Ok, here it goes again...
We are here. It is truly amazing to finally, actually be IN China. I haven't been able to post until now because there are restrictions on what sites you can access in China. We thought we had a site that can be used to avoid the restrictions but it didn't work. Gerry chatted with his brother who found a new site for us. Thank you Uncle Jim!!!!
3 of my previous coworkers were on our flight from Omaha. I heard someone calling my name at the airport gate in Omaha. It was Jane Johnson! She, Tad, Stephanie, and a new guy named Eric were headed to Summer AAD in Boston. They were even seated behind us on the plane.
The flight was long and we were both too excited to really sleep so we were exhausted when we got here. We arrived in Bejing, found our guide, got to the hotel, met Tom & Rebecca in the lobby, came up to the room about 4:30 pm (3:30 am at home) and took a 4 hour nap. We woke up, had room service, called home, and went back to bed. The only problem with that was we were wide awake at 4:00 am.
Yesterday was a full day of sight-seeing in Beijing. There are only 2 couples that came early so we had an enjoyable day with the Lazars. They are adopting an 8 year-old from Anhui province.
Our fist destination was the Temple of Heaven. This park was built by the Ming emperor 500 years ago. It has 2 main areas for worshipping the gods of heaven and the gods of harbest. The intricate, delicate, architecture is preserved as it was when built. The area for worshipping the gods of heaven burned in the 80's but has been rebuilt exactly as it originally was. There are Juniper trees in the park over 500 years old planted at the time it was built. It is now a gathering place for the residents of Beijing. We saw them playing many games, dancing, ethnic dancing, and greatly enjoying themselves.
We had lunch at a restaurant with ethnic performers. We enjoyed dancing and musical instruments while dining on traditional Chinese foods. It reminded me a little of Tazo in Kansas City for those of you who have been there.
Our next stop was the traditional hutong neighborhood of Beijing. These areas have been mostly destroyed to accommodate the growth of Bejing. They have been replaced by office buildings and high-rise apartment buildings. The remaining hutongs are now privately owned but preserved as a historical area. They are small residences in sets of 4 surrounding a central courtyard. We were allowed to tour a home to see how the residents of this area live. We took a rickshaw ride around the hutongs because the streets are too narrow for cars. The narrow, winding streets are as they were when built during the Ming era. The hutongs were residences of the government officials of the time. The home we visited has been in this man's family for 4 generations (anyone see why I liked this area yet). The biggest problem for the residents now is public toilets. There is no sewer system so no private flush toilets.
There is a drum tower and bell tower in the hutong that orginally told the residents the time. The bell tower has 62 steps straight up at about an 80 degree angle. The guides told us it was practice for Great Wall climbing today. We all made it but it was hot and stuffy in there. The view and breeze from the top along with the drum performance was well worth it. We also visited an area nearby that is preserved as it was during empirical times. It is now filled with tiny shops selling souvenirs, and lots of bars.
The final destination of the day was the chinese acrobat show. The performers' skill, strength, and flexibility were awe-inspiring. It was a first of many incredible days in beautiful China.
Gerry took over 100 pictures so I selected a few of the best for the slide show. (It's not working, I don't know why, giving up for now.)
TTYS,
Chrissy
(Stacey, email me, I don't have your address along. OMG OMG OMG, I'm gonna get her in a couple days, yep, you KNOW I'm crying again)
OK FINALLY I THINK THE SLIDE SHOW WILL WORK!!!!
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| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
4 comments:
Enjoy your journey. It is truly an awesome experience!!! Looking forward to celebrating your Forever Family Day with you.
peace
fm
I have been watching anxiously for you to post from China. We adopted our Jazmyne Rose-Noel from Qian Jiang SWI which is part of Chongqing. We traveled to Beijing and then on to Chongqing to get her September 16, 2008. One small tip that I have found to have been a small but big thing that still works now is to pick a song to hum to her and stick to it. When I first met Jazmyne and sat with her in the Civil Affairs Office (Where you will soon be too!) I did not sing the words to a song I hummed them to her. I knew the language difference would be too scary so I hummed. The song I hummed over and over again to her is in the movie Dumbo and it is called, "Baby of Mine". Over and over again through the trip I hummed the same song, "Baby of Mine" and it always soothed her. Even now when she is distressed and I hum it to her she always responds to it. The same melody rather then singing, held sacred for the sake of soothing her...it works every time. On July 1, 2009 we traveled to Disney World to celebrate her 3rd birthday, her 1st outside the walls of an orphanage and her Disney souvenir was a baby Dumbo wrapped in a blanket! Who would ever have thought such a small thing, humming a song would mean so much but it really does! As soon as she cries, I always begin to softly hum that particular song and you can watch her immediately calmn right down. I never hum it to her at any other time just when she needs to be soothed. It is our special song!
Kathy Rees
www.jazzyrose.blogspot.com
Hey Chrissy,
It's along flight isn't it! LOL
I was excited to finally see a post from you. I figured it was a blog problem. How awesome that you had an intimate group so you hear the history on your tours. I guess no quarantine issues! YEA! Not that I have to tell you this now but type your post in word first copy and paste so you don't lose it next time - BTDT. :) Love the humming idea! I wish I would have thought of it the first time. We took over 1,000 pics, so snap away on anything and everything. You won't be sorry. It's an amazing emotional journey isn't it. Lila will be in your arms very soon. The arms that have hugged her picture for such a long time. How could you not cry. The release of the time you spent waiting to touch Lila has to come out someway. All I can tell you to do is breathe. Enjoy your journey and looking forward to seeing all 3 of you together.
I've emailed you my email address.
Stacey
HELP! I was working on the camera and logged completely out of Skype. What is the password? Send me an e-mail <:/
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