A Taste of the Culture of China (2.12.15)

Reflections from our trip to China: The day before we fly out...(pardon the lack of editing to some of these photo-- no time for that these days!) :) Please note- video link may not be viewable on some mobile devices)

2/12/15 (Thursday) 

...Today we had a lazy morning and some of the families went to the zoo or had a chance to visit the Safari Park. Since Bri’s a little young and these options were going to cut a bit into nap time and a large part of the day, we felt a restful day visiting the local park and seeing some of the nearby areas would be a better fit. We had a late breakfast and let her take her morning nap and I headed out to a nearby store for one last run to ensure we had all of the souvenirs for Bri that we had wanted to get while here and a few gifts for a few others.

Once she got up, we headed to the local park near our hotel which is was absolutely stunning. Since Chinese New Year is just a couple of days away, everything is decked out and ready for the big celebration. You can’t quite picture what this is like, but if you think about how we celebrate and decorate for Christmas in the states, it’s sort of like that, but in some ways even more elaborate. 

It’s been really amazing seeing how important this holiday is in Chinese culture and how it’s celebrated. We walked throughout the park and there were so many beautiful decorations throughout. This year will mark the year of the sheep (or goat depending on which Chinese person you talk to as you'll find sheep and goat in various places- it's quite humorous and has been a bit confusing to most). Everywhere that you see displays, there will be little sheep throughout them. 

Some of the displays and decorations have been so amazing to see.  The park was absolutely beautiful to stroll through and we didn’t even touch a fraction of it! Such a gorgeous little lake and buildings and décor for the upcoming holiday.

Local children had also made numerous types of lanterns for the upcoming Lantern Festival which marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration. These lined the walkway beside the lake and were so colorful and varied greatly 
with such detail. Pictures just couldn't do them justice.

After we left the park, we headed back to the hotel, which happens to have a Starbucks on site, and Nate grabbed a coffee and he bought me a Mango Hibiscus tea which was an absolutely amazing drink.  I will say the Starbucks drink menu in China has us beat (at least in my personal opinion). They have some different drinks than the U.S., but also have many of the same drinks as well. If nothing else- coming across one, is a little piece of home away from home.

We headed to the meeting room briefly to pick up Bri’s packet of paperwork and passport which now had her new US visa in it.  

Once that was done, we decided to head back out and take a stroll out of the “tourist” area and walk down some streets off the beaten path. A friend had given us a street to check out and it turned out to be an amazing suggestion! The area around the hotel, is very “touristy” and you can’t go far without seeing other adoptive families or just foreign travelers in general in the area where we stayed.  To explore and get off the beaten path and see a different piece of “China” in this province was a neat site.

We walked down a little stone-path alley and it opened into a narrow street where apartments lined the path.  

Along the road were markets and vendors and just about anything you could buy or need if you were a local. The first store we encountered was a meat market and the owner didn’t take too fondly to us videoing his store, so we quickly put that away, but did get quite a few pictures of the things that were for sell- butchered meat, live "chicken-birds" (because I don't know what they are or what to call them) and other living critters like snakes, eels, fish, etc. (ok, so maybe fish aren't critters)

Just a few steps down we came across fruit and veggie vendors and tons 

of Chinese New Year decorations for sell. 

 (there is just something about this picture above that I just love...)

There were flower shops, tea shops, little convenience stores and more.  I would love to have had more time to wander this street further, as it was bustling with energy as people were heading home from work and buying what was needed to cook dinner or to decorate for the upcoming holiday.

 ( sorry for cutting your head off in this picture, Nate--oops!)

While walking, we had a funny experience as a “Chinese grandma” saw Bri “having a little meltdown moment” and she walked up to her in the stroller and started talking to her and within seconds, the tears dried up and she just looked at me and all was made right in the world again.  We’ve noticed that several times while here that a little Chinese lady will say something to her and she gets so enamored by the conversation. I guess we’ll never know what they said to her, but whatever it was, it worked!

We were definitely the only foreigners on this street so we got the stare down more than we had on any part of our trip. Everyone would walk up to us and look at “B” and then start chatting among themselves or pointing to her big eyes (which they are all so fascinated by) We’ve been told that “big eyes” are quite coveted by Asians, so I guess that explains why they are so interested in her eyes all of the time.  

Here's a little piece of China via video...

We snapped a few photos and then decided it was time to head back to the hotel.

We headed back for the night to start the fun process of packing for our long trip home. Now is the moment of truth- will all of our stuff fit in our bags and not be overweight!  Thankfully since we have “B” with us for the return home, we are allowed one more bag, so we can stuff our carry on with more this time around and check it if need be.  Lucky for us, some of the items for “B” like food and diapers have slowly diminished over these last two weeks, so we should have a bit more space in our bags due to that. We will definitely be loaded down- backpacks in tow along with several suitcases and a baby this time!  Hard to believe we leave tomorrow for home.