China...We miss you already.

Here are a few pics from our recent (March 08) trip to China. As my good wife (Shirlene that is) can attest, I have wanted to travel to China for the last 10 years. In the mean time we have been to Europe and South America, but I told her a couple years back that before we went anywhere else I wanted to go to China. Well, fortune smiled on us and Shirlene's parents took a teaching position in China for one year. That was all I needed and with a little prodding to get Shane and TeAnn (Shirlene's brother and his wife) to go along we booked the tickets and spent 10 days in the Middle Kingdom.

It was everything we hoped it would be and then some. We spent the first week in Jinan, a city of 3+ million and the home of the university where Shirlene's parents are teaching. It was exactly what I wanted. Namely, not on the tourist beat and a legitimate slice of China. We hit the weather and pollution just right and had clear skies and decent temperatures the entire time we were there. Each day was amazing. On the first day we visited three elementary schools and I would have to say it was probably the travel highlight of my life. The students were ecstatic to meet Westerners and we were treated like celebrities at each stop. The first school was home to 2800 students and I think we probably high fived, said hello or played rock, paper, scissor with two thirds of them. It was really great and the kind of experience that involves your cheeks hurting from smiling and laughing so much. That really set the tone for the rest of our time in Jinan.

We spent the final four days in Beijing. Beijing was great too, but definitely had its touristy aspects and it was hard to get away from the crowds. That being said, we had great experience there too, such as spending a morning in Jinsheng Park with thousands of elderly people singing old revolutionary songs, attending church (see picture of non-descript high rise below), and visiting the Great Wall. Of course, I had the best spot for eating Beijing Duck well mapped out and that was quite and experience too.

All in all it was a fantastic experience and I can't wait to go back. China is the country that will dominate world headlines for the next 20-30 years and if you are not familiar with it now, you had better be soon.