Friday evening, March 23 -- I am so sorry to report that it has been an incredible day and I have not taken one picture all day! I have to admit, I felt a little lost after my traveling buddy, Anita, left for an early flight. Troy had class until noon so I did some things around the hotel. I took a short trip to a government-sponsored silk goods store then walked around the mall next to the hotel. Troy and I went with some of the students to the Yu Gardens Bazaar (the picture you see is of a famous teahouse in the center of the Bazaar.) When we returned from the Bazaar, we walked the main promenade by our hotel, did a little more back-alley shopping (which Troy stated that at any moment we have to climb stairs he was out of there) and then we hit the big pearl market in Shanghai. SMU hosted a dinner for the students tonight at the hotel. We sat at the table with Randy and his wife, Mikey, and Lynn and his son who is a college student at my undergrad...MSU. Great conversation, good food and lots of good joke telling. Randy told a story about a custom during a time in China's history when there was a great deal of starvation and hunger. Instead of asking someone, "How are you?" they would ask each other, "Have you eaten?" and even if they haven't eaten, the person would responde, "I will eat soon." I found this to have some theological meaning and will be spending a little time with this slice of Chinese culture. It was a lovely dinner and now we are beginning the end-of-the-trip packing adventure. We will start our journey home tomorrow.
There have been so many things to see, do, taste, hear, smell and touch here in China. I hope that I have given you a glimpse into life here on the other side of the world and I highly recommend you to take a trip to China, even if it costs all the tea in China! :)
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