Lanzhou Update.

Well this will be our last full day in Lanzhou. Tomorrow we will fly to Guangzhou, but our flight does not leave until 7:45 so we will still have some significant time here. I have been down the last 48 hours with a nasty sinus infection – not wanting to do much. My meds seem to be kicking in and I feel about 33% better this morning (though still without a continual long sleep period). So we have been stuck in the room pretty much this whole time. Though on Tuesday we went to the 5 Springs Park and saw some pretty cool stuff. Sam and Jack had a great time walking around on a frozen pond with Mr. Steed. We got great video of several older men exercising using a “Chinese yo-yo” (they call it Diablo because of the sound it makes). Sam got to impress a Kung-Fu master with his use of a striking stick. Sam twirled it around as if he had been practicing it a while, so I asked if he had done so in Karate class. He responded no – he had learned on his own by engaging in combat with his light-saber.

We moved on to a real live Buddhist temple – statues, monks, burning incense and cellular phones. Yes, the vow of poverty apparently does not extend to portable inexpensive communication devices.

Not getting out as much as we had hoped is a disappointment. We remained stuck in our hotel last trip and we wanted to explore Lanzhou much more this time. Especially disappointing is my not being able to visit the orphanage. I just do not feel up to a 12 hour day given my not feeling very well. It was a hard decision but probably the correct one.

An interesting event occurred the other morning. I was up walking around at 3:00 am and decided to watch a movie on the portable DVD player. I went down to the main lobby to sit on one of the comfortable sofas. I started up the movie placed my legs, not my feet – just to my ankles, on the sofa and settled in to watch Pirates of the Caribbean III. About 10 minutes later, the commie night supervisor – who to this point had not been seen – in fact there was no one in the lobby – not at the front desk, at the front door – no one – comes out and with a smile but no English explains to me that I have to take my legs down. It was 3:00 am – no one around. Can’t tell if they were busting my chops or if it was a continuation of the “keeping up appearances” that is so prevalent in Ch!na. Maybe it is part of their sleep deprivation program so as to cause me to slip up and give away the secrets to conquering Sharpsburg, GA.

As far as pictures go – we received a cord yesterday, but the fittings were not correct. I am feeling a bit better today so I will be able to buy a cord. But doesn’t the anticipation just make the experience that much more wonderful?

Oh, the ladies are back to wipe down the lobby which has accumulated no dust what so ever since 24 hours ago.

Blessings.