Our Last Day in Beijing

Our stay in Beijing has been very interesting. We were awakened by the sounds of thunder this morning, and the day looked to be dark and gloomy. We decided to visit the Capitol Museum (art and cultural exhibits) with Mike and Sue. The weather improved steadily and by the time we exited the museum, the sun was beginning to shine through the deep layer of smog that seems to persist here. Since the threat of rain lifted, we headed to Tiananmen Square.

The square is enormous, and despite a crowd of tens of thousands, there was still enough room for a few Beijingers to fly their kites. Lucky for us Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum had been closed for a couple of hours so the enormous crowd that typically gathers for that had dispersed. As has been the case we were approached countless times by peddlers trying to convince us that small Chinese flags, socks, wristwatches with Chairman Mao depicted on the face were necessary for our very survival. In one such case I saw a man accosted by one peddler who appeared to be holding him at sock-point until he might agree to buy. I didn’t see the outcome of this stand-off as my attention was diverted by the cries of “DVD, Sir, DVD!” I laugh about it now, but when you are approached like this every 30-50 feet it gets bit ridiculous… Despite all that, this is a pretty amazing place, and it’s a small price to pay for the little blessing that awaits us.

After our little sight-seeing trip, the two of us decided to get a few gifts from the Friendship Store. Along the way we talked about how we were feeling a little overwhelmed that in little more than 24 hours we would be new parents holding and caring for our daughter.
We returned to our room just with just enough time to get ready for dinner & our trip to see the Chinese Acrobats. We tried a few new dishes that were quite tasty, including chicken-feet which someone of our group ordered (the menu said chicken legs…not so tasty).
At dinner, the subject of tomorrow’s events got everyone talking. Everyone seemed to share the same feelings of excitement and anticipation, but also the fear of the unknown. We quickly finished our dinner and returned to the hotel just in time to meet our guide for the trip to see the acrobats.

The Acrobats are absolutely incredible, and a must see when traveling to Beijing. We just spent the last hour and a half packing our bags for tomorrow mornings flight to Nanchang (the emotions are running high knowing that in less than 24 hours the moment we have been waiting for as a couple will soon be here, our wait is drawing to a close and tomorrow Tanya becomes a mother and I become a father! Tomorrow there will be tears of joy!

~Maddy’s Daddy