10/15/98: Up early to make it to the train station, but a grumpy sales agent who seemed determined to make our day as bad as hers and our trip onward impossible meant we returned to Travis’ apartment rather than boarded a train… He was surprised but so gracious and helpful that I was reminded of a proverb a missionary in Zimbabwe taught me: “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape…” Later in the day he came to the station with us, and in his growing fluency of Mandarin, was able to procure our tickets onward in a “hard sleeper” compartment… In the intervening time we played a game of volleyball with university students, went for a walk, and stopped by the fruit-shave-ice vendor for another delicious treat…
NOTE: The photo above shows the small city of Panzhihua from up on a hillside where we hiked with our friend Travis.