Random Reflections
Jennifer has been our designated blogger during the trip. Between a busy schedule, a busy baby, and the need for sleep, there's hardly enough time for two to blog. But I did want to record some of my reflections regarding our time in China.
First of all I've been very impressed with the Chinese people. Almost without exception, the people we have met here have been kind, respectful, honest, and have gone out of their way to help us. I've been struck by the pride they have in their country, history, and culture--and rightfully so. Our guides, Rosa and Maggie, have worked their tails off for us. In general the people here seem to be very hard working. In fact, by far the best service we had on our flights has been China Air.
As Jennifer mentioned in an earlier post, I have enjoyed the food here. Besides us, not many in our travel group have actually enjoyed it. Tonight I refused to let Jennifer eat at McDonald's. I figure its our last night in China so we must eat Chinese. I think our guides have tried to cater somewhat to our American tastes. I've really longed to sit down with a Chinese friend and just have him order several dishes of whatever he would eat. Our guides don't eat with us. I'm not exactly sure why. Someone said it's because they're working for us, and therefore it's not considered proper to eat with us.
The language is beautiful. A friend from church, Isaac Harley, spent a good bit of time in China and came back to the U.S. with a love for the language, and a strong desire to continue learning it. I understand that much better now than I did before. Maggie told Jennifer she thinks Chinese should be a very easy language to learn. Easy for her to say.
The length of our trip has probably been about right considering that we're away from the boys for so long. However, I think I could have spent a little more time in Beijing. There's so much to see there that reflects the rich (and long) history of China. Both Nanning and Guangzhou have been physically beautiful. Since they both are basically tropical cities, the plants and flowers are striking. It's sort of amazing to have the rich floral beauty in the heavily urban environment of Guangzhou.
Today we made our visit to the American Consulate. The consulate has been processing Selah's visa (she'll be traveling on a Chinese passport). So we picked up her visa, and had a swearing-in ceremony. We swore that all the information we have submitted to the American government concerning Selah's adoption is true. People clapped at the end of the ceremony because it's the last thing we have to do for the adoption--on this trip anyway. Once we get through customs in the U.S. she will be a U.S. citizen.
Tonight after eating our room service Chinese (its a bit challenging with Selah in the restaurants--remember, no high chairs), we set off for a tea house just down the street and around the corner from our hotel. We decided to blow our last few Yuan on tea, and have one final cultural experience in China. We bought some tea to take back to the States. While they were packing our tea, they served us an incredible ginseng tea. I'm kicking myself because although we bought a good bit of tea, we didn't get any of that ginseng.
Anyway, tea is an important part of the culture, and there's a very interesting ritual to tea drinking. We sat at stools around the tea table. There's a whole process of cleaning the cup with water, and then cleaning a second time with tea. The tea table is made of wood, and has a kind of grill to allow tea and water to drain from the top surface. The draining is necessary because when the tea is poured, the server doesn't stop pouring until all the cups have been filled, or the tea runs out. The cups are all very small, and hold just enough tea for one large swallow. The cups get filled several times. We had a great time at the tea house, not only because the tea was so good, but also because the whole process is so very relaxing.
We have to get up early tomorrow morning for our flight, so I'd better sign off for now. Once again we thank you so much for your prayers, and we look forward to seeing many of you very soon.
First of all I've been very impressed with the Chinese people. Almost without exception, the people we have met here have been kind, respectful, honest, and have gone out of their way to help us. I've been struck by the pride they have in their country, history, and culture--and rightfully so. Our guides, Rosa and Maggie, have worked their tails off for us. In general the people here seem to be very hard working. In fact, by far the best service we had on our flights has been China Air.
As Jennifer mentioned in an earlier post, I have enjoyed the food here. Besides us, not many in our travel group have actually enjoyed it. Tonight I refused to let Jennifer eat at McDonald's. I figure its our last night in China so we must eat Chinese. I think our guides have tried to cater somewhat to our American tastes. I've really longed to sit down with a Chinese friend and just have him order several dishes of whatever he would eat. Our guides don't eat with us. I'm not exactly sure why. Someone said it's because they're working for us, and therefore it's not considered proper to eat with us.
The language is beautiful. A friend from church, Isaac Harley, spent a good bit of time in China and came back to the U.S. with a love for the language, and a strong desire to continue learning it. I understand that much better now than I did before. Maggie told Jennifer she thinks Chinese should be a very easy language to learn. Easy for her to say.
The length of our trip has probably been about right considering that we're away from the boys for so long. However, I think I could have spent a little more time in Beijing. There's so much to see there that reflects the rich (and long) history of China. Both Nanning and Guangzhou have been physically beautiful. Since they both are basically tropical cities, the plants and flowers are striking. It's sort of amazing to have the rich floral beauty in the heavily urban environment of Guangzhou.
Today we made our visit to the American Consulate. The consulate has been processing Selah's visa (she'll be traveling on a Chinese passport). So we picked up her visa, and had a swearing-in ceremony. We swore that all the information we have submitted to the American government concerning Selah's adoption is true. People clapped at the end of the ceremony because it's the last thing we have to do for the adoption--on this trip anyway. Once we get through customs in the U.S. she will be a U.S. citizen.
Tonight after eating our room service Chinese (its a bit challenging with Selah in the restaurants--remember, no high chairs), we set off for a tea house just down the street and around the corner from our hotel. We decided to blow our last few Yuan on tea, and have one final cultural experience in China. We bought some tea to take back to the States. While they were packing our tea, they served us an incredible ginseng tea. I'm kicking myself because although we bought a good bit of tea, we didn't get any of that ginseng.
Anyway, tea is an important part of the culture, and there's a very interesting ritual to tea drinking. We sat at stools around the tea table. There's a whole process of cleaning the cup with water, and then cleaning a second time with tea. The tea table is made of wood, and has a kind of grill to allow tea and water to drain from the top surface. The draining is necessary because when the tea is poured, the server doesn't stop pouring until all the cups have been filled, or the tea runs out. The cups are all very small, and hold just enough tea for one large swallow. The cups get filled several times. We had a great time at the tea house, not only because the tea was so good, but also because the whole process is so very relaxing.
We have to get up early tomorrow morning for our flight, so I'd better sign off for now. Once again we thank you so much for your prayers, and we look forward to seeing many of you very soon.
posted by Shawn at
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
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