Yesterday we went to the Panda Preserve in Chengdu. It is a huge park reserved for the two kinds of pandas, red and giant. Few people know about the red panda, native to China. It looks like a giant raccoon, except it is reddish brown. The sign said in English, “The red panda can be somewhat fierce.” I thought, “I can be somewhat fierce myself, depending on the situation.” There’s a special place for the pregnant females, away from view. We saw a newborn in an incubator. Three people dressed in blue scrubs wearing masks, were setting up video cameras near the incubator. We saw the baby roll over. Which was more interesting, the animal in a high tech incubator, or the people filming it? Hard to say.
It was a hot day, after so many days of cool rain. The giant black and white pandas were all indoors in air conditioned comfort lying on their wood platform beds sleeping. We stood in line, then entered the enclosure with the crowd, and got a slim view of the two pandas in that building. We’ve traveled thousands of miles, not for the purpose of seeing the pandas, but hoping to see them anyway. The drive would have been about an hour and a half, but we were caught in a traffic mess for at least an hour, so we got to the park around 11 am instead of 10. We had only an hour and a half to be in the park because of the time schedule for the school van. So, I can say I did see two giant pandas and some red pandas.
The park is impressive with about 400 varieties of trees, including gingko, magnolia, and willows. I also enjoyed the rose garden. The roses were feeling the heat too, but they gave their fragrance, perhaps because of the heat.
After the park, we went to McDonald’s for lunch, the bus driver’s choice. Most of us on the team don’t eat at McDonald’s in the USA, but at least for me, when I’m abroad, I think of it as “the taste of home.” This particular store had a “McCafe” which must be new; I have never seen it before. This is a special section for brewed coffee and tea, and it has muffins and cheesecake! Looking for the “upscale” market, I guess. I brought some muffins home for Sunday, and I must say, they were a treat.
Today, Sunday, we had another “cultural experience” by attending a local church. It was interesting even though we do not understand any language. Perhaps we heard a word or two that we recognized. The speaker had been talking for well over an hour, and the heat was increasing, and the audience was showing signs of “disconnect” when a little girl, perhaps eight years old, starting walking through the sanctuary. She appeared to be looking for someone. She was wearing a red dress, and her distinctive feature was that she had five inflated balloons attached to her hair, three red, and two pink. She went right up to the front of the church, and walked in front of the speaker’s lectern. Within a few minutes, the speaker wrapped up her message. I had to wonder if the little girl might be the speaker’s daughter?
After church, we went to a noodle house, where no one spoke any English, but they were happy to serve us. Our leader is the sort of man who points to something and orders. He can eat anything and likes to live in surprise. We are more cautious ourselves, so I got up and went to the kitchen and pointed at food. It was a good place, and we all ate, even though we aren’t sure exactly what the food was.
We have just a few days left, some classes, a closing program, a dinner with the whole group. Then, off to Beijing, and next Sunday at this time, we’ll be in the air on the way home!