March 11, 2015 – Day 7 – Home City Tour
Today was another free day until 2:00pm. Theo had a rough
morning so it was a good day for us to try and rest a bit. We think he has
spent so much of his life in a crib that he is getting tired from us wanting to
play with him and tries to lay down a lot.
After breakfast and an early nap for Theo, we were able to
get out and do some more food shopping. We visited the Tesco (a below ground
supermarket) down the street and picked up some more baby food, drinking water,
a supersized version of ramen noodles, and some good old fashion jelly to go
with our peanut butter we brought on the trip. That first bite of a PB&J
was awesome.
Around 2:00pm our guide, John, came to pick us up for a
“city tour”. Because 3/8 of our group was on the mend from some stomach issues,
we traveled a bit smaller. I was proud of one of our first time dads who
ventured out on his own with their child while he let his wife to rest in the
hotel.
First stop was the city center and fountain. It was a
beautiful day and there were many older locals flying kites. Another
interesting cultural treat was two older men spinning tops by whipping them
with sticks and rope. John led us to some statues of Confucius, and other
notable historical Chinese figures while explaining their significance to both
China and Jinan specifically. Apparently, many Chinese regard Shandong Province
as significant because it holds the birth place of Confucius, mountain ranges
including the Grandfather Mountain – Mount Tai which is sacred to Taoism and other
religions, and the natural springs of Jinan. (Obviously we’re writing most of
this cultural information for Theo when he gets older and for our general
remembrance!)
Our next stop was Black Tiger Springs. Very cool place. We
walked along the city moat for a while taking in the scenery. We saw locals
taking their water from the several springs that fed the moat. We watched as
some friends kicked a type of hack-e-sac with a yellow feather back and forth,
and John explained that people used to swim in the moat for the spring water
but are not allowed to any more.
Finally we visited Daming Lake, which is also at the center
of Jinan. It really was beautiful today. Theo was asleep on Laura’s chest, and
we did turn a lot of heads as a group. We asked John if the people here have
seen many Americans, and he said “no, definitely not as many as Beijing”. In
fact, at one point two separate Chinese photographers were walking circles
around our group taking pictures of us, and especially our children.
It’s 5:00pm here now. Theo is on the floor with Laura, a bit
fussy. He will never remember this trip. How we came to get him from his
orphanage, how we met the people who found him, how beautiful his home city was
today, how we prayed for him, and how we longed to take him home to be with his
brother and sister. It is really sinking-in how much we miss Nora and Everett.
We imagine putting Theo to bed in Everett’s room and have been talking more
about his sleep patterns. We wonder how much time he was spent left alone where
he could just drift off to sleep. It could explain the fussiness and his want
to lay on his back constantly. He may have been used to 4 or 5 naps a day which
is similar to a 3 month old… It makes us think he definitely needs to get ready
for Nora when we get home… His days of being left alone are over forever. In a
good way.
No comments:
Post a Comment