Noodles on a train

If there really is such thing as hotter than hell, then we’ve arrived there. Chongqing is known as one of the four hottest spots in China, and not in a good way. We’re basically confined indoors during most of the day, and indoors is not so cool either since the dog (they’re breeding huskies, in a hot climate no less, poor things) chewed up the air conditioning cable and Jack’s aunt is waiting for her husband to return this weekend to fix it. I feel especially bad for his granny sleeping in these temperatures. We have an air-con unit in our room, for which I’m extremely grateful – I feel guilty about hogging it but then it wouldn’t be even used if we weren’t here. At least in early morning and evening we can go out to the playground just outside – this one even has a slide. Jack’s 15-year-old cousin is here too to provide them entertainment and they like him a lot.

The train ride over here went pretty well. Going soft sleeper was a very wise choice on Jack’s part. We still had to share the compartment, with a granny taking her grandson back home to raise (a Chinese habit I’ll never quite understand) and a guy who just got his graduate degree and is starting a job in Chongqing and who spent most of the time up in his top bunk. There are lots of interesting stories on trains. But fortunately thanks to having a door, we didn’t have to hear all of them. It was really nice to be able to shut the door and have some peace and quiet. This was especially true since right next door was a very chubby and hyper five-year-old girl who the boys found quite entertaining but who was at times a bit much for my patience level. The boys at least enjoyed the ride, sitting watching out the window while eating instant noodles. They slept somewhat decently too.

I haven’t had a decent sleep myself in quite some time and my tolerance is at a low level, but I’m trying hard to grin and bear it and know “this too shall pass”. Still it’s been kind of rough. The boys were coughing a bit before we left (probably thanks to Ming Ming) but got much worse when we got here – with the exhaustion, change of scenery and heat. Jack’s aunts bought them some Chinese cough medicine but just a sip or two and Isaac was throwing up. At least after that night he was mostly fine but Ethan has got worse and doesn’t sleep well. I’m sure he just wants to be back in his own house doing the things he’s used to doing. Still, I have to say they have shown themselves to be pretty resilient and I hope that despite their young age something of the moving around and cultural diversity they’re encountering will stick with them and make them somehow tougher and more adaptable.

The cousins depart

Happy late Independence Day to you all and late Anniversary to us! The day passed without event for us, and every day like that is a blessing! The cousins left a few days ago and I feel bad for them – the father is basically gone year round working and Hong Ting couldn’t even remember (or be bothered to try) when was the last time she saw him. So anyway, he travels between Inner Mongolia and Changsha in the south. They were planning to meet him in Inner Mongolia, to which Beijing would have been on the way, but he told them to go to Changsha back in the south. So the day after they arrived there he told him he was going to Inner Mongolia so they dragged the kids off again with only standing tickets on a very long journey. I really feel bad for the kids, but I hope they still manage to think it’s a good adventure.

We spent our last full day with them on Tiananmen, where I went to see pickled Mao for the first time. Kind of interesting, especially all these people, even young guys, buying flowers to put by his statue. I find it strange in this day and age that he still inspires so much of a cult following, but that’s just my outsider’s perspective! I kind of think his body must be wax or something but Jack says it’s definitely “real”, even if real means so many preservatives of various kinds over the years that it’s not really real anymore.

The boys also became their own tourist attraction. They plopped down in the middle of the square with their cousin Ming Ming to eat chocolate muffins. He finished and got up and shortly after I looked over and saw a lady squatting down and asking if she could take a picture. We agreed and when she was done two more ladies had appeared to take their picture. This wasn’t the first time that had happened – they were also photographed eating lamb kebabs on Wangfuging.

Poor Ming Ming was sickly most of the time and had a fever added to his cough by the time they left. Jack spent a few hours and some money with them at the hospital – wasn’t much help, he wasn’t really that sickly and they just gave him the same medicine I had already offered, but I guess his mama felt better.

Besides that we’ve just been saying goodbyes (Fred, Dawn & Daniel and Michael) and in some cases (Rob) hellos and goodbyes together. We took the boys for one last romp at the so-called amusement park at the park down the road. They happily jumped on the trampoline and cavorted in the balls and went up and down slides for a couple hours. Even though we don’t have anything quite like that back home, I will still be happy to get back to the land of free and plentiful playgrounds – such thing just barely exists for kids here.

So tomorrow is the big day we head for Chongqing. Fortunately I realized a couple nights ago that our ticket was for the 6^th which was in fact Sunday rather than Saturday. Was nice to have an extra day to prepare but of course we are still behind in that department and will no doubt be frantic in the morning! After checking out and getting back whatever we can of our deposit, we will head to Vincent’s to drop off a couple suitcases of things we don’t need now for safekeeping. We’ll eat lunch there then head to the station. Am very curious to see how this soft sleeper will be and praying we may get enormously lucky and not have a full compartment, but kind of doubtful on that department.