Monday, July 23, 2012

SHANGHAI – We have moved so quickly, and with such full days, through  
Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu and now, Shanghai, that none of us has had the  
energy at day’s end to produce a blog post. Everyone is a bit  
nostalgic for Courtenay’s Terrible Thompson Torture Tours, which at  
least give everyone a few hours break before dinner, our favorite time  
to blog.

But we came back to the hotel on our last afternoon in China to the  
news that Beijing has suffered its heaviest rain and worst flooding in  
years, with more than 37 deaths, and realized we should let our  
families and friends know we are happy and safe here in Shanghai.  
Tomorrow we catch our long flight home, via Vancouver, B.C.

We have many stories to tell: Courtenay and Will enjoying a quiet walk  
together on the Great Wall far away from the madding crowds, Mitchell  
and I enjoying a young panda skittering through the grass only a few  
feet away, all of us mesmerized by the 2,300-year-old terracotta army.

It will take us some time to reflect on all that we have seen and  
learned in China. For now we all have this blur of memories, ancient  
art, acrobats and opera singers, middle-aged dancers and kite fliers  
livening up the public parks, the gray pall of pollution over Xi’an —  
with its beautiful 400-year-old walls and waiters who giggled  
charmingly at the silly Americans as they attempted to eat local  
dishes — the lush greenery of Chengdu, the stunning yet zany and  
futuristic skyline of Shanghai lit up at night.

There will be time to write later about the food we have experienced,  
some of it hot, some of it unidentifiable, much of it beautifully  
created and presented. And Will and Mitchell return with a trove of  
Chinese treasures—masks and warrior statues, chopsticks and chess sets.

“Everything new is good,” our guide cheerfully announced as we drove  
among the massive highrises of Shanghai on our way in from the airport  
yesterday. Well, yes. We have great new friends we have made among the  
Stanford travelers. We have fresh memories, new stories, moments in  
our lives that will remain in our memories. And finally, we have a new  
appreciation of China, this rapidly changing country that we have  
merely glimpsed over the past two weeks.