China Adventure

Today we went to a large bookstore and bought some books. It was remarkable to see the volume of English/American lit available at this store. It is interesting to see how much the Steve Jobs book has been advertised in Beijing and that the advertising seemed to pay off at the cashier counter. (I'll offer no editorial on Steve Jobs on this blog.) There were books in English in all genres. We bought several books with classic Chinese stories in Chinese characters and pinyin for the girls. After walking around to see the sights, we walked to the Beijing Children's Theater where we saw a fantastic performance of The Monkey King. The production, props, staging, acrobats and especially acting were all excellent. Tomorrow, we are going to Vivian's home to celebrate Stephanie's birthday. Then it will ... read more

Two days ago we visited a planitarium and went to a Chinese Acrobat performance. The acrobats were amazing and a sample of their work can be seen in the video clips attached to this entry.... read more

After visiting the Summer Palace, we were honored to have the opportunity to share dinner with Heather's family, including her mother and father. Heather's niece Sara and her father, who had been our guide at the Summer Palace, also joined us. Thank you to Sara her father for all the great information and your help! We enjoyed a traditional Chinese dinner that included a LOT of delicious food, fun conversation and entertainment provided by the children. Between the time we spent with Heather when she was in Minnesota and the special moments we have shared with her while we have been in China, we feel as though we are all one big family. The restaurant is located at the edge of Beijing near the mountains. In the videos attached to this entry, you can view some ... read more

As in America, many elementary students in China have extra curricular activities on Saturday. A very popular activity is going to English class on a Saturday. On Saturday, we all had an opportunity to visit a school and help teach English. Grace and her mom are natural teachers and did very well together as a team. Grandpa and Grandma were also excellent teachers while Ying and her dad caused chaos in the classroom while team teaching 6 year old students. Faith and her dad played a game with the students where we would call out an animal's English name and the children would pretend they were the animal after repeating the English name several times. After pig was called out, things got a little crazy and our ears are still ringing from the noise and excitement. ... read more

It is a rainy day in Beijing and we are a little tired from our flurry of touring. So we have decided to lay low today and catch up on homework and rest. We did walk through a department store nearby to fill some of our afternoon. With the help of our Chinese friends Heather and her husband, we negotiated a really good rate at a different hotel. We enjoyed the Novotel but found that The Beijing Broadcasting Tower Hotel is actually nicer, less expensive, and almost as centrally located as the Novotel. Grace and Faith have made these three videos to describe our day.... read more