The Family Vacation --What a Week!

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In Aaron's Eyes:

What a great time! Not only did we get to take a week off our job, we got to spend the week with my family. I don't know what could have been better. We had feelings and experiences on all sides of the travel feelings and experience spectrum. All in all, I think everyone left China with a little more appreciation and knowledge. Examples:

1. Utter happiness. Ely and I made a welcome sign for my family that we took to the Shanghai airport. We were so excited to see them, so we had to run to find them once we got to the airport. When they spotted us, they ran too. I can't get that picture out of my mind. The Boss (Nick) has definitely lost his first step, but he still got to us rather quickly. There is no better feeling than knowing you are a part of a really special and loving family.

2. Shear Terror. In Hangzhou, we had car trouble, undoubtedly brought on due to the 100+ degree weather. We pulled into a makeshift mechanic shop, where we waited on the curb for several hours. After a heated debate, we decided to improvise and get to Shanghai by train. So we split up and took taxis to the train station. I am not one to brag about having my wherewithals in China, but I knew the taxi driver was taking us in the wrong direction. So I asked him to turn around. Now most sane taxi drivers would attempt to satisfy this request by looking for the next proper turning lane or intersection. Once again, my American intuition failed me. I constantly need to remind myself, we are in China, not the US! So, our taxi driver tried to make a Nascar move on a busy freeway, then gets pinched up into another car. After realizing, shit, he got in a small wreck, he looked at me as if it was my fault. Rather than wait to give our depositions to the police, we decided to flee the scene, grab our luggage out of the trunk, and get another taxi. Easier said than done. We were in the middle of an 8 lane freeway. This particular freeway had no proper walkway---essentially just for cars. So there we are, Mom, Dad, and Me, in the middle of a busy freeway, lugging our large large luggage, in 100+ degree heat, in China, surrounded by the Chinese Gordon, Earnhart, and Andretti! It felt like the Frogger videogame. All in all, there was probably no better time for self-reflection than this.

3. Relaxation. Our Chinese buddies fortunately took pity on us "sorry excuses for world travelers." Rick and Kevin volunteered to be our unofficial tour guides in Suzhou. It was a worry-free 3 day section of the trip. They both have cars, which was a double whammy. Super convenient. It also really helps to go out to dinner with locals, especially if you are foreigners, as we obviously were. We tried some of the best foods Ely and I have had yet. Our friends ordered things in which they considered delicacies. You, on the other hand, might only consider even dissecting (let alone eat) these parts of the animal body with a sterile scalpel and rubber gloves. The most notable example wass the infamous duck tongue. I hold the view that this is the worst food in China. My students and Chinese friends will hold strong, claiming that this is derlicious.

3. Physical Uneasiness. We really put our tummies to the test--even the intrepid travelers Ely and I felt the heat. I don't know if there is something along the lines of Montezuma's Revenge in China. If there is, we definitely did something to make ole' Montezuma angry. Admittedly, Dad lost the battle early, followed by me, Nick, Mom, etc. A lot of the food is just unfamiliar for Western stomachs. Its a lot of fun experimenting and all, but it seems that it will all eventually catch up to you!

Most travel books cite street food as a definite no no! Ely and I disagree. We have had some of our most culturally enriching experiences in such atmospheres. So, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to show our family this environment. Less well-known travel books say that you haven't really experienced the local cuisine until you get a case of the shits. So...depending on the way you look at it, we might have checked off more goals from the Traveler's Checklist than we initially planned.

4. Separation Anxiety. Like I said before, when we first got here, it was a very exciting time. Everything was new and fresh. This maybe helped with the sadness of separation from our families. 7 months later, the novelty of being here has worn off a little, so when my family left, we didn't have any other feelings to fill in the gap. Only sadness 😞 I guess if this sort of sadness is the worst of my problems these days, I consider myself to be a lucky guy.

5. Still Hungry. In a literal sense, we really stuffed ourselves on the trip. It was essentially a trip dedicated a lot of the time towards international foods. However, this is not the kind of hunger I am talking about.

My mother refers to my desire to be away from home as wander lust. Being away has been really difficult. However--though my wishwashiness is all apparent at times--it has made me stronger and has aroused my adventurous spirit. The wander lust has yet to be tamed. I don't know exactly what it will take, but I am worried that when I return home next year, I will have a strong desire to go somewhere else. What can you do? There are seriously two different people inside of me. One tugs on my to be rational, practical, logical, to start the 401k and Roth IRA, to advance my career and education, to get the house, the 2.4 kids, and the white picket fence. The other one is pulling me in the opposite direction, wanting to delay my re-entrance into the real world, to see as many countries as years old I am, to be a drifter with nomadic tendencies, to just relax and learn more about the world. Its tough to say who will win the battle at this point. I hope to satisfy both people, but it will be a challenge.

6. A feeling of success. I feel the trip was a success. I think everyone learned quite a lot about China. Most of the food is derlicious, some isn't so good. The people are kind, we were in good company. Check, Check, Check. I think I have said this before, but we could meet in the unincorporated village of Darr and have a good time. It was pretty nice that everyone was willing to travel half way....no....maybe 2/3 of the way around the world just to see us.

I won't try to compete with the self proclaimed "International Traveler," as far as trying to sum up our trip. He could have co-founded Lonely Planet guidebooks for all I know. And he (Nick) is always prepared for capturing the essence of travel beauty, never leaving his camera out of hands reach. So I will hand it off to him.

In Nick's Eyes:

As many of you know I spent the last 10 days traveling in China with my family. We visited Aaron and Ely, who currently live in Suzhou teaching English. They spent the last couple weeks planning a trip that we will never forget. Spending time with them was the most important, but they had something entertaining to do each and every day.

We were to visit the cities of Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou; which form a triangle on the eastern central coast of China. Each city was completely unique and each offered a variety of things to see. After looking through Aaron’s itinerary, I knew we had a busy week ahead of us. In the Omaha airport I self-appointed myself “The International Traveler.” I was ready for China; I just hoped China was ready for me!

Jeff, Anne, Michaela and I flew through Minneapolis and then Tokyo before landing at Pudong Airport in Shanghai. Aaron and Ely’s supervisor, Joe, picked us up at the airport, a very nice gesture as we found out later he spent almost 10 hours waiting in the airport.

After a short 2 hour drive, we found ourselves in Suzhou at a motel/university housing development. Understandably short of sleep, we slept great regardless of the rock hard mattress. I would have to live without my Sealy pillow top mattress for the next 8 nights as the Chinese prefer to sleep on very hard surfaces.

The next morning we woke up and visited Aaron and Ely’s house and the business they worked for. Aaron has described his apartment before, but it’s hard to illustrate the sheer size of the complex. Rows and rows of high rise buildings that stretch for blocks. A Chinese family watched us intently as we filed out of our taxi. Evidentially there are very few foreigners that make it off the main streets in Suzhou.

Aaron didn’t disclose much information about our trip before we arrived and I was curious or maybe even worried about our living arrangements. As we pulled into the castle-like Sheraton Hotel, which had twice as many employees as customers, my worries were put to rest. One might think the cost of this lavish hotel would put a dent into our budget. Not true. We paid a whopping $80/night to live the next three days in the lap of luxury.

The next morning, very well rested I might add, we joined up with some of Aaron’s friends Kevin and Rick. Turns out you can chose your American name to give to foreigners. You can even pick out a couple names you like best. They were our chauffeurs for the next couple days. This was unexpected and looking back I have no doubt we would have struggled without their help. We can’t say thank you enough to our kind hosts.

The first trip was to the Humble Administrators garden in Suzhou. This garden was far from humble. Beautiful ponds, winding rivers, perfectly manicured bushes and shrubs, and ancient Chinese architecture. Even though the Chinese are dealing with over population and pollution they take great pride in the beauty of nature.

We visited another garden in the afternoon and by that time the temperature had soared to nearly 100 degrees with humidity that is hard to describe. I can’t count how many bottles of water I drank in China, but keeping hydrated was a task.

The next day we took a road trip with our new friends Kevin and Rick to a nearby lake community. We visited ancient caves and another garden on a rural community surrounded by water. The meal we had at this lake community included very fresh seafood. By this time I had almost perfected my chop stick technique. I could grab nearly any veggie, small shrimp-like creatures, fresh white fish or pearl fish that were native to this lake, and even chicken claw. I could grab many of these items, but that didn’t mean I would actually eat everything. Each dish we ordered was confusing to decide what pieces are meant to be eaten. You eat only the front end of the small clam, not the entire piece of meat. The tiny shrimp are very difficult to get the meat, but after a few hundred tries, you just figure it out. I had to deal with a lot of laughs from the locals.

One night Aaron and Ely insisted we eat at a local street market they frequent. I was incredibly tired after a long day of travel, but he insisted. Of all the travels we made in China the street venders were probably was the best cultural experience. Workers and locals all meet later in the evening to enjoy a late night snack. As mentioned earlier, Aaron and Ely go to the street market often and they knew what was safe to order. We snacked on chicken kabobs, chow mien, grilled fish (whole), and even grilled tofu. It was the perfect snack to end a wonderful night in Suzhou.

Aaron had mentioned in his blogs that he met some musicians from the Philippines. We visited Harry’s Bar for some music and refreshments. This band was incredible as they sang hit after hit of sing-a-long music. Aaron even performed one of his own songs on stage. He nailed it and received a nice applause from the crowd. It was a very entertaining evening and great last night in Suzhou!

The next morning we got up early to meet our personal driver that would drive us to the city of Hangzhou. This is another beautiful city developed near a large lake and mountains. We stayed in another 5-star hotel in Hangzhou that would rival the Sheraton in Suzhou.

The best way to really see the city was by bike, a very important means of transportation in China. We each chose a bike and headed out to the overcrowded streets with honking cabs and determined bicyclists. We toured the city for 5 hours stopping for snacks and beautiful scenery.

That night and the next morning we visited the street markets that sold various merchandise. I’m not much for shopping, but I managed to find DVDs, silk ties and various gifts for friends and family back home. Aaron mentioned this before to me, but everything sold in China has a discounted price. You just need to be a skilled consumer to get the “best price.” Aaron knew just enough Chinese to be a dangerous bargainer. He was the “closer” for most of my purchases.

The trip was going too smoothly for comfort as we loaded the van for Shanghai. About 20 minutes into our drive without air conditioning, our driver noticed the van was getting dangerously close to overheating. We pulled into a makeshift auto shop. By makeshift, I mean an alley with 10 so-called mechanics. These mechanics just started tearing into the van, pulling out pieces by the dozen. Occasionally they would drop a wrench in the engine and one specialist even decided to craft a new tool to reach the innards of the tricky foreign Buick engine.

After about 2 hours we decided that the van was probably not road safe and we tracked across town with our suitcases in hand. Aaron and Dad’s cab took off the wrong direction and then in a dangerous maneuver, wrecked the cab in a busy freeway. Life doesn’t get much better than playing “Frogger” in a busy freeway during rush hour. Everyone survived and we boarded the train to Shanghai.

Shanghai is China’s largest city with over 15 million people. To reach our hotel we needed to take the subway. As we walked up the steps from the subway I was shocked. Bright lights, thousands of people, huge skyscrapers, and did I mention the thousands of people. Aaron and Ely found us a hotel placed in Shanghai’s “Time Square.” Just like the movies!

We were in awe of the city; its size, its people and its culture. Even though it was nearly midnight after a long day of travels, we had to explore. Aaron, Ely, Micky and I walked around the town taking in the sights: the Pearl TV Tower, 40-story Coke bottle, China’s tallest building currently under construction, and some of the most determined street salesmen I’ve ever ran across. Take the best car salesmen or insurance agent in the US, and these people would run circles around them. They could walk by your side and give a sales pitch for 10 minutes without you even acknowledging their existence. Even with my marketing background, I was impressed.

We ended the night at a small family-run restaurant near our hotel. They had pictures of the food in the menu. Hooray, we could comfortably order food! Another one of my favorite memories was just sitting and chatting with my brother, Ely, and sister that night. It was nothing more than small talk, but it reminded my how important my siblings are to me. After a couple bottles of beer and delicious entrees, we were ready for bed.

We woke the next morning and headed out to visit the Pearl Tower. This is an oddly shaped building that looks something from the Jetsons. We toke an elevator to the viewing area, traveling somewhere near supersonic speeds, that was a sphere 70 stories high. The view was amazing and unlike anywhere I’d ever been before. Tall buildings seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction.

That afternoon we visited numerous sites in the city, using the subway for transportation and a refuge from the weather. The heat and humidity combined for a real nasty urban oven. We read in the paper the next day that it was the hottest day of the year in Shanghai at 104 degrees with 90 percent humidity. I looked like I was pushed into a pool with my clothes on. Which looking back would have been a great idea!

That evening Aaron picked a Thai restaurant, not a Japanese Thai or Chinese Thai restaurant. Thai Thai food. Inside joke. The food was probably the best meal on the trip. Derlirsious, as the Chinese would say! We purchased tickets to an acrobatic show that evening. The show was incredibly corny, but entertaining nonetheless. It may be hard to explain with words, but the look on the faces of these performers after finishing a death defying acrobatic move was priceless. They stood tall, arms wide and opened handed with an ear to ear smile showing everyone in the crowd their bleached white teeth. I truly believe they spent as much time practicing acrobatics as they did on their finishing pose.

We got back to the hotel around 11:00. Aaron shopped for an extra suitcase to take home our goodies. He bartered with a street vender for about 20 minutes before getting the best price of 160 RMB or about $20 for the “best quality” Swiss Army counterfeit suitcase. I forgot to mention earlier but we each packed a carry on suitcase for a 9 day trip. After some success at the street markets, I had to jump on the suitcase to zip it shut. We packed our bags and headed down to a café to spend some time together; our plane left back to the States at 10:30 the next morning.

We took a taxi to the airport the next morning. Our drivers drove like most people in China, fast and unrestrained. I’m sure there are basic laws of the road in China, but they must be more like general guidelines. At first we were white-knuckled holding on for dear life, but I found that if you just accept it the drivers usually arrived safely at your destination.

I knew saying goodbye was going to be tough knowing it would be another year or so before I would see Aaron and Ely again. We had just spent 8 days together traveling from city to city, eating great meals, seeing sights in an interesting country, but most importantly just spending time together. We all hugged and cried, and hugged again and cried a little more. I tried to fit Aaron in my carry-on and then squeeze Ely into my backpack. They didn’t fit.

It was truly a trip of a lifetime and memories I will cherish forever. On the plane ride home I scanned through the pictures on my camera. What an adventure and an amazing week with my family.

In Dad's Eyes:

Seven Glorious days in luxurious China.

Barely time enough to learn the language, understand the traffic routes, or know what to eat or not. Thankfully, Aaron and Ely were supported by their 3 kind friends in Suzhou who became our guardian angels. We were allowed to see parts of China that I don’t think were on any conventional tour. The back road off of a back road leads us to a glorious garden that they are obviously very proud of. It is difficult for us to know what comments could be made that may not be considered appropriate for us to make. At one point, I notice that something was said that did not set well. So much differences in cultures, yet so many similarities of what people want and value.

I n the next 20 years I see a major change in the way this country operates. The people have been satisfied with the status quo for a very long time but it seems to me that the population under 30 years of age have found that there is more to life than just surviving. I see wants becoming more of a way of life in this country. The balance of bringing their country into the 21st century, yet maintaining their culture and controls will be a very complicated task.

There must be huge movement of population from the country to the city, based on the amount of residential construction, mostly apartment buildings. The cities continue to be expanded along with any of the outlying regions. The highways and streets have been developed and appeared to be very modern. I think this was done intentionally and it does make good sense. While observing the construction, it was an odd coincidence to watch a huge crane working overhead while workers were carrying cement in wooden buckets to build a foundation.

It is easy to see that they are beginning to see the value of the tourist dollar and many extra employees appear to be in place to respond to your every wish. No one has a lot to do but there are plenty of people around to do it.

We were so fortunate to get to see so much and I was so thrilled to be able to observe the members of my family interact and respond to each other, silly or otherwise. It is so amazing to see how my children respect and care for each other as adults. ( I knew if I waited long enough this would happen). They are very dedicated to each other and want to stay involved in their futures in any way possible. I felt so lucky to have us all together for this time knowing that an event like this would be some time in the future before it may happen again.

I come back to our country and am even more thankful to be living where I do. There are so many advantages that we have on a daily basis that are almost invisible and to see life in a country such as this makes me realize that we are so fortunate to have the choices we do. It was a grand adventure and I thank Aaron & Ely for their efforts to allows to be able to enjoy the trip that we had. ( Except for the part involving getting kicked out of the taxi on the freeway by the cab driver). As a parent, I am saddened by the length of time we will be separated from them, yet I am so proud of the brave adventurous spirit they possess to be able to take on such a project. They have survived in a climate that I would not have had the courage to take on.
These memories will be stored in one of my favorite compartments-unless I forget where I left it.

Jeff/Dad

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Photos

Riding around
West Lake in Hangzhou

Welcome to China Dad
A busy Shanghai metro.

Sichuan Fire Fish
Delicious but dangerously spicy. Hot!

Shanghai Urban Planning Museum
A model of Shanghai 10 years in the future. Nick says (according to his expertise) a model of this proportion would take 1 man 2 lifetimes. It took up a whole room.

Shanghai Acrobatic Venue
Its difficult to describe what we say in this arena. Maybe like a Vegas performance 20 years ago. Very talented performers. Also very corny.

Humble Administrator's Garden
Not so humble.

Downtown Shanghai
Just hangin' next to the panties. In the middle of town.

Shanghai
Totally touristy. We rode to the top of the Pearl Tower. This is the view it affords. So yes, now we know Shanghai has lots of people and commerce.

Hangzhou Mechanic
Maybe the best pic of the trip. Kayla handed the mechanic a racy American magazine. As we sweat our skin off on the curb, he gets a little distracted. Censorship has its downside!

Another View
Shanghai in 10 years.

"The World Traveler"
Always ready for the perfect shot.

Comments

[Lynda B.]

Wow! I felt as if I had been there, too. What an experience! Glad aaron and Ely are good. Andrew is connected with his same [e-mail]. Maybe you were disconnected for awhile. Take care. Love ya, Lynda