Dear Friends

July 31, 2008


I had dinner with Ken and Mary Bonczyk, who I stayed with in Brockport, NY last summer while I attended the Bill Evans dance workshop. Mary is a Stampin' Up-er, so they were out here for the Stampin' Up workshop in SLC. We ate at the "Himalayan Kitchen". It was a triumph when we made it through ordering. Very good... and very different... food like pickled cauliflower and pureed eggplant.

August 1, 2008

Beijing or Bust! Carl graciously took me to the airport to meet my 6:06 AM flight to LA where I connected to San Fransisco and then on to Beijing. The whole flight was 18 hours, but the longest stretch was 11 hours. It was the fastest flight of my life, I slept and read and just soaked in the thrill of being on an airplane and dreaming about my destination.

I sat next to the physical therapist for the US Olympic cycling team and a sweet Chinese lady. My seat was the last one in the back and behind me was floor space, perfect for stretching my long legs periodically throughout the flight. As I got more bold and creative in my stretches during the flight, I got some pretty curious nonverbal feedback from other flyers.

Here is the gate I boarded for Beijing and a picture from the sky.

I stepped off the plane and all the signs were in Chinese except for "baggage claim" and "toilet". As I negotiated the airport and picked up my luggage, I had a... a moment... where am I going to find Curtis? The one side of the aggage claim was blocked off, so I went the only way I could and was enthusiastically greeted by his waving hands above the crowd after what seemed like the longest jaunt through any airport not knowing how long it would be 'til I would see his familiar face.

Along my airport travels I stopped to pose with one of the "Five Friendlies", one of the Olympic mascots that represents a set of the Olympic sports.

And to dance next to the "Dancing Beijing" Emblem constructed out of roses and other flowers.

When Curt and I arrived home, we calculated that I had been up for 27 hours so I took a luxuriously cool bath and went to bed.

August 3, 2008
Today was Sunday and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the singles ward meets simultaneously with Curt and Mand's ward. They split for Sunday School, but they meet combined for Sacrament meeting and Relief Society. It was great to introduce myself and meet the other 20 young adults. And to find out that they have activities and time together after the block for lunch and throughout the week. After church we taxied to the Wilcox's apartment (Logan Wilcox is the 2nd counselor in the branch presidency) and had fajita's. The rule is that the Wilcox's provide the food and the young adults cook and prepare it. So I sauteed the peppers and onions and cooked the chicken. Delish! And chatted with the young adults. The first question that starts most of our conversations is "so what are you doing in Beijing?" And most of them are here to study Chinese or for internships and other work for the summer.
It was so great to connect with these people. It was a refreshing experience for me to hear about what these people are doing with their lives, it is extraordinary. I left nourished in every sense of the word with twenty new friends I will remember for the rest of my life.

In the evening we went for a family walk and ended at the gazebo gathering circle place right by the apartment. Mand and I took turns dancing with Nell.

















August 4, 2008
Today we went to the Forbidden City (The Imperial Palace). Its traditional construction is overwhelmingly beautiful combined with the heat and humidity of Beijing was thrilling for me, but not for Nell. I whipped out the video camera and Mand and I couldn't resist bursting out "let's get down to business, to defeat (crash, crash) the Hun's..."
The Imperial Palace has a lot of dragons on the rooftops and artwork that signify the power of the Emperor.
The architecture is beautiful, it is what I think of when I think of traditional China.

















Behind me is the female lion guarding the entry to the palace, on the other side of the entry is the male. The difference is that the female has a cub under her paw and the male has a ball. It signifies where they have influence or power. The male has influence in the world and the female has influence and power in the home raising the children.
The throne in the throne room.

The figures on the rooftop signify the rank of the room they are atop of. More figures means the room is ranked higher in importance. Some rooms have 10 or 12 figures while some rooms have 4 or 6. I also learned that most of the roof corners of the buildings have a lion head. It is the head of the figure that calls forth the rains and protects from fire. (Curt... I hope this is correct:)

This is how Nell felt about the Imperial Palace. This is the face she pulled as Chinese women gathered around to take her picture.

This is how I felt as I walked passed this couple on my way out of the city. It was a gloriously burning Beijing day.

It was so fun to see a pomegranate tree.

After our outing to the Forbidden City I crashed for nap before I went swing dancing. Each Monday night there is swing dancing at a little cafe downtown with a free lesson and then free dancing til midnight. I laughed when I thought of sharing with my parents that on my first night in Beijing I went swing dancing at a bar. It was so fun. I am not much of a lindy hopper, but the guys are fantastic and confident in their leading skills. Come to find out... they don't know what they are doing either, so it was a blast. It was fun to be at a dance where the guys ask you to dance, lead you on the floor, and have fun.

Thank you for surviving my first attempt at blogging... I am done trying to fix this post.