China - Day 17

Sunday. Today we went to a service here in ZhengZhou. We sang a song for the people there. It was interesting because the service was in Chinese. So, none of us, the children, could understand anything that was being said. It was a good service though. After that we went out for lunch with a family we had met there.

That lunch was a new experience. I think I ate three new things at that meal. The first was goose. Nothing real special, but it is something you don't get often, if at all, in the States. Like duck, it was pretty fatty. You have the skin, and then a layer of fat, and then the meat. It was really good though. You just have to exercise a little bit afterward. The next new thing was pig intestines.

There was this sizzling bowl that the server brought out. I thought the stuff inside looked like tubes and corkscrews. It was sizzling like one of those Mexican hot plate things. I guess this is the Chinese version. Instead of some good steak and vegetables, you get some pig insides, onion, and some unknown green vegetables. My mom told me what it was before I had eaten it. Normally, of course, you unknowingly take a bite of something that looks like something you eat all the time, and turns out to be something you never wanted to eat in all your life. This was not like that. I knew I was eating intestine, and well, whatever. I didn't really have any taste, besides the taste of the sauce. The texture was really weird. Sort of rubbery.

I also had some Chinese sauerkraut. Nothing crazy about this dish, but it was new for me. After lunch we went out around the town. I don't know what our original purpose was for going out, but we ended up in the area where my mom grew up. We went down the road where my mom's apartment was when she was younger. We also went to the park that she used to go to.

In the park there was a lot of stuff happening. In one portion of it there was a carnival of sorts, with the common carnival rides. We didn't go on any of those today. There was a little painting thing going on. You were given a picture that was drawn out in black, like a coloring book picture. You went to a table, and at each table there were bottles of some type of liquid. I don't know what it is, but it is a cross between latex and glue. So, you just filled in the empty spaces.

There was also a Chinese orchestra there. Well, almost Chinese. There was a double bass in there, an accordion (yes, and accordion), and a trombone, several of them. They were just playing in the one of the open areas of the park. It was really neat to hear and see. The pieces were pretty nice. We didn't watch them the whole time they played, but we could here them where ever we were. Later on, they had some Chinese opera... We didn't stick around for that.

We came home after that and spent the rest of the day in the hotel. Speaking of the hotel, it is really pretty nice. It is a "Deluxe Suite." The original price was about 650 yuan, about 100 dollars US. Due to some bargaining on part of Brother Ma though, and the fact that my dad did not show his face until after the price was agreed upon, we got it for 350 yuan a night. Or about 50 dollars a night.That is about what we are supposed to pay, because hotels are normally marked up that much. That is just part of the culture. I'll let the pictures show you what's inside, because it is easier than trying to describe it.
-Aaron

Katherine's Hello Kitty painting thing on the window

From China Day 17

Please ignore the messy rooms...

To the left of the door

From China Day 17

To the right of the door

From China Day 17

The Master bedroom

From China Day 17