Dad's last days.

In Beijing, of course.

I think that this picture actually sums up a lot of things about China...

Well dad only had about 24 hours left in Beijing so we decided that we would spend it at the Beijing Zoo...of all places. :) Was it the best choice, no. Did we still have a good time, yes. The animals are more heartbreaking than anything else - more so than the average zoo - but the best part is the people-watching. We still had a good time and are glad that we went. The Zoo only costs 15 yuan to get in to but tickets to the aquarium & the zoo are quite a bit more, so we figured that the aquarium must be worth seeing - and it was! It was really cool to see the fish and our favorite part was the dolphin show, they are so brilliant.

After the zoo/aquarium we decided to head over to the Silk Market for a shopping experience while we were still all together. Don't worry, this was only the first of three trips to the Silk Market for me and mom...this trip was just us getting our feet wet. :) We had a great time bargaining/arguing/acting with the salesmen there and actually got a couple of great purchases! Mom was bound and determined to take home as many purses as she could without getting stopped at customs - and she definitely did. She ended up taking home 11 purses! It was hilarious really...The girls are the Silk Market are extremely aggressive so it took quite a bit of time to get to the prices we wanted, but it was totally worth it cause she got some great bags.

On Sunday we got up and went to church together - which was really nice. Of course we were all exhausted from the last 3 crazy days, but we managed to stay awake...mostly. We really value our branch here and are grateful for all of the wonderful members of the church we are getting to know. That being said, there are few things I love more than sitting through church with my family, singing harmony with my mom and sisters, and feeling the Spirit testify how important families are. It was beautiful to sit through a meeting with my mom and dad and think about how grateful I am for our wonderful families. So many of the talks from October's General Conference made me think about how blessed we are to have such exemplary parents, loving siblings, and perfect nieces and nephews. It was like a dream to have my parents there at church with us that day. I sit through Sacrament Meeting now and just try to remember and feel the strong feelings that I had that Sunday they were here with us.

(This is the building our branch meets in.)

We were definitely sad to see my dad go, but knew that he had business to attend to. :) I was really lucky to be able to spend time with my dad in China 4 years ago when I was here with ILP. We spent about 24 hours together in Guangzhou, mostly inside the Marriott - which, don't get me wrong, it was wonderful, but this time was much different. It was so cool to trek the city with him and experience Beijing together. We appreciated the feeling he brought to our home and the support he continues to give us while we're here. It was difficult to say goodbye after only 4 short days together, but we are more than grateful for the time we were able to spend.

For my Mom however, the fun had only just begun...

The Wall that is Great.

So on Friday morning, while my dad was still here, we got up early and met our driver downstairs at 7 am. Btw, when I say 'our driver' I mean a man that we hired for the day - Alex and I definitely don't have a driver...yet. :) The university was super nice and they got us the car for the day. He drove us up to the Mutianyu section of the wall - and it was fantastic.

The Great Wall of China is actually in sections that vary in length, location, and years since restoration. Some sections have been restored as recently as the 1980's, and other sections are still original. The restored sections have definite value in terms of photography and hiking, and the un-restored sections are awesome for their historical significance and natural...state. Alex and I have been to Simatai, Badaling, and went to Mutianyu with my parents (and Huangyu last weekend with our Branch). Each of the sections are special for different reasons, and Mutianyu was no exception.

It was only about a 1 hour drive to the wall from our apartment. Once we got out of the city we continued through miles of farmland and small villages/cities/communities that were really cool to see. One interesting thing that we saw on this trip, as well as others, is cobs of corn drying everywhere you look. There was corn on people's roofs, sidewalk, storefronts, streets, carts, windows, etc.

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is also really well known for their cable cars, ski lift, and alpine slide which you can use to get up to/down from the wall. One small piece of trivia for you...Last year, when Beyonce was taking a year off to center her life and find herself she came to China to climb the Great Wall. If you watch her video on Youtube, "The Year of 4" you'll see her riding an alpine slide down from the Great Wall. That's because. She went. To the same section. Of the Great Wall. As we did. Do you know what that means! I walked, where she walked. The views I saw, she saw. When I was pulling on the alpine slide breaks, so was she. It was almost like we were there together - it was a really special experience.

It was a perfect day. In China you really learn to deal with disappointment well. Nothing ever looks like the pictures, scam artists pose as salesman, and it's easy to fall into one of countless tourist traps. But the Great Wall, it does not disappoint. It totally lives up to its reputation in every way and is absolutely breathtaking.

When Alex and I came to China before we both loved our experiences on the wall. However, we both remember feeling like it was something that we wanted to experience with family and share with those we love. It was such a neat opportunity to be there together as a family and climb the wall together. I think that's kind of the theme of my parents' trip here - the things we did were neat on their own, but they were incredible because we were there together.

Next: Beijing Zoo, Aquarium, Silk Market, Church, and Dad's send-off.

The Best 3 Weeks Ever.

The last three weeks have been an absolute WHIRL, and this is me refusing to let them just slip by without adequate documentation. We have done more in the last 3 weeks than we have in the last 8 weeks combined, and we totally have my parents to thank for that. They arrived in Beijing on October 5th and we put my mom on the plane last Sunday, October 23rd. We saw amazing things, ate great food, made loads of memories, came in contact with really neat people, and totally ran ourselves into the ground. So yes, this is the first post of many to catch up on the last three weeks, consider it a travel-log if you like, but I hope that I can do our experiences and memories justice. If you're bored, quit reading, and I'll understand. :)

Wednesday, October 5th - The Arrival.

My dad travels to China for business twice a year - in October and April. My mom has never traveled with him before and he has never been as far north as Beijing, so this month was the perfect opportunity to make both of those things happen. The came together and my dad was with us for 4 days before heading south to begin his business trip. So naturally, we had to make the most of the time he had in the North Capital!

Thursday, October 6th - Death By Sightseeing.

If you didn't think it was possible to die from sightseeing, I dare you to live through the Thursday we had. I'm not saying that we died, but I'm not saying that we didn't want to. Anyone who is familiar with Beijing will understand that to attempt Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, and The Temple of Heaven in the same day, in the middle of the National Holiday, is absolute madness. Not to mention, mom and dad had been here for less than 24 hours = running on jet lag adrenaline. Are we crazy? Yes. Do we regret it? Absolutely not. It was a day of crowds (which my dad loves) but it was worth it.

We jumped on the subway and made our way down to Tiananmen. The square was super crowded (as you can see) but really cool to see because it was all dressed up for the holiday. Now, I know history buffs will say, "Tiananmen Square, dressed up? Isn't that a paradox?" Well critics, hold your political satire for one minute, try to imagine yourself having an ounce of naivety, and just appreciate the pictures, okay? :) The Forbidden City was equally crowded, but equally worth visiting - and visit we did.

One of our favorite memories from the Forbidden City (besides my belt breaking and mom's wallet spilling in the same instance) was a mini art gallery we got suckered into. "Come in, please, look at our work. We are traveling art students from Xi'an and this is the work of me, my classmates, and my professor. Look at this one, this is my Professor's work, it is very difficult and he is very famous." How famous? Famous enough that we saw your professor's work in every market, souvenir shop, alley, street vendor, and grocery store in Beijing and Xi'an? I don't think so. Every time we would see one of the "professor's" pictures we would say, "Wow, the professor really gets around!..."

After the Forbidden City we headed down to the Temple of Heaven and made it to our new favorite restaurant - The Brown Door. Manna from Heaven! Yes they cater to foreign palettes, no there's not a single Chinese patron in there, but am I ashamed - definitely not. Some would say a restaurant like this isn't authentic enough. I say we're in China, eating Chinese food, cooked by Chinese people, paying Chinese prices, at a Chinese restaurant - authentic enough for me. We discovered our two new favorite dishes (pictured below): gan bian dou jiao (spicy green beans), and suan la tu dou si (potato haystack).

Following lunch at The Brown Door was the squatter fiasco I have already mentioned in a previous post (Squatters and Sniffers). However, here is my mom's version on video - absolutely priceless and one of my favorite memories.

The Temple of Heaven was amazing and I thought it was worth visiting. It's one of the most famous sites in Beijing - it was where the Emperors used to go to worship. There was a nice feeling that and lots of beautiful things to see.

Thursday was a long long long day but we had to finish with another yummy meal at our favorite dumpling house with some of our best friends. We met the Carters and the Bassetts for dinner and had a wonderful time. We're really glad my parents got to meet them and see what good company we're in while we're here.

Yes, this is only the beginning. Cue next post: Friday.

Hired!

So as some of you may know or remember, we came to China with two main goals: 1. Find Alex a decent job. 2. Begin/further our language study. Well I am happy to announce that the first of those two goals was completed last week and we are thrilled!

Alex was hired last week as a Financial Analyst at HP China! Hooray! On our 7th week here he went across town to meet with the CFO and while there he ended up interviewing with two other people (which was a huge surprise). He was expecting to just develop his network and create a relationship but about 30 minutes after he got home the CFO called back and offered him a full-time position. They finalized the offer last week and his first day was actually last Friday. We are totally ecstatic and could not be happier about the position or company. Al will continue teaching until the end of the semester (December), which they know, but will make up the hours in other ways until then. After December he will stop teaching and will just be working full-time. We're not exactly sure what this development does to our timeline here in China, but we will probably just cross that bridge when we come to it. :)

We can't talk about this job without recognizing the hand of the Lord in our lives. We feel so blessed have him working so soon and we know that would not have happened without our prayers and the prayers of our friends and family on our behalf. We truly believe that the Lord is watching over us and helped to bring this about.

We're excited to start this new chapter and look forward to the experience that we will both gain from this change!

Squatters and Sniffers

No, not sniffers of squatters. No one wants to sniff a squatter. These are two separate stories...

First, squatters. If you know me well you know I'm not one for bathroom stories, but this was just too good. For those of you who are unaware of the public restroom situation in China - and most of Asia, I think - it's not always so pretty. Squatters are used rather than western toilets, although toilets are typically found in homes. Allow me to illustrate:

As you can see, squatters range from totally terrifying to not so bad - just like any other public restrooms with western toilets. However, they do have this uncanny ability to all of the sudden make it so you don't have to go anymore...weird...Well, so my parents are here and it's been such a fun week. But last week while we were out to lunch my mom and I both had to use the restroom. We asked the restaurant and the cute girl took us outside and through a side door that led to the kitchen. There was literally three pieces of tin leaned up against the wall with a squatter/hole in the ground - seriously one of the worst I've seen. I don't know if you could even call it a squatter. I'm talking mom through what she's gonna have to do and after a minute we both just decided that it was too bad and we couldn't do it - needed to find somewhere else.

We walked across the street to the Pearl Market, located the W.C., and resumed the pep-talk. I'm talking my mom through what do to and giving her as much confidence as I can. As we are both standing outside the stall staring at the squatter I'm saying things like, "You can do this. It's not as bad as you think it's going to be. We're not talking a squat like you do in the gym, we're talking a China squat. Actually they're more sanitary than toilets!" And she's saying things like, "Okay...I just don't know...I'm getting old...Can my knees take it?" The pressure is mounting and I'm trying to psyche her up as best I can. As my mom lifts her foot to step up in to the stall, we think this is the moment, and the restroom attendant grabbed her arm. She was an older woman and in Chinese started saying, "Come here, come over here." She pulled my mom away from the squatter and over towards the handicapped stall. I'm thinking, "Oh, how nice, maybe it's bigger or something...however she's totally throwing off our groove here." She swings open the door to the handicapped stall and it was like there were lights shining down from heaven and angels singing - a western toilet! I threw my arms in the air and screamed, "It's a toilet!" My mom threw her arms around the woman and it was like she was sobbing with no tears, "A toilet! Thank you, thank you so much, thank you." In my mom's own words, "I have never been so happy to see a toilet in my entire life!"

Yes my mom has tried and succeeded at using a squatter since - in fact I've used more squatters in the last week than I have since we've been here because of all the site seeing we've been doing. But in that moment, that toilet was like a gift from the heavens.

Sniffers. Okay, so we're rather used to the staring and spy pics - so much that it doesn't really phase us any more. We get stared at all the time and get pictures taken of us pretty often when we go out, especially when we are at a famous site or attraction. Again, allow me to illustrate with this picture I took of a man taking a picture of us while at the zoo:

Nice, right? So, the pictures and staring don't really get to me, we're used to it. But last Saturday when we were at the zoo I had an experience that reached a new level and really threw me off my game.

We were outside the Beijing Zoo and I was buying tickets for me, Al, and my parents. I was walking through the crowd and I saw a man staring at me in a way that Alex and I call the "Gazer Beam". :) Again, I didn't think much of it. He was staring as he was walking towards me, I was still not alarmed. He was getting closer and closer, about to pass me, and right before he passed me he crossed the line. This guy gets right up in my grill, I'm talkin' shoulder/crook of my neck area, and he takes a big whiff of...me. He smelled me! Sniffed me! And I'm not talking a little sniff, I'm talking a big ol' whiff, like he was trying to take it all in. It caught me so off guard I just didn't know what to do. I couldn't think of anything to say, in Chinese or English, I was just so thrown off. I just looked at him and raised my arms as if to say, "What the heck was that?" He kept walking through the crowd, I think he was embarrassed that I noticed, but seriously? I wasn't supposed to notice you in the crook of my neck? I mean, I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but it was kinda hard to miss. I would like to thank the sniffing man though, because he taught me a new lesson about myself: I guess I'm okay with pictures and staring, but smelling just crosses the line for me.

Well that's all, the best stories of the week. Maybe our favorites from the last six weeks! We have had a great time with my parents and are already sad that my mom will be leaving in two weeks. Hope this post finds you all well!

Al and Whit