Monday 11:20PM. Today it was hot. Like crazy hot. Blast furnace hot. We were warned that the temperatures would crest 50 degrees in Changsha, but this was unfathomable. Everything requires more effort in this kind of heat, but we braved the temperature and headed to Mt Yuele University to walk about. We wilted rather quickly, although the university is a beautiful sight, lush and green , the sort of place one has profound thoughts (if only one weren’t so hot), and one of the few locations I recall from our trip in ‘02. From there, we went to Kaifu Temple, where the girls made wishes and burned incense. Here in Changsha we attract a little more attention than we did in Beijing. Someone snapped my photo at the University (which made me laugh), and here is a marvelous shot of another of our well-wishers, who wandered around behind us at the Temple for a bit, offering help and directions, all the while giving the thumbs up, a universal sign of approval.
The hotel here is a little lack-lustre. But we have been spoiled this far, fresh from an extraordinary stay at the Shangri-La where the service and attention to detail were incredible. (The floor mat in the elevator at the Shangri-La is imprinted with the day of the week and they change it every morning. I don’t know why but I went crazy over this). After the initial adjustment, however, we have settled in here quite nicely.
We had a wonderful visit to the Civil Affairs Office today. This was the office in which we signed our original paperwork in ‘02. The girls were greeted warmly, and welcomed by name. To see their Chinese names carefully written on the chalkboard brought tears to my eyes, and it was clear that the girls were proud as punch. After a brief welcome from the Director, they scurried happily around the room, eating lychees, signing each other’s travel journals, comparing gifts and Chinese names.
It means so much to be remembered.
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