We went on a great tour of the summer palace yesterday.  The royal family used to go there to get out of the heat of the city.  Shawn, our friend here in China, is from the royal family and he heard stories about his grandmother being carried from the forbidden city to the summer palace.  She rode in one of those curtained boxes on poles carried by four men.  It would take them two days to get there.  Today it takes about an hour by car.

The palace was amazing! 

Kids, looking at these pictures, see if you know the answers to the following questions:

1. What is in this guy's drinking water?

2.   Why am I standing in front of a statue of an ox?

3. Is this a male or female lion statue?

4. Why is that red board stretched across the doorway?

5. What is the boat made of?  

Pigeon head anyone?

Ian said they were scrumptious!

Restaurant or Pet Store Aquarium?

I ate my first authentic Chinese meal! There was way more food than you can imagine. Everything I ate was delicious. Remember the turn tables we saw in the movies. Our table had one; it was pretty cool!

But. .. the most interesting part of the experience was the aquarium at the front of the restaurant. Here the customers can pick which fish they would like to eat. I did NOT eat this ginormous fish! But isn't that amazing to think I could have ordered him. Yikes! I don't think he would have fit in the little net they had to catch the fish. If you look close down by my bag you can see a scary looking eel.

Officially day one!

Today is my first official day in China. I was so excited, I woke up at 3 am wondering where I was? oh yeah, Beijing! But Omaha time it was 2 pm, so my body said it was time to get going!

We had a quick breakfast with some unusual choices ( Rice soup, fried rice...) but then, there was fresh fruit and cereal. Guess what I choose? Then, we meet some friends at Starbucks. We talked for a long time!!! I know this doesn't sound fun to you kids, but it was fun for me and I learned a lot about China.

In the afternoon we went shopping at a place called the Pearl Market. It is CRAZY there, they actually grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into their booth. I did buy a new purse and some more scarves!

It was great to talk to Mrs. Johnson's class tonight! I hope I'll get to talk to mine tomorrow!

Back to China!

The journey to China seems shorter. This week we have a delegation of eight people traveling with us to China for an official visit with leaders.  We will leave from Chicago at 12:30 p.m and arrive on the following day in Beijing at 3:30 p.m.   14 hours later we will arrive jet lagged and ready to get off the plane.  These trips make the world seem smaller!

Street eat'in

There is a street in Beijing where you can eat everything on a stick. So, I thought how about grasshoppers? Yes, you can do it! How about grubs? Yes, you can do it! How about Scorpions on a stick? Yes,,,,

One World One Dream

Most of the World has images of the 2008 Olympics still in our minds. These Olympics were extremely impressive on many levels, the opening ceremonies, the international guest and the excellent service provided throughout events. Today, we were able to see some of the venues of the games, very impressive! Athletic would not be used to describe our team, although some still think they are ready for the next Olympics.

As we walk through the village and saw the venues it was moving to think of the thousands of people from all across the Global who came to Beijing. Beijing is truly an International city and did an excellent job hosting the 2008 games! One World One Dream was the theme. We are starting to Dream!

There are many parks in this International city. As we walked through a park today I thought of the contrast of the old and new. A theme which repeats it self many times through out the day. Everywhere a person turns there are examples of both the old and the new. The contrast is sharp. One example, I found great transportation which would really cut my fuel cost. As I sat on my new acquired mode of transportation, as BMW passed me? The contrast of the old and new.

As we walk through the park we see people enjoying life playing cards, dancing, singing and relaxing in simple ways. We watch a retired man spend hours with a spinning top, as it spins the sound comes out of the top. This ancient chinese top is now mass made out of plastic, but still appreciated. A great way to spend retirement and cheaper than golf.

Another beautiful day in Beijing!