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| I had a difficult time getting back to Beijing after Mom's funeral. I got bumped in Seattle, and had lousy connections the whole way through. After over 38 hours of travel, I got back to my apartment just 12 hours before Wanetta was due to land. It was a long, hot shower, a short sleep, a quick run to the grocery, and I was back in a cab for the nearly two hour trip back to the airport. It was a beautiful day for her to be arriving- China pulled out a blue sky day just for her :) I love the architecture of the toll gate entering in to PEK- it's so China! |
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| Driving in to the airport terminal, the streets were lined with the Chinese flag, and this one. I have always had a fascination with maps and flags, but this one had me stumped. Clearly there was an important delegation visiting China, but I could not figure out who it was. I couldn't wait to get to the airport so I could get a wifi connection to look it up. Belarus! Who knew?! |
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| There's my weary traveler:) It was so bizarre to see my best friend of thirty five years, straight from the farm in Jay County, Indiana, now walking through the doors of International Arrivals! We both squealed with joy... |
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| ...even though we had just seen each other days before at my Momma's funeral. In spite of us both being severely jet lagged, we were happy to be together again. It had to have been providential that she bought her tickets way back last February. The good Lord knew I didn't need to be in China by myself the end of September in 2016. |
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| The guest bedroom ready for my guest! |
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| The view from her window :) |
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| Her photos make my wee apartment look cozy! |
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| She was a bit astounded by China-style kitchens! |
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| Severe jet lag means you are wide awake at 3am and starving- so we made a minimal breakfast and went back to bed, lol. |
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| My first photo in front of my school :) |
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| She came to me with work the first day. Like me, she was in awe of our beautiful new building. |
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| We got there early to see the kids lined up for their 'morning briefing' before they report to class. |
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| While I was busy teaching, I put Skeet to work grading for me. I had PILES of grading to do from having been gone to the States for eight days. |
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| On a mid-morning break, we slipped out of school and caught the bus to the local police department. All guests have to be registered with the police within 24 hours of their arrival OR ELSE. I don't what the 'or else' entails, but it requires both of our passports, my residency permit, a copy of my apartment lease and a host of red stamps- it's the Chinese Way. The city is beginning to decorate for Golden Week, which is their National holiday- like our July 4th. |
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| After the police station, we went to my local bank and she exchanged a few hundred US for a few thousand RMBs. She felt rich holding all of those $100 Mao bills! |
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| I was worried about keeping Skeet well fed, to say she is a picky eater is a bit of an understatement! China cuisine can be questionable at best, lol. We went to my school's canteen, where I directed her to my favorite dish...potatoes, chicken, and peppers in a sweet and sour sauce served on rice. I am laughing as I type this...I didn't consider the fact that my idea of spicy and her idea of spicy is quite different, AND she doesn't use chopsticks!!! After she stabbed a piece of chicken and guzzled half a bottle of water, the cafeteria lady standing by was watching her struggle trying to feed herself. She took pity on her, tapped her on the shoulder, |
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| ...and shyly handed her a much needed spoon! We were dying laughing!!! |
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| She got a kick out of "WuMei," the convenience store in China. |
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| On her second night here, her third grandson made an early entry to the world, safe and sound. There were happy tears all around :) |
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| Skeet and I were leaving for Lamma Island in a few days, so we got a proper pedicure from the Alley Market near the school. |
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| I had a full teaching load the next day, and I didn't want to leave her sitting bored in my classroom, so I sent her on a mission to visit the International Sculpture Park. It is less than two blocks from my home and the school, but I quickly learned my bestie is a little directionally challenged! I walked her within view of the park's gate, gave her a pep talk to find her way back to me, and said a silent prayer as I hurried back to class. She sent me some photos... |
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| I was so proud of her for enjoying the afternoon at the park! She also found her way to the Decathlon, which I had pointed out to her, too. It is a fabulous sporting goods store, and she has become a runner in the last few years. My bestie loves to shop, and I knew she would enjoy finding new workout clothes. She came back with some Christmas gifts, too :) |
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| After school, Skeet, Virginia (a newbie) and I hopped on the subway for a whirlwind tour before sundown. We popped up at Tiananmen Square, where she saw "The Egg", or the National Performing Arts Center. |
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| The Great Hall of the People (Chinese Parliament). |
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| The Monument to the People's Heroes- dedicated in 1958 to all the soldiers who fell in the Revolution. |
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| Mao's Mausoleum, where he can be viewed lying in state in a crystal casket. |
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| Behind Skeet is Tsquare which can hold 1 million people. To her left is the National Museum of China- their Smithsonian. |
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| She got a photo of a Red Coat soldier on patrol; they do not take kindly to having their photo taken! |
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| Next we walked to Tiananmen Gate to view the 15'x20' portrait of Mao. It is the entrance to the Forbidden City and the Imperial Palace Museum. It was from this balcony on October 1, 1949, that Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China. This date marks their National Holiday and the start of Golden Week. The inscription on the left reads, "Long live the People's Republic of China." On the right is says, "Long live the great unity of all the peoples of the world." |
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| Tiananmen Gate is flanked by these two giant huabiao, or stone carved pillars, dating back over 500 years, symbolizing emperors and their subjects over many dynasties. Amidst the crowd of Chinese humanity, my two blonde friends were stopped repeatedly to have their photos taken- Celebrities, I tell ya!!! |
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| Meet Virginia, my psychology coworker and friend. We chose to walk around the Forbidden City rather than through it. I wanted to show them a gorgeous view of FC before sundown... |
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| We followed the moat around Forbidden City. |
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| Those are some impressive "watchtowers" on the four corners of Forbidden City. |
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| I hustled the girls to the back of Forbidden City, to Jingshan Park. We had a steep climb to the pagoda at the top of the hill. It was in Jingshan Park that the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty (Chongzhen) committed suicide by hanging himself from a locust tree. |
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| The architectural details of the Buddhist temples and pagodas are stunning. |
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| We barely made it in time...the view from the pagoda at Jingshan is of the entire Forbidden City- all 800+ buildings with their golden tiled roofs, which signifies the Imperials who lived there. Beyond FC, the lights were just coming on at Tiananmen Square! |
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| To the west was a beautiful view of the White Dagoba which towers over the BeiHai Lake area. It's a gorgeous place for Beijing exploring :) |
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| Given that nightfall had descended, we hopped in a tuk-tuk for a wild and crazy ride to the hutong- too fun! |
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| It was Friday night at Pebbles, my favorite Mexican restaurant set in a hutong. That can only mean one thing... |
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| Two for one margaritas with my bestie!!! |
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| A trip to the potty proved picture-worthy! LOL. Chinese plumbing is pretty suspect, I must admit. |
We didn't stay out too late as we had an early flight to Hong Kong and Lamma Island the
next morning. We planned to celebrate Golden Week with some much needed R & R on the beach.
Stay tuned!!!
