Living in Nanning

Well finally after being in Nanning for a month the Google Blogger is now available to me. So I guess it is time for an update.

I arrived in Beijing on the 13th of May in a severe thunderstorm and the airplane was hit by lightning and had to go around again. We landed at the new terminal that is not yet completed. It was built to accommodate the traffic expected for the 2008 Olympic games. I was scheduled to have a three hour layover there but with the trouble with the landing and the fact that we had to be bussed back to the old terminal for domestic flights I just had time to board the plane for Nanning.

I arrived in Nanning at 11:35 just two minutes behind the promised time. I retrieved my baggage and headed for the exit when I saw Bao Zhu. She had a very big smile on her face and hugged the stuffing out of me. We then got a taxi and went home. I slept late the next day and just relaxed for the next two days after. Then on Saturday morning we got up and went to the v-touch cafe for their "English Corner" Breakfast. There I met a number of American, European, Australian and German fellows who are either living in Nanning or were visiting for one reason or another. Most I had met when I was here before. As is his weekly custom, Roger took pictures of everyone there for his English corner photo album. These can be seen by going to www.v-touch.com and clicking on the English corner photo album link and then on the dates of the photos that you want to view.

The following week I went with Bao Zhu to her former place of business, the Minzhu Market Fabric store, where I purchased two traditional Chinese men's shirts. They are embroidered with Dragon designs and have knotted fabric for buttons. They are very light weight and more comfortable for this climate. I also bought fabric for three pairs of slacks which have been crafted into very comfortable pants. The shirts cost me 130 Yuan apiece or about $18. The slacks were about $10 each. I am continuously amazed at the price of things here as compared with the USA. Prices have jumped recently though with the decline of the US dollar coupled with the Olympics hysteria. It is a small jump for me but is a large one for the citizens of Nanning. So I won't complain.

Speaking of the Olympics; we went downtown today to the v-touch English Corner and ran smack dab into the middle of the Olympic torch relay. Our cab could only get to within about a mile of the cafe so we trudged (against the tide) to where it is located. The torch passed within a block of there within the following hour. There were more people on the street than I can possibly imagine being in one place at one time. I bought Bao Zhu an Olympic flag and a teen aged girl gave me a stick on Olympic heart (now at least I can say I have a heart). China is very happy to be hosting the Olympics and they are really getting into it.

Last week Bao Zhu and I went to Beihai which is a coastal resort town on the gulf of Tonkin. The surf is not very high there but the water was very warm and salty. I taught Bao Zhu to float on her back. It is pretty easy when the water has a high salt content. Bao Zhu also related a story to me about when she was there in 1989 about stepping on a body in the water. She said that the authorities responded and pulled two drowning victims from the water. Even this many years later she was stressed as she related the story to me. She seemed happy to float on her back and not walk on the sandy bottom. I did have an unpleasant experience there though. I had made a reservation with the Pearl Bay sea view hotel and all was fine and dandy until I arrived and they realized that I was an American. They then refused to honor the reservation and offered me the same room at twice the price. I was angry and went to another hotel only to find that rooms for Americans are at least twice the price than for Chinese people. So with no others available we went back. It was a very nice room and was still half what a similar room would have been in the USA but I did not like the treatment.
While there we went to a restaurant called Lei Lei Tommy's, which is operated by an Australian man named Tommy. Imagine that. They have excellent food and the best hamburger I have had in a long time. And for only 25 Yuan. Bao Zhu of course had noodles and fish.

Well Bao Zhu is cooking my dinner for me so I will go for now. I don't know what we are having but I try not to ask too many questions in that regard. She is an excellent cook.

Everett