Traffic jams jolt Americans

Saturday, April 1, 2006, 6:55 a.m.
Two days until we get Cao Ai Hua

By Terry R. Cassreino

BEIJING - You think Hattiesburg’s traffic is bad since Hurricane Katrina added 10,000-plus people to the city’s population?
Well, come on over here to Beijing, a city of 18 million people who live in 5,000 square miles of space and drive at least 1,000 cars a day into town.
Come visit one of the largest cities in China where people drive cars and busses without regard to striped lanes on streets, traffic signs and stop lights.
Come visit Beijing where, as one family about to adopt a child put it, motorists participate in controlled chaos.
And you know what? Chaos is an accurate description for a town in which it takes a taxi ride of 30 minutes or more to reach the other side.
Pam and I have held our breath often during the several taxi and bus trips from the hotel to shopping and tourist areas.
Drivers will cut in front of you for no reason. Motorists weave in-and-out of expressway laness without regard to other people.
And traffic throughout town is often at a standstill just about every hour of the day. Vehicles often creep along at 10 mph to 15 mph or less.
I have yet to see any road rage - and I hope I don’t. To be honest, I don’t know if I could hold out for a long time if I had to drive in this day-in and day-out.

Eating in China

The food.
You haven't had Chinese food until you've had Chinese food.

Chinese fascinated by Americans

Friday, March 31, 2006, 7:15 p.m.
Three days until we get Cao Ai Hua

By Terry R. Cassreino

BEIJING – An elderly Chinese lady reached up to Pam’s face, gently patted her cheeks, smiled from ear-to-ear and spoke in Mandarin.
Pam, who was touring the Summer Palace with me and a group of parents from Holt International Children’s Services, knew immediately what it meant.
“I thought it meant that I had nice skin,” Pam recalled later. “She was fascinated with the skin. And my cheeks. She touched her cheeks first and then she wanted to touch mine.
“She spoke some Chinese that I didn’t understand. But it was positive. She was smiling and laughing.”
And that’s the way it was all day Friday as a group of about 30 people – Holt families like us who are adopting children in China – toured some of the city’s most historic sites.
We toured the Lama Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist religious site. We visited the Chinese emperor’s retreat, the Summer Palace. And we ended the day at the Temple of Heaven.
We also mingled and crossed paths with residents from Beijing and tourists from other parts of China who were here on a holiday and to see historic sites of their homeland.
As I’ve written before, the Chinese we’ve seen on our trip here are some of the nicest, happiest people Pam and I have ever met. And they are fascinated by people from the West.

Friday tours

Our day began Friday with the Lama Temple, an impressive series of buildings that attracts hundreds of faithful on a daily basis wanting to spend some time in prayer.
The temple’s Pavilion of Ten Thousand Fortunes houses an incredible 85-foot Maitreya Buddha carved from a single sandalwood block. This was absolutely beautiful.
At the Summer Palace, we strolled along the banks of a part natural, part man-made lake that serves as the centerpiece for a complex that dates back to 1153.
At the Temple of Heaven, one of the city’s biggest attractions, we visited the Round Altar, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Echo Wall. The entire attraction features classic Chinese architecture and beauty.
I don’t understand the significance of the many of the buildings Pam and I toured on Friday – the day went by way too fast – but I can say what we saw was breathtaking.
This is what I pictured in my mind when I think of classical Chinese architecture. To think that I was seeing in person what you read about or watch in movies is way beyond comprehension.

Amazing fascination

The only thing as amazing, at least to me, is the fascination many Chinese have with people from the West and the United States.
Consider this: Dana, the 7-year-old American daughter of one of the Holt families, was the star attraction at the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven.
I don’t know what it is, but many Chinese people are blown away by fair-skinned children with blond hair -– just like young Dana.
At one point during our day trip, a group of about 30 Chinese women crowded excitedly around Dana. Then they spent 10 minutes posing and taking photos with the child.
The same thing happened a couple of hours later at the Temple of Heaven. Another group of Chinese women posed and took more pictures with Dana.
Thankfully, Dana didn’t mind the attention.
Now, Pam doesn’t have blond hair. But she does have nice black hair, a good complexion and smooth, fair skin – which was enough to draw the attention of the elderly woman.
“She was very nice,“ Pam said. “I was smiling the whole time. I was flattered that she was so fascinated.”


Note: If you are reading this Blog or have enjoyed keeping up with our Chinese adoption trip, drop us an e-mail at cassreino@bellsouth.net or terry-and-pam@cassreino.com.

Text and photos copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino