Back in Bejing

It is Friday, September 19, 2008 and we are back in Beijing, having taken the bullet train from Tianjin yesterday. Ava is doing very well and other than crying a bit when she is hungry, or when Elizabeth is out of sight for any length of time, she is quite calm and very observant. Last night we also discovered that she is a "water baby" when we gave her a bath. She laughed and splashed and went just a little bit nuts. I was pretty much soaked when I finally got her out of the tub. This is a big difference from the experience that we had with Olivia. The information from the orphanage three years ago stated that Olivia loved baths. Imagine our surprise when it was like trying to give a cat a bath.
The orphanage in Tianjin was spotless and smelled clean. The staff seemed to be very good and concerned for the children. It was like an oasis in the area in Tianjin where it is located. We drove down an alley littered with trash and debris but once through the gates it was a different story. Tianjin is a big city, I believe our guide, Leah, said that the population is 11 million. It is crowded, pretty dirty and very smoggy. It sort of reminded me of Beijing three years ago. In our hotel we were on the 37th floor, but unfortunately could not see for any distance due to the ever present haze. Lots of people were seen wearing masks and storm-trooper like visors.
Yesterday was Dad's birthday so last night we went out to a restaurant and had ....Surprise!!!.... Chinese food. During dinner there was a bit of a commotion as pretty good size fish attempted to make a get-away and came flopping through the dining area, a cook not far behind with a large net. This is the definition of "fresh fish". This is one of those things that you just do not see at an Appelby's for example. The food was very good but something must have been very bad as Elizabeth is down for the count today. We attempted to take a tour today and the first part of the trip involved a stop at a Jade market. Elizabeth became quite ill while we were there and really was not interested in jade in the least. It was at that point that I realized that she really must be feeling bad. I bought a piece of jade that is called a "happy family ball" and if I tried to explain what it is, it would not make any sense, so we will just leave it at that. Needless to say the rest of the tour was cancelled and we returned to the hotel. Our visit to the Peking man and the Marco Polo bridge will have to be on another day.
We have one more week to go here in China. We will be USA bound next Friday. Ava is quite a mobile little girl and the 13 hour flight fills me with a fair amount of dread. I know it is a very long flight, but it just might be a "very long flight".
I will now try an post some pictures, but since Elizabeth always does this and since I am kind of a rube with this type of stuff, it probably will not work.


P