So You Thought You Were On Vacation..

You thought wrong!

So about my post from yesterday. I don’t want anyone to feel bad for me. Really, I don’t. I had SUCH an amazing time in Beijing (and I think my posts reflected that), but I thought it was important to 1) write down how I really feel and 2) let you all know that everything isn’t always amazing.

I am so cold. But, today was better. After crying myself to sleep last night (hey it couldn’t have been THAT cold because my tears didn’t freeze) I slept alright. I was SO overtired from only sleeping 2 hours the night before and it was a long day of traveling and navigating, I hadn’t really eaten all day, nor had I met anyone, etc. Luckily a phone call with mom helped me realize I WOULD be ok! Haha!

Anyway I wasn’t as cold as I thought I might be once I was asleep. I did have a lot of strange dreams though and when I woke up at 2am I decided I would try and give Steve a call! I was soo happy when he answered and I said something like, “Hey babe!” He said “Hi” but in a weird way so I asked him what was wrong and he replied, “Who is this?” I have no idea how many people say, “Hey babe!” when they call him but if it happens again, Dad, I am sending you to Ecuador to straighten him out! Ha! It was so nice to talk to him, but by talk I mean my end of the conversation was hearing him say, “Hello? Helllllo?” Obviously the reception is pretty poor when you are in Hicksville, China, but I could hear him surprisingly well.

I woke up at 7:00 and when I got out of my bed I was FREEZING! It was still raining out (apparently that’s what it will be like this week) and it was dark, which I didn’t like. I never think I should be up before the sun. I walked down to where I thought breakfast was at 7:15 but nobody was there and the lights were off. So I decided to wander around until I saw a guy and I asked him if he spoke English. He did, and it was his first day of Pandas too! Woo hoo! His name is Tom and he had met some people (all from the U.K) also from his “tour group” and said they knew what they were doing and would be ready for breakfast shortly. Tom will be staying here for two weeks.

We walked over and sat down and I also met Willie. Willie is from Scotland and (I learned this from the walk after breakfast) is probably in his late 50’s and was a firefighter. He said after 30 years you can retire, so he is retired and now travels a lot. He has a thick Scottish accent which reminds me of Steve’s grandfather..not as strong though, and looks like a mix between George Clooney and Steve’s dad (but aren’t they one in the same?), which is comforting and familiar (I’m just dishing out the compliments today). He got here on Saturday and is leaving on Saturday like me!

I also met Angela (whose real name is Julia) and she is from London and just spent time in Malaysia (3 or 4 weeks I think) working with animals there too. Before this trip she thought she wanted to work with animals but I guess now not so much, so she is thinking about horticulture. She has been here for a week and has two more to go!

Carrie and Jason were together and I thought a couple, but later found out just friends. They are both maybe in their 20’s or 30’s and are from the UK. Carrie has a full time job working with animals (I am not sure doing what) and her job let her leave to come work with the Pandas. I think Jason is a truck driver.

So after breakfast Willie had to walk by the Visitor’s Center as well so he showed me the way and I got my “Panda suit” and was driven away. I showed up where Carrie and Jason work. I guess there are different sections; Willie works in the kindergarten, and both Julia and Tom work in separate sections.

I was excited that I was working with people who know what they are doing. Carrie and I followed our “master” (no, not panda trainer) and we started to work! My job was all about Mason. In our section there are three pandas. She-she is the only girl and Mason and Lu-Lu are the two boys. They all have an inside cage (where they get fed) and an outside area (natural forest) to themselves. So first things first. I needed to take the big bamboo stalks (the ones he hadn’t eaten) out and put them together so they could be bundled up and then I have no idea where they go. Second and third (in no particular order) is sweeping up the little eaten pieces of bamboo and panda “poo”. Not Panda poop..it’s Panda poo. And yes we spent much of the day talking about it. It actually didn’t bother me that much. The cool thing was while I was cleaning, Mason would come to the cage and watch me, like a supervisor. Our “master” spoke some English which was helpful. After everything was out I then used the hose (and the same brush used to clean up the poo) to wash the walls. Mason is muddy and comes in and touches the walls so they get muddy! After that, on to the floors, and after the floors I used a squeegee type thing so the floor dried!

Mason was then brought into the cage so I could clean up his outside area. Same process of big bamboo, little bamboo and poo. It was actually a lot of work and I was tired and sore when we were done. I thought this was going to be a VERY long week. Carrie let me know though that this was really the only hard part and the rest of the day we would be feeding. We finished about 9:40 and walked back (2 minutes) to our area to have a rest. This makes no sense, first of all it is FREEZING out and they do have a small heater in the room, but they leave the door (and sometimes windows) WIDE open! It drives me insane because I can never warm up!

At 10:00am it was time to feed them! This part was actually pretty cool. Throughout the day they get Panda Cake (which is a hard mixture of milk powder, bamboo powder and corn), apples and carrots. They will get called to eat and have to sit on their butt and put both hands on their cage. You then put the Panda Cake through the bar and they take it with their mouth and then use their hands to eat it. They eat like people do which is pretty funny. After that, Carrie and Jason found out that because they have been here for two weeks they can now do the log book. Every 30 minutes they check on their three pandas and write down what they are doing (behavior wise). It definitely kept them busy and I think I would have been SO bored if I didn’t follow Carrie. It seems kind of silly for me to be there because before I came they both did it themselves, but I am actually enjoying sort of tagging along. The next feeding was at 11:30 and like I said, there is nothing to do in between. I think tomorrow I might try and bring a book or something to pass the time..especially because it is so cold. After their feeding we walked to lunch in the pouring rain. The walk is a bit of a hike, about 15 minutes up and down hill. It had been raining all day and my feet and socks were soaked..and freezing.

When we got to lunch I was the only one who had to order which was a bit awkward. I think everyone else came through the same program where they have a set meal included. I ordered the tomato and egg (recommended by Willie) and found out it was what I had yesterday for lunch! It was still good. Willie was really nice and offered their food while I waited for mine, and then I offered mine to them, so I am hoping we can kind of all share.

After lunch I came back to my room and filled up the sink with hot water to warm my feet, and my feet were so happy. I then changed into two pairs of dry socks and new sneakers! I am so happy I brought three pairs of sneakers (one pair is very old and I will throw away before I leave the Pandas) but it makes it nice when they get wet. We then went back to our Pandas for more observations and a feeding. Carrie and Jason told me they usually can leave at 3:30, so I was excited because they had told me at lunch there was internet in the main office. I hate to think I can’t go a week without email, and I am sure I could, but it is MORE than comforting to know I can connect and “talk” with people, especially when I am in The Middle of Nowhere, China.

So when 3:30 came they realized (because they were now keeping the logs) they needed to stay until 4:30. I honestly wasn’t doing anything, just following and at meal times Carrie and I would both feed so I asked if I could leave and my master said that was fine. I walked back to the main office and was able to check my email, which really made me feel happy and less alone.

I then came back to shower. Now, here is the deal with the shower. It is sort of a shower head, but you have to hold it in your hand as it drips out warm water. The AWFUL part is it is SO cold its miserable taking off your clothes to get in the shower. And it’s not as if when you are showering you are warm. Maybe your arm is warm, or your leg, but the rest of you is FREEZING. I was cold in Beijing, (especially before I figured out the heat) but I also knew I could take a shower to get rid of the chill. But what I really hate about here is, you can NEVER get warm. Ever. Not even in the place we eat! I am really looking forward to Vietnam if for no other reason to be warm.

I then went to dinner and again ordered my own meal but took a bit of food from the bowls on the table. I am going to re-ask everyone tomorrow if it’s ok if I order something different and share, because I really don’t like eating just one thing.

I think at night most of them play cards or hang out or something, but I was FREEZING so I decided to call it a night and head back to put my hands under warm water. I think this place could be AMAZING when the weather is nice. I wanted to walk around today, but it is so cold and raining/sleeting all the time. Carrie and Jason said they used to walk around between feedings before they had to keep the log. I think it would be so beautiful to do that, so I hope it stops raining before I leave.

I also think the area of the “hostel” would be fun if a lot of people were here because it’s based around a courtyard. But tonight when I walked back from dinner it was SO dark and creepy! Really, very creepy.

I was trying to organize myself a bit before I started blogging when I saw it. A big spider on my comforter. By big, I mean probably the size of a half dollar, but that’s big to me. Dad, I know you won’t believe me, BUT I got a cup and a cover, captured it and tossed him outside. I realized (since it was so dark) I wouldn’t be able to tell if he fell out of the cup. Therefore, the cup and lid are still outside until the sun comes up and I can make sure he’s gone. But Dad, when I come home and I am upstairs and yell, “Dad, can you please come here for a second?” It still means I want you to kill a spider!

Hugs and kisses from a very cold Julie!