Just a little visit to China

At the beginning of 2012, Dave and I had the opportunity to travel to China. Why China? Lots of people have asked us that.

I say, why not? We’d never been there. Oh, and so we could see our friends, Karel and Lori. They left our community about 18 months ago to settle down in East Asia. Currently they are studying Mandarin while living in Dalian, in the Northeast province.

While it’s fun to watch social media and blogs to see what they’re up to, and to read their occasional updates, there’s nothing like being there and seeing what their lives are like on a daily basis.  So that’s why we went.

We were there for 10 days and our friends were amazing hosts. We saw a lot, ate a lot and had some unforgettable experiences – so much more than if we had just gone on a tour or tried to explore by ourselves.

We were so thankful for Lori and Karel’s ability to communicate for us. They really have begun to master the language, although they would say they have a long way to go. They were masters at communicating with taxi drivers, shop vendors and just about anyone we encountered.

They definitely are good at bargaining at the market – moments after taking this photo, Lori threw out a low-ball offer for some souvenirs we wanted and we were kicked out of the booth.

They introduced us to all kinds of food. No, all Chinese restaurants are not buffets.  But chopsticks were our only option and we managed just fine! We did cook our own food a few times. Like at Hot Pot (think Melting Pot, without the cheese or chocolate), and Korean BBQ, where we grilled our own food.

Although the meat choices were sometimes a little disconcerting.

We even got to treat their boys to an evening at McDonalds (flying solo without our interpreters!) Even with a picture menu, we had trouble communicating what we wanted.

We took a night train to Beijing which was quite an experience. Lori and I had a room with their boys. Dave and Karel got to bunk with some nationals.

We definitely got the Asian experience staying a couple of nights in a traditional Chinese courtyard hotel.



a view into our room



the courtyard, from our room

Some people have asked about the toilet conditions. While their home and the hotel have toilets, most other places have some variation of a "squatty-potty”. In my life of traveling/living places, these were certainly not the worst…

And thanks to Excel Body Fitness, my quads were in tip-top shape to support me when nature called. 

The sights of Beijing did not disappoint. No amount of words or impressive editing of photos could do justice to the beauty of the architecture or the massive maze of courtyards at the Forbidden City.

Or the awe of standing smack in the middle of Tian’anmen Square.

Or the majesty of the mountains laced with a stone wall, man-made hundreds of years ago, for miles and miles.

By far, my favorite experience was a “tea ceremony”. While I don’t think it was a real tea ceremony (which I think is basically a tea tasting…?) because it was way out of our price range, this shop owner was kind enough to share his already brewed pot with us. And teach us a bit about the proper way to taste tea. And drink from the same leaves over and over, bringing out a new flavor each time.

Then he decided to let us try another tea, just for fun. At least I think that's how it went down - it was all a foreign language to us. :-)

Just sitting in this place, with the décor and lighting was enough to make us feel like we were really in China. And I will always remember this each time a drink a cup of tea.

Thank you Lori and Karel for an amazing visit. We are so glad we got to experience a taste of your new life with you!