To Korea and Beyond!

So two flights in one day and multiple terminal transfers and taxi rides are exhausting to the extreme. I was motion sick and tired by the end of the day and fell asleep well in advance of Ekitzel flying in. And since I wasn't awake, Dad didn't stay awake and Ekitzel ended up having to wake up April to let her in. I'm sick and Ken and April are also both sick, so we've been having fun. I've been dosing up on medication to do stuff around Seoul. We went to the temple Saturday morning and then went to the Gyeongbokgung palace after I got lunch and medication. We arrived just as the guard was being changed with drums and flags and colorful costumes. It was exciting and I liked it.

We wandered around the palace just as it was beginning to snow. So we slowly got more wet and cold as we wandered in the snow and eventually ended up in the Folk Museum, which was awesome. Then we wended our way back to Ken and April's to see when The Hobbit was showing. Unfortunately we can't buy tickets online since we aren't Korean and you really need to buy them ahead of time to get tickets at all. But just then as we were flipping channels, Fellowship of the Ring just started. So, I watched that as Dad and Kitz got me food with directions to a good place for food from Ken. More cheese pizza for me since that has no meat but it was quite good. Then Kitz got more sleep since she hadn't slept much the night before.

Today we got a bit lost trying to get to church, but I was feeling better before we walked around a frigid Seoul for 40 minutes or more. After that I started to feel hot with a fever again (everyone else was cold) and my head began trying to give me enough pain to stop me from walking. But we made it to church halfway through sacrament meeting where Kitz met her old boss from the BYU library and a guy I had a German class with recognized me (since we all know I have problems recognizing people). But we stayed for the meetings and wandered over to have lunch near the statue and museum for King Sejong. He established the Korean alphabet as different from using Chinese characters. There's a whole museum for him and it is next to a very large bookstore, which we browsed (they had a great philosophy section all in English including tons of Zizek and even a few Butler). After doughnuts and hot chocolate at Dunkin Donuts, we went back and watched the television which is where I am now - being very unproductive.

A Great Wall and Guilin Christmas

One of the few man-made structures that can be seen from space is the Great Wall of China and I have now been to it. We went to a portion of the wall that was not as crowded on a day that was supposed to be very cold and windy. It snowed the night before and there were very few people on the wall that morning and it was not very cold in the sun since the unexpected wind did not arrive until later. So we all wandered and climbed, joined by an Aussie family with four little girls. There was a chute to slide down from the wall on our section and we took advantage of it. Sliding down a concrete chute on a metal platform with wheels and few if any safety constraints just makes the sliding more fun. Just like rocking the unsafe ski lift car which only has a bar holding you in over a long drop is fun. I did that on the way up to the wall. But the wall was beautiful even absent the Mongol hoards. We climbed past a sign telling us not to walk further (or a Chinglish version of that) since it was unsafe. Trees and shrubs were growing and had helped the slow process of time erode the wall-top. We walked along that section until it really looked dangerous to go further. Then we went back to the chute. Samily and her cousin we left very far back waiting for us sitting on the cold stairs by the snack stand. After that we got some lunch at a really nice place nearby and began the long drive back to the city and the traffic. Lots of insane traffic. We went to begin the food shopping for the Christmas party at one of the foreign food shops and then went home to watch the television.

Sunday happened with not much going on then Monday Dad and I were left on our own to get a few more things for the party and presents for people. Christmas was Christmas and we had the party and watched movies all day long. Frankly, Dad and I stayed up way too late for our early flight the next day. I've been having problems sleeping anyway, so I got up early (4 am) like I had been the last couple of days I'd been in China. Then packed and showered we found a taxi to the airport and flew off to Guilin.

While some people were still celebrating Christmas, Dad and I climbed to the top of a karst where there was a Buddhist shrine. Guilin is in the middle of a range of karsts, a geological formation of mountains from an ancient mountains on the sea floor. Over thousands of years in the air they have eroded and now sharply stick up into the sky high above the plain. They are also covered in ferns an foliage appropriate to a semi-tropical climate. Dad and I got a cab to the hotel and walked around. Just around the corner we found one of the places I wanted to visit - Jingjiang Prince's Palace. It used to be a palace but is now Guilin Normal University. Inside the compound there is a karst with a shrine on top and carved around the karst are many many engravings, some hundreds of years old. There is also a cave where an ancient Bhuddist retreated from the world and a reading cave. Yeah, a Reading Cave. A cave dedicated to reading. My dream come true. Unfortunately it

wasn't so great to look at, but the fact that other people want caves for reading gives me hope. But the peace cave was nice and the karst was amazing to climb and see the city and mountains surrounding it. Frankly though it was fun to just wander around in the cool wet air (non-polluted). Dad and I got warmer clothes before we did the serious wandering (after pizza of course). While we were in the University compound, we saw a barber pole and Dad stopped to get a much-needed haircut. Luckily, my limited Chinese was enough to negotiate this. I can also handle orders at a restaurant and cab instructions if I know the Chinese name of where we are going. One phrase I use quite a bit is "too expensive" but then they assume I can understand anything they say when I really don't know much. But I have also been using the phrase "Don't want" excessively as well whether the person who wants to sell me something speaks English or Chinese. I really hardly buy much for myself. It feels wasteful.

Anyway, Dad got his hair cut by the barber on campus then we wandered and found a Spanish restaurant. It was run by a northern Chinese man who studied in Spain for a number of years. My dad loved it. The food was Spanish and good and he could speak to someone in Spanish. Considering Dad leaves me to do most of the speaking in Chinese, he misses communicating with people. The next day on a river cruise on the Li River he got to speak with many of the foreigners on the boat. Of course he talks mostly about business but it is quite interesting. But enough about my very interesting an communicative father since he reads this blog upon occasion. I can only hope he learns tonal languages in the next life.

But back to the river cruise. We had to get up early to get picked up by our guide and wandered over to the Sheraton to get a breakfast, but it was mostly Chinese and not very good. But at seven am in the morning in Guilin, beggars can't be choosers. Since it was pouring, we both dressed warmly and brought umbrellas. Martin, the English-speaking guide who had called the night before arrived and on the drive to the wharf, the rain let up. It still sprinkled on and off all day with a few downpours, but not too bad. We were seated with a newly-wed Swiss couple who were very nice. But for the first few hours we were out taking pictures with breaks to go inside and warm up. The Li River winds through a range of karsts and the scenery is breathtaking. It had me replaying the Jurassic Park theme in my head and imagining we might be about to meet King Kong (scenery

from Peter Jackson's version). We had some atrocious lunch and saw the landscape from the back of the 20 yuan note. After a four hour boat ride, we ended in Yangshuo and took a car out to some village and farm area. We were supposed to bike but with the occasional downpour still threatening, Martin decided driving was better. Then we drove back to Guilin and saw some pagodas on the way.

We walked over to the pagodas after we got back to take pictures since there weren't many left after the Cultural Revolution. While we were doing that a Chinese English teacher began to talk to us. He was from Yangshuo where we visited earlier in the day and talked with us (mostly my Dad) for about half an hour as he walked us over to his favorite restaurant. This was not nearly as good as the Spanish Restaurant we ate at the night before but we had been wandering around in the cold and my medicine had run out so I stopped feeling good and wanted to be in the warmth and then get to bed. So I ordered for us both and we ate and then went back to the hotel. We have been watching this series from the BBC called Parade's End. My dad started to watch it because it was based on the books by Ford Maddox Ford, written by Tom Stoppard, and had Benedict Cumberbatch starring. But the pirated DVD  he had stopped working after only two episodes. So I found it for him and we have been watching it. It is quite good. The night before we watched the fourth episode and The Dark Knight Rises (I gave it to him for Christmas since he hadn't seen it yet.). That night we watched the fifth and final episode of Parade's End and a little of a movie of the play of Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant and Catherine Tate. Unfortunately, a miracle happened and I figured out how to turn the heat on in the hotel room. The previous night, as many

buttons as I pushed, I could only get it a barely-tolerable 15 degrees Celsius. But I pushed enough buttons and it got up to a toasty 20 degrees, which was warm enough to send Dad right to sleep only about 20 minutes after Much Ado About Nothing started. We went to bed but I actually woke up at around midnight because it was too hot and I had to turn the temperature down. I stayed up to download all the Lijiang and Yangshuo photos so I could clean off my SD card then slept again when it got cool enough.

We had to get up early for an early flight to Beijing and then on to Seoul. I had requested a taxi the night before since we didn't see any when we got up early the previous morning to find breakfast, but the taxi was fifty percent more expensive than the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel because early morning rides are more expensive and we had to pay in advance to assure him we would be there and assure us he would be there. So we rode off through the dark mist and the mountains back to the airport (which was mostly closed that early except one desk to check in the two early flights).

China craziness

So, after a long and strange semester I finished my last paper on land and labor within the medieval English economy and Piers Plowman. Then in a fit of euphoria enhanced by Dayquil, I proceeded to pack and clean with record speed. But I did take a break to party with my roommate, Ann, and her friends and then to go see Lincoln. These necessary breaks meant that I stayed up the whole night before going to the airport. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the insanity of finishing a long paper, or just my usual insanity, but I decided I was from Australia when I began to talk to my seat companion for my 12 hour flight. Kept it up the whole time. I told him I was from Perth and described it. I had no idea Perth was so boring but homelike until then. It really was more fun getting to know two people instead of just getting to know one. Anyway, after I arrived in Beijing, slept, and sobered up a bit, I realized I may possibly be the craziest person I know. Well, I guess I'll have to live with myself and whoever else is inside. At least it stopped me from talking too much about medieval English economics, since that only interests my father as he can talk with authority about economics. Anyway, my father and his driver easily spotted me at the airport, since I am always easily spotted in a crowd in China (blonde hair). We drove to the apartment and I made Dad watch a Canadian comedy (instead of another drama) after he figured out (with help from me) how to order pizza online and took me to his favorite food store and the nearby mall. I think I was helping him order the pizza because he needed someone to tell him what to order. Like myself, my father dislikes making decisions. So, despite the fact that I was not hungry, he made me decide what pizzas to get. I ended up angering my sister since I forgot she doesn't like olives and ordered a pizza with olives. Then Dad proudly showed me the local market and the many different kinds of juice he liked. I don't know if there was a purpose to us going there except to show me the cool places around. No idea why he took me there since I wasn't hungry, but he seemed to like going out to buy juice. Also, the trip to the mall was strange, but we walked around at which point I noticed that my painful shoulder muscles were not loosening up or getting less painful.

As a side note, my back and shoulder muscles have been really tight with the stress of writing papers and while carrying a very heavy duffle down the length of Denver Terminal B (about a mile), I believe I strained it. I didn't notice much on the flight to San Francisco, though it hurt carrying the bag in the airport. I definitely didn't notice much of anything on the twelve hour flight, but couldn't sleep much the first night in Beijing because of pain and jet lag. So, I am currently wearing a smelly Chinese medicine patch that seems to be reducing the inflammation. But I smell like minty Bengay and I hate the smell of Bengay. Worth it though.

After Ekitzel got home from work, she got to see all the goods I brought with me for consumption. These included massive amounts of Nyquil, contact moisturizing drops, toothpaste, salt and pepper shakers, a 7 pound tin of hot chocolate mix, and lots of Christmas cookies and chocolate. Dad began pretty quickly on Kitz's favorite Dutch caramel wafers. They will be gone soon. I hope she gets some before he eats them all. He also had some Gelt, though Hanukah ended last week. I now see that he ate my two bags of potato chips from the plane, made inroads into the Kinder Schokolade, and started with the Lebkuchen. I forgot this about my father - he never admits he's hungry, but if you leave food out he will eat it in his own time. Or like our Halloween candy, he will just taste it, everyday, a few pieces at a time. I hid my candy hoard every year from my brothers and sisters, but also from my Dad.

So after a very interrupted night last night, I got up to see the Beijing smog, took a shower, and rushed to try to get ready in time to go with Dad and Kitz to the metro station. It wasn't until the elevator that I realized I forgot my phone. So, they left and I went back. Then I went downstairs except I forgot what floor the entrance was on. I pushed E because it was lower than one and I thought it was like Europe. That was a strange floor with equipment. Then I thought maybe it was -1. Nope. For all the education I have, I still struggle to get out of buildings. It was floor 1, but they all have a similar looking elevator hallway as an excuse. I made it to the metro station on the other side of the mall, which I found with Kitz's directions. All these times though I was using a back entrance to the apartment complex which you needed a key card to get back into. I had only gone out with my Dad before, who had a key card, but I didn't have one. This will be relevant later on.

I was planning on going to Tiananmen Square today and seeing Mao's Mausoleum, but that didn't happen. It was right across the street, and I thought about going over, but I was following all the other people and they headed right to Tiananmen - Gate of Heaven Peace, leading to the Forbidden City. Not being capable of much coherent thought (blame finals, pain, cold medication, and being tired), I followed the crowd, figured out how to get my sister's camera to work with my SD card, and began taking pictures. No one asked me to be in a picture and I think it is because of the aura of crazy that seems to be currently generating from me. But I did get asked directions (in yet another place I am a stranger to) but that is because I look like I speak English and this Italian or Spanish lady must not have spoken Chinese. Anyway, I got my ticket and wandered around the Forbidden City for about four hours. The air was really bad today and the mask I borrowed wasn't working and steaming up my glasses, so by the end of four hours I was feeling very sick with a bad headache. So, I went back to the apartment.

Or I tried to. I got to the metro station on the other side of Tiananmen and transfered and got back to home station. Then I took the wrong exit to the street and couldn't see the mall. I knew I needed a key card to get in the back way, so I was going to have to go around. I found the Phoenix City apartment complex, but had to walk a ways to find an entrance that didn't require a key card. So, I got in and started looking for building F, though we live in building G (Kitz told me this later). I couldn't find anything above building E, and kept getting lost walking around the compound (it is very maze-like with gardens and playgrounds and covered walking trails). At this point I had been trying to find the building and wandering around for about 30 minutes. So, I texted my sister. Many times. She got back to me. I was in the wrong compound but then I couldn't find the door I came in since all the doors going out also needed a key card to get out of. Eventually, I got out and she directed me to the other compound, where I found the building waiting for me with clean air in the apartment and food and juice. Then I needed a nap. I uploaded photos while I waited for the painkillers to work. And they did and it was wonderful. And then I slept for an hour and a half and that was wonderful. Then I had to get up, get turned around on the metro, and go shopping with some of Kitz's friends which was not as wonderful. But then we had dinner and though I wasn't hungry, it was wonderful. I also saw some stretch cords I want at Uniqlo, and that was wonderful. Then we took a motorized pedicab home, which was wonderful (okay - maybe not so much).