Bless the Beasts and the Children

Well this morning got off to a rocky start. Or maybe explosive is more like it. Let's just say that spoonfuls of red pepper into your tummy don't do so good coming out of your tummy. Ty was not feeling well - and we had to rearrange our schedule. He had been so excited to go to Hong Guo Shu Waterfalls - but it was 2 1/2 hours away and I just didn't think he needed to be that far from "things." Things like a toilet and maybe clean clothes.

He was crushed - but we told him that if he felt better, we would go tomorrow. He pouted for about...oh I dunno....10 seconds and then accepted it and we moved to Plan B. I told him that I always have a "Plan B."

Plan B:
Qian Ling Park, a.k.a. Monkey Park.
He was moderately happy with Plan B.

We left in the van and drove through a very poor area of Guiyang. I've never seen poverty like this and can't really describe it. For those of you that have seen poverty like this - you know what I'm talking about. Hungry people with almost no life in their faces everywhere. Dirt, waste, trash, starved or dead dogs. It was heart-wrenching.

After driving a bit, we came into a wooded area with a river. People were fishing along the banks. We past an "entry point" and it felt like we were part of an exodus from the city and into the park. Everyone was walking accept us - and we were riding along in our minivan honking for folks to get out of the way (we have a driver - it wasn't us!) Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Meandering was the word that came to mind.

People had game boards set up on stones and were gathered for lunches. Some families had birdcages. We asked our guide about this and he explained that these were for a local bird that is unusual. The owners bring them here for exercise. They open the cage and the bird flies around until about noon - and returns to its owner. We didn't see the birds (that we know of.) All along the road, people were playing badminton - but without nets. In one day at Monkey Park, I saw more badminton than I've seen in my entire life thus far.


We drove for quite aways into the park and then began to ascend a mountain. We saw monkeys in the trees and then eventually on the street. And more badminton - and more people meandering. It got to a point that we needed to walk because the van just wasn't going to make any progress. And that is when we saw the first monkey(s) up close. Mommies and babies. Our guide specifically told us not to feed them - because they will accost you for the food. Glad we are good listeners! We saw monkeys with entire grocery bags of bananas they had stolen. But no accosting....



We continued until we came to a lovely setting with a Buddhist temple. Ty was more than reluctant to enter the temple and we had to explain that just because you learn more about something doesn't mean you chose to believe that. This was an awkward few moments with our Buddhist guide. But both the guide and Ty handled things with grace. At 8 years old, one tends to think very black and white.

The setting of the temple was lovely and our guide told us some rudimentary things about Buddhism and the meanings of some of the fixtures we were seeing. We looked around, went into the Buddha area - but did not bow, kneel or pray as most were. The altars were laden with bouquets of flowers and platters of fruit. These were gifts from Buddhist followers. Michael explained that the monks will use these things on their tables first and then beyond that goes to the poor.



Following this, we wound our way down several hundred steps to the rest of the park. It was crowded like Disneyland....people everywhere. There was more badminton, games, choir, tai chi, group dancing and ballroom dancing. It was like a cruise. Michael explained this was daily activity for the elder folk - but some didn't look all that elder to me. He told us these were the "early retired people." If you retire from a company at an early age - the company pays your retirement until you reach the official government retirement age and then they take over. I wish our parks looked this active at home!

We took Ty to do some amusement park rides since he had not had any more quick-trips to the toilet. He loved them!!! He would blow us kisses and shout "Thank you Daddy!" and "thank you Mommy!" as he went around. We noted that most of the rides had some type of gun attachment. We finished our time with a trip on the boats. We got to ride in the boat on a lake for 30 minutes. These are little bumper boats. And yes...they had guns too. You were to drive around and aim at these water cannons and if you hit them, it would soak your semi-unsuspecting fellow boaters. It was good fun - and we were able to get in several good shots of soaking water while said soakees were busy gaping at the white couple with the Chinese son. I loved it.




We walked to the park exit and Ty spotted the man who made homemade tops. These are pretty big tops and they came with a stick that had a cord attached to one end. Ty grabbed one of those and went to town. Once he launched the top, he kept slapping it with the cord on the stick and it would keep going. He would have done this for hours I think. I got a video of him doing this and when Ty looks at it he calls out "Ty on TV!"


Our van arrived and we joined the exodus - this time leaving. Once again - the only vehicle on the road.

Our next stop was a Christian church. We had asked if we could attend services if possible when we were in town. But I think that got a bit "lost in translation" maybe. There were no services going on at this small, non-descript building. There were people practicing for a special event and one of them quickly took us upstairs to an office. We were seated in the office and served warm water. The pastor was on a break, but they called him to come back. It was a short visit- but nice. Ty enjoyed it - but there were some more potentially awkward moments for our guide. Everyone handled things well and after a prayer with the pastor we were back on our way.

Ty was begging for western food - so we went back to the hotel so he could eat a hamburger and fries. Personally, we questioned the "western-ness" of the food when the hamburger had an egg on top ot if! It was a relaxing lunch - we spent it with a terrific family from California who are here with their wonderful daughter Holly and newly adopted daughter Kaleigh. We actually first met them in the Civil Affairs building the day we "officially" adopted Ty. Our appointment was at the same time. We've bumped into each other a few times and always enjoy talking and sharing experiences. I will miss them when we leave - but we may see them in Guangzhou. If not - we exchanged information and will stay in touch.

Ty managed to finish the hamburger - you should have seen him working that thing into his mouth. He got tickled at first because he was squeezing too hard and the burger was falling out of the back of the bun! Fortunately, he is feeling better...so his chances of seeing the waterfall are going up!

Michael came to get us for a fabulous shopping trip to a government store that specializes in items only made in the Guizhou province. We found several nice gifts and things for Ty to keep to remind him of his China. It was like a department store and you walked from area to area. If you selected something in a certain area, the clerks wrote you a ticket and kept your merchandise. Once you were done shopping, you took all of your tickets to the cashier and then after you paid, she stamped your tickets. Then you went back to each station to collect your goods.

Ty got pretty bored while we were there. He held it together for awhile and our guide Michael did a wonderful job keeping him entertained while we buzzed through the place. But that didn't hold. Towards the end - Ty came up to us and told us that his legs were hurting very badly "Bu Hen Tang!" and he was rubbing the scars on the backs of his ankles. I didn't think this was true because we had had no evidence thus far that his legs ever slow him down too much. I just bent down and very sympathetically said that I was so sorry his legs hurt and we would hurry - but if they were really hurting, we probably needed to rest and not go swimming today. He eyed me with his best cute face and said " Oh Mommy - bu tang, bu tang" Meaning no pain, no pain. He said he was very sorry. I had the guide tell him that I was a smart Mommy and those things don't work with me. He grinned and said he understood....the little sucker. It was funny - and I was glad it happened with our guide Michael. He did a great job translating for us and was really chuckling too!

Michael got a cab for us to take us back to the hotel. All was going well until the cab just stopped in the middle (as in...not the sides....)of the road. The driver looked at us and raised his hands and shoulders like "Sorry - what do you want me to do?" Our "Amazing Race" attitude kicked in and we jumped out because we didn't want to be "eliminated from this leg of the race." We had a backpack, several bags of great stuff from the store and Ty - who can't run too fast. And we had to get across 6 lanes or so of traffic and one traffic island. We managed - and thanks to Ty - found our way back. We also passed a gas station with probably 40 cabs in line to get gas. I know where our guy should have been....

Ty immediately wanted to go swimming - but we relaxed in the room for awhile first. And this meant that Tony & I were put in school for a few minutes. We did pretty well from the day before on our apparent quiz! I am still marveling that we can communicate as well with each other as we do. He is a hilarious mimic - and picks up English very quickly. His impression of a news anchor on CNN will make you double over and almost you-know-what. I am finding that I'm having to learn new mandarin phrases to help us out - things like "slow down" and "be quiet" and "you may not." What else would you learn with an 8 year old boy!???

Pool time was followed by more tub time. He is completely obsessed with the spider man figure that grows bigger and bigger the longer it is in the water. Spiderman is getting pretty big now - and he has asked if Spiderman can come to America with us. I guess it will depend on how much water Spiderman can shed between now and then - because the weight limits on our bags are going to be critical. We wrapped up afternoon play time with Ty's favorite thing - singing. He taught us a song and we worked on it over and over until we got it nailed. All five verses - over and over.... Maybe he'll be a conductor?! He loves to direct us in our musical endeavors.


We had a quick meal downstairs and then headed out for a surprise for Ty. We had been invited to 'Guitar John's' apartment - well....really Guitar John is from England - so it was actually an invite to their "flat." He and Kathy welcomed us into their home and it was a fabulous night. Ty played with their children and you could tell he was at home. We visited with them about their lives here and their desire to help these orphans of Guiyang the best they can. Their four daughters were there and their son-in-law Simon. Simon is the one that taught Ty the English he does know. They gifted me with artwork that my son did! It touched my heart so deeply.

These folks are really sacrificing to help these children. Due to Olympic hype and the changes in travel requirements, etc. they have to renew their Visas to be in China every 60 days. And every 30 days they have to leave the country and come back in. You have to be dedicated and committed to your mission to endure these demands. We enjoyed the fellowship and it was hard to part...but Ty was exhausted. As we were leaving, they again gifted us with the most lovely batik from this area. We will treasure it always.

So often it seems that those with the least to give - give the most.