Epilogue

I made it back to the US with no problems. During the flight I did start coughing a little. (and before while I was in the cab on the way to the airport in Beijing). As soon as we landed at DFW, I called Jason!! He sang me a wonderful birthday song and that totally made my day!!! I was soooo tired! While I got my luggage, Drew called to wish me a happy birthday and told me Dad was in the hospital getting another stint put in. And I got to talk to Dad a little too. Dave picked me up and drove me home. Wasn't much company. I called Mom but she wasn't home. I got home around 5pm? and went straight to bed. I set my alarm clock so I could talk to Mom around 7pm. I don't really remember that conversation. I slept 16 hours. The longest I have ever slept.

Monday at work was ridiculous...I didn't get a lot done and went home early. Still feeling bad. For the next two weeks I was sick. I went to the doctor and he gave me some antibiotics. Ugh!!!

That's my trip. I had such an awesome time, I can't even tell you. The one thing I will say is that I learned a lot. I am very fortunate to live in the United States and have opportunities that many people in the world do not have. Americans are incredibly lucky (and wealthy, even the poor ones).

The Chinese people are very generous people. They are very gracious too. The value family and relationships. That's probably the most important thing I took away from the trip. Relationships are the key to ministering to others. Sacrificing your time for others shows how much you care. It doesn't matter if you are in China, Russia, Europe or at home. Relationships are the most important thing we have in this world...and outside it for that matter.

If you ever have the chance to travel outside the US or Europe. I highly recommend it. It will change your perspective on how you view life and what is important in it. Go. You won't regret! I'll never forget China!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!! When I came downstairs Michelle Ruddel and Suzanne were down to greet me. How sweet was that! That was so nice. What a present! Tom came down and put me in a cab (Hundyai, Elantra BTW). Got to the airport and checked in. No problems. Hopped on the plane but b/c of congestion and fog we waited an hour before taking off. That's ok. I had a 5 hour layover in Tokyo. I got to Tokyo and changed my money to yen. 2349 or something like that. About $21 USD. Hah! Got my boarding pass and then got some Mickey D's Yum. Also checked my email for a dollar or 100 yen. Cool. Then i just walked around and sat at my gate reading and listening to my iPod I fell asleep too. We all got on the plane and it left right on time. Yay!! So I've watched Ice Age 2, had dinner, would like to go to the restroom but my Latino neighbor is asleep. I will finish this entry later (probably on Sunday). I'll get to have my birthday twice!!! (crossing the International Date Line). Until tomorrow!!! I'm gonna watch Arsenic & Old Lace at 10:30pm (where ever we are).

Woke up to get ready for the Great Wall today. Very foggy outside. Ate breakfast and was ready to go at 8am. Got on a very comfortable bus and rod two hours North to get to the Wall. We drover through very green areas and saw several shepherds with sheep. We also drove up into the mountains. It wasn't like the mountains in HK or what I pictured (China has vast and varied topography) but it was beautiful. We got there and the hawkers starteted hawking...but we were headed to get our tickets. This was an unusal thing but normally you would walk up to the wall (and you could do that) but we bought ski lift tickets to take us to the top. Very cool. And to get down you rode down the mountain on a skid or toboggan. Cool!!!! I rode up with Tommy Smith and that was fun. There was mist all around through the trees and in that valleys.

We got to the top and I put my thin jacket on. BIG mistake!! The wall is very cool but it goes up and down, up and down and it's very steep. I had to take the jacket off after about 5 minutes. I quickly realized I would work up a good sweat. I know I looked like I just took a shower. Whew! The vews were gorgeous but limited becuase of the fog. I climbed pretty good though. I wasn't sore the next day. Anyway, we were all set to skid down the mountain but the fog was so dense that it made the slide too wet. So we couldn't go down that way. We just took the ski lift. I rode down with Charlie. We looked at all the wares and had an apple pancake. There version of it (see pictures). Hopeed on the bus and Matt and Tom bought snacks for us. Dried strawberries, apricots, some cashews and bananas and sodas. Gooo ooo oood! We were pretty tired I think, so we slept mostof the way back to Beijing. Our driver dropped us off at the pearl market again. I have so many souvenirs!! Aaaahh! Some of us went back to the hotel from the market while some of went to the Temple of Heaven. Very impressive! We walked through a park to get there and the people were out visiting and playing music. Soooooo not something we do in America. (It was different from being in a park in America, trust me.) We took taxis back to the hotel and unloaded our goodies. At 6:30 we began our journey to our duck dinner. We walked to the restaurant which was located in a residential area. Very run down but the restaurant is very famous. Laura Bush tried to eat there but her security cars couldn't get through the narrow streets. I thought Tom go lost, but he, of course, go us there. The dinner was awesome. I could eat all that duck by myself. So good!! I tried the duck pate. It wasn't that great. An acquired taste? Well I had a lot to eat, so I had to go to the bathroom. I was all ready to go in the restaraunt, but there was none. There was a public toliet outside and down the street. Tom went with me. I was a little worried. No lights around the place and I almost went into the guys. The girls was further back. Tom checked it first to make sure there wasn't any muggers. When I went in, to my great surprise, I found that the bathroom was lit and tiled AND had a Western potty. Saints be praised!! And let me tell you I had to go if you know what I mean.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel. I checked email and bought more gifts. Went upstairs to pack. All my souviners fit in my little bag I grought just for the occasion! YAY! I think I had more room inmy regular suitcase! Awesome! I got all ready for bed and set the alarm for 5:41pm (hit the snooze once).

Mark and the entrance to get to the Great Wall.



The ski lift up to the Wall.



Climbing the Great Wall.



Probably my favorite picture of all the ones I took on the whole trip.



Temple of Heaven



Duck dinner....yum!



Roasting the ducks.



Sign outside the Restaurant.

Well I woke up and we went to breakfast. Pretty good. I think I had more western food than Chinese. The group all met at 8:15am and we took the subway (all 21 of us) during rush hour. Awesome!! We were headed to Tian'anmen Square where the student revolt took place in 1989. The famous picture of the one man standing if front of the tank. I felt an overwhelming urge to cry. So much pain and confusion brought on by power hungry people. For more information on the protests click here. We then walked over the Imperial Palace or the Forbidden City. WOW!!! So beautiful and gigantic. It just kept going and going....must rent The Last Emperor. By the way, they are renovating the IMP to be ready for the Olympics in 2008. SOme of the building were repainted but somee not. There was scaffolding put up over several buildings for repair.

After the long walk...oh, by the way, the gardens were spectacular...we walked through another park where the crowds diminished greatly. Very peaceful and calm. We sat and listened to Tom. The verse he brought up was in Matthew when Jesus looked upon the crowds and had compassion for them. I think everyone was pretty emotional after that because we had all experienced a feeling of hopelessness because there are so many people in China looking for hope.

We then found a place to eat (all 21 of us). Chris was in heaven because he finally got a taste of real Chinese food. After that we took a taxi to the pearl market. LARGE store to bargin for anything!!!! It was great. I went a little nuts. I bought a few things of course. Went back to the hotel and checked my email. Got an email from Jason. :) Caught our hired bus to the acrobats. WOW!! It was amazing. Umbrella jugglers, yo-yo thing people, pole climbers...Probably the most artistic thing was one girl balancing onher hands with white organza like material draped over her. Beautiful. Pretty amazing!!! Good music. Very upbeat....almost techno!

Came back to the hotel and headed to get a quick bite but I spied a Fugi Film place and copied my pcis to CD. YAY! I couldn't find where the group ate so I went to KFC and then to a music store I passed on the way to the restaurant. I bought three CDs for $7. Awesome!! Came back to the hotel and bough another ring for Mom. Better than the other one from the market. Came upstairs and packed my souveniers and headed for bed. Tomorrow the great wall! 11:13pm

Looking at a map in the subway.



A group of Beijing police/army?



Count down to the Olympics 2008



Tian'anmen Square


The southern gate to the Imperial Palace
Mao Zedong pictured in the middle



Getting closer to the inside of the Imperial Palace



Puss No Boots made it.









Rennovated opulance.



Part of the gardens.



Angie and I with Puss No Boots
at the acrobat performance.



The Chinese Acrobats...they were awesome!

Woke up very refreshed and ready to go to Beijing. Went down to a very large complimentary breakfast and had noodles for the 1st time. Went back upstairs to pack and then cam down and paid my laundry bill. A big whopping $4.00 or 30 kuai. AWESOME!!! We hopped a taxi to get to the bus to take us to the airport. Beautiful country but very stark and barren like southern Israel. Mountainous but desert. They farm the land and irrigate to grow vegetation for erosion purposes. Funny to see patches of green everywhere. Saw caves...lots of caves. Some were occupied too. Got to the airport and got our boarding pass rather easily. The gate wasn't very far away and there were souveniers so I bought 2 scarves. One for Mrs. McMullen and one for Ruth. Very pretty. My souvenier bag is filling up! Hopped on the plane and read my book for awhile. They served us lunch too and it was only a 2 hour flight! American Airlines should take notice.... I also snoozed a teeny bit. We landed in Beijing and hopped a taxi. It was very pleasant. Got to the hotel and got our luggage and the other Tianjin group was already there!! Yay!! We got our rooms and unpakced our stuff. Jennie Dunton (New York trips!!!) and Angie are my roommates. Fun!! We set out at 7pm to eat and look around Beijing's 5th Avenue. We stopped at a kabob street and there was food you can't even imagine. Octopus, snake, starfish, crab, chicken, lamb, fruit, dumplings, squid...whoa!!! I accidently ordered bug kabobs and ate one bug. Yuck!!! I threw the rest away. Oh don't forget the scorpions! (I didn't eat any, just looked.) Walked back down "Fifth Ave." again and the group took the subway back to the hotel to sleep! Feet tired!!

AND I miss Jason. I'm a little jealous that Angie and Chris are on the same trip. No fair. However, I'm not sure Jason could handle the hellish train ride. I barely did. I can't wait to see him. I will dream about him tonight. Zaijian!

Jennie: "Where are we going?"
On our way to eat kabobs....



Good looking sandwhiches...



Yummy!...not so yummy...the cocoon things are what I accidently ordered.



Scorpions, anyone?



Fruit kabobs! Let's get back to the hotel.



Even Puss No Boots was tired!!!

We got to the hotel via taxi. (Some didn't want to take us because the distance was too short.) Anyway, when we got to the hotel, we were supposed to have 3 rooms by 8am. They weren't ready. So they gave us one room while we waited for the others to get ready. About 9:30am they came and gave us keys to the other two. I took a very long shower and wash my underwear. After a glorious shower I had my clothes laundred. I dialed the # but it wasn't going through. So I called the main desk but they didn't have enough English and I didn't know any Chinese so she came up. When she saw what I wanted, no problem...except when I needed them. I took a long nap which I needed desparately. Then we met and ate lunch. Then we walked the streets down to the Yellow River. Looks just like the Mississippi. Very cool. We took a cable car across the river and up to the top of the mountain on the north side of the city. Unbelievable view. Pretty spectacular. We got to the top, took some pictures and then we watched this huge dust/sandstorm come in from the east (I think). Big winds and we took the cable car back down. Oh! you could rent boats to cross the river but you could rent a raft made out of sheep skin (inflated). (See picture). Incredible. It's only really for tourists but used commonly a long time ago. Wow! Gross!

We walked back to the hotel and rested till 7pm. Except I overslept...aaaahh! not too late though. We ate at KFC and just walked around a bit. Bought a CD too. Got back to the hotel and had Tom check on my laundry. In about 10 minutes they brought it up. Yay! Clean clothes. Now it's 10:10pm and time for bed.

A couple of things:

• A lot of Germans come to China. Lots of German influence...like appliances.
• So much honking!!!
• Oh! I forgot to tell you that we also walked up to one of te universiy here. The one especially for minorities (Hui). Tom is looking to move up here. The University specializes in medicine.

The Yellow River in Lanzhou. I saw people swimming in it! The current was like the Mississippi.


Inflated Sheep skin as the floatation device for crossing the river...maybe next time!


Traveling via cable car up to the top of a mountain


View from the top...the area was very arid and deserty.


Cool walkway on top of the moutain.


Part of the university Tom would like to work at.

Music started blaring about 7am to "inspire" us to get up and at it!!! Aaaahhhh!! The lights automatically come on and that irritates me to death!!! (Just ask my brothers). We rearranged our hair and went down for washing the face and eating some good homemade granola. We got to Xi'an about 8:30. Checked our overnight bags and got a van to take us to the terra cotta warriors and back for about 220 kuai. A very good deal. The warriors were pretty spectacular. The experience was a little subdued due to the fact it was so hot and humid. It just sucked the energy right out of me. See the pictures....

I started buying souveniers when I realized how much money I had and how cheap everything was. Oh boy!!! I got a box of replica warriors for 20 kuai (less than $3). We walked back to our waiting van and told her we were going to have lunch. Very expensive (relatively speaking of course. It was because of the tourists). Got back to Xi'an (the warriors were about 20 kms away) and was dropped off at the Bell Tower. Xi'an is well over 1800 years old. It has a replica of the old city wall around it. There was a Drum Tower as well. These towers would announce special times like when the city gates would close for the night or open in the morning. Pretty cool. We walked over to the Muslim quarter to see the Great Mosque. Very peaceful there. Great architecture. Built in 742 AD. All around the mosque are street vendors. I was in heaven. Good shopping!!! Got too much stuff. (It was fun because I rarely ever get to spend money freely and not have to worry about saving. All the money I had I could spend!!! Except I had to carry everything.) One shop would write in Chinese scripture. The family are believers. The father actually does the caligraphy. I got two hanging scrolls and a bunch more stuff. We also met Tom and Janet Hicks and both their daughters (so cute)!!! Rebecca and Sarah. Had dinner with them. By the way, I'm getting pretty good at the squatty potty!!! We left the dining table and Tom and Tom went to see a patient while we shopped some more and rested. Cold plum juice is very good when thirsty and tired. It was about 8pm and we were ready to start the next leg of our trip.

We scoped out a bus to take us back to the train station. What a mad house!!! It was like a stampede of cows with no direction really....trying to get to our seats fast and find a place for luggage. UGH!!! Tom tried to upgrade us to hard sleeper but to no avail. Sohere I am sitting amongst the people of CHina at 2:50am in the morning heading to Lanzhou. We are the lucky ones. We have a seat at least. Many people are either standing or sitting in the aisles. What a way to travel!!!! 4 more hours!!! Ok, I'll try to sleep now....

Yeah right - Very difficult to do. I probably only slept 2 hours the whole 9 hour trip. I'll tell you, brush your teeth every day. If you haven't for 2 days...it's pretty gross....or not being able to change your underwear for that long. UGH!!! We FINALLY made it to Lanzhou at 7am on Tuesday, July 25th. Where is our hotel!!!! I need a shower and change the clothes I've been in for over 48 hours!!!

From the train station

In front of the warrior museum


Life Size Terra Cotta Warriors


Bell Tower in Xi'an


Shopping Extravaganza!!!


Waitin' on the Train