Dear Parents,
What a day we have had! After morning exercise and breakfast, we got on a tour bus and were greeted by our tour guide whose English name is Michelle. We were first taken to the Great Hall of the People and then Tiananmen in the morning. It was 32 C today and there seemed to be millions of tourists. During breakfast, Bonnie asked the children to drink at least 5 bottles of water (600 ml each bottle) today and everyday and monitor the color of their own urine—if it’s lemon or clear, they are ok; if it is dark brown, they should drink more. That was some sage and timely advice! It was hot today and due to the parking situation we had to walk quite some distance between the tourist spots and our tour bus. (Before the trip, we reminded everyone to put on sun block and wear hats. There were packs and packs of bottled water on the tour bus for us to consume.) We reminded the children to drink and to drink more. Wherever we saw a bathroom, we asked the children to go. There was a long line at the Great Hall of the People. Someone told us that he had been queuing for over an hour and was still not in. We were lucky; through some connections our group got to “cut the line” and made our way in. Security was tight at both the Great Hall and Tiananmen. No bags allowed. No water bottles allowed. And no printed materials allowed (don’t ask me why)—the children had brought their clip boards with fieldtrip worksheets, ready to observe, listen, take notes and answer the questions on the worksheets. But they were not allowed to bring these materials in. Oh well, this is China.
We had lunch at bai-jiao-yuan, literally “the restaurant of one hundred types of dumplings”. We didn’t get exactly one hundred different types, but about a dozen. Our tour guide Michelle entertained the children with a few magic tricks at the restaurant. The children whooed and wowed and begged for more. Bonnie said that Michelle is the best tour guide YiB has had.
After lunch, we went to the Forbidden City. We entered at the Southern Gate and exited at the North. The main halls are being renovated but we still got to see the overall picture. There was a lot of walking. Bonnie was expecting that the younger children would not be able to complete the tour and would need to be carried by the older ones (as was the case in previous YiB sessions). But that did not happen. Everyone walked to the tour bus on their own feet. The drinking helped. Our frequent rests in shady spots helped. The close-knit small group camaraderie helped too (we traveled in small groups, each of which had an adult leader).
Dinner was at Kong3Yi2Ji3 Restaurant. In addition to many regular Chinese dishes, there was broccoli! The restroom there was nice and had toilet paper too (at least in ladies’ room).
After dinner, we were rushed to Hu2Guang3 Hui4Guan3 to watch Peking Opera. The stage and the costume were eye catching. It was a gas-light theater type of setting, where the audience sit around a table where they can enjoy tea and snacks while enjoying the show. An electronic display board shows the lyrics with English translation. Some of the children were so tired by then that they dozed off.
We returned to our dorm building about 9:15pm. I hope the children still had the energy to take a shower before dumping themselves in bed. There will be no morning exercise tomorrow—phew!
On a different note, I’m glad to report that the exclusive “club” that I mentioned in my previous message has been disbanded; in lieu of it, there will be a club that welcomes everybody. The number of children who are sick is reduced to 1 today. And on the 6th day of YiB today, Felix and Eddie have already told Bonnie that they would like to come back to YiB again next year!
Have a great weekend—It’ll definitely be different having a weekend without the children. On the bus back today, Alex said to me, “I wondered what my parents are doing. I bet they are bored without us bothering them.” I replied, “I am sure you are right. I also know that they are thinking about you, worried about you and are also very proud of you.” Keep your warm, loving thoughts; the children can sense and feel them wherever they are.
Till tomorrow (or later today as it’s 12am my time already),
Agnes (aka He Laoshi)