I have 350 pounds of packed luggage, two snoring little girls, and a sad heart. Chris asked P today if she’s going to miss her Chinese friends. She replied, “Yes, but when I get back to our regular home, I can make a dream about them.”
Those dreams are going to be mighty sweet, I think.
Quick, what’s 17.4 million people + 104 degree temps? If you answered, “time to come home,” you’re absolutely right.
Here’s what’s been going on in our steaming world the last few days.
I’ve had one haircut since we’ve been in China, and I must say, it was a really decent one. Of course, I went to a highfalutin salon and therefore had to pay through the nose for my ‘do – to the tune of five whole bucks. Chris, however, is braver than I am and gets regular haircuts here on campus.
On Saturday night we had P’s birthday party at a restaurant that overlooked the beach.
One of the things I most looked forward to about this trip to the beach was the ability to give P and Wee P a proper bath. The bucket thing is getting really old. I was sure our hotel room would have a really nice tub, and I caught myself fantasizing that tub more than a few times last week. Unfortunately, once again, no bathtub, so the kitchen sink had to do.
We arrived at Beidaihe yesterday. We left our apartment at 5:30am for the train station. Luckily, Ayi came along to help.
There’s so much I’m going to miss about China. One of those things is my bike. The day I bought it, I felt a sense of world-expanding freedom I haven’t experienced since 1987, when my parents first handed me the keys to my sister’s old Cutlass Supreme. I honestly can’t imagine how restricted our lives would have been in Beijing without our bikes.
Are you an American? Do you want to feel fat? Come to China! Here’s a disturbing drawing I found on a website that illustrates obesity rates by country.
One of the many things I’ve yet to figure out about the Chinese is their love of having their photos taken while standing in front of largely insignificant landmarks. I think this icon by Liu Young does a great job of depicting Eastern versus Western ways of experiencing travel.
