Saturday, June 14, 2008
Home At Last!
Our last few days at the White Swan were very dull. Mei had a medical exam, we filled out some more paperwork and basically packed. I was so anxious to get home that all I could do was wish the time away. We got home safely with a total travel time from start to finish that lasted exactly 29 hours. The flight home was easy because I wanted to get home sooo bad I would have sat anywhere! I justbwoke up at 3:30 am wide awake (hello jet lag!) but I don't even care because I am HOME. A few words about China and I will sign off on the blog for the last time. This trip was a trip of a lifetime and I couldn't possibly explain how it has changed me as a person. I feel different. I liked China but I definitely preferred Beijing over Guangzhou. North China had better food and many more things to do. I did like the tropical feel of Guangzhou even thought the humidity was unbearable at times. We are all settling in and Parker and Mei are best buds already. He is so patient with her! We are trying to get him to keep his sentences simple but he insists on explaining every little detail (I wonder where he gets that from:-). She doesn't seem to mind and rattles on in Chinese to him. It is very cute to watch. We are all VERY tired. The only way to describe it is I feel like I am having an out of body experience or that I am on a 5 second delay. We have missed you all so much and can't wait to reconnect with ALL of our friends and family. When we landed in DC I wanted to go around and kiss all of my fellow Americans. I think Jeff thought I was losing it, maybe I am.....Thank you for all of the prayers and emails. They were like little treasures from home and kept us going each day. It will be a LONG time before I take another trip. Signing off for the last time.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
The White Swan Hotel
The waterfall inside the hotel.
The swimming pool is very clean and well kept.
The landscape is beautiful and very tropical. I enjoyed walking around and seeing the flowers blooming.
The Pearl River. It is very smoogy here.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Bei Hai Park
Bei Hai Park surrounds this lake. See the smog?
The girls being girls. The girl in the middle is the one who contacted us and arranged this visit. She made us rethink how Meiting can be soooo immature and this girl can be soooo mature. There is only 10 months between them and they come from the same place. ???????????
The detail work is breathtaking.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
A Haircut
Meiting getting ready for her haircut.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Beijing Zoo and Aquarium
Meiting at the Beijing Aquarium.
This is just a random picture.
We have learned some interesting things about the Chinese culture. Most are very kind and helpful and are not afraid to ask personal questions. They spit and pick their noses in public. I have gotten used to this and just look away. Very young children wear split pants not diapers. This allows them to squat and go ANYWHERE, and they do. I must have seen a dozen kids "going" in various places. The hardest thing to get used to is the staring. We get stared at ALL of the time. At dinner last night, people were adjusting there seats so they could stare at us and talk about us. We had eaten at the restaurant before so the hostess explained our situation to the WHOLE restaurant. We were trying to be good sports because we know she meant well. She gave Meiting a free plate of sliced tomatoes because she wolfed down a whole plate full a few nights prior. Even the chef came out to watch because they couldn't believe that such a TINY girl could eat so much. I guess they thought it was cute. For lunch on a different day we went to a restaurant that was playing nice Chinese music. The next thing you know, we hear Whitney Houston belt out "I Will Always Love You", Brian Adams "Everything I Do..." and "Moon River". We ARE in China right? Dennis said they were trying to make us feel more comfortable. I wondered if there was a neon sign lit up outside announcing that Americans were NOW eating in their restaurant. It's just weird! I was hoping for more traditional China and all its wonderful customs. Instead we are finding a city that is trying very hard to be Western. It's just sad.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Are you hungry?
Would you like some seahorses or scorpions?
No, how about some giant grubs or unidentifiable bugs?
Still can't decide? I bet the starfish is tasty.
Or, this? I know this is a tough decision:-)
The Olympics have 5 character mascots. This is one of them. Dennis explained that each has a significance based on region and meaning. They each have something different on their head. The one has flames to represent the torch.
No, how about some giant grubs or unidentifiable bugs?
Still can't decide? I bet the starfish is tasty.
Or, this? I know this is a tough decision:-)
The Olympics have 5 character mascots. This is one of them. Dennis explained that each has a significance based on region and meaning. They each have something different on their head. The one has flames to represent the torch.
The food in China is like nothing we have experienced before. Everything is very fresh and the flavors are amazing. We have tried many different dishes featuring many unique tastes. Most we have LOVED, a few not so much. The Chinese eat many things that we would call an exterminator for (like bugs). We have not had Mei ask for any strange food. Last night we went to the Wangfujing Dajie which is a walking street (no cars) with lots of shopping and vendors. She wanted an ice cream so we looked for the one she wanted. She did not see one she liked. The girl held up a vanilla ice cream with a chocolate coating. It looked good to me! She did not want it. She told them what she wanted, but they did not have it. They pointed to the next vendor and off we went. She immediately spotted what she wanted in the cooler. I have NO idea what is was but it looked like a pureed pea ice cream cone. It even had what looked like peas on the wrapper. I don't believe that it what it was, but it sure looked like it. She LOVED it! I am quite certain our local Food Lion will not have it in stock. We went to the Wanfujing Snack Street which I thought was pretty nasty. It featured many interesting foods on a stick. These foods included things like starfish, scorpions, grubs, squid, seahorses and many unusual things we couldn't identify. Many things smelled as bad as they looked.
Monday, June 2nd
Meiting and MeiLi cuddling on the couch. MeiLi was adopted from the Beijing Children's Welfare Institute at the same time. All the other 16 families from our travel group are adopting from a few other Provinces and have travelled to get their children. We are the only 2 families left in Beijing from our travel group.
This is the Bell Tower. This picture was taken at the top of the Drum Tower.
Yesterday was Children's Day so we went out for a nice dinner. We have had many wonderful meals and have tried many new things. Chinese food in China is VERY different then Chinese food in the USA. It is very fresh and delicious. I was a little afraid of the food at first, but not any more. One of Meiting's favorite words is "yummy", which she says quite often because she LOVES to eat.
Today we visited the Drum Tower. It is also near the Bell Tower. We climbed to the top and got to see the giant drums. We got to see the biggest drum in the world and I posted a picture of it. The Drum Tower is significant because there used to be one in all major Chinese cities. They were beaten to mark every hour. We got to hear the 10:00am performance. About 7 people beat the drums and it was very beautiful. Meiting was very scared because she had never seen a drum before and it was very loud. We then strolled along the Hutong alley. There were many stores and restaurants. The Hutong seen outside our hotel window is more residential. Dennis explained that it is quite expensive to live in one because of its location. The Hutong we visited today has a man made lake in the center. It was very pretty. We passed an area where you can rent boats. Dennis asked Meiting if she had ever been in a boat before. Of course she hadn't and didn't seem like she wanted to. I am not sure what she is going to think of the beach and the water. The swimming pool in the hotel made her afraid because she had never seen one before. It is amazing how preserved the Hutong are considering how very old they are. Many developers are demolishing these historic buildings. We saw many that were already torn down. It is such a shame.
Tomorrow we will visit the zoo. Meiting has never been to a zoo so we are curious about how she will react (and a little scared). She told Dennis she was excited to go. I am looking froward to seeing the giant Panda's.
This is the Bell Tower. This picture was taken at the top of the Drum Tower.
The largest drum in the world.
The Hutong alleyway. Jeff, Meiting and Dennis are in the picture.
Yesterday was Children's Day so we went out for a nice dinner. We have had many wonderful meals and have tried many new things. Chinese food in China is VERY different then Chinese food in the USA. It is very fresh and delicious. I was a little afraid of the food at first, but not any more. One of Meiting's favorite words is "yummy", which she says quite often because she LOVES to eat.
Today we visited the Drum Tower. It is also near the Bell Tower. We climbed to the top and got to see the giant drums. We got to see the biggest drum in the world and I posted a picture of it. The Drum Tower is significant because there used to be one in all major Chinese cities. They were beaten to mark every hour. We got to hear the 10:00am performance. About 7 people beat the drums and it was very beautiful. Meiting was very scared because she had never seen a drum before and it was very loud. We then strolled along the Hutong alley. There were many stores and restaurants. The Hutong seen outside our hotel window is more residential. Dennis explained that it is quite expensive to live in one because of its location. The Hutong we visited today has a man made lake in the center. It was very pretty. We passed an area where you can rent boats. Dennis asked Meiting if she had ever been in a boat before. Of course she hadn't and didn't seem like she wanted to. I am not sure what she is going to think of the beach and the water. The swimming pool in the hotel made her afraid because she had never seen one before. It is amazing how preserved the Hutong are considering how very old they are. Many developers are demolishing these historic buildings. We saw many that were already torn down. It is such a shame.
Tomorrow we will visit the zoo. Meiting has never been to a zoo so we are curious about how she will react (and a little scared). She told Dennis she was excited to go. I am looking froward to seeing the giant Panda's.
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