China Family … work hard, play hard!
Yesterday, the China family hung out at the Forbidden City!
For those who like quiet, I just want to say that China scoffs at you. When we first arrived in Fuzhou our hotel on Student Street was a blend of crazy evening carnival and raucous morning market, and each had its own sleep-shattering sounds that kept people awake or woke them up. When we moved down the street into the university dorms many of the China family were looking forward to a good night’s sleep. Ha! We soon found out that they were digging up the concrete thru-way and putting in new sewer lines. That meant power tools and backhoes late into the night. Goodbye dreams of dreaming.
But ShiShi was an enclosed school campus, surely it would be quiet there. Double ha! Not only were they jackhammering outside the classrooms each day during lessons, but they were building a new gymnasium literally 20 yards away from our rooms! And in good Chinese fashion, the sound of metal beating upon metal started bright and early. So much for sleeping in. But lest you think we could at least go to sleep in the quiet, let me disabuse you of that notion.
In China, migrant workers often live in the buildings they are constructing. It saves money. The building our rooms were located in on the campus was brand new, but unfinished. That means that (I think you can see it coming) the workers, who were living in the floors above us, could work late into the night. The air reverberated with loud crashes and booms as loads were dropped on the floor and doors were slammed, and evening quiet was pierced with the sounds of holes being drilled through concrete walls. It was all a part of our night-time routine.
“Surely,” I hear some of you say, “the train will be different!” “You must be able to find peace and quiet on public transportation!” I just want to say two words…au contraire (French for “on the contrary”). Though it may be relatively quiet at night once the lights go out in the train car at 10:00 pm, older Chinese rise early. By 6:00am they are massing outside our (door-less) compartments, eating, drinking tea, and talking at full volume, which falls somewhere between the decibels put out by a heavy-metal concert or standing next to a 747 revving for takeoff. Oh well, that’s China.
As you may have figured out, we are currently on the train, which is an 18.5 hour sleeper from Xiamen to Beijing, where we will check into a (hopefully quiet) hotel for our last five nights of debriefing. Debriefing is part emotional/spiritual preparation to go home, and part tourism. In between key studies on fear, trust, and choices, and training for “re-entry”, we’ll get to see the sights of China and play a little. The China family will get to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Great Wall. It’s a perfect transition for going home.
And how did ShiShi finish up? Perfect. As I noted in my last update, we got a handle on the troublemakers (or distracters) and the team was able to wrap things up with energy and enthusiasm. Friday afternoon was Closing Ceremonies in the gym. Between our team and the other group from Texas, there were 24 classes which were expected to have a “performance” in front of the school and local officials, and the rest of the other students. It was good time, with lots of gifts exchanged, many tears shed, and copious amounts of sweat produced. Then it was reluctant goodbye, but a welcomed sigh of relief that it was finished. Saturday was a bit of debriefing, downtime, and play, and a chance to rest up a bit before today’s travel.
We’ll arrive in Beijing in a little over an hour, where we’ll be met by our bus driver and taken to the King’s Joy Hotel. It’s a Chinese hotel in a tourist area totally geared to the Chinese (Beijing is a main tourist destination among the Chinese). While the area is super loud, the walls are thick and it should be the first “quiet” we’ll have since Training Camp … I hope.
I’ll catch you up later in the week and give you all a summary of our whole time in China. But for now, just know that the team is in excellent spirits and all are feeling well (and Viola is intensely focused on eating a bowl of Ramen noodles six inches from my laptop).
The China team is on their way to Beijing for debriefing. Here’s some pics and a video of their journey so far.
The large group picture at the beginning of the program (including group from TX).