Homeward Bound
Early on July 13, 2011 (Adam's 37th birthday), we left on our homeward journey from Xi’an around the world through Russia, England, Canada, Washington DC, and finally to Salt Lake City. We bade farewell to our home-sweet-hovel and to Mr. Chen, who had come to see us off in the early morning hours after arranging for and loading us and our luggage into a luxury car. We eased back for the drive to the Xi'anyang airport, where we boarded our China Eastern flight for Pudong (Shanghai), where we were to meet our connecting flight to Moscow.
We had determined to take this route home for several good reasons: First, we wanted to avoid even the thoughts of an 18-hour-plane ride from Xi’an to Salt Lake City; second, we looked forward to seeing places we had never seen as well as visiting Stephen and Corinne Sorenson, who have been presiding over the Russia Moscow Mission. Both they and we had been looking forward for literally months to our upcoming visit with them, when they were going to show us their Moscow.
Then just the weekend before we were to leave we received an urgent email message from Steve to call him ASAP. Upon doing so we learned that he had just been released from a 5-day stint in the hospital with blood clots on his lungs. Furthermore, while there the doctors had found a large tumor in his abdomen and he was being flown to Utah on Monday on a medical emergency—two days before we were due to arrive! They were disappointed, as were we, but our concern was far more that he get the medical attention he needed. We assured him we would find a place to stay and still have a great time while missing them.
Thanks to the Internet (of course), I quickly lined up a K-vart apartment in Moscow (for a better price and better situation than the typically expensive Moscow hotel) and President Sorenson arranged to have his assistant pick up tickets for a wonderful evening of music and dance—tickets for only $17 each, thanks to these Russian-speaking elders’ picking them up for us instead of our paying the usual $172 price charge when an English speaker tries to purchase the same thing online. We appreciated his efforts for us, especially when he really needed to be focused on getting himself squared away with his own needs. We look forward to seeing them in Utah.
My mental image of Moscow had been that we would find it a big, dreary and grey city. I was surprised to find it a city that really appealed to me in many ways: We loved the Metro (once we got the hang of the Cyrillic signs) with trains for which we never had to wait more than a minute as they came continuously to collect the millions of people waiting in beautiful marble underground stations. Missing a train was no problem there!
We enjoyed a bus tour of the city to see the sites of the Kremlin with its onion-domed churches, Red Square, the University, and much more. We had perfectly cool weather and found the people to be helpful and interesting, with the food expensive, but good. The sky was blue (so unlike China’s grey), and the city sparkled with vistas. To be sure we saw sad reminders of the Soviet past on all sides of us, but even still, I liked Moscow.
After a tour of Red Square (“red” means beautiful, we were told) and a close-up view of just the exterior of the amazing St. Basil’s Cathedral, we took a metro train out to the suburbs to see a famed Russian shopping area. There we found wonderful groceries and interesting Russian crafts. Our luggage was maxed out at 50 pounds per bag so we were not in the market to buy anything but it was such fun to see the handmade jewelry, pottery, embroidery, and fur items. Seeing such areas, however, always gives me a feel for an area beyond the typical sightseeing stops.
Having successfully connected with the elders who purchased our show tickets for us, on our last night we went to see Kostroma—an amazingly colorful performance of Russian music and dance.
The Muscovites have a unique system of “taxis,” which we loved. If you want to go somewhere you can just hail any car and they will pull over, quote you a standard price (which we learned is set by the government at 200 rubles), and take you to your destination. Thought they have a number of official taxis around, just about anyone with a car, new or old, is in the transportation business. It was a kick. When we left at 5:30 am for the train station, from where we were to depart for our next destination, upon seeing us pulling our bags up the street, literally five private cars pulled over simultaneously to so offer us a ride. Unfortunately, the first one to reach us was a beat-up old Datsun (a close relative to our old “Blaum”) and the other four were nice new cars. Though we felt obligated to stick with the first one (sigh!), we arrived at the station in good order for our Sapsan train to St. Petersburg. The train—a modern, express, bullet train—was wonderful and we flew by the scenery at 250 miles an hour! We loved it!
Arriving in St. Petersburg we found ourselves in a downpour but nonetheless managed to negotiate our way to our hotel with the help of a taxi driver (no private transport here!) who acted as an impromptu tour guide, pointing out this and that along the way as we went. We had arranged for a room at the Herzen House mini-hotel, which turned out to be a very delightful choice, centrally located near just about everything we want to see, and a lot less expensive than the normal tourist-type hotels. St. Petersburg, even in the rain, is lovely—very European in feel, with a touch of Russia thrown in. It is a walkable city in many ways so we felt we had been guided in making the arrangements we did.
In St. Petersburg we also took a bus tour to get the lay of the land and then walked and walked to just enjoy the places we especially wanted to see—the Winter Palace of the Hermitage, the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood (built on the spot where the assassination of one of the czars took place), the Peter and Paul Fortress, and meandering along the river and canals that earn this city the nickname “Venice of the North.”
Saturday evening we attended a stunning performance of Swan Lake ballet at the Conservatory of Music. It was worth the trip!
Sunday, July 17, was my 65th birthday and we celebrated by searching out on the metro the St. Petersburg branches and attending a block of meetings. We didn’t understand much but the Spirit was there. Later that day we went for dinner at an Armenian restaurant recommended to us by a Russian couple we met in Suzhou, China.
Monday we said goodbye to Russia, leaving for the airport and our flight to London’s Gatwick airport. Our trip on Russian Air was without incident and we found it strange to suddenly find ourselves in a city were everyone spoke English.
We took a cab to the London temple, where we stayed over night in their “Accommodations Centre.” It was a lovely evening and so nice to be at a temple again.
Tuesday morning we attended the first endowment session before taking a cab to Felbridge, then a bus to Southampton. We arrived in the afternoon, found the Linden House B&B, and enjoyed dinner at a Persian restaurant—yummy!—before turning in for the night.
In the morning after a nice English breakfast we took a taxi to the pier to await our boarding of the Queen Mary 2 for our voyage home. John had sailed home from his mission 45 years ago and longed to do it again. We loved being able to set our clocks forward one hour a day rather than struggle with jet lag because of an all-at-once time change of 14 hours.
The ship was amazing, regal, and wonderfully cared for, as were we. The food was delicious (though too much, of course), and the educational offerings very worth while. I took multiple computer classes along the way.
The QM2 has 5 formal nights along the way, which we were ill-prepared for (John’s tux didn’t make the trip to China) but we did fine and met some pleasant people. This would be an ideal trip with a group of family or friends!
It was grand to pull into New York harbor in the early morning hours of July 27th after being away for nearly 12 months. Seeing the American flags waving and the Statue of Liberty in the morning light was a wonderful reminder of the blessing of being Americans.
From Brooklyn port we bused to Newark Airport to catch our flight to Toronto for three days of family history on the Laing line. John commented that we were following the same journey his third-great-grandparents had made from England by ship, then to Ontario, Canada, where the family settled until later son Charles Grierson and two of his siblings went to the States while the rest of the 11 children remained in Canada. A couple of years ago John made contact with a distant cousin, Hugh Laing, who had inherited a tin box of documents and other family items from his grandfather, William Charles Laing.
His ancestor, John Laing—who was the eldest brother of Charles Grierson—was the first to come to Ontario, arriving there in 1837 reportedly with his uncle Adam Laing, a brother of his father, William. John’s farm is still there, though no longer in the family. We were almost overawed as we looked around the beautiful 200-acre family farm. Later, in 1848, William the rest of his family made the same trip. In the course of the three days we were in the Guelph area we met other distant cousins, toured family cemeteries, the Wellington County Archives, and other relevant sites.
The day before we left we found the ruins of the actual farm that William and family had lived on—which is now part of government-owned conservation lands. It was a blast for both of us to spend this time with Hugh Laing as well as other cousins he surprised us with meeting. It was a marvelous chance to see this area through new eyes. John and I had gone to Guelph on another occasion and found nothing. Boy, does it ever make a difference to meet people in an ancestral area who know the lay of the land and are anxiously engaged in turning their hearts to their fathers, too.
We left Saturday morning, July 30, and retraced our trek back to Newark, where we caught a train to Washington, DC. We were delayed due to a medical emergency of another passenger but all worked out well and we arrived in DC and were met by Clyde and Pat Jupiter, who whisked us off to dinner at a Mexican restaurant right across the street from the townhouse we used to own, and then to their home to stay overnight. Sunday morning we attended church in our former ward, Derwood Ward, and saw many wonderful friends there. It was awesome to attend Clyde’s Gospel Essentials Sunday School class. After some 26 years of patiently waiting, Clyde joined the Church just over a year ago and he and Pat were sealed in May of this year—one year to the day! Happy day for both of them! We were their home teachers for years and years when we lived here. It was just neat to see them now equally yoked.
Patrick happened to be in Maryland doing some sales training for his company and had hoped to join us for church but got mixed up on the time. He managed to join us at Jupiters’ for dinner and a visit.
After Brookside we drove to the temple and spent a few minutes in the Visitors’ Center and ate dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant before Patrick took us to our hotel. So nice to have had a good visit! We made plans to meet to attend the temple Tuesday night after John’s NIH visit before our flight home on Wednesday.
Monday morning early we took a shuttle from the hotel to NIH’s Safra Family Lodge and checked in before heading back to the clinic for his blood work, exams, and MRIs. It was great to see Dr. Bennett and to learn that John is actually doing very well. There is some muscular loss due to the pressure of the syrinx that necessitated John’s spinal cord surgery in April 2009. This causes him to be a little unstable but we have been so blessed in so many ways we can’t really complain. It is good for John to just know all is well so he can accept the limitations he has and then do all he can in spite of them. He is a good one.
Monday night after his last MRI at 5:45 we met Tamanahas, who picked us up and took us to dinner at a Thai restaurant. Maurice drove and Boyd and Charlotte and their little boy (all living with Izumi and Tom as Boyd waits to see if he is admitted to med school) came too. It is always fun to have our annual visits. Izumi has had a hip replacement and a back fusing this year. Poor dear!
Tuesday we met again with Dr. Bennett for the review of the MRIs and had another good report. We picked up a year’s supply of John’s drug and then spent the afternoon working on our laptops at the lodge until meeting Patrick at 6:00 for dinner at China Gourmet and a wonderful temple session—our first at DC for some years. It was special to be there with our #1 son. He was so sweet with helping John up and down the stairs at the temple. It has been a special time with him. We will pick him up next week for the reunion and possibly—if he can work it out—for Anderson’s baptism. We hope he can figure it out.
Wednesday August 3 is finally here and we are on the way for our final leg home. We left NIH at 7:00 this morning and took the Metro to Reagan Airport, from where we flew to Chicago, and we’re just now being called for our Salt Lake City flight! All has gone very well with our long trip, we have been blessed repeatedly, and we are looking forward to seeing family this afternoon. Kathy and Brent—bless them!—will meet us at the airport and Chi, David, and family, as well as Adam, will come to celebrate Asia’s birthday and our homecoming. AND we get to meet Kymora. What a happy thing!
It has been a remarkable year for us in so many ways. We feel blessed beyond measure for the health and safety we have experienced. Grateful to family for all their efforts in our behalf. Grateful for the challenges and the opportunities that have been ours.
It will be a short turnaround before we leave on our mission to Germany in six weeks and they will be fully packed. But that is all good.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Concluding Our Year in Xi'an
Our last few weeks in Xi'an have been a bit of a blur filled with receiving our mission call to the Freiberg Germany Temple, shipping things to Germany, and to Utah, making my last visits to our favorite places in Xi'an to say our goodbyes, giving and grading John's millions of finals, and finally packing to leave on July 13.
Because we were so soon to leave China and wouldn't receive the envelop from the First Presidency, Mark Woodruff hand carried it to Heather Cook (since George was out of town). We called and had them open the envelop for us and were delighted to learn that the call to serve came for 12 months in the temple. John is excited to think of speaking German for a year! I am nervous but willing. It was nice to finally know where to ship our remaining things too so I was kept busy deciding what to send where and pulling our roller duffles to China Post.
I also fit in a couple of outings with Julie Monson to places we hadn't yet been. One I had wanted to visit was the Guanzhong Folk Art Museum. To get there Julie and I took three different buses way out of town. We loved it and loved spending the time together before we go our separate ways.
These are all original structures which have been dismantled and rebuilt in the folk museum.
All this time we have lived in Xi'an we have been told we were surrounded with mountains but we have never seen them. The skies are too murky. Today I thought it would be different since we would be so close to them, but it was still impossible to see anything more than a faint outline of hills. Oh well. We focused on things closer at hand and there was much to see!
I have never lost my love of the Chinese dragons in all their various versions. I liked this little guy sitting in the grass.
This is a wedding chair. It among many other items were on display.
A lot of the architecture of China has vivid colors but these were all buildings in grey and beige, but the brick work was really lovely.
It has been such fun to have a good friend who enjoyed tripping as much as I did.
One of our other outings was to go back to the artists' street just inside the wall to find last minute gifts and just enjoy the time together.
China has much to offer to a bargainer and I have become good at being one. The Chinese enjoy it and so do we!
While there we met a delightful family visiting from the Frankfurt Germany area.
One of the more difficult things about leaving China will be our leaving our students. Both John and I have grown close to many of them and in particular a small number of girls in my writing class. After our final three asked if they could take us out to dinner. Instead I invited them to our apartment. They came bearing gifts in the traditional Chinese way. We enjoyed visiting and learning more of their plans and dreams. We will take them and others home with us in our hearts.
We will also miss our wonderful little branch which John will continue to lead from afar. It is likely that he will remain as branch president in absentia until sometime in October, communicating with his one counselor in Xi'an via Skype--that's how it is done in China!
July 13 is upon us and with that we gathered up the last of our things, filling our duffles and headed for the airport in style in a lovely car Mr. Chen kindly arranged for us. We take with us 100 pounds of stuff and millions of memories. The next few weeks will be an adventure as we work our way home around the rest of the world.
Goodbye dear old dusty Xi'an.
Because we were so soon to leave China and wouldn't receive the envelop from the First Presidency, Mark Woodruff hand carried it to Heather Cook (since George was out of town). We called and had them open the envelop for us and were delighted to learn that the call to serve came for 12 months in the temple. John is excited to think of speaking German for a year! I am nervous but willing. It was nice to finally know where to ship our remaining things too so I was kept busy deciding what to send where and pulling our roller duffles to China Post.
I also fit in a couple of outings with Julie Monson to places we hadn't yet been. One I had wanted to visit was the Guanzhong Folk Art Museum. To get there Julie and I took three different buses way out of town. We loved it and loved spending the time together before we go our separate ways.
These are all original structures which have been dismantled and rebuilt in the folk museum.
All this time we have lived in Xi'an we have been told we were surrounded with mountains but we have never seen them. The skies are too murky. Today I thought it would be different since we would be so close to them, but it was still impossible to see anything more than a faint outline of hills. Oh well. We focused on things closer at hand and there was much to see!
I have never lost my love of the Chinese dragons in all their various versions. I liked this little guy sitting in the grass.
This is a wedding chair. It among many other items were on display.
A lot of the architecture of China has vivid colors but these were all buildings in grey and beige, but the brick work was really lovely.
It has been such fun to have a good friend who enjoyed tripping as much as I did.
One of our other outings was to go back to the artists' street just inside the wall to find last minute gifts and just enjoy the time together.
China has much to offer to a bargainer and I have become good at being one. The Chinese enjoy it and so do we!
While there we met a delightful family visiting from the Frankfurt Germany area.
One of the more difficult things about leaving China will be our leaving our students. Both John and I have grown close to many of them and in particular a small number of girls in my writing class. After our final three asked if they could take us out to dinner. Instead I invited them to our apartment. They came bearing gifts in the traditional Chinese way. We enjoyed visiting and learning more of their plans and dreams. We will take them and others home with us in our hearts.
We will also miss our wonderful little branch which John will continue to lead from afar. It is likely that he will remain as branch president in absentia until sometime in October, communicating with his one counselor in Xi'an via Skype--that's how it is done in China!
July 13 is upon us and with that we gathered up the last of our things, filling our duffles and headed for the airport in style in a lovely car Mr. Chen kindly arranged for us. We take with us 100 pounds of stuff and millions of memories. The next few weeks will be an adventure as we work our way home around the rest of the world.
Goodbye dear old dusty Xi'an.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Anniversaries
The first week in June means Patrick’s Evan’s 5th birthday on the 2nd and our 43rd wedding anniversary on the 4th. The month of May was a busy one for our family as well with Kymora’s arrival on the 19th, Kamryn’s the 24th and Nya’s the 26th. May 17th was the 97th anniversary of Grammy Tate’s mortal life. These are all important occasions, important because each one is precious to us.
John always gets a kick out of the strange things we come across in Xi'an--like this exposed rolled wire just off an overpass. He always wants to take a picture to show Lorenz the quality of work you find in China.
On Thursday this week, after my morning class, John met me for an outing that he was excited to take. I finished my class and met him at the South Gate as bus 508 came by. I jumped on to join him.
Several days ago as we traveled by taxi we had spotted out a window a Steinway Piano Company in Xi’an, located next door to a music conservatory, which we were also unaware of. Both were close by the Small Blue Goose Pagoda where we had gone with Karen and Elaine. We found the shop and found there a beautiful Steinway, Hamburg D concert grand. They also carried other pianos made by Steinway but that didn’t carry the Steinway name. John was invited to try out the grand and for 30-40 minutes he savored the sound and touch of that beautiful instrument. It was a delightful adventure. After we walked a block to the north to the Beilin antique market which I had been to but John had not and we had fun searching there for a little jade pendant for a friend in Russia that we will visit on the way home.
It is hard to believe John and I have been married twice as long as we have lived before being married. I am so grateful for the miracles that have preserved John’s life and allowed us these challenging and wonderful years together. I frequently remember and thank the Lord for my not losing him when I was just 40—Chi’s age now. How blessed we have been to be allowed this time together.
Our actual anniversary was not as full of cheer as we had hoped. We had planned to go out shopping in the afternoon and to dinner in the evening. That didn’t happen. Instead I graded research papers all morning and finished one of my two classes. Hurrah! But in the afternoon I had one of my students who is a computer guy come to help get my system sped up. My computer is old and runs too many programs and was soooo slow it seemed a good idea at the time. It was instead one of the more disastrous decisions I have made when it comes to electronics. I now have a computer that runs a bit faster, but the system that was reloaded and the programs (Microsoft Office) on it turned out to be all in Chinese! Thus far we have not found a way to translate them into English. At least my documents are all in English. Fortunately we are here for only just over one month and I have only three more powerpoints to produce. Email is tricky, I have no Skype, no outlook and no a lot of other things so my computer life has become simplified. I wouldn’t have chosen it to simplify in this manner but it is what it is. Meanwhile we will celebrate our anniversary Monday so we have that to look forward to.
Fortunately the next day, Monday, one of John's grad students came and worked on my computer and got at least some things into English. I will just limp along until I get home and replace the whole configuration or buy a new computer. Sigh.
About 10:30 pm last night it popped into my head to check to see who was to teach Relief Society and I found it was ME! I immediately knew that I would teach on the topic of being grateful in ALL thing—even when your computer has suddenly become Chinese!
Today in our Church meetings we had a wonderful set of meetings. Our branch swelled to the point it looked like a ward as we welcomed our visitors—a family of 8 here to pick up their adopted daughter from Amanda’s foster home, 12 BYU engineering students with their professor and his family, and two or three of Amanada’s volunteers. It was so lovely to enjoy hearing testimonies from a number of the young engineers as well as from both the adoptive mom and one of her sons—a boy who looked to be about seven.
Sunday School was about Joseph Smith’s Matthew (from Chap 24) focusing on the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs before the Second Coming of the Savior. Everyone participated under the teacher’s capable guidance and we are came way cautioned not to allow ourselves to be deceived and to watch and wait, faithfully keeping our sights on our prophets and leaders. I loved a statement read by Bruce R. McConkie cautioning us to not be extreme in our preparations or our focus but to be faithful and adhere to the basics—therein lies safety for us even in these days of great trial.
In my Relief Society lesson I focused on Elder Wirthlin’s wonderful talk “Living in Thanksgiving Daily.” In it he teaches us to do so by 1) opening our eyes to see the wonders and beauties of this works as though seeing them for the first time. I think that requires us to really see. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.” 2) We need to open our hearts. I especially like this point. We must let go of the negative emotions that bind our hearts and instead fill our souls with love, faith, and thanksgiving. We don’t have to harbor thoughts and feeling that drag us down and destroy our spirits. 3) To live in thanksgiving daily we need to open our arms. We show our gratitude by blessing the lives of those around us. By choosing to do these three things we will have so much more joy and happiness in our lives and bring more joy and happiness to those around us.
Joining us for Relief Society was a Chinese American woman visiting from San Francisco here attending some scientific conferences for a few weeks. She had tried to attend all our meetings but, as often happens, was unable to find us. Following our meeting she asked if it might be possible for her to still partake of the Sacrament. I called John’s cell to pass along her request to him. Together we walked back over to the hotel where John enlisted the help of three of the returned missionary engineering students to administer this sacred ordinance to the one. As I quietly watched, I thought how pleased the Lord must have been, though the circumstances were unusual, that these good men were willing to administer to the one who had that special need.
Know that we love each one of you. I am grateful for this marvelous experience of mortality and for the promises to come. We are indeed a blessed people, even when my computer speaks only Chinese. Have a wonderful week. I hope you choose to live in thanksgiving daily. It is a wonderful way to experience greater joy and happiness in each of our lives.
s
John always gets a kick out of the strange things we come across in Xi'an--like this exposed rolled wire just off an overpass. He always wants to take a picture to show Lorenz the quality of work you find in China.
On Thursday this week, after my morning class, John met me for an outing that he was excited to take. I finished my class and met him at the South Gate as bus 508 came by. I jumped on to join him.
Several days ago as we traveled by taxi we had spotted out a window a Steinway Piano Company in Xi’an, located next door to a music conservatory, which we were also unaware of. Both were close by the Small Blue Goose Pagoda where we had gone with Karen and Elaine. We found the shop and found there a beautiful Steinway, Hamburg D concert grand. They also carried other pianos made by Steinway but that didn’t carry the Steinway name. John was invited to try out the grand and for 30-40 minutes he savored the sound and touch of that beautiful instrument. It was a delightful adventure. After we walked a block to the north to the Beilin antique market which I had been to but John had not and we had fun searching there for a little jade pendant for a friend in Russia that we will visit on the way home.
It is hard to believe John and I have been married twice as long as we have lived before being married. I am so grateful for the miracles that have preserved John’s life and allowed us these challenging and wonderful years together. I frequently remember and thank the Lord for my not losing him when I was just 40—Chi’s age now. How blessed we have been to be allowed this time together.
Our actual anniversary was not as full of cheer as we had hoped. We had planned to go out shopping in the afternoon and to dinner in the evening. That didn’t happen. Instead I graded research papers all morning and finished one of my two classes. Hurrah! But in the afternoon I had one of my students who is a computer guy come to help get my system sped up. My computer is old and runs too many programs and was soooo slow it seemed a good idea at the time. It was instead one of the more disastrous decisions I have made when it comes to electronics. I now have a computer that runs a bit faster, but the system that was reloaded and the programs (Microsoft Office) on it turned out to be all in Chinese! Thus far we have not found a way to translate them into English. At least my documents are all in English. Fortunately we are here for only just over one month and I have only three more powerpoints to produce. Email is tricky, I have no Skype, no outlook and no a lot of other things so my computer life has become simplified. I wouldn’t have chosen it to simplify in this manner but it is what it is. Meanwhile we will celebrate our anniversary Monday so we have that to look forward to.
Fortunately the next day, Monday, one of John's grad students came and worked on my computer and got at least some things into English. I will just limp along until I get home and replace the whole configuration or buy a new computer. Sigh.
About 10:30 pm last night it popped into my head to check to see who was to teach Relief Society and I found it was ME! I immediately knew that I would teach on the topic of being grateful in ALL thing—even when your computer has suddenly become Chinese!
Today in our Church meetings we had a wonderful set of meetings. Our branch swelled to the point it looked like a ward as we welcomed our visitors—a family of 8 here to pick up their adopted daughter from Amanda’s foster home, 12 BYU engineering students with their professor and his family, and two or three of Amanada’s volunteers. It was so lovely to enjoy hearing testimonies from a number of the young engineers as well as from both the adoptive mom and one of her sons—a boy who looked to be about seven.
Sunday School was about Joseph Smith’s Matthew (from Chap 24) focusing on the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs before the Second Coming of the Savior. Everyone participated under the teacher’s capable guidance and we are came way cautioned not to allow ourselves to be deceived and to watch and wait, faithfully keeping our sights on our prophets and leaders. I loved a statement read by Bruce R. McConkie cautioning us to not be extreme in our preparations or our focus but to be faithful and adhere to the basics—therein lies safety for us even in these days of great trial.
In my Relief Society lesson I focused on Elder Wirthlin’s wonderful talk “Living in Thanksgiving Daily.” In it he teaches us to do so by 1) opening our eyes to see the wonders and beauties of this works as though seeing them for the first time. I think that requires us to really see. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.” 2) We need to open our hearts. I especially like this point. We must let go of the negative emotions that bind our hearts and instead fill our souls with love, faith, and thanksgiving. We don’t have to harbor thoughts and feeling that drag us down and destroy our spirits. 3) To live in thanksgiving daily we need to open our arms. We show our gratitude by blessing the lives of those around us. By choosing to do these three things we will have so much more joy and happiness in our lives and bring more joy and happiness to those around us.
Joining us for Relief Society was a Chinese American woman visiting from San Francisco here attending some scientific conferences for a few weeks. She had tried to attend all our meetings but, as often happens, was unable to find us. Following our meeting she asked if it might be possible for her to still partake of the Sacrament. I called John’s cell to pass along her request to him. Together we walked back over to the hotel where John enlisted the help of three of the returned missionary engineering students to administer this sacred ordinance to the one. As I quietly watched, I thought how pleased the Lord must have been, though the circumstances were unusual, that these good men were willing to administer to the one who had that special need.
Know that we love each one of you. I am grateful for this marvelous experience of mortality and for the promises to come. We are indeed a blessed people, even when my computer speaks only Chinese. Have a wonderful week. I hope you choose to live in thanksgiving daily. It is a wonderful way to experience greater joy and happiness in each of our lives.
s
Monday, May 30, 2011
Multiple Event Week in and out of Xi'an
I discovered something important about China Post after Karen and Elaine headed out in their taxi for the airport: You may not mail an item that is fragile or that looks like it might possibly be an antiquity. On amount of my pantomiming—as good as it is—can sway a postal worker in Xi’an to bend his rules. Not only was Karen’s vase fragile but I didn’t have the right kind of receipt to prove its being new. It was a good thing Karen didn’t carry it with her to the airport; she’d have been stuck there with it.
I decided the best thing for me to do was to first sort out the problem of the receipt, then figure out what to do with the vase after. Doing so necessitated a return to the West Market and the Shaanxi craft shops where Karen bought the one-of-a-kind item. After an hours wait, the manager finally produced two official looking documents. Mission accomplished on my way back I was figuring how to talk the postal clerk into now shipping the box when I remembered that Karen and Elaine were returning to Xi’an with their tour on Thursday evening. I decided to pack Karen’s box with some small, fragile Terracotta Warrior figures and a few other delicate items in a small suitcase we were anxious to get home and meet the gals at the hotel and have Karen take them with her. It seemed the best solution.
Thursday evening saw John and me at the Golden Flower Hotel to await the arrival of the Fun For Less groups coming in from the airport. We arrived early and had dinner in the restaurant while we waited. It was such fun to see them again for a few minutes and to learn that they had made it to the airport after our late start Monday morning still went just fine. Oh happy day! Karen willingly agreed to roll the bag along with them and I was relieved to turn it over, promising her one of our two Terracotta figures if they both made it home ok.
Elaine was glad to head for bed after their big day of traveling, but Karen was game for another outing to the Muslim Market. We sent John back to JiaoDa to attend English Corner and conference with his students as well as to make my apologies for missing. Karen, I with Julie & Dave Monson, Julie’s friends and cousins all hopped in cabs and headed out.
We had fun once more poking around the shops. Karen was able to get her cloisonné Christmas stars and both of us bought more jewelry bags. It was a fun outing. Getting them all back to the hotel was tricky. Finding taxis is never easy at night and on top of it, none of the travelers had picked up a hotel card with the hotel information on it. All I could do was point at the location on the map and send them off, hoping they would make it.
John and my next few days have been spent getting our mission papers filled out, the medical forms scanned to doctors back home requesting that they fill them out for us, in hopes that the mission committee members will recognize that if we could survive a year in China, we would be able to handle a mission as well. John also called and talked with Mark Woodruff who works in the missionary department, and was assured that he would walk them through for us after we alert him they have been sent in.
By Saturday morning we had received the medical and dental forms signed and scanned back to us as well as statements about John from Dr. Richard Schmidt in SLC and Dr. Jack Bennett at NIH. I then scanned the entire packets and send them on to President Toronto in Beijing.
Like many things that are feared, the filling out of the forms as not as daunting as at first it seems. It is good to have them send. We also heard back from President Toronto and have our interviews scheduled with him, over SKYPE, a week from Sunday at 5:00 pm. We are grateful to have that mode of communication so that we don’t have to take another trip to Beijing for them.
Friday in the afternoon, I met Elaine and Karen at their hotel and headed out for Kung Fu Lu to explore. It was not far from their hotel and gave them the chance to experience it. We poked around in shops of jade and the strands to string it with, found my belts, and added embroidered Christmas, fish, ornaments for Karen to take home. After a couple of hours of wearing us all out, we returned to the hotel for a good visit. It has been such fun to have them here for a brief time. Tonight they attend the Tang Dynasty dinner and show before heading out to the airport once more. (They won’t return to Utah until June 3, going first to Wuhan, then by cruise ship to Chongqing.) They assure us that the best part of their trip has been their time in Xi’an with me. It makes me happy to know they feel that way.
Saturday was a lovely cool morning and I got up early to hop a bus to XISUs south gate to meet Monsons, Karen, and the Phillipis, along with their students who were going to tour us to their home town of HuXian, also the home of the farmer artists. Over the two hour bus ride I got a lot of my evaluation papers graded—a useful outing!
Once in HuXian, Vivian and Melissa guided us to the small Bell Tower they have and then took us to the artist’s village. Previously the girls had made arrangements for a luncheon place, with foods grown from the proprietors’ gardens. It was very yummy. Following our luncheon we visited a display hall which housed many, many of the artist’s award winning work. I was so glad to have come to see. I bought only a book of the history of the artist and one small painting. The experience was awesome.
It was interesting getting out of Xi'an to see how other outlying areas in China look. It makes such a contrast with modernity when we encounter they Chinese still doing what they have done for centuries.
On our way home, I feel asleep and was unaware of much of anything until we arrived back in Xi’an. My last stop for the day was a quick trip to Metro then another bus home. It was so good to get home but I was so soooo glad to have gone.
I am trying to fit a lot of things in that are close by Xi’an before leaving. John is generally not up to going out on long distance bus trips but looks forward to my returning with a bunch of pictures and details about the outing.
When Monday arrived looking cool and a little rainy I decided it was to the day to go to the huge Xi’an Expo for which our university gave us 100 yuan tickets. After a couple of false starts I finally found the right place to go to catch a bus, arriving about 9:30 after leaving at 8:00.
It was fun to see all the provincial sites—each was really lovely with gardens and buildings to represent the best of that location. I rented a bike there to cover the massive grounds and made a quick circuit of the major sites, but skipping those with long, long lines—like the panda and golden monkey houses. I’m sure Brent Gledhill would have gotten a lot more out of the horticultural aspects but I was there as his proxy and it was fun to have gone. I would not have liked to have missed it, but was glad John didn’t try to walk or ride through it.
The time is fast slipping by before the term ends and we leave China—at least for now. It has been and continues to be a wonderful experience.
I decided the best thing for me to do was to first sort out the problem of the receipt, then figure out what to do with the vase after. Doing so necessitated a return to the West Market and the Shaanxi craft shops where Karen bought the one-of-a-kind item. After an hours wait, the manager finally produced two official looking documents. Mission accomplished on my way back I was figuring how to talk the postal clerk into now shipping the box when I remembered that Karen and Elaine were returning to Xi’an with their tour on Thursday evening. I decided to pack Karen’s box with some small, fragile Terracotta Warrior figures and a few other delicate items in a small suitcase we were anxious to get home and meet the gals at the hotel and have Karen take them with her. It seemed the best solution.
Thursday evening saw John and me at the Golden Flower Hotel to await the arrival of the Fun For Less groups coming in from the airport. We arrived early and had dinner in the restaurant while we waited. It was such fun to see them again for a few minutes and to learn that they had made it to the airport after our late start Monday morning still went just fine. Oh happy day! Karen willingly agreed to roll the bag along with them and I was relieved to turn it over, promising her one of our two Terracotta figures if they both made it home ok.
Elaine was glad to head for bed after their big day of traveling, but Karen was game for another outing to the Muslim Market. We sent John back to JiaoDa to attend English Corner and conference with his students as well as to make my apologies for missing. Karen, I with Julie & Dave Monson, Julie’s friends and cousins all hopped in cabs and headed out.
We had fun once more poking around the shops. Karen was able to get her cloisonné Christmas stars and both of us bought more jewelry bags. It was a fun outing. Getting them all back to the hotel was tricky. Finding taxis is never easy at night and on top of it, none of the travelers had picked up a hotel card with the hotel information on it. All I could do was point at the location on the map and send them off, hoping they would make it.
John and my next few days have been spent getting our mission papers filled out, the medical forms scanned to doctors back home requesting that they fill them out for us, in hopes that the mission committee members will recognize that if we could survive a year in China, we would be able to handle a mission as well. John also called and talked with Mark Woodruff who works in the missionary department, and was assured that he would walk them through for us after we alert him they have been sent in.
By Saturday morning we had received the medical and dental forms signed and scanned back to us as well as statements about John from Dr. Richard Schmidt in SLC and Dr. Jack Bennett at NIH. I then scanned the entire packets and send them on to President Toronto in Beijing.
Like many things that are feared, the filling out of the forms as not as daunting as at first it seems. It is good to have them send. We also heard back from President Toronto and have our interviews scheduled with him, over SKYPE, a week from Sunday at 5:00 pm. We are grateful to have that mode of communication so that we don’t have to take another trip to Beijing for them.
Friday in the afternoon, I met Elaine and Karen at their hotel and headed out for Kung Fu Lu to explore. It was not far from their hotel and gave them the chance to experience it. We poked around in shops of jade and the strands to string it with, found my belts, and added embroidered Christmas, fish, ornaments for Karen to take home. After a couple of hours of wearing us all out, we returned to the hotel for a good visit. It has been such fun to have them here for a brief time. Tonight they attend the Tang Dynasty dinner and show before heading out to the airport once more. (They won’t return to Utah until June 3, going first to Wuhan, then by cruise ship to Chongqing.) They assure us that the best part of their trip has been their time in Xi’an with me. It makes me happy to know they feel that way.
Saturday was a lovely cool morning and I got up early to hop a bus to XISUs south gate to meet Monsons, Karen, and the Phillipis, along with their students who were going to tour us to their home town of HuXian, also the home of the farmer artists. Over the two hour bus ride I got a lot of my evaluation papers graded—a useful outing!
Once in HuXian, Vivian and Melissa guided us to the small Bell Tower they have and then took us to the artist’s village. Previously the girls had made arrangements for a luncheon place, with foods grown from the proprietors’ gardens. It was very yummy. Following our luncheon we visited a display hall which housed many, many of the artist’s award winning work. I was so glad to have come to see. I bought only a book of the history of the artist and one small painting. The experience was awesome.
It was interesting getting out of Xi'an to see how other outlying areas in China look. It makes such a contrast with modernity when we encounter they Chinese still doing what they have done for centuries.
On our way home, I feel asleep and was unaware of much of anything until we arrived back in Xi’an. My last stop for the day was a quick trip to Metro then another bus home. It was so good to get home but I was so soooo glad to have gone.
I am trying to fit a lot of things in that are close by Xi’an before leaving. John is generally not up to going out on long distance bus trips but looks forward to my returning with a bunch of pictures and details about the outing.
When Monday arrived looking cool and a little rainy I decided it was to the day to go to the huge Xi’an Expo for which our university gave us 100 yuan tickets. After a couple of false starts I finally found the right place to go to catch a bus, arriving about 9:30 after leaving at 8:00.
It was fun to see all the provincial sites—each was really lovely with gardens and buildings to represent the best of that location. I rented a bike there to cover the massive grounds and made a quick circuit of the major sites, but skipping those with long, long lines—like the panda and golden monkey houses. I’m sure Brent Gledhill would have gotten a lot more out of the horticultural aspects but I was there as his proxy and it was fun to have gone. I would not have liked to have missed it, but was glad John didn’t try to walk or ride through it.
The time is fast slipping by before the term ends and we leave China—at least for now. It has been and continues to be a wonderful experience.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Arrivals in Xi'an and Ogden
We were home from Beijing just three days before we had two very important, happy events in our lives—both occurring on May 19. The first one we had known about, and had been looking forward to, for months—the arrival of Elaine Harris, my cousin, and Karen Tate, her daughter (and my sister-in-law), who were coming to stay with us in Xi’an before joining their FunForLess tour in Hong Kong and other points in China. We were so excited to have family come for a visit for the first time since we came to China.
I went to the airport to meet the two adventurers due to arrive at 5:00 pm. Typical of many Chinese flights, theirs was delayed, but only for 90 minutes, just time enough to indulge myself with an $18 foot massage at the airport.
Finally they arrived and we gathered their luggage onto the airport express bus, arriving in Xi’an just as the lights were lit on the city wall making their welcome magical. John was waiting at home to greet us. After a quick tour of our happy hovel, we enjoyed dinner and a visit together.
Just before leaving for the airport, we received an email from David alerting us that Chi had gone into labor--five weeks early--and was now at the hospital. Kymora Joslin made her appearance at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, arriving at 1:29 am, May 19 (Utah time), weighing in at 5 lbs 4 oz, 19" long. We were delighted that Chi was able to have her naturally after her C sections with her last babies. Mom and baby both were doing well though Kymora was kept in the hospital a couple of days for observation to make sure she was okay. We were excited to get the pictures that David sent.
Meanwhile back in China, it was fun to have Karen and Elaine stay with us. This was the only time we have had guests and things worked out just great with Elaine in the guest bed, Karen on the couch, and all of us juggling around our one bathroom.
Friday morning our early-rising guests were up and ready to go, not giving jet lag any attention at all. I had assumed they would stay home and rest while I went to teach my early oral class but they chose to come with me and it was fun to have them included in the discussion with the students, who each asked them a question before we began the topic for the day—a focus on process and giving instructions.
After class our next stop was the police station to register their passports before we headed out on our adventures. I had promised to show them parts of Xi’an tourists don’t generally get to visit—avoiding the Terracotta Warriors and the Xi’an city wall that they would see when they came again to Xi’an with their tour. Because of the drizzle, we began by hopping a crowded city bus and heading for the Drum Tower, and the Muslim market and mosque at Beiyuan Lu.
We wandered the alley ways with their brightly colored wares of Pashima scarves, Chinese clothing, and other Chinese and Muslim souvenirs until we came to the side street leading to the 1,000-year-old Chinese mosque. There we left the bustle of buying and bargaining and enjoyed walking the quiet paths and seeing the unique architecture with its blend of two cultures.
Back in the market we arrived at my favorite shop—a jewelry store with its designer owner. There we enjoyed seeing the jade, lacquer, and porcelain pieces she so tastefully puts together. Elaine found treasures to take home as gifts for her daughters. It was such fun to bargain with the owner to capture really stunning pieces for very reasonable prices.
While we were out playing, John had his full load of classes but we did get together at home for lunch before we headed out once more to see the Beilin antique market—to poke around in dusty old shops to see what antique items might tempt us further. We pretty well wore Elaine out and all of us were grateful to head home to a walnut chicken/shrimp and rice dinner and a good night’s rest.
Saturday dawned cool and again a little rainy—we all agreed it was much preferable to a hot summer day though I was a little disappointed that we would not see as much along the park by the wall. Still we enjoyed our stroll and seeing the hearty souls who were exercising despite the drippy day. We even tried using some of the equipment along our route.
We all loved one of my favorite Xi'an snacks--fry bread, Chinese style--while wondering in our market street to buy fresh veggies and fruit.
Just as we arrived at the park we encountered Bethany Britton—our redhead in China— (daughter of our former branch president) who had just completed running around the entire 14 kilometers of the wall. What an intrepid soul. She had promised herself she would do so before leaving Xi’an. She has been accepted at BYU--Hawaii for next fall. Bethany has been attending our university, JiaoDa, where she studies Chinese.
After we walked along the park outside the wall we went just inside to see the Forest of Stone steles which displayed hundreds of years of stone tablets.
I had not been there myself, though Bethany and her mom, Elise, had pointed its entrance out when they took me to the artists’ street.
After our visit to the steles we moseyed down the artists’ alleyways to explore the crafts and art there, where Karen bought gifts for Andrew and found a jade piece she liked along the way before we headed back home for lunch.
After the big day Friday, Elaine chose to stay home for the afternoon to recoup a bit and work on her talk for Sunday.
Karen and I gathered up all the jade pieces that still needed to be strung and headed out for the West Market, the location where the Silk Road is supposed to have begun and which has now been built into a stunning Tang Dynasty style series of buildings, to see the Shaanxi craft displays before browsing the blanket “pawn” shops in the basement and getting her jade strung.
I love the sculpture outside the museum, even though the Chinglish spelling is a kick. It was fun to share this favorite place of mine with Karen.
We enjoyed seeing how some of the crafts are made. It is wonderful that such a beautiful facility is available to try to preserve the old skills so that they will not be lost. Among other things, we watched leather puppets being cut and pottery being thrown, before seeing the displays of the Shaanxi wares from this province.
Best of all we found the ideal gift for George—a beautiful black vase with humanity calligraphy characters of music, poetry, painting, etc. carved into it.
The manager of the shop had it packaged beautifully for Karen, promising also to email her the exact translation of the characters and a picture of the artist who made the vase and carved the characters. Finally we headed home, planning for me to mail it off at China Post on Monday, after the two left for the airport.
At home we relaxed, ate dinner, and watched Blindside, which Karen had never seen, before being glad to climb into bed.
Sunday came with rain and cool still in the air. John left for his presidency meeting early and the three of us followed in another cab an hour later. John had asked Karen and Elaine to speak in our sacrament meeting—we were both delighted to hear from them, knowing they would have wonderful things to teach us and also delighted to have a change from hearing from our own branch members, since we all get frequent opportunities to speak.
Their talks were really wonderful. Elaine spoke about learning from children and Karen about the scriptural accounts of living after the manner of happiness. They were delightful. After our meetings we went to the Village Café for lunch and then
took a taxi to the Small Blue Goose Pagoda where we spend an hour or two seeing the grounds and a little of the museum before heading home for a quiet evening while the
two repacked suitcases to get ready to leave Monday morning.
After breakfast the next morning, not realizing just how big a rush hour Xi’an has, we left a bit late to get to the airport bus at the Bell Tower. It was very difficult to catch a cab and I was getting more than a little concerned that they would miss their flight. Finally we got a cab and headed for the Bell Tower planning to take the bus from there.
A mile into the trip we all decided it would be better to stick with the cab and forget the airport bus. The cab stopped and I jumped out and waved them off before finding a bus going back to my home. I did a lot of praying over the next hour that they would make it to the airport in time.
It was such fun having Elaine and Karen come to be with us. Being able to share Xi’an with family we love was a real highlight of our year. Add to that the happy, safe arrival of our little Kymora, we had a wonderful week to remember.
I went to the airport to meet the two adventurers due to arrive at 5:00 pm. Typical of many Chinese flights, theirs was delayed, but only for 90 minutes, just time enough to indulge myself with an $18 foot massage at the airport.
Finally they arrived and we gathered their luggage onto the airport express bus, arriving in Xi’an just as the lights were lit on the city wall making their welcome magical. John was waiting at home to greet us. After a quick tour of our happy hovel, we enjoyed dinner and a visit together.
Just before leaving for the airport, we received an email from David alerting us that Chi had gone into labor--five weeks early--and was now at the hospital. Kymora Joslin made her appearance at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, arriving at 1:29 am, May 19 (Utah time), weighing in at 5 lbs 4 oz, 19" long. We were delighted that Chi was able to have her naturally after her C sections with her last babies. Mom and baby both were doing well though Kymora was kept in the hospital a couple of days for observation to make sure she was okay. We were excited to get the pictures that David sent.
Meanwhile back in China, it was fun to have Karen and Elaine stay with us. This was the only time we have had guests and things worked out just great with Elaine in the guest bed, Karen on the couch, and all of us juggling around our one bathroom.
Friday morning our early-rising guests were up and ready to go, not giving jet lag any attention at all. I had assumed they would stay home and rest while I went to teach my early oral class but they chose to come with me and it was fun to have them included in the discussion with the students, who each asked them a question before we began the topic for the day—a focus on process and giving instructions.
After class our next stop was the police station to register their passports before we headed out on our adventures. I had promised to show them parts of Xi’an tourists don’t generally get to visit—avoiding the Terracotta Warriors and the Xi’an city wall that they would see when they came again to Xi’an with their tour. Because of the drizzle, we began by hopping a crowded city bus and heading for the Drum Tower, and the Muslim market and mosque at Beiyuan Lu.
We wandered the alley ways with their brightly colored wares of Pashima scarves, Chinese clothing, and other Chinese and Muslim souvenirs until we came to the side street leading to the 1,000-year-old Chinese mosque. There we left the bustle of buying and bargaining and enjoyed walking the quiet paths and seeing the unique architecture with its blend of two cultures.
Back in the market we arrived at my favorite shop—a jewelry store with its designer owner. There we enjoyed seeing the jade, lacquer, and porcelain pieces she so tastefully puts together. Elaine found treasures to take home as gifts for her daughters. It was such fun to bargain with the owner to capture really stunning pieces for very reasonable prices.
While we were out playing, John had his full load of classes but we did get together at home for lunch before we headed out once more to see the Beilin antique market—to poke around in dusty old shops to see what antique items might tempt us further. We pretty well wore Elaine out and all of us were grateful to head home to a walnut chicken/shrimp and rice dinner and a good night’s rest.
Saturday dawned cool and again a little rainy—we all agreed it was much preferable to a hot summer day though I was a little disappointed that we would not see as much along the park by the wall. Still we enjoyed our stroll and seeing the hearty souls who were exercising despite the drippy day. We even tried using some of the equipment along our route.
We all loved one of my favorite Xi'an snacks--fry bread, Chinese style--while wondering in our market street to buy fresh veggies and fruit.
Just as we arrived at the park we encountered Bethany Britton—our redhead in China— (daughter of our former branch president) who had just completed running around the entire 14 kilometers of the wall. What an intrepid soul. She had promised herself she would do so before leaving Xi’an. She has been accepted at BYU--Hawaii for next fall. Bethany has been attending our university, JiaoDa, where she studies Chinese.
After we walked along the park outside the wall we went just inside to see the Forest of Stone steles which displayed hundreds of years of stone tablets.
I had not been there myself, though Bethany and her mom, Elise, had pointed its entrance out when they took me to the artists’ street.
After our visit to the steles we moseyed down the artists’ alleyways to explore the crafts and art there, where Karen bought gifts for Andrew and found a jade piece she liked along the way before we headed back home for lunch.
After the big day Friday, Elaine chose to stay home for the afternoon to recoup a bit and work on her talk for Sunday.
Karen and I gathered up all the jade pieces that still needed to be strung and headed out for the West Market, the location where the Silk Road is supposed to have begun and which has now been built into a stunning Tang Dynasty style series of buildings, to see the Shaanxi craft displays before browsing the blanket “pawn” shops in the basement and getting her jade strung.
I love the sculpture outside the museum, even though the Chinglish spelling is a kick. It was fun to share this favorite place of mine with Karen.
We enjoyed seeing how some of the crafts are made. It is wonderful that such a beautiful facility is available to try to preserve the old skills so that they will not be lost. Among other things, we watched leather puppets being cut and pottery being thrown, before seeing the displays of the Shaanxi wares from this province.
Best of all we found the ideal gift for George—a beautiful black vase with humanity calligraphy characters of music, poetry, painting, etc. carved into it.
The manager of the shop had it packaged beautifully for Karen, promising also to email her the exact translation of the characters and a picture of the artist who made the vase and carved the characters. Finally we headed home, planning for me to mail it off at China Post on Monday, after the two left for the airport.
At home we relaxed, ate dinner, and watched Blindside, which Karen had never seen, before being glad to climb into bed.
Sunday came with rain and cool still in the air. John left for his presidency meeting early and the three of us followed in another cab an hour later. John had asked Karen and Elaine to speak in our sacrament meeting—we were both delighted to hear from them, knowing they would have wonderful things to teach us and also delighted to have a change from hearing from our own branch members, since we all get frequent opportunities to speak.
Their talks were really wonderful. Elaine spoke about learning from children and Karen about the scriptural accounts of living after the manner of happiness. They were delightful. After our meetings we went to the Village Café for lunch and then
took a taxi to the Small Blue Goose Pagoda where we spend an hour or two seeing the grounds and a little of the museum before heading home for a quiet evening while the
two repacked suitcases to get ready to leave Monday morning.
After breakfast the next morning, not realizing just how big a rush hour Xi’an has, we left a bit late to get to the airport bus at the Bell Tower. It was very difficult to catch a cab and I was getting more than a little concerned that they would miss their flight. Finally we got a cab and headed for the Bell Tower planning to take the bus from there.
A mile into the trip we all decided it would be better to stick with the cab and forget the airport bus. The cab stopped and I jumped out and waved them off before finding a bus going back to my home. I did a lot of praying over the next hour that they would make it to the airport in time.
It was such fun having Elaine and Karen come to be with us. Being able to share Xi’an with family we love was a real highlight of our year. Add to that the happy, safe arrival of our little Kymora, we had a wonderful week to remember.
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