Xperience Xi'an

We found our way to Xi’an on August 4^th with the help of China Eastern Airlines. We descended into a haze that only seemed to grow thicker during the next four days. It wasn’t simply a smog haze; it stretched beyond the city, blanketing all the countryside, and concealing all mountains. We’re told that’s just the way the weather is at this time of year.

The bus we took from the airport dropped us in the city center, directly between the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower. We seemingly fell into the lap of luxury as we walked into our hotel a block away, and discovered that our hotel was not actually a hotel, but was, in fact, an apartment complex intended for businessmen. A subsidiary of Ascott International, the Citadines Xi’an Central was fantastic and surprisingly affordable. The sleeping area was sectioned off from the living area, the bathroom was very nice, there was a kitchen stocked with a variety of amenities, and there was even a flat-screen TV – that slid along the wall. They had a gym, laundry facilities, and even a rooftop garden. Have I talked it up enough yet? One of the best things about staying there was a young bellboy we befriended, Jason, who acted more like a concierge. Anytime we wanted to eat local food, he told us the best places at which all the locals eat.

Whenever we wanted to take a trip to see some cool site, he told us what buses to take, and what traps to avoid. Our first day, we needed to purchase train tickets for the overnight train to Beijing. Guess who walked ten minutes with us all the way from our hotel to the nearest train ticket window – just to make sure we found it alright? Jason. If you’re ever in Xi’an, stay at Citadines and tell Jason ‘hi’ for us.

We didn’t waste much time in beginning our exploration of the city. The famous Muslim Quarter was first. What a crazy-busy street market! We fought our way through the crowd for a while, then stepped off into a restaurant at the side of the road, behind all the vendors. The sign of a good restaurant is one that is packed with locals. This one was, and they all stared at us as we were seated. We perused the menu, ordered some kung pao and some beef, then sat back and waited. From where I sat, I noticed the people. People came in, people stared, people refused to sit near us. Finally a big family sat down at a nearby table. The grandmother and a teenage girl – they both never stopped staring at us. Meanwhile, from where Matt sat, he noticed the kitchen – or rather, what was going on in the kitchen. The wall separating us from the teenage cooks was made of glass, making observation of the meal preparation quite possible. And there they were, two young men who appeared to be in their late teens, one slaving over the skillets while the other swatted flies above and around the stir-fry. We ate and enjoyed our food, and I smiled & waved to the grandmother and family as we left. It’s all part of the experience.

[NOTE: If you’re into shopping and markets, don’t mess with the craziness of the Muslim Quarter. See and experience it, but then head to the south gate of the city wall. Inside the city wall, just to the east of the south gate, is a nice little market area. People were friendly, and it wasn’t crazy and crowded.]

The next day we made our way out of the city by bus. Destination: the resting place of the incredible Terracotta Army. The entrance ticket was 90 RMB (just shy of $15 USD). Literally from the moment we got off the bus, tour guides were trying to get us to hire them. Those tour guides tried hard, though, I’ll give them that. “Think about it! It’s such a pity, you know, you spend all the money to come here, but you only looking at clay because you don’t know what it means. It’s a pity. You need me to tell you. I go with you. Just 200 yuan. Okay, two people – 150. Come on! Think about it. It would be a pity…” Charging about the same per person that the entrance ticket cost, we opted to forego retention of their services, and we weren’t disappointed in our decision. There were plaques and displays through the site that were informative. Combined with the reading and research we had already done, we felt well-enough informed about the history and significance of what we were seeing.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, and considered the Eighth World Wonder, the Terracotta Army is a massive collection of unique warriors made from clay. Divided into battle formation within three pits, there are estimated to be nearly eight thousand of these warriors – infantry, archers, charioteers, officers, horses, etc. Each was created with a unique face (similar to a real army), and many (if not all) were armed with weapons. Even their outfits were designed unique to the unit to which they belong. Some warriors have large calves, others small; some have boots, other’s leggings; some are standing, some are crouching, and some are holding reigns of horses attached to chariots, the wood of which has long ago decayed. It’s impressive to consider the labor and detail that was invested in creating this army (more than 700,000 laborers were used!).

The ‘pits’ in which these clay warriors have stood at the ready for centuries were a major undertaking, as well. The floors are pounded earth and stone, a suitable foundation for a residence let alone an army to gather upon. The walls are also made of stone, and long ago they supported the wooden beams of the roof. The roofs collapsed during a fire, burying the army for centuries, until it was discovered by peasants digging a well for water in 1974. They happened to touch upon the very corner of pit #1. A foot or two in another direction, and they would have completely missed the pit.

Who would create a massive army of clay warriors and set them in formation underground? The First Emperor of Qin would. When he was thirteen-years-old he requested that the construction of the army begin, with the intention that they would be buried with him when he died (which was about 210 B.C). The intention was that the army would help Qin rule another empire in the afterlife. Read more about the interesting history of “Qin’s Army” on Wikipedia!

Our third day in Xi’an was a little more relaxed. We walked to the south gate of the city wall, where we paid 40 RMB to gain access to this wall which completely surrounds the inner city of Xi’an. Only one other city in China can boast a completely intact surrounding city wall. Bicycles are available for rent at the south and east gates for the duration of 100 minutes. So we hopped on two bikes, and headed east. The city wall is huge! It’s easily wider than two lanes of traffic (there are no cars, only bicycles), and it’s just short of 15 kilometers in circumference. The wall stands about 40-50 meters above the ground (I believe), and there is a moat and park around the exterior of the wall. We had a lot of fun in the hour and a half that we circled the city. Plus, it’s probably the safest place to ride a bicycle in China (read about traffic dangers in “Shanghaied”).If you’re ever in Xi’an, I recommend renting a bicycle and riding around the city wall. You can’t experience Xi’an and not do this.

Since we were already at the south gate, we kept heading south, hopped on a bus which took us to the Big Goose Pagoda. A well-preserved holy place for Buddhists, the Big Goose is the main pagoda in Xi’an. In the mid- to late-afternoon, with the sun beating down, we walked around the fountains and park surrounding the pagoda. Matt entered the grounds to check out the gardens while I walked around the shady parks to the west of the pagoda. We were both impressed with what we saw, and I would recommend visiting this area – but earlier in the day when it’s cooler, or later in the evening. Around 8 or 9 o’clock each night there is a water show in the fountains to the north of the pagoda complex. Regrettably, we didn’t get to see these, but we’re told this water/light show is very impressive.

If you read “Shanghaied,” and you’ve read the third paragraph of this post, then you already know that Matt and I tried very hard to eat local food throughout our trip. In fact, we only ate at western restaurants six times: twice at KFC, twice at T.G.I.Friday’s, once at Pizza Hut, and once at Papa John’s. Despite three of those visits taking place in Xi’an, we still managed to try some great local food! Such as Biang Biang Mian, a noodle dish that I think was slightly similar to ramen. Our best experience in Xi’an, though, was eating Yang Rou Pao Muo.

After getting Jason’s recommendation and general directions to a nearby local restaurant, we set off in search of Yang Rou Pao Muo. We found an establishment with similar Chinese character to those Jason had written for us, and as we stepped through the door we were immersed into a very loud, smoke-filled room moderately packed with local Chinese. We were in the right place. We walked to the counter and waited. Waitresses glanced at us and scurried by. We waited. We glanced around at the empty tables – and still we waited. Finally someone who seemed to be a manager noticed us, barked at one of the waitresses, and we were on our way to a table. Phase one down: table acquired. Phase two: figure out how to order. The waitress leading us stopped next to a table, turned, and asked something in Chinese. There was a Chinese family also standing next to the same table, and it didn’t take long to deduce she was asking if we would mind sharing a table with the family. Just as we had it figured out, the father spoke up in perfect English, “She wants to know if you’ll share a table with us.” Shocked, we sat down and struck up a conversation with our dinner companions as menus were placed in front of us. “Do you know what you want to eat?” asked the mother. “Kind of… We want to eat something called, um, ya-ohng row pow moo-oh,” I replied, completely butchering the name. They laughed and said, “That’s what we’re ordering, too! Do you want us to help you?” I exhaled a huge sigh of relief, responding,

“Could you? Thank you! Thank you so much!” Our new friends, as it turned out, were Chinese, but had been living in America for the past 25 years, and currently reside in Los Angeles. They had two twin sons with them, both high school seniors. We were incredibly blessed to find ourselves sharing a table with such a nice family.

The father ordered for all of us, and soon we had a bowl sitting in front of us. But our bowls were empty! In the center of the table a platter was placed with a kind of flat bread – one for each of us. Before we can eat, we have to work. The bread has to be shredded into small pieces (the smaller the better), and the shreds are placed in the bowl. After this, lamb or beef soup is poured over the bread. When all is combined, it’s a rather tasty soup mixture. If you’re ever in Xi’an, I recommend this meal; it’s part of the experience.

For the past three years I have wanted to go to Xi’an – to climb a mountain. I have to credit my grandmother for putting me on this course (much to her dismay). She forwarded an e-mail once with the most stunning, treacherous-looking photos of a mountain somewhere that someone had climbed on some vacation. It didn’t take too much research before I found that mountain – Mt. Hua (Huashan), located about 100 kilometers east of Xi’an. And so, for three years, I have thought that it would be just the coolest thing to climb this mountain (despite my grandma’s protests). It’s had a lot of build-up, but regrettably I must admit – it was one of the lowest days of the trip. Here’s what happened…

It’s a little difficult to get to and from Mt. Hua. Lonely Planet is a little sketchy about it (“...just go out on the highway and flag a bus down to get back to Xi’an…” – I only slightly paraphrase), so I felt we pretty much had to purchase a tour to get out there. Coincidentally, when I approached the hotel lobby desk to ask for their recommendations, there happened to be a tour organizer lounging in the lobby who overheard me. For 350 yuan each (about $50 USD) he would get us on an air-conditioned bus that would take us directly to the mountain. I asked several times to confirm: “We’re not going shopping on the way or anything like that, right?” “No, no, just to the mountain.” “Okay, there’s nothing extra here, right? We’re just going to the mountain?” “Yes, that’s right. The price covers everything, except for lunch. The tour guide will take you to the mountain.” “Okay, and once we’re on the mountain – we don’t have to stay with the tour guide?” “Oh, no, of course not! You are on your own on the mountain.” “Okay, and how long will it take to get to the mountain?” “Only about 2 hours.” “No shopping or extra stops?” “No, no, just to the mountain!” “Okay, we’ll do it.”

His name was “Tom,” he was with the Tango Travel Service Center, his phone number was 88505355, and his brochure was green with a front cover that reads: “Best of Xi’an. Information & Services Center. Tour Service Inside.” This man is a liar. There isn’t exactly a Better Business Bureau in China, therefore I take it upon myself to notify you, the rest of the world, that if you are ever in Xi’an, avoid at all cost using a tour company – especially one that resembles this description.

We left our hotel at 7:30 the following morning with a cheery and friendly young lady that spoke pretty good English and identified herself as a tour guide and representative of the company. We walked about 10 minutes from the hotel to a side street where two or three large buses were waiting. She put us on a bus, told us to have a seat, and wait for the bus to leave in a short time. We did as we were told, not thinking anything of it. We never saw that girl again.

It was 8:30 before our bus actually pulled away from the curb, packed with Chinese, and with a tour guide on the microphone who really loved to hear her own voice. It was an hour before she took a break. At least she told us, honestly, that she didn’t speak any English. We also had a 40-year-old Chinese man who fancied himself a patriarch, it seemed. He sat at the head of the bus, and I’m pretty sure he declared himself “King of the Bus” at some point. He and his family were something else.

It was 1:00 in the afternoon when we finally arrived at the foot of the mountain. That’s right. 5 ½ hours after we had left our hotel. The trip that wasn’t supposed to have any detours had a major one – to “The Forbidden City of Shaanxi” (or something like that), and local markets there around. When we arrived at 1 PM, it was to a hotel – where everyone the bus unloaded and headed inside for lunch.

It was 2 PM before we were on the shuttle taking us to the mountain’s ropeway. We were far too late in the day to be able to climb the mountain (the climb up is the cool, treacherous part). Waiting in line for the ropeway was like waiting in line for an awesome ride at Disneyland or 6 Flags; it wound around and around, and took about half-an-hour. Finally we made it up to the top, and we thought, “Okay, maybe now that we’re here this won’t be so bad.” It got worse. Because the ropeway makes the mountain so accessible, there were literally thousands of Chinese packed onto the top of that mountain. And they were all pushing along the narrow trails and stone stairs – the same ones that were mere inches from the 500-meter drop-offs. The ‘treacherous’ climb up probably would have been more safe than actually being on top with all those people.

Despite all of that, I did enjoy being on top of the mountain. It really is a cool mountain! Huashan is one of China’s Five Sacred Daoist Mountains. The first temple can be traced back to the 2^nd century B.C. Mt. Hua has always had a bit of mystery and intrigue about it. Centuries ago, men lived as hermits on the mountain. Only those who were truly capable of finding their own way to the top could reside on the mountain. In the 1980’s, more Chinese began to challenge themselves on the mountain, and tourism has increased ever since.

Matt and I had a bad experience getting to Mt. Hua, but I still recommend the mountain as something to do if you’ve got time. However, I would do it VERY differently. Research first to figure out transportation; start out earlier in the morning; climb up (no ropeway!) the ‘treacherous way’; spend the night at one of the hostels on top; and then climb down the next day. And most importantly – try to go during the off-peak season. It might be cooler weather, but you’ll avoid the massive numbers of tourists, and you’ll have clearer skies so there might actually be a view away from the mountain.

Our last day in Xi’an was slightly relaxed. We had saved the Drum Tower and Bell Tower for this last day, since they were so close to our hotel. I’ll admit that I was exhausted, and money was running low, so I skipped entering the two towers. Matt went, though, and he said he enjoyed seeing a few things. They make the list of our Xi’an highlights, and they’re recommended to see by Matt.

One last major experience in Xi’an was simply what we had to go through in order to leave. It was something you would expect to see on “Amazing Race.” With our trek packs in place, we left our luxurious apartment/hotel behind as we set off for the rail station to catch our overnight train to Beijing. One slight problem was that we had assumed it would be simple to get a taxi. Since it was closing in on rush hour, though, the drivers were no longer willing to turn on the meter, but instead wanted to charge outrageous sums to take us 3 kilometers to the station. We eventually found a tuk-tuk driver who would take us (for a reasonable charge), and we hopped in. Why not? What a ride!! That tuk-tuk was all over the road! First we were in the correct flow of traffic, then we were in the opposing lanes of traffic… We approached a red light, and he kept moving. Time and again we thought he might take out a child or woman who made the mistake of crossing the road. The transcript of the video we took in the tuk-tuk goes something like this: “Where’s he going? Where’s he going?” “Whoa, look at this! Look at this! We’re going into oncoming traffic!” “Oh man, look out for that lady!” “ Look out for that bus!! Yikes!” “Ah! Don’t kill the kid!!” “OK! Hee-ya!” “Whew.”

As we settled into our sleeper cabin, with our two Chinese bunkmates fearfully waiting outside in the hallway until the last possible moment, we sighed as we put Xi’an behind us. What an experience Xi’an had been.

For more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039205&id=168302037&l=6e63f2f2dc

Stay tuned…

Next up: “Best of Beijing”

Our Highlights of Xi’an:

Terracotta Army

Big Goose Pagoda

Bicycling the City Wall

Eating local food

Bell Tower

Drum Tower

Traveler Notes:

China Eastern Airlines… The fact that they served a meal (a decent one, at that) on this 2-hour flight was incredibly impressive to us. I recommend flying with them if you’re ever traveling domestically.

Xi’an Rail Station… is crazy. The ticket room is maybe about the size of 1 ½ tennis courts, has about 30 windows, and is packed from windows to back wall (about 30 meters) with people. On the west end of the room is an information desk. We asked the guy there which was the English window of the day, and he helped us get there in pretty good English. It was window 3 or 4 when we were there – not the window that is actually labeled in English (window 12, I think). Just ask the Info guy.

Terracotta Army… On the south side of the Xi’an Rail Station, at the east end of the lot, is the gathering point for all the buses. Get in the line for bus “(306)”. The number will actually be in parentheses. It will take 45 minutes to an hour, but the last stop for this bus is the Terracotta Army. Total cost one way: 7 RMB (about $1 USD or ¥100 JPY). You can get back on the bus at the same place it drops you off when you return to Xi’an. This is the cheapest way to get to and from the Terracotta Army, not the fastest.

Shanghaied

Our China adventure didn’t begin on the Great Wall. It began on an overcast Saturday afternoon, the 1^st of August. And in fact, it began when it almost didn’t. We arrived in Shanghai’s Pudong airport without incident. As we disembarked, Matt turned to me and exclaimed, “We’re in China, man!” “Well,” I replied, “technically we’re not IN China until we pass through Customs…” I should have kept my mouth shut.

The Customs and Immigration line seemed to be flowing well. Matt and I were each directed to different agents, Matt first. I approached, handed over my passport, and waited as he thoroughly examined it. That is to say, he brought over another agent, who also brought a device to view my passport into which they took turns squinting. Perhaps they were looking for the watermark, or checking the validity of my visa, but regardless – my passport has never been so thoroughly examined and questioned. After a few tense moments, he stamped my passport, and I quickly walked through. I looked around for Matt, assuming he had finished before me. Not finding him, I turned back to the Customs area, and there he was – still standing in front of the agent. A few moments later, they asked him to step back inside – away from the gate. The tenseness was back as I stood there, watching, waiting. After four or five agents had each thoroughly examined Matt’s passport, including the implementation of the previously mentioned examination device, they finally let Matt pass through. We wasted no time in collecting our packs and putting as much distance as possible between us and those customs agents who seemed to be convinced we had fake passports.

I had even more difficulty trying to leave China, however. Maybe they thought I was a terrorist. After sixteen days of travel, all I wanted to do was get home to Japan. The customs agent at the same airport all but told me that he thought I was travelling with a fake passport. He held it up, passing his eyes back and forth between the picture and my face. “I just don’t see it,” he said. I gave a “you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me” laugh, and stated: “It’s me. I’m the same person in the picture. Why would I try to leave here with a fake passport?” Apparently I shouldn’t have said anything. Another agent came over and used a digital camera to take a picture of my passport. Either I won’t be welcome back in China, or they’ll be using my passport to make reproductions for sale on the street.

Oh, how easily digression occurs…

Matt and I made it into China, and found ourselves boarding the Maglev – the fastest train in the world. It’s a train that levitates above the track and is propelled down the track by a magnetic force. It only costs about $8 one way, and it takes you from the airport into Shanghai (to the nearest subway) in only about 7 minutes. That’s about an hour by taxi. How does it do that? Matt and I rode the Maglev three times, two of which the Maglev reached a top speed of 431km/h. That’s like being in an airplane on the ground, but with the smooth ride one also experiences in a typical flight. Cars that are driving the same direction appear to be going the other way as we fly by. And when the train tilts in a turn, and you look out the window and all you see is sky, and you look at the display and it shows that you’re upwards of 350km/h – it’s intense!! It’s truly the fastest I have every traveled – and probably will ever travel – whilst grounded on Earth. (at the top of the picture there is a speed indicator)

The Maglev was the first form of transportation we utilized in China. I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention the other nine forms of transportation we used at one point or another in the following fifteen days. In total, 10 forms of transportation: Maglev, subway, taxi, airplane, bus, bicycle, tuk-tuk (so called in Thailand, but I don’t know what they’re called in China), boat, cable car, and train. Oh, and at the end of our Great Wall hike, we rode a zip-line down from the Wall and across a lake.

And since I am talking about transportation, let me also say that the most dangerous thing we did in China was crossing the street. Leaving the subway that first day, Matt was almost immediately creamed by a scooter as we stepped off the curb. We had the walk signal, but that doesn’t mean a thing to drivers in China. Pedestrians do not have the right of way, and even when the signal changes to red, bicycles and scooters continue to weave their way through the intersection across the traffic that is now flowing perpendicular to them. And cars that are turning right proceed with their turn regardless of anyone who is in the crosswalk. More often than not we likened ourselves to live versions of Frogger.

One last cautionary word to anyone who might be travelling to China and find themselves on foot… Scooters and motorbikes have been converted from gas to electric, and thus are silent. At night, they are operated without headlights – making them truly invisible. Compounding this issue, they drive on the sidewalk. One might find themselves walking along on the sideWALK when a scooter or motorbike suddenly announces it’s presence from behind with a load screeching of the horn, demanding that you move out of it’s way on the sideWALK (emphasis intended). Just be careful, people.

Our time in Shanghai was the shortest, and I won’t cover everything. The main focus of the city right now is the preparation for next year’s Expo, so there is a lot of construction going on. The Bund, one of the highlights of Shanghai, is entirely under construction. That was unknown to us as we tried to walk through there, and somehow we found ourselves standing in the middle of a 6-lane road with high construction walls on both sides and Chinese motorists zooming past us. It was a little disappointing.

What wasn’t disappointing in Shanghai was the Yuyuan Garden. It’s a very old Chinese garden south of The Bund and southeast of People’s Square. It was a huge, very old-style Chinese garden. I can’t describe it better than Lonely Planet, so here you go: “With its shaded alcoves, glittering pools churning with carp, pavilions, pines sprouting wistfully from rockeries, whispering bamboo, jasmine clumps, stony recesses and roving packs of Japanese tourists, these gardens are one of Shanghai’s premier sights…” The gardens took eighteen years to build back in the 16^th-century, and they’ve been destroyed twice since then. Still, they’re pretty fantastic. And amazingly, these gardens offer a moment of peaceful tranquility in the midst of so many skyscrapers and construction.

We also entered two museums in Shanghai: the Shanghai Museum, and the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall (or something along those lines). Both museums are located just south of People’s Square, in the People’s Park area. The Urban Development museum was actually my favorite of the two. It boasted an entire scale model of Shanghai that was most impressive. A similar museum in Beijing has the same. Major cities of the world, take note! New York! Tokyo! London! Rio! Make scale models of your cities!! It’s cool! China is doing it! So should you! This museum also featured pictures and exhibits about the past and future development of Shanghai. It was really interesting!

The other museum, the Shanghai Museum, was really interesting as well. It’s pretty similar to the Tokyo National Museum. There were many historical artifacts that were most indicative of the progression of civilization in China, but particularly in Shanghai. Some items purportedly date back to the 16^th century B.C.! There was an entire section for money, and sections about furniture, pottery, manuscripts, weaponry, bronze, jade, etc. One thing that actually stood out to me most was the porcelain pillows. I suppose if you’re a hardened warrior and you’ve spent your day with your head encased in a hot and heavy helmet, coming home at night and resting your head on a porcelain pillow would be a dream. Personally, I think we should have a holiday to celebrate the man who invited comfortable, fluffy, down-filled pillows. Anyway, I digress… I thought it was interesting that even hundreds of years ago in ancient China, someone realized the need to rest their head on something. There were many other cool things in this museum, too, such as coins which were used on the Silk Road.

A note about museums, just so any of you future travelers are not alarmed: security to get into museums is tighter than security anywhere else in China (even the airport). You can bring a drink in, but you have to drink out of it in front of the security guard to prove that it’s consumable. Bags are always scanned, and metal detectors must be passed through. It’s admirable that they’re so protective about their artifacts!

Shanghai was also where we had our first experience with a Chinese ‘knock-off’ market – and the aggressive salespeople within. Though appearing as a typical office-building on the outside, the structure on Nanjing Road was, in fact, host to five levels of hundreds of vendors dispensing various underground merchandise. There were watches and wallets, designer clothes and bags, computer software and DVD’s, and hundreds of other items. Walking through the hallways among the booths, vendors did not hesitate to grab us, trying to pull us into their shops to purchase their merchandise. “You need a watch! I have! Here!” “No, thank you. I have a watch.” You need a shirt!” “I’m wearing one…” “You need sunglasses!” “It’s raining outside…” On and on they went, always the same thing. They even used such phrases as, “I remember you!” and “I know you!” to try to establish a rapport. With their persistence and ability to communicate (even just basically) in about 20 languages, the salespeople (or scammers or hawkers – however you’d prefer to label them) are certainly a little impressive.

And finally, Shanghai was the beginning of our many experiences (and experiments) with local Chinese food. We ate at an all-vegetarian restaurant, which I believe are common in relation to Zen Buddhism (correct me if I’m wrong here). We ordered two dishes: chicken with chili sauce, and sautéed crab. Wait a minute, you’re saying. Didn’t you just say vegetarian? Why, yes, I did. When the platters arrived, they looked fantastic, smelled great, and tasted almost exactly like their names – but were made entirely with vegetables and tofu. The crab (pictured) was delicious, and definitely my favorite. Made from potatoes and carrots, it tasted (and even had a texture) very similar to crab.

Our dinner that evening was slightly more adventurous. We were hungry, exhausted, and soaked from a torrential downpour when we finally made it back to our hotel, and so we decided to simply walk across the street to a little local restaurant. From the surprised look on the faces of the staff as we walked in, it’s safe to assume they don’t have many foreigners walk through the door.

Finding kung pao chicken on the all-Chinese menu, we ordered one of that, and then pointed to another dish that appeared to be chicken, as well. Since the menu wasn’t in English, we could only hope we were ordering something good. The kung pao arrived and was delicious! Our second dish was a bit difficult to figure out. It tasted kind of like chicken, but had many small joints. We had to suck the meat off the bones and joints, and then spit those pieces back out.

When we were stuffed so full we couldn’t bear to eat another bite, I asked our waitress what our mystery dish was. She didn’t know what to say in English, but she gestured me to follow her to the front of the restaurant where all the fish tanks were (you can choose your fresh fish, turtle, shark, etc, from these tanks). She began to take the lid off a crate that was sitting in a few inches of water near the tanks. I leaned closer for a better look as she pointed into the crate. At the bottom, huddled in a group, were five large toads.

And so it was that Matt and I dined on chicken and toads.

For more pictures of Shanghai: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038551&id=168302037&l=f296869d47

The Great Wall of China

The Wall

“You buy from me! Pic-tcha book, postcaad, bookmaak, t-shaat… You buy from me!” I picked up my pace and no longer looked at him, as I tried to move away from the hawker who had been following me for five kilometers. As I dashed up the steps in front of me in one last attempt to leave him behind, I could hear his fading voice as he got the last word: “You a bad man! You a bad man!”

I reached the top and entered the darkened lower chamber of the tower. There were more of them here, resting in the shade. “Cold beer! Cold water!” they announced, holding precipitous bottles toward me. The hawkers weren’t as bad here as in the city, but still… Quickly passing through, I found the stairs leading upward. I re-entered the sunlight, and found myself alone, standing on the top of the tower.

For a brief moment, I had that rooftop to myself. Looking back to the west from whence I had already come, I marveled at the structure before me. The wall, with it’s many watchtowers and signal towers, stretched on as far as I could see. It was both narrow and wide at times, but consistently high. Not only was it high off the ground, but it sat along the mountain peaks and ridges. I turned around and looked to the east to see what lay before me. Again, the wall stretched as far as I could see. The mountains seemed to grow higher in the distance. There was no haze in the sky on this day, and even on the peaks of the distant mountains, man-made towers were visibly perched, marking the trail of the wall. The beautiful mountains of Mongolia loom to the north.

For a moment, as I stood there circling the top of that tower, taking in the beautiful panorama, I was lost in the magnificence of the moment. Here I stood on the Great Wall of China. Here I stood on a 2,000-year-old structure that took over 100 years to build. Hundreds of thousands of men worked on this wall. The bones of deceased laborers were here, packed among the bricks. I pity the poor Mongol who rode through these mountains and came upon the forbidding sight of this monstrous wall, lined with soldiers and flags.

A few moments later I was joined by Matt and our new friend, Owen, and we continued our journey. We weren’t here simply to *see* the Great Wall; we were here to experience it. This was Day 13 of our China adventure, and our personal favorite. Up and down, ten kilometers, thousands of steps, twenty-eight watch towers, and two signal towers. Every moment we reveled in the experience. What an incredible way to culminate our time in China.

And so, with the sun high overhead, we continued on our journey.

For more picture of this Great Wall experience: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038550&id=168302037&l=f7c9c4fc6c

Stay tuned…

Next up: “Shanghaied”

Still to come: “Xperience Xi’an” & “Best of Beijing”

Traveler Notes:

Badaling and Mutianyu are the popular tourist destinations along the wall. We wanted to avoid such spots at all costs. It took a bit of research, but we came across an ideal area to hike the wall that is not touristy at all. There is a 10k stretch from Jinshanling to Simitai that is fantastic! Pack your own water (about 3-4 liters each is appropriate) and snacks so you won’t overpay by purchasing such necessities on the Wall. The difficulty of the hike is probably about ‘medium.’ There were one or two families out there who were doing pretty well. It’s a LOT of stairs and steep inclines, and the hike is 10km – so if you’re not physically prepared to go that distance, don’t do this hike. Also, be sure to dress appropriately. One girl who went out there in the same bus as us wore a jean skirt and flip-flops, and carried an umbrella with her for the sun. She definitely didn’t make it down before our first bus left to return to the city.

There are many tours offering trips to the Great Wall. They all charge outrageous fees, and most will take you to shopping areas or lesser-known tourist sites along the way, leaving you with an extremely brief time to actually enjoy the Wall. We didn’t want any of that, and we didn’t want Badaling and Mutianyu. We found a group that I highly recommend; as they delivered the exact experience we wanted: take us to the wall, let us hike, bring us back. No frills, few tourists, budget price (less than half-price of what most companies charge). Here’s the link: Beijing Downtown Backpackers Accommodation (it’s actually a nice little youth hostel in the Hutongs) Make sure you sign-up a few days in advance.

Tokyo Disney Sea

Recently Matt, Sarah, and I embarked on a magical adventure. We encountered Aladdin and Jasmine (and even Jafaar!), Pocahontas, Indiana Jones, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy and his son, and Chip ‘N Dale. That’s right – we went to Disney. Not just any Disney theme park, mind you, but Tokyo DisneySea. This is the ninth of eleven Disney theme parks to be built in the world (interestingly, Tokyo Disney Sea and Disneyland are the only two Disney theme parks in the world not owned by The Walt Disney Company). Costing over $4 billion (USD) to build, Tokyo DisneySea is also the most expensive theme park ever constructed. Another park like this does not exist in the world.

Arriving at the park on Monday morning, we first encountered the DisneySea Aquasphere – a large fountain in the shape of the earth. It was pretty cool! Standing there next to the giant earth, looking at our maps of the park, we were at first a little overwhelmed with just how much was available to do/see/eat. Tokyo DisneySea is unique in that the park’s theme is primarily nautically based. There are seven “ports of call” that complete the park: Mediterranean Harbor (a reproduction of Venice), Mysterious Island (based on the books of Jules Verne), Mermaid Lagoon (based on Disney’s The Little Mermaid), Arabian Coast (based on Disney’s Aladdin), Lost River Delta (a reproduction of a tropical rain forest), Port Discovery (a science-themed area, DisneySea’s version of Tomorrowland), and the American Waterfront (a reproduction of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States).

Where do we start?! With the Tower of Terror! After a quick plunge (a 13-story drop), we wandered to the Lost River Delta, home to two of DisneySea’s most popular rides: the Indiana Jones Adventure and Raging Spirits, a small roller coaster. By the end of the day, we had ridden the Raging Spirits coaster two times and taken the Tower of Terror plunge two times. But the Indiana Jones Adventure beat out all rides for us. We rode it once before lunch, then went back later in the day… and managed to ride it four more times – within an hour!

We rode a carousel in the Arabian Coast port area. And just before that we rode a small roller coaster, Flounder’s Flying Fish Coaster. Yes, it was geared for younger children. When you go to Disney, the child within can’t help but come out to play… Next we walked over to Port Discovery, where we rode the StormRider simulator (you fly into the eye of a hurricane). It was interesting…

We really would have liked to ride “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” a thrill ride into the volcano that is Mount Prometheous on Mysterious Island. Mount Prometheous is the centerpiece of Tokyo DisneySea, and is exactly the same height as the Cinderella castle next door in Disneyland. Sadly, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” was closed for maintenance during our visit. Even though we were disappointed, I think we made up for it by riding the Indiana Jones Adventure so many times. We DID get to see Mount Prometheous erupt – twice! It first erupted while we were on it, and again in the evening during the fireworks and waterworks show. Pretty cool (and pretty hot – the heat blast could be felt from about 200 meters away)…

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that we also saw a show. “Mystic Rhythms” is a live show that takes place in an “abandoned hangar” stage that has been “overgrown by the jungle.” It was a pretty intense show. It also had certain elements that reminded me of the Cirque du Soleil performance we saw recently. The performers dressed up in animal-like costumes, and moved around the stage just like animals. Their abilities were impressive…

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the food. We ate soft tacos at the El Dorado Café for lunch, and Reuben’s at the New York Deli for dinner. In between meals, we snacked on variously flavored popcorn that is available from vendors throughout the park. A few flavors: sea salt, black pepper, curry, caramel, strawberry, and chocolate. There might have been a few others, but nothing stands out more than strawberry and chocolate. Those were our favorites!

In typical Japanese style, the park was spotlessly clean and immaculately maintained. People were incredibly friendly. The most difficult aspect of the entire day was trying to gauge the right moments to speak Japanese or English. The first time I asked someone to take our picture, I asked in Japanese – to which she answered me in perfect English. Then later I asked a park attendant a question in English, to which she gave me the universal facial expression for “I have no idea what you’re saying.”

Despite those rare hiccups in communication, the staff was friendly and nice! I recommend visiting for a day or two if you get the chance…

$35 for the bus ticket; $9.20 for the connecting train ticket; $58 for the park ticket; $30 for food; experiencing one of the most amazing theme parks in the world = worth it.

Another Day, Another Adventure

It’s the 27^th day of May, and I find myself yet again embarrassed by my lack of updates to this blog. My previous post is dated at the end of January! My good friend, Phil, prompted me this past weekend to post an update, and I don’t want to disappoint…

 

February and March flew by quickly, providing a rapid finish to the school year. Because of the many trips I took during 2008, I didn’t have enough vacation time remaining for spring break. Matt and Catera went to Yokohama for several days, and I joined them for one day at the end of their trip. It was a great day in Yokohama! Matt and Catera met me at the station late on Saturday morning, and our first stop was a roller coaster. The roller coaster and amusement park were located in a rather unusual area in the midst of many tall buildings. After riding the coaster, we went to the top of a nearby building and played miniature golf on the roof. After that we found a Mexican restaurant (a rare occurrence) which featured an all-you-can-eat fajita lunch buffet. Needless to say, we indulged. In the afternoon we checked out a waterfront warehouse that had been converted into an open shopping center. I don’t care for shopping all that much, but the structure was pretty impressive. In the process of transforming the decades-old warehouse into a modern shopping center, the steel beams and other structural characteristics of the warehouse were well preserved and easily visible. To wrap up the day, we ate some amazing hamburgers at a Hawaii’an restaurant in the shopping center. Oh, and they had Cold Stone Creamery. It was a good food day…

 

I began my third year of teaching at the beginning of April! Crazy! April 1 was officially the start of the new school year, but the students didn't actually return until April 6th. My first classes weren't until April 13th, but I kept busy with preparations those first weeks. I started the year really strong - especially with my 5th and 6th graders. I think I shocked them all by giving them 3 pages of handwriting practice homework during the first class. I've never given out homework. I wanted to set a precedent in that first class that this is going to be a very different - an challenging - year for them. Hopefully, by the end of the school year I'll have 360 5^th and 6^th graders who can read and write.

 

April also saw the arrival of this year’s AET newbies.  Once again, most of them come from Oklahoma Christian University. They are: Brett and Heather Worsham, Allen and Laura Thompson, Joey Hartman, Cole Turney, and Tammy King. The first week they are here is their orientation/training week. This year my school and I had the pleasure of hosting these new AET’s for an observation class. They came on Tuesday afternoon to observe my English class with 5^th-grade, class 1. 

We didn’t prepare for the observation in advance, and many of the students were nervous, but they did really well with the material (considering it was only the second week of classes). I was very pleased with the observation. The newbies had plenty of comments and observations, and I hope they were able to take some things away from the observation that will be helpful to them as they develop their teaching techniques.

 

On Saturday, April 25^th, we celebrated the birthdays of Leah and Catera in style! Leah, Catera, Matt, and I went to Tokyo to watch the Cirque du Soleil performance of their Corteo show. It was incredible! If you ever have the opportunity to see a Cirque du Soleil show, take it. Corteo has an interesting story, though it may seem a little creepy to some (Google it). While I didn’t quite understand everything that was going on with the story-line, I did very much enjoy the acrobatics of the performers. Those men and women are in better shape than most of us could ever hope to be. They flipped, they twirled, they hung by their hair, they balanced on bars by their neck, they flew, they bounced, they somersaulted, they bicycled, they juggled, they sang, they danced, they played music. It was a dramatic musical circus. I saw it, and it was good. $35 for the bus ticket, $150 for the Cirque du Soleil ticket, $40 for food, but seeing a comedic midget float through the air above the audience (and bounce off people’s hands) suspended beneath a giant balloon – a priceless experience.

 

I suppose this is as good a place as any to say that I’m 99% certain that I’m in my last year of teaching English in Japan. There are other opportunities that I want to pursue… That said, Matt and I have decided that since this is our last year here, we really need to pack things in and take advantage of more opportunities in the here and now so we won’t have regrets later. We certainly accomplished this at the beginning of May during Japan’s “Golden Week” holidays. These are a series of national holidays that typically fall together, and allow us a five day weekend!

 

The first day of Golden Week, Saturday, found us (Matt, Leah, and I) standing on the side of a hill strapped to a parachute which was laid out behind us. A tug of the arm pulled the forward rigging up a bit, which quickly filled with wind, lifting the canopy over our heads. The ropes pulled tight, we ran a few steps, and then we were airborne, our legs still pedaling but our feet touching nothing. We glide through the air about 50 feet before we land at the bottom of the hill. 

I wish I could say we always landed gracefully, but… Leah had one of the best flights, and Matt had one of the highest (an unexpected event that shocked and scared our instructor). All day we did this; it was like the bunny slopes in skiing. Pull, run, glide, land, recover the chute, hike back up the hill, lay out the chute and clear the lines, wait for the ‘all-clear,’ and then pull and run again. And this is how we spent our first day of vacation: at paragliding school!

 

Paragliding was a workout, but it was so much fun! Our instructor all day was a man who competes internationally in hang-gliding and paragliding competitions. In the last 6 years he has ranked within the top 7 people in the world. *In the world.* He was a really fun instructor, and showed great patience with us as he gave us instructions in Japanese. 

All morning as we practiced, more experienced paragliders were floating through the sky above us. They had jumped from a high point on the mountain behind our practice hill, and they spent anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours gliding down to the landing zone. It was a pretty cool sight! In the afternoon, some of these more experienced paragliders joined us on the practice hill to help us setup our equipment before every jump. They were mostly university students who belonged to a paragliding/hang-gliding club at their school. We enjoyed talking to them while waiting for a good wind… Will we be going back? You bet.

 

The next day, Sunday, Matt and I met our friend, Mr. Kobori, to help him with the walls and roof of another building he was constructing. We first helped Mr. Kobori two years ago, shortly after we met him. He has some land down near Mt. Tsukuba, and he was building a cabin on that land. He had the frame pieces screwed together and stacked, he just needed our help lifting and securing them. 

This time around, it wasn’t a cabin he needed help building, but a garage for his tractor. It was an interesting design; the entire structure was elevated about a foot off the ground, and he had built a second wall on both sides to reinforce the main building, preventing it from collapsing inward from the weight of the tractor. Anyway, it was interesting, and we had fun once again helping him put up the walls and the roof.

 

Afterwards, Mr. Kobori and his wife took us to eat some amazing sushi at a little shop near Mr. Kobori’s school (he is a principal at an elementary school south of Mito). Coming from Oklahoma, I’m by nature a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy (unlike Matt, who’s pretty much a sushi expert). I’ve come a long way, though, in the past 2 years, and I now can say that I do enjoy good sushi. Anyway, this sushi was the best we’ve had in Ibaraki (the prefecture in which we live). Why was it so good? The man who runs the shop goes down to Tsukiji (the famous fish market in Tokyo) every morning at 4 AM to purchase fresh fish. *Every morning.* On the wall behind the counter were about 30-40 identical bottles of “shouchu” and “sake” with people’s names written on the label; those bottles belong to the regulars. Mr. Kobori told us that sometimes people come in, but the owner doesn’t like something about them, so he makes them leave (think “Soup Nazi” from Seinfeld). The owner, a 75-year-old grizzled old man, didn’t seem to enthusiastic to have 2 foreigners sitting in his establishment; I think the only reason we got to eat there was because of who we were with. Regardless, it was quite the experience!

 

After sushi, we went to Mr. Kobori’s mountain land to see the progress he’s made the past 2 years on the cabins. It was amazing! He and his wife go down every Friday night; they have done some excellent work there! They now have two cabins, an outhouse (with plumbing), a bathing house, a huge deck, and a covered porch. They’ve also done some nice landscaping. Mr. Kobori built everything himself except for the first cabin. “Impressive” is the word you’re looking for.

 

Monday morning Matt and I woke up early and rode with our friend, Miho, out to Kasama-city for the pottery festival, and to take a Kasama-yaki (pottery) class. Miho’s friend is an instructor at the pottery art institute there, and so she had been able to get tickets for us. We had fun, got our hands a little dirty, and made plenty of references to a certain movie (think 1990, pottery, Patrick Swayze). 

It’s not as easy as you would think it might be. One little mistake, and your project is over. For instance, when your finger accidentally scrapes a hole in the side of a cup as it spins on the pottery wheel. Or when you’re cutting the perfect cup off the wheel, but you cut too high and put a nice hole in the bottom of it. My best item was my first – a bowl. Matt’s best was a cup. After we finished with the class, we were told that it was just a class to practice making pottery – and we wouldn’t get to keep anything we made. 

No big deal to us; we now had the experience, and figured it would be that much easier for us next time we try to make pottery. However, since then we’ve learned that Miho’s friend set aside our pottery projects, and is firing them for us! We’re pretty excited to get our pieces back…

(To see more pictures from these holiday experiences, please follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2034775&id=168302037&l=b97166894e)

 

Tuesday, Matt, Leah, and I made our annual Golden Week trip up to the Great Ryujin Suspension Bridge – the longest pedestrian bridge (to nowhere) in Japan. Seriously, it’s a giant bridge up in the mountains, only for walking on, and serves no great purpose of connecting one thing to another. Lining both sides of the bridge are hundreds of coy fish. They are hung every year at this time to celebrate boys for Children’s Day, which was the same day (Tuesday, May 5). It’s actually a very beautiful area, and it’s interesting to see all the coy. This time around I found I was most entertained by the Japanese men who were walking on the bridge who would look down through the grates and glass at the water about 150-200 feet below, and then squeal, scream “kowai,” and grab their girlfriend’s arm. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Anyway, it was a good day for nostalgic memories for Matt and me, and it was a nice day for Leah to experience the bridge for the first time.

 

Wednesday… well, that was our day of rest. We needed it, don’t you think?

 

Since then we’ve had a hiking trip and a sailing trip planned with our Japanese friends, but both have been rained out and postponed. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks/months. We plan to do some hiking, go to Tokyo Disney Sea, and go north to Sendai. And this August Matt and I intend to go to China for about 16 days. So – I’ll do my best to keep updating the blog!

Celebrating a Quarter of a Century

As a little boy, twenty-five years-old was an unreachable and unimaginable age. It was the next major marker age after 21 – another age that couldn’t come fast enough. Mostly twenty-five meant to me that my auto insurance would get cheaper (as is the case for most men in America). For that reason alone, my sole plan and goal for the year I was twenty-five was to be able to buy a Corvette. My, how things change…

Today I celebrated my 25^th birthday in Japan. I overslept because it was a grey, overcast day. As I rushed to get ready for work and eat breakfast, I made one phone call – the only phone call I made on my birthday. I called my mom. I’m not a “momma’s boy,” but being that she’s the one (besides God) who has essentially enabled me to celebrate twenty-five years of existence, it seemed only appropriate. Three minutes on the phone, two minutes to gulp down 2 oranges (try that sometime; it’s not easy), and I was out the door to take on another typical day in the classroom.

My objective today: survive 5 periods of 2^nd-graders and 1 period of not-so-well-behaved 6^th-graders. I was dreading the 2^nd-grade classes a little, simply because I thought the conversation was going to be just a bit too difficult. Regardless, I arrived at school with a positive attitude, ready to have a fun day of high-fives, goofy voices, funky dances, competitive jankening (rock/paper/scissors), thumb wars, and maybe even a few tickle fights. Oh, and lots of chanting and “Repeat after me!”

Within one minute of stepping into my first class, my kids almost had me in tears. No doubt about it – I was definitely beginning to tear up. I walked through the door, and the whole class (37 students) was standing and smiling. The moment my foot crossed the threshold, they began singing “Happy Birthday” to me (I've posted a video of one class singing to me). When they were finished, they presented me with a huge poster birthday card with little notes from each student. Every 2^nd-grade class sang and had a giant poster birthday card for me.

My favorite class (yes, I have one), even gave me origami gifts and other presents. One little boy, Junpei, came up to me with a sheet of stickers, and it was quickly apparent that these stickers were really important to him. He leaned in close to me, and said, “Kendon-sensei, please choose five stickers.” I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t choose. I said, “Junpei, please choose for me.” It took several minutes of great care and consideration for him to decide which five stickers he thought I would like. In the end, I got a ship, a yacht, an airplane, a helicopter, and a Ferrari. I think he must know how much I love traveling… As I was leaving the classroom, he placed a bonus sticker – a sheriff’s star – on my school name tag. Another girl, Yuki, who happens to be my favorite 2^nd-grade student (I know, I know -  I shouldn’t have favorites, but…), gave me a sunflower postcard with an incredibly cute picture of her. On the back, she drew a picture of her and a picture of me (in which she gave me huge biceps). She’s a very cool kid. [NOTE: In the picture posted here, Junpei is the boy sitting on the front row with his name card touching the floor, and Yuki is the girl right behind him and to the right of Risa.]

As I neared the end of my workday, twelve staff members threw together a little birthday party. They surprised me even more by singing “Happy Birthday” to me – in English! Most of them don’t even speak English, but they did just fine belting out Happy Birthday… I was given the honored seat between the principal and vice-principal – which would have meant a difficult and uncommunicative time for me a year ago. I’m so glad that I’m learning more Japanese now! I had so much fun talking with everyone in the party! They even asked me to give a little speech, which I DID – in Japanese! :D Yay!!

My birthday ended quietly, with me relaxing at home by myself, eating a simple dinner, watching a movie, and studying Japanese… 25-years-old. It’s a new age, but it’s just another day. Nothing like my childhood expectations; and yet – I’m not disappointed in the least.

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday!

End of 2009 and Winter Vacation

Happy New Year! Hope you are all having a great year so far. We’re only 7 days into it; how bad can it be? I spent the first 2 days (literally) of this year sitting on airplanes, so it can only get better for me!

 

Sadly, it’s been 3 or 4 months since my last post. The year has finished, and so much has happened. As with the beginning of any New Year, there are resolutions involved. I have bad news. My resolutions do not include a commitment to updating my blog more often (though I promise I will try).

 

Let’s see, when I last posted here, my grandparents had just visited. It will only take a paragraph for me to cover October and November. I went apple-picking at an orchard in Daigo. I went onsening in Hitachi-Taga with Greg Gillham when he visited in October. Lindsy Graham and Matt Thomas both visited Matt, and it was great to see them and hang out with them while they were here. I dressed up as Indiana Jones for Halloween, to which my students affectionately responded by changing my name to “Kendon Jones.” I ran a few legs of a relay marathon with my teachers. I played football in the park for Thanksgiving, and enjoyed a great feast at Mito Church (for which I baked 2 broccoli/rice/cheese casseroles, and 1 pumpkin pie). I gave oral English tests to 450 of my students (about 42% of my school). Oh, and I signed on to stay in Japan for a 3^rd year (until 2010).

 

And now, let me tell you about “the big lie” I told in 2008. In July, I purchased a plane ticket to America for Christmas – but I didn’t tell my family. In fact (and here’s the lie), I told my family that I was going to be traveling through Viet ‘Nam and Cambodia during winter vacation – by myself. They weren’t too thrilled. I even made a fake itinerary (using real flight numbers and hotels) just so they wouldn’t suspect my true intentions. It’s so deceptive, I know…

 

So, with my parents and grandparents none the wiser, I boarded a flight to Dallas/Ft. Worth on December 18^th. But alas, this flight was delayed. As I sat on the plane at the gate, waiting, I thought with frustration how my plan to surprise my parents would now be ruined. The week before I had spoken with my mother, and I had convinced her that she should do something nice for my sister to celebrate that she (my sister) had just finished her first semester of college. Perhaps a nice dinner would be appropriate, I suggested. Then I immediately called my sister to tell her what foods she should request. I want Mom’s lasagna, garlic bread, and that awesome chocolate cake that she usually only makes for birthdays, I informed her. With my welcome dinner in place, my plan was coming together nicely…

 

Five hours after we should have departed Tokyo, the pilot finally announced that we now had enough fuel for the flight, a good flight plan, and good weather. We could finally take off. We landed in Dallas/Ft. Worth at 2:30 PM (CST), and I hurried to navigate DFW’s five terminals in search of my new connecting flight to Oklahoma City. It was scheduled for 5:05. At 5:05, I was still sitting at the gate, waiting. The gentleman behind the counter had announced that the flight was delayed because of fog in Oklahoma City. A young lady was sitting near me, and she kindly allowed me to borrow her cell phone to call my sister and my friend, Tara, to let them know I was delayed. A short time later, the gentleman behind the counter grimly announced that our flight was canceled. Apparently the fog in Oklahoma City was so thick that the airport was shut down and not accepting any flights. This was Thursday night. The next available flight they could put us on was going to be Saturday.

 

I turned to the young lady sitting next to me, Margo, and said, “Hey, do you want to rent a car and drive to Oklahoma City?” She said ‘yes,’ and I said ‘let’s go.’ As we walked down to the car rental agency, two more women behind us were talking about renting a car and driving to Oklahoma City. Why not all get a car together? Within 30 minutes the four of us were northbound on I-35 in a very new, very nice Toyota Camry. I felt so blessed to have met those 3 women who, in our mutual desperation, helped me get to Oklahoma City. No one felt weird or awkward, and I don’t think any of us worried that someone in the car was an ax murderer. It was a great adventure! Thanks Margo, Ashley, and Angela! And Angela – thanks for driving!

 

As we neared Oklahoma City, Margo called American Airlines to find out about our bags. The airline wouldn’t bring them to us when our flight was canceled, and we had been told that our bags would be on the next flight that actually went through to Oklahoma City. So we weren’t sure how or when we were going to get our bags back… The airline representative Margo spoke with told her that a flight from Dallas had JUST made it through – the only one of the night. Our bags might be on that flight. We could check at the airport, or we could call the next day. We had to return the rental car to the airport anyway, so when we arrived Margo and I began the search. It didn’t take long before I had recovered my two bags!

 

By this point it was 9:30 PM, and I still had an hour and a half drive more to my parents’ house. My sister picked me up from the airport, and we were off. Bless her heart – she had to make up so many excuses for my parents about why she was running SO incredibly late for dinner. I think my parents were a little upset. I finally arrived at my parents’ house about 11:00 PM. I had left my house in Japan twenty-nine hours earlier.

 

I knocked on the front door, and my mother opened it. “Merry Christmas,” I said! Her mouth dropped, her head cocked to the side, and her eyes widened with shock and surprise. “Kendon!! What are you doing here?!” She barely got the chance to hug me before she was running down the hall, calling out, “Ken! Ken! Wake up! Your son is here!” There was a pause, and then a sharp yell from the bedroom, “WHAT?!” At 11:30 PM we sat down to a very late meal of lasagna, garlic bread, green bean casserole, and chocolate cake.

 

Also, my parents aren’t the only ones I surprised. Thanks to everyone (especially Chase) who was able to keep my presence in America a secret until I could surprise my grandparents on Christmas Eve! My family arrived at my grandparents’ house, went in, and a few minutes later I knocked on the door. It was so great to surprise my grandma and grandpa! I know they were really worried about me. They were following along daily with my fake itinerary and praying for me.

 

I had two weeks in America, and my time was divided between Cushing (parents), Enid (grandparents), and the Edmond/Oklahoma City area (friends). I spent several nights with my good friends, the Easter’s: Phil, Tricia, Kate, and Rachel. They were so gracious to host me in their home, cook breakfast for me every morning, and flexibly accommodate my schedule of seeing people. I got to see many of my friends graduate from my alma mater, Oklahoma Christian, especially Stacey Roberts and Heidi Williams! I got to see my former professor, Dudley Chancey, as well as my former coworkers from IT. I saw many of my best friends from college, and was so happy to meet the children that some of them have now (T.J. and Jake!). And I even got to lead singing at my old church, Westwood.

 

Some more people I got to hang out with: Abbi, Stacey, Kelly, Chris, Heidi, Nathan, Tara Lynne, Alison, Amanda, Regina, Teddie & Reed, Phil Chapman, Natasha & Andrew, the Kreplins (Kevin, Cheryl, MacKenzie, Caroline), Raley, Brandon & Lori, Kristen, the Ely’s (Jake, Lauren, Rose), Karen, Heather, Steve, John, Hippie, Will, Greg & Arianne, the Lamb’s (Jerry, Rachel, Sarah, Grace), Kirby, Tony & Haylee, Caryn, Jen, Michael & Ryan, the Norman’s (TJ, Ashley, Elijah)… (I could keep listing them all for a couple of paragraphs, but you really don’t want to read that, do you? BTW, I’m listing for my own future benefit so I can remember…)

 

Besides seeing so many people, I got to eat a ton of American food. Literally – I think I ate a ton. I felt sick and bloated pretty much the whole time I was in America. My body just isn’t accustomed to American food anymore. Yet, still I ate… There were four main food groups that I was focused on: Mexican, Italian, BBQ, and breakfast foods. I got to eat at Countyline BBQ, Zio's, Coach's, McAlister's, Ted's, Texas Roadhouse, Rib Crib, El Parian, Braum's, Olive Garden, Panera Bread, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, Burger King, and even a Chinese buffet (can't really get American-Chinese in Japan). I got to eat the Posselt's barbecue brisket, my mom's lasagna, a frozen pizza (yeah – I miss that!), real bacon, and Phil Easter's French toast and waffles. And of course there was Christmas dinner. Sadly, I failed to make it to Arby's, Cracker Barrel, and Full Cup. I never ate at the same place twice, and I had a lot of 2-meal days (my body just couldn't handle consuming the American food a 3rd time)! I enjoyed it while I was there, but I'm so glad to be back in Japan and eating lighter meals. I’ve already eaten sashimi twice since I’ve been back.

 

Today my students came back to school for the opening ceremony, then classes will begin tomorrow, I think. This is our last and shortest term of the school year, but then we don't have much of a break (maybe a week or so) between this one and the beginning of the first term of the school year (at the start of April). It's crazy how quickly this year has flown by! I can't believe I've been here almost 2 years now! As I mentioned before, I've decided to stay for a third year, and it's possible I'll stay for a 4^th (but who knows, right?). August is our biggest break of the year, and that's when I plan to travel out of the country again. My intended destination during August is China! And next Christmas I really do plan to visit Viet 'Nam, Cambodia, and maybe finish the trip in Thailand (I love it there!).

 

Winter vacation was my first time to go back to America since I moved to Japan. It was a good visit; I enjoyed seeing so many friends, spending time with family, eating American food that I missed, and driving fast on the open highway. The visit also made me realize how much I enjoy living in Japan, and how different the two countries and societies are. I definitely found things that I was frustrated about, and there were things that were difficult and things that were weird that I'm just not accustomed to anymore. Life is a constant progression, and nothing can or will ever be the same again.

 

Well, I’m not sure what will come up in the next couple of weeks or months, but I’ll try to find some interesting things to write about. Keep checking in…