Last full day in China

While Joy luxuriated in the room, Max and Amy enjoyed a little jog/ walk around the island. We enjoy, at the tip of the island, the gathering spot for elderly people. Most any time of the day, you can find seniors playing chess, kicking a “hackey sack”, singing, practicing all kind of international dance, and in the morning practicing Tai Chi. This morning we enjoyed the display. One lady even tried to teach us a Tai Chi looking movement which involved her holding something like a paddle tennis racket made of rubber, balancing a tennis ball, and waving the racket around in a smooth dance where the ball never touches the ground. In the end, our balls kept falling on the ground. We’re so impressed with how fun it looks to be a senior citizen here. They congregate and play…and there is always someone for them to socialize with.

On another note, my girlfriend explained something so interesting to me. She said that the education style in China is to teach more the answers than explain how one gets that answer. Western style is more to reason and think what are the important questions. I just wonder: who decides what all the answers are? And what if they’re wrong?....

When I say that Max and I did a walk/ jog, it’s more like Max jogs and I walk. When he got ahead of me, he went further to the Chinese medicine/ multi-purpose market. Here you’ll see pictures of the filleted lizards…

Next we had a big Guangzhou Subway adventure to meet our friend’s sister in the middle of town. She took us to a wonderful Cantonese restaurant. In China they have a saying, “If you want to eat, you’ll need to go to Guangzhou”. It means that the best eating is there. I can attest to the fact that these vegetables are delicious, due to the fact that the earth here is so rich. This restaurant even has its own farm that produces the vegetables uniquely for this restaurant. Cantonese dishes are very special, the host orders a variety of different ones, and the success of the dish depends on its color, texture and taste.

After this we visited the Sun Yat Sen memorial auditorium, did a little shopping in that part of town, then returned home.

Another observation is how China can be an overload for the senses. There is video and noise everywhere. In the subway, on the side of beautiful boats on the Pearl River, even in an expensive restaurant, do you always find a tv running to watch (often more than one) in case you get bored. When is there quiet to process and think?

Although Max wanted to take Joy out for her favorite noodles, she really just wanted to come back to the hotel room and relax. She wanted to spend time on the phone saying goodbye to her best friend, and we needed to pack up. She has cried today (although she hid it from us). She is worried that she will feel so alone in America. She is worried that people will not understand her. She is acting very excited and silly. I think that is partly from nerves, partly from covering up her true feelings.

Please pray for her peace.