Travels in China 2008
Beijing 2
By midnight on Saturday night, all of the weary travelers in our first Golden Courage International delegation arrive to a warm welcome at our small hotel in the heart of a bustling neighborhood of residential apartments surrounded by schools, small businesses, and a multitude of restaurants of every description. The intrepid travelers are: Laura and Jeremy Seligman, Jean Chorazyczewski and her sister, Donna Kellstrom, Kathy Goldberg, and Mira Maislen. Dr. Rebecca Liu will be joining us in a few days. This morning we awake to a glorious day of warm sunshine and join hundreds of elders, families and children in a Sunday visit to Toaringtine Park. We are undoubtedly the only non Chinese group strolling along the banks of the lake and are constantly welcomed with smiles and shouts of "Hello, how are you?"
We stop to listen to a Mongolian woman singing a lively ethnic folksong. She beckons one of us to take her microphone, and our resident musician, Mira Maislen, steps forward and sings with true exuberance and consummate style an American song, drawing like a magnet over 100 people around us who clap and cheer enthusiastically at her conclusion. Jeremy Seligman stops to learn tai chi ball from one of the ball players who patiently coaches him on the subtle and precise movements of gracefully transferring the ball from player to player in a gentle rhythm.
Vowing to return as often as possible to the Park, we walk through crowded streets to Pu Te Yuan Restaurant, a Buddhist Temple that was transformed into a very high quality vegetarian restaurant 10 years ago. As a homeless child during the Cultural Revolution, Dr. Lu sought refuge in this temple at times of danger and was a favorite of the nuns who dared to feed the child who was considered at that time, "an enemy of the people." The nuns, who were exceptional cooks, even created a special dish for him over 20 years ago, which is served to us today to our great gastronomical satisfaction.
In many other countries, people might yearn to have their pictures taken with superstars of the stage and screen, but in China, where fine cuisine has a prominent place in life and culture, it is the remarkable chefs recognized for their culinary expertise that we appreciate and celebrate. These skilled artists invite us to return and watch them create their masterpieces in the kitchen, an invitation we hope to accept during our visit.
To end our afternoon in the most delightful manner, we walk to Dr. Lu's favorite tea shop for a tasting of his favorite guan yin tea. As we all sit around the large and elegant tea table, we watch the young tea mistress skillfully prepare the tea and marvel at her intimate knowledge of the aesthetics of tea.
Its no wonder that the first social enterprise developed to assist the children of Golden Courage International is the newly created Guan Yin Tea Society, which provides a unique opportunity for discriminating tea drinkers to enjoy the delicate flavors and aromas of hand-picked teas while supporting the programs of Golden Courage. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Tea Society and receiving the finest quality quan yin tea, please let me know and I will send you additional information. A percentage of your membership fee will go directly to Golden Courage's vulnerable children, providing them with education, adequate nutrition, health care, counseling, and emergency services.
More pictures from our adventures
It's late now, and we have an early morning tomorrow to prepare for an important meeting with the Vice-Mayor of Beijing and some Senators in the Chinese Central Government to speak about our commitment to the work of Golden Courage. Then we leave for a three-day visit to one of the major Golden Courage sites north of Beijing. We are proud to be part of this first delegation to China and want to honorably represent our vision of working hand in hand with our colleagues in China to give children hope for the future through excellent education, a caring home and community, and a clean and healthy environment.
Many blessings,
Lucinda Kurtz and the Golden Courage Family