China 2011: Day 28-32

Another 5 days gone by again. We only have 15 days left to finish. Oh my, there's so much left to do!

We had a great weekend with friends and a little relaxation. Friday morning we took a walk to Pagoda park to take a tai chi class in the park. Chris and I participated while Bob and Brad watched. It was pretty entertaining for all of us. The park is so full of activity at 7:30am with people walking, exercising, clapping, singing and watching the foreigners run by. We worked all day and then went for dinner and another head shampoo which this time cost 20 yuan which is $3.20 including a 45 minute massage. This time we had our hair blow dried for and extra dollar. I looked like I came out of the 60's or Mars or something. It was pretty comical. Now I know why I don't style my hair! We've done it every weekend so far and why not at that price. Saturday we left at 6:30am to go by subway to Panjiayuan market which sells everything from art to furniture, antiques to souvenirs. We wanted to get there early before it was packed with people as it was a national holiday starting Sat. and we weren't sure what to expect. After getting off the subway I opened my map to get my bearings and a Chinese man stopped to ask if I needed help - in English. I told him where I was going and he said it was straight down the road - not far - about 300 miles! We just said ok and xiexie (thank you) and took off down the road about 300 meters. We did a little furniture shopping for the Mac and a little for ourselves and now have to bubble wrap it to get it home with Davis's when they come next time. Thanks Tim! The most fun of the day was shopping for purses at the pearl market with Lynn, Kristina and Chris. We bought way too many purses. The guys watched for a half hour, died a million deaths and finally took off to go have a coffee somewhere. There's just so much of that a man can take but the foot massages at the end of the day helped tremendously!

I don't think I've mentioned the food here. It is really good but, it's cooked in a ton of oil - everything is cooked in oil. At the grocery store they sell oil in gallon containers! It's good going down but a few hours later it feels like lead in the stomach. We are going to have to get our veins flushed out when we get back. The cutest thing about the restaurants are the waitress's. They all wear uniforms that look like they were bought from an airline that went out of business about 30 years ago. I do like how they put all the food on a big lazy susan in the middle of the table and you have to grab (with chopsticks) what you want as it flies by. I haven't got any better with chopsticks. I have good days and bad days. Bob is pretty good all of the time. He gets more food down then me which is pretty much ok. I'm not wasting away.

Sunday night was a highlight as we were given tickets to see the national touring ballet company performing Swan Lake. It was fabulous! I've never seen such ballet talent and of course the ultimate is Swan Lake. Growing up I always wanted to be a ballerina so it was a special treat for me. The guys enjoyed it as much as I did. Really! The low light was that Chris left to go home after 2 weeks here helping out. Brad decided to stay 5 more days to help with projects as there is still so much left to do. They have both been a tremendous help and so much fun. We spent a lot of time laughing which is so good for the soul. Tim and Lynn left today and will be back in 2 weeks for the big 30th celebration. ELIC will have been in China 30 years this October so it's a very important anniversary.

Oh, did I mention the painters came back today? Oh yeah, they're back! Bob pretty much stayed away from Apt. #32 as he just couldn't take it. The really big problem is they just use up too much paint and it literally drips on the walls. I don't think I can take going to get the 5th version of Golden Needles that won't match any of the rest if they run out. They will be back tomorrow. I think Bob is going fabric shopping with me just to get out of here!

We miss everyone and really wish you were here to experience this with us. It's been a real adventure!