The Fresh Water Pearl Market was very interesting because they showed us how the pearls were found in the oysters and even opened one up for us. We left there buying a pearl necklace for me with matching earrings (lavender of course) and some gifts for our nieces and Cherry Blossom. Apparently today is a national holiday here, it is Women's Day. This just means that women that work for the government get to leave after a half day of work. The Rock wanted to know when Men's Day is, but no one could give him an answer. We got a discount for it being Women's Day, but I still used my bartering skills. Cherry Blossom was not happy in the Pearl Market. She threw some pretty big fits and every time The Rock would try to take her outside it would be worse because she wanted her mama. So many of the salesgirls kept messing with her and getting in her face and she was just done. Poor thing, she will understand shopping one day!
I loved the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, but I absolutely loved the Summer Palace. I want to come back one day when it is spring time so that I can see all of the flowers and trees blooming. The Summer Palace was created by an Empress Dowager for her to while away her days from the business of Beijing. Her son was the ruler at the time, but he had no real power because his mom controlled the strings. She created this extravagant walkway that has intricate paintings of from Chinese history, culture and literature. The Summer Palace also surrounds a man-made lake that was stocked with fish by the servants because the Empress loved to fish, but was never good at it. From the pictures below you can see that I liked the windows that were in various shapes. Tom shared that the Dowager Empress had all of these windows created in the different towers and buildings so that she could look out on her lake and it be in a different shape. It was very extravagant of the Empress to have this place built, but it was amazing! I told The Rock that he could build me one of these getaways somewhere :)
Tom shared many more stories about the Summer Palace as we walked along the walkway. We did not go into any of the many temples because we had a stroller with a toddler who was not going to spend the entire day at the Summer Palace. It is definitely something I would come back to spend more time at.
As we began our tour of the Summer Palace we noticed a man using a large paint brush with a water bottle on the end to write calligraphy on the sidewalk. He was very meticulous and it was very peaceful to watch. Tom shared with us that calligraphy of the Chinese language is taught in elementary school, but not everyone knows how to write it well. The next guy we came to that was practicing his calligraphy was definitely interested in talking with us. He shared that two of his children live in the U.S. in Virginia and he wanted to write Cherry Blossom's name in calligraphy. I told him that was fine and you will see the picture below. He then asked me to try writing my name with his big paint brush and he would translate it. It looked much easier then it was! I was really excited to see my name in Chinese characters!
Cherry Blossom is now finally showing some pickiness in food, but knows where the free fresh fruit is every day. Every time we go to the elevator of the hotel she is pointing at the bowls of fruit and will begin to chant "mama, mama, mama". She loves to ride in the elevator because there are mirrors. This girl and her mirrors!! We are going to have to install a big one in her room and one in the kitchen. When she eats dinner here she loves to watch herself eat in the mirror! She loves the new outfits, especially the pajamas! I of course love the elephant ones since I am training her early to be an Alabama fan and not a Volunteer Fan!
She has also learned to give us high five and give us kisses. She even asked for a kiss today instead of me asking her for one! She puckers up her lips and puts them to mine. Behind all of the smiles and kisses she has always shown, last night and today we have seen some obstinate behavior towards us. This is all part of the bonding and attaching process we know, but we are really not supposed to say "no" or discipline her for the first 30 days. This is very hard! She wouldn't understand what a timeout was nor does she understand what she is being disciplined for since we can't speak Chinese. She definitely shows more obstinate behavior when it is time to go to bed, but when she goes to bed she has to hold my hand in the crib until she falls asleep.
It is a learning process for her as well as for us! Last night, The Rock was reading the book "The Connected Child" in order to get some ideas of what she is going through. We know that once we get home and she feels attached to us we can help her feel more connected.
Our Cherry Blossom continues to show her personality every day. People constantly comment on her smiles and then ask how old she is. They are always surprised to hear that she is almost 3 because she is so small, but we know that once we get her back home she will continue to grow. The girl can eat some food! I hope her daddy is ready to cook breakfast every morning now! Her nap time is almost over and it will be time for the fun to begin again. Tonight we are going to the Golden Arches, also known as McDonald's. I doubt they will have my Sweet Tea that I love from there, but french fries sound pretty good right now!
P.S. - The last picture at the bottom of this post is the Famous Bird's Next from the Beijing Olympics. I quickly took a picture while we were driving by :)
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