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Published: January 10th 2008
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Well folks, Happy New Year, both western and Chinese! It's been too long since we've updated you on our adventures here in Nanning.
We've had a marvellous visit with our girls. They arrived in Beijing on Dec. 18th and spent a whirlwind few days seeing many of the 'important' sites. Then they flew to Xi'an and we flew up and met them there on the 21st. It was quite cold - using our new standards of comparison - and I had to wear a winter jacket which I purchased for this trip! We got to see the Terra Cotta warriors, and they were as amazing as you imagine. Going at this time was really a good idea because the building in which the warriors are housed was almost empty; maybe 100 or 150 people total. I've seen pictures of the crowds three deep in the summer, and a line outside that would entail an hour's wait just to get in. So, braving a little cold was well worth it, and it wasn't even below zero.
We flew back to Nanning on Christmas Eve and had a quiet night in our apartment. Then Christmas Day we had present-time and opening
the things from Canada was a real treat - we got chocolate! We had a wonderful traditional Christmas meal at our Australian friend's place that evening. Unfortunately, that was the end of our holiday, only two days off, and only for foreign teachers. Wednesday morning saw me back at class, but Ainsley and Hillary came, which made the students very excited. Ainsley and Hillary felt like pop stars because everyone clapped whenever they came into a class (and they attended most of our classes), and then all the students wanted to have their pictures taken with the "beautiful foreign girls". We probably spent 30 minutes after one class having pictures taken.
We spent time shopping, touring the campus, having foot massages, and eating at great resaurants with the girls. They went off with their 'little brother' one afternoon shopping, and then out to a pub with him that night. (Their little brother is one of our student helpers who became our "son" when he took us out during Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for families to be together.) They also spent a half day at the People's Park with students from one of the classes that both Alan and I
teach.
We took a day trip on the 29th to the 17th-century town of Yangmei, which is a harrowing 90 minute taxi ride from Nanning. When we got there I was feeling rather ill, so we opted to walk into the town from the parking area rather than take the ox cart ride. It is a beautifully preserved village, but it has become quite touristy. Alan and Hillary went on an hour-long boat ride down the river and around an island, while Ainsley and I chose to walk around the streets of the village. We stayed there for lunch which was quite interesting as we don't have enough Chinese to order and the waiter and owner had no English. Hillary finally went over to some English-speakers she had met on the boat ride and had them translate for us. They did a good job, but the food left something to be desired. It was the only meal during the whole visit the girls had that they weren't too impressed with.
The time went far too quickly and all of a sudden it was time for Ainsley and Hillary to leave. They left Nanning on New Year's Day for
three days in hot Bangkok and then on to Canada. We loved having them here, and tried to convince them to stay and teach English at Guangxi - we hated to see them leave.
This is our last week of classes for this term, exams next week and then - after marking - we're off until February 25. Stacy, our Australian friend, is interested in having us go with him to an untouristy area so he and Alan can take pictures. He has described beautiful karst mountains and ancient Dong villages along picturesque rivers, which sounds very appealing. The catch is a 12 hour overnight bus ride to get there! I don't travel well, and on a smokey (yes, they can and do!) sleeper bus - I'm just not sure. I'm going to dope myself up and hope for the best. We'll spend the rest of the time here in Nanning, exploring the zoo, botanical gardens, and the other sites we have yet to see.
Take care, and we'll set off a few firecrackers on Chinese New Year for you!
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