Beijing

We have just finished our first full day in China!  It was a long, hot day of touring, but what an experience!  The first trick of the day was finding all the spots & in what suitcases we stuffed all of the various items we brought.  I knew I brought whatever it was we were searching for, just couldn't remember where it was put.  We met up with our group at 9:00 am and took a bus out to start our Hutong tour.  Now I had heard stories of the traffic in China, but until you see it for yourself, you just can't appreciate it.  WOW....it is.....hmmm what is the word?  Oh its mind boggling.  There are people walking, riding bikes, scooters, rickshaws (see pictures) cars and buses EVERYWHERE!  How people manage to get around is beyond me.  We got to ride in some rickshaws, which I didn't realize we were going to do, so it was a nice surprise.  We then went and toured a family's home.  This family was considered royalty and their home was more than 100 years old.  I kept asking myself if I was really understanding this correctly, as the man, nor his home appeared at all to be of royal decent.  I guess what struck me the most today was the social status that the Chinese people are placed in.  Sure we have our classes, but thanks to the American dream and the belief in working hard or winning the lottery :)  we can change our social class.  The Chinese people can not.  It is their destiny.  I learned so much about this & will be talking a lot about it with my social work students this fall.

We then went to the silk factory & saw how silk was made.  I now understand why silk is so expensive!  What a process and so much of it has to be done by hand.  We got an adorable little outfit for Anastyn to wear at the White Swan for the pictures on the red couch.  If you don't know what I am talking about....well you will once that time comes...so stay tuned!  Next we had a great lunch of authentic Chinese food.  It was fun sitting with our group & just enjoying the conversations & time together.  Throughout the day, our talks would turn towards our little ones we soon would have with us.  It is nice to have people who understand the process and all the emotions that go with adopting internationally.

Now, I have to discuss our bathroom experiences.  It is absolutely true that places do NOT provide toilet paper & you have to bring it with.  I thought that was the exception & not the norm...WRONG!  I learned this lesson at the silk factory.  This is a very nice establishment and I would never have guessed they would not supply toilet paper.  So, at the restaurant, I made sure to take the toilet paper with from our backpack.  Well...guess what...no traditional toilets, only squatter potties.  What am I talking about, well I am going to take a picture for you, but basically it is a grate, or a drain in the floor & you squat to do your business.  It is challenging, but I accomplished it. 

We spent the afternoon touring Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  We walked & walked & walked some more.  It was interesting to learn more about the Chinese culture & their beliefs.  I also loved watching the Chinese people watch us.  Our group must be quite the sight for them.  Many take pictures, some point, some just gather around and watch.  We have a little girl in our group who has long blonde hair AND is in a wheelchair.  She is fascinating to the people.  Josh from CCAI had told us on our conference call how you will not see people with disabilities out in China, they are hidden away.  So, when the Chinese see Americans with disabilities out in public, they are amazed and impressed that Americans do this.  The social worker in me just loves observing this behavior.  After the tours, we left and drove the 3 miles back to the hotel....that took over an hour to do!  Oh boy the traffic! 

Tonight we were on our own.  We, like many others, went to McDonalds close to the hotel and then just relaxed in our room.  Tomorrow we go to the Great Wall of China.