APRIL 1-5, 2015 -- DALIAN

VERNON AND CONNIE'S TRIP TO DALIAN
APRIL 1-5, 2015

HAPPY EASTER!                                                                                               April 5, 2015

Today is Easter Sunday.  There are no signs of “Easter” here in the Dalian airport this morning.  What is interesting is that this weekend is “Tomb Sweeping Day” for the Chinese.  It is a national holiday and is actually tomorrow, April 6^th.  It is a day that the people pay respects to their loved ones who are deceased.  We saw a street filled with people heading all in one direction and Mandy told us that they were all going to the cemetery.  People were carrying fruit and flowers to give to their ancestors.  There are also stacks and stacks of yellow paper squares about 10”x10” that are “man-made” or fake money.  People will buy this “money” and they will burn it as an offering and as a way to send money to their deceased ancestors.  It is interesting that this holiday corresponds with Easter.  I don’t know if it corresponds every year with Easter, but it is a spring holiday and the Chinese honoring of the deceased and the name “tomb sweeping” I think is a “thread of truth” connection to the gospel.  It is also a time to clean the house and have a clean house which I think is also a connection to being resurrected and new and perfect again.  Maybe that is actually where “spring cleaning” came from??    Life and cultures and history are all very interesting!!!

Golden papers people buy to go burn at their ancestors' graves
to send them money into the afterlife.

We have had a wonderful week.

Monday was spent planning and organizing to prepare for Dad and I leaving or Dalian.  This trip to Dalian is sort of a “kick off” to a downhill run that will take us through the summer and into life back in Arkansas.  Off we go!!!  Amy spent the afternoon and evening in SIP training her new YW counselor and enjoying FHE with them.  Tonight for dinner I cooked “Beef and Mango stir fry” that was delicious!!!  We had a great time sitting around the table and laughing with our teenagers.   Tonight as we were talking about future events in our family, I mentioned that next summer (2016) will be Dad’s 50^th birthday and we need to plan a big “Over the Hill” party or something for him.  Bethany was so hilarious as she exclaimed, “What?  You’re that old??  I thought you were like 45!  When did you get that old???”  We all laughed!!!

Wednesday morning, Dad stayed home and we finished packing for our trip and we also went to our neighborhood market to get treats for the kiddos for Easter.  We will have Easter Dinner and treats after church on Sunday when we arrive home. 

Dad and I were picked up and traveled 2 hours to the Pudong Airport in Shanghai to fly to Dalian.  It was a 2 hour flight and all went well.  Mandy and her husband picked us up at the airport and took us to dinner at a restaurant on the coast, at XingHai Square, which is very near where she lives, the university and where we will stay.  Mandy had me come with her to order and select food.  We ate Abalone, Leek Pie, a potato dish, green vegetables, and a spicy zucchini salad dish.  It was delicious.  Mandy decided that I loved potatoes so at every meal after that, she made sure there were potatoes ordered in some form for me AND she always ordered beef or pork for me because she figured out I didn’t like sea food too much. 

Sea Cucumbers are eaten frequently here

 

 While our dinner was cooking¸ Mandy’s husband took us for a walk along the coast.  It was beautiful.  Xing Hai Square is the largest “square” in China but it is actually more round that square.  I was quite surprised to see how “European” Dalian and this area look.  That combined with all the hills it is hard to believe we were still in China.  We walked around a small amusement park on the waterfront and then back to the restaurant. There is a GINORMOUS hotel called “The Castle Hotel” that is built into a hill and looks like a huge castle from Europe.  It really is breath taking!  After dinner, they took us on a drive through the city and it was beautiful.  Again, everything looks new, well-kept and quite European. 

That evening we checked into our hotel and we had a beautiful room!  It was a unique room as the wall of the bathroom that should divide it from the main room was all glass AND the shower was a glass cylinder.  It looked much like the teleport cylinder in Star Trek.  One thing we did learn was that you can watch TV while taking a shower which lets you multi-task by getting in some of your morning news during your shower.  Our view of the harbor and ocean from our window was beautiful.  A very nice hotel.

The view from our hotel window

Breakfast Buffet at the hotel

 

Dad's breakfast

 THURSDAY morning, we went to the breakfast at the hotel and it was quite a spread!!  Fruit, meat, cheese, breads, eggs, Chinese food, freshly OJ, yogurt and cereal.  We had fun trying new things.  Mandy picked us up at the hotel and we headed over to Ocean Park which was located literally next to our hotel.  Since it was raining, the original plans to tour Dongbei campus were changed and we went to Ocean Park which is inside.  We went to the aquarium, the dolphin, and underwater world.  At underwater world, we went through this tunnel that was the biggest “mind trip” I have ever experienced!  You simply walked along this platform that was metal grate and had metal bar railings on each side.  This platform went through a tunnel that had many rows of colored lights running around the tunnel counter clockwise.  We first stepped in and felt like we were really spinning so we stepped out.  We knew exactly what was happening, but no matter how hard we tried, we felt like we were spinning round and round as we went through this tunnel.  It was crazy!!!  I knew I wasn’t really spinning, so I just held on tight to the railing, Mandy held on TIGHT to my arm and closed her eyes and I walked her through the tunnel.  Dad held on and got himself through.  It is hard to describe but it was remarkable!  We saw lots of cool things at Ocean park.  

We had lunch which was another full Chinese feast.  For the afternoon, Dad went to Dongbei University and made his presentation while I went to the hotel and took a nap.  

After my nap, I went back over to Ocean World and went to the "Arctic World" and I saw the Dolphin Show.  It was fun.  The girl who played the mermaid is a Russian girl.  Rachel would have loved seeing this.   I also had my picture taken with a walrus!!! Pretty fun!!!  Animals really are amazing!

BTW:  That is a fake dolphin.

The prince was the trainer.  Prince and Mermaid -- sound familiar?

 

Mandy came and picked me up and we went to dinner with the VP Dean and several other professors.  We met lots of nice people!  At this dinner we had “Squirrel Fish” and it was delicious!  The sauce on it was a bit of orangey sweet and sour taste.  It was delicious!

FRIDAY morning, Dad headed off early after breakfast for a presentation at Ocean University.  This was added to his schedule on Wednesday after we arrived.  Dad said that this was the largest group he has ever presented to – at least 200 people – and the group with the least English ability.  Language was a bit of a challenge.  I was picked up by a professor from the university and met Vernon at the school.  The Dean and other professors there were so, so honored to have Dad be there.  They had made a huge 15 foot banner with his name and research title that hung on the main road as you entered the university.  I was so impressed at how Dad visited with them and answered their questions.  They seem to really want to have dad come back periodically to help teach their faculty about research.  We went to lunch at a place on campus where they had a very nice banquet room.  They had a representative from the International relations department there and several professors spoke English.  The hosting professor, Mong Chang, had spent a few years at UNLV and had pretty good English.  We had delicious food, again.  I was so impressed by their respect.  As we walked in, I saw a table filled with drinks:  water bottles, beer, sprite, coke, etc.  They asked what we would like to drink and we said that we preferred Sprite and didn’t drink beer.  Soon after that I noticed that every single person had sprite to drink.  I’m sure many would have loved to have a beer with their lunch as that is common, but no one did.  This type of things happened several times.

Dad's fancy invitation letter

For the afternoon, Mr. Mong and a young student of Mandy’s took us touring for the afternoon.  We drove all along BaiHai Lu which is a road along the coast that is absolutely beautiful!  It also has a wooden walk way that is called “The Body Building Walkway” that is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the being the longest wooden walkway in the world.  We stopped at several look out points, took pictures, watched a man pull in a fish from the ocean – which ended up being very little and he was embarrassed, and then ended up at a park where we rode a golf cart to the top of “magical hill” where you feel like you are going downhill but when you take off the brakes, you roll backwards.  It was a nice area and they have developed clever sculptures and décor all around.  It was really nice.

We returned to the city and met Mandy and 2 other women professors for dinner.  Professor Sun and Mrs. Gun were both very nice.  Professor Sun is older than Mandy and it was neat to talk to her about China and the Cultural Revolution.  Mrs. Gun is a younger (30’s) mother who is an associate professor and was very smart.  I was impressed with her and how she presented herself.  Mrs. Gun seems to have a strong interest to come to the USA as a visiting professor.  There is another professor, Ling Bing, who has very good English and presents herself very professionally. She was at dinner last night and again tonight.  We had Chinese BBQ that was delicious and they of course ordered potato for me and some pork with a similar sauce to the “Squirrel Fish.”  Dad loved all the seafood and he tried everything!  Dad is so good and asking questions and visiting with the people.  You can tell that they respect Dad research work and his success.  I told Dad I like being with a famous person!  I enjoyed the women as they were also interested in talking about food and teaching me about the food and how it is prepared, etc.  Ling Bing brought us a gift that is a framed work with two small paper kites that are hand made.  It is beautiful.

 

SATURDAY we met Mandy and her husband early to go to the “farmer’s market.”  It was a big open market that was great!!!  There is so much more seafood here in Dalian than we see in Suzhou.  I am still amazed by the brilliant colors of the fruits and vegetables.  We also saw a traditional wheat grinder that was spinning to grind fresh flower and other grains for people.  After the market, we went to Mandy’s home.  They have a beautiful apartment.  We then walked to the Natural History Museum.  It was a really great museum and we really enjoyed our time there.  We then walked all along the beach and saw a bride and groom taking pictures.  Mandy told us that they walked this area a lot after dinner in the evenings with their daughter.  She also told us that her husband and daughter would skip rocks and could skip them over 10-12 times.  It was fun to hear her talk about her family.  Mandy’s daughter graduated from the University of Arkansas and last winter/spring, Mandy came as a visiting professor.  Mandy’s daughter, Xi, was the top student at the Walton College her junior and senior years and is currently working for Tyson and is doing very well.  Tyson is trying to get her a work Visa to keep her there so she much be doing well.  Mandy and her husband are so, so very proud of their daughter.

 For lunch we went to another nice seafood restaurant and Vernon came to help select the food.  He and Mandy both enjoy seafood, I prefer beef, pork or chicken and Mandy’s husband doesn’t eat meat.  We had a nice variety and Dad was able to have crab and some sort of sea creature that was in a pretty scalloped shell that we had seen at the market that morning!!!  Dad loves trying new things like that!  At one meal we had also had oysters.

Dad's lunch sitting in the bowl

In the afternoon, we drove with Mandy and her husband in their very, very nice Land Rover to JinShiTan – Golden Pebble Beach.  Again, we saw such beautiful countryside and coastline.  We walked along the beach and Dad and I collected a unique pebble for each of the kids.  Mandy and her husband went to find the “facilities” at the McDonald’s so I walked over to a little “souvenier stand” and looked at the bracelets and necklaces.  Dad helped me pull one down and we asked the price.  As I thought for a moment, Mandy’s husband was very quick and he handed the lady the money.  That was not what we were planning.  I felt badly but they were very generous and said it was a gift for me.  Mandy and her husband and everyone has been so, so generous.  We drove back to town, visited a couple of other look out decks and then went to dinner. 

This evening, we met up with the VP Dean and Mrs. Gung AND their families.  Mandy and her husband were there as well.  It really was a delightful evening to be with these families.  I enjoyed meeting their spouses and especially their children.  Mrs. Gung has a daughter who is 7, just like Mason.  The VP Dean has a boy who is 15 years old.  They told us that he had gone to Britain to live for 1 month and so we of course invited him to come live 1 month with our family in the USA.  We talked again with Mrs. Gung about coming to the USA with her family.  For dinner, we were at a VERY nice Korean BBQ restaurant and we cooked our own meat on the grill in the table.  It was fun.  It was fun to see these families interact and laugh and enjoy their friendships.  In addition to all the meat, Mandy ordered some potato cakes for me, and then we also had some Korean noodles at the end – and of course fruit for dessert!  It really was a fun evening!  Before we left, the VP Dean made a presentation and gave us this beautiful scroll that has a silk embroidery work within it!  It is one that I saw at Embroidery Town and really liked.  It is beautiful!  We will have to get it framed or something to hang at home.  Mrs. Gung also gave me a beautiful red comb that is supposed to bring you good health.  Earlier, Mandy had given us a gift representing her university.  Everyone was so generous.

Dad and I said that we have learned so, so much about how to welcome people and to host them.  We want to do more of this and be better at this in our lives.  We will start by inviting Mandy’s daughter, Xi, over for dinner after we return to Arkansas and hopefully have her for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  We were a bit sad to say goodbye to our friends tonight.

 

Dad really enjoyed visiting with the Chinese people in Dalian about political questions.  He asked if the Chinese people today like Mao Zedong.  We asked about the Cultural Revolution.  Saturday night we talked about gun control and Mrs. Gung said with wide eyes, “We are forbidden to have a gun.”  Mandy’s father showed a picture on his iphone of the rifles on sale at wal-mart that he would look at while visiting the USA.  He even got to go to a shooting range with his daughter’s roommate’s father who is a police officer.  He loved it! They were all surprised when we told them we did not have any guns in our home and didn’t own any.  Mrs. Gung said that she thought everyone had guns and used them to protect themselves.

·         We visited with Ling Bing and she told us about her trip to North Korea.  I never thought about people being allowed to go to North Korea because as Americans we basically can’t – or it wouldn’t be safe.  China and Korea have good relations so Chinese are good to go and she talked about how nice and open the Koreans are there.  She said that while she was there she saw a huge banner hanging up on the front of a building or museum that had a big black and white picture of a homeless person in the snow and it said something like, “In the USA many people are starving in the streets because they do not have enough food.”  She asked if that was true. We said that there are homeless people, but it is not everywhere.

·         Dad asked about their feelings towards Taiwann.  They said that Taiwann and China have the same feelings about Taiwan belonging to China, but they just express it in different words.  They also expressed that Taiwan is better at keeping the traditional Chinese culture.

·         They also talked to us about how important it was to them to keep peace.  Overall, they feel that their country has changed and it is impossible for it to go backwards.  They also feel that their leaders are helping change to happen slowly and carefully so that they can keep peace.  They do not want a group to come in and take over and make a drastic change or they might fall like Russia.  They said they want change to come slowly.

·         I asked about all the tall apartment buildings.  Mandy told me that before 1978, the end of the Cultural Revolution, there were no tall buildings.  Everything was on the ground and what I picture would have been like the poor farm neighborhoods that we see – I’m not sure if that is completely accurate, but that is what I picture.  Since 1978, there has been building of tall apartment complexes and business offices, etc.

·         The Chinese government will sponsor a professor to come to the USA as a visiting professor.  The Chinese government will pay for their expenses to come and learn from the American professors.  Dad said that they do not pay the visiting professor, they just provide on office.  The Chinese government pays their way.  I was impressed.

·         The International Center leader that we met at Ocean University said that if any of our children want to attend their university that he will let them come for free.  He said, “I give you my word.”  Anyone want to go?

      Lots of wonderful conversation.  I am always overwhelmed at the number of people there are in the world who are living their lives, doing the best they can and have their own circle of friends and family and jobs just like we do.  There are millions of these units all over the world that we will never interact with but Heavenly Father knows them all and somewhere someone in heaven is keeping track of their needs and is helping them out as needed.  It is amazing.  There are amazing people all over the world.  All are God’s children.

SUNDAY morning, today, we had our breakfast and enjoyed the big buffet for the last time.  We were packed and ready when Mandy and her husband picked us up at 8:30am to go to the airport.  We said our goodbyes and we are now about ready to land at Pudong Airport then we will find our driver and make the 2 hour trip home.  It has been a wonderful 5 days but it will also be good to be back home.  We are so grateful for Amy taking care of the kids so we could go on this trip together.

We beat the kids home from church and had dinner
set on the table with their Easter treats as well.
It was fun to have them come in and to surprise them!