Friday morning we head back to the girls’ school to see Brian read to Veronica’s class. The children are delighted to see Brian who they have nicknamed “turkey” and they love teasing him. We find it interesting that when entering the school grounds, we must first have our temperature taken at the guard house. It only takes a second as they use a device that is pointed behind our ear. The peculiar part is that the week before we entered the school grounds with knives in our bags for pumpkin carving but we’re allowed to go through since our temperature is normal; go figure. Another peculiar thing is that Holli sent Hanson her driver to Papa John’s to get ice for Veronica’s teacher, and that was after we went to Star Bucks to order a Christmas tree. Things sure work differently in China.
That afternoon we head off for greatly needed massages and a haircut; afterward, we head back to the fabric market without Holli. We feel as though we’re really getting to know our way around since Holli sent us off on our own. Of course, in the back of our mind we were also thinking maybe we drove her to the limit and it was her way of getting rid of us. We made it back though after honing our skill at “negotiating” again with the vendors. We’re getting pretty good at that.
In the evening we tackle Friday evening traffic and go to the long awaited trip to the Barbie Store which is 6 floors of everything Barbie; we’ve never seen anything like this. The girls pick out a few items and then we head to the restaurant which is amazing.
On Saturday we visit Yuyuan Garden which is located in the center of the Old City and is considered one of the finest Chinese gardens in the region. Work in the garden began in the mid 1500s and took almost 20 years to complete the original garden. It was like a maze going through it and many times we thought we were done only to realize we found another area we hadn’t seen before. It was all very beautiful. We meet up with Brian and Kendall afterward and do some shopping (and negotiating) in the market area around the garden. Marianne, Brian, Kendall and Veronica spend Saturday evening trick-or-treating and attending a few Halloween parties in a neighboring development.
We spend the day on Sunday packing, playing games, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. Our time together is coming to an end and we’re all beginning to feel anxious about parting company tomorrow morning. Monday morning comes and Marianne handles herself like a champ in front of the girls. Hanson drove us to the airport and we charge him with taking care of Holli, Brian and the girls until they come back to the US. He assures us that he will certainly do that; we know that he cares for this family and that is comforting.
Once again the long trip back where we spend our time reading, watching movies and trying in vain to sleep. It was good to see Cork and Steve at the airport in Harrisburg and when we see them we realize how much we’ve missed them.
It was an amazing trip, one that we will never forget. Like we said before, China is a country of dramatic contrasts. However, now we have a greater appreciation for the people who are kind and gentle (except if they’re trying to sell you something.)
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