Travel Journal - Day 3
Day 3
Hello again from Beijing! We had an incredible day today. We started out
at about 10 am this morning, and got on the bus for Tiennamen Square (I'm a
little tired - I think I'm spelling it wrong) and the Forbidden City. We had
a beautiful crisp day, which was great because we did tons of walking, which
actually felt great. Guilan warned us on the bus that we were going to get
bombarded with people trying to sell us things and she wasn't kidding. She
told us how to say "No, I don't want it" in Chinese, which came in
quite useful! LOL People also asked to take pictures with us, which was alot
of fun.
The Forbidden City was incredible - I cannot put into words how massive
this complex is. It is so beautiful and I hope the video I took came out
well so I can share with you. Guilan is a FANTASTIC guide - I thought we
might get bored after awhile of temple after temple, but she can tell you so
much history in such a fun way - remind me to explain what the "Poo-poo
Lady" (The Emperor's wife) is - she's absolutely hysterical. I
understand why the other families that have had her as a guide cry when they
leave her...After the Forbidden City, we had lunch which was delicious. I
really can't get over how much we like the food. A change from Chinese would
be great, but since that's not in the near future, we're hanging in there
and enjoying it. After lunch, we took a short bus ride to the Temple of
Heaven. The Temple is actually being renovated, but we spent some time in
the park that surrounds it. This by far has been one of the best experiences
so far. I truly fell in love with China and it's people today. The park is
absolutely beautiful, and as we walked through, we saw a huge crowd of
people outside gathered. They were all singing, and some were playing
different instruments, some were playing cards. There was an old man dancing
to the music, and my mother was absolutely crazy for him - we all were. He
was just the cutest thing, and I can't wait to show you the video of him.
I'm hoping we have a picture of him that I can attach to this post. I wish I
was a better writer so I had the words to describe this experience. It was
the coolest thing to see all the families and people spending this Saturday
afternoon in the park.
After we got back on the bus, it was about 4:30 - the realization that we
are going to meet our daughters in approximately 24 hours is really starting
to set in. Of course I had a complete emotional moment on the bus (yeah,
yeah, shocking, I know! LOL) - all this waiting is actually coming to an
end. I will have my daughter in my arms tomorrow. Somebody pinch me, please.
I sure wish you were here Scott -- more than you know...I feel so lucky to
have my mom and Kim with me though--we have alot of fun together and they
are awesome travel-mates. We keep laughing, because everytime we are out and
we need something, Kim has it pulled out of her bag in about 2.5 seconds. I
am so happy that you are required to travel to adopt from China, because it
is such a blessing to experience where your child is from.
Thank you all for your good wishes, and for checking in with us since
we've been here. I will try and email soon. Hearing voices from home is
absolutely wonderful. Scott and Evan, you are in my heart every second of
every day. I've got to go and freshen up for dinner, then pack our bags for
our flight to Jiangxi (Abby's province) and finally meet Abby Grace Si Hua.
Oh happy day! :)
Hugs and kisses, Kristen
