Adam was amazed every day that we arrived at our destination in one piece. He kept wanting to yell at the drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, etc that they were not following the traffic rules. Probably a good thing for us that he does not yet speak Chinese or we might have had an international incident. At major intersections, despite the traffic light on the normal red/ green pattern with which we are familiar, we would often see vehicles approaching the intersection from all four directions. The three-wheeled mini-truck would approach from the opposite direction and turn in front of our bus while a car was also turning out of the road he was turning into. The bus would eventually get his nose into the space and then all traffic in the intersection would stop until the bus was clear. Horns were used heavily but they were not annoying and did not seem rude as they often do here in the US.
Also astounding to me was the amount of open area in each city. These cities have huge populations and a need for building space, and yet they have set aside parks, historical sights, open squares, and other areas of enormous scale. Tiananmen Square for example is about the size of three football fields. The open park around the Temple of Heaven was probably double the size of New York's Central Park. In Xi'an, the old city still had the Medieval walls and a huge traffic circle had been built up around the central Bell Tower, but radiating out from this tower in each of the compass directions were four avenues that rival the Champs Elysee in Paris in width and elegance.
Robbie guided us this morning out to Shanghai airport and through the check-in process, then it was time to say good-bye to him. Several of the kids said it was hard to say good-bye to him, harder than they had thought. They all wanted to call Terry, our Beijing tour guide, and say good-bye to him too. Both were personable young men who built a good rapport with the students. We could tell they were not just tour guides telling us about the various sights, but they also were passionate about their love for China and their desire to share that with others. Also it was quite evident that they cared about us. They took the time to get to know our names, learn about our interests, and check on our well-being.
Once through security in Shanghai, we had several hours to wait for our plane's departure. So, of course we wandered off shopping. But, all the shops were really expensive. There were none of the usual airport trinket shops. So we found it hard to spend our last remaining renminbi. Even the bottles of water were expensive. Outside we usually paid 2 to 3 yuan per bottle. I felt as though I had been robbed when I paid 18 yuan for a bottle but then felt pretty good when I found that Adam paid 45 for his. Imagine our dismay when we got to the gate and they asked us to leave them behind!
We flew over South Korea and Japan on our way to San Francisco. We seemed to be low and close so it was interesting to see these places from the air. Immigration and customs in San Francisco was relatively quick, then we had to check in our bags again and go through security again and find our terminal. All of this was somewhat confusing. We had to stop frequently to read and re-read signs to make sure we were doing the right thing. I cannot imagine what the process must be like for someone visiting the US for the first time and without an excellent command of the English language. I never felt this way in China. All signs were also in English. Now if I had been an Italian or Hindi speaker, I guess it would be the same. Anyhow, I think our airports can do a lot to improve their welcomeness to foreigners who bring a lot of tourist money into the US. Security today was also wicked intense. Our boarding passes were checked at least three times before we stepped into the body scanners. Several people had their bags checked. Adam was selected for Agricultural Inspection at customs and his bags were searched until the agent found two squishy rubber things he had bought at one of the markets.
We finally made it to our gate only to discover the plane was delayed an hour because the incoming plane we were to get on was late arriving. Then a two hour delay, then a three hour delay. The kids were so tired, they sprawled all over the floor, the seats, and each other to sleep. Finally on the plane and arrival at Dulles after 27 hours of travel but only 9 and a half hours on the clock on the same day after our departure from Shanghai. All the parents were there to meet and greet us. The kids said their good byes to us and within ten minutes all were gone. It is sad. We had created a little travel family that we cannot recreate. The kids were wonderful. As a chaperone, I could not have hand-chosen better behaved, more considerate kids. I appreciated the way all were interested in learning about what we were visiting that day. All tried the food, though at two restaurants it was tough for Zane and Robbie because all the dishes seemed to have pork in them. The attitudes were positive, the spirit of adventure was high, and the level of support for each other was strong. Thank you kiddos for being who you are. You were a delight to travel with.
T lao shi
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