Reflections

After a busy weekend of adjusting to the time change, getting the laundry done and a big gymnastics competition (which I will share at a later date) I have a few minutes to reflect on what just happened to our family. A friend of mine asked what the one greatest moment of the trip was? But the answer isn't that easy. The trip to China was everything I had hoped for. Meeting families, visiting orphanages, reliving history and seeing the changes in China have impacted my life and that of our children. The children seem content with their discoveries and appreciative of the effort that went into planning a trip this big. I feel closer to my children and it is easy to talk with them about China. They now have a reference point for all discussions concerning their adoption. S.J. now knows all his grandparents, S.S. in her silent way has accepted her past and R.X. found a piece of her identity. What more could I as a mother ask for?

"The door to the past is unlocked and the door to the future is wide open."

The Final Rewind...I Promise!

I'm finding it hard to finish the trip report, as of course, life goes on. I'm not sure I like the idea of being back in the real world of doing laundry, cooking and getting kids to do their homework. What struck me the most is that it's COLD in Ottawa. Yuck!

Our last full day in China was March 18th. In the morning we went to Tian-men Square and the Forbidden City. Everything seemed the same to me as 11 years ago except for one key thing. No one was flying or selling kites in Tian-men square. People were selling postcards, souvenir books, Mao watches (with Mao waving) and the little "Red Book" but no kites. Strange.

Tian-men Square

Approaching the Forbidden City

Finally inside the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City goes on and on. You enter through the south gate and have to walk to through several courtyards to exit at the north gate. No shortcuts to be had. The buildings are amazing. In the center of each courtyard there is a large room, each with a different purpose. These rooms were reserved for the Emperor. Around the outer walls are a number of smaller rooms which would have been used by soldiers, servants and commoners. As with all ancient buildings in China, the detail is exquisite and beyond words.

Here we all are...I think this was the last family picture we had in China.

We got back to our hotel room at about 1:30pm and realized that there was still time for SHOPPING before the Goodbye China party we were attending in the evening. R.E. got directions and we headed off on the subway to the indoor silk market. The subway was easy to use as the names of the different stops were written in Chinese and English. On one of the lines there were even announcements in both languages. We kept hold of the children as we went through the subway since it was quite busy.

On the subway

We had a lot of fun at the silk market as our bartering skills had been perfected long ago. Still known as the "cheap lady", my husband confirmed that I was just brutal. Again we didn't get off the first floor and now I realize it isn't finding what you want that takes so long but the bartering. Oh well, we still managed to buy a lot of stuff.

In the evening we went to a local restaurant that again specialized in Beijing Duck. We all gathered and there was quite a few of us since at the beginning of the week we had joined an adoption group. They too were saying goodbye to China. Let me tell you, it was quite the party! There was food, there was gifts, there was cake, there was a magician, and even a special appearance by the "Monkey King". All would agree that we had an awesome last night in China!

R.X. thought the Monkey King was pretty amazing.

After all was said and done we returned to our hotel room to begin packing. Guess what I discovered? That in the morning I would just have to go SHOPPING for another suitcase. Oh shucks ;) S.S. and I got up early to go shopping and didn't just buy a suitcase. We knew we needed a few more toys and of course some shirts for Dad. Before I knew it we were out of money and had to go back to the hotel.

Our journey home began as we arrived at the Beijing Airport at 2:00 p.m. Our flight didn't leave until 7:00 p.m. so we had one last meal with friends. This is the day we lived twice as we arrived in Toronto at 7:35 p.m. Our flight was 12 1/2 hours long and yet it was still March 19th. We barely made our flight to Ottawa but thanks to a delay we made it and were very happy when by midnight we were on our way to sleep in our own beds.

Rewind...continued

On March 17th S.J. and R.X. were quite tired and stayed home during the day so they would be well rested for a visit with S.J.'s maternal grandparents in the evening. Having said that they still had the energy to go to a bike shop and MacDonald's with Dad.

S.S. and I went to the Temple of Heaven. This temple was built for an Emperor during the 1400's. It is quite an extensive structure and it's hard to believe that not one nail was used in its making.

S.S. and her new friend from Timmons, Ontario

A traditional stroller is not a very common thing to see but...

...split pants are. Too cute!

This picture was taken at the entrance to the Pearl Market. S.S. and I had a great time here as we bartered for super deals. I stuck to my guns and got everything for 1/3 of the asking price or less. Favourite quotes from merchants included, "cheap lady" and "you're killing me." We had so much fun that we never did get to the top floor where all the pearls were and we almost missed the bus. If it wasn't for S.S.'s great sense of direction I would never have made it out of the store. As we did however, the bus was leaving the parking lot and I was having an "Ikea, start the car" moment when we ran after it, arms full of bags and yelling "Stop, wait for us!"

The evening belonged to S.J. as we went to a wonderful restaurant to visit with his grandparents. We had had the pleasure of meeting this set of grandparents on one other occasion in Ottawa. Our visit this night was no different as they are super kind people, very warm and gentle. S.J.'s grandpa never stopped smiling and S.J. seemed very content.

I will always remember the quiet way in which S.J. spent time with his grandparents and at one point told them he loved them in Chinese. There were tears and it was hard to say goodbye as we left these 2 wonderful people at the bus stop. Who knows when we will get to see them again.

Rewind

Okay, I'm sure you are noticing the date of this posting...yes it's March 20th and we've been home for almost 24 hours. The jet lag is starting to catch up with us as the children are watching Mulan and are trying to stay up until a reasonable bedtime.

As for a recap of our last four days in China let's see what I can do. I don't remember being as busy in Beijing as we were this time around. In the last days of our trip we visited a school, went to the Beijing Zoo, watched an Acrobatic Show, spent time walking around the Temple of Heaven, visited the Pearl Market (but never got to the floor with all the pearls), relived history at Tian-men Square and the Forbidden City, went to the indoor Silk Market, visited with S.J.'s grandparents and had a "Goodbye China" party. Oh and did I mention SHOPPING?

The Water Cube and The Bird's Nest

A trip to an elementary school proved inviting for S.S. as she was pulled to the front of the gym class to show off some skills. She also did a wonderful job of delivering a thank you speech on behalf of our group. What amazed us most about the school were the students. It was obvious to us that work very hard and are committed to excellence. Take a look at these videos if you would like to see top notch performances.

A Chinese Zither Performance

Basketball Frenzy

Each of our children met a pen pal and had a great time chatting and getting to know one another. The Chinese students are learning English and did quite well conversing with our kids. Hopefully they will become friends and continue to keep in touch.

We were served a lovely lunch. Apparently the students all have lunch served to them at school everyday. Boy do I wish we didn't have to make lunches all the time.
After a visit to the school it was off to the Beijing Zoo to see the pandas. R.E. noted that the zoo certainly had changed since 11 years ago when he and M.T. had gone. Like everything else in Beijing, the zoo has been rebuilt.

We were certainly in for a treat when we went to the Chinese Acrobatic show. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed. I did however take this picture at the beginning of the show. The highlight of the night was 12 girls on one bicycle and then there was the slack rope performance that was pretty cool, oh and the juggling act and the...it was just amazing!

The Acrobatic show was a great ending to a very busy day and a great way to end this posting. In trying to get this note posted quickly I discovered that Blogger ran into problems saving it and so I had to start it all over again. The next posting should cover our last two days in China and the trip home.

The Amazing Race...

After a quiet day and a late arrival in Beijing the flurry of activity began. I haven't written for three days because we've been so busy that when we get back to our hotel we all just drop. The next day it all just starts again. Today we have a little break as we don't have to be on the bus till 9:30.

On our first day in Beijing we visited a dirt market. This is one huge flea market where people sell old and new things...beware of fakes in the market. We were just getting the hang of bartaring when it was time to go. Too bad because there were many bargins to be had.

Are they or are they not antiques?The image in our heads that there are a lot of bicylces in China may be fading as now people can afford cars. Outside the dirt market there were a lot of bikes to be found.

The Summer Palace was built in a Dynasty where "The Dragon Lady" ruled. She was not a pleasant person and certainly very selfish. When the rest of China was starving she would demand that her cooks to cook so much food that they would end up throwing out enough to feed a family for a year. The palace was incredible and today it is enjoyed by thousands. When we first came 11 years ago we were able to stroll around and feel relaxed. Not so today, as this palace has become so popular.

Outside a temple.

This is the ceiling of the walking corridor that follows the lake. It is nearly 1km long and there are hundreds of paintings. No two paintings are the same. The view is always better from here!

Just about forgot the trip to the silk factory! We learned how to make silk and did some serious shopping.

Trying our hand at pulling silk to make a quilt.
In the evening we went with Yulin and another family to enjoy a meal in "Old Beijing" and walk around a popular spot for nightlife. It was a lot of fun to stroll down the streets and people watch.

Enjoying dinner with friends.

Full of energy and very happy.

Day 2 - Trip to the Great Wall with of course, some shopping mixed in. To begin the day we stopped at a Jade factory. I'm not sure I realized how valuable Jade was until we purchased some lifetime pieces for our children.

I've heard two names for the ball this man is carving, the generational ball and the happieness ball. Inside the ball he is currently carving is three or four other balls. All are moveable and the entire piece is carved from one piece of jade.

A huge and very expensive carving. Be sure to hide the price S.J.

The anticipation grew as we were heading towards the wall. It was all very exciting as we went higher and higher. "One World, One Dream"We had the choice of walking up the right side, which was easier or the left side that had less people. The left was chosen but was also the hardest. Who made it to the top...
...They did of course!

The trip back to the hotel was rather quiet and many children fell asleep until the tour guide announced that we were very close to the 2008 Olympic Stadium Venue. Blogger won't upload a picture right now so I will have to add that later.

So ther you have it...our first two days in Beijing. Crazy busy and a lot of fun.

Footnotes - Random thoughts for a quiet day...

Today it is quiet and rainy. Later this afternoon we will be heading to the airport for a flight to Beijing. Many thoughts have been going through my head, not in any particular order, just thoughts.

Yellow lines and taxis ~ the yellow line in the middle of the road means nothing to a taxi driver in a hurry. A ride back to the orphanage yesterday proved that. Quite scary.

Accidents don't cause traffic jams ~ There was a crowd of people around a car and scooter yesterday as there had been a collision in the middle of the road. Cars, scooters, buses and bikes just kept going every which way to get around it. Quite scary.

Just keep going ~ When crossing the road just keep moving. The vehicles will go around you. They don't stop for pedestrians in China. Quite scary.

Horns are a necessity ~ On the roads a horn tells another driver or walker to move over I'm coming. The louder and longer the sound the more risk involved. Quite scary.
Money switching ~ It can happen anytime by anyone. At dinner one night one of the groups 100 yuan bills got switched and yesterday we got a fake coin in our change. Quite scary.

Curiosity~ Different from nine years ago when people would crowd us and ask questions. Now they look from afar and wonder about our "odd" looking family. Not quite so scary.

Two folds ~ It is considered very special to have two folds in your eyelids as one fold is very common amongst Chinese people. Our girls are very beautiful as they have two folds. Not scary at all.

Kids shopping ~ While we try to get them to buy something traditional they just want to buy toys. Fun for them, quite scary for our pocketbook.

Old and New ~ The old is being torn down all around and the new is being built just as fast. Will anceint China be forgotten? Scary to think about.

See you in Beijing!

Summer Dew

Today is officially XiaLu Day! We woke up to rain today but that didn't dampen Xia Lu's excitement. We were off to her orphanage at 8:30 am and by 9:15 we were there. The roads and the buildings all around have changed but the orphanage was still the same as 9 years ago when I first visited. And guess what, this Social Welfare Institute is being rebuilt and will be finished by 2012. The Director came and met us at the door. She was instantly aware of Xia Lu's warm and outgoing personality. We were told that Xia Lu means "Summer Dew" in Mandarin. What a beautiful name for our girl!

We were escorted to a meeting room and Xia Lu was treated like a VIP as she received a beautiful gift from the Director.

Then it was off to meet the children and tour the orphanage. The first stop was a preschool class of young children. Boy, did we have fun as it was circle time. The whole family joined in and the children quickly warmed up to us.

Xia Lu handed out some gifts and the children went crazy. It was funny to watch as some hoarded and fought over the new toys. It was a very busy 1/2 hour.

Then it was off to the next classroom. All the children were older and things were much calmer. Again the gifts were handed out and the children played together, trying to make a puzzle or learning to do up a button or zipper. The teachers commented that a little boy that Xia Lu was playing with had never been so happy. Xia Lu can charm the socks off anybody!
We then moved on to visit the youngest children in the orphanage. They still live in the same area of the orphanage that Xia Lu lived in. The children were in 3 different playrooms and Xia Lu was the only one who could go in and play. It was clear to us that many of the children at the orphanage had some pretty major special needs to contend with for the rest of their lives.

As tradition goes we were invited to lunch and Xia Lu got to sit with our tour guide and the director. She was glad to share everything about her life in Canada including school, Girl Guides and writing her Chinese name. Everyone was convinced that Xia Lu would one day be a social worker.

Hefei, Xia Lu's hometown, has grown from 2 million to over 4 million in just 10 years. After searching for her finding spot it was discovered that the street name had been changed and is now known as Hechao Lu. The restaurant is gone but we walked the street and went to a very old market.

Everywhere we went we noticed young children and ladies with beautiful and similar facial features as Xia Lu and in her mind I think she has found one of the important pieces of her identity that was missing. She is a "Hefei Girl" as some people on the street stopped to ask us. Xia Lu seems very content and happy with her day. My heart fills with joy and happiness for her.