Goodbye Beijing...almost!

Hello Everyone,

Well as the world turns and airport security tightens, Lesley and I are packing - ready to make our way home. Thanks Itma for the message - we were aware of what is going on in London as 1 of the 3 English channels we get is CNN - the “All Doom - All the Time” channel, the second channel is ESPN Asia (which plays snooker, cricket, and soccer 24/7 - UGH!!), and of course HBO Asia which plays some of the worst movies that Hollywood has to offer - the one exception has been the first season of Deadwood (minus the 25 vulgarities per minute - highly sanitized) which Lesley and I really enjoyed. Lise and Al pack some good books! I made it through Dan Brown’s “Deception Point” and have cracked the Stephen Lewis Massey Lecture “Race Against Time”. I have yet to master the “sleep while baby naps” technique so I am a bit shagged, as Mara has been consistently waking up anywhere between 5:45 and 6:15 am - regardless of what time she goes to sleep. Dad has pretty much got the grab the baby, sniff the diaper (very necessary step - takes one blowout to learn), and then back to bed for a few more winks - which, if we are lucky, means she sleeps to 7 am. I use to love sleep :)

What a whirlwind 3 weeks. We said goodbye to all of the other families today - in 2 groups - the Toronto direct families, and the via Vancouver families. Really was no consensus on which was the better option, but then again no one had traveled on the plane for 12 hours with a 1 year old. We are totally packed and I have to tell you all (mostly my mom and sister) that Lesley and I only have 3 checked bags, 3 carry on bags, and 1 stroller (we’ll see if it makes it). We were definitely one of the lighter packed families on this trip (I know, it’s hard to believe!). What a great group of families that we have shared this experience with. It was hard to say goodbye. We are planning to get together next summer and Lesley and I are very happy about that. We look forward to getting together with the Ottawa families often.

A little catch up on the blog. We have been too tired to post over the last 2 days. On Wednesday we went on the Hu-tong tour (by rickshaw) which was a really unique experience. The hu-tong’s are, in practical terms, 1 level homes that are arranged in a quadrangle around a court yard and running through these houses are narrow alley ways that, if I understood correctly, had water running down them at one time (Venice-ish?). Anyway, we were bused to the loading spot (near the Bell tower, and Drum tower - which were once used to signify time for the city), where we were accosted by the usual Rolex, fan, and postcard sellers - who literally attack you as you get off the bus. We were assigned our rickshaw, met the peddler, jumped on the seat and away we go. Now, I am not sure if I have blogged this yet, but it is worth noting - driving in China (but Beijing especially) is absolutely terrifying. There are rules, but they are followed when convenient. If you have a nose in front - you are in. There are many many traffic circles as the city has 5 (working on the 6th) ring roads that surround the city as major arteries - and these are especially harrowing. Needless to say I have had my fill of driving in Beijing, but I am stuffed to the gills on being a pedestrian. The rickshaw and big road traffic was a whole new experience that i am glad is now over. The passage through the hu-tongs was fun and a fair amount of work for the peddlers. The hu-tongs were no less congested though, and we did some pretty fancy maneuvering, as did many of the locals around the 10+ families on red rickshaw’s. Oh what I would have given for an aerial photograph - I imagined us as a disjointed red snake. We stopped at a local family’s home for tea and a description of life in the hu-tong, as well - a huge bonus - a description of how to raise fighting crickets and grasshoppers. Now for those who’s SPCA monitors just blew a gasket, have no fear - these guys don’t fight to the death - more just shame - he/she who backs down first is the loser. Apparently there is very large $ to be made for champions. Who knew. I should mention that these insects are large - like about 2-5 inches long and 1-2 inches high. Definitely not something that you want to get stuck in your teeth as you bicycle down a country road (keep your mouth closed!) Mr. Feng (sp?) was retired at 48, and did this as his hobby. The factory he use to work in closed and voila retirement. They had a very nice home. Mr Feng’s wife was stunningly beautiful and a larger than life picture of her adorned their living room (we met her later, and the huge picture was not far off). In the hu-tong we were told that people usually had 1 or more of 4 different hobbies - a garden, raising crickets (the sound is prized for sleeping - honestly my instinct was to turn the volume to mute), raising birds, and raising fish. Mr. Feng practiced all 4. He had a myna bird that spoke (mandarin of course - so odd - no "poly wanna cracker"), which we got a real kick out of. We thanked Mr. Feng and headed back to our rickshaw peddlers. Freda mentioned that a major downside to the high density housing that is everywhere you look (the Geography of Nowhere! All major cities worldwide), is the fact that the sense of community is/has been lost and that it is not uncommon to not know your neighbor. I can tell you that Mr. Feng knew all of his neighbors and that they valued this aspect of their lives. We toured a bit more and then headed back to the Bell tower for a climb and look (Lesley did it) and then a traditional tea ceremony. We tried a number of teas, got a lesson on technique from a wonderful guide and then is was back to bus for our ride home. Another very neat cultural experience that I am glad we went on. Mara totally enjoyed the ride and was really relaxed - taking in this aspect of her China for the first time. I truly wish I knew what she was thinking. Her little world has expanded so much these past 2 weeks and she has really handled it with curiosity.

Wednesday was also the 1st birthday of one our newly adopted babies. The baby’s mom and dad invited the other families for pizza, beer, and cake. We started in their suite but quickly spilled out into the hallway, which reminded me so much of hockey tournaments when I was a kid. This was the babies first “play date” since leaving the orphanage and it made for some hilarious situations - some toy stealing, some hair pulling, and a lot of screaming. Needless to say the hotel staff was beside themselves. We also celebrated the fact that the babies Canadian Visa’s had arrived and that all the paperwork was in order. This should be an interesting process to both leave China and arrive in Canada :)

Thursday was a free day so Lesley and I took our time to get to breakfast and then off to see the Lama Temple and the main Olympic venue that is currently being constructed. After some guidance from the hotel staff we had our written directions to get to the “Bird’s Nest” - which as it turns out is an good description for our taxi driver as he actually got us there without an actual address. We took the subway with the baby for the first time to the Lama temple - it was not too busy and it got us there in about 5 minutes. The Lama temple was amazing. It is a large buddhist temple located in the north section of the city and it boasts the Guinness Book of World Record’s record for the largest statue of Maitreya that was carved out of a single white sandalwood tree (from Burma - bought by the Dali Lama himself and barged to Beijing over 3 years!) standing 26 metres (85 feet!!) high. It was amazing. The whole temple was wonderful. Mara started the beginning of “fuss day” while being fed under a beautiful tree here. Lesley and pushed on despite the rumblings from miss Mara and hailed a cab - onward to the bird’s nest. Mara had had it with mom and dad, and she melted down in the cab. Ok, so now everyone knows that she is normal, just like every kid :) Our driver (now deaf!) found the National Stadium (click on the text to go to the official website) site and dropped us off on the side of the road. Lesley, Mara, and Lee stood there is amazement of this cool exo-skeletan (and odd) architecture. We walked the length of the block before the lightning started and the 3 of us then had to bolt (bad pun!) to the nearest hotel to get a cab back to our hotel (the business card from the hotel is a great map for taxi’s - don’t leave without it) before we were completely soaked. Miss Mara had melt down number 2 and mom and dad were sure that the “honeymoon” was over. She freaked out before her afternoon nap and then woke up in a civil mood. 4:30 and we congregated as a group in the hotel lobby for final group picture and then off to celebrate “New Family” day at a restaurant - on the menu - the world famous Peking Duck. I don’t remember all the details on preparation but the duck was good. We had a cake celebration and then back to the bus - get the babes to sleep and pack away. What will Friday bring with Miss Mara?

Well despite an early start (5:50 am before Dad got baby to sleep until 7:00 am) Mara was more curious, more vocal, and more relaxed than at any time over the last 2 weeks - thank god!! We said bon voyage to the first departing families and then Mara had a good morning nap. We said bon voyage to the second group of departing families and then off to do some final shopping. Back at 4:30 to feed the baby and then the big pack began. We ordered room service (spaghetti bolognese for 2!), fed the babe, bathed her (which she totally loves) and we are good to go.

We are all packed and Lesley and I are glad to be going home. What a truly amazing experience. 3 weeks is a long time to be away but I can honestly say that we were not bored for even 1 minute - might have actually been over-stimulated at times. Our flight will be long, but special. Lesley and I will get an extra 12 hours of August 12th to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary!! YEAH - and baby makes three (I know a little cliche). Happy belated 7th anniversary Aylanna and Mike (I can’t for the life of me remember if I sent your card before we left? I know I bought it!) and we wish you both many more years of happiness and joy.

This will be the last blog from China and Lesley and I would like to again thank you all for your comments - they meant the world to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Goodnight (good morning to you!) and we will see or touch base with you all soon.
Love to you all.

Lee (sleeping Lesley and Mara)

p.s. Joan - I think you posted your first blog on the very first entry (which gets archived as you move from one month to the next. You can access the “Archive” by clicking on the month that is about 3/4’s the way down the left side of the blog page)

p.p.s Just so you know, I am aware that my spelling and punctuation slides depending on how tired I am. I would edit the postings to the blog (being as retentive/obsessive compulsive as I am) but I am just too damn tired ;)