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Since apparently this is the blog post of breaking traditions, let's change things up. Shall we? We shall. Let's start from where I am now and work backwards to the last post. Which, if you remember, was two days ago. Here we go.
Currently, I am sitting on Dave and Ellen's patio, soaking in the sun and writing. We just got back from a jaunt to Dave's office. Ellen and I made a game out of how many times we heard "How do you feel Dave?" It was a little less anti-climatic than we thought it would be. But you get my point. Ellen and I had come over to his office earlier. She had to talk with a lady, and frankly I was losing my mind sitting in the apartment.
I met some guys at the office who were trying to use Becca-size engineering words to explain what was going on outside the window. As Mike told me the other night, you can either be nice, pretty or smart... (Disclaimer: I'm 99% sure he was kidding.) So despite me not fully understanding what they were getting at, I got excited about what was supposed to be happening today. If you are an engineer, I apologize for the butchering of this. Ready? They are taking a massive steam generator and putting it into another huge building. Boom. Nuclear engineering. Note: not a steam engine. As I was corrected on. They are not putting a train into a building. Alright. So I got excited about this idea of watching this huge piece of machinery fly through the air held up by only a single crane. I was so excited, in fact, that I dragged Dave, Ellen, and Johann back to the offices to see if it was happening.
It was not. In fact, I asked Mike to find out when it was happening. He said he assumed if it was happening at all, it would happen tomorrow. So that mission failed. But it was a nice walk. Dave explained the basic idea of the buildings around us. The sun was shining. The grass was green. In the end, it turned into us disrupting work in the office and enjoying the sunshine. Eh, it works out!
In case you missed it, Dave and Ellen returned home last night from Hong Kong. They were very glad to be home. Brian made us all dinner. The Brian withdrawl will be a real concern when we leave. I try not to think about it. After dinner, Ellen, Johann, Brian, and I watched Shrek. As in the original Shrek. I haddn't watched that movie in so long it was practically like watching it for the first time. That movie rocks. Feel free to relapse a few years and watch it. You won't regret it.
Yesterday was a chill day for one quintessential reason: Johann had come down with some sort of flu bug. This was his second day of not feeling great. Between a fever of 103* and multiple other symptoms, he was on official bed rest. Brian and I decided to have a doctor from the clinic swing by the apartment just to be safe. Doctor Laura- no, not that Dr. Laura- was at the apartment within minutes. She gave him a quick examination, prescribed some antibiotics, and then went on her way. While I thought it would have been quite the adventure to see an ambulance in China, very glad to report Johann is feeling exponentially better today.
I was to wound up to stay inside the apartment playing nurse all day though. So mid-morning, once I had fed the boy and made sure he was asleep, I went for a quick bike ride. I went the same route of the cemetery. When we had went with Cheryl, I saw some spots that I wanted to see. So I put on some jammin' music and cruised. I watched some locals farm clams in thigh deep mud when the tide was out. I sat on the sandy beachy for a while. I scrambled up rocky hillsides, just to get some energy out. I found waterfalls. Then, like the responsible sister I am, I grabbed soup and gatorade for my sick brother before I headed home.
Did you know titles and smooth transition sentences are the hardest part of this blog for me? Since today is breaking traditions day...
TRANSITION
Two days ago, in Huangzhao, Brian and I dragged sick Johann out into the world. Johann was a total champ about it. But I feel bad that we didn't let him sleep in the hotel. Anyway, I got up early to go sit in the lounge and write. Write to you! Don't you feel special now? Brian and Johann joined me for breakfast. They helped brainstorm for the perfect title. Brian perfected that one. Then we set our plans for the day.
We would go to the West Lake and walk around. It was a Sunday and it is already a tourist attraction. Imagine the crowds. One half of the lakeside was ridiculous while the other one was bearable. The environment was a mix between Pearl Street Mall and Central Park. Boats were rented on the lake for a the perfect afternoon outing. Children begged their parents for candied fruit. Everyone was enjoying the sunny day and the happy environment surrounding the lake. I saw all these women and girls wearing flower crowns. I obviously had to have one. It wasn't until I was also holding candied fruit that I realized I was also wearing my Cinderella shirt. I had perfected the two-year-old look. So I gave into the two-year-old happiness as well. It was the perfect afternoon.
If you look, you can see the misery on Johann's face. Poor guy. Which is why, unfortunately, the end to this day was really awful. We decided to get a taxi back to the hotel, finally. The three of us would meet Brian's driver there and head home. See the plan? Let me summarize. Taxi. Hotel. Home. Simple, right? Two hours later we were in a car headed to the hotel. For some reason, getting a taxi was impossible. After 45 minutes of trying, Brian called his driver and told him where to meet us. Well the driver told Brian he couldn't because he wasn't allowed to drive in the district we were in. In an attempt to control the amount of traffic in certain areas, the Chinese goverment regulates who can drive where and when. Because otherwise imagine the traffic everywhere. We tried for taxis a bit more as we walked in one direction. Our hope was we would leave the restricted area. The problem was we didn't know when the area ended. Finally, Brian called the hotel and asked if we could get a car to us. Then came the issue of figuring out where we even were. Not going to lie, it was highly entertaining watching Brian just walk up to random Chinese couples and putting his phone to their ears. Finally, one woman explained to the hotel receptionist where we were. Let me take a moment and applaud Amber at the Marriot in Huangzhuo. She was unbelievable and absolutely came to our rescue. Anyway, finally we got a car to take us to the hotel. I made Johann a nest of blankets and pillows in the car. Brian told us stories upon stories of traveling. We all fell asleep dreaming of the wonders the world holds. Three hours later we were home.
Well, I suppose that catches us up. Maybe traditions exist for a reason. I swear I did cover all the days. They were just out of order. Nonetheless, we are back to the present. The present... The sunset is setting over the green lushous mountains. The wind stopped blowing leaving behind a clear blue sky. The air is fresh and the birds are singing. Life is very good.
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