Our Daughter Lina

Today we went with the still-expanding group to the Temple of Heaven in the morning. We had lunch at the “very expensive” restaurant (Beijing Friendship Hotel), then went as a group for a tour of the hutong area. This last included riding around in a rickshaw, actually visiting someone’s home in the hutong, and a visit to a deaf school (unfortunately at naptime so we didn’t see any kids). In the evening I (Shane) undertook a Quest (which I’ll write about on my page).

Tomorrow is the last day before we meet Lina, and it’ll be a busy one. Orientation at the CHI office in Beijing, a trip to the Great Wall, “famous and delicious Peking Roasted Duck” for lunch, and a return to the Forbidden City (this time with our group).

Entering the grounds of the Temple of Heaven is free before 9am, which combined with the park-like nature of the location makes this a popular spot for the morning exercises practiced by many older Chinese.

Youngsters and anyone interested are always welcome to try their hand at the morning exercises. Here Stephanie tries “tai chi” ball (rotating the racket and keeping the ball on it, while rhythmically swaying to the music.

Eddie works on his two-player form

Some morning exercises are primarily for the mind

Hackey Sack is not only for the young.

Playing the oud (rhymes with “food”)

This guy was seriously wailing. And I mean that literally.

This little girl lit up when I took her picture. She clearly wanted to be the center of attention and combined with a bunch of about-to-be-adoptive-parents, it turned into a photo frenzy.

She wanted to have her picture taken with Kathleen. Or was it the other way around?

Kathleen and Eddie on the highest point in the Temple of Heaven

Laura and Mark

Debbie & Roy

Egg and tomato on toast is a McRoberts family speciality. Who knew it was Chinese?

This little boy was riding in the back of a “pickup bike” that passed our rickshaw.

We stopped at the Drum Tower and climbed the stairs to see the view and a performance.

We stopped at a school for the deaf.

The kids were napping so we only met the teachers, who were painting plates.

We stopped for a tour of a home in the hutong. The family had squirrels, birds, and turtles as pets, as well as a dog we didn’t meet because “he bites people.” Our local guide Michelle fed the squirrels.

The owners of the house (a quadrangle with a courtyard in the middle) are retired, and their kids have moved away. We listened to the mom describe their way of life. Despite living in what we might consider poor conditions, they are quite comfortable.

She’d like some grandchildren, but doesn’t have any yet. She got along great with Steve, who was close to two feet taller.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 11th, 2005 at 09:48 and is filed under lina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.