We spent this past weekend in Beijing. Kevin got his Friday classes rescheduled so we were able to head out early Friday morning to make it to the train station. We had an appointment scheduled for Noah at the International Hospital in Beijing so he could get his 6 month shots in, and the kids were all excited about taking the bullet train for the first time. But our first big surprise for the weekend was the travel time it took! We left our apartment a little before 9:30am to start the walk to taxi corner. By the time we taxied to the train station, got on the bullet train that only takes half an hour to Beijing, took two different lines of the Beijing subway, and then taxied the final distance to the restaurant we were meeting friends at, our total travel time was just over 4 hours! (To make the drive from Tianjin to Beijing takes 2-3 hours, depending on the traffic.) Although we didn't think a half-hour train trip between the two cities would take that long, thankfully we gave ourselves a pretty good cushion of time or we would have been late for everything for sure. We say that everything in China just takes longer than you think--and we found this to be the case this weekend!
In spite of a long day of travel, we all had a great time. We got to eat lunch at a restaurant called Peter's that serves western/Mexican food. The quesadillas, fajitas, and guacamole are fantastic! Our friends, the Beiers, who I have known from college days at A&M and have lived in Beijing the last 4 years, were so gracious to host us for the weekend. We had lunch together at Peter's, then the husbands took the oldest two Beier kids and oldest 3 Joseph kids to a place called FunDazzle--a huge indoor play area with ball pits and climbing structures. The older 5 kids played there for several hours, having a blast getting lots of energy out. I walked down the road from the restaurant (passing a Starbucks on the way! My first Starbucks treat here in China, and VERY much enjoyed!!) to the Hospital with Noah for his appointment. I was really pleased with the doctor and the hospital itself, and Noah checked out with a clean bill of health--and his brother Hudson's larger size--weighing in at 19 1/2 lbs. already! I was so pleased with the care there that we will definitely plan on making the trek back to Beijing for his next round of shots and check up in several months. (The pic is of him on the examination table at the hospital. Looks pretty normal, do
esn't it?! So no worries, grandparents!!)After the doctor's appointment, Noah and I joined my friend Holly to do some shopping at the local import store near her apartment. I was absolutely astounded at the store--it was HUGE compared to anything I'd seen and the aisles were so wide that I could easily roll the stroller down them! I truly have not seen anything like it during my time here in China. I kind of felt like I was back in Dallas at Super Target! (Now to clarify, the store was probably about 1/40 the size of our Super Target--if that, but still felt huge compared to the tiny shops I'm used to seeing here.) We met the guys and older kids back at the Beiers apartment and enjoyed pizza for dinner. We put the kids down and got busy on dinner prep for the next night. Holly had organized a dinner for 20 friends at her house as an holiday event on Saturday night!
We spent most of Saturday preparing for the party that evening. Holly has two ayis, which really helped with all the preparation, but there was still a ton to do. She had everything from twice baked potatoes to homemade corn bread dressing. Kevin and Josh stood outside for over three hours to deep fry the turkey--and this was on the coldest day of the year yet in Beijing! The guys were quite certain that they were mistaken as homeless people by several passersby as they tried to warm themselves over the heat of the huge pot that the turkey was in. They came in with red cheeks and c
old hands, but the turkey was well worth their sacrifice! We had a great time getting to meet the Beier' friends, mainly people from their community group at their international church there in Beijing, and all the kids had fun watching Polar Express. (shown in photo) The next morning (Sunday) we packed up and headed back toward Tianjin. We stopped at Ikea on the way out of Beijing to get a few things that we haven't been able to find elsewhere (mainly baking items and household things). The kids had fun in the play area while we checked out and we grabbed a bite of a Sweedish hot dog before leaving to get back on the train (see photo). Once again, our travel time was around 4 hours by the time we taxied to the train station (no subway this time), rode the bullet train, and then taxied back to our apartment.
The most pleasant surprise was when we got back home. We had had a wonderful weekend with friends, really enjoying the friendship, fellowship, food, and break in our normal routine. But Kevin and I both agreed that walking in the door of our own home really felt like home--and we were relieved to be there! In the midst of feeling twinges of homesickness, it was so sweet to be thankful that our place really is home to us now more than we imagined it could be in only 3 short months! And another fun part was that the kids agreed! Even while they were asking when they could go back to Beijing to play with their friends, they were saying how nice it was to be home, too. PTL for the little glimpses of sunshine that we are moving in the right direction--making progress in establishing our family here and moving through the initial stages of transition to life overseas!
