Tabatha and I have officially been in China for 17 days now.  It is kind of 
crazy that we have been here this long.  We are excited and timid at the same 
time about the rest of the summer.  We have seen some really cool things and 
have had some great experiences thus far but we have learned that the Chinese
hospitality greatly outweighs how we treat foreigners in the United States.  

So far, we have gone out just about every weekend and Steve has come along with
us to some of the bigger cities.  We took a company bus and it was exciting
for our first few visits into the city.  However, yesterday was by far the best
day we have had since we have been in China.  I think Tab and I both would 
agree to that.  On our first day a Chinese guy about 25 years old gave us a 
presentation in English on Gold East (I think it was because he spoke the best 
English around so he ended up doing the presentation).  We later met a girl 
named Skyler who a few days later we found out was his girlfriend. Last Friday,
Ben called Tabatha and invited us to go into Zhenjiang with them on Sunday.  
Tab and I were planning on just resting and taking a break for a change as we 
work 6 days/week (it?s a bit much ? we might try and ask for 5 days instead).  
However, we really wanted to take the opportunity to interact with people 
closer to our age so we went even though we were so exhausted.  

The day for me needless to say started off bad because I did not sleep well, 
woke up late, and had to rush to breakfast.  Tab and I then walked out to meet
Ben and Skyler at the main gate to catch the bus to Zhenjiang.  We were 
slightly confused because we normally caught the bus that left from right in 
front of our dorm.  We arrived at our decided meeting point and then proceeded
to walk a little ways to a bus stop.  It was then that Tab and I realized we
were about to take the public transportation bus.  We have not really heard 
anything about these but negative comments.  

It really opened our eyes to a social system though.  There are 2 main classes 
of people at this mill ? the bosses and the workers.  The bosses take the bus 
that Tab and I have been taking out into the city, nice, cushy seats, air 
conditioned, and everyone else takes the crowded public city buses.  

When the bus arrived, Ben, Skyler, Tabatha, and I hopped on and paid of 2 
yuan ($.25) to ride to Zhenjiang about an hour and 20 minutes away by public 
transportation.  We got on at the start of the route so we had seats which we 
liked but at the same time, it was very busy and I was extremely cramped.  The 
seats were so small I felt like a sardine.  The seats were much lower to the 
ground than what I am used to in the States and were also much closer together.
I did not really fit and actually could not move once everyone was on the bus 
(granted, I don?t think anyone would really move.  It was so hot that we opened
the windows even though the smog was bad and the rancid smell of the backstreets
of China was penetrating the bus.  When we arrived in Zhenjiang we had to 
switch buses to take us to this park that Ben and Skyler told us they would 
take us to.  The bus we got on was smaller in its own sense, and bigger in 
others.  It also looked like a bus in the states that has been out of service 
for about 10 years.  The greenish blue paint was peeling off the wall, some of
the windows appeared broken, and some of the seats were leaning over from where
so much wear and tear had occurred on them.  It was my first experience on a 
double decker bus, but as everything in China is, it was a miniature double 
decker.  We quickly went up to the top floor (I think because Ben and Skyler 
have never been on the 2nd level) but at no surprise to me the ceiling was a 
mere 5 feet tall.  It was the perfect size for Tabatha and all of the Chinese 
people ? but not for this Mei guo ren (American). Wo tai da (I am too big).  

When we arrived at the park, we paid our admission fee of about $7 US and went 
in.  The first thing was saw was a giant rock face which we thought was 
beautiful.  There were some Chinese characters that I had not clue what they 
meant carved into the side.  We then caught a boat over to this island where 
the main part of the park was ? we got pushed out of the way by a 3 year old 
that wanted to look out the window.  Lesson learned: if you want something in 
China, be aggressive.  

After getting there we looked around a bit at the giant goldfish pond and some 
of the ornamental buildings and such.  We went to an old cannon fort and as 
some preserved inscriptions of old kings and such from the many early dynasties.  
We did not have a clue what they said save the few numbers Tabatha and I 
were able to recognize.  The Chinese character system is so difficult as there 
is a different character for just about every word.  To have a moderate 
vocabulary you need to know like 2000 characters.  It seems almost impossible 
to me.  

After this, we went to lunch which was good.  Tabatha really liked it because 
we had tomato rice cakes.  Ben and Skyler insisted on paying and even though 
Tabatha and I did not want them to, they did anyways.  After lunch we all went 
out on this swampy river with these rafts made of about 10 pieces of bamboo 
lashed together.  They looked like they would go under any minute.  I almost 
fell off because the seat broke while we were out there resting.  We didn?t 
paddle these rafts but took about a 20 ft piece of bamboo and pushed on the 
bottom of the river for propulsion.  It was so difficult and unstable because 
we had to stand up on them and they were only about 4 feet wide.  Finding your 
center of balance on a shaky raft and going in the direction you want to is 
very difficult. It was so cool but I got kind of messy because of the swampy 
water!  

When we got off of the rafts and went to clean up we all went into this little 
bathroom to wash our hands and such and much to our surprise there were these 
two small lobsters in the sink.  They kind of shocked Tab a little bit and she 
ran off for a minute.  I played with them until she came back, washed my hands,
and then got out of the way.  

We then followed this footpath to the top of a steep mountain.  It was a lot of 
steps yet we made it.  On the very top there was this beautiful and ornate 
looking pagoda.  We decided not to go in as they were charging so much to go 
look and we could here a crying baby coming from the top, so instead we just 
took in the view of the landscape now that we were on top of the world.  

We then hiked down the other side of the mountain and upon returning to the 
bottom came upon a Buddhist temple.  It was prayer time so the four of us 
observed what was happening.  There appeared to be about 20 Buddhist monks 
walking around the temple chanting.  It sounded very beautiful.  There were 
many people that joined in and chanted along.  It was so peaceful here.  I feel
like I saw a real part of Chinese culture.  It struck me as very odd though 
that there were not very many young people there ? everyone was fairly old 
except us.  I found it interesting when Ben told us that there are not very 
many younger people so religious in China.  It is something about the new 
generation that just does not accept the old religion as much.  I would like to
find out more about this and why this has happened.  It seems very interesting.  

We left shortly after they started burning incense and then left the park.  
Tabatha and I were exhausted but it was only 3 o?clock and there was much more 
to do and see!  We caught the bus back to the main part of Zhenjiang where we 
took a coffee break in a well-to-do coffee shop.  There was air conditioning 
and many comfy couches.  After this rest and coffee of which Ben and Skyler 
insisted on paying for, we left and went out into the local markets to try some
traditional Chinese snacks.  They had anything and everything there from fresh 
fruit to octopus tentacles.  Tab and I tried a bit of everything (save the 
octopus, maybe another day) and we just did some light shopping.  

Ben and Skyler later took us to this restaurant where we had this ?perfect soup?.
They said it was called Ten/Perfect because 10 is a perfect number and the soup
had ten different things in it.  Tabatha and I both agree that it has been the 
best thing we have eaten since we have been in China.  The noodles were amazing
and the meat was wonderful too.  I will just stick with calling it meat though 
as I am not exactly sure what it was?  

When we were done eating we walked a good distance to our bus stop and hopped 
on for the ride.  This bus was much better than the one we took in the morning.
It was double the price (US $.50) but had comfy seats and air conditioning.  
Our group got seats facing each other so we could talk on the way back.  The 
conversation was great - something that Tabatha and I have missed for a while. 
The bus dropped us off in Dagong about 8 o?clock and Ben and Skyler were trying 
to wave down a cab.  Finally Tab and I wanting to have the chance to spend more
time with them suggested that we walk back to the mill.  It is only about a 25 
minute walk.  It was nice and peaceful as there were not too many people out. 
We really enjoyed it.  

Upon our departure from Ben and Skyler, we thanked them again for taking us out
and suggested that we should play badminton against them soon.  They agreed and
we said our goodnights.  Today has really put things in perspective for me 
though.  Ben and Skyler were so nice and hospitable.  The culture here is so 
different; we are not this hospitable to foreigners in the United States.  From
my experiences, many people tend to back away in the states but here people and
friends ? even those that we believe probably can?t afford it, are always taking 
us out and paying for meals and such.  It has been driving us crazy at times 
because we know they are spending so much money on us ? but it was explained 
that it was the culture here.  When a visitor is here, the host pretty much 
pays for everything.  We have been trying to see how we can repay them.  Right 
now it is just many thank you?s and a lasting friendship.  I believe Tabatha and 
I might both adopt international friends though NC State?s International Friend 
program when we get back in the States. This trip has truly given us a new 
outlook on what it is like to be in a different country where you do not speak 
the language.  A friend is always welcome and at times, for us, it has been a 
big relief.  

Until next time,