old people and babies included) or bicycles. Instead, they just brake lightly and veer around them, only coming to a screeching halt when a brave soul darts out in front of them. (Helen takes my arm whenever we cross the street, and I practically close my eyes and hope for the best as she quickly pulls me along.)

We've seen the most amazing vehicles--bicycle driven rickshaws, delivery trucks so small that they barely contain the driver, even a scooter taxi with a small wagon on the back and a two-person couch bolted to the top!

People regularly wear cotton face masks against the cold and smog (the smog was much worse in Beijing. Smog, fog, can't tell the difference here.) The Chinese are notorious smokers. Smoke fills rooms everywhere. It even wafted into our nonsmoking hotel room in Beijing. It's hard to sit in a restaurant and chew through the fumes, so Helen requests individual seating rooms wherever possible. Everywhere is drafty here--I haven't figured out why. So turning on the heat doesn't always help! Beds are very hard, since the Chinese are used to them, which makes for a difficult night sleep. Bedcovers and quilts, however, are thick yet light, which feels wonderful.

Tianjin is a large port city. Helen told me the Chinese people love trees--they mean long life--and you can tell. Trees line the streets everywhere, and some trees have the most beautiful, leafy canopy. Bushes are covered everywhere against the cold, and here also the trees are painted with "medicine" to help them survive the winter.

Ancient Chinese architecture mingles with modern, and aesthetic design is everywhere. We exclaimed over a glimpse of a giant ferris wheel in the city, only to be told it was part of a bridge!

Beautiful People

Westerners have always been fascinated with the exotic Chinese. But these modern Chinese are even more beautiful than the old. In the older
people you can see glimpses of the Mao era--boxy, dark blue, Mao style jackets and caps on the old men, boxy, indifferent hair cuts, lack of dental care, etc. These are the folks who tend to stare at Qun Qun the most, stopping just a few feet away, facing us directly, with a curious, yet impassive stare, in typical Chinese style. The younger Chinese and the businessmen are dressed in the latest Western styles, the girls sporting trendy high-heeled boots and smart hairstyles, the men extremely clean cut. Wait staff in restaurants wear suits (men and women), and treat us as if we were royalty, so we feel very out of place with our jeans and shirts, and baby diaper bag. Yet we're still treated with the utmost courtesy.

Billboards depict Western models next to Chinese, so everyone blends together. You can find any kind of electronics here. THe Chinese are addicted to cell phones--Helen's has a Chinese dictionary and thesaurus. Whenever I lean over to ask her yet another question about Chinese culture, she bends over her phone, her thumb busily working the tiny mouse buttons, intent on giving me the proper English word to give me a good description. And the size of her telephone screen is amazing--like a tiny tv. And our driver screeched to a halt one day in traffic to pay $1 US dollar (I kid you not) for a car cell phone charger that costs $20 in the U.S.

Ok, I'm pooped. Time for bed. Tomorrow we tour the city and see a folk art museum. Should be fun, but we're really looking forward to the breakfast buffet! Oh, and to the adoptive families in our travel group, we've been placed with a group of adoptive families who just came from Nanning, Guangxi province, and were with Michael! That's where Emily is from, and Michael was our guide! Their little girls (all traditional program) are mostly 9 months old and so, so tiny and delicate. Makes me teary just remembering Emily's adoption.

Take care

Caroline