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Published: November 1st 2010
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Elephant woman
getting on was a little undignified Hi all,
It’s time to fill you in on our latest adventures, so grab a cuppa, relax, and come to China with us.
Life is very different for us now, as you would expect. There have been many times in the last 13 days when I could have easily got on the on the first plane home, but then I would see something amazing and realise 'I can do this'. That this complex, challenging, mysterious, amazing place is, for the time being, now home.
The girls are settling in really well. Watching them eat spaghetti bolognaise with chop sticks made me realise they are capable of extraordinary things. Michael is loving his new job. I admire his enthusiasm and confidence. He is picking up the language so quickly. The translation of English into Mandarin is such a challenge and we try to speak and write it as much as possible. I just sent him an email in Mandarin to say I was looking forward to him coming home. It apparently read I couldn't wait for him to get on the boards! Nice! I seriously have a long way to go.
There are so many things here that are so below
Elephant woman
...so worth it the standard of living that we are all accustomed to. The poverty is horrendous. In some areas the filth and living conditions (not in Generals Garden) is so disgusting that it makes me nauseous, the traffic is like the worst of Sydney peak hour x 20 (it can take an hour to get 8 km), the beggars are few, but they are heartbreaking. They are quite frowned upon by their fellow Chinese who have a strong work ethic. Having said all that, there is so much hope and happiness here. The people are kind (except the sharks at the market who are trying to wangle the dollars out of you), humble, generous (even those with nothing), family oriented and so very happy. They are thankful to be alive it seems.
There is laughter everywhere you go (maybe at us…we will never know) and everyone is up for a chat, even if neither of you have a clue what the other is saying…this morning I spoke with a resident lady, who was out walking, for 5 mins while I was putting our clothes out to dry (no clothes line...just clothes horses for all to see). I think she was saying it
Elephant woman
Friends.He was so cute...well for an elephant is a great day for drying clothes. What she may have been saying was that they are biggest pair of jeans I have ever seen….You know me, I was amused regardless. I think we may be friends now. There is a certain amount of intimacy when you share your washing secrets with another.
The closest friend I have made is to a 90 year old, ex-army officer who has dementia. He walks around the place all day doing his inspection. He is so intrigued by us. He checks out our place constantly with military scrutiny and precision. I am not sure if he is being protective, or gathering strategic intelligence. He has looked over all our washing (which was outside on the clothes horse) and then come up to our glass doors and pressed his face against them to peer inside. He has tried to come inside once or twice, but usually by that stage the concierge/guard that stands out the front of our building comes and asks him to return to the home. He always obeys with a smile and a wave. I have tried to let the guard know that we don’t mind, and we are happy that
...but no matter how far or how wide I roam
Random man asking for photo with the girls... he visits, but it gets lost in translation. The security guards are very protective of us, and will even stand out the front of our ground floor apartment when the gardener comes into our courtyard to trim the bushes. They dress in military style uniforms, and apparently it is a very honourable and prestigious job for them.
On Saturday we went to Beijing World Park. It was brilliant! The Chinese are so great at making copies and fake stuff, and this place demonstrates that talent to the max. The park is not a 'blue chip' tourist attraction like the Great Wall or Forbidden City, and mainly visited by in-the-know ‘Beijingers’, so we were unsure of what to expect, but decided it was time for a ‘kid’ day so we gave it a go. Well it was fantastic! We loved it! It is a huge park full of scale replicas of famous buildings and landmarks from all over the world, which you can walk through, around, or under. You will see by the pictures what I mean. The kids enjoyed the geography and history lessons (most of the time), and we all felt a touch of homesickness when we walked over
the harbour bridge, and stood beside the Opera House. Once again the girls were a constant source of fascination to the locals, and I think most of them took more photos of them, than they did of the buildings. Some people were subtle, some were polite and asked, and then there were others who just blatantly snapped away. One funny man was so excited to see the girls standing at the opera house. He was waving his hands madly trying to get their attention, and asked politely for a photo in front of it. I guess it made it more authentic!
My claim to fame on the day was letting the elephant pick me up and sitting on it's trunk - I’ll include the photo. It was fun, and it encouraged the girls to have a go with the other animals later. Michael, never one to be outdone, was a lot braver than I, and rode the wild ox. This savage beast was the wildest and most scary creature in the park, that only very bravest could attempt. My man showed such courage and manliness. It was a proud heroic moment for me. Enjoy the photo (page 2) and note
the absence of fear in his eyes …
On Sunday we did the 'big one', we went to The Great Wall! It was truly amazing and I definitely had one of those moments, where you are just so incredibly awed. As you drive towards it you get tantalising glimpses, but nothing prepares you for the feeling when you actually see it in fully, and then step on to it. It is so enormous! It just goes on and on for as far as the eye can see. Today I can feel every muscle in my body, and each time I move the pain is a reminder of the many stairs I had to climb as I trekked up and down along the Wall. I loved every second of it, and can’t wait to go back for another visit. There were many Guard Towers to explore, and beautiful scenery on every side. Another fun part of the day was getting back to the bottom…by toboggan. WHOOOOOOOO!!! You can walk down if you prefer, but Tobogganing is definitely the thrill-seekers way for the quick descent. It was so much fun and we all (especially the girls) loved it.
Well I have
Apollo
...strike a pose. raved on and on. Thanks for all your comments last time, every single one made me smile and miss you all. Let me know your thoughts. I'll write again soon. Don't forget to check out both pages of photos. Zaijian pengyou, Nat x
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Michael Darragh
non-member comment
Taming the Wild Ox
Don't be fooled, this natural killer is much tougher than Elephants and Camels. The handler later thanked me for helping to tame this rogue, after my ride all the kids lined up 10 deep to have a go at this monster ... Ox man