Beijing School Field Trip

Our plans for today were centered around a special request from Alice. At the beginning of the week we asked what sight(s) she wanted to see in Beijing and she had one specific place - the Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan - Garden of Perfect Splendor). It seems that there was a school field trip there and the orphanage didn't allow her to go because they thought it would be too much walking for her (at least that's the explanation Alice gave us). She really wanted to see it and to play in the maze that her school friends played in. So we visited Yuan Ming Yuan and I'm pretty sure we were the only non-Chinese visitors there. Alice was very happy.

We also were very fortunate to see the new black swan babies taking their first swim! We came upon this big group of people at the water's edge with lots of cameras with huge lens focused on these 2 swans and 6 gosslings. Many of them had been standing in the cold waiting for some time for the "first swim" and we walked up just minutes after they entered the water. Actually, it was kind of fun to see the big event.

The park is located right next to the "MIT of China". The university is the country's best for the study of science. We only saw the front gate.

We also visited the more well known (new) Summer Palace. Alice wasn't nearly as excited about that and actually seemed a bit tired (or bored) for a good portion of our time there. We kept moving and just made a quick pass along the lake, skipping most of the buildings.

Lunch stop -

The big event for the day was a visit to Alice's school, and this was A. REALLY. BIG. DEAL!!! Joy asked at the orphanage about visiting the school the first day we met Alice and was told that the school had a very tight schedule educating the children and they didn't have time for visitors. Our adoption guide also indicated that a school visit wasn't very likely. Fortunately, Alice had the phone number for one of her teachers who was happy to make arrangements with the school principal. We were invited to come for the final class period of the day. We started with a visit to the library for some questions and answers over cups of tea. Then we went to visit Alice's classmates in their classroom. Alice handed out some gifts and received several books from the teachers and principal to take from the classroom library. As it was time for school to end we were offered a tour, which we graciously accepted. We met several more of Alice's teachers and saw several classrooms. There was a gentleman taking pictures throughout the entire visit and the principal also stayed with us the entire time. We asked if we could have her report cards and learned that they had been sent to the orphanage. Joy to the rescue again! She called them on the spot and found out that they did have them, but would be closing in 20 minutes. The school was very close to the orphanage, so while we stayed with the principal and teachers, Joy dashed over to the orphanage to pick up the report cards! Totally awesome!!!

Alice had asked her best friend to wait for her to take pictures, but we couldn't find her when we finished the tour and headed for home. Just before we were about to get on the highway the cell phone rings and it's her friend! We turned around and headed back to the school where the best friend's grandmother would meet us and show the way to their home. We had a wonderful visit in the home of her best friend for over an hour!

Everyone was extremely friendly and encouraging about Alice moving to America. We were told repeatedly that she will have wonderful opportunities there and thanked for giving her a family. It was an incredible day.

We ended the day with a little surprise - even for Joy (and she seldom is caught by an unexpected surprise). She took us to a restaurant at a mall not far from her home. As we were pulling into the parking lot though, she commented about how dark it was. Many lights were out on the building and a couple of the restaurants were closed. Then we noticed a power truck with a big cable running into one of the open restaurants. Turns out that the mall was behind on its electric bill and the power company cut their power. Some businesses were trying to stay open using alternative power! It was crazy. We decided to eat at another restaurant closer to home and it turned out to be a good choice.

Sorry about the quality of the last few pictures. JJ took over photographer duties at the school and got carried away during the dance. I think we have 45 pictures of the kids dancing and that's where the battery finally called it quits. I used the iPod after that.