Taking a Hike

Monday, January 25, 2010

It’s time to try our telephone skills in China. We dial Sheri’s mom. She’s at the hospital where she works and wants to see us tomorrow, and we agree to come there.

Now we’re off the UFO Park again. We take the low road and then climb the hill to the lake. Bernie is going to rest here and watch the men play cards. I’ll walk on for awhile. The path through the woods climbs further up the hill and keep moving eager to see what’s next.

Before long the UFO is in sight. I’m curious as to how far it might be, so I continue to hike up the hill, which is rather steep now. I come out at a parking lot just below the tower. No point stopping now, so I climb the many steps up to the last level.

It’s worth it, though. The view-360 degrees – is fabulous, with the harbor on one side, the mountains just beyond the city and skyscrapers everywhere. There are hundreds and hundreds of high-rise apartments. There are just too many people in China for folks to have single homes. Everyone lives in an apartment.

There’s also a statue below me on the hill in the park. From here it looks like a Winged Victory, but I can’t really make it out.

I’ve been gone longer than expected, so I’m sure Bernie is looking for me. He’s expecting me to come from the side of the lake opposite the shelter, so I take the left trail when I reach the bottom of the hill.

Just as I expected, he’s coming down the steps from the shelter. I call his name. Nothing. I walk on, thinking I might have been in the shade and he’ll see me as I come closer to the bridge. He looks across the water. Again I windmill my arms and shout. Nada.

Now he’s talking with two people. They are all headed for the woods. Ok, the only thing to do is to cut them off at the pass. So I run back and take the path in the other direction and catch up with them. I can tell by the looks on the faces of the two women he’s walking with that he has told them he’s looking for me.

Ok, fine. Question is, how did he manage to convey that to two people who can’t speak English just as he cannot speak Chinese? Another of the great Bernie Fisher mysteries.

Bernie’s gone for about as long as he can without pizza, so tonight it’s Pizza Hut. This is the fanciest Pizza Hut I’ve ever seen.

Just as we’re about to order Shannon’s phone rings. A man who identifies himself as John, a friend of Sheri’s father, and speaks perfect English, tells us that her parents would like for us to join them for dinner tomorrow and that they will send a car for us. They’d like to know our address, and I read it to him. He can’t decipher it. He’ll call back.

Before our meal is over we’ve had three more phone calls and several text messaging attempts. Apparently Shannon’s phone breaks up and he’s not getting everything I say. I ask for his e-mail address so I can write him when I get to the apartment. He manages to get my phone number to text me on my own phone and sends me his e-mail address.

I e-mail John, but no one seems to know where we are located.

As I start to wash my face, I discover we have no water. There’s some left in the pipes, apparently so we fill two large pans and put them on the stove in case we need them. It is ten o’clock at night. Nothing is going to get done now.