May 27, 2018 - Michelle and Darren come to China

We got back to China from Steven's graduation on a Tuesday.  The next night, after we taught our medical class, Michelle (our youngest) and her husband came to visit. Early the next morning we left to go party in Beijing....

The high-speed train is great.

Discovering the Great Wall.

The sections of the Great Wall that we've visited have been rebuilt (like many of the ancient sites in this country). When Darren and Michelle climbed a long, steep set of stairs to the very end of one rebuilt section, a lady gave them gold-looking medals and a large Chinese flag to wave in their pictures, but took the prizes back when they declined to purchase them.

Michelle playing Mulan at the Forbidden City -
contemplating scaling one of the poles.

We climbed a hill outside the Forbidden City and still couldn't
see all the buildings at once.

Temple of Heaven

Some of these buildings have been brilliantly restored.

On our first full day in Beijing, we walked over 29,000 steps, according to John's watch. We just didn't want to stop, especially when there was a night market to explore.

Yes, Michelle tried a grilled octopus tentacle.

We have absolutely no idea what this highly popular food is.
And we had absolutely no desire to try it. Hard to believe, huh?

John and the kids rode a Dragon Boat at the Summer Palace (which
includes a whole lake and island).

Michelle enchanted by lily pads in bloom.

Kathy left Beijing early to present at the International Symposium of English Writing Centers in Chinese Universities. It was in Zhejiang, a town south of Shanghai. Some Chinese universities are discovering the importance of writing centers to assist students with writing projects, and they are using U. S. writing centers as models. She discussed a research project she and an Iowa State colleague did. Their article about the project is in press.

Kathy's escort to her hotel for the symposium.

When Kathy's train pulled pulled into Zhejiang, the train official helped her into a taxi and explained to the driver where she was going, which was a hotel on the university campus. (She had the address in Chinese, a necessity because very few Chinese people, especially taxi drivers, really communicate in English.) The driver took her to the university, a good 45 minutes away, and the security guard at the gate let them in because he asked if she was a teacher. The driver drove for a block, then let Kathy know that she needed to give him directions. But this isn't a campus where she teaches - she isn't familiar with it! Without using English, he let her know that if she didn't know where she needed to go, then he certainly didn't.

She was not about to let him drop her off in the middle of campus at 9:30 pm without knowing where to go. Then he saw another security guard, who looked at the Chinese address, helpfully climbed into the taxi, and directed the driver. When she went into the building with the security guard, the taxi drove away before they found out that she had been delivered not to the hotel but to a dormitory. The person at the desk told her (in English! because the dorm is for international students) the hotel wasn't far; she just needed to get back in her car and go a little ways. But there was no car! The helpful security guard, however, knew just what to do. He radioed for a security vehicle (rather like a 3-person-sized pop can) so she could go to the hotel in style.

Then she had to convince the desk personnel, who did not speak English, that she had a confirmed reservation...Eventually she did, and the accommodations were very nice. This experience was just another of our interesting communication challenges.

In the meantime, John, Michelle, and Darren experienced a Sunday in Shanghai.

We're always entertained with the
ways people pose for pictures. This
was at People's Park, on the way to church.

A pedestrian mall in a very modern,
international section of Shanghai. The
pink train takes people from one end
to the other, if desired.

Reunited again, the next day we hit the subway to visit Yuyuan Garden, a beautiful classic garden in Shanghai.

This time we got seats! And it wasn't very crowded!

Great looking archways abound in the Garden.

When we visited the Bund, we saw several
bridal shoots. Some Chinese brides have
a red wedding dress as well as a white one,
and they do different sets of pictures. We've
 never seen the photographer do this before, however.

Michelle, a mechanical engineering major, enjoyed visiting the Shanghai tower and its architectural displays and presentations. It's the second tallest building in the world.

At the base of the three tallest buildings;
one is the Shanghai tower.

Every time we have someone visit, we
have them speak to a class.

Michelle and Darren spoke and answered questions in our English Corner. We showed video clips of Cosmo, the BYU cougar mascot, and showed pictures of BYU. We found out that Chinese universities have no mascots, no school colors, and no intercollegiate sports. Our students found out that some U. S. university students are married, which is rare here. They gasped when they learned that there are even dorms for married students.

Bonsai trees are fascinating. We
found one that is a raspberry bush.

We enjoyed the circus, especially the
bike riders.

Tune in next time for Part 2 of Michelle and Darren's visit!