April 1--In Huaxi
Jake and I walked a couple blocks to a noodle shop for breakfast. Imagine a huge breaded porkchop floating in a bowl of ramen noodle soup. Yep, that was breakfast and it was delicious (are you sensing that I love the food here???). The day was pretty quite, as we rested, napped and got ready to leave again on Saturday. We went for dinner at Zhou Ayi's home--Zhou Ayi is the woman who was Monica's language teacher for the first few years they were in Huaxi. The have a very affectionate relationship with each other, and Zhou Ayi's husband and son prepared us a huge meal!
On the way home, we waited for a taxi for quite a while, then decided to take a bus. We all piled on, and people parted for me (I was carrying the baby--an honored position!). I had a seat, and in about 10 minutes it was time for us to get off. Bus drivers are not patient, so we had to LEAP off the bus, and he started off before I was in the stairs!! The people on the bus started to yell at him, and he stopped right away and I hopped off. Yikes... I can't imagine what I'd have done if he'd just kept going!!
Saturday, April 2--Huaxi to Guiyang to Liping
We got up, loaded our stuff, PACKED a hired van, and headed into Guiyang to the airport to catch our flight. We got all checked in, through security and to our gate in good time, then started to her announcements that our plane was not at the airport yet, so our flight was delayed. We were supposed to fly at 12:30, but at 2pm, they announced that the flight was cancelled. We sat and talked about our options, and as we were talking, three airline officials came and told us that they would help us arrange for a van to drive us from Guiyang to Liping because the next flight would not be until TUESDAY! So... we had to decide if we wanted to spend 3 days in a hotel (the place we stayed in Huaxi wasn't empty anymore) and take a 35 minute flight, or hire a van to take us on Sunday--an 8 hour drive on not great roads. We opted for the van, then Monica called her friend to see what hotels she would recommend in Guiyang.
Monica's friend Rachel, is a hospital administrator in Guiyang, and is married to a guy (Ian) who is China's answer to Oprah. He has a couple talk shows where he helps people solve their problems, and he's the host of China's survivor-type show. They met us at the Ramada, where they'd booked us a couple rooms and we had dinner together. During dinner, Ian arranged for a friend of his to lend us a large van, and Rachel arranged for one of the hospital's staff drivers to take us to Liping. This generosity on their part saved Jake nearly half of the cost of the airport van... what a blessing! The van showed up on Sunday morning, and it was a beautiful, roomy Mercedes 7 passenger van! We traveled in as much comfort as we could possibly expect without flying. More on that in a bit...
We got to bed, and as I laid down, I could tell that something was NOT right in my system... and I spent the night reliving the misery of food poisoning. YUCK. Not only was I miserable with all the lovely symptoms, I was also VERY worried that I wouldn't be able to travel to Liping on Sunday. TIME FOR DIVINE INTERVENTION! At least my concern gave me something to do, and someone to talk to during that long night!
Sunday, April 2- Guiyang to Liping (for real)
At 7am, I woke up and decided that I would be able to make the trip to Liping. Our van arrived at 9, and we loaded our pile of luggage into the van and went to the airport to get the rest of our bags. In total, we had 6 huge duffle bags and 2 large suitcases and 10 carryon bags (including the kids' backpacks and Monica's and my purses). The van was PACKED to the ceiling, and we hit the road.
Now, you need to know that prior to Jake and Monica leaving China in June for their time in the states, the trip from Guiyang took a minimum of 10 hours. It's only about 300 kilometers, but the roads wind around, over and among the hills and mountains that are in this region. The roads are NOT well kept, and they're very narrow. We had heard rumors of a new superhighway that was being built between Guiyang and RongJiang (approx 210 km), that shortened the trip to about 8 hours. The highway had been under construction, so the trip was still pretty bumpy and slow, but it was better than the OLD road, that was winding and rough. What we didn't know what the the superhighway had been completed, cleaned up and opened for high speed travel on SATURDAY--so our trip to RongJiang took 2:20 instead of 5 hours!!! We were delighted and amazed to find ourselves so far along the way in such a short time. I was especially grateful, because my stomach was rolling, my guts were churning, and my head was pounding. But we didn't need to stop for any of my unsettledness, and I just wanted to get here as soon as possible.
RongJiang is the end of the super highway, and the streets there are nearly impassable. Imagine a bulldozed road, with holes a foot deep and 3 feet wide, filled with water and construction debris and piles of bricks, cement, rocks, tools and other junk drifting out into a road that is wide enough for one and 3/4 cars to pass each other. It took us nearly 40 minutes to get through the 10 miles of RongJiang, then we started in on the paved, but rough and rugged mountain roads leading to Liping. This section of road is 90 km long, and took us about 2:30.
For those of you who live in northern MN, the not-so-super highway is like the road that runs through Jay Cooke State Park. They twist and turn, there are no sections of straight road that are more than 500 yards long, they are rough and bumpy, there are no shoulders, so when two cars meet, they almost bump mirrors. The turns are sharp, hairpin turns, often the road switches back on itself 10 or more times in a mile. Dramamine could use it as material for a commercial! The first 60 km aren't too bad, we maybe drive 30 miles per hour on average. The last 30 km, though, was AWFUL! We never went more than 20mph, and the van ahead of us had people hanging out the windows puking. It took us nearly a hour to cover the last 30 km, and it was a pretty miserable hour. Creed was ready to hurl, thank goodness for the homeopathic remedy for motion sickness!!! He held off, and we were all pretty relieved to pull into Liping at 3:30... ONLY 5 hours after we'd started out, and 3 hours earlier than we expected.
We unloaded the van and the driver went to find some workers to help him change the flat tire that we'd been driving on... oops! Jake and Monica's friends came and helped us carry the bags up to the 4th floor. Have I mentioned that in China, elevators are only required for buildings 8 stories or higher, so most of the apartment buildings are 7 stories high. So when I say 'CARRIED THE BAGS" up to the 4th floor, I mean up the stairs. Mom, Carly and Jake know how many stairs there are to their apartment, but I think that stairs are like temperature... sometimes it's less painful to not actually have the number in your mind--just keep going up until you're there! We got my bags back down to the street, the up to the apartment where I'm staying (same building, but the stairwell is 1/4 block away. My apartment is on the 5th floor of that stairwell, so I plan carefully before I leave one place to head to the other! ;-)
My apartment has single pane windows, many of which have holes in the caulking around them. The air moves freely in and out of the apartment, and the apartment has no heat. Jake and Monica have small heaters that they have on in the rooms they are using. There is a small heater in my bedroom, but it's not terribly effective. My bed has a heater, so that gets NICE and warm before I crawl in. Once in bed, I turn off the heaters and snuggle in for a night that rivals some of the camping trips I've been on... temps in the high 30's outside, mid 40's in my room. I sleep in my long underwear, fleece and turtleneck, so I stay nice and warm beneath the covers. I bring my clothes into the bed for the next day, so they're warm in the morning, and dress FAST!!
Sound, like temperature, also travels easily through the glass. I can hear footsteps from people on the street 5 stories below. I can hear people spitting on the street, dogs barking, cars, trucks, music, horns (constantly), banging, construction, loudspeaker announcements, singing... you name it, and I can hear it unless I have earplugs in!
Sunday night, though, I slept deeply and long. I was dehydrated and exhausted from being sick, so I didn't have to get up in the night for any reason. I slept better than any night here, so far, despite all the noise and the cold air.
Monday, April 3--Liping
I awoke at 8 and dressed fast. I fixed myself a quick breakfast, then organized my suitcase, cleaned the apartment and washed the kitchen really well. There is a young student staying in the apartment with me, her English name is Eunice. She is 21, and attending the language school that Jake and Monica's colleagues run. She doesn't know how to cook, so the kitchen has been largely unused since December. She's a sweet girl who's happy to have someone there to speak English with.
We spent Monday cleaning, unpacking, heating and organizing Jake and Monica's apartment. Jake brought noodles in for lunch, and got some groceries so we could make supper. I can't imagine living in a place where fresh-grown produce is available year round!! It would be so awesome to buy fruit that was harvested yesterday... I'll miss that!
It's very humid here, so the chill gets into your bones. It was 47 outside on Monday, probably 62 at best in Jake and Monica's apartment. I'll be showering here... Eunice keeps the windows open in our apartment so her laundry can dry. I can't imagine how long it would take for a pair of jeans to dry. If the sun were out, it would have been in the 70's... the temps can really swing from day to day, depending on the cloud cover. We're at about 3000 feet, so altitude plays a part in the temps, but the dynamics of the mountains hold the moisture, making cool days seem colder and warm days seem hotter. It's a really neat place.
Tuesday, April 4 --Liping
Another quiet day of unpacking and Jake and Monica and the kids getting settled. Creed and Chloe are SO SO happy to be home, and Lincoln is now holding his head up, staying awake longer, starting to coo and gurgle a bit, and is able to spend time in his swing contentedly. He's a very easy baby... and I can't believe how much he's changed in the past 2 weeks! He's much more aware and awake than when I arrived. I'm sure going to miss these kids when I go home!!
Jake took me out into Liping today, we went to the market and the grocery store. We loaded our packs and brought home lots of supplies that they gave away or used up before leaving last June. We stopped by a street market and bought baby mangos, oranges, corn on the cob (best I've had in years!!), pickled beans, potatoes, carrots, and some other produce. The lady Jake and Monica prefer to buy from has very beautiful and very clean veggies, though we still wash everything in bleach water before eating it. Street hygiene is less than sanitary... dirty dogs roam around, kids pee anywhere they need to , the sidewalks are covered in mud (dirt? mixed with what??), people clear their throats and spit everywhere... I will appreciate the FDA standards for produce when I get home to my clean Super One grocery store!
I'll share photos and more stories in a couple day...
Wish you were here!
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