A Humorous Day at the Sports Center in Baoji

My First Trip to the Work Out Center in Baoji

November 20 2012

     It is my day off and the electric has been turned off in my apartment because of the work they are doing on the road. Although this was the perfect opportunity to motivate myself  to get to the gym and take a shower, it provided an extra push to take advantage of the situation and to finally get in a work out session. I was not sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the people were accommodating at the gym and working out was a lot of fun. 

     

     The equipment at the workout center is new, user friendly, and the staff was eager to help, but they were not over bearing. It felt good to exercise at a gym for a change and I had forgotten how much fun it could be, but I believe that I will pay for it in the morning as the aches and pains are already beginning.

     

     Of course, every gym, no matter what time of the day or night one arrives, there is always that one guy who believes that he knows more than everyone else does. Well, this one was a doozy (as Mom would say) and for a while, I thought that he was going to be an ongoing problem. I guess he was around six feet tall and huge compared to the size of the average Chinese man.

     

      He seemed to be fluttering around me (for lack of a better description) working out on each of the machines using weights that were obviously too much for him. At one point, I could not tell who was in charge, the machine or the guy - as the machines he was using seemed to be twirling him around in in many directions. When he needed a break, he would come over and show me what he thought I was doing wrong and set me on the right path. There was a qualified team worker helping me throughout the work out, but I guess he did not approve of the job she was doing.

     

     The last time he came over to give me some of his worldly advice I showed him how to use the machine I was using in a way that he did not know and bingo, just like that he disappeared! Geez, just when I was about to ask him if he wanted to get a cup of coffee – well maybe not. Anyway, this man was funny and entertaining and although he was slightly irritating, I enjoyed the few moments we had together.

    

     Working out at the gym today made me realize how much I missed it and because it is user friendly and accommodating it suits the purpose. If I survive the evening and am able to get out of bed in the morning, I believe I will visit the gym again – of course, the ultimate goal is to get in shape, but an added bonus is to meet more characters with funny personalities for entertainment during the work out.  

Trip to the Vet in Baoji - Lacheena

Xian will have to wait  

Lacheena

October 19 2012

    

     My October this year has been dedicated to getting my Chinese kitty - Lacheena ( L because her name has to begin with an L because of my other kitties, Liz and Loki – CH because she is from China and eena after my black cat who passed away a few years back, her name was Lena) back to good health. This included many trips to a Chinese Vet Clinic in Baoji.

    

     It is very scary going to a Chinese Vet because generally speaking, the Veterinarians in China; do not have a good reputation. Lacheena was in bad health when I rescued her and she needed medical care.  She also needed to be spayed for her own well-being, as well as mine; as a cat in heat will cry and howl all night and all day long – this can go on for days!

     

     Bound and determined Misty (a very good friend) and I transported Lacheena to the vet. It was raining that day, but it did not matter because after weeks of feeding Lacheena healthy food and antibiotics to kill worms and fight off a nasty flu, she finally passed the blood work exam and was ready for the operation!

     

     The Vet tech was kind and eager to make us feel comfortable and the Veterinarian was businesslike and focused. The surgery was a success although after the surgery things got a little weird. After the surgery, the Vet was holding the insides he had taken out of Lacheena in a small stainless steel cup. He asked if I wanted to see it (I did not know this at the time, but it is common practice for doctors to show the patient or family members whatever was removed in the operation) I rudely said that I did not because frankly, I was a little shocked by his request.  

    

     Lacheena was groggy and unstable when I got her home, she kept trembling and falling when she tried to walk, but soon she settled down and slept. For the next 3 days, she went to a local vet closer to home so that they could administer a few vials of IV’s at each visit; I guess it was to assure that no infection would develop, so I did not protest.

     

     Although I was apprehensive about getting the surgery done in China, I am glad I did. It is over now, my Lacheena is back to her normal self-running through the apartment, playing hide and seek, and eating and sleeping whenever she wants. She lets me know everyday how much she appreciates her new life and she is great company to have around in this foreign land. 

My Trip to three Ancient Cities in Yunnan – Kunming, Dali, and Lijiang with Julia, Johnson, and Eric 

August 2012

      Wow!  The opportunity arose to travel with Julia and her family to Yunnan Province on the short summer break from Kid Castle! The school is open year round so we only got a week off, but it was enough time for Julia, Johnson, Eric and I to catch a flight down to Kunming and do a bus tour of a few ancient cities in Yunnan Province.

     

     Did I say bus tour? Yes, I certainly did…  I am not a bus tour kind of person; however, we were traveling in the midst of the high tourist season and our traveling options were limited.  This was a pre-arranged trip and I was under the impression that the bus tours in China would be different from other bus tours around the world. Why you ask? I believe that this was a subconscious plan implemented by my evil twin to send my conscious mind into a state of oblivion (for lack of a better reason). In many ways, the bus tours in China are different from other bus tours around the world in a horrific way and as I attempt to tell you about my travels, please keep in mind that we all had a great time and that my writing for the most part will be from a cynical point of view.   

     

     We arrived in Kunming at 2:00 early morning and stayed in a rather scary looking hotel in Kunming. Breakfast was at 6:00am and from there we left for Cangshan Mountain. The road to Cangshan Mountain, which is outside of Dali, was very long and seemed like it took forever to get out of Kunming. Our bus tour guide was a young enthusiastic Chinese girl with many stories to tell. She propped herself up, legs straddled on the first two seats  in the bus, grabbed a microphone and began to talk as soon as we were on our way;  she did not stop talking for 3 hours! I kid you not – she did not stop to take a sip of water, to take a break, to eat a cracker – nothing. So here, we are – less than 4 hours of sleep – crammed into a bus – with a chatty Cathy! Does this sound like Chinese torture treatment? I believe it was. I was looking around the bus hoping to make eye contact with anyone who was suffering as much as I was, but to my dismay, everyone on the bus looked passive and relaxed. I began to think that there was something wrong with me so I took out my iPod to listen to some music and tried to tune her out. Soon after I saw another tour bus pass and that guide were doing the same thing (It must be a China tour bus thing)! When our tour guide finally decided to take a break and shut up, I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery and the ride.

      

     Driving along the outskirts of Dali the beautiful architecture of the buildings and the breathtaking scenery displayed itself lazily throughout the countryside. The outskirts of the city looked enticing to visit, but jumping out of the bus to explore was not an option. We arrived at Cangshan Mountain soon after and climbed up many stairs passing a few little outdoor shops filled with beautiful homemade items. There was not any time available on this obnoxious time sensitive tour to wander amongst the shops and bargain with the locals. We continued to race up the stairs to our destination and our reward was rich as the mountains were beautiful covered in lush greenery, dabbled with wild flowers and different shapes of waterfalls.  Many trails were available to explore, but time was limited and after a cable car ride to the top of the mountain and back, it was time to go.

  

     Moaning and rattling that old bus crept over the rolling plains, quickly moving up curvy mountain roads deep into the abyss of the Yunnan Province. For a period, there was a feeling of being far away from civilization and I was almost grateful that I had the security of the bus tour to guide me on this journey.  There were farm homes that looked like small compounds, but large enough to house an extended family.  Dabbled throughout the land and up the hills farmers tended to their rather huge gardens and nearby a group of cows grazed as the lonely cow herder enjoyed summer breezes and the warming sun. There was a great feeling of peace and tranquility, and it was soothing to know that every day these people were tending to the earth. Upon returning home, there was a feeling of longing to see these rural farm people once more so that I could once again experience the inner peace they instilled in me.

    

     Our next stop was Lijiang and after stopping in town for dinner, we drove around town looking for a hotel (they forgot to book a room for us). We finally found a nice hotel around 12:00am and Julia informed me that we would be getting up at 5:00am to eat breakfast, and head out to Snow Mountain. This was madness and unacceptable! The meaning of the word vacation or holiday is not synonymous with the word torture and getting up at 5:00am was out of the question. Julia, Johnson, and Eric needed a family day together and we could all meet later in the day.

     

     The next day after a long leisurely morning, I ventured out to visit the ancient city of Lijiang. They renovated the city and made it into a tasteful tourist destination with many shops and restaurants depicting the culture of the people showing off their lifestyle and artistic talent that has endured hundreds of years. The people were friendly and knowledgeable, I was able to relax, enjoy the day and wander through the streets of this wonderful city. Later Julia, Johnson, Eric and I met and went to the Naxi Ancient Music Festival. It was a fantastic show and a great way to spend the evening. After the show Julia, Johnson, and Eric wandered through the city and I strolled through an avenue of bars and restaurants. Each establishment was open and airy providing music and entertainment for the pleasure of the passersby. The next morning we were back on the bus, headed back to Kunming to visit the Stone Forest.

    

     On the way back to Kunming, we stopped at a couple of local veggie stands where locals had huge vats cooking corn on the cob – it was delicious. There were also Pomegranates fresh off the trees, small tasteful bananas, and many other kinds of unfamiliar fruit that was delicious!  We also made a few stops to places that sold Jade and other types of jewelry. I believe that they took us wherever they wanted us to spend money. We arrived at Stone Forest late in the afternoon, the Forest was breathtaking, but very crowded and we rushed to see it at the speed of light with barely time to take pictures. At this point, the thrill was gone, I just wanted to go back and explore the town of Dali, but I was not going to get my wish.

      

     After the long trip back to Kunming, we settled into our hotel rooms and I was able to catch the news and some of the Olympics on Chinese TV. The next morning we ventured out to visit the Flower Market and it was something to see. They specialized in rose oils, lotions, coffee, tea, bamboo products, jewelry, and many other things. The market went on for miles and it was like venturing into maize with hundreds and thousands of things to buy at reasonable prices. Once more, our time was limited and next we rushed to the airport for our trip home. It turns out that our flight was delayed and because of this, we spent many hours in the airport waiting for the plane.

     

     I was not impressed with the city of Kunming, and like most cities in China, it has a problem with pollution. It was nice to get out of there and head home, but leaving that beautiful countryside was hard. Memories and visions of the rural farmers working the land and the peace and tranquility of this beautiful area etched in my memory allow me to visit this land whenever I choose.

     

     The nice thing about the bus trip was that it took us too many places that we might not have been able to visit if we were on our own. The positive outweighed the negative on this trip and the people on the bus tour were the nicest people that you would ever want to meet! I was fortunate to be invited to go on this journey and I am glad I went even though it took my body around three days to stop feeling like I had been crunched up and sitting in a tin can.  

Apple is Alive and Well in China

     

It is interesting to look into different cultures to observe different marketing strategies used in retail to promote business. Many malls and super markets use a lot of sales people as marketing tools to stand in their assigned position waiting to pounce on anyone who dares to walk by, but if you are lucky enough to have a small store on a city street the marketing strategy is a little different.

     

Around dusk you may see a lot of people migrating outside of a store with a lot of hustle and bustle going on. Workers (or a catering company) are busy setting up huge lights, a stage, speaker system, smoke machine, and a tent with marketing information. They can get this thing set up and ready to go in about an hour. Then the promotional marketing show begins – it usually consists of two cute Chinese girls wearing matching short shorts and t-shirts – the music begins and the girls dance in the form of an aerobic workout session. I can never tell if we are supposed to join in like a flash mob dance or just stand there and watch – well after around 5 minutes the realization settles in that they only have a couple of routines that continue over and over again. Oh well, the thrill is gone. Reality sets in and I take note of the store doing the promotion and move on. 

     

Now that you have an overview of this marketing strategy I can tell you what I experienced last night.

      

I was riding my bike home from my weekly shopping excursion when I noticed a promotional event taking place in front of the new Apple store.  China is big on Apple products and although many cannot afford them – given the choice – most people would buy them - including me. An unlocked GSM iphone would answer all of my prayers at this point in time, but at $800-900.00 a pop currently this lands at the bottom of my priority list.

       

The music I heard intrigued me and as I got closer, I noticed two Chinese girls on stage; both were beautiful with long black hair and both girls were dressed in the same classy white ruffled outfit. Each was playing a violin and they were doing a great job. The violins were backed up with an almost eerie new age techno sound and it was strangely enticing. 

    

 It was awesome, I was ready to run home, grab my neighbors and come back out to listen to the music, but after about five minutes – as with most promotional events – I noticed that the music was sort of doing the same thing over and over again. Once more reality set in as I took note of the store and moved on.  

     

Please keep in mind that I never visit cities in the U.S. unless I am on business, visiting my brother and his family who lives in Seattle, or my sister who lives in Fort Lauderdale. It is possible that this type of promotional event is common practice in U.S. cities and I am not aware of it.     

     

This is interesting to me because when Myrtle Beach runs a promotional event we usually go to a lot of trouble to set it up and it would probably last all afternoon or evening. Sales people would be standing by with promotional items and drinks and food would be served. The media would be alerted as well as the police and possibly an ambulance would be on alert for the occasion.

     

So given my experience with promotional events (and I have both worked and participated in quite a few) I must say that I sort of feel like I was ripped of something more that was not there. 

I may not be ready to take the Apple plunge today, but it will happen in the future. 

     

If Apple had added a little more to this event such as – complementary bottled water, a few snacks, and possibly a few friendly low key sales people wandering around to motivate the crowd to be happy or to dance

 – would this be more effective

 – or was it just as effective the way it was? 

Would I have become a more motivated Apple consumer buying an iPhone at an earlier date if I saw that this company was making a better effort than other stores to reach out to its potential clientele?

       

It might have knocked the iPhone up a notch on my wish list, but as of today, my thoughts still stand solid. This was a class act promotional marketing tool shining a new light on Baoji. It raised the bar just a bit – to show that culture could be intertwined with marketing promotions to compliment the people who live and work in the town instead of the gimme, gimme, gimme attitude.

:)

Fun at Kid Castle

     

     Many of the classes are winding down and kids are getting ready for summer break. At the end of each class, we create a presentation for the parents to show them what the kids have learned. The Chinese teachers do most of the work and I pitch in to do my part when needed.

     

     The communication barrier is extremely hard to deal with when working with Chinese teachers, but as long as we remind each other that, that is the problem – everything seems to work out. The real problem is that the Chinese teachers do not include or ask for help from the foreign teachers when they need it and they are not very good at clarifying and expressing how they want to put together a program.  Therefore, when it is time to do a presentation it is turned upside down and I end up doing a lot of improvisation. This is a pain because preparation is the key, but it may be good practice in learning how to think on your feet. Anyway, at the end of the day, everyone is happy with the presentation and all is fine and dandy.

     

     The last presentation I did  I was apprehensive about because it was not my favorite class and I had a few students in that class that were hard to work with, but they surprised me to the point that I was really proud of all of them. They sang a Christmas song that was amazing and wrote a short dialogue about their family to present in English. I asked them questions and they all answered them correctly. Got to love when that happens!

     One of my best classes was winding down after the final oral exam in the last class and there was extra time to kill so I decided to show the kids the portfolio I had put together with pictures of the beach, family, pets, and things I like to do when I am home. They had a blast and loved every minute of it! The kids screamed, laughed, and kept saying how pretty all the pictures were.  After the class, a couple of Moms came to the office and wanted to see the pictures. The Moms were excited and loved the pictures, but at the end an overwhelming look of sadness took over their facial expressions – it was disheartening to say the least.

     When I had time to reflect on this experience and put myself in their shoes an understanding came almost immediately. Most Chinese people believe that all United States citizens are rich and many have difficulties when thinking about us in any other way. So looking at this situation from the Moms point of view this is what I believe they experienced:

     “Hmm, let’s see, Wendy’s dad owns a plane, her mom is a famous artist who sculpts beautiful birds, her older sister is beautiful, her younger sister is also beautiful and owns horses and a lot of other things. Her niece is beautiful and spends a lot of time at the beach, her nephews are very handsome and have many hobbies. Her brother is very handsome and looks to be an upstanding citizen with a fun family. Her friends are well dressed and look rich. Wendy lives in a huge white plantation house in Myrtle Beach and has two other huge homes in the same area. She loves to go to the beach and she owns two pristine cats (you would understand this is you could see some of the cats around here).  One of her homes has a river flowing through the middle of it with lots of pretty fish in it. She even has beautiful artwork and sculptures on her properties. 

What a lucky girl."

Yes, I am blessed with a wonderful life, but boy, oh boy, I never saw this point of view until I put myself in their shoes. 

Next time I show my portfolio to students, I will be sure to have a translator close by to help me explain the story.

Do I have to say it?

Oh, if they only knew!

:)

Speaking of Food

      I find that the majority of people in China eat a lot of different fruits and vegetables and rarely ever consume junk food (no macaroni and cheese here).  It is considered normal if you are at work and someone pulls a cucumber out of a lunch bag to munch on (with the skin on). I thought this was funny at first, but now it is not such a bad idea. However,  they eat a lot more meat now than in the earlier days and super markets are stocked with lots of chicken, pig, duck, and beef to name a few items. 


     The area I am living in is known for raising hens for eggs and chickens for eating. The director of the school, Julia, gave us (the foreign teachers at school)  a gift box of 60 eggs each in honor of the Dragon Boat holiday. I believe that this is the strangest gift I have ever received - I gave a few to my neighbors, ate what I could and froze the rest.   


     Cheese as well as butter and olive oil are pricey and hard to find, however, yogurt and milk are in abundance. Milk comes in fruit flavors such as peach, papaya, mango, apple, and coconut to name a few. 


     Baoji is known for its noodles and there are many varieties to choose from such as,  lotus roots, peas, corn, egg, tomatoes, red peppers, corn, and wheat. I am beginning to learn how to prepare a number of different noodle dishes that are simple to make without taking a lot of time to prepare.  


     The super markets have a huge baking section and there are many different varieties of breads. Recently I tasted a coconut bread that was exceptional!!! Cakes are smaller than in the U.S., but beautifully decorated and very flavorful baked without a lot of sugar. I do not believe that a lot of people bake at home due to the high cost of electric, but one of my neighbors has something similar to an easy bake oven (remember those) and she made me some brownies one day. 


    Snacks include seaweed potato chips, pea flavored straws,  dried fish, all sorts of nuts and dried beans, garlic flavored crunchy peas, corn flavored everything (even candy-yuk) and little cups of a jello like treats for kids that leave a lot to be desired. They could learn a lesson or two about our wonderful world of chocolate chip cookies, fudge, rice crispy treats, and popcorn -  oh yeah, let's not even touch on our wonderful world of pizza!!!


     Dried fish is available in small packs to carry with you in case you are hungry. I haven't found one that I like yet. There are aquariums in the fish department holding the catch of the day - and  fresh fish is not deboned or cleaned (oh you spoiled Americans - I can hear your thoughts - same as mine - why not?). One day for the  first time in my life I bought frozen shrimp with the heads on! After I got over the black beady little eyes staring at me from the steaming pot and after I got rid of the heads I must say the the shrimp is the best I have ever had (once the shrimp is cooked, the head comes off easily). 


     My biggest challenge is trying to keep up my protein levels - I do not have an adequate kitchen to cook fish and I do not eat meat - so I am making an attempt to cook my own lentils, beans, and tofu dishes. There is a tofu station in every super market as well as a huge rice station - the tofu is cut to order and there are many different kinds of rice that I have not yet explored. 


     Dabbled throughout the store you may see m+m's (plain), Dove chocolate, snickers bars, Oreo cookies, and chocolate ice cream, but the portions are tiny and the cost is quite pricey. Ice cream is for sale in the stores and different kinds of ice cream bars are available, such as, (get this) green peas and red kidney bean ice cream bars..... no thank you - however, a limited amount of other flavors are available.


     I am exploring different foods each week and each trip to the super market is a challenge. The huge markets are located on the basement floor of the super malls and they try to carry a little of everything - sort of like a Wal-mart -  but totally disorganized. I can't figure out why cat and dog food (one kind of each - crunchies - no fancy feast here) is located in the imported food section and why needle and thread is located in the sports department - oh well, maybe it is just me. 


     As far as the food chains from the U.S., I am sure that you all know that there has to be a McDonald's right smack in the middle of town. There are also a few 24 hour Kentucky Fried Chicken's and a Baskin Robbins close by. Lots of tea shops around each neighborhood, but I only know of one coffee shop located next to McDonald's. 










     

Living in Baoji, China - 1st month

      It is official; I have lived in Baoji for one month! It is very funny because I feel like I have accomplished a very big goal and in a way, I have. At 55 years new I have traveled around the world to teach little children English at a private Chinese language school. Although, this is not my favorite place in the world - the experience of meeting a new culture and a new people is enriching, rewarding and well worth the trials and tribulations I experience every day. I am feeling better about being here with a little help from my friends... (corny, I know).

     The director of the school, Julia, and her brother Alex, gave me a sightseeing tour of Baoji on my last day off. To begin our journey we ventured into to a section of town where they are completing a new city and government center. There is a huge park in the center where people play music, practice Tai Chi and walk in the morning before it gets too hot.

      Next, we drove across town and up to the Plateau outside of Baoji where we wandered around the grounds in the warm breezy air and looked down on the city views. The air is cleaner than in town and there are not a lot of people around.  I could feel the stress dissipate from my body and I sensed the same thing was happening to Alex. 

     Continuing the journey we drove to the opposite end of the city up to Mount Tiantai which is where Yandi (Emperor) grew up. It was beautiful, very green and I cannot wait to get back there to hike up the mountain. 

     Coming off of the mountain back into Baoji, we stopped in town and Julia introduced me to a club with and indoor Olympic sized swimming pool that I can visit from time to time. I am very excited about this because I miss the ocean terribly and feel a strong need to get back into water.  

     We traveled into town and stopped at a local fruit and vegetable market that seemed to go on for miles. It was nice to tag along with Julia through the market because she gave me insight to the wonderful world of food and educated me on many fruits and vegetables – most of which I had never seen before. 

     Exhausted from our journey we parted ways, I went home to relax and cook up a great meal and my two friends went home to be with their families. What a fantastic day!


Wendy

Yan Di Mausoleum

MY VISIT TO

THE MAUSOLEUM OF EMPEROR YAN 

Yandi Ling Park

JUNE 18TH, 2012

     Last week I ventured out into the unknown in search of the Mausoleum of Emperor Yan. I took the number 6 bus as recommended, but the bus seemed to travel in a direction unfamiliar to me. Finally it stopped, I was the only one on the bus and the bus driver waved at me yelling (I am sure he was saying 'get out' because his arms were waving me off the bus). So I got off the bus and walked a little bit into a neighborhood that looked a little more - let's say rustic - than my own neighborhood - which was not a really good sign. 

     I was a little apprehensive walking around this area and  decided to call it a day so I crossed the street to catch a bus back into town. Riding back to town on the number 2 bus I noticed a hidden side street with the sign 'Yandi Mausoleum' presented in an arch above the road. Immediately I exited the bus and started up the road leading to my destination.The road was long, winding and all uphill.  I walked up and around corners getting higher and higher with no end in sight. The scenery was breathtaking and I wished that I could spend my time in China in this place instead of where I am currently living. 

     When I stopped to take a picture a beautiful black bird (who had white at the tip of his tail, on the end of it's wings equipped with a red beak- very beautiful) became very curious and looked at me as if he was trying to figure out what I was. I couldn't figure out if this bird had never seen a person before or if he had never seen a white person (If I had to guess, I would say that this bird had never seen a white person), The look this bird gave me  was a feeling of friendly curiosity, almost welcoming). Soon he flew behind a tree, but felt compelled to peek at me, one more time - very cute. 

     I ventured up the hill and finally arrived at my destination. The Mausoleum is beautiful and haunting. The art work on the buildings is intricate and worthy of much appreciation and when I climbed up the stairs to the first building - a huge image of Emperor Yan was inside one of the buildings surrounded by pillows and incense. The size of the image was a little overwhelming and there was another in the courtyard as well as another in the worship center. The images were extraordinarily large and each one was larger than the one before. I went around to the back of the buildings to see never ending stairs ascending to the top of the mountain. I could see a monument on the top and later, one of my co-workers told me that at the top of the stairs - a box was buried with the Emperor's clothes inside. She told me that the people loved the Emperor so much that knowing that his clothes were buried there, gave them a feeling of closeness to their beloved Emperor. 

     This trip, I did not take the hike to the top of the stairs, but I will be sure to do it next time.Traveling down the mountain was a lot of fun although it was a little sad to have to leave this sacred place, it is comforting to know that I can always come back to visit and perhaps spend a little time meditating and imagining what a day in the life was like for the people of Baoji and for the Emperor. 

(The people of Baoji believe that they are descendants of the Emperor and once a year many Chinese make a pilgrimage to this sacred place to honor him).

Wendy

My Trip to China - 2

The Bicycle Ride

Greetings Friends and Family

     I am finally beginning to adjust to life in China and although it is not my paradise there is still a lot that China has to offer. The more I am here - the more it draws you in and shows you what it has to offer - a little at a time.

      The pictures I sent to everyone were taken when I went out for a random bike ride before work one day. I had no idea what I was going to find and was pleasantly surprised. This beautiful park is not far from where I live. I started out on my bike and went across the bridge and onto a wide cement walking and biking path. It is really a transportation route for people to get to work, but I was enjoying a leisurely ride on a beautiful day. The path turned into marble that looked like glass and the further I traveled down the road - the more beautiful it became. 

     Soon after the marble changed into a brick lined path with trees lining both sides bending as if to shade the way. It was a feeling of awe that I could ride on this path that seemed to be going straight into and up the mountain. When I glanced to the right I saw more of these beautiful paths winding through what seemed to be an ever lasting nature scene. Soon there were sculptures, gardens, centers of huge flat cemented areas that I believe are used for Tai Chi lessons. Then there was a huge section with tons of what appeared to be ping pong tables - possibly 30 of them just waiting for someone to play on them. Along the way I saw farmers working in the gardens both vegetable and flower and I also saw people scattered throughout the forests and they appeared to be meditating or just enjoying the day sitting quietly. 

     I am trying to find a biking and walking partner,but so far I cannot seem to find anyone interested in venturing out past the city. On my last day off I spent a good part of the day with 2 of my foreign teacher buddies from South Africa whose only interest was shopping and getting the nails done. It was a lot of fun, but I need to find someone adventurous like myself that longs to see the country side and all that this small unnoticed city has to offer. 

     I am not sure what the name of this park is, but a girl I work with believes I wandered upon Baoji (bow-jee) Yandi Ling Tomb. More later when I discover the name of this beautiful park!!!

Wendy