Visiting Jinsong

We made a trip back to Jinsong....where we first stayed when we arrived in China....to see if we could find a new cord for Jacob's X-Box. We also wanted to see if we could find a new cord for my computer since it died somewhere between Panama and Canada.

We left the house bright and early and were surprised by the van we passed down in our complex......

....should we be worried? LOL!

The Subway ride was very entertaining. We met the cutest little girl while we waited to get on line 10 who was giving her mother heck for something. We may not know the language but her expressions and hand motions were universal "2-3 year old tantrum!" Of course, once she got on the subway and saw my camera....she was all smiles!

But it didn't stop there! First she wanted to show us her very pretty outfit....................

Then , of course, she had to model the outfit for us.....did you notice the Steelers colors going on? Which was beyond adorable!

And finally....she wanted to take a picture with me. Of course she had to see every picture I took....once i was done taking it. I guess she wanted to make sure I got her best side! LOL!

After that long and ever so familiar ride back to Jinsong, we left the subway so we could wander down the road to the market where they sell everything you can possibly think of...and then some. As we exited the subway we were surprised by the increased numbers in bicycles waiting outside the exit.

After we left the market....we found my computer cord, but Jake's was sent off to be fixed....we saw the cutest little boy out in the parking lot refusing to leave because this man was shoveling the last of the snow. He wouldn't look my way to begin with but finally....he did!

After I took his picture and waved bye, I stood up to leave but that was when I saw the woman behind me. She waited until I turned around and was looking at them before she started pushing her daughter towards me...telling he to get her picture taken....it was too funny!

We then headed back to the subway to go home so I could go to work but not before stopping for some lunch at McDonalds.....

....where we met a very nice chinese woman, named Nikki, who had just returned to China after living in the States for 10 years. We sat and talked to her for quite a while and would hav stayed longer if I hadn't needed to get home so I could go to work. I do have her email and will be emailing her in the next day or so to say hello.

The First Leap Closet Cleanout!

Well the day has finally come, after being closed for 2 weeks, my work place...First Leap...is open for business again! Since I am not scheduled to work you may be asking yourself, "Why is she so excited?"
I'll tell you why....today was 'Clean Out the Supply Closet Day!"' and it has been a long time coming!

That closet has been on my "Spring Cleaning Hit List" since I first stepped foot in my new school. I had made one half-hearted attempt but to no avail.... (see the organized book bags and shirts in the back corner?)

That was not the case today! We woke up to a blistery, snow-covered Valentines Day and set out to my work to spend the day together as a family....cleaning out the closet! Do we know how to have fun or what? LOL!

So in we strolled, rolled up our sleeves, and started tearing the place apart! First we took all of the big boxes out and found the floor. Then we moved things onto different shelves, setting up the right side of the room as the supply side....shirts, socks, shoes, projectors, microphones, bookbags, reusable bags, stationary, teacher books, and prizes.

We found a lot of hidden treasures that no one seemed to know we had such as a guitar, a keyboard, a trampoline, and cooking oil! LOL!

Then we set up the left side as the teacher supply side. It included flashcards, puppets, glue, whiteboard pens, musical instruments, science projects, mirrors, scales, magnifying glasses, paper, paper....and more paper....and anything else you think a teacher might need to teach a class.

It felt good to finally have the closet organized and now I will be able to sleep without dreaming about how it was before. The funny thing is, I had told Bob about the closet so when he visited the Sunday before we went on break he asked to look at it and....set a date for cleaning it out! Yes...it got to him too!

There were only a few teachers there today and they were very surprised by how quickly we were able to clean it out.....(only took about 4 1/2 hours to do it)...and said they are very excited to be using the new closet now! And a special thanks goes out to our cleaning staff who came right in when we were done and took the cardboard boxes away for us...and broke them down to recycle....and took all of the trash out for me! That was very kind of them because we were very tired!

So...now that the closet is done...what is next on my list of "Things To Do"? Any suggestions anyone?

Adorable Children We Have Seen In China

While traveling around China, and doing the "touristy" thing called sightseeing, we have come across some of the most ADORABLE kids ever!



Grandma had to wipe off his runny nose first!

While we were walking around the Wangjing Area on our 1st day of apartment hunting we came across a little boy in a red coat who actually stopped in the sidewalk, mouth wide open, and stared at Bob with a look of total disbelief on his face....it was hilarious! Then he turned and saw me and he came running right over to say hello.....and to play with my camera!

A little farther down the road we saw a woman and her son walking backwards down the sidewalk towards us. He was singing a song and having a great time out with his mom......so cute!



He is actually walking backwards towards us....not forwards away from us.

Just pass this little boy we came across another set of Grandparents who were more than thrilled to have their grandson talk to the foreigners. Grandma kept telling the boy stuff to say and he would repeat it. When I asked Cindy what they had said, she told me the usual..."Hello!"...."How are you?"...."I love you!"....so cute!



The day we went to Tian'anmen Square we saw the most adorable twins, dressed in traditional Chinese outfits, (it is the Chinese New Year right now) at a street festival. Grandpa was holding one trying to get him to smile for his parents who were trying to get his picture with the plant/flowers.....



Grandma was holding the other boy and he was a little more cooperative when there was a camera around...he too was wearing traditional chinese garments.

Today, when we were out getting some groceries, we came across a little girl and her grandparents on a scooter. This is the year of the rabbit and she was making sure she showed her "Rabbit Spirit"!!

We will keep adding pictures to this blog as we continue to run across adorable kids...because they are EVERYWHERE!! :-)

Our First "Tian'anmen Square" and "Forbidden City" Trip 2011

Well it is Spring Festival time...Happy Chinese New Year everyone...and I am off work for 10 days! We have decided to take this time to get on the subway and go to Tian'anmen Square and check it out! the weather has been really cold but today seems to be very sunny and not too frigid so we will give it a try. At least the subway is right out our gate and across the street so we won't have to spend too much time in the cold before we get to Tian'anmen.

 Well once we made it to tian'anmen we realized that because it was Chinese New Year/Spring Festival everything was either closed or had only been open for a couple hours. We had to satisfy our curiosity by walking around and looking at all of the people and the buildings.

We managed to get there in time to see a changing of the guard which was really neat. I am glad we are here when we are because Nicole said that when she was here they were not allowed to take pictures of the policemen...that they got really upset when she did. Maybe that is still the case, and we will need to be careful but the guy in the front definitely loved having his picture taken!

In the middle of the place are 2 HUGE screens that were showing different New Years events that were going on...lots of singing and dancing!

I was lucky enough to get a shot of one of the guards as he paused and made a turn before heading back the other way...I thought the flags behind him added a little something extra to the picture. I think he may have even paused a few extra seconds so I could get a good picture!


Jacob videotaping at Tian'anmen Square and over his shoulder in the background is the China National Museum



Jacob video taping Great Hall of the People

Jacob did a lot of videotaping and is working on putting everything together so you can see the video on line. In the 1st picture he is videotaping the Forbidden City...which was closed...and what you see over his shoulder is China's National Museum which was built in 1959, and was the home to the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Revolution...until they merged as of 2010. In the 2nd picture he is filming the Great Hall of the People which is the Seat of the Chinese legislature. The vast auditorium and banquet halls are open for part of the day except when the National People's Congress is in session.

Next we looked at the Monument to the People's Heroes which was erected in 1958. It is a granite monument that is decorated with episodes from China's revolutionary history and calligraphy from Communist veterans Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.



Bob and Jake in front of Mao's Mausoleum

We then went around back of the tower to look at Mao's Mausoleum...which had just closed...so we had to look from the outside only. Mao's Masoleum is flanked by revolutionary statues and the building contains the embalmed body of Chairman Mao. His casket...which is raised from its refrigerated chambers, is on view mornings and afternoons. It is definitely on our list of things to see! 

We then walked around the side and to the back to check out Zhengyang Men which is one of the towers that forms a double gate known as Qian Men. It now houses a museum on the history of Beijing.


It was while we were on our way to see these double gates that we realized we had lost Jacob part way there. When we turned around we had to laugh because there was a man and his son posing with  Jacob for pictures. He draws a lot of attention with his light colored eyes and light colored hair and apparently this father was brave enough to ask Jacob to pose with him and his son for a picture. Maybe this could be a side job for us while we are in China...taking Jacob to famous public places and charging people to have their picture taken with him...just kidding!

We then passed through the 1st gate and headed towards the second gate called The Arrow Tower...or.... Jian Lou. This was when we realized that there was some sort of a festival going on on the other side of the road through the Arrow Tower. We, of course, buttoned up our coats and headed that way!

Standing inside Zhengyang Men looking across the street at Jian Lou

We then passed through  Jian Lou and headed to the festival. It was so colorful and was decorated with lots of red...the Chinese color for good luck...and had lots of people walking around.

The people were fascinating to watch and we saw an adorable set of twins. Grandpa was holding one and trying to get him to smile over the flowers at mom and dad.

Grandma was holding the other one and I took his picture too! They were sooooooo cute!

We went a little farther up the street and saw another little boy playing at a table while people walked by snapping his picture as well!

But it is not just the young drawing attention! We came across a woman pushing...then pulling her relative in a very festive looking wheelchair and I just had to take a picture!

Just before we left we saw a couple dressed up in very traditional clothes that were drawing attention from several people passing by. Several had stopped to have their picture taken with the couple and I sawthe perfect opportunity to take a picture of them as well!

At this point it was getting cold so we decided to call it a day and head home. We can't wait to go back when everything is open so we can actually tour all of the buildings. Of course that means that you can expect a lot more pictures in the near future!