We woke up this morning ready to hit the reset button. The goal was not to fall for any scams involving large sums of money. With the help of another couple we met at breakfast, I think we managed to seize the day.
The day began with working internet and a video call with both of our boys. While Jeremy seemed happy to see us, I think it was Angela and me that were happiest about getting to see them on our screens. Despite our eagerness to add Seraphina to our family, we miss seeing the children we already have back home!
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| international breakfast cuisine |
Following the call, we headed down to the 3rd floor atrium for a buffet breakfast.
Sunworld Dynasty did not disappoint with international options to satisfy all taste buds. I was feeling froggy, so I went with some unusual choices. The boiled green veggies and beef & mushroom soup were delicious. The steamed dumpling wasn't as good as I had expected due to some foul-tasting filling, and the seasoned, cold mackerel was a definite dud.
During breakfast we made the educated guess that a nearby group of couples was likely part of our adoption group. Prior to today we had only met 1 of 2 guides who picked us up at airport and got us situated at the hotel. We have not met other families or the 2nd guide.
Angela was the first to get up an introduce herself to one of the couples. Kylan and Robert came over to sit with us and a new friendship was born. They are from Phoenix, AZ and this will be their first adoption. They are adopting a 2-year old boy. As was the case with families met during our past trips to China, this one was a perfect match. They asked if we would like to join them for a self-guided walking tour of Beijing, and we gratefully accepted.
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| Tiananmen Square architecture |
Around lunch time we met them in the lobby and headed for Tiananmen Square. Although we had been there with the group last time, we were happy to return with new friends for another look. We had to turn down several Chinese looking to make a quick buck as our personal tour guides before making it to a security checkpoint. It was then that we learned that Kylan and Robert had intelligently brought along their passports while we left our IDs in the hotel lockbox. The guards waved us through without a care, but our lack of ID would be an issue later.
Inside the walls we stood in line for tickets to enter the inner halls. While waiting, an older Chinese woman was clearly attempting to get her grade school-age son to stand nearby to get a picture with "the Americans". Having seen this on our last trip, I mentioned it to the group before brazenly stepping up next to the boy and putting my arm around his shoulders. The boy was a little surprised and went to move away (smart kid) but the mom waved him back to me as she took the picture. No words were exchanged, but I knew I had made it into another family photo album.
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| hotel's inner atrium |
Maybe that event made onlookers a little more intrepid. A male and female student approached us next and mentioned that they were celebrating their classroom's 5th birthday and wanted to get a video of us singing Happy Birthday to the class. For this one I got the help of Angela and Kylan, who surely had better singing voices than me. After a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday, the students hugged us and gave us high fives. I can't wait to see us on China's version of YouTube. I have no doubt our show will go viral.
When we got to the front of the line for tickets, the lady at the counter asked for our passports. We just looked at her with a stupid look. I showed her my driver's license and asked if that would work instead. She rolled her eyes and asked for Angela's license. We told her Angela didn't have one. The employee stared at us for what seemed like hours, then grunted and printed out two tickets. I suppose 80¥ was more important than security in the Square. I assume it was my pretty face that got us in. That or I was already famous on the internet from the aforementioned viral video.
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| Monkey King's robe |
After an hour or so of walking around the Square, we found our way on to the top of the outer wall. This was something we had not done the last time and it was a nice addition. In the buildings on top of the wall, they had free museums with samples of the robes worn during the various dynasties as well as videos explaining how the buildings were completed without the use of nails. We left out a side gate when we all agreed it was time for something to eat.
We returned to the Apple store where we were accosted the night before, but with our new friends (aka chaperones) we pushed through the throng of natives checking out the Apple products to enter the mall. With Christmas approaching, all the parents had their kids lined up for photos. Only Santa was no where to be found. Instead, it looked like they were in line to get their pics with a giant replica of Big Hero Six. We took escalators to the 6th floor and found a place to eat that seemed to be a hit with the locals.
Dinner was noodle soup with a spring roll and a Coke. The soup came in a giant bowl, and remembering A co-worker's reminder that slurping was OK in Asia, I did my best with the chop sticks to shove noodles into my mouth. I had the spicy noodles with mushrooms and the Chinese don't fool around with heat like they do back home. While not unexpected, the soup packed a punch. Robert had the same and before we were done, we were both coughing with tears in our eyes from the heat. Delicious. Oh, and the whole meal -- two bowls of soup, 4 spring rolls, and two sodas -- came to a total of 70¥ or roughly $12. Yeah, I'd say the tea and nuts was a scam that we totally fell for.
As we get ready for bed, Elijah is preparing to receive Confirmation back home (proud parents, sorry we can not be there to witness). As my buddies in
F3 get the Christmas party underway back home, we will be boarding a plane for
Zhengzhou where we will meet Seraphina for the first time on Monday, hours after the Panthers hopefully extend their record to 12-0. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. We will talk again soon.
Our hotel sits right beside a beautiful church. When we passed it last night, there were college-aged kids dancing outside the doors to loud electronica music so we opted not to research further. This afternoon we returned and dodged young men on skateboards to step inside. We found what is certainly a Catholic Church, but we are not sure it is in good standing with the Vatican.
The information board at the front doors (just inside an iron gate) name the Church as Saint Joseph's Church and there is a covered statue of him holding the baby Jesus outside the building. The board mentions adoration from 8 AM to 9 PM during the week as well as an English mass at 4 PM on Sundays. Three Chinese masses are early enough that we could possibly make it before leaving for Zhenghou later tomorrow morning, but without certainty of its validity, we are opting to pass on the opportunity.
Despite the uncertainty, both the outside and inside are impressive. While there are TV screens on most of the ornate columns (which presumably display the prayers/music during the mass) and a gift shop built against the back wall of the worship area, it is obvious that this church was built with great care. While we were inside, there appeared to be a prayer service taking place. It was led by a woman in front of a baldacchino but we were not sure of specifics; no English literature was found in the building. We also noted a young priest exiting the church wearing traditional clericals.
