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7/13 Leaving the USA

We leave Oregon on Tuesday morning, July 13th, and stop in San Francisco before the long haul to Beijing.
Nick and Ella stay busy with their IPOD Touch and Nintendo games.

From Beijing, we transfer to ChinaAir and fly to Dalian, where we will visit my friend Cathy. I had asked her how to get from the airport to her place in email, so she proceded to do so. As my anxiety grew while reading the specifics, it was quickly dissipated when she wrote she was joking. She and her driver pick us up from Dalian. We are all hungry so we stop for pizza on Korean St. While we wait, Ella falls asleep in the car, and Nicholas falls asleep in the resaturant.

At Cathy's, we are happy to find Coca-Cola Light, China's version of Diet Coke. Ella displays for our friend, Marti.

7/15 Our First Day Ends with Hot Pot

Our first day in Dalian, we visit a local bank to exchange our US dollars for Yuen. While waiting for a teller, I am approached twice by individuals who want to know what I am doing. I tell them I am waiting for a teller and they continue on their way. When the teller is ready for me, he asks me for my passport and my first born child (kidding), but it took a long time and they made copies of all my travel docs and such. I learn quickly that the ATM is a much better choice for getting cash.

We find a mobile store and buy a sim card, then head to Tesco, a grocery store chain, and buy Lays brand potato chips. We walk to the park across from Cathy's and watch the kids playing.

Cathy arrives home from work and we decide to eat Hot Pot for dinner.

7/16 Discoveryland and American Friends

On Friday, we meet Jason at Discoveryland, Dalian's amusement park. Jason's sons are there and show us around.

We learn that Ella is not tall enough to ride many of the rides ("games"), but we keep ourselves busy.

She is asked many times to get her picture taken. Cathy had told us about this...we are probably the only Americans in the park, and everyone is pointing, staring, whispering. And some just walk up and ask for a picture.

We pick up Cathy from work and head home to get ready for dinner.

All of our friends from Oregon meet up for dinner.

7/17 Touring Dalian

We are up and heading to Eddy's for breakfast this morning. Cathy says it is the closest to western food we can get. The kids are very happy with their pancakes, frech toast, and watermelon. The restaurant is in Five Color City and we take a little walk after we eat. I make the kids stand in the center of the street while I take a picture. I see the watermelons overflowing in front of a store and must take a picture.

Next stop is Victory Plaza for some shopping. It is an underground shopping center, with many little shops selling different items. We are on a mission for purses and a watch for the kid's dad. The purse ladies are very persuasive and I try to walk away many times. We eventually settle on a price that I think is still too high, but Cathy says we did ok. The heat is so high in the store that I just want to get some air. This is not easy to find since we are underground.

As we wander down the hall, Ella hands Nick a pack of gum and says touch this, it is a joke. He grabs it and jumps. The gum shocked him, literally. The men watching begin laughing that the little girl tricked her brother. Nick takes it well, and continues on looking for the perfect watch for his dad. He finds it and when I tell the woman I want to pay 100RMB, Nick says, "What?!" Even though we talked about having a poker face and the other basics of negotiating, he just wanted me to buy the watch. I did, with only a little banter with the store owner.

With two successful purchases behind us, Cathy takes us the square. There is a half pipe filled with people and a boardwalk filled with rides. Nick climbs to the top an looks over.

Ella climbs up and slides down.

And on to the rides. The kids take turns choosing a ride. They are the only ones to get on and the ride begins. It looks like the man is spinning them slowly, waiting for more people to come to ride. We later find out that he thinks the kids will be scared so he doesn't turn the ride on all the way. Jin tells the man it is ok. And the kids love it.

The pirate ship ride is another one they love, but not me...when the ride stopped, all the other passengers got off except Nick and Ella. The man started the ride again and I had to make him stop. It looked like he had control over the height of the ride, and he was too comfortable fligging my kids into the air.

Jason picked up Nick and Ella for a sleepover and we met up with him and Jamie at the hot pot place. Hot and spicy broth this time, it is like a sauna at our table. After dinner we head to Five Color City to a bar called the Nagging Wife.

7/18 On to Beijing

We land in Beijing prior to dinner, so we walk towards the Forbidden City. The street transforms into a giant food festival, with booth after booth of authentic foods, and I cannot even guess what they might be. Many meats are threaded onto skewers and presented in large piles. The people are yelling and cooking and eating. It is very busy and the smell is horrible. Nicholas leads us as we walk single file to ensure a better pace. He heads off the street to a quieter sidewalk where I wonder what I am stepping in, and trying to clear all thoughts from my head. As we approach the Forbidden City, and I know we are close because I can see the roof tops.

A man approaches us and wants me to buy his book. As I continue to say no, he continues to walk with us. He lowers the price and is very persistant. People begin to watch us as I try to ignore this man. Finally, he leaves us, just in time for others to approach us...books, maps, bicycle rides, tours...the kids are tired and hot and I am getting tired of avoiding the street people. And what a wonderful disappointment once inside...the litter and stagnant water. If we had eaten prior to our walk,

I am guessing we all would have been sick. We don't stay long. A few pictures to prove that we were there, but we turn right around and head back to the hotel.

We find a little shop with air conditioning and water. The kids are happier once they are cooled off and some refreshments are had. I am thinking that this was a bad decision to come here. We will eat at the hotel, where it is clean, calm, and safe. I am disappointed in myself that I cannot embrace this culture. I hope that I can keep our spirits up for a few more days. I order pijiu with dinner and the server smiles. Dinner at the hotel is outrageously expensive...but if you want the comforts of home, then you pay more.

7/19 The Great Wall Mutianyu and the Bird's Nest

Mr. Yung meets us at 9am in the parking lot at the hotel. I ask him if he speaks English and he says a little. I thought we could practice our Mandarin on him, but Nick’s IPOD dies, so we really don’t know what to even say. The ride to the Great Wall is pretty long, so Mr.Yung and I talk a little. I find out that he lives in Beijing and has a 27 year old daughter. He is happy for me to have a boy and a girl, and this will not be the last time I hear how lucky I am to have a daughter and a son. I also learn that he is in the army and goes to Japan and Viet Nam. He tells me how often, but I do not understand. I try to ask him what it was like during the Olympics and he shows me the sign in the driving lane. He says that if you are going to the Olympics, you drive in that lane. The cameras watch and the police will fine you 200 yuen. The kids want to know how the police know it was you and Mr. Yung shows us all the cameras. There are cameras on poles, bridges, and buildings. Later on, he tells me how the Olympians did not have to pay for food or tours. It sounds like China wanted everyone to love the country.

Mr. Yung tells us that the location we are heading is not going to be crowded. Most visitors choose another location. We chose this because we wanted to slide down the Great Wall. He helps us buy tickets and we ride the lift up. The picture on the right is the track for the slide down.

It is another hot and humid day, and not very clear. Nick and Ella do not want to climb the stairs, but I tell them we won't go too far. Once they are far enough ahead of me, I have them stop for pictures. We ran into some other Westerners and I offered to take a picture of them. They returned the favor. Nick did not want anymore pictures and the man told him to do this for his mom, and called him "lad." Later we find out that they are from San Francisco, but not much more.

Nicholas very rarely lost his sense of humor. His silliness kept us in good spirits.

At the slide entrance, the sign said 10 years old to ride alone, but they would not let Nick ride by himself. A worker came and rode with Nick, I rode with Ella. We sat on seats with rollers and headed down. Ella controlled the brake. When we get to the bottom, the kids want to go again, but we headed for the restaurant for a lunch break instead.

We head back to Beijing and I ask Mr. Yung to take us to the Olympic area. It begins to rain (as he predicted) but he drops us off in a parking lot and directs us to the Bird's Nest. It is an amazing sight, even in the rain.