Day 1 in Beijing

Well, we are into the afternoon of day 1 in Beijing, and we are having one rip-roaring MN-type thunder storm. The skies were so dark just before the rain started - and our timing was perfect. Now it is just pouring down, and I have the windows open in my room to catch the breeze that is coming in. It is lighter now, and it smells fantastic. Earlier the heat and humidity were just oppresive, so this is a welcome relief.

A group of families travelling with Red Thread reunion tours are in the hotel. They are the first that I've met, and I talked with a woman from Mankato today, and she and her girls are having a super time. It looked well organized, and the girls were certainly having a good time...

Today was our hutong tour. Hutongs are the old streets/family homes in Beijing and northern China, and there are very few left. Thank goodness there is such a thriving tourist industry to keep the rest of the hutongs from being torn down!

Many of the hutongs are being sold to the wealthy, where having one of these old homes is now quite a status symbol.

Our first stop on the tour was at a local elementary school. It was fantastic. I could not believe what these kids in primary school were studying. We sat in on a calculus lecture, and it was great - for the 10 year olds! All schools in China (aside from kindergarten) are private, so you have to pay for your education. There were lots of boys, many girls and they had a great time. It was very interesting - the teachers had a firm control of the class, but they had a raucus class discussion going on... kids were shouting out answers, encouraging each other - very different from our controlled classrooms, but it worked. I think Gwenn and Ella would do well for a while in this school! Here are some pictures..

After the school we rode on the rickshaws to the Bell Tower. For those who remember me talking about it before, it is the very cool tower at the top of the center of Beijing with the wicked stairs that reach to the sky. Interestingly, getting up wasn't so bad - it was getting down them! Here is a picture of those treacherous stairs. :-)

After making it up and down from the tower, we got to have a tea ceremony. I doubt it was really traditional, unless being a stand up comedian is part of the tradition. We had a great time learning about local tea's, and some lore around how to seep the tea, and then serve it. While we were there a group of Canadian families came in with their newly adopted children - many under 10 months old. They were pretty darn cute, and made me look forward to what is coming.

At the end of the tour we were lucky enough to have lunch at the home of one family in the hutong, and it was fantastic. We also learned how to roll the dough for dumplings, stuff them and pinch them. Needless to say, none of us will be quiting our day job...

The food was fantastic, and I want to try some of what we ate today at home when we get back. I had dumplings with scrambled egg, cucumber, carrots and something else? mixed it, and they were to die for.

These last two pictures are just general pictures I snapped on the tour. It was quite muggy as you can see, but beautiful. I wish I had a picture just before the rain started - it was incredible.

Well, I'll write more later. Tonight the other couple (Michelle & Travis) and I have to purchases watches, since we started out today almost 30 minutes late!