The Great Call of China: Golden Week

Front and center! Our view at the Yuntaishan staff meeting.

Following two fast weeks of language study, we have a week off. In fact, most of China has eight days off to celebrate Golden Week. Golden Week combines two holidays- Mid-Autumn Day and National Day. National Day is similar to America's Independence Day. Families often spend Mid-Autumn Day together to celebrate the fall harvest and express good wishes.

Kam, translating the meeting
for AJ and Emily.

During Golden Week, most families do not have to work and often travel to places like Yuntaishan. In fact, Kam and his crew expect 80,000 people to visit the park EVERY day during Golden Week! Grand Canyon folk ought to keep that in mind! Because the park will be so busy during Golden Week, Mr. Han held an all-staff meeting to pump up the staff. But we were the honored guests! Introduced in front of 1300 park employees, we had front and center seats from which we heard the preparations for the week. As wonderful as being honored guests at the meeting was, though, the best part of the lead-in to the holiday week was family time!

L to R: Emily, Megan, Yakey, Sherry
(our tour guide and Yakey's cousin),
and AJ eat delicious dishes.

Unfortunately, we are in China and our families are not. To make up for that, we were honorary family members at two family dinners! Our friend, Yakey, and her husband Yi Bing invited us to their home near HPU for dinner. Even in China, there is nothing better than a home-cooked meal!

Moon cake!

Yakey made some delicious, traditional dishes and one of the best dishes we have eaten on our entire trip. We ended the meal with tea and moon cake. Representing the full moon, moon cake is ubiquitous at Mid-Autumn Day. (It doesn't taste like moon, in case you wondered.)

Mr. Han excitedly shows off his
Grand Canyon t-shirt! L to R: Emily, AJ,
Mr. Han, Mrs. Han, Mr. Han's son
and his fiancee, and Megan

Look how excited we are to eat....

The next evening, we met Mr. Han, the superintendent at Yuntaishan, and his family for a hot pot dinner in JC. Mr. Han's son and his new fiancee, Lynn, were there (congratulations, you two!), as well as Mr. Han's mother. As part of the Yuntaishan family, we shared many stories and laughs, and drinks and food. Added to the checklist of odd foods eaten: lamb's eye. Eye, caramba!

....lamb eyes!

Mr. Han and AJ toast the evening.

On toast number 8 (or was it 9?),
Megan looks like she might be done.

What a start to the holiday week! What could possibly come next? Oh, just a little visit to a monkey reserve and a speedboat trip! Every day we experience something new, profound, exciting. Occasionally, we are overwhelmed. Often, we want to see and do these things with our loved ones. But this really has been the trip of a lifetime! Scenery, food, family, monkeys. With the excitement of little kids, our eyes see something new all the time!