 |
| Notice the headphones which are connected to hisLeapPad. He never leaves without it. |
ChunMing is a smart guy. He amazes us how quick he catches on to things. In fact, after seeing him for the short amount of time our guide said, "No brain problem here". Today David wasn't thinking and was getting out of the elevator on the 2nd instead of the first floor. ChunMing tried to stop him and was shaking his head "no" and holding up two fingers to show him it was the second floor. Later in the day he thought it was hilarious to hit 5 floors instead of the one and watch the elevator open and shut each time.
 |
| ChunMing loves to point at everything he wants at the hotel buffet. |
 |
| Pretending to cut his head off with a butter knife. Boys are boys everywhere! |
In the morning we ventured out on our own to get a few authentic items for ChunMing as he grows. The stares were entertaining. It was enough to know that I never want to be a celebrity. One couple even informed us, "He looks Chinese" after standing and staring at us for a few minutes. Knowing they couldn't understand us, David said under his breath, "Yeah, we are pretty amazing; we produce Chinese kids." That's when I knew the curiosity was starting to get under his skin.
 |
| This is looking across the street from where we were shopping, which was right down the street from the hotel. |
This afternoon we went to the grasslands. We had heard a lot about them and thought it would be a fun adventure. After driving insanely for two hours, on an insane road, with insane drivers the driver pulled off of the main road onto a rough dirt road where we saw quite a few tourist buses full of Chinese. We were surprised when the driver finally pulled in front of a typical small Chinese house on this dirt road. The guide informed us we were there. We looked around and saw some saddled horses, sheep, a couple of cows and chickens wandering around. There were about 8 yurts as well. I asked our guide if they live in the yurts. She smiled in return and told us they were only for the tourists. Then I asked about the horses, but she said we can't ride them because they kick. When we went to get photos of the cow, she informed us not to get too close (we were at least 200 yards away). The whole "authentic" adventure started to get funny.
 |
| Car ride to the grasslands |
 |
| This is truly an authentic sheepherders home. We are sitting on a platform which serves as their eating area and sleeping area. Underneath is a stove to heat up which gives them warmth on cold winter nights. |
We were told that we would be eating an authentic meal made by a local family, so figured that would make up for the 4 hours of driving. We were brought into the small house to a setting of fried sweet crackers, butter and sugar for dipping, and dried cheese curd. We took a few photos, ate a little snack, asked some questions of our guide, and left. It was interesting, but not 4 hours worth of interesting if you know what I mean. After 2 hours in the hot car, ChunMing wasn't ready to get back in so we stayed long enough for him to throw some rocks, which was the highlight of his day.
 |
| The boys throwing their rocks |
 |
| You can see the grasslands behind us |
On the way home I asked our guide, sort of kidding, sort of not... whether they hired the family to pretend to be locals just for the tourists, not that they would have needed to because you don't really see or interact with the family anyway. I was so curious as to why this spot in the grasslands was such a draw for the Chinese tourists. I found out that since China is so built up in places, with so much concrete and brick, that the Chinese come out to the grasslands to get out of the city. All I have to say is that these poor people need to come visit Bainbridge Island.
 |
| Rush hour traffic. It truly was amazing to watch this mass group of bikers inch their way out onto a very busy roadway. Our driver, along with the rest, weren't about to let them get in their way. |
We did find out later that another family staying in the hotel had also went to the grasslands and witnessed a pretty savage sheep slaughtering at which the wife of the couple was horrified. Now that would have been worth it!
While driving to the grasslands our substitute guide asked ChunMing where he was from to which he responded "Baotou". She asked him if he has friends there and he said "yes". Then she asked him if he misses it and his friends. He said with a big smile, "no".
He is genuinely happy with Baba. He follows his every move and is his shadow. David can get him to smile and laugh constantly. I see true happiness in his entire countenance when he is with him.
 |
| David tried putting ChunMing on his back. He won't let me hold him, so David's arms are straining. |
 |
| Check out this beautiful smile! |
Tomorrow we leave bright and early for Baotou to visit ChunMing's orphanage. We understand it will take 3 hours each way. A new adventure awaits!
I'm with you - when we travel abroad, I don't like the "artificial" touristy stuff that the guides always try to drag you to. I would've totally gone in for the sheep slaughter! But way to pull through on the rock throwing. That was brilliant!
ReplyDeleteI think of you everytime I pass on the authentic food Brooke! I think how dissapointed you would be that I didn't embrace the assortment of food. :) I have eaten an awful lot of watermellon! You see melons all over the place.
DeleteChunMing looks like he's having the time of his life! Glad you got Skype working. I'm sure the kids at home loved it!
ReplyDeleteJust embrace the curiosity that people have. When people stared and if they seemed friendly, I just tried talking to them. I'd tell them where our child is from and where we're from (they usually knew "seattle" from basketball) and they almost always were so nice and very happy with our meager attempts to communicate. Across the board, they were so happy for our kids and thrilled that they had a family.
If you want to really shock people, hold up 7 fingers and say "hide-zuh" for children. People in China were stunned with my 5. With 7, they'd probably think you must have some sort of American TV reality show or something.
Thanks Eileen. Most of the time it is pretty funny and if our guide is with us we love to be a part of the conversations. We have such little knowledge of the language that on our own we are helpless, but have managed to have that very interaction you talk about. They always ask if all of our children were adopted when they hear the amount of children, but when I tell them 5 are biological (that's a hard word to explain without command of the language), that's when I get the shocked looks. Sometimes I hear "but, your so beautiful" like children suck our beauty away (well....I guess they do :) and other times I hear, "but your so young!"
DeleteOne thing I wasn't prepared for is that Chinese women think American women are beautiful. What a shame. The weirdness in me wants to tell them how beautiful their humbleness or grace is, or how I admire the lines on their face the sun has made from years of hard work. Beauty is different to all of us.
Dad and I loved the sheep slaughter idea. :) That would fit the family. Now I know that a trip to the grasslands is not worth it. Won't do that if we go back and visit together.
ReplyDeleteIs that really a chocolate fountain for breakfast?
By the way the wedding was great. Everything went off very smoothly. We got many compliments on the luch. Now maybe I won't be so nervous for th reception.
I think it depends how close you are to the grasslands. It reminds me of the hills in Sacramento to be honest. Of course, you see a scattering of sheep here and there, which is cool. On your way to the grasslands you see all sorts of yurts, which our guide said were built for tourists to stay in overnight. I believe you must go off the beaten path to get the real deal. Yes, that is a chocolate fountain, but this photo was taken at lunch I think. I believe that fountain is there for lunch and dinner. They have green grapes, watermellon and cantaloupe to dip into it. There is also a miniature candy bar, which ChunMing loves to frequent.
Delete