hello from taiyuan!

Well, obviously the Beijing post didn't happen - and for good reason - this is really the first breather we've had since we arrived in China on Friday afternoon. Beijing was a wonderful, dizzying blur, and yet despite the short time there, it made a deep impression on us that will last a lifetime.

The flight from Newark to Beijing went fine. We flew Continental and were very happy with our service - and the plane was cool. Each headrest had a personal entertainment console on the back, with free on-demand movies, TV shows, music, games, video games, etc. We never lacked for something to help pass the time! The highlight of the trip, though, was that we sat across the aisle from a couple from Mississippi & their son. They are adopting a 5 year old girl with special needs from Hubei province. (Hi Tommy & Kim, if you are reading this!!) In a plane with about 300 people on it, 95% of whom were Chinese, I found it nothing short of amazing that we happened to sit right next to them! It was so much fun talking with them and sharing the emotions of finally being on our way to our children.

(Girls: we flew over the North Pole on our way to China!! We looked, but didn't see Santa or any elves.)



We met our guide, Wendy, at the airport and drove to our hotel - the Beijing Marriott City Wall, named such because it is right next to a section of the old city wall of Beijing (some 600 years old). The hotel was absolutely luxurious and we so enjoyed staying there. I had a nice bubble bath when we arrived - and it was weird not having kids bursting in the door every 5 minutes!!!

Views from our window... in the first photo you can see the old city wall.





Part of our room.



More pictures of the hotel.









One of Andy's coworkers had given us the name & number of a friend of theirs who lives in Beijing. She is a twenty-something Chinese journalist, and speaks good English. We called her up on Friday afternoon and she offered to take us out to dinner on "Ghost Street" - an older section of Beijing where the locals, especially the younger crowd, like to eat. She chose a restaurant famous for its spicy Sichuan food. Regretfully, I didn't bring my camera with me that evening... I wish I had some pictures of the street and the restaurant. It was crowded, with lots of neon lights and red lanterns hanging over the sidewalks. Inside the restaurant was a talking parrot that would say "ni hao" and also sing for everyone. I tried a traditional Chinese sweet while we waited for our table. It was fresh strawberries and an unpeeled orange on a stick, dipped in a hard sugar coating. Yummy!

We learned something new at dinner - the Chinese eat out differently than we do. They order multiple dishes, the food is placed in the center of the table and everyone shares. It was fun, and the food was delicious!! We were so glad we got try a local place where they didn't "Americanize" the fare. Andy and I have been using chopsticks at every meal and we are getting better at it!

Saturday was our sightseeing day with Wendy, our guide (who we both loved!) We saw Tianmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Olympic Village, the Great Wall, the Jade Factory and the Cloisonne Factory. In the evening, we went to a Flying Acrobatics show! I still can't believe how much we did in 1 day. It was absolutely amazing. Here are some pics of the day.



























Today (Sunday) we went for a rickshaw ride through the Hutong, an ancient area of Beijing where the houses are hundreds of years old. These homes are arranged in a sort of square around a central courtyard. We stopped and visited a family in their home, and sat and talked to this man for quite a long time about his family and their lifestyle.



And here we are with his 92-year-old father, who lives with them. He would not sit on the couch with us, because he holds to the traditional belief that whoever sits on the left is more important. So, he sat to our right... signifying that he puts us, as his guests, above himself.



Some shots of the outside of the house.





Andy and I in the rickshaw... FREEZING!!





After the Hutong tour, we went to a beautiful teahouse and observed the traditional Chinese tea ceremony. We tasted 6 different teas, learned how to pour and hold the cup, and learned what the different teas are good for. Then we had to rush to the airport to catch our flight to Taiyuan! It was a short 1 hour flight - and we were the only Americans on the plane, so we got a lot of curious looks. :) We met our new guide Emily (very sweet) and checked into the Shanxi Grand. It's a nice place... it's not the Marriott, but it's nice. :)

Thoughts we've had so far...

You see such a mixture of old and new everywhere - modern & ancient coexisting. The Chinese are all about balance. There is a reason for everything they do, and so much thought goes into symbolism. Someone could walk through the Forbidden City and never know that almost everything they saw had a meaning. There are so many details in the architecture, paintings, etc. They care about form just as much as function here.

The Chinese people are amazing. They are such an industrious and gracious people. They love to laugh, they enjoy tradition and reason and yet they love to take risks. They are proud of their country and their over 5,000 year written history. Success, health and longevitiy are very important to them. .. and they are fiercely committed to their families.

Well, Andy is saying it's time to go to dinner, so I guess I will sign off for now. I have been journaling frequently so I may be able to share more of my thoughts later. We're so excited to meet Owen on Tuesday. As we flew into Shanxi province, I cried as I looked out the plane window - to be this close to him is so exciting and overwhelming!!!

Loren, Emily, Claire & Grant - Mommy & Daddy love you so much and miss you all!!! We will see you on Skype again soon. Mom & Dad, thank you again for taking such good care of the kids while we are gone. We love you!

ETA: Here in Taiyuan I am not able to view my blog (I could in Beijing). I can publish posts here, but it won't let me see my blog or any of your comments. We can't get to our Comcast webmail either. If anyone needs to email us, please use andyrebecca76@yahoo.com as the contact address.