First, it has been really very windy for the past day and this has meant, after spending so much of the day outside and in dusty areas, that my chest is really heavy and very congested. No fun.
Intending on reading today's paper at 6pm, I, instead, fell fast asleep for a much-needed three hours. Part of the change is that I'm now in a hotel. While it's a very modest one, at best, for the first time since I've been in China, I have a real bed, a real bathroom and a little bit of silence. Which is faaaaantastic. I have some meetings over the next few days and I needed to be in the Central Business District. Believe me, this little three-star-on-a-good-day hotel feels like the Mandarin Oriental Munich to me right now.
So, I've just conferred with my advisors here and made some strategic decisions.
So far, we've spent close to ¥30,000 (I'm keeping absolutely perfect records, to the cent) and I remain shocked and stunned at how far this has gone. With a bit of a nice cash infusion on the way tomorrow, we were planning how to get the most bang for our buck over the next days.
We've decided to invest in another shipment of tenting materials from Shandong Province. Sure, tenting materials aren't "sexy," - it doesn't have the same cachet as "we sent baby formula," but, you know what, it is, right now, the NUMBER ONE item in demand and, as I said the other day, for whatever reason, it is becoming very expensive and harder to find.
So, we're going to order twice the massive shipment we did today. Take a look at the pic, below, and envision twice that amount. TWICE. That's going to help so many people, I can't even imagine.
Tonight is my first access to TV since I've been in China and I turned the TV on to one the most depressing shows ever. It's the Chinese TV (CCTV) equivalent of Dateline NBC and it's killing me to watch this as I type away this entry on my mobile.
They are on site in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province. They showing things I never even considered, such as, what makeshift tools they use to remove dead bodies from rubble. How they char human remains to prevent disease. They're interviewing rescue workers, some of whom are burying their entire families in the line of work. It's disturbing and powerful and real and should be required viewing for every international person I know or don't know who just hasn't been moved to thought or action (which, as you can tell, has been a stinky albatros draped around my neck for a couple of week. And I can't seem to let it go).
Speaking of thought and action, tomorrow I'm beginning to have some of those big picture chats about what can be done here on an ongoing basis in the area of private initiatives to support the relief effort. And it's so important that these intitiatives not only have domestic supprt, but are truly spearheaded by Chinese nationals, not foreigners. Then, in the afternoon, I'm heading to a factory to look at shirts and pants, new, in bulk.
And right now, I'm going to get truly CLEAN for the first time since stepping off the plane on Monday. This hotel has a bathtub! And a shower! It's amazing how quickly we will cherish little comforts after a few days of their absence.
So while I'm absolutely wiped out, I also leave this day feeling truly amazing - the feeling you get when you can look back on a day and say "You know, today we made it happen. Today we seriously DID something."
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