zimatravels

In 1991, I traveled to Hohhot — a beautiful city in China that I never could learn to pronounce properly.  At that time, the rule was that foreigners could not stay in the homes of the Chinese residents.  It had never been a problem in the southern part of China if, as one of my friends said, “I didn’t come too often or stay too long.”  But I found out that authorities in northern China didn’t feel that way.

August 17, 1991

I was rudely routed out of my bed at midnight by the police!  They took me from Scott’s home where I felt warm and wanted and put me into a Chinese hotel since all the hotels were full of tourists for the Nadamu Festival.  My blood boiled.  My fist hit the wall in fury at the segregation and humiliation I had felt many times in China.

Russell explained that the north of China was stricter about the government policy of not allowing foreigners to sleep in the homes of Chinese people.  Scott was angry and his family looked miserable.  They had tried to convince the police that it was not comfortable for me to be in a Chinese hotel where no one spoke English, and all the hotels for foreigners were full.  But, they were fined anyway.  They wouldn’t tell me how much they had to pay.

August 18, 1991

We tried rowing on a very beautiful, large lake today, but there was a plant taking over the water that made it quite impossible to row through it.  The effect was more like bumper cars with the other boats that were attempting to plow through the water too.  We didn’t get too far out into the lake, but the day was warm and lovely.  The colors of the water, surrounding mountains, and sky enhanced the backdrop for taking pictures.  There is an arid feel to this area that reminds me of  Israel.

Scott is making plans to join a joint venture company and start building a better future than he can have in teaching.  He has a girlfriend he wants to marry, but she comes from another province.  He isn’t ready to give up yet, but it’s very hard for two people from different provinces to get the government’s permission to marry.

August 23, 1991

Hohhot was an endless train ride from Hangzhou.  We stopped in Beijing for some Peking Duck, a hot shower, and some sleep.  As we were nearing the stop closest to Russell’s village, his eyes and face lit up with excitement.  He said excitedly, “I am of this land.  The land will not perish.  I will not perish either.”  I was glad to see his exuberance.  Sometimes it takes going far away to appreciate coming home.

During the summer of 1991, I made it to Hohhot, China, which was full of many surprises.

August 15, 1991

They did it!  The father-daughter taxi team asked me to buy a carton of cigarettes as a “thank you” to their source of tickets for sleepers to Hohhot.  They took us to pick up the tickets.  Who was their source?  The man who prints the train tickets!  Thankfully we were able to get some sleep on the long trip to Hohhot.

Scott, one of Russell’s classmates whom I’d met at school in Hangzhou, welcomed us to his family’s home.  This city is very big.  Scott and his sister have led us on some long bike rides to introduce their hometown to us.  Scott has been an avid stamp collector for many years, and showed us his impressive collection.  Although he has stamps from all over the world, I like the ones from Asian countries best.  They are like little elegant art pieces.  He’d particularly love more stamps from Taiwan.

Tomorrow we are going out to see the Nadamu Festival.  It is a massive event, bringing in thousands of Mongolians from the outlying areas to compete in horseback riding and camel racing.

August 16, 1991

We saw Mongolians racing bareback on their sturdy, small Mongolian horses, and others sped on the backs of camels.  I’m so glad our visit coincided with this incredible festival.  The Mongolians had set up yurts that we were invited to visit.  Mongolians are nomadic.  This is the rounded home that Mongolians set up wherever they live.  Inside, it was spacious.  And now I have the indelible memory of being welcomed by a Mongolian official inside a large yurt at the festival.  As a foreigner, he honored me by asking a woman with him to sing a Mongolian song in greeting.

After the melodious greeting, he asked me to sing something.  Actually, I have quite a terrible voice, but how could I say “no” to this VIP without offending him?  So, I sang a rousing “Jingle Bells” to honor the occasion.  At least it was peppy and not too out of tune.

August 17, 1991

Who knows why something pops into a traveler’s head and must be obeyed?  Although I’m not much of a horseback rider, riding a horse across the grasslands sounded like something I had to do in Mongolia.  And Russell had told me that he always wanted to ride a horse.  So, at my request, the family arranged a day’s outing to the grasslands.  They couldn’t see much point in it themselves because the landscape gets quite boring after a while.

However, there was something special about being on a horse in the grasslands.  I wish I could say I galloped across the grasslands, but I wasn’t capable of that.  Russell got to go a little faster for a short time.  I just let my imagination fly over the grasslands on horseback and felt very satisfied — and safe.

To be continued…