Back to Beijing

Yesterday we trekked back to downtown Beijing for some last minute shopping. Jacob opted out of the shopping, went upstairs and got a beer and a foot massage. I have to admit that that is probably better than roaming around five hundred stalls with people shouting at you to come look at their booth. Sometimes bargaining is fun, but other times, when you know you are being taken advantage of, it is wearying.

We didn't have lunch plans, but fortunately, we had Carrie and Jacob's Chinese friend, Nancy with us. We stopped at a restaurant that apparently specialized in fish. Now, the fish around here in Beijing are slightly frightening looking. I've seen what they sale in the market, and it doesn't look very fresh or very appetizing. The particular fish dish that everyone around us had ordered was cut up into large pieces with the head and placed in a huge white dish surrounded by green onions and soaking in a sweet sauce. We were the only Westerners in the restaurant, so the owner hovered around making sure we liked everything. We ordered bread which they dumped over the fish dish to soak up the sweet sauce. It was amazing! I think we had two more bread orders following that one. The owner was a gregarious type who came over to Chris and rubbed Chris's belly speaking in Chinese and laughing. Nancy told us he was saying Chris was too thin and needed to eat more food. Unfortunately, he did not tell me I was too thin, which isn't surprising considering the huge quantities of food I have eaten since I've been here. He also seemed to take a particular fancy to Carrie and told her she could come back without Jacob! He was quite amusing.

The Chinese are really particularly friendly to us. Not just the ones we are giving business to, but also the ones who live around here. They make the most steadfast friends as I've observed of Carrie and Jacob's new friends. A truly amazing people. I feel like we've known Nancy and Ricky (their friend who took us to Night Market) forever.

Today is our last full day in China. We plan on going to the foster home for a bit to see the kids one last time. This trip has been a very interesting experience. I hope that someday we can come back.