Today is our last full day in China. All of us LOVE this country. I can see future experts in Chinese studies among our group. I can even imagine one or two kids coming to study or live in China some day. Certainly, I think everyone wants to try to come back. A big challenge for our trip organizers has been balancing touring activities with shopping time. We have avid shoppers in the group who are fascinated with the bargaining culture. After every little bit of time we are given to go off and shop, the kids compare notes. "She asked 180 yuan for it but I got the price down to 70." "I got the price down from 500 to 180." Grace keeps saying, "I feel so bad, like I'm being mean or something." I told her the vendor wouldn't agree to the price if there was not a profit in it. We also had many meals at touristy restaurants where all the food seemed much the same from one restaurant to the next. Dr. Xue and I talked to our trip organizer, Robbie, and he said this is an issue with every trip because the guides have an incentive to take groups to these types of restaurants. But after our discussion, we starting going to authentic restaurants with local food. It has been so much better. Well off we go to a water village and other wonders.
Mr. Johnson
We have loved being a part of this trip through the blog, and we are so thankful that you were able to post all of the photographs and memories to share.
ReplyDelete