Friday, March 10, 2006
A sight you won't find in a tour book...
This is the first public toilet I saw, so I had to take a picture of it. It was on the grounds of the Temple of Heaven. Deciding it was not to my liking, I decided to wait for something better, while Joanne was not so picky. Later, she was a little jealous when I found one stall that was more typical of what we would see at home. She was vindicated, however, when my "initiation" into the real Chinese public toilet system came later at the acrobatics show. Let's just say that I've seen things no one should ever have to see! Turns out the toilet in the Temple of Heaven is quite pristine.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Thursday, March 9: We've arrived!
Well, here we are on the other side of the world and nothing has changed – Doug’s sound asleep and I’m wide awake at the computer! This, of course, is despite the fact that he slept on both flights and I did not. We flew to Beijing through Vancouver. Considering how long we were on a plane, it wasn’t so bad. We traveled with Joanne and Doug, who are from Kitchener and also in our group. We met them last summer and have gotten together with them a number of times since then. They are wonderful people and we feel so fortunate that they live so close by. Their daughter, Sara, is in the same orphanage as Norah. It’s strange to think that they already know one another, but we have yet to meet them.
We haven’t seen too much yet. We arrived in time to check in and get some dinner. Although my noble intentions to learn Mandarin never did inspire much action, I did manage to master the phrase for “spicy deep fried tofu” (vegetable proved impossible for me to pronounce). We went to a local restaurant for dinner and the waitress spoke very limited English. I’m proud to say that I tried out my one phrase and it worked! We dined on some delicious tofu and veggies and the food was so cheap we ended up giving the waitress a huge tip, to which she responded, “See you tomorrow night.” We then went to a local supermarket and bought some beer, Pringles, and water (in order of importance, according to Doug).
It’s still hard to believe we’re actually here. So far, it just feels like a regular vacation. We don’t think it will really sink in until Norah is placed in our arms. Well, I’m off to try and sleep. Tomorrow we go to an acrobatics show and maybe take in a little shopping
We haven’t seen too much yet. We arrived in time to check in and get some dinner. Although my noble intentions to learn Mandarin never did inspire much action, I did manage to master the phrase for “spicy deep fried tofu” (vegetable proved impossible for me to pronounce). We went to a local restaurant for dinner and the waitress spoke very limited English. I’m proud to say that I tried out my one phrase and it worked! We dined on some delicious tofu and veggies and the food was so cheap we ended up giving the waitress a huge tip, to which she responded, “See you tomorrow night.” We then went to a local supermarket and bought some beer, Pringles, and water (in order of importance, according to Doug).
It’s still hard to believe we’re actually here. So far, it just feels like a regular vacation. We don’t think it will really sink in until Norah is placed in our arms. Well, I’m off to try and sleep. Tomorrow we go to an acrobatics show and maybe take in a little shopping
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