Post to follow on our amazing day at Emma's orphanage and finding spot.
Suffice it to say, that in order to contextualize the day, we will set the stage with the following (and then go down to breakfast where we will erase them from our minds);
- walk through raw sewage
- sit on urine soaked seat on bullet train
- eat what is billed as "sea plant" at lunch with orphanage staff, when nothing else but pickled seaweed and peanuts are on the table so there is no way to NOT eat them and appear respectful. Later, on urine-soaked-seat train ride home, discuss with guide the fact that it was, indeed, worms. From the sea. Gag. (kudos to Jim who ended up having to eat his, Emma's (becuase even though it is a local delicacy she is too smart to eat it herself) and Jeb's
- finish up lunch by avoiding the soup with lungs and intestine floating in it
- 4 hour wait in train station with five year old who wants to run away...for four hours
- cab ride back to hotel where we are separated into two hotels. Me, Jeb and COoper in one with 50yuan and a hotel card. Cab driver appears lost, tries to talk to us and gets supremely frustrated gesticulating wildly with his hands and repeatedly bangs head on steering wheel. I pray OUT LOUD and then try to call Jim. Oh, wait. I have his backpack with his phone in it. Mercy. Since I am typing this post, you know we did make it back. The cab driver literally threw the money at me when we got out. Not sure why he was so mad, but it's okay. At least we arrived.
All that made us VERY DONE by the end of the day. So done. How to move on? Hot showers, wash all our underthings in the sink and send the rest of our clothes out to the laundry, and an order of 5 apple pies and ice cream with a huge platter of fries. Ahhhhhh.
All the above made the day quite an adventure. Intrepid travelers have reached the limit of our intrepidness for now.
I will post about the orphanage visit after breakfast where we will not eat worms or lungs. :)
Love you all! More soon...
2 comments:
Ling,
Take a deep breath. You love China. You probably would have loved the worms had you tried them. HA. Can't wait to hear the rest of the details!!! It was going way too smoothly during your "redo"....you had to have ONE tale to tell!!! Love you.
Ping
This post took me through many emotions but I think the greatest was EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW and then horror at the thought that we may have eaten the same thing cause I'm guessin' we went to the same place. EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW!!!! We did say no seafood...are worms seafood??? I stuck with the peanuts and chicken...but wait...maybe it wasn't chicken!!!!!!!
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