YUMO! Special treats

The lady working with us (Shiyan) suggested that we treat the kids to McDonald's for lunch When we were finished with the Civil Affairs Office. They often see it on TV but may not have ever had it.  It was just priceless.  Since we all have rooms on the same floor we opened up all of our doors and let the kids socialize and play games. Many of them were in the same class at the orphanage and they had tons of fun!  We had originally planned to have a Chinese meal for dinner but we also had to go to the bank today to process our orphanage donation and that took forever because of the mountains of paperwork.  So, for dinner - another treat - Papa John's Pizza. Another priceless moment!   The little blue charater that you see in the photo is the character for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. Look that up on Google and see what you think!

Office of Civil Affairs

After getting in at midnight Sunday night, we had to arise early as we would be going to the Shanghai Office of Civil Affairs to do a temporary custody order so that the families can receive their children. They give families a couple of days in case their child has a medical issue that may not have been explained well. They can then forfeit if the child is too much - but this is only for a medical issue. 

Today from about 9-11am we signed papers and then we awaited the children's arrival. When they came in it was really like a wedding!  They arrived in the door and they announced them.  The parents then walked up and if you had a stuffed animal (recommended) for them you went up to meet them with it. When Hope was announced we brought Mickey Mouse up to her and she greeted us by saying "mama and papa".  They warned us that they may meltdown but she did not.  She came to our table and she colored, very nicely by the way!

Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Hutong

We were a bit busy this past Sunday (we are one day ahead of you).  We got up very early and didn't get to sleep until we arrived in Shanghai at midnight.  We toured Tiananmen Square where there were protests in 1989.  We went through the Forbidden City, Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms. WOW that is just HUGE.

We also went on a rick-shaw ride through Hutong.  These are are a type of narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighborhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighborhoods.

Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history. In the Hutong district we were able to visit a Chinese home and we met Mr. Lu.  His hobby is to raise crickets and he has a dog that appeared in some Chinese movies.

2008 Olympics

The Water Cube and the Bird's Nest from the 2008 Olympics.
 Leola Students what else can you tell me about these great buildings?

The GREAT WALL

The Great wall of China was just so amazing.  The very stylish hat that I am wearing is for my daughter Cayla.  She has been asking for one for some time now.   There were many local people selling things at the Great Wall. They would follow you and ask you to give them a price that you want to pay for their item.  There was also a grandmother that came up to me like I was her long lost daughter because she wanted a picture of me since I look different than Chinese people.          It was very cute!

Leola students - why was the great wall built?

The Cloisene' factory

Bob (Hope's dad) is by a HUGE vase that we saw in the entrance to the Cloisene factory.  This is where they make things such as copper pots, vases, plates, ornaments, jewelry, etc.  After they hammer the copper they then design the outer shell.  They fill it with a paint material and then they put it through a process of sanding until it becomes smooth and shiny.   Herbie was our guide during this tour.  The ladies that were doing the work were very meticulous
         and patient because it took a very long time.

Acrobats, cars and TV

We went to see an acrobatic show and it was very much like Cirque de Soleil. The performers were from the area that had the earthquake.

                              

We went to see an acrobatic show and it was very much like Cirque de Soleil. The performers were from the area that had the earthquake.The car was so cute I could not resist the photo opportunity. As you can see Disney is also popular here (see hood of yellow car). During our travels we learned that there are 13million people in Beijing alone. There are 4 million drivers and each day about 1,600 more cars are registered. UNBELIEVABLE! They have to tell you which day you are allowed to drive your car according to the number on your license plate so that they can keep the traffic down a little. The strangely shaped building is the TV station. It was featured last month in Popular Science Magazine as an engineering marvel.