Ni Hao! Our morning started early as Josh and I both woke up about 6 am. Katelyn slept well all night. We had some organizing to do to be prepared for our day, so it was good that we got up when we did. We went down to breakfast a little after 9 am. Our first Chinese breakfast was so fascinating. We had congee (rice porridge), steamed buns, toast, bacon to eat. There was a huge assortment of Chinese foods with some western breakfast foods thrown in. Katelyn loved the sauteed mushrooms. I added sugar to my congee to make it taste like really thin grits. I think that it will grow on me! Josh had true Chinese steamed dumplings. They were wrapped in some kind of leaf tied on with twine. They really do use bamboo steamers here. Josh also had some peppered beef that was delicious. The tea was very strong and good.
We met Jason in the hotel lobby. George was all ready for us outside while we were eating breakfast. He had water for each of us in our seats again. You will be happy to know that Katelyn and I had seat belts as he was able to put the seats down in the back of the van. I figured out why we didn’t have the seat belts last night. The 2 middle seats are removable and they were put back in on the wrong sides, so the part you click it into is on the same side as the seatbelt. Aha! We just couldn’t see that in the dark last night. So Josh braved the traffic with no seatbelt in the middle seat today. What a great dad, eh?
There are 15 million people in Beijing. There are people everywhere on buses bikes and various modes of transportation. Be sure to check out the China trip album for all the pictures. It is the fastest way I have of uploading the photos, and it allows me to post a whole bunch at one time. Anyways, Beijing is built on a square design. There are different Rings around the city, 5th Ring Road, 4th Ring Road, and so on. I think we are staying near or on the 3rd ring road. We are in the Embassy section of the city where all of the foreign embassies are located. There is a lot of construction going on everywhere.
We had about an hour drive to get to where we would see the Wall. We drove through the outskirts of Beijing where there is a lot of countryside. As we drove on the highway, we saw a lot of these tall skinny trees that had what looked like balls of leaves on them. They are call Yang trees. The area is pretty flat and then we saw the first little mountain that looked something like Stone Mtn. in Georgia. There was just this one little mountain sticking out. We saw a horse running loose across the road, and then later we saw sheep running down the road. Then all of a sudden you could see the Yen Mountains hiding in the distance. We passed through fruit-picking gardens where they had red fuji apples, big peaches, and walnuts. There were a lot of fruit stands with watermelons and other fruit on the sides of the roads.
We went to the part of the Great Wall that has a cable car lift. Jason thought that we had been to China before as we specifically requested this section of the wall. I had heard about it from other families, and I thought it would be easier for Katelyn to navigate. I don’t know why I was worried about her, because once we got up there, she wanted to keep climbing and climbing. She loved every minute of it. She got a lot of looks and chuckles at the little monkey travel buddy that she has been wearing. I thought it would be helpful when we were in crowds, and I wasn’t expecting her to like it too much. I was wrong, because she wears it constantly! It is amazing how laughter transcends language. People would see the little monkey and point and smile or laugh. I had to stay put at the next to the last tower, as I couldn’t keep up with the little monkey girl. A European lady said something like we could measure how far it was to the top with the camera, so we didn’t need to climb to see it. I heartily agreed! She had the right idea. That is where I took the pictures of Josh, Katelyn and Jason on the other watchtower with my zoom lens.
The sight of the Great Wall leaves you awe-struck. I can’t even put into words how amazing it is. One can just feel the history, sweat, blood, and tears that are a part of this ominous fortress. It makes you feel as if you could just fly over the mountains. It was originally built over 2,000 years ago when China was made up of many small countries who came together to build the wall. It was re-built in many parts about 600 years ago. The pictures do not really do it justice. What an awesome privilege to become a part of the history of such a place for one day as our footsteps followed the millions and millions of others who have tread the stones there.
We had our first try at bargaining at the market on the way back down from the Great Wall. We didn’t do the best job at it, but we are learning fast!! The whole way up to the cable cars, at every booth they would hold out a cold water bottle, asking you if you want "cold water, cold water". We already had a bottle in our hands, but they could tell it was warm. They will sell just about anything for $1 USD. Oh yes, I can’t forget that Katelyn and I both successfully used the squatty potty today. She did a fabulous job at it! They even had an automatic flusher. It is really quite the experience. I think I could get used to that method. Maybe we need to install one at home! Ha, ha! Right now, Kate is dancing around the room chanting "squatty potty, squatty potty" and describing to her daddy how to use them.
For lunch we went to a wonderful local restaurant where all the food is locally grown in the village there. Jason told us what the name was, but all I could catch was that part of the name meant spring waters. Jason said all the food is very fresh there and many people come from the city to eat there. He said that even the eggs were more golden colored than what you would buy at the market in the city. It looked like there was a huge jade market across the street. The restaurant looked like a huge greenhouse with water features in different areas. It was very light and airy feeling in there. All of the tables had huge lazy susans on them where the meal is served in the traditional family style. We had a pork dish with string beans, a tofu dish (which Katelyn really liked), and egg-type dish, and rice. Everything was delicious, but I especially loved the eggplant dish. It was sooo tasty. The rice is more round here, not long and skinny like our rice at home. It is very good as well. We did pretty good with the chopsticks, although we had forks available if we needed them. I ordered a Coke for something besides water and they brought out a full 1 liter bottle for me!! I only drank about a third of it. I think George and Jason got a kick out of how much we enjoyed the meal. I am proud of Katelyn as she tries just about anything. She looked over at me while we were eating and said, "China is even more beautiful than I thought!" Another funny thing at the restaurant was that they had several of these Winnie the Pooh bear wreaths hanging everywhere. They also had a 101 Dalmations rug when you walked in the door. It is was just odd to see in that setting.
On the way home from the wall, we saw an IKEA! Can you believe I have been wanting to go that store forever, and I see my first one live and in-person in China! I really wanted to take a taxi over there, but we came back and rested for a while. I couldn’t sleep, but it was nice to just be still and rest for an hour or so. Josh said he was feeling really good, and then he ended up sleeping for a couple of hours. Go figure!
I have had two or three moments today where I have just been bursting with happiness that the tears just come to the surface–tears of joy. It is hard to believe that we are here in this wonderful country of China that I have been dreaming of for so long. Katelyn has adjusted to everything better than I would have ever imagined. She is so excited to meet Emma as we all are. She was drawing a couple of portraits of Emma in the van today from Emma’s picture album. They turned out pretty cute. I think my body will feel more like 100% if we get a full nights sleep tonight. I still feel as if I just pulled through a couple of all-nighters, but the adrenaline keeps pumping through when I need it.
I am signing off for the evening. We are going to see if we can get some pizza from "Julia’s" restaurant downstairs for supper.
Comment posted by Kristy Rivard
at 6/23/2007 5:41:28 PM
Praise the Lord for the interne! I am so glad that we all can have a small part in this journey of yours. I am really enjoying reading all that you have to share and you are so great at expressing thoughts and feelings. I get tears of joy as well, just reading your blog. Thank you so much for sharing and we can’t wait to see the pictures of Emma that you get to take! Love you guys, Kristy
Comment posted by Claudia
at 6/23/2007 4:14:50 PM
I wish I was with you guys. You are doing a great job on the journal. You have a very special gift for writing. I feel like I’m there with you just reading your journal. God bless you all. Can’t wait for you to return home.
Love,
Claudia
Comment posted by Steve, Donna & Mackenzie Cornish
at 6/23/2007 10:37:01 AM
Glad you three made it safe - your journal and pictures are wonderful and bringing back a lot of good memories for us! I was not as fond of congee though 
Hang in there and have fun - looks like the best days lie immediately ahead!
Love,
Steve, Donna, and Mackenzie in KY
Comment posted by Carolyn
at 6/23/2007 8:36:55 AM
Amy, you do such a great job at expressing your feelings, thoughts and surroundings. You have a great way of making all feel like a part of this very special journey. Thank you for sharing. Love and prayers.
Comment posted by Grandpa & Nana
at 6/23/2007 8:07:03 AM
Way to go Katelyn - good job! I know it must be amazing. We are sooooooo happy for you all. The pictures are great. Dad wants to be there!
No comments:
Post a Comment