Our first day of resting in Beijing began early, as our body clocks have not adjusted to the new time zone. Stacy awoke at 4:30 am, wide awake and ready to go, and the last one up was Ainsley by 6 am. Not sure what will happen with our body clocks when we return to Eastern Standard Time, but we are looking forward to facing that challenge. Our morning breakfast is still such a treat for fueling our bodies and Ethan and Olivia enjoy walking around and looking at the wide variety of known, and unknown, foods. Ainsley is still eating well at every meal and in between meals.
We decided to go to the "Silk Market", as recommended by our facilitator, Grace. All we knew was that we could find Chinese dresses there. We were overwhelmed by the reality that it was a humongous Chinese bargain mall.
Stacy was the spokesperson, hard to believe, and "Chief Haggler" for the group. It was stressed to the children that knowing your multiplication/division tables comes in handy when traveling. As much as we adults love to shop, we could have easily spent at least half the day there. One of our little ones, who will go nameless, had a potty emergency and ended our fantasy of shopping for several hours. However, when we returned to our rooms, we had many laughs as we tried to coach Nana Carole to sharpen her haggling skills. We thought it would be a natural talent for someone who lived most of her life growing up in New York, and yet even Ethan and Olivia couldn't help. Again, we were blessed to keep laughing while in our foreign surroundings.
The day flew by as the children played and played (sorry, no schoolwork yet). Ethan and Olivia have such amazing imaginations in their play.
Sophia is still coloring and telling stories with her pictures. We love to hear her sharp mind weave a tale. Ainsley absolutely loves her brother and sisters and follows them to the room they are playing in. She is still playing with blocks and cups and coloring with pen and crayons.
Ainsley likes to tease us with toys and pretends to hand them to us then pulls it away quickly, saying something in Chinese and laughing. It is amazing how well we are getting along even with the language barrier.
She, or we, point, and we use our limited Chinese or English. Ainsley is very clear in her understanding that she is loved and loves her new family. Today she told Richard, twice, "I love you" in Chinese. Stacy's spine is hoping she will let him carry her more soon. Ainsley loves her Nana Carole and they are getting plenty of quality time together.
An early evening to bed is planned and hoped for by all. Tomorrow, our big plan is to take a taxi and return to Beijing WalMart. Yeah- we like to live large! |
