The 1st rule of Chinese Driver's Education 101 - There are no rules ...

(Chris Estabrook, teacher)

Hello everybody. I'm sure that you've all been anxiously awaiting my first blog post. :) Our blog is blocked over here in China, so I haven't been able to read what Colin and Lizzy have posted. I'm sure their posts were very clever, witty and observant, so I'll do my best to match wits with those two -although I'm sure they'll have me beat. I'm sitting in the lobby of our hotel in Lijiang. There are 4 people hovering over my shoulder staring at my screen. The idea of personal space doesn't really exist here.
 
First, I just have to say that I couldn't ask for 3 better travel companions.  Lizzy, Colin and Ryan have been wonderful.  They're funny, patient, adventurous...yet appropriately cautious, and downright cool!  This has been one of the most amazing and eye-opening experiences of my life so far and I'm glad I have three great people to share it with.  I'm starting to understand that Colin is going to be the prankster of the group ...
 On our plane from Boston to San Francisco, he started to tell me how he was on a flight one time with Ben Stiller.  I commented that that was pretty cool and then he proceeded to talk about how Ben Stiller had trouble putting his carry-on luggage in the overhead bin.  He then got into a little argument with the flight attendant and was escorted off the plane.  For the first 20 seconds or so, I was saying to myself "Geez, that's pretty crazy."  I then realized he was describing a scene from Meet the Parents.  He got me!
 
Being that I'm unable to read Colin and Lizzy's blog posts, I run the risk of repeating some stories.  I'm sure they talked about the magnificent skyscrapers of Hong Kong, the fireworks display that we made just in time for the Chinese New Year, the beautiful lake tour we took in Guilin, our boat cruise through Maldor...I mean down the Li River, and our cooking class in Yangshuo.  I LOVED Yangshuo.  It was crazy.  It was busy.  It was beautiful...and dirty (not going to lie).  It was my favorite place so far.
 
The first thing you notice about Yangshuo when you arrive is the amount of people and traffic.  There are people, mopeds, bicycles, cars, trucks, wagons, mystery vehicles, carts and buses EVERYWHERE!  Traffic patterns are non-existent.  At one point, the 4 of us just stared at the traffic for a good 5 minutes to soak it all in.  It was mayhem.  There is no rhyme or reason to the traffic.  Pedestrians do not have the right of way, in fact I think they're targets.  When you try to cross the road, a van that's a good 20 yards away speeds up and hits the horn.  The New Yorker in me wants to throw my hands up and yell "Hey, I'm walking over here."  But, I have to remember that I'm in China and accept the fact that trying to cross the street is part of the adventure.  All you can hear in Yangshuo is car horns and bicycle bells and nobody reacts to them.  Nobody ever gets flustered or yells in this functional chaos.  It's a sight to be seen.
 
Imagine we had every DSMS student (500+ kids) lined up around the football field.  At the sound of the whistle, they were instructed to run around in any which way they wanted, but if they touched somebody, they're out!  That's what a traffic circle/rotary is like in Yangshuo.  Lizzy and I went for a walk one day and we had to cross the traffic circle in the center of town.  We were so overwhelmed with the chaos, that we decided to walk about 100 yards down the street to where it narrowed out.  Even with 2 lanes of traffic to cross, it was a challenge.  Nobody stops...ever!  I'm convinced that if you hop on your moped and drove around Yangshuo (a city of 600,000+), you would never have to stop once.  You just go and weave through all the obstacles that you confront.  We saw one traffic light.  Imagine Boston with 1 traffic light.  It's amazing.  
 
As chaotic as it seems to Americans...it works.  I didn't see one accident and what might seem hazardous to us is just everyday life for the people of Yangshuo.  You see people with babies sitting on their laps while riding mopeds.  There are make-shift 'vehicles' that look like Red Flyer wagons with a lawnmower engine attached to the front of it.  I loved every minute of it.  Dad, I think you would love to rent a car in this city.
 
The dramatic landscape that surrounds this city is breath-taking.  We hiked up a few little mountains to get a bird's eye view of the city and these hikes were some of the highlights of my trip.  When we got to one peak, we stood there silently for about 5-10 minutes just staring at the city.  I'm sure the others' minds were racing as much as mine.  Ryan looked over at me at one point and his face just had this look of awe in it - no words were necessary.  We're in China!
 
Looking forward to posting again.
 
P.S.  I just need to take this opportunity to tell you all that the next time the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the air is crisp...take 2 minutes in the morning to take some deep breaths to reflect on how good we have it.  The living conditions that we witnessed on the van rides between the cities have been pretty bad.  
 
Para mis estudiantes - Espero que todo les vaya bien y que sean buenos para la señora Thompson.  Los extraño mucho.