Saturday, March 31, 2007
Beijing Pictures
Hey Guys!! Here are some pictures from Beijing. To see the caption put your mouse over the pictures. I hope you guys enjoy!!
Beijing Day 3
Megan and I slept in until 7:30 this morning and got ready for breakfast. Pat and Miyah had already been down to breakfast, but Miyah has been eating so much on this trip, that they joined us again for breakfast. I don’t know why, but she’s hungry a half hour after we eat a meal. And it isn’t that she doesn’t like the food because she’s eaten quite well.
After being out in the damp, cold air, Miyah has a cough. She actually began coughing and gagging up phlegm on the way to the acrobat show yesterday and it ended up all over me and her (lovely). Please pray that her cough goes away. It isn’t easy for her to sleep when she has a bad cough.
We needed to do some shopping before we left for the Great Wall. We desperately needed warmer jackets and mittens. It was an incredibly windy day and I imagined the Wall would be bitter cold.
We found some little shops, and one shop owner in particular was quite earnest in finding us what we needed. She called for someone to bring her the smallest North Face jacket they had and what they came with was a boys jacket way too big for Miyah, but she insisted that it fit by rolling up the sleeves a few times. We didn’t’ have many options at that point and she was persuaded to sell it to us for $10. Megan and I also found really nice Columbia jackets for $15 each and some gloves and hats. We were outfitted for the Great Wall!
Our first stop was lunch. We had Peking Duck, Kung Pao Chicken, Spring Rolls, and other dishes served family style.
On the hour long bus ride we saw a few of the buildings being erected for the 2008 Olympics. The aquatics building is really interesting, but the National Stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies is incredible. It looks like a bird’s nest made of metal twigs. We also saw where the athletes will be housed. All of this construction has required blocks and blocks of temporary housing for the construction workers. They’re little shacks really.
When we finally reached the Wall, Miyah was so excited. While we climbed she said, "This is the greatest mountain in the whole world" and "Can you believe we’re in China?" So far her favorite thing about China is all the bus rides I think. She loves buses and we’re on one every day.
Pat was determined to get to the top, or at least high enough to get a Hero Card. He was disappointed to find they don’t have Hero Cards anymore, but he and Megan got a nice little plaque engraved that says they climbed the Great Wall on March 31, 2007.
Miyah and I only climbed a little way. Enough to get some photos and check out the beautiful views. The cherry blossoms were beautiful and it really wasn’t as cold as we thought it would be. We enjoyed walking around and stopping at the little shops and eating ice cream bars. Miyah got a Great Wall t-shirt with pandas on it and she’s worn it last night and today. She has definite clothing likes and dislikes and I’ve figured out she likes clothes with animals on them.
On the way home from the Great Wall Megan needed to use the restroom, so the bus driver pulled over to the side of the road for her to find a tree. Our guides were kind enough to take us to find a public toilet. There were new hutongs being built in this area. It’s interesting to see new buildings in this style of living. In the old hutongs, and I assume in these new hutongs (alley communities), many of the homes don’t have private toilets. We stopped in one of their public toilets to find that the squatty potties didn’t even have doors or stalls. I guess it was better than a tree.
In case you’ve never seen one, they’re pretty much a hole in the floor. Every one I’ve ever been in has had the strongest smell of urine you’ve ever smelled. And very few have toilet paper in the stall or soap near the sink...hmm...We’ve had our fair share of squatties this time. Thankfully we prepared Miyah for this phenomena by showing her pictures and describing how to use one. There is a definite technique in order to keep dry! They’re probably not as bad as they sound....no worse than restrooms at most public gas stations in the states.
We were all tired so we ate dinner in the hotel. Interesting fare on the buffet...shark fin soup, pig’s ear soup, boiled ox tongue, and some kind of squid. We didn’t eat much, but we were tired enough that it didn’t matter.
We put Miyah to bed in Pat’s room while I packed the suitcases and she fell asleep immediately. Pat went down to get a massage in the hotel. We leave for Kunming tomorrow!!
After being out in the damp, cold air, Miyah has a cough. She actually began coughing and gagging up phlegm on the way to the acrobat show yesterday and it ended up all over me and her (lovely). Please pray that her cough goes away. It isn’t easy for her to sleep when she has a bad cough.
We needed to do some shopping before we left for the Great Wall. We desperately needed warmer jackets and mittens. It was an incredibly windy day and I imagined the Wall would be bitter cold.
We found some little shops, and one shop owner in particular was quite earnest in finding us what we needed. She called for someone to bring her the smallest North Face jacket they had and what they came with was a boys jacket way too big for Miyah, but she insisted that it fit by rolling up the sleeves a few times. We didn’t’ have many options at that point and she was persuaded to sell it to us for $10. Megan and I also found really nice Columbia jackets for $15 each and some gloves and hats. We were outfitted for the Great Wall!
Our first stop was lunch. We had Peking Duck, Kung Pao Chicken, Spring Rolls, and other dishes served family style.
On the hour long bus ride we saw a few of the buildings being erected for the 2008 Olympics. The aquatics building is really interesting, but the National Stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies is incredible. It looks like a bird’s nest made of metal twigs. We also saw where the athletes will be housed. All of this construction has required blocks and blocks of temporary housing for the construction workers. They’re little shacks really.
When we finally reached the Wall, Miyah was so excited. While we climbed she said, "This is the greatest mountain in the whole world" and "Can you believe we’re in China?" So far her favorite thing about China is all the bus rides I think. She loves buses and we’re on one every day.
Pat was determined to get to the top, or at least high enough to get a Hero Card. He was disappointed to find they don’t have Hero Cards anymore, but he and Megan got a nice little plaque engraved that says they climbed the Great Wall on March 31, 2007.
Miyah and I only climbed a little way. Enough to get some photos and check out the beautiful views. The cherry blossoms were beautiful and it really wasn’t as cold as we thought it would be. We enjoyed walking around and stopping at the little shops and eating ice cream bars. Miyah got a Great Wall t-shirt with pandas on it and she’s worn it last night and today. She has definite clothing likes and dislikes and I’ve figured out she likes clothes with animals on them.
On the way home from the Great Wall Megan needed to use the restroom, so the bus driver pulled over to the side of the road for her to find a tree. Our guides were kind enough to take us to find a public toilet. There were new hutongs being built in this area. It’s interesting to see new buildings in this style of living. In the old hutongs, and I assume in these new hutongs (alley communities), many of the homes don’t have private toilets. We stopped in one of their public toilets to find that the squatty potties didn’t even have doors or stalls. I guess it was better than a tree.
In case you’ve never seen one, they’re pretty much a hole in the floor. Every one I’ve ever been in has had the strongest smell of urine you’ve ever smelled. And very few have toilet paper in the stall or soap near the sink...hmm...We’ve had our fair share of squatties this time. Thankfully we prepared Miyah for this phenomena by showing her pictures and describing how to use one. There is a definite technique in order to keep dry! They’re probably not as bad as they sound....no worse than restrooms at most public gas stations in the states.
We were all tired so we ate dinner in the hotel. Interesting fare on the buffet...shark fin soup, pig’s ear soup, boiled ox tongue, and some kind of squid. We didn’t eat much, but we were tired enough that it didn’t matter.
We put Miyah to bed in Pat’s room while I packed the suitcases and she fell asleep immediately. Pat went down to get a massage in the hotel. We leave for Kunming tomorrow!!
Friday, March 30, 2007
China Day 1
Wow...sorry it's taken me so long to finally update. We've been busy and have had some technical difficulties. We brought Matt's laptop and Pat's work laptop and we've had some troubles with each one plus the internet connection has been bad and blogger is having some difficulties. Matt's laptop cord has three prongs and our adapter only has one, so we didn't have power for it for a while. Pat's work computer was having troubles logging on with all the security the company has on it. Now we can't view our posts on blogger. Megan typed up a long post late last night and had a hard time getting it to post. Either the internet went out or blogger isn't working. I have had to share computer time with her and I fell asleep waiting for my turn last night. Here's Megans blog http://mechinagirl.blogspot.com
Anyway, we're all having a great time, but Megan is missing her brother terribly. We all miss him a lot, but it's been sad to see Megan so upset about missing him. We've talked to Matt each day and she instant messages him, and that usually makes her miss him more. It is really sad that he isn't able to be here.
Where do I start? Friday we (Miyah) woke up about 5 AM, and got ready at a leisurely pace and went down to breakfast. Our plans to sleep in were a joke, so we decided to join the tour that morning.
There are only 3 families adopting special needs children this time. We'll meet one of the families in Kunming and the other family is here in Beijing. When we went to meet for the tour in the morning, we realized we traveled with the same family last time (Nov 04) and they live like a mile from us! Gene and Louise have two girls, Victoria (8) and Diana (almost 4). Miyah is so excited to have two little friends along. They've become good buddies already. Anytime we're not with them she asks where her friends are.
We first visited the Temple of Heaven. The park was beautiful and it was just amazing to see the number of retired people socializing. China is so different than America that way. People are always out of their homes talking and doing things together. They're very active, too. We saw the people dancing (ballroom type dancing), dancing with ribbon sticks (we had to buy some of these because it looked so fun and beautiful), there were men doing some sort of game with string on sticks and an object that they swung across the sting (forget what called). They played poker, chess, mahjong, had singing clubs, all sorts of activities. Pat was invited to play a game I think our guide said was Tai Chi ball. Of course we found out they were trying to sell the ball and racket sets, so we decided to buy some..JPG)
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It was kind of hard to enjoy the park because we were all terribly unprepared for the cold weather. I could have kicked myself for taking the gloves and turtlenecks out of the suitcases thinking it would be warmer.
We've had several people stop and ask us if we could have our pictures with them, but it's interesting people respond to Miyah even though she's Chinese. One lady came over to Miyah in her stroller and began chattering in Chinese. I was able to use my very limited Mandarin to tell her she doesn't speak Mandarin. I was so proud that my first whole sentence in Chinese was actually understood. What she wanted was her picture taken with Miyah and proceeded to try to take her out of her stroller! I told her "bu", no and our guide told her something so that she stood next to us and got her picture that way instead of holding Miyah. I've been very surprised that my shy girl hasn't been afraid of the Chinese people's attention. She even let our driver hold her and help her on and off the bus. Anyone who knows Miyah knows she isn't keen on strange men. I think she realizes that the Chinese people are just very friendly and seem to love children. They all call her a baby.
After the Temple, we went for lunch. The food was great and we even had a little entertainment. We were able to buys some gloves at the little shop in the restaurant.
Then we went to the drum tower where we climbed numerous steep steps to the top of a tower of....you guessed it, drums. These were drums used for telling the time.
Then we took a rickshaw tour of the hutongs (back alleys) of Beijing. By this time it had begun drizzling a little. Megan and I were a little worried because our driver (bicyclist) looked and sounded drunk. We stopped at a couple's home and sat in their little bedroom where they entertain people for lunch. Yes, their bedroom had a little table in it right next to the bed. The kitchen was unbelievably small. Our guide asked us if it was different from American kitchens and I said "Oh, yes!".
We then stopped at a kindergarten, but all the children were gone on a picnic. It would have been fun to see all the little ones Miyah's age. Kindergarten in China is for children ages 2-6. Most of the children live there 6 days a week and only go home on Mondays! Again, so different from America. We explained to our guide what the program is like for American preschoolers and that they don't stay overnight and she was surprised. The families actually have to pay for their children to attend kindergarten, but they say most children attend. Primary school is then paid by the government. I guess since nearly all Chinese couples both need to work, kindergarten is the same as day care for them only they don't need to pick them up at the end of the day.
Anyway, we're all having a great time, but Megan is missing her brother terribly. We all miss him a lot, but it's been sad to see Megan so upset about missing him. We've talked to Matt each day and she instant messages him, and that usually makes her miss him more. It is really sad that he isn't able to be here.
Where do I start? Friday we (Miyah) woke up about 5 AM, and got ready at a leisurely pace and went down to breakfast. Our plans to sleep in were a joke, so we decided to join the tour that morning.
There are only 3 families adopting special needs children this time. We'll meet one of the families in Kunming and the other family is here in Beijing. When we went to meet for the tour in the morning, we realized we traveled with the same family last time (Nov 04) and they live like a mile from us! Gene and Louise have two girls, Victoria (8) and Diana (almost 4). Miyah is so excited to have two little friends along. They've become good buddies already. Anytime we're not with them she asks where her friends are.
We first visited the Temple of Heaven. The park was beautiful and it was just amazing to see the number of retired people socializing. China is so different than America that way. People are always out of their homes talking and doing things together. They're very active, too. We saw the people dancing (ballroom type dancing), dancing with ribbon sticks (we had to buy some of these because it looked so fun and beautiful), there were men doing some sort of game with string on sticks and an object that they swung across the sting (forget what called). They played poker, chess, mahjong, had singing clubs, all sorts of activities. Pat was invited to play a game I think our guide said was Tai Chi ball. Of course we found out they were trying to sell the ball and racket sets, so we decided to buy some.
.JPG)
.JPG)
It was kind of hard to enjoy the park because we were all terribly unprepared for the cold weather. I could have kicked myself for taking the gloves and turtlenecks out of the suitcases thinking it would be warmer.
We've had several people stop and ask us if we could have our pictures with them, but it's interesting people respond to Miyah even though she's Chinese. One lady came over to Miyah in her stroller and began chattering in Chinese. I was able to use my very limited Mandarin to tell her she doesn't speak Mandarin. I was so proud that my first whole sentence in Chinese was actually understood. What she wanted was her picture taken with Miyah and proceeded to try to take her out of her stroller! I told her "bu", no and our guide told her something so that she stood next to us and got her picture that way instead of holding Miyah. I've been very surprised that my shy girl hasn't been afraid of the Chinese people's attention. She even let our driver hold her and help her on and off the bus. Anyone who knows Miyah knows she isn't keen on strange men. I think she realizes that the Chinese people are just very friendly and seem to love children. They all call her a baby.
After the Temple, we went for lunch. The food was great and we even had a little entertainment. We were able to buys some gloves at the little shop in the restaurant.
Then we went to the drum tower where we climbed numerous steep steps to the top of a tower of....you guessed it, drums. These were drums used for telling the time.
Then we took a rickshaw tour of the hutongs (back alleys) of Beijing. By this time it had begun drizzling a little. Megan and I were a little worried because our driver (bicyclist) looked and sounded drunk. We stopped at a couple's home and sat in their little bedroom where they entertain people for lunch. Yes, their bedroom had a little table in it right next to the bed. The kitchen was unbelievably small. Our guide asked us if it was different from American kitchens and I said "Oh, yes!".
We then stopped at a kindergarten, but all the children were gone on a picnic. It would have been fun to see all the little ones Miyah's age. Kindergarten in China is for children ages 2-6. Most of the children live there 6 days a week and only go home on Mondays! Again, so different from America. We explained to our guide what the program is like for American preschoolers and that they don't stay overnight and she was surprised. The families actually have to pay for their children to attend kindergarten, but they say most children attend. Primary school is then paid by the government. I guess since nearly all Chinese couples both need to work, kindergarten is the same as day care for them only they don't need to pick them up at the end of the day.
After the hutong tour, we went to the Beijing Acrobat show. It was amazing! I can't even begin to describe the things those young people can do. Megan was most impressed with the girl who did an arabesque on pointe, on a man's shoulder while he moved around.
Miyah fell asleep while we drove to the acrobat show and slept through the entire thing. We got back to the hotel at 7:00 and I went right to sleep with her while Pat and Megan went to get soemthing to eat. Miyah slept from 5:00 until midnight. She woke up very hungry since she missed dinner. I made her some soup I had brought with and some dry cereal. Another night with only a few hours of sleep! I called Pat at 1:30 and he took over while I went to his room to sleep for a few more hours. Miyah went back to sleep at 3:30 and slept until about 7:30.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
We're Here!!
We made it to China safely. What a day! We’re all pretty exhausted and can’t wait to get into a bed for some real sleep.
Our flights were pretty uneventful, but the flight to Tokyo was delayed nearly an hour which meant once we landed in Tokyo, we were running to catch our connection to Beijing. We had less than thirty minutes to get off the plane, go through security at Narita (Tokyo) and then get to our gate. The line at security was long, but they held the plane for us and we were able to make it in plenty of time before take-off.
The flight from MN to Tokyo was long (12 hours), but we survived. We arrived in Tokyo in the middle of the night (3:45 AM our time) when we would have liked to be sleeping, but sleep didn’t come easily anyway. Miyah had the hardest time, but eventually she just crashed. I think we’ve each only slept about 3-4 hours and even those weren’t consecutive hours. Miyah tossed and turned and woke up every 20 minutes or so. I hope she sleeps really well in the hotel room tonight. I never thought I’d be anxious to climb into a Chinese bed, but I certainly am.
I was a little worried about how Miyah would do, but she’s been great. She’s still in good spirits with only a little sleep and a lot craziness. I wouldn’t call it a pleasant trip over, but it’s definitely survivable.
We miss you and love you so much, Matt!! We've thought about you throughout the day and wish you were here.....you should be glad you missed this part of the trip though, because all the flying really isn't fun. We'll try calling you again tomorrow.
Oh, and we got the suitcases of donations off to NHF, Rebecca. Thank God all of our luggage made it here safe and sound.
We have a few pictures, but I haven't figured out how to upload them on this computer yet. Pat will help me, but right now he's sleeping in his OWN ROOM! Yes, strange, but he has his own room down the hall. They couldn't even put us in rooms next to each other. I think we'll ask to just cancel the other room because there's room for us all to sleep in one. Apparently they only allow more than three people in a room at this hotel, but I think they may be able to be persuaded.
Oh, I can't believe it, but no sooner did we step off the airplane (no exaggeration), than two different ladies scolded me for not dressing Miyah warm enough. It was so hot on the plane that she was in a short sleeved shirt. It's not like we deboarded outside either and the airports are stinkin hot in Japan and China. The first lady literally ran up behind me and said, "Excuse me, but it's colder here in Beijing, she needs something warmer". Right after that a lady came around the corner and speaking Chinese to another women, pointed to Miyah's arms and said something disapproving in Chinese. It's funny because we never experienced that in last time. We were in Guangzhou with Miyah the whole time last trip and maybe because it's so much warmer there.
Anyway, when in China.... So, now you will see Miyah pictured in at least six layers of clothing. No lie...they really bundle up the children in China. They think it keeps them healthy. It'll be interesting to see if Mei Lin comes bundled even though it's in the 80s in Kunming. Someone recently received a Kunming baby all bundled in a half dozen layers.
I wondered if Miyah would ever settle down to sleep, but I just took a shower and came out and both girls are sound asleep as I type.
Okay, I can't believe I'm babbling on when I haven't slept more than six hours in two days. I had a really hard time sleeping the night before we left and barely slept on the plane. I think my circadian rhythm is kicking in and I'm ready for lunch (it's nearly 1 AM here).
Good night from China! Tomorrow we plan to meet our coordinator for lunch and skip the Temple of Heaven tour just so we can sleep in a bit. Then later we have a hutong tour (rickshaw tour of the old historic back alleys of Beijing) and then we see the Beijing Acrobats.
Our flights were pretty uneventful, but the flight to Tokyo was delayed nearly an hour which meant once we landed in Tokyo, we were running to catch our connection to Beijing. We had less than thirty minutes to get off the plane, go through security at Narita (Tokyo) and then get to our gate. The line at security was long, but they held the plane for us and we were able to make it in plenty of time before take-off.
The flight from MN to Tokyo was long (12 hours), but we survived. We arrived in Tokyo in the middle of the night (3:45 AM our time) when we would have liked to be sleeping, but sleep didn’t come easily anyway. Miyah had the hardest time, but eventually she just crashed. I think we’ve each only slept about 3-4 hours and even those weren’t consecutive hours. Miyah tossed and turned and woke up every 20 minutes or so. I hope she sleeps really well in the hotel room tonight. I never thought I’d be anxious to climb into a Chinese bed, but I certainly am.
I was a little worried about how Miyah would do, but she’s been great. She’s still in good spirits with only a little sleep and a lot craziness. I wouldn’t call it a pleasant trip over, but it’s definitely survivable.
We miss you and love you so much, Matt!! We've thought about you throughout the day and wish you were here.....you should be glad you missed this part of the trip though, because all the flying really isn't fun. We'll try calling you again tomorrow.
Oh, and we got the suitcases of donations off to NHF, Rebecca. Thank God all of our luggage made it here safe and sound.
We have a few pictures, but I haven't figured out how to upload them on this computer yet. Pat will help me, but right now he's sleeping in his OWN ROOM! Yes, strange, but he has his own room down the hall. They couldn't even put us in rooms next to each other. I think we'll ask to just cancel the other room because there's room for us all to sleep in one. Apparently they only allow more than three people in a room at this hotel, but I think they may be able to be persuaded.
Oh, I can't believe it, but no sooner did we step off the airplane (no exaggeration), than two different ladies scolded me for not dressing Miyah warm enough. It was so hot on the plane that she was in a short sleeved shirt. It's not like we deboarded outside either and the airports are stinkin hot in Japan and China. The first lady literally ran up behind me and said, "Excuse me, but it's colder here in Beijing, she needs something warmer". Right after that a lady came around the corner and speaking Chinese to another women, pointed to Miyah's arms and said something disapproving in Chinese. It's funny because we never experienced that in last time. We were in Guangzhou with Miyah the whole time last trip and maybe because it's so much warmer there.
Anyway, when in China.... So, now you will see Miyah pictured in at least six layers of clothing. No lie...they really bundle up the children in China. They think it keeps them healthy. It'll be interesting to see if Mei Lin comes bundled even though it's in the 80s in Kunming. Someone recently received a Kunming baby all bundled in a half dozen layers.
I wondered if Miyah would ever settle down to sleep, but I just took a shower and came out and both girls are sound asleep as I type.
Okay, I can't believe I'm babbling on when I haven't slept more than six hours in two days. I had a really hard time sleeping the night before we left and barely slept on the plane. I think my circadian rhythm is kicking in and I'm ready for lunch (it's nearly 1 AM here).
Good night from China! Tomorrow we plan to meet our coordinator for lunch and skip the Temple of Heaven tour just so we can sleep in a bit. Then later we have a hutong tour (rickshaw tour of the old historic back alleys of Beijing) and then we see the Beijing Acrobats.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
We're (Almost) Off! Well, by the time you read this we'll be off!
It's been a crazy, busy day and I'm just going to be so glad to get on that airplane and not have to think of what else to pack and where to pack it.
We have seven, yes SEVEN suitcases!! Half of those are for donations for two orphanages though.
Off to bed...or to Walgreens to get a watch since no one in our house seems to have a functioning watch....HOW did I forget to think about a watch??? We don't wear watches anymore....I guess because we have our cell phones.
Goodnight. We can't wait to post from China!!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Itinerary
We got our consulate appointments last week and our itinerary is posted along the right hand column of the blog. We leave in 1 1/2 weeks. Two weeks from now we'll be holding Mei Lin! It's hard to believe.
I put a little information about Mei Lin's orphanage and Yunnan Province on our family website http://pkonfam.tripod.com/ourfamilywebsite2/id32.html. If I get some time I'll post some here later.
Time to pack!!
I put a little information about Mei Lin's orphanage and Yunnan Province on our family website http://pkonfam.tripod.com/ourfamilywebsite2/id32.html. If I get some time I'll post some here later.
Time to pack!!
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