Back from Nanjing

The trip to Nanjing was short and sweet.  In the evening, we took the train to Nanjing.  We stayed at a hotel.  In the morning, we went to the studio.  We stood around for awhile and then appeared on some t.v. show.  Afterwards, we went home.  It took less than 24 hours.

 

Here are some observations about the trip.

 

• It was too hot to do other than what we did.  Nanjing is best experienced in the Fall and Spring.
• The Wuxi Train Station has two platform areas at which to board.  On Monday evening, we arrived fifteen minutes before our train was scheduled to depart.  We went to the original train station entrance only to discover that we had to walk about a kilometer to get to the new platform where we were to board the train -- this involved running the whole front distance of the original train station, going through a long pedestrian tunnel, running another 200 meters to the new train station entrance, and then running a further 200 meters, up and down stairs, to get to the boarding point for our train.
• The view from the train on the new track was wonderful.
• The hotel room was clean and comfortable.  I can't remember the last time it was that the Kaulins Family stayed in a hotel.
• The whole t.v. experience involved a lot of standing around and waiting.  Jenny spent an hour or so getting makeup applied and her done.  When the actual show started, we further waited -- Tony alternated between impatience, irritability, and playfulness.
• Some of the men I saw in the dressing room and on set were definitely homosexuals.
• The show we were on was a combination game show (like Hollywood Squares) and Interview Show.  There were 15 people, in three rows, alternately beautiful girls, some foreigners who could speak Chinese really well, and pretty Chinese men sitting on on a steep-sided platform.  Each of these 15 people were seated in front of a lit-up "X" and "O".  They were continually required to get up and dance.  When we came on, some them asked us questions about our "raising a mixed-blood baby" experience.  
• During the interview, I tuned out and played with Tony.  I was worried that he would freak out and not want to appear on the show.  But he was in fact quiet and shy.  He wanted me to help him get a toy out of a box that the show's hosts had given him.  
• We were asked strange questions about Chinese education and our memories of Tony's birth.  Our answers were contradictory and confusing.