Hangin' with the Rasmussens (March 2017)
As Brigg and I spend more and more time here in China, one of our biggest wishes is to share our experiences with our family. It was with great excitement that we rode with our driver Patrick to the airport on March 16 to meet the Rasmussen family -- Lori, Quinton, Jack, Mitch, and Reagan (they left the twins back in the States with Quinton's sister). We had ten wonderful days together, and we tried to make the most of them regardless of smog, wind, and rain. You can see Reagan's quick response to their first air-quality report:
We spent our first full day together at the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, and from there we drove to Olympic Park in central Beijing. The temperatures were mild, but the smog was heavy. Welcome to Beijing! As you can see, Lori's kids had a "great" time at the "Great" Wall -- and the Chinese people were certainly interested in them!
And I know . . . .!!! I was very nervous when I saw those kids climbing the wall for pictures. Quinton certainly wasn't obeying the signs . . . But as you can see, we all made it to the bottom safely. (The toboggan run doesn't look quite as pretty as it did when we were there last fall--still rather "wintry." I have a feeling it will be gorgeous in a few weeks when all the trees/flowers are budding!)
While we were riding the gondola to the top of the Wall, Reagan asked, "But what if we really need to scratch?" I explained that I think the sign meant "No Graffiti"--and then we had the "talk"--you know, the one about Chinese translations . . .
Just a few memories from Olympic Park -- the "Bird's Nest" and "Water Cube" (where, again, those blonde kids were the main attraction!) Click on the pictures:
The next day, we went to the zoo to see the pandas, but the locals found a photo op that was much more interesting (Reagan certainly earned that stuffed animal!) Jack spotted a "6D" adventure while we were looking for giraffes, and after a meal in the Wudaokou District and a long walk home, the jet-lagged Rasmussens (and Papa) needed a break.
On Sunday, we went to church and then hurried straight to the Beijing West Railway Station to catch the high-speed train for Xi'an, where we spent the next two days. While there, we caught the light/fountain show at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, visited Banpo Village, saw the Terracotta Warriors (and met Mr. Yang, the farmer who discovered the Warriors while digging for a well in 1974), rode bikes along the top of the old city wall, and shopped in the Muslim Market. After riding the 14 km wall, Jack, Mitch, and Reagan were begging to try an Asian foot treatment (and yes, the fish are eating the dead skin off their feet!) You'll have to click on the pictures . . .
We came back to Beijing in time for our classes (which are on Wednesdays and Thursdays), and between classes on Wednesday, I found time to take the Rasmussens on a quick tour of Peking University. It's a beautiful campus -- built on the gardens of the old Summer Palace. We're quite proud of it and happy to show it off whenever we get the chance! Later Wednesday evening, we went to see the Chaoyang acrobat show.
Unfortunately for the Rasmussens, winter returned to Beijing for a couple of days. Thursday and Friday (March 23 & 24) were quite bitter and wet. On Thursday while Brigg was teaching classes in the morning, Mitch decided to stay at the apartment with me (I had some work to do) while Lori, Quinton, Jack, and Reagan went to the Summer Palace -- a bit of an irony on such a wet, wintry day. Thursday afternoon (while I was teaching), the kids stayed with Brigg while Quinton and Lori went to the Pearl Market, where they learned first-hand about Chinese "back-alley" deal making (you'll have to ask them). As soon as I returned from my last class, we quickly ran to the subway with the kids, who wanted to go to the "Santa" mall (Tianyi Market--the one with a giant Santa statue outside). We got there at 6:30, only to discover that it was just closing. We ran into Lori and Quinton while walking back to the subway (they were coming to find us), and we all went to dinner together at Big Pizza. You'll need to click on the pictures again . . .
Friday was their last day here -- and the wind, cold, and rain didn't stop us from doing the "tourist" thing -- the Drum Tower, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and Wangfujing Market. I thought for a while that we were going to lose Mitch -- not literally, but as you can see from the photos, he did NOT want to be sightseeing. Thank goodness for the market (and all those tasty scorpions and slugs) -- we ended on a stomach-churning, skin-crawly positive!!
We were awfully glad Brigg found that city bus that took us directly to the Wangfujing area. After hours of climbing and walking, our legs had about given out!
It was hard to say goodbye on Saturday, and it was especially hard to watch a teary Reagan parting with her Papa. But thank you, Rasmussens, for a never-to-be-forgotten and always-to-be-treasured ten days here in China!
