Dear Family and Friends,Wow! As I sit down and reflect over the past month, it seems like a chapter from another life, a lapse in the space-time continuum. On January 19 Brad and I left Langfang to spend the night in a hostel in Beijing, before flying out the next morning for our first annual IECS Staff Conference in Shenzhen, China. After seven days in the famed southern city, we left our conference for a day in the nearby city of Hong Kong, and then left the same day for three days in the tropical paradise of Sanya, Hainan Island. Eleven days after we first left Langfang, we returned full of new adventures.
I don’t have the time or space to tell you every event of those eleven days, but here are a few travel vignettes to sate your appetite!
Messy Jessie: I kept myself busy on January 19 by spilling things on myself at meals. I got chili on my sweater and mustard on my shirt at lunch. After dinner I sat down in Tony’s seat, catching his cloth napkin on my clothes, and pulling his entire dish of (red) spicy noodles onto my shirt, sweater, jeans, chair, and the table in front of me. Needless to say, I was up late that night washing my clothes in the hostel sinks.
Plans for Next Year: On January 21 Brad and I met with Newt and Claire and let them know that we will be returning home to the U.S.A. next year to seek positions as Area Director (and wife). Newt and Claire were very encouraging and will be talking to the various east coast regions over the next few weeks to see where openings exist.
Romance: I never knew what I would find in our shower as Brad found great delight in writing me love notes on the foggy glass. The messages were invisible until the shower filled with steam. He upped the ante by taking me out for beachfront dinners and long walks on the beach, and by buying me a rose, ice cream, and beautiful jewelry during our travels.
Story Telling: We had a great time sharing stories throughout our conference time. One of our favorite times though was when, after dinner, Newt & Claire Hetrick and Lee & Paula Corder told us stories from their younger days. We laughed until our sides were sore at their tales of romance and adventure, and cringed when they barely avoided death.
Olympic Beach Games: The Baoding team was in charge of planning a photo scavenger hunt for the afternoon of January 22. All eighteen of us were divided into three teams (red, blue, and green). Some of the challenges included proposing to a Chinese girl, eating ice cream in the ocean, boarding an ocean vessel, playing leapfrog with Chinese teenagers, and chicken-fighting with Chinese children. Unfortunately, there was much disagreement over the scoring of the game. I personally believe that the Green team won, despite numerous accusations regarding the validity of our methods.
Game Nights: Jess Shamblee was in charge of game night on January 23, and had us all laughing out loud at “Taboo” and a game that combined progressively telling a story and drawing pictures. The words and images got more hilarious with each round that followed. On January 25 Brad led “Name That Tune” with an I-pod. The primary player put headphones in his or her ears, and then sung the song they heard to the audience, who tried to guess the tune. Again, the results had us all in stitches.
Hong Kong: Brad and I traveled with Peter and Shannon into Hong Kong at the conclusion of our conference on January 26. The view of central Hong Kong from Kowloon was stunning, even in the grey weather. The city resembled hundreds of lego building shoved together into the least possible space, with Victoria Harbour in the foreground, and Shan Teng peak in the background. We walked along the Waterfront Promenade and the Avenue of the Stars, where we put our hands in the hand prints of stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. We took the Star Ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui to Pier 6. We walked on the Pedder street walkways, past the famous IFC (International Finance Center) Centre, to Statue Square. There we watched a Praise Band perform in the street in front of the Legislative Building and HSBC Tower. We walked up the hill to St. John’s Cathedral, and then back to the Star Ferry for our return trip to Shenzhen.
Clogged Toilets: Brad and I stayed at the Blue Sky Hostel during our time in Sanya, Hainan Island. Due to the poor plumbing we had to call our Chinese concierge “Peter Funny” to plunge our toilet. He complimented us, saying, “You have very clean crap!”
Dining in Sanya: Brad and I drank coconut milk directly from the coconut through a straw and later tried coconut rice. For coconut rice the coconut is stuffed full of rice, then cooked, then sliced open like a watermelon. It was delicious! Jon introduced us to homemade ice cream at an adorable family-run booth. We chose our own fruits from their selection, and then watched as the fruits were cut, blended, added to a sweet mixture, and then steadily flipped on a cold surface (like Coldstone Creamery) until they were the right consistency. Brad was excited when he was able to add our leftover coconut from the coconut rice to his ice cream, letting nothing go to waste. For dinner, Brad and I ordered our pasta in a giant seashell. My dinner came and was delicious, but after everyone had eaten, Brad’s food had yet to arrive. When we inquired about Brad’s dinner, they replied that they needed my shell back before they could serve it!
Fireworks: Evenings in Sanya were filled with loud and beautiful fireworks in all directions as the Chinese celebrated their New Year’s Day. On one of my favorite evenings in China, Brad and I sat on the porch of a restaurant overlooking Dadonghai Beach. The palm trees were wrapped with twinkling lights, and the sounds of American favorites like Bob Marley and Jack Johnson piped from the speakers behind us. The dark blue ocean pounded beneath us as the fireworks lit up the near mountains. We sat there forever watching Chinese tourists lighting and lifting red lanterns into the sky, trying to catch the moment when the tiny red spots disappeared from sight into the blackness.
Yalong Bay: We joined the Baoding team and five other guys (Kevin, Cameron, Justin, Pat, and Andrew) for a trip to the best beach on Hainan. Yalong Bay looks like something out of a dream. The mountains surrounding the bay come down into the water around the four mile stretch of pristine sands. Colorful fishing boats float in the bright blue green waters inviting passengers to come see the exotic fish. Naked children play in the water’s edge, and Chinese men bury themselves up to the neck in sand and then prop an umbrella over their heads. We all swam in the warm waters, and Brad tried to convince a man on a boat to take him to a private island across the bay. After only four hours in the 80 degree temperatures by the bay, Brad and I were both sunburned to a crisp, and suffered the affects of it for the next week. With my bright red skin and white circles around my eyes (from my sunglasses), I attracted quite a few stares as I grocery shopped in Langfang during January. The sun is rarely that bright near Beijing, so I’m sure many had never seen a sunburnt foreigner before.
Beach Walk: On our last day in Sanya, Brad and I walked along Dadonghai beach to the furthest point along its rocky cliffs. The blue green waters washed up along the rocks beneath us. We watched fishermen luring their prey with small shrimp, and scuba divers exploring the coral reef with their partners. At one point we crossed a narrow bridge, suspended about 10-15 feet above the rocks and ocean below. It was only after beginning to cross that we realized that the post and rope railing was rotted, and swung away at the lightest touch. We dubbed it the “Indian Jones” bridge since we felt like him as we crossed above the rushing waters and rocks without a handrail. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading our books in the shade of the rocky cliff face, gazing out over the beautiful South China Sea.
A Round Peg in a Square Hole: As Brad waited for our airplane to depart from Sanya, we turned at the sound of loud wailing to see a little girl with her knee wedged between two of the waiting area seats, unable to escape. Her parents apparently did not realize that to free her they needed to move her leg forward and down around the front of the seats. Instead, before a gathering crowd of thirty or more very verbal onlookers, they continued to yank up on the girl’s body harder and harder. When a stewardess tried to intervene, the father turned and shouted at her angrily. Brad and I watched from our seats to see what they would do. Scissors were produced and the girls pants’ leg was cut off, and then lotion was smeared up and down her leg. With a final pull the little girl came free and the crowd dispersed, just in time to board our airplane.
Sleeping: Brad and I slept in seven beds in eleven nights, spending our last night sleeping in the Beijing International Airport. After so much travel, we were glad to return to Langfang for four nights before we left for Beijing again with Brad’s parents!
It is incredible to me that so much could happen in such a short period of time! We had a great time though, and had a great time with our friends on the IECS team. I’ll write more later about our travels with Brad’s parents!
Always,
Jessie
