Pink Putt-Putt Bikes....

On a bike ride last week I discovered a very nice park by the river where there are a lot of trees, paths, and pretty chinese style gazeboes.  It's not too far from where I live and so this morning I decided to go for a run there and enjoy the beautiful day which was turning out to show the rare blue sky.  Upon arriving at the park I sat down on a dock overlooking the river to talk to Father, sing praise, and just "be" in the relative quiet.  It wasn't long though before this friendly old Chinese man came up to me, smiling a lot, and talking in Chinese.  Through a combination of laughter, my very limited Chinese, and a lot of hand motions that made it look like we were playing charades, we were able to communicate some.  He asked me about where I come from, where I work, how much money I make, if I know how to fish, what kind of food I like, and how old I am (most of which are very standard questions to be asked here).  I learned that he has a restaurant just up the road that he invited me to visit. After talking for a while, he went and fetched his motor bike which was just across the street at his house and insisted that I let him give me a ride back to my apartment.   So.... I climbed on and we went putt-putting down the street on this pink, dinky, little bike that could go no faster then maybe twenty miles per hour. That was officially my first time riding on a motor bike while I've been living here.   It makes me laugh out loud when I think about how I actually got on the back of that thing, a stranger's motor bike..... =)  only in China.