Learning to barter

When Tony and I first started our family we decided we would "homeschool the humanities". I could never guessed that we would someday be taking a field trip to the Forbidden City and Tienamen square as we study Chinese history. Our guide Snow did a wonderful job teaching us. I made up a quiz for the kids:

1. How many provinces are there in China
2. How many provinces does the Great Wall Pass through?
3. What three things did the Emperor standardize?
4. What is "fung
5. What is the Cultural revolution and what years did it span?
6. What is the PRC and what is it's symbol?
7. What do the 5 stars on the Chinese flag represent?
8. What are the names of 2 Chinese Dynasties?
9. What is the the Emperor's symbol?

After our visit to the Forbidden city we grabbed lunch at the Japanese equivalent of McDonalds. We all liked the rice bowls, but could not handle the steamed egg with chunks of fake crab. Lily really like the cold mashed potato salad with tuna!

We spent the afternoon at the pearl market where our boys became amazingly skilled at bartering. Tony had met a frequent Chinese visitor from Argentina and learned that it is appropriate to offer 10 percent of the named price. We thought 50 was good. The kids soon saw it as a game and drove some really hard bargains. I couldn't handle it, so Cooper did all my shopping. The boys were most excited about getting gifts for their siblings. We were so proud of Eli who carried out one transaction exclusively in Chinese--a fake Rolex of all things!

The most amazing part of our day was arriving at the train station in Beijing. The mass of humanity just blew me away. There were 16 train depots crammed full of people, enough people per depot to exceed capacity of a Stake Center.

In our depot,

we were the only non-Chinese people. Our little sleeping cabins can easily be described as cozy. There are four bunks and a narrow aisle where a small table sits. Andrea and her kids were in the cabin next door, but when a Chinese man filled the fourth bunk, we moved our boys next door and had she and Lily stay with us.

I am fascinated by scenes outside my window. It is the quintessential Chinese mix of modern and ancient. Nice new cars and basketball courts in the middle of very primitive housing. I also think my personal symbol of China is an empty building. China does such a better job of using space. Every corner is a garden in the country and every nook is a home in the city.

It is soothing to sleep on the train. Every time Tony turns over in the bunk above me it sounds like popcorn popping. Someone's is smoking and it is stinging our eyes. I want so badly to buy some fresh cherries from the vendor, but I don't want to get another illness. So far I have a cold and a bladder infection and a GI bug might put me over the edge. We are all hoping that we can figure out which train station we get off on.


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