grrlTravels back to China

Guangzhou, Day 2: Oath

Our consulate appointment was scheduled for today so our facilitator Sissi headed off first thing in the morning and we hung around in the hotel room. She called to let us know everything had gone off without a hitch and that surprisingly we were going to get Mao-Mao's visa for the US later that same day.

We wandered around Shamain Island for a bit, bought some large paper cuts, had a lunch that was too late, and rushed back to the hotel and right on to the bus.

There were only 4 families scheduled for visas on Thursday and three on Friday so we were all combined and took our oath together on Thursday. We had to hang around quite a bit waiting for...something. Finally the officer came out and chatted us up, administered the oath, and handed out the passports. There was a problem with one of the families (I-171) and they were not given a visa(!) but the rest of us headed quickly back out to the bus.

The oath makes me cry. It's silly and I know it and I really shouldn't cry since all we swear is that we haven't lied on any of the paperwork. Still, it feels official and it's the last step before heading home. I was a bit weepy. E. raised his right hand right along with us and took the oath too.

Thursday was also the day of the Lantern Festival, signifying the end of the spring festival, so we rushed right out to an early dinner. I had been looking forward to the Lantern Festival for weeks, and warm, green Guangzhou seemed a lovely place to celebrate it.

I've got to admit it was a bit of a disappointment. I think my expectations were too high. I had envisioned a magical scene at dusk with children parading around with lanterns on sticks and parents laughingly following. There WERE red lanterns. But the scene in the park in Guangzhou resembled nothing so much as an enormous tacky Christmas display.

We walked into the park and there were giant "lantern" displays scattered about. Lots of Mickey Mouse since this is the year of the mouse. (The character/word for mouse and rat are the same in Chinese. Our guide emphatically called this the year of the mouse. I kept saying rat, because in the US almost everyone calls it the Year of the Rat. Anyway, Mickey.) Lots of Mickey. Also the five Olympic characters made a strong showing. (They are EVERYWHERE in China right now. The Olympics are a huge deal. We loaded up on Olympic themed goods, so we are ready for August.) And some more traditional Chinese items like fish, dragons, and lanterns.

The mood was festive. The park was crowded as things tend to be in China and it was hard to move. There was to be a concert with singing and dancing. It was a big, bright party. But it was not beautiful or contemplative or lovely. It was loud, crowded, smoky and a tiny bit obnoxious (in a good way). Like so much of the trip it wasn't what I thought it would be. Which didn't make it bad, but did leave me a bit disappointed. I still crave my magical fairyland of lanterns lighting up the night. Perhaps one day I shall have them.

Posted by grrlTravels at February 21, 2008 10:06 PM | TrackBack