The Salt Shaker

Chende was probably the favorite destination of most of the adults though the kids preferred the plush accommodations of the Loong Palace Resort in Beijing. What I liked about Chende was the natural feel to the city and the fact that the people noticed we were there and were excited about it. The band members always had a cameraman following them, and the locals all wanted their picture. The performance at the University in Chende was a highlight and definitely the best attended and received by the Chinese. They clapped along with the drumline and gave the band a standing ovation. Two other American bands were present, one from Tucson, the other from PA, along with the University band and some local dancers.

Another reason the kids weren’t too fond of Chende was the now-infamous flood. It occurred on the night when the kids were finally cut loose to find fast food with their chaperones in small groups. Most had just made it to McDonalds or KFC when a monsoon-like storm let loose on the city, turning the streets into rivers. The kids at KFC faired the best with only a foot of water to contend with, most waiting until the water subsided before venturing across the street to the hotel. The McD kids were another story. Turns out that’s the low spot in town (literally) and there was water up to the roofs of some cars; people being pulled out thru the windows and sunroofs to sit atop and wait for help. While some kids were lucky enough to get their food, the power went off before many were served. Cory’s group had to wade thru hip-deep water to cross the street, some students linking arms due to fear, while others were led along a dryer (only ankle deep) path thru back alleys to the hotel. Not a night they will soon forget. According to locals, a flood of that magnitude hadn’t occurred in 300 years.

The Great Wall was an experience I’ll never forget. It was awesome in every sense of the word. To think humans could build something that vast. I tried to take a picture with every band member playing in it by walking up and down the rows as the kids performed in the courtyard below the wall. Cory was still feeling a bit shaky so he did not perform but was able to get into the formal band portrait taken on the wall itself (boy, did they create a traffic jam). He and I walked together for a while on the wall before he sprinted off to find his friends.

Other places we visited included Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Beijing summer palace, Chende summer palace (in original condition), various temples, pearl market, jade market, silk factory, etc. The Chinese are very proud of their heritage and refer to the Emperors with respect.

We did some shopping and found good deals on pearls, silk and jade. Cory couldn’t resist the call of the Rolex, twice, and made a significant “donation” to the Chinese economy. He gave one watch to Kelly upon return and kept the “better” one for himself. It stopped working within a week.

I purchased some Olympic memorabilia to bring home. Unfortunately, I bought what I thought to be American sized shirts only to find out that they were Chinese sized and way too small for their recipients. Kelly now has a whole lot of Beijing 2008 shirts! I managed to squeeze into an XL myself.

If you’re interested in seeing pictures of the trip, there are 900+ available with captions on my photo website at http://picasaweb.google.com/lancerphotosjudy

There is also a website the band set up that has video blogs from the kids as they were traveling at www.lancermusicnotes.org

-Asking to use the restroom gets you nowhere in China. I quickly abandon decorum, tried bathroom, and then realized they always responded to “toilet” so I stuck with that. I could go on and on about the “toilets” because for me, that was the biggest hurdle of the trip. While our hotels were well equip for westerners, most places, including nice restaurants, stores, theaters, tourist sites and highway rest areas were “squatters” (our term for holes in the floor). While the first squatter sighting was novel, my initial attempt taught me to avoid them at all cost. I truly felt like I needed a demonstration because it didn’t come naturally. On the few occasions that there was one western toilet available in the ladies room of 5 stalls, it was always the one without a door! Whose evil plan was that? Still, we became quite well adept at using umbrellas as temp doors or forming human shields. Never was their toilet paper which again had me wondering how the Chinese did things.

-Picking your nose and farting in public are okay things for Chinese men to do (oh wait, that’s in America too!)

-Its okay for Chinese taxis to drive on the sidewalks and to honk at pedestrians to get out of the way. Honking is the Chinese way of saying “I’m coming through”.

-The Chinese people are quiet, until they talk. Now this might sound like a Yogi Bara quote but its true. They are silent one moment, then shouting to each other the next. To the untrained ear, every sentence sounds like “shah, shea, shah wah”. Not a consonant in the bunch. This is how “bad weather” became “buhweishar” (Budweiser) in English.

-The Chinese are still perfecting A/C. We arrived in Shanghai to a hot, humid airport. Just what you want after flying 14 hours non-stop and your ankles are now cankles. China Eastern airlines does offer exercises to do in your seat during the final half hour of the flight. FYI: our total travel time each way was 36 hours.

The sights that Cory and I saw were unbelievable. While the tourist destinations were awesome, I found they paled in comparison to watching people doing their daily thing.

The housing is mostly communal, whether it is in high-rise apartments in Shanghai or Beijing where windows are open on the upper floors and clothes lines are extended, or in one story family courts that make a square. Families on the street had only one child, and pregnant women were a rarity. Children go to neighborhood schools in uniform, spending 6 ½ hours in class with a 1 ½ to 2 hour break for lunch at midday. A parent could be seen picking up their child on the back of a bike or motorized scooter.

While there were plenty of military students standing guard at various locations around the cities, there was very little observable police presence. We heard few sirens, saw no accidents, and were amazed how drivers never yielded to a police car. In Chende, the smallest city we visited (Northwest of Beijing), there were patrolmen directing traffic at every major intersection. We saw no evidence of crime and felt extremely safe even at night.