Day 1

I went skiing today, and I have a nasty bruise to

show for it.  The skiing itself wasn’t a problem–

real bunny hills–but getting to the escalator was

life-threatening.  The snow was artificial, of

course, and covered an assortment of foam

slabs, cement blocks, and wooden platforms.

While walking along, you would step off a solid

object (which you couldn’t see) and sink to your

knees.  Some of the tiny Chinese were nearly

buried.  I fell onto the corner of a cement cube,

which hurt like heck.  The others there (all

young) were surprised, however, to see that

I could ski.  I even helped them figure out the

tow rope to go to the top hill.

At the bottom of the hill was a large tree tree, lit

up like a Christmas tree.  Pretty fun.

And speaking of Christmas, young people wear

Tshirts will the strangest sayings on them.  Yes-

terday I saw a boy with a shirt that said,

“Christmas is for fruitcakes.”

It’s hot here, but yesterday had a nice breeze.

I have the beginnings of a great suntan!

Ni Hao

OK, I’m here and already hooked up to the internet.  Surprised, aren’t you?  Some things have changed:

I was driven from the airport in a minivan with leather seats, AIR CONDITIONING, and a young, female driver.

My room also has air conditioning!  It’s right next to our old room, Ben, on floor Wu, but the rooms have been greatly improved–hair dryers in the bathroom, no pink taffeta bedspreads, and carpeting that doesn’t predate the Qing dynasty.  I’m sure the mattresses are new, but were they as hard as plywood last time? 

Some things haven’t changed:

The keybox and key are still at the end of the hall, in case of a fire.  Since it’s Saturday, no music over the loudspeakers, but everyone’s out on the track, doing Tai Chi, playing badminton and soccer.  In the park across the street, they were even ballroom dancing at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday.  The women wore dresses and heels, and many were dancing with female partners.

Oh, I spoke too soon….the music just came on over the outside loudspeakers.  Same tunes…  The dining room has been remodeled.  Now you pay cash per meal, but the menu’s the same.  Breakfast was rice gruel, an egg, dumpling, and hot Tang.

I have the day off to “relax,” so I’m headed out to find the indoor ski venue that I saw on a tourist map.  I’m sure that’s also new.

I wish I knew how to send you pictures, because we were kept on the plane for an extra hour while guys with white “haz-mat” suits boarded and checked our temperatures by lazer.  They were from the Health Dept., but looked pretty bizarre.

Having fun so far,

Love, Mom/Grandma/Dong Gu

Inglish Clans

Guys, I’ve set up a blog post category for each sibling clan.  Here you can add posts to share the latest news in your respective families.  I’ve currently given Laurie, Jill, Kristy and Ben login rights for doing so.  Give me a call to get your password (and training, if desired/needed).

Also, let me know if you were not listed and would like a login (Chelsea, I wasn’t sure if you or Ben was the “historian” in your family)…

Mom has her own category for her China trip, and Dad should probably have one for his adventures as well.

The latest posts will always show up at the top of inglish.org.