OK, I've changed the avatar. I need to get her daughter Amy to send me her pics from the trip. She has the best ones of us.
The afternoon we walked around Shunde. We saw a Buddhist monastery in town. Nice. Then she took me back to the hotel, where I got a shower after being drenched in sweat, and they went back home and napped. They came back a few hours later, after the nap and showers, and we waited for the guests to arrive. We are having dinner with her brother and his family, and her friend Xiao Ru. Instead of meeting at the restaurant, they all come to the hotel. So they arrive, we chat a bit, and go to dinner. Now, Lisa speaks English well, as she is an English teacher. Her daughter, Amy, and her niece, Lily, speak English, but not well. They are still learning. So, between the 3 of them, I am able to keep up conversations with everyone. They are all surprised at the fact that I can use chopsticks, and that seems to be the big compliment for me. I have been using chopsticks for years in Asian restaurants, so it's not a big deal to me. I guess they assume foreigners can't use chopsticks, LOL. Her brother is interested in basketball, and, although I'm not, I have a passing literacy in the NBA, so I talk a little with him about it. Fortunately, I don't turn off ESPN when they are talking basketball. Xiao Ru is very interested in the USA. I'll talk about her more, later. She is a very interesting story and I really think she should consider finding her way to the West. She'd do really well. So I answer many, many questions about the USA. Her big thing is, why are my clothes so bright? You saw my green shirt in the last picture. She says all her clothes dull quickly here, and wants to know how I wash my clothes. I said, I use Tide and cold water in a washing machine. That's my big secret. Anyone remember the old Tide commercial... 'Ancient Chinese Secret'. I guess Tide is a secret to the Chinese
So we have a lot of fun, and Xiao Ru invites us to morning tea the following day.
We go back to the hotel, and the three of us (Amy, Lisa, and myself) have a very good talk together. I really enjoy their company. So, Lisa loves swimming, so we go to the hotel pool and swim a bit. She doesn't know how to swim freestyle, so I teach her. She swims the breaststroke. She says freestyle is too tiring. We have a lot of fun.
Day 2 Lisa and Amy come get me, and take me to morning tea with Xiao Ru. She lives with her 4 year old daughter, Qiqi. Sweet girl, who is at morning tea with us. She is married, but her husband is never there, won't support her or the child, and won't divorce her. So, she had to start her own business to be able to pay the bills. As Qiqi is the 2nd child, she has to pay the fine since the husband won't. The husband, by the way, is the brother of Lisa's ex, Amy's father. That's how they know each other and are friends. I told her more than once she is a smart, pretty lady who would do great in the USA. She should divorce the husband and find a Western man. At least she'll have bright clothing!!
I forgot to bring the camera, both to dinner last night, and morning tea today, so I have no pictures. Until I get the pictures Amy and Lisa may have taken. Xiao Ru is a really nice lady. I'd really like to see her do more for herself. She built a business up from scratch, and takes care of herself, her family, and his parents... like many Chinese ladies, she deserves much better. Qiqi, the 4 year old, is afraid of me when we meet, but she is playing games and singing with me by the end of morning tea. Precious little girl.
After morning tea, I pack my stuff, leave it with the concierge, and head to Dinghu Mountain. I forgot to mention, I was going to use the laundry service, but Lisa looked at the prices and announced she would do my laundry for me. We go back and forth and I relent. I told her, I don't want a maid, you don't have to do this. But she insists. So, before leaving for the mountain, she does the laundry and takes a nap. Yes, daily naps. So anyway we leave for Dinghu Mtn. She's worried, again, about getting lost. It's raining, and a long drive. We don't get lost, and get there in about 2 hours. Amy sleeps in the back seat, and Lisa and I have very good conversation. Beautiful weather there... cool, not cold, and clear skies. We get the rooms, and I get a really nice one, and they get a basic room. I offer to switch, but they both say no. We go off to dinner in the hotel restaurant, then we go for a walk outside. Amy says she has to talk to a friend, leaving us to walk alone around the hotel grounds. She's a great kid! It's very nice and romantic walk, and we have our first kiss. Very romantic, and no pictures! Sorry guys
Still no jet lag, and Lisa keeps telling me how surprised she is. Frankly, I'm surprised also.
Next morning, breakfast, pack up our stuff, then sightseeing. Beautiful and scenic. Very nice place. The three of us really enjoy ourselves here. It's a lot of walking, and a lot of fun. We head home, and have no problems getting lost. Tonight we are having dinner with her friend Stacy and her family. Stacy went to England as a student with Lisa many years ago, and she is also an English teacher. Her husband, Jack, is a Chinese teacher (He's Chinese and he teaches Chinese). Their daughter, Jenny, is a typical Chinese 8 year old. Very busy schedule, and they have to take her to some activity every day. Today is dance class. Two hours of dancing. Once again, my big compliment is my chopsticks skill, LOL. This is a great couple, very friendly and fun. We enjoy dinner very much. Jack decides, since I'm using chopsticks, he should use fork and knife. He doesn't have the same success as I'm having with the chopsticks, but it was a very nice thought. He has a brother that lives in the USA with his family, so we talk a lot about the USA.
Next day we get up early, drop Amy off at her father's, and go to the airport shuttle station to wait for the bus to take us to the airport. Lisa's brother picks up the car from us to hold for the week while we are gone. I usually don't like buses or flying, but I enjoyed both with Lisa with me. We waited an hour in Guangzhou to take off, so we were late getting to Lijiang. The hotel had a driver for us, but we were so late that he was gone when we got there, so we had to get a shared cab. The couple we were sharing with asked Lisa if we were newly wed. I think that's hysterical. But nice to hear. LOL. The hotel, called Fu Guo, is a very nice place. Right next to the entrance to the Old City in Lijiang.
We spend 6 days there, and learn a lot about each other. It rains for the whole time. We are told by locals that it never rains so much. Lucky us. We still do a lot of walking and sightseeing in the city, and sample many restaurants. On Saturday, the 20th, we go on our fateful tour, when I posted earlier that she fell and hurt herself.
The pictures are:
Monastery in Shunde:
Entrance to the Monastery in Shunde
The temple bell in the monastery
They have many fish in the monastery, I told Amy to pet a fish and I will take a picture, but she was afraid they would bite her.
At Dinghu Mountain:
This is Amy taking a picture of all of us together. She is the artist in the family. I wish I had her pictures to share, much better than mine!
Amy brainwashed me to give the peace sign.
Lisa and Amy, with the big Lady of the Lake statue in the background. There is a whole story about the lady that I don't remember. Sorry.
