Watch your step
(a late entry due to internet failure in China)
I have to begin my blog entry by saying that our babies went through so much travelling today, and I give them the credit they deserve being thrown off their schedules.
Our van left with all the families in our travel group for the first time since we've been in Beijing. It was great to have Allison and Tim with their daughter Lily with us today, as they have been cooped up in their hotel room coping with a sick little girl since we arrived back in Beijing. And being first time parents, they are dealing with these challenging issues, in addition to being in a hotel room in very foreign country, with flying colours. I can only imagine how much they wish they were home.
(ONE MORE SLEEP!)
The first leg of our trip lasted about an hour, during which Nevin had a medium-sized melt down from fatigue and most likely fed up from being in the van for an hour....as were all the babies and families. One thing we've learned about Nevin is that he is strong willed. My, oh my! He is going to fit in with his brother and sister...
Our first stop was the Beijing Jade Factory. Our factory guide explained the differences between soft and hard jade, and the variances of colours. I had always believed jade was green. Not purple, yellow and blue. The factory store was enormous and we only had about half an hour to shop. I could't take it all in that amount of time. I felt pressured and being in a group made it that much worse. The jade in this factory was top notch, top graded jade. And it was very expensive. I was actually more interested in the sculptures-- but they were too large and heavy to bring back home. I left the store Jadeless. But was okay with that decision. We are coming home with a new son, and that is the real reason why we were in China. Priceless in comparison to Jade....it is a belief in China that Jade is considered to be priceless....
Then back in the van and off to the great wall, another good leg on our journey, and it seemed the babies took turns at their cry fest-- but could you blame them? At one point, all the parents went into fits of laughter- part because the babies were actually rotating in melt downs and partly absolute exhaustion.
Our guide took us to a more picturesque entrance to the Great Wall (can you imagine a more "picturesque" view ? REALLY?") The benefit to going to this entrance is there are hardly any crowds in comparison to the first. However, the flip side to that statement is the pitch to one section of the wall is literally about 85 degrees. Once we stood at the foot of that particular stair case we decided it was too dangerous to take Nevin. Besides, neither of our knees nor backs would be capable of the journey carrying our new son. So we took turns climbing to the first lookout. When I reached the half way mark of this steep pitch, I actually came down a few steps-- fearing the pitch and the height! I am not normally a person who fears heights, but I did feel a sense of vertigo and the need to lay flat on the ground to save my life. After convincing myself that I am in China, at the Great Wall... just turn around and DO IT! I took a deep breath and hid my line of sight under the brim of my hat and grasped the side rails, and slowly took each step. I was in no rush (except that I needed to be down to let David have his turn and take Nevin...all within 45 minutes to meet our guide and families on the bus....). My legs burned, and I could start to feel the adrenaline rush through me as I realized I was close to the first tower. When I got to the top, and felt safe to look up, my knees started to shake when I saw the view. Of all the pictures I took, none of them could do justice to what my eyes actually saw. The wind picked up and blew a sensational force of wind in my face, I let out a scream (with a smile mind you) and the moment was so profound, that all I could say was "wow" about fifteen times. There was an elderly man sitting behind me on the ledge, having a cigarette, and looking sombre, as if it was his last moment on earth. It is said in China that a man is not a real man until he has walked the Great Wall. It would explain why so many domestic tourists come to the wall. I felt the urge to give him a high five, but just offered him a small nod and he nodded back-- as if to say, "yeah, this is pretty cool..." It was then I realized this would be our last night in China, and felt a little emotional when I thought of Nevin. This would be his last night in his homeland.
Many young Chinese people wanted to take my picture with their groups and spoke to me in their limited English and I attempted to speak to them in my very limited Mandarin. They were very pleased when I spoke to them, and even more so when I held up the peace sign with them....something I've seen all the young Chinese people do in all the pictures they take.
Then I looked up and decided I wanted to go higher, as I thought the view would be more outstanding. And it was. Thoughts of wanting to pack a tent to walk along the thousand or two kilometers of Great Wall. But that would be absolutely impossible as I don't believe my legs would let me.
On the way down, I was as careful as possible...fearing how dead I would be if I tripped. And in that thought, young teenagers were tap dancing down the steps in the middle of stair case....whizzing past me like I was a senior citizen. I got to the bottom where David and Nevin were and we switched turns. As I stood there for about 15-20 minutes I could feel the lactic acid rushing through my legs, and I started to shake. I forgot to mention that I wanted to count the stairs as I went up, but lost count at 36 from the fear.
The weather was so perfect-- the sky was the clearest blue, no smog and we could see the mountains for miles and miles and miles, the wind was cool and the sun was warm. We were disappointed we had such a limited amount of time to enjoy the wondrous scenery.
We loaded on the bus with babies that were beyond their naps, and drove to the Friendship Store for lunch for another traditional Chinese lunch. It was very good. I shopped a little, as it was within a Cloisonne factory. I didn't buy cloisonne, but silk clothing. I made a deal with the manager...as I wasn't sure I could dicker, but she approved of the offer. Nevin was right on the cusp of happy and angry. But he enjoyed playing with the babies while Mummy finished up her transaction.
Back on the bus to meet heavy traffic with tired babies. It is moon festival here in China, and the traffic was insane. We got back to our room just before 5pm and decided that since Nevin didn't have a nap, to keep him up a little and put him down for the night. He went down around 6:30pm after a fun bath and a bottle. Hopefully he'll sleep through the night.
At 8:30, I will meet our guide in the lobby to receive the scroll we ordered by a master artist of Nevin's Chinese name. We also ordered three chops for all our children in their English names, and Chinese names. I asked our guide if she will translate the Memory Book our orphanage made for Nevin and will record it on our DVD Handycam. We have discovered that the orphanage Nevin was from was sponsored by an organization called Half the Sky Foundation-- a very reputable organization that provides funding and essential care for the orphans. We also discovered that we were the only family to receive such documentation, and makes me more excited to hear the content of the book in English.
So tonight, its packing!
Tomorrow, several families are interested in seeing the Olympic Village, but we are going to stick around the hotel for some down time before our big journey back to Canada. There is a shopping centre across the street we haven't been to so we thought we'd do a little shopping.
Nevin, you'll soon be home.
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Quin, Paul, Meredith, Scott, Kate, Jennifer, Alex, Me, Nevin, David, Allison holding Lily, and Tim. What a wonderful group of people!
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