Beijing, China
Ni Hao (hello),
After the Cathay Pacific employees kindly put us on the Sydney to Beijing flight for no extra cost we made it to the Asels, a family from our hometown who is now living in China for three years , who are kindly helping us get off on the right foot on our China adventure.
Snakes for Dinner Anyone?
For dinner the first full day in China we taxied with the Asels to Ho Hai a beautiful small lake surrounded by Chinese architecturally inspired restaurants and shops. The restaurant menu included pictures of all the meal choices, Chinese characters and English translations. Some of the choices presented and pictured were snake (with skin), frogs and baby turtles. We passed on those and got some great choices - mushrooms, spicy beef (really mostly hot chilies) and a hot pot of chicken soup in addition to other delectables. The steaming chicken soup came and it was a whole chicken laying in broth - including the chicken head. Fortunately the head was under a piece of bok choy (or similar green) but every time we scooped out some soup I was afraid the head would pop up and stare at me with its beady little eyes and make me feel guilty.
Fireworks
Around the lake fireworks exploded for the last night of the New Year celebration and the smell of gunpowder hung in the air as the Chinese New Year celebrations reached their epiphany. Fireworks, the size of U.S. 4th of July fireworks, were being set by anyone and everyone around the lake - less than 10' from the crowd as individuals set off fireworks where ever they wanted. In the U.S. these fireworks would have been set off at least 100's of feet away form the crowds with cordons between the crowds and the explosions. Here you literally had to duck the flying canisters. Imagine the 4th of July fireworks everywhere - on the sidewalks, in the neighborhood and even as we drove home fireworks exploded, popped, crackled and boomed all along the entire highway route.
School
We've been traveling schooling along the way. Every weekday the children have a certain amount of work to do. They've done school work on planes, in the car, hotels, youth hostels, and in the campervan. Clearly it's a challenge for all of us when the pool or beach are beckoning and school work has to be done but the kids have been great about getting their work done.
Today Amelia and Ben are at an actual school! The English speaking school where the Asel children go to allow guests for the day. (The school curriculum includes Chinese language classes.) One of the Asel boys is in 5th grade, like Amelia, and another is in third grade, like Ben, so our kids are in school for the day. We walked them over to school this morning. It's an incredible facility - inspiring classrooms, sun lit cafeteria, playing fields everywhere, an auditorium (like a high school) a swimming pool, a gym the size of 2 or 3 normal American schools gyms, and on and on. Both of our kids were very excited and were surrounded and warmly welcomed by international classmates when we dropped them off.
Happy Year of the Tiger,
Jackie
1 comment:
That is totally cool that the kids got into a real school, and were able to take classes there! Wicked awesome. I'm sure that's a memory they'll always cherish.
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