We knew it would happen eventually....Sam vomited....at breakfast. Too much bacon and apple juice is my guess. He felt better after a bit of rest and was excited about seeing the Pandas. Today was our last touring day in Beijing. Our guide, Lily, picked us up at 8:00 a.m. and we headed to the Beijing Zoo. The zoo is very large so our primary focus was the Giant Pandas and animals of "Chinese origin" as Lily explained it. We saw lions, tigers, pandas and monkeys. Ben LOVES animals - he gets so excited and calls them all "gow gow".....or dog in Mandarin. The zoo was very crowded (it was Sunday) and not particularly clean or nice at all. There was a lot of trash and garbage in the animal exhibits. We spent less than an hour.
The next stop was Benjamin's "finding spot"....the 7th waiting room of the Beijing West Railway Station. According to Lily, there are 4 railway stations (North, South, East and West) in Beijing and this station primarily serves the poorer/less developed regions of southern China. The station is HUGE and Lily was apprehensive we'd even have access to the waiting areas. We found a very helpful guard that pointed us to the correct entrance. He advised Lily to explain our story to the ticket lady and perhaps she'd let us through security without buying tickets. Lily worked her magic! The lady was very surprised (as are all Chinese) that we adopted a boy...and such a strong, handsome boy. She waved us through. The 7th waiting room was just up the escalator. I cried as we approached the room....taking in all the sights, smells, sounds of the moment. Imagining the person (perhaps his birthmother and/or birthfather) walking these same steps and placing this precious 2 month old child, wrapped in a cotton quilt, on a chair (or perhaps the floor)...and walking away. It is our only connection to Ben's past. Greg took a lot of photos. I stood mesmerized in silence and tears...wanting to spend a lot more time there. Sam pat my back on the way out, knowing how much it meant to me...and will someday mean to Ben. We are so fortunate to know so much about Sam, Ellie and Jack's birthparents. It saddens me we'll never know his birthparents, but we know this child was left to be found. Destiny defined.
Ben came dressed in orphanage clothing (including pink socks) but no personal belongs. Not a "blankie" or anything from his past. The orphanage did not complete the questionnaire we sent in advance to assist us with his transition and care .... ie. what is his daily routine? likes/dislikes? naptime? how does he go to sleep?)...nothing. We walked out knowing absolutely nothing about this precious child...other than his beauty and strength and breathtaking smile.
We have learned a lot in these 7 days. BenBen does NOT like covers, he MUST have shoes on at all times. He doesn't mind water poured on his head during bath. He LOVES to eat but he's very picky! He LOVES water but doesn't appear to wet his diapers very much. He's okay with Mama putting gel in his hair!! :) He loves balls and looking at photos of his family. He LOVES dogs. He does NOT like to be away from his Mama :) His favorite foods (so far) are chicken sausage, chicken nuggets and noodles. He does NOT like messes, garbage on the street or shoes out of place. He loves stairs...makes him feel like a big boy! He does great with seat belts - this is a great thing, considering we're flying 3 hours tomorrow!!! He LOVES his big brother and wants to do what Sammy does (particularly the iPad!). He does not like Mandarin but LOVES flirting with the Chinese girls. He whines when he can't communicate and melts down when he's tired and inconsolable. He sucks his thumb when sleeping and moves wildly around the bed. He wakes up happy most morning....with his face right next to ours - staring at us with his big eyes and smiles when we wake up. He is apprehensive of the potty (it's likely much bigger than the orphanage) but tries to go (only pee'd once I think). He does NOT like poopy diapers and wants to be changed immediately. He knows the words: Mama, Baba, Sam, Ellie, Jack, happy, up, down, drink, eat, more, yummy, finished, please, thank you. I'd say that's pretty good for one week!!!
Our final stop was the Lama Temple, a temple and monastery of Tibetan Buddhism located in the northeastern part of Beijing. It is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. The building and the artworks of the temple combine Han Chinese and Tibetan styles. It's comprised of various buildings and Buddhas within each. Outside of each building is a prayer spot...with fires burning to light incense. Each prayer requires 3 incense sticks. 30% of Chinese are Buddhists. Lily is not Buddhist - or any religion. The largest majority of Chinese are non-religious/atheists. It was very interesting, beautiful, and hot (especially with all the fire pits) but also strange and different. I'm sure they'd say the same about us!
Everything is China is placed a certain way for beliefs - roads, palaces, monuments, sofas (feng shui), etc. Everything is symmetric. Beijing is technically the center of China - hence the Forbidden City's location - in the center of Beijing. The Chinese speak a lot about earlobes, cowlicks/swirls in the hair at the top of the head that indicate strength. Everyone says Ganggang looks like a Buddha...that is a good thing here!!
Our guide dropped us off for lunch at the same Chinese restaurant near our hotel where Greg had the Chinese beer and purchased our family scroll. This time we sat in a traditional Chinese room with no offering of a special "60th anniversary gift". Thank goodness! The food was excellent and Sam and Ben had McDonald's carry out. BenBen loves the noodles though and Mama is getting quite good with the chopsticks!! No utensils for me!!
We then returned to our room for Ben's nap and Greg/Sam's siesta. I went shopping for a few items we're running low on (diaper wipes, hair conditioner and socks for BenBen). I was gone a few hours and even managed to find a Baby Gap with the same clothes as the States...for much more $$$$. I also stocked up at the grocery for snacks for the flight to Guangzhou (animal crackers and teddy grahams!).
After Ben's nap we attended "Happy Hour" on our floor. Heineken's for Greg and I, dim sum, salami and veggie egg rolls for Ben and fancy desserts for us all. I was hoping to lose a few pounds on this trip...not happening! The food has been terrific. This was our dinner.
We headed back to the room for Ben's bath and skyping with the kiddos. They wished Daddy a Happy Father's Day and loved opening their present for the day in front of us. Meri (Greg's Mom) said they love the daily gifts and it has really helped the experience at home. We tried to purchase gifts that provide activity or crafts to help keep them busy. So far, so good!! We miss them so much and know we're 1/2 way through the trip!!!!
Ben is down for the night now...only cried for a few minutes. Kid loves to sleep!!! We hope he carries it home with him! :)
Sam and Greg are watching movies and I'm headed to bed to snuggle with my precious little one. My favorite part of every day. He loves to snuggle right up next to me, sometimes wrapping his legs over my side and staring at me...while he sucks his thumb. He's so cute we can't stand it. Every day gets a little easier for all of us. This is NOT a journey for the weak. It's stressful and heartbreaking at times but worth every second when you get a tug on your shirt, "Mama, kisses" and he plants a big slobbery one on your mouth. He loves to follow me everywhere....watching what I'm doing. He imitates a lot of what we do and catches on extremely quickly. He is definitely a smart little guy. No "orphanage delay" that we can see other than walking/leg strength...which we believe is very normal.
One more day in Beijing! Not sure what we're doing tomorrow other than packing and meeting a fellow adoptive family for dinner. We may try and visit another Hutong....fascinating. Over 1,000 Hutongs in China. The family we are meeting just met their daughter, age 8, in Beijing and they have a daughter (younger) also adopted from China that they brought along. Looking forward to meeting them!!
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