A Week of Outings (12-8)

This was a week of outings. I’d been having a yen to go back to see the baby pandas to see how much they’ve grown. So last Saturday I did it. Since it takes 2.5 hours to get there, it really is a hassle, but it was worth it.

The weather was nice—cool but not cold. I’m not sure what that means for pandas, but it was a busy day, and I saw lots of activities I hadn’t seen before. It was a perfect day to be walking around. When I started walking along the bamboo-lined path, I realized that being there was part of my yen to return to the center. In addition to having pandas, it’s a great park environment to be outside and walk around in.

When I bought my ticket, the woman gave me the senior discount, which was a pleasant surprise. The sign clearly states that Chinese citizens over 60 with a Chinese elderly card get the discount. Since I don’t qualify, I didn’t show my driver’s license to show that I am eligible for the discount. But I guess the gray hair did the job. I wasn’t given the discount the first time I went; so maybe it depends on the ticket seller or maybe I the few words of Chinese I spoke helped.

On the way to the nursery, I stopped at the red panda enclosure to see if anything was going on there. Lots of red pandas were visible. The first time I was there, I saw one on the ground and several dark balls high up in the trees. The second time, we didn’t see either. On Saturday, one red panda was on the ground. Many were on low branches in the trees and were clearly visible. A few were moving to change positions. So it was a fun day for seeing red pandas.

The next stop was the sub-adult enclosure. A man was using a bamboo pole to offer panda cakes and apples to a group of two-year-olds. He would hold the food at a high, but reachable level and the pandas stood to get it. He made sure they all got a turn. I hadn’t seen this before; so it was fun to watch.

Panda kindergarten is next to the nursery. There the one-year-olds were at play. There were also a few one-year-olds who were playing. These were the ones I first saw in March when they were six months old. So it was fun to see them again. They looked and acted the same—but larger. 

When I walked into the nursery and it was empty, I was disappointed. Then I walked out the other side, and there they were—three babies sleeping on a platform. Cute, 3.5-month-old bundles of white and black fur.

Then I walked uphill to the other nursery, since a sign had indicated that the babies are on display at both nurseries. Seven of the little ones were outside. Most of these were a little larger than the ones at the first nursery. I think they were the ones born a month earlier, making them 4.5 months old. When I arrived, most of them were sleeping on a platform beside the building, but a couple were playing. 

Then a man came out and moved them onto the grass near the fence so the visitors could see them more easily. 

Some just settled onto the ground and continued sleeping, looking like guinea pigs from behind. 

But a few became active. Three went to the nearby tree, and two tried to climb. This, of course, thrilled all of us who were watching.

Next to this enclosure a seven-year-old and a one-year-old were playing around. It seemed like the older one was grooming the younger one. The younger one followed the older one around. I think the older one was the mother. 

I ended out hanging around the pandas for four hours. Obviously, I was enjoying my time there.

The other thing on my agenda was a milkshake—Western-style, that is. I was pleased to be able to communicate where I wanted to go so a man could point out the correct bus. When I got off, I couldn’t see the metro and didn’t know which way to go; so I started asking bus drivers. A man getting onto a bus understood me and then walked me across the parking lot and to the train station where the metro stop is. The milkshake was delicious, as always. I also had a sandwich, since it was dinner time.

It was a wonderful outing, and I returned home feeling refreshed.

The second outing was on Wednesday when I went out with my teachers’ class. Each class is allowed to have one outing sponsored/paid for by the Foreign Affairs Office. All classes planned to out for lunch, and the others are going to KTV for an afternoon of karaoke. My class, however, opted to go bicycle riding, which was fine with me. Unfortunately, only half of the teachers were able to join us, as the others ended out having meetings or other work they were required to do at the school. But those of us who went had a good time. We had lunch at a nice restaurant. I chose to have Chinese, not Western food, since I like it and I would be with Chinese people who know what delicious dishes to order. Also because I prefer it to Western food in general and because most Western food I’ve had here has been OK but not that good in my opinion. I was not disappointed. The teachers ordered two kinds of fish, a fish soup, chicken and mushrooms, duck, two kinds of greens, both winter and summer squash, and a special Sichuan dish in which beaten eggs are cooked in a stone bowl with hot stones on the bottom. We all left pleasantly full. 

Then we went to the Green Belt to ride. Since most are from Chengdu, they hadn’t been there before; so this was a treat for them as well as for me. It was a lovely afternoon for riding—not hot and not too cold. No one else was there. Since it’s the off season and it was a weekday, most of the gates to other paths were closed. But we had a nice ride for about an hour and a half. It was fun to be with them out of class.

We arrived back at the university just in time to go to my yoga class. It was grueling. We had another substitute teacher, and this one had us do the same routine with downward and upward facing dogs and planks. My body protested the last two times she started this yet again, and I was glad when it was over. April’s thought is that she only knows this one routine. It took a few days to recover.

The third outing was Friday afternoon when I went with seven students to Jinli Street in Chengdu. We had a very good discussion group at English Corner on Tuesday, and afterwards they invited me to join them on Friday. All but one are in one of my classes. Maybe now I’ll recognize them in class and put names with their faces. I’m really bad about that. This was their first time to go to Jinli Street, and it was fun to be their guide. Since it was a weekday, it wasn’t as crowded as it was when I went their several Saturdays ago. 

It was another lovely day to be outside. I especially enjoyed the now yellow gingko trees. 

We had snacks at the food stalls, and I got to eat the rice cooked in pineapple that I’d seen people eating but hadn’t found before. We were there for two hours, which is about the right amount of time. Then we headed back. An advantage of traveling with the girls is that they knew which buses to take. Now I do.

This Saturday April, Ed, and I went for a foot massage at the place that does really good ones. I didn’t find the woman I’ve been to before; maybe she wasn’t open. So we tried another place that was just as good. I had a man, since I was the only one who wanted hard pressure. And I got it. I’d forgotten that they also do the shoulders and back, which I also needed. Some points really hurt when he pressed on them hard, but he didn’t stop when I winced, which is good. My body felt really good afterwards. I really needed the massage.

Random act of kindness: Sunday I went to get a haircut. Since it was Sunday and students don’t have weekend classes, the shop was busy. I sat beside the girl who was waiting, and we chatted a bit. When her turn came, she told me I could go ahead of her. I insisted that I could wait and that she go. After my hair was washed, I was seated in the chair next to her. When the woman finished drying her hair, the girl told me she had paid for us both.

Faux pas of the week: A student I was talking with described the restaurant where she had eaten as having the name of a country, but she didn’t know the name in English but it’s not Japan. I started naming countries. When I said Taiwan, her response was, “No, it’s a country.” Oops. I forgot that Taiwan is considered to be part of China. The country turned out to be Korea.