Wow! I think my brain is finally starting to register all that it had been through this past week. Talk about an experience to last a lifetime. I have to admit that going into this I wasn't as excited as I could have been. My experience with people visiting from China has been on the negative side. I saw them as a whole - pushy, no sense of personal space, rude and just a bizarre people as a whole. At Disneyland as a child I remember a Chinese woman sticking her head under my stall in the bathroom to see if it truly was empty even after I'd yelled (after a loud banging on the door) that I was in there! How could I have been so wrong? There are so many reasons why they are the way they are. I truly am grateful for this past week. I have come to really love the Chinese people. Forgive me if I ramble and continue to post pictures and commentary on China for a long time. I'm going to use this as a sort of diary so I won't forget anything important. I was just so touched and amazed at how these wonderful people exist in a country that denies them so much!
Stepping off of the plane was scary. I admit that. Before we were allowed to disembark, a handful of men and women stepped onto the plane with masks on and pointed these laser guns at everyone's head to see if anyone had a fever. We were informed that if anyone did we would be quarantined! After we were all checked and given the go ahead, we went through customs where once again we were monitored by some kind of heat sensor. David took a picture of the odd device and was immediately told to erase it with the rest of his pictures scrutinized. Looking around the airport (which was ginormous) I tried to figure out what looked out of place. I finally figured out that I did not see one child there. Weird. We waited for quite awhile for our other family member's plane to arrive then headed for the hotel. We left on a Saturday afternoon and got there Sunday evening! So bizarre!
Tomorrow I'll talk about our first full day there at the Forbidden City! I'll just say that I now know how stars feel every day (stared at and so many pictures taken of us!), that squatting to use the restroom isn't quite as bad as I thought and McDonalds in China, certainly is NOT the McDonalds here in the U.S!
My face after seeing a squatting toilet for the first time. And yes, I went.
Do you notice the trash basket next to the toilet? That's where the toilet paper went! They don't flush the toilet paper!
Our first experience on the subway - squished is an understatement...
Me, David's brother Will, Will's wife Amy, David and Mom Coleman. This was right before we boarded our plane - little did I know how hellish 11 hours on a plane would be.
Our first full day in China was spent at the Forbidden City. What an incredible experience! Before we even went in we were in awe of how large it was. The temperature was hot, the air filled with a pepper scent that we spent the whole vacation trying to figure out - it ended up being a sausage they sell on the streets everywhere. And the people! There were so many people milling around - some trying to sell these popsicles for 1 RMB - which is loosely 30 cents in USD. They had a slight banana flavor but once again, we couldn't place the true flavor. Some surrounded us just because we looked different - many took our picture. My sisters-in-law and I took a tally of how many pictures were taken of us - I think by the end of the trip we were about even. :) We walked and walked until my calves ached. It was great being allowed to walk where for centuries only the elite in China walked. In fact, if anyone trespassed back then they met an untimely death. We even got to see the throne room where the Emperor would receive guests. It really was an amazing day, in fact David and I kept commenting that it didn't feel real!
Dave and his big brother Bruce - it was nice to see him joking around with family he doesn't get to see very often. I think we all grew pretty close to each other that week.
Dave looking suave in a large doorway. He was quite a hit with the Chinese ladies, but I'll save that for another post!
I couldn't figure out how to turn this around, but it was one of the many lions in the palace. Typically you see two outside of buildings. The one on the right is the male - he has the world under his right paw. The lion on the left is the female holding a cub under her left paw. They were ferocious looking but so beautiful!
Stunning carvings in the marble of dragons. What an unforgetable day!
