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The Diaries« The New Jet Li | Main | First Thoughts » |
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May 19, 2009DandongPosted by KellyThe following is a recap of my tiring, but FUN weekend! Brace yourself for a long post! Friday: After all the guests had arrived the dishes were served, speeches were given, and the video of the wedding was shown on the big TV. (I have to admit I was relieved we didn’t have to serenade the newly married couple with some tunes from the Karaoke machine!) Eric’s wife wore a traditional red dress for the evening. It was very pretty and she even had red shoes to match! Toasts at wedding are very common and are given repeatedly! The groom gives a toast, the parents give a toast, the boss gives a toast, and then toasts are given to each individual thanking them for coming. After you get your individualized toast with the new couple, the bride feeds you a piece of candy. I’m not sure the symbolism behind this action, but who doesn’t want candy! The wedding video was very nice. It showed the entire ceremony from Eric picking up his bride, carrying her, sharing a bowl of noodles together (exactly like the movie, “Lady and the Tramp,” where they share the same noodle and meet in the middle! So romantic!). It was nice to watch the wedding since we couldn’t attend. I was thankful for the good food, not having to go to another Taekwondo class, and the fact there wasn’t a photographer! (The last wedding I attended I left a little awkward since the photographer took too many photos of the only foreigner, aka me.) After we stuffed our bellies and numerous toasts, received a gift of packaged ginseng, we headed home. Since Saturday morning was our departure for Dandong, I was advised to bring snacks along for the journey. Sophia, my girlfriend in my apartment building, and I went to the store. Taking the bus is always an interesting experience and this night was no exception. One of the major intersections was blocked by construction crews tearing up the road. (Just like Iowa, China has the nonstop summer road construction projects!) The construction workers weren’t going to move their equipment for the bus. After some loud shouting I translated that the bus had no choice but to turn around. Obliviously it’s not an easy thing to turn a bus on a dime, but somehow the skilled driver managed to do a U-turn and go around the block. I did get a little nervous when he starting asking the passengers if this was the right way. We finally made it to the grocery store where I grabbed some basic food items to pack with me. It was really hard to pack for the trip because I had no idea what to expect. I knew we would be hiking, drifting, and taking in the fresh air. I packed a small bag that was still too big and charged my camera for the upcoming events.
The road was pretty smooth and a comfortable drive until we go off the highway. Most of the roads beyond that were being repaved or installed. The dirt roads were equipped with HUGE bumps and vicious turns. At times I had to hang onto the handle to keep from falling out of my seat. I always got nervous when I looked out the front window to see our tour bus playing chicken with a large truck hauling materials to the work site on the one-car road. Despite the bumpy roads and fight for the right-of-way, I got to see the real China. We passed through small towns, beautiful mountain views, and farm lands. It was very interesting to see the different homes, the livelihood, and businesses. One thing that was common (besides lots of ducks along the roadsides) no matter where we were traveling is the growth and expansion. EVERYWHERE you look there is new construction: new roads and new buildings are being built at the speed of light. It is a nonstop effort. Yes, new roads are a good thing, but I just hope it doesn’t take away from the charm and the “old world feel” of the land. We finally made it to our destination in time for lunch. The lunch included rice, fish, different vegetables served hot and cold, potatoes, and tofu. This variety of lunch was served at every meal. After we were full, we took a small boat tour on the river to view rock formations left from a volcano that erupted thousands of years ago. After our stomachs had settled we had the opportunity to participate in a weird event/game. I’ll do my best to describe it! Two people get inside a huge inflatable cylinder to race to one side of the river and back. The way you move the huge inflatable bubble is by attempting to stand and run with your partner. To picture this it’s like two people are in a hamster wheel on the water! It’s was hilarious to watch others try to do this. It might look easy, but I can attest it is far from simple! It’s very hard to gain your balance and move in alignment with your partner. I was paired with Darren. I think he was hoping that I had some athletic abilities and coordination. Unfortunately he found out the hard way that I am none of the above! I did a few somersaults, fell numerous times, and was exhausted by the end of our turn. I don’t think we made it that far before we were pulled back to shore. It was VERY tiring, but tons of fun! I think we should bring these ‘hamster, water cylinders’ things to the states! (And yes, the official name should be Hamster Water Cylinders.) After our “water exercise” we took a short hike to see a scenic waterfall area. It was very beautiful to see the natural beauty and breathe the fresh air. While walking to the waterfall I did noticed a small raft with one person floating down the river. I asked Evian if that’s what our drifting was going to be like. She reluctantly nodded. On the bus ride Evian was expressing some apprehension towards the drifting adventure. The river was shallow, not rough, and it was a fairly nice day out. I used my methods of persuasion and convinced Evian it was a matter of life or death if she didn’t partake in the drifting activities. Seeing the person go by in their raft I was very excited for the drifting experience. All of us that wanted to “Drift” hopped on a bus. The tour guide gave us some brief words that led to a bunch of coworkers wanting to get off the bus and not go! I have no idea what she said, but I thought, “Ok, it won’t be that bad!” There was a mad rush to purchase some protective pants and jacket sets to keep our clothes dry. We even brought bags to put over our shoes. The brave souls, myself included, rode the bus up to a higher point on the mountain. There we made sure out protective suits were secure and waited in line to get our paddles and our rafts. The rafts came on a conveyor belt as took a step drop down to the river. It reminded me a lot of the log cabin ride at Adventure Land or other theme parks. At this point I thought, “Ok, I might get a tad bit wet throughout this.” As we boarded our rafts we were told to hang on for dear life as we plummeted down into the river. The first waves hit our little raft with a large force and caused massive amounts of water to get into our raft. At this point, I was just trying to hang on as we experienced some rough waters and hard run-ins with the numerous rocks that our raft managed to find. When the river finally calmed down I had a moment to survey myself. I was soaked. I could feel the water sloshing around in my shoes with the bags covering them, and my entire backside was drenched. I did my best to keep the rest of me dry, but it was a fruitless effort. Trying to stay positive about the situation I absorbed the lush scenery, fresh air, and even random cows that were grazing near the river. It was truly a once and a life time experience. After more rapids, running into bushes, trees, and jagged rocks, we made it to the base of the mountain were people snapped our photo and pulled us to shore. I apologized for Evian for making her go on the drifting adventure. Even though I was soaked completely and smelled awful from the river, it was a great experience that I don’t regret! After we changed into dry clothes we boarded the bus to head to the hotel. On the way into the city we stopped at the entrance of the mountain. There was a huge, colorful, very authentic looking gate. We brought out the “DDA Fesco” banner and grouped together for pictures. It was very refreshing to have everyone together for the photo-op. There’s such a strong sense of team spirit and family in the company and I was glad to be apart of it. The hotel was pretty nice. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was just like any other hotel. After a much needed hot shower, we lounged around and watched TV in our room. I was thrilled to see a show I really like, Trading Spaces. The TV show offers two couples the chance to trade homes for the week and redecorate them with a designer’s guidance. Needless to say it was all in Chinese, but you’d be amazed how much you can pick up without knowing the language. It was very easy to follow along. I did feel bad for one of the couples newly designed home─it was bright pink! I of course loved it, but I highly doubt the husband will like living in such a feminine home! He smiled, but Evian said he was faking it. After a few more shows we hit the hay. Sadly, I think we were both asleep before 10pm. The journey and events really took a lot of energy! I heard one of my coworkers fell asleep at 7pm! Sunday The next day started early. Breakfast was served at 6:30am. For breakfast we had rice porridge, hard boiled eggs, steamed bread, some cold vegetable dishes, and spicy tofu. [Although the breakfast was good, I did miss the hearty American-style breakfast filled with eggs, bacon, waffles, pancakes, toast, etc. I could go on, but I’m making myself hungry!] It was another 1.5 hour bus ride to the mountain we planned to hike. Even with the extremely bumpy bus ride I managed to take a short nap. When I woke up the sky was still cloudy and it was raining hard. I figured that the hike might not be as pleasant with the pouring rain. When we got to the site we hit the vendors to buy out their rain gear. We bought green ponchos and used our umbrellas. It was very funny to see everyone in green ponchos huddled together. I think we looked like a bunch of turtles trying to climb a mountain! To make our hike “official” one of the male colleagues carried our DDA Fesco flag raised high on a pole. The flag was a great prop for the HUNDREDS of group photos we took. While taking the pictures was fun, it did get old as every few feet it seemed like we had to stop to pose by a rock or a small stream. But, I’m sure I’ll cherish theses photos when I look back on my trip. We must have had good luck on our side. Within 30 minutes of our hike the rain stop, the skies cleared, and the sun came out. It became a gorgeous day in a matter of minutes! As our hike progressed we saw interesting rock formations, many varieties of trees, views of mountains, and the smell of fresh air. |
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