Terry's Advenures in China - Issue 4
Wan shang hao (good evening)
I've moved to Gmail. So please add this address to your address book. I hope I haven't missed anybody when I set up my new distribution lists. If you want me to use a different address let me know.
I'm sorry I haven't written for a while. October has been a really busy month here in China. The last time I wrote, my friend's bicycle had just been stolen. I did give her money to buy a new one, the gift made her very happy. Actually, I have kind of adopted her as my little sister (mei mei). I'm her jie jie (big sister). She has just moved in with Joel and I this week to help us with interpreting. More on why we needed an interpreter later.
Joel's wife Jami came over for a month and we were just about to leave for Vietnam on our one week holiday when Joel found out that Jami's China visa was a single entry visa. That meant that if she went to Vietnam, she couldn't get back into China. So, we decided to stay in China for the holiday.
We went to the largest mountain in Guangxi province, Sheng Tang Shan.
It was really nice. Drove up a dirt road for several hours to get to the hotel. From there, it was a two hour climb up thousands of stone steps to the top of the mountain. Steven (our driver) and I got up at 4am and hiked up the mountain in the dark to get to the top for sunrise. It was amazing! We were up above the clouds and we felt as though we were sitting next to God! It was awe inspiring! There are some great pictures on my picasa website. Check it out.
After a couple days at Sheng Tang we went to a hot springs area. It was a very hot day, so we decided to get a hotel with a pool. The water looked very inviting. However, it was fed from the hot springs and not refreshing at all. When it got dark, it did get cool enough to go in the water and then it felt nice. Joel bought a deck of cards and we taught Steven to play "pitch". He caught on very quickly and enjoyed the game.
Next we headed north to an area in the mountains where they farm rice on terraces on the sides of the mountains. This area was very beautiful, even if a little touristy. It was harvest time, so I got to see how they cut the rice and dry it and remove it from the stalks. They work very hard to get a few grains of rice. I did some great hikes through terrace villages. The people were very friendly and the views were fantastic.
Finally, we went back to Yongshuo and did some shopping. I bought a really nice Mah Jongg set in a wooden box and some antique embroidery from the Miao tribes that I want to have framed. We took a tour on a boat on the river which was very nice and I rented a bicycle again and went on another little adventure. I met a farmer and he took me for a little tour of his village. My Chinese is getting a little better and we could hold a very simple conversation. China has many dialects, and I am learning Poutong Hua or Mandarin (the official language of China) and he speaks a local dialect called Guilin Hua. It was very rewarding to have even a simple conversation with a local. At one point, he was trying to convince me that I should backtrack to the big road (da lu) rather than keep riding down the small dirt road (xiao lu) and he started writing Chinese characters in the dusty road. I guess he thought if I could speak the language, I could read it. Reading Chinese is very difficult. It was a great interaction though – a memory I can keep forever.
Alas all vacations end and I went back to work to start my new job – actually the job I was hired for. I am PAC project leader for the second phase of the SGMW engine. It will be built in a city called Qingdao on the coast, north of Shanghai and south of Beijing. I may move there in 9 months or so. It's a real challenge for me, but it should be very interesting. At the moment, it's a ton of work, and have worked almost every day for 4 weeks.
Sadly, our friend and driver Steven has decided to move back to Shanghai. He has been in Liuzhou, away from his family for 2 years and he wanted to go back to be near them. Joel and I really like Steven and he has spoiled us over the past 3 months. We've had some really good times with him – trips, vacations, hiking, shopping, drinking, eating, playing mahjongg and many other things. We all have some great memories of this short time we've known each other.
Steven even gave me my Chinese name – Lin Li Ya. Lin is the family name, which came from my middle name Lynn. Li means beautiful and Ya means elegant. He and all my Chinese friends say it is a really great name. Steven calls me Doctor (like PhD) because he says I am really smart. So I wanted to give him a nickname. I decided to call him baba for daddy since he named me, but he doesn't like that name, especially since he is 4 years younger than me. We will miss him very much! His English skills were invaluable. He did so much more than just drive us around. That is why we have asked my friend Qiufeng to come live with us. She can help us get things done, read things for us and talk to the new driver for us. I'm sure I will learn Chinese a little faster now as I have to do more for myself.
So, the next adventure begins. A week ago, we hired a new car and driver. We met and negotiated with the owners of the car over Chinese dim sum which was great! Then we went to our favorite park one last time with Steven. They just opened a snow garden which is a huge refridgerated building with ice sculptures and a toboggan run and even sledding. I made Steven go sledding with me – he had never done that before, so it was a great last memory of Liuzhou. We also hiked up one of the mountains. It was a wonderful day!
Well, I think that about catches you up on my news from China. I hope you are all well. Love to hear from you. And don't forget to check out my photos and blog.
I've moved to Gmail. So please add this address to your address book. I hope I haven't missed anybody when I set up my new distribution lists. If you want me to use a different address let me know.
I'm sorry I haven't written for a while. October has been a really busy month here in China. The last time I wrote, my friend's bicycle had just been stolen. I did give her money to buy a new one, the gift made her very happy. Actually, I have kind of adopted her as my little sister (mei mei). I'm her jie jie (big sister). She has just moved in with Joel and I this week to help us with interpreting. More on why we needed an interpreter later.
Joel's wife Jami came over for a month and we were just about to leave for Vietnam on our one week holiday when Joel found out that Jami's China visa was a single entry visa. That meant that if she went to Vietnam, she couldn't get back into China. So, we decided to stay in China for the holiday.
We went to the largest mountain in Guangxi province, Sheng Tang Shan.It was really nice. Drove up a dirt road for several hours to get to the hotel. From there, it was a two hour climb up thousands of stone steps to the top of the mountain. Steven (our driver) and I got up at 4am and hiked up the mountain in the dark to get to the top for sunrise. It was amazing! We were up above the clouds and we felt as though we were sitting next to God! It was awe inspiring! There are some great pictures on my picasa website. Check it out.
After a couple days at Sheng Tang we went to a hot springs area. It was a very hot day, so we decided to get a hotel with a pool. The water looked very inviting. However, it was fed from the hot springs and not refreshing at all. When it got dark, it did get cool enough to go in the water and then it felt nice. Joel bought a deck of cards and we taught Steven to play "pitch". He caught on very quickly and enjoyed the game.
Next we headed north to an area in the mountains where they farm rice on terraces on the sides of the mountains. This area was very beautiful, even if a little touristy. It was harvest time, so I got to see how they cut the rice and dry it and remove it from the stalks. They work very hard to get a few grains of rice. I did some great hikes through terrace villages. The people were very friendly and the views were fantastic.Finally, we went back to Yongshuo and did some shopping. I bought a really nice Mah Jongg set in a wooden box and some antique embroidery from the Miao tribes that I want to have framed. We took a tour on a boat on the river which was very nice and I rented a bicycle again and went on another little adventure. I met a farmer and he took me for a little tour of his village. My Chinese is getting a little better and we could hold a very simple conversation. China has many dialects, and I am learning Poutong Hua or Mandarin (the official language of China) and he speaks a local dialect called Guilin Hua. It was very rewarding to have even a simple conversation with a local. At one point, he was trying to convince me that I should backtrack to the big road (da lu) rather than keep riding down the small dirt road (xiao lu) and he started writing Chinese characters in the dusty road. I guess he thought if I could speak the language, I could read it. Reading Chinese is very difficult. It was a great interaction though – a memory I can keep forever.
Alas all vacations end and I went back to work to start my new job – actually the job I was hired for. I am PAC project leader for the second phase of the SGMW engine. It will be built in a city called Qingdao on the coast, north of Shanghai and south of Beijing. I may move there in 9 months or so. It's a real challenge for me, but it should be very interesting. At the moment, it's a ton of work, and have worked almost every day for 4 weeks.
Sadly, our friend and driver Steven has decided to move back to Shanghai. He has been in Liuzhou, away from his family for 2 years and he wanted to go back to be near them. Joel and I really like Steven and he has spoiled us over the past 3 months. We've had some really good times with him – trips, vacations, hiking, shopping, drinking, eating, playing mahjongg and many other things. We all have some great memories of this short time we've known each other.
Steven even gave me my Chinese name – Lin Li Ya. Lin is the family name, which came from my middle name Lynn. Li means beautiful and Ya means elegant. He and all my Chinese friends say it is a really great name. Steven calls me Doctor (like PhD) because he says I am really smart. So I wanted to give him a nickname. I decided to call him baba for daddy since he named me, but he doesn't like that name, especially since he is 4 years younger than me. We will miss him very much! His English skills were invaluable. He did so much more than just drive us around. That is why we have asked my friend Qiufeng to come live with us. She can help us get things done, read things for us and talk to the new driver for us. I'm sure I will learn Chinese a little faster now as I have to do more for myself.
So, the next adventure begins. A week ago, we hired a new car and driver. We met and negotiated with the owners of the car over Chinese dim sum which was great! Then we went to our favorite park one last time with Steven. They just opened a snow garden which is a huge refridgerated building with ice sculptures and a toboggan run and even sledding. I made Steven go sledding with me – he had never done that before, so it was a great last memory of Liuzhou. We also hiked up one of the mountains. It was a wonderful day!
Well, I think that about catches you up on my news from China. I hope you are all well. Love to hear from you. And don't forget to check out my photos and blog.
Zai jian,
Lin Li Ya 林丽雅
(Terry)
posted by adventuregirl at 2:35 AM
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