China – Day 6 recap: December 2014
Well, sleep beat out blogging again, so here is the recap of yesterday.
Of course we began the day with the breakfast buffet. Nothing amazing to report about breakfast except that Han is super cute and really really loves both eggs and mandarin oranges. After breakfast Han and Leslie took a walk while Jeff went back to the room. We ran into the same group of dogs that were out the day before and Han seemed to enjoy watching them run around. We went back to the hotel and all met up with Amanda to take a cab to the spot where Han was found as a baby. He was found outside the door of an apartment complex that houses mainly older people. Amanda said she thought one reason that he may have been left there was because his parents thought he would be likely to be found by older people, who would either take him in and care for him, or at least report him. The development was probably built in the 1980s and when we come back with Han and the family when he’s older, it might not be around any more, with the pace of development here. We took some pictures and then were on our way back to the hotel.
We have noticed that whenever we go anywhere with a guide Han becomes very quiet and reserved; very different from how he is when it is just the three of us together. Obviously we can’t know what he is thinking, but I think he might be concerned that we are taking him back, which breaks my heart. When it is just the three of us, his personality is really shining through. I am not surprised that he was described as “naughty” — his mischeivious nature is really apparent. He gets in to EVERYTHING. The word “no” (spoken in Chinese, English, or both) often just makes him laugh (which then just makes him seem even more mischievous). He loves his cars, stacking cups, and crayons (not coloring with them, just holding the Ziploc bag with crayons in it). He also loves escalators. He wants to go into every store he sees just to ride the escalator. Luckily there are escalators everywhere here.
After getting back to the hotel we said goodbye to Amanda and went to lunch at Coco Curry. Why Coco Curry? Because they have picture menu with English descriptions. Actually, we ate there a few days before (because of the picture menu) and it was pretty good so we went back. Han dined on scrambled eggs, spinach, rice, and potato croquettes. Strange combination but he liked it.
After our afternoon nap we went for a walk down to The Bund, which is a really beautiful river area about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. The pictures will speak for themselves. On the way back we stopped at Pizza Hut for dinner. Our goal was to try and not go to any Western restaurants while we were here, but it is mentally taxing to try and find something that we can (a) understand what they’re serving and (b) make sure fits our dietary restrictions/preferences. So we waved the white flag and ended up at Pizza Hut (though, truth be told, we never go to one in the US so it’s not like we’re eating at the same places we can at home, and then menu is so completely different than in the US it’s basically like a different restaurant). We did not order pizza, mainly because we could not figure out how to order a plain cheese pizza and none of the pre-listed topping choices were appealing (Kimchi pizza, anyone?). Leslie ended up having a salad and french fries, her gluten free back up meal of choice, and Jeff had spaghetti Bolognese, which tasted nothing like what he was expecting. We got Han a fruit salad that had little blocks of fruit flavored gelatin on it. He loved the jello stuff and then did not want to have anything to do with actual fruit. He did eat a bunch of Jeff’s spaghetti. Up until today Han would eat anything we put in front of him; he is now developing some very strong opinions about what he likes and does not like. He does not like: broccoli, tomatoes, or lettuce. We are sure that list will grow.
After dinner Jeff wasn’t feeling very well so we went back to the hotel and he fell asleep. (He’s doing fine, just probably a combination of the smog and cold weather.) Han took a bath and then we just sat around and played for awhile until it was time for bed. Han goes to sleep around 8 and we’ve been going to bed with him most of the time — eating, walking around and napping all day makes you tired! It’s strange to think that a trip like this would be a time to catch up on your sleep, but in some ways this has been a pretty restful and relaxing “vacation.”
See videos and pictures below or in our China: Day 6 SmugMug gallery.
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