Day 6 – Thurs. August 14, 2008
This morning Scott had to go run some errands. Sounds funny when you’re in a foreign country but he needed to exchange money, get a cell phone and I think, had the overall need to be up and out. As I lay in bed and said goodbye, I realized that once he walked out the door:
a) I was alone with two small children in Beijing
b) I had no money with me in the event there was an emergency and we had to take a taxi somewhere
Which brings me to....
c) I wouldn’t even no how to tell someone where to take me!
So, I summoned Scott back in the apartment, asked for some Yuan (Chinese $$$) and devised our Emergency Plan which went something like this….
Jana: “What time will you be back?”
Scott: “By 8:30a.m.”
Jana: “o.k. but if you’re not back by 10am, we're taking a taxi to the USA House”
Scott: “I’ll be back by 9am”
Jana: “Fine, but did you hear me, I’m going to the USA House to get help if you’re not home by 9am.”
Between me attaching ID cards to the girl’s belt loops and now this, I know he thinks I’m a worrier but what can I say, a girl needs a plan!
We braved our apartment shower today. I wasn’t looking forward to it in fear that it would be cold water only so was pleasantly surprised when it heated up. The bathroom consists of the toilet, which is Western (like ours at home), a sink and on the opposite wall from the toilet is the shower head. The girls have been using the toilet for the past few days but when I said let’s take a shower and we all went in, they couldn’t believe it was in the same area. The drain is under the sink and there’s a small step up to the kitchen which prevents it from flooding.
Our Living Room
View from the front door
The girl's "room"
Master Bedroom
The Kitchen (and Laundry Room)
Refrigerator / Kitchen
Bathroom
The shower which drains in the bathroom floor.
It’s eye opening "living" in an apartment and I'm thrilled we’re not in a hotel. However, Shelby does keep calling it one!
After breakfast, showers and sign making – the girls made signs for the Vball match – we headed to the Beach venue. Another crazy taxi ride and LONG walk but we made it. The match was over pretty quick with Misty May & Kerry Walsh (USA) beating Norway. Shelby was into waving our new flags and Syd enthralled in an American Girl Doll book. After the match the girls go to have their picture taken with Misty May and Lindsay Davenport & Liezel Huber USA Women’s Tennis Doubles Teammates.
We played some family sand vball in the courts outside the venue and pretty soon it was our family mixed in with a bunch of players for a multi national pick up game.
The girls did some pin trading, but hanging in one area for a while proved a bit overwhelming in terms of the number of photo ops people wanted with the girls.
It’s been a rainy afternoon which is perfect in any country to relax, take naps and watch all things Olympic (even if it is in Chinese and only the Chinese teams) on t.v.
Tonight we’ll brave a random restaurant I found in a book. I was told restaurant selection is my department since I’m the pickier eater (touché). The restaurant turned out great, as the meal was a feast for $20. We arrived at the indoor match where the stadium was packed as China beat Japan in 5. Needless to say the match started late and the USA match ended after midnight. The girls got to catch up on their sleep ahead of the Great Wall venture tomorrow. The USA team started out slow against Bulgaria, there toughest challenge in pool play, but pulled out a 4 set victory. The USA head coach is still absent and the news is that his mother in law is going to fly back to the states any day. The good news is that her condition has improved.
-Pictures with Olympians
-More pin trading. It’s the cool thing to do when at the Olympics!
-Having down time @ the apartment. The girls have been doing pretend play for hours and watching the occasional table tennis on t.v. since that's all we can find!
FUNNY FORTUNE STUFF: Let me save you all some frustration when/if you are ever in China. Learn the word "cesuo" (tser-swoh) - It means toilet! This afternoon our apartments toilet stopped working. Scott spent a few hours dealing with different people coming in and out trying to fix it. We thought it was fixed but no and Jana had to go!
So, I took the elevator 21 floors down and ran around the neighborhood in the rain with a dress and flip flops on going form building to building asking for a toilet and simulating peeing all the while with a distressed look on my face I’m sure. I came to a tea house and a group of women workers were all staring at me drenched. Thankfully one understood my plea in English and I was safe. I didn’t even care that when I shut the door, I heard them all giggle.
SEEING THINGS DIFFERENTLY:
No helmets worn here for bike riders
Seatbelts aren’t mandatory
Smoking can be found anywhere and everywhere
DAILY FAVORITES:
Shelby - Taking a picture with Misty May
Sydney – Getting Misty May to sign my poster
Jana – Seeing good volleyball
Scott – Eating duck tonight (Stay tuned, this hasn’t happened yet)
You can get duck almost anywhere. We took this walking past a convenience store.
Scott thinks he might be better off ordering at a restaurant like this one....
OLYMPIC UPDATE: Unlike the other Olympics we have been to, you can not enter the “Olympics Green” area unless you have a ticket for an event taking place that day. Unfortunately not many venues are located there, so this is tricky and a bummer for us. Wish us luck!
2 comments:
Great reports!! We've been trying to spot you in the stands of the volleyball matches. We haven't watched the men's indoor yet, but it's tivo'd.
It sounds like you're having a good time.
They have had several fun reports about the food there and the open food markets. I would love to see a picture of one of you (no... not you, Jana *wink*) eating a scorpion! Is Shelby up for it?? *wink* *wink*
We're all getting together at Crown Point tomorrow and will miss you all terribly. I hope the Great Wall is everything it seems to be.
xoxo
I agree,Scott eat a scorpion on a stick please! Photo mandatory!!
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