A Farewell to China

Yesterday we left Qingdao. It was a sad farewell. Contrary to my expectations, I fell in love with China. In all of the ports we visited I found happy, gregarious and caring people. The young children, with their good looks and spontaneity, are especially charming. Heiner, a fellow passenger, who has a salt and pepper beard, and a head of dark brown curls, appears so extraordinary to them that, in Heiner’s words, “their eyes widen with surprise and they cover their mouths and start to giggle. When I smile and wave they giggle even harder. If I imitate them and cover my mouth and giggle too, they burst into peals of laughter that is so infectious that even the accompanying adults laugh.”
Mal and I frequently seek the non-tourist areas of the cities we visit. Here the shop assistants speak very little English, and our Chinese is limited to please and thank you. The Chinese naturally use hand gestures, so, with much giggling and laughter we communicate well and shopping is a pleasure.
Even the restaurants are fun. In Northern china there is a cuisine called Hot Pot. Raw, thinly sliced food is brought to the table and the diners immerse it in a simmering highly seasoned broth until cooked. The first time we stumbled into a Hot Pot restaurant we had no idea how to order or cook the food. The restaurant was large and filled with many six to eight person tables of dark suited business men, as well as other couples like us. Realizing that we would need assistance, the Hostess allocated two young waitresses to our table. I am not sure who had more fun, our waitresses or Mal and I.
We’ve had lots of similar, and equally enjoyable, experiences. In our wildest dreams Mal and I never imagined that this trip would be so much fun. To add to our enjoyment Heiner has a video camera and movie making software. His wit and humor, combined with his highly skilled ability to manipulate his images, and his uncanny ability to find the right music for each occasion, frequently leave us rolling with laughter.
As Qingdao started to recede, a handsome sloop came scudding out of the Olympic harbor. It was a perfect day for sailing.