China Trip Keeps Expanding

I’m loving my time here in China. My plans have changed since I last wrote. In fact, things are pretty fluid and changeable here; but there is a flow that works effortlessly. This is somewhat like the traffic here and walking on the sidewalks here. I am constantly amazed there are so few fender benders. I have never seen driving like this in any of the countries I have visited. You could call it a "free-for-all, every person for herserlf" flow. Funny, huh?

It is Thursday evening here in Xian at 8:45 PM, and 4:45 AM Thursday morning in CA. I have had another full, satisfying, fun, expansive week.

On Sunday three of us volunteers went to see the Terracotta Warriors whom many consider to be the 8th Wonder of the World. (See the Wikipedia article here.)  It is hard to imagine the man-hours that went into making them, and then the man-hours that went into putting them back together after they were discovered in the late 1970’s.  They haven’t put them all back together, nor do they plan to do so. Seeing part of them in pieces helps the visitor to understand and appreciate the work and skill that has gone into restoring them. I cannot even begin to imagine. The top portion of the photo shows what they discovered when the Terracotta Warriors were uncovered.

On Tuesday morning, Jerome, the director of Cross-Cultural Solutions here in Xian, drove me to see the Women’s Cultural Museum, created by a woman professor of gender issues at the university where the museum is located. So fun, interesting and inspiring! There were stories and artifacts from average women’s lives in China and a large room with over 50 wedding dresses of the different ethnic groups and areas of China. I loved the clothes!

Another very interesting part of the museum is about Women’s Chinese Characters. These characters are different than the usual written Chinese characters and were handed down from the older generation of women to the younger generation of women only. Men could not read them. In this way, women communicated with each other and supported one another without the knowledge, rules, or interference of men. I find this fascinating.

While we were there, Jerome asked me if I would like to help with re-writing the English explanations of the exhibits. The English needs improvement to be clearly and easily understood. I am delighted to do this. I’m honored to be a part of supporting this important project for women in China.

Wednesday morning, two of us volunteers went to the Starfish Children’s Foster Care Center, which was founded by Amanda, a woman from South Africa. She has 16 babies right now, all of whom she rescued from a government orphanage and all of whom are special needs babies who have some kind of medical condition. She gets them treatment for their physical problems, including spina bifida, cleft palette and heart conditions. Then she helps the children to be adopted, usually by couples in the US. I loved talking with her and hearing her story. Holding 8 month old Sara was also a delight.

Now to my change of plans. For the last few years, ever since China announced the damming of the Yangtze River, I’ve wanted to take a boat cruise through the Three Gorges before they are flooded when the dam goes into effect. I didn’t think I was going to get to do it this trip. Well, as fate/the Universe would have it, a group of 6 of us volunteers are leaving tomorrow morning to do a 3-day trip on the Yangtze and thru the Gorges. Yeah!! I checked to make sure there is heat on the boat, and there is… so all is well.

After I return to Xian from the Three Gorges trip, I fly out the next morning to Shanghai on my own. This is the beginning of a whole new adventure…traveling solo. After spending two days in Shanghai, I fly to Beijing for 3 days to visit the Forbidden City, Tiannamen Square, and the Great Wall. I don’t know if I’ll be able to write to you next week. I’ll have to find an internet cafe, which will hopefully be easy.

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays. I look forward to returning in about 10 days after I complete my adventure here.

Much love to you,
Connie