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China

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In the summer of 2004, my only son went off to China to teach English. Being the softy Mum that I am, I had to follow to make sure all was well. So in March 2005, off I went on my wonderful adventure. My journey from Canada and then into the States was as eventful as I thought it would be......meeting new people on their own journeys for their own reasons. The excitement and anticipation in the airports made me feel close to all those other travellers. My long flight from San Francisco was disturbed the whole way by a crying, screaming child however even this didn't take away the amazing feeling of flying that far, taking that long and not fueling up along the way! Who would think that it was possible! My nerves started getting the best of me when we began to descend. What would I do if my son wasn't there to meet me? So once we debarked I followed the crowds as we wove through all the areas that we needed to and then to my utter happiness stood my son, several heads taller than all the locals, waving his hand at me. Such a relief and such happiness!

From the airport we went to the hotel and off to sleep after I made sure that my son was really okay.......and he was! The next morning we ventured out into Beijing. The first thing we saw were ladies dancing on the sidewalk, with colourful scarves waving. It was a local dance which people just joined in if they wanted to. We chose to stand and watch and receive the happy smiles from the participants. From here we went to Tiananmen Square, a huge expanse of concrete and many people. It was here where I began to feel the foreigner in this ancient land. As we walked along people stopped and stared. But not in a disrespectful way but in a way of amazement and interest. A few young people would approach us and ask if we would speak to them so that they could practice their English. We had several wonderful, uplifting conversations. A middle-aged man came near and asked permission to take my picture as his mother wanted a photo with a foreign lady. What a strange yet fascinating feeling to be the odd person!

I will continue this account on my other adventures in the Forbidden City, the university where my son taught, Black Tiger Springs, 1000 Buddah Mountain and other places if there is any interest....bye for now H

Learn more about this author, Hilary Fossheim.
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