Adding Stamps

I got up at my usual time for Sunday morning, 5:45am I was out the door at 6:05 and ready to begin the trek. We caught a ___ trap cab to the station and had 10min to spare before the train. I think that just might be a record for us. Usually the last few mins is a sprint to catch the train on time. So all was well this morning getting to the train and Adam conveniently discovered it is possible to purchase return trip tickets here in Weifang. So upon arrival to Qingdao we had a 30 min head start as we didn’t have to stand in line for tickets.

Chinese ___ Trap or Cheap Taxi if you care to gamble with your life.

And another big bonus we found a bus stop closer to the train station. Before it was a brisk 1/2 a mile jaunt to the bus stop to catch the 304. Now it is but a mere block! So with all our good fortune this morning we caught the bus and gathered other members along the way. Turns out the 304 is the bus most members take to church we just have never gotten on the bus that early. So we were at church 15min early, it was splendid, no jogging through the complex and up the stairs arriving out of breath and trying to sneak in during the opening song.

After the block (3hours of church) there was a baptism for a Korean boy who had turned 8. When I was informed of the baptism on the bus I was curious where it would be preformed as we meet in a home rather than a chapel with a font. Turns out the branch owns a portable font that was set up and filled in the dinning room. It took the entire block to fill and I’m guessing by the time the baptism came around the water must have been chilly. It was a truly amazing baptism to witness as I contemplated the circumstances it was done in.

Of course in true Mormon fashion there were refreshments, I should really say for this case a dinner was provided for the entire branch. Delicious Peking Duck in a crepe wrap of sorts also sweet potatoes and steamed buns with fruit for dessert.

After all was said and done we headed to the bus stop for the return trip. The morning trip had gone so smoothly I guess I should have expected the return trip to set things right. As we were coming straight from Church rather than the University as normal we caught a different bus, the 301! That bus route is now on my never ever again if you paid me a 301 Yuan. We caught the bus at 2:45pm with our train leaving at 4:16 that was plenty of time, or so we thought. Construction, congestion and just plain CHINESE traffic were all conspiring against us. We pulled up to the bus stop across from the train station at 4:05. WE BOOKED IT! Adam was the first one off and the first one gone. By some miracle there was a break in traffic just as we darted across the street and into the station. The line into the station was thinner than normal and we rushed through security, skipped the escalators and took the stairs down two at a time. We cruised into the waiting room across the station at about 4:12 and luckily the guard hurried us through the gate. Then up the escalator one step at a time, they are most definitely not meant to be ran up! Completely out of breath we made it to the platform and could finally slow to a walk as the conductors on the platform where making final preparations to leave. As we found our car I tried to ignore all the stares as I continued to pant and cough heavily.

Once seated on the train my body just wanted to collapse. I am not in shape at all and yesterday’s little excursion did a number on my knee which did not make today’s sprint any easier. I had to ration my water to keep from vomiting. I finally settled into the seat and pulled out my Kindle.

I still can’t seem to shake the cough, oh how I hate physical exercise. Really, how anyone finds running pleasurable beats me.