Mysterious Adventure

So, last Sunday I stepped into a car, without knowing where it was headed. Well, I kind of had a clue, but not really. This story traces back to a teacher stopping by my classes a few times the past weeks and asking me if I wanted to meet with one of his friend's daughters and practice my English. At first it sounded like an easy way to be kidnapped. But he kept pestering, said he would also go along, and we could see some neat sites around Changzhou. I decided that I should stay true to the no gain comes without risk motto and told him yes. So I got into the car and met Serena (pictured below), a junior at the university, her father, Mr. Yan, who is the old friend of the teacher, Mr. Li. There was also a driver, the car was pretty nice, so it looked like we were riding in style. We first visited Tianmuhu, one of the more famous lakes in the area. We took the fancy boat ride, walked around the trails on one of the islands. It was very nice, the weather was great, the air fresh. There were a lot of resorts or hotels along the lake, but from the looks of it, speedboating and water sports haven't yet risen in popularity in Jiangsu province.

After this we had lunch at a five star hotel by the lake. The lunch was absolutely delicious. And, I presume, incredibly expensive. I had shark fin soup for the first time in my life, as well as my initial steamed bamboo shoots. We also ate the same catfish soup which President Hu Jintao has come to the same restaurant to eat. It was extravagant to say the least. All of this so I could practice English with the guys daughter. I was able to find out from Mr. Li and Serena that Serena's dad (Mr. Yan) is part of the government; he works in the education bureau for Changzhou. This information made me understand the extravagance. Mr. Li quietly informed me that no one paid for this amazing meal, but because Mr. Yan, and another one of his friends who joined us for lunch, is part of the government and the Party, he doesn't have to pay. In a one Party government it's best to keep anyone in the government happy, even if it means serving up a free meal with wine and beer.

After lunch I figured we were headed back to campus. Of course, in classic Chinese style I was just informed of each activity as it arose. Next we went to Nanshan Juhai, which is a sort of state park, the name actually means 'bamboo ocean'. It was absolutely gorgeous and I even rode the cable car up to the top of the highest point in all of Jiangsu province, with Mr. Li and Serena. Now at this point it was about four thirty or five by the time we came out of the park (and Mr. Yan bought me a big bag of roasted chestnuts). So we loaded in the cars and drove on the highway for awhile (I again think we are headed home). But no, we stop at a hotel along the way and have another lavish meal. Once again the food was outrageous, plenty of fish, lamb, pork, beef, even crabs at the end of the meal. The beer and wine likewise flowed without any concern for cost. We were also joined at dinner by Mr. Yan's friend and his friend's driver. Many toasts went around the table (remember when they toast here they say ganbei, which means finish your drink). After dinner we did indeed go back to campus, arriving at about 9:30. So my English "conversation" lasted for over 12 hours. It was incredibly enjoyable, I only felt a little guilty eating the "corrupted" food, if you will. Although my constant state of wonder really exhibited the Chinese way of only giving information on a need to know basis (or sometimes not even all that one needs to know). I could never imagine an entire day trip with a stranger in America without all the details and schedule given out beforehand. But, cultures are different and although I felt a bit like being kidnapped, I kept that in mind throughout the day. Oh, I forgot to mention they also gave me eight containers of what appears to be very expensive tea as we parted. I haven't tried it yet, but maybe will do so when it gets cooler here and I actually feel like some tea.