Pete's Weekly Blogcast

We are finally settling in on some type of routine here. Wake up 5-6Am, Breakfast at 7, Playroom for an hour, some buss tour from 9:30 to around 12-1, whic is just right, lunch out in the neighborhood, pool for two hours, then back at the room for a movie, playtime, 5PM snack dinner and bath/bed at 6:30. I've been intrigued by some areas of this city as I look out my 26th floor window and decided to venture out a bit farther today on my run. It turned out to be a run-walk as it was so captivating, and crowded. Tomorrow I will bring the video, and hopefully talk Michelle into going into the "REAL" China. This neighborhood is about 1/2 mile from the hotel and I will bet no one goes there. It was a market full of hard working people selling everything, except there where no real businesses, just flea market type boths of too many things to describe. Things like buckets and cages of fish, crab, eel, snake, turtles, and chickens. I was intimidated to venture down the side streets , so I did. I wore my glasses so as to hide my wonder and curiosity from view. As much as I stuck out, no one really paid much attention, most of the glances were brief, and only a few out of every hundred stuck. It felt very safe after 15 minutes, people just surviving day to day strife. I've run in Manila, Tai Pei, and Hong Kong and this was just as different and wonderful. We all live in Disney World. I saw a very disturbing sight which has been haunting me since. On the walkway over the highway there was a man and his son. The boy was small and lying on cardboard, sleeping or just suffering I think. I can only quess he was suffering from leprosy. He had no fingers, the flesh on his legs was gone. His tendons were completely exposed, no blood or guts, just like dried up meat. I'm sorry for the gore. I put in the cup, what I had in my pocket, about 4 bucks, and continued on. On the way back I stopped again and tried to communicate, obviously with no effect. I didn't expect him to speak any English I just had to stop again at this unbelievable sight. The boy was obviously suffering badly. The Dad was eager to show me his wounds, I quess hoping for more money, and everyone was just passing on by. That was the most disturbing thing I think, and also that I was on my way back to a 6PM massage appointment.
It reminds me that there is massive suffering going on every day, everywhere. When I assume of how much better off Bliss will be in our family, I think she was one of the luckier children in this city. I've seen a lot of pathetic, dirty, crippled, homeless people in my life, but nothing even close to the degree of this boy. I'm going back tomorrow to look for them.