Sam goes to work and the girls and I have school.
Tuesday night we host a dinner for Sam's American coworkers who are also participating in the Global Rotation Program. And surprise, surprise, we take them to our favorite French restaurant, Aux Petits Plaisirs. It was a fun evening. The kids ended up playing with the owner's children (they have a playroom at the restaurant and their girls are similar ages). So while the kids were occupied, Sam and I both were able to relax and interact with his colleagues. Most of the participants are single people - only one other family came to Dalian.
Thursday night Sam and I get in a date night! We try a restaurant called The Upper Kitchen. It serves various western food - and we actually find some Mexican food on the menu (Mexican food is a rarity out here! A chef or restaurateur of Mexican food could do well here! Little to no competition!) Food was very good. The girls and the babysitter, Ms. Helen, get along very well! Penny tells me sometimes that she misses Ms. Helen. She always goes above and beyond!
Friday night the hotel hosts a fantastic Thanksgiving event. It is so incredible to me that a Chinese hotel would go to such lengths for it's guests - and they do a terrific job. Turkeys are hard to find and expensive here, but they serve turkey, along with many of the traditional trimmings - homemade cranberry sauce, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. They also serve various Chinese dishes and duck. Delicious! After wards there was karaoke (no we did not participate lol) and Chinese sand painting. The kids enjoyed helping the chef make a pumpkin pie. Time and again the Chinese have demonstrated great kindness, hospitality and generosity. I don't think we can ever out-give or out-host the Chinese!
Day 52
Saturday we spend the day with several of Sam's coworkers for a team building event (this is done quarterly). We head to a beautiful villa that can be rented for the day and includes lunch. There are no plans - we play Foosball, Mahjong, video games, karaoke (only the kids participated), made dumplings, and chatted. Lunch was a really good hotpot with seafood, vegetables, dumplings and noodles. Only one other coworker brought their child, but the kids did OK. Sam's colleagues were very gracious but it is stressful trying to keep the kids in line for an all day event in front of Sam's coworkers!
Once we get back, I ask Sam if I can escape for a few hours and he agrees! I take my copy of "I Can Only Imagine" and head to the mall next door. I do a little browsing and then head to the Starbucks. It is so comforting to come into a familiar store, order a familiar hot holiday beverage and listen to Christmas music (in English!).
Now if you haven't heard the popular song "I Can Only Imagine," I highly recommend it! The songwriter is Bart Millard of MercyMe and he (and a professional writer) wrote an inspiring book on his life. It's a great movie too! I can relate to a lot of his early years and it made it hard for me to read (had to leave Starbucks lol). Less than 200 pages - a quick read!
Day 53
It's Sunday! And the church fellowship is hosting a Thanksgiving potluck. So we get up early and make homemade macaroni and cheese and steamed broccoli with lemon. I actually had no problems finding almost all the ingredients I needed for the mac and cheese when we shopped earlier in the week. Only thing I couldn't find was Velveeta, but I just added extra cheese and whole milk and it was fine. (And the cheese was from the good ole USA!)
Then we head to the fellowship, have a pleasant service and eat a Thanksgiving feast! Every traditional Thanksgiving dish was present - even cranberry sauce. The lady who made it mentioned that she ordered frozen cranberries online.
Once we are stuffed we head back to the hotel. Later that afternoon we have Sam's coworker and family over with whom we exchange English/Mandarin lessons. Then we all walk to the mall next door and eat dinner. It is going to be hard saying goodbye to all the friends we've made.
Days 54-55
Sam heads to work and the girls and I have school. The girls and I have been reading "The Swiss Family Robinson" and the girls love it!! I wasn't sure if it would be too high level for my 6 and 4 year old, but nope! It's always exciting when your kids exceed your expectations. So of course we had to purchase the classic 60's movie on YouTube and we have really enjoyed watching that as a family. It has been one of my favorite films since I first saw it in kindergarten.
Monday afternoon the girls and I head to the trampoline park in the mall next door and the girls run and jump for an hour. And they eventually convince me to go down this crazy steep slide with them - wow was it scary! There was some loud screaming and I'm a little embarrassed to admit it came from me! Haha.
Monday evening the girls and I meet Sam at work and we go to dinner with one of his coworkers and her husband. We end up having to cut the evening short because the girls misbehave. I don't usually like taking the girls out in public - it is always stressful and usually includes some embarrassment! Parenting is so hard. Especially having several young kids close in age and same gender. Constant fighting and crying. Sam's coworker mentions they think they will only want one kid. Sigh. Ready for a do over.
Day 56
It's Wednesday and time to start preparing for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast! Since Sam is working an odd schedule today (2pm-midnight), I head to the Metro grocery store (without kids - yay!) that morning. No school today. As soon as I entered the store I was excited to see Christmas decorations - and I can't resist and pick up 2 small decorations for our apartment. I get most of what I need, but alas cannot find any cranberry sauce or cranberries! A couple people told me it was at Metro, but oh well.
When I get back I then walk next door to the mall and stop by a beautiful bakery called Holiland to pick up some bread for our Thanksgiving feast and to purchase some gifts for a few of the people who have been so kind to us!
Day 57 Thanksgiving!
China does not celebrate Thanksgiving so Sam goes to work and the girls and I have school. But later that day we start watching The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and then some favorite Christmas movies.
And while the movies are playing, I start cooking. We are not doing a traditional Thanksgiving - turkeys are expensive and difficult to find. So we end up having a beef roast with roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes (made with whole milk, butter, nutmeg and apple juice), Chinese green beans, carrots, rolls and a German dessert from Metro - a round bread stuffed with fruit and cream cheese. And there is no canned gravy (another one of my go tos for quick cooking), so I make homemade gravy (which I haven't done in like 12 years ha). Food was good and the family enjoyed it. It was a nice day.
Day 58
Since China is 13 hours ahead of NC, we take this morning to call our family who are in the midst of celebrating Thanksgiving. Great to catch up and hear how everyone is doing and what they did to celebrate. Sam took this day off work since we are traveling to Xi'an later in the day. No school.
For a couple weeks I was unable to make any calls (I had been using Facebook Messenger to make free phone calls but it stopped working). So we installed the Skype App on my phone and was finally able to call people again (though we can't see people like we did in Messenger). It wasn't free like Messenger but really affordable - it only cost about $1USD for a 45 minute phone call.
After the phone calls and lunch, we pack our suitcases for a weekend trip and then head to the airport. Our 4:05pm flight to Xi'an with Air China leaves right now time. Service on the Asian flights are always pleasant - very friendly, flight attendants always know some English and even on short 2 hour flights we get hot meals or very hardy snacks (depending on the time of day). And on this flight we come across a flight attendant who remembered us from one of our flights to/from/through South Korea! What a small world. Even with such a dense population on this side of the globe I feel like we have been heartily embraced by this new extended family!
She asks to take pictures with the girls and we agree and then the young lady gives us candy. I can't emphasize enough how often strangers or people we hardly know are constantly giving us things - I can't keep up! I think we need to constantly carry gifts with us so we can be prepared to gift back! All we have to give are our smiles and thanks. We are constantly humbled by the Asian people. For a country still recovering from deep widespread poverty and deprivation, they are always willing to share what they have. Oh Lord that we would have this generous humble servant spirit!
Always reminds me of God and how His blessings are so abundant and how we can never thank Him enough or out give Him.
James 1:17 New International Version (NIV)
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
We arrive in Xi'an on time and get a jumbo taxi. (Sam has been using an app called DiDi to order taxis in China. He used other apps to order taxis when we were in Japan and South Korea.) We head to our hotel in downtown Xi'an about 45 minutes away.
Xi'an is probably the oldest city we have ever visited - over 3,000 years old. It is located in northwest China and was the starting point of the famous Silk Road used for trading long ago. It was also the capital of China for hundreds of years (Beijing is now but that is a recent development). Xi'an (previously called Chang'an) is about double the size of Dalian - about 12 million people. The airport was surprisingly nice and the city is an interesting mix of sparkling new skyscrapers and ancient neighborhoods. Lots of neat history here - and the location of the Terra Cotta Army!
Day 59
We wake up from a pleasant night and head down to a generous breakfast buffet. There is Chinese, Japanese, European and American cuisine. I don't mind having sushi and bread pudding for breakfast!
I started using booking.com to book my hotels in China and so far it has worked pretty well. We stayed at the Grand Park Xi'an and would stay here again. Excellent location, very nice hotel at a reasonable price. (Money goes far in China - nearly everything is cheaper than in the US, and hotels are no exception.)
After breakfast we grab a jumbo taxi and head to the Terra Cotta Army 45 minutes away. It was found by some farmers digging a well in the 1970's. The Terra Cotta Army is breathtaking in its size and scope - no statue is alike. Thousands of clay warriors, servants, horses, archers, chariots, etc and they are each unique. Completed in 210 BCE by 700,000 artisans over 30 years. It was built to supposedly protect China's first emperor after his death. His tomb has not been opened because it is suspected to be filled with rivers of mercury (very poisonous). 1000s of concubines are also said to be buried with him. After the completion all 700,000 artisans were killed to keep the location a secret (which is how it remained a secret for 2000 years).
We got to actually meet the farmer who discovered the Terra Cotta Army. He was at one of the souvenir shops signing books.
We used a tour guide - would not recommend it if you have a family. We really felt rushed (With kids we just can't move very fast) and there was actually a lot of information in English. If we could do it again, we would just go on our own slow pace and read all the signs. The tour guide also had us skip a bunch of stuff. Save your 200 RMB (30 USD).
There is a ton of souvenir shops, which is helpful since we hadn't seen many since we have been in China. And we eventually ate at a nearby restaurant. (The girls are getting pretty good with chopsticks!)
After wards we grab a jumbo taxi back to the hotel. We rest and then head to the Muslim Quarter for dinner - this is a famous area to get good street food (and great for souvenir shopping). The Muslim Quarter on a Saturday night is packed! Lots of interesting sights, smells and tastes. We stay about 3 hours and eventually grab a jumbo taxi back to the hotel.
What a day!
Day 60
After breakfast we head to a Catholic Church that holds services. It was built in 1706 and is beautiful. We arrive and it is PACKED! We find the service is in Chinese but we stay anyway. The music is beautiful and Amen in English is also Amen in Chinese! By the end of the service over 100 people are sitting on stools in the parking lot (there are speakers outside). Not sure how many were there total but I would guess at least 400. And of course so many people were very gracious to us helping us find seats and smiling at us when our younger girls misbehaved. The average Catholic mass in America is 1 hour - this service was about 1.5-2 hours. Since it was in Chinese I can't say what might have been different, but I think there was a lot more singing. Near the end of service they sing "What a friend we have in Jesus" in Chinese! Loved being with other believers to worship and sing and pray together. What a joyous sound was made for Him!
(Ready for church!)
This church opened the first soup kitchen in China in 2005. Many homeless are in that area. It also operates the Yellow River Charity. It was neat to see Chinese Bibles being sold as well as books full of songs about Jesus for children in Chinese. What a great ministry! It was evident that church was an important part of the community and was in great demand!
After church on the way back to the hotel we discover that our evening flight back to Dalian was cancelled due to fog. Bummer. So at the hotel we get lunch and Sam works on booking a new flight. He gets a new flight but it isn't until tomorrow night (Monday). So we talk to the hotel and book an additional night.
After resting we walk to the city wall - built in the late 1300's. Some signs in English as well as a museum (though we did not tour the museum). Bikes can be rented (we did not rent any). Supposedly can walk around wall in 4 hours.
Then we walk to a mall next to the hotel and grab dinner in the food court (easy to feed whole family for $8-10USD)
Walk back to hotel and get ready for bed. Unfortunately there were no kid channels but we find a sorta family friendly Avenger movie that we watch together.
Day 61
After breakfast we decide to see the Small Wild Goose Pagoda (a historic Buddhist temple). Built in the 700's, it is very peaceful and beautiful. On the campus is also a Museum of Xi'an. Many of the items on display are just things discovered in the area while farming, or developing land for construction. Makes sense so many treasures would be found in such an ancient city.
As we exit the campus we eat at a nearby restaurant. Food is good, bathrooms decent.
Then we head to the hotel, pack up, rest (check out wasn't until 2pm) and then grab a jumbo taxi to the airport. Yay - I am ready to be back in our apartment! Since we are just taking a domestic flight, security, etc is pretty easy and quick. We sit in the airport for about 4 hours which starts to wear on the girls but they always manage to make friends and find ways to stay entertained.
Flight leaves on time and the flight is pleasant. Glad to be back in Dalian! Our last side trip is over.
Hard to believe we'll be back in America next week!
