The Journey: Our Journey to Kaylee

We have had a long day plagued with jet lag; however, since I did not sleep on the plane, I was able to sleep last night.  Kelly asked that I write the blog today so she could go to be.  She woke up at 2am and is just going to bed at 9pm.  The day started with a wonderful breakfast but it depends who you ask.  Most of you know, the stranger the food, the more likely I will eat it.  I believe the best way to experience a culture is through its food.  This morning I had fried eggs, sauteed cabbage, rice, steamed veggies, and squid.  The squid was awesome but the chilis were a bit strong.  Kelly stuck with the simple eggs and such.  We headed out on a tour of the Huton village (spelling).  We had difficulty understanding the guide but it sounds like the folks have a social security network built in.  The inside of their house is taken care of the home owner while the government takes care of the outside.  Other home dwellers share the same yard.  The village was run down but the people seemed to like living there.  We were able to go into one of the homes and speak to the home owner and ask questions.  My interpretation from the guide seemed to be that the older generation enjoyed the Huton living while the younger generation are moving into the high rise apartment buildings which are very nice.  Beijing is similiar to a Manhattan and the rest can be any large city in America.  The Huton village is what I though Beijing would be like.  Beijing is clean, trendy, and uses lots of technical features outside of the large buildings.  The electric billboards are as clear as most of our televisions.  People do not drive any clunkers, in fact they seem to be brand new!

The next stop was to Tiananmen Square and I looked across the vast "square", a strange sense of sadness came over me.  We may not agree what a countries political belief is but when it envolves a person giving up their life for what they believe in.....I think you know where I am going.  I could not get out of my head that many lives were lost on the exact ground where I was standing.  There was not a large military presence but it was felt.  Guards stood on post at every monument, door way, and other strategic points.

We then headed over to start our journey through the temples and ultimately to the forbidden city where various Emperors held a throne.  We spent two hours walking through the forbidden city and garden.  The architecture of each building was amazing.  They able to build the temples so that they could make it through and earth quake with minimal damage.  Thats not to say they would not survive major damage but they would not be completely destroyed.  The ground that I am talking about are massive covering 7,800,000 square feet with 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms. 

Upon leaving the Emperors "shack" we headed to the Olympic Village where we were able to get out and walk to the famous Birds Nest and Water Cube.  I remember seeing the opening ceremony and how amazing the Birds Nest was.  Seeing it in person brings it into a different light.  The construction of both of these establishments leaves you in Awe!

The next stop was the Chinese Theatre to see the Chines Acrobats.  These acrobats were amazing and flexible; however, with such a long day I think we had too much on our plate.  All of us were a bit tired so I am not sure we were able to take in the full effect.  So we got some takeout and came back to our rooms. 

Today was tieing but a wonderful day that brings us closer to Kaylee.  What a great idea it is to learn about your childs culture when adopting internationally.  There is so much I wish I could tell her about today and how great her country is.  I look forward to the day when I can tell her stories from today.  I wish I could tell her about her dads crazy sense of humor during our travel today.  I was in a joking mood today and everything seemed funny.  For example: we were going through the forbidden city and the tour guide said, "can anyone tell me why the the Emperor would have such large spaces between building with no plants or trees?".  I said "becasue he had really bad allergies?"  Everyone thought it was funny including me! 

Hope everyone enjoyed my first blogging experience and I hope this was what Kelly will be pleased with my first assignment.