Back in Vermont!

Well, here it is, November and I am back at home in Vermont. The trip home was quite long but it was great to return to Boston and meet Maryal in Braintree after approximately 24 hours on the road. In China, I made some awesome friends and of course we all want to stay in touch. Especially caring were James from upstairs, who is from Hyde Park, MA, the town next to where I grew up in Dedham. He took me under his wing and introduced me to all the happenings around the campus. Thanks, James. Next, Jeff, who is Chinese and whose name in Chinese is Fu De Ming (foo du meeng) was my interpreter, but also tour guide and the one who looked out for me off campus. What a guy (although he did say I was too big for his motorbike and that he noticed the tires on the taxis went down when I got into them). He just made the Chinese experience so real and caring. He is a great ambassador for the Chinese, a person of great character, dependability and in many gentle ways showed me the "real" China. For example, the last meal I had with him, before our motorized rickshaw ride to his apartment to play ping pong, there seemed to be a "whacking" sound from nearby. As I turned, I witnessed the demise of several frogs as a woman was purchasing them from the very restaurant where we were eating our duck, fresh water snails, garlic cloves, broccoli and coconut milk dishes. I had to look away, and that is when Jeff stated I was seeing the real China with him. I almost laughed, but then we turned to other kinds of animal happenings which I can't mention here. (Jeff and I are pictured above as we finished our Cantonese breakfast in the Dynasty Hotel and later examined a great god statue in the lobby.)

The last few days we visited Ding Hu mountain. A "ding" is a large bronze pot a wealthy person would cook in, or simply a large family. It is said to feed a thousand people. They have been unearthed from all over China. At the top of Ding Hu mountain is "Ding Park" where a number of dings are exhibited. The largest, about 15 feet tall is used as a good luck target as people try to throw some kind of red ball & ribbon inside, it is supposed to bring good luck.

About half way up the mountain is a great Buddhist temple. As I stood waiting for Jeff to snap my picture in front of this awesome wall of dragon carved in stone, three young men ran up to me and wanted to have their pictures taken with me. They were very nice and excited seemingly to be next to this old "giant" of a mei guo ren (American). It was fun and I have a nice memory of it all.