TheBanyanTree: Return to China - Part 2

[Pat M]

 November 21st  (I'd lost a day because of the 14 hour time difference.)
After breakfast, I informed the desk I wanted to leave earlier than planned.
A few minutes later the valet arrived at my room on the sixth floor with a
luggage cart and loaded my bags. He was short with a slight build and even
he strained to lift the heaviest.  We took the elevator (what luxury!) to
the main floor.

In China, buildings of up to six floors aren't required to put in elevators.
When I'd lived in Lintong, I walked up and down six flights of stairs to my
apartment many times a day. On this trip, it would have been impossible for
me to stay in a place without an elevator; my heavy baggage would have been
too much for anyone to carry.

I checked out and picked up my 200 yuan damage deposit.   Fifteen minutes
later the airport shuttle dropped me off at the departures terminal.  Tips
aren't expected in China but I gave both the driver and the valet some money
along with a warm 'thank you', also not expected in China.  Canadians say
thank you for everything but the Chinese generally don't thank anyone who is
being paid to do the job.

Inside the terminal, I stopped for a moment to get my bearings.  There was
enough English signage that it was relatively easy to find my way around.  I
found the check-in counter for China Southern Airlines easily and stood in
one of half a dozen line-ups.  When it was my turn, I showed a letter from
the orphanage written in Chinese that I'd requested from Peter, the director
of Wesley's House (name of orphanage).  It explained that one suitcase
contained things for the orphans and asked for it to go free of charge.  The
clerk took the letter and my passport to his supervisor but to my
disappointment, when he returned he wrote down that I needed to pay for 30
kg of excess baggage and sent me to another counter to pay: total cost of
330 yuan (a month's wages for many Chinese) or the equivalent of about
CAD$55.00.  My Chinese language skills weren't good enough to argue so I
paid the money without comment.

I had a long wait for my flight, which left at 2 pm.  I suspected I wouldn't
get lunch on the plane so went to a small cafe near the gate and ordered an
overpriced iced coffee and a clubhouse sandwich.  I should have known
better!  The coffee was cold instant coffee with a couple of ice cubes in it
and the sandwich was unlike any clubhouse I'd ever eaten.  It contained cold
meat that looked like spam.  I ate it but did not enjoy it.  The total bill
was almost CAD$20.00—a complete waste of money.

The flight from Guangzhou to Nanning was unremarkable and we arrived on
schedule.  As soon as I entered the baggage area, I saw Peter waiting for me
outside the barrier.  He is young, perhaps in his late twenties or early
thirties, and he is a tall and handsome Chinese.  He welcomed me warmly.  I
grabbed his hand and said, "Nice to finally meet you."  We'd sent numerous
emails back and forth; he'd asked many questions about my likes and dislikes
in order to prepare my room.
He took charge of my luggage.  Thank you Peter! We took an airport bus to
the train station, caught a taxi from there to the bus station and then
caught the bus to Pingguo. Pingguo (pronouned 'Pin go') is a small village
of 200,000 and is in a very poor area of China.  Peter told me it is an
important city in China that the country's leaders visit because it has the
world's second largest aluminum factory. (My immediate thought: there is
likely a lot of air pollution.)
When we arrived at the bus station in Pingguo several hours later, it was
very dark and the area was not well-lit.  I saw several pigs laying on their
sides on the pavement. They weren't moving but the light was so dim I
couldn't tell if they were dead or had just given up struggling. Some goats
lay next to them. They were hobbled so they couldn't walk but were looking
around curiously.  I couldn't figure out what they were doing at the bus
station unless they were going to be loaded as freight.

Peter had called someone from the orphanage to pick us up and he (I'll call
him Grandpa) arrived shortly.  Before long we arrived at the orphanage's
gate.  Peter hopped out to open it and lock it behind us. The courtyard was
dark but many children came running out to meet me.  Peter carried my bags
to my room.  It was large, bright and nicely appointed with a new desk and a
wardrobe in a light wood finish.  There was a double bed with a thick quilt
and a spring mattress, purchased especially for me.  To my surprise there
was even a western toilet.  Peter took me on a short tour of the compound.

The orphanage is a recently-completed two-story building located across the
courtyard from a small three-story school.  The orphanage currently has 61
children.  There are 40 in grades 1 – 4 who attend school in the compound
along with some children from the village.  There are 21 children in grades
5 and 6 who walk ½ hour to another school.  Of the 61 orphans, 36 are boys
and 25 are girls.  The Chinese government does not provide any funding to
support the orphanage; they only provided the land to build on.
I spent a little time unpacking and went to bed at 9 pm, the same time as
the children. Tomorrow I'd begin my new life...
****

Pingguo China 2008 photos can be viewed at
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/Pingguo#



-- 
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away
from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover.

Mark Twain

Pingguo China 2008 photos can be viewed at
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/Pingguo#