The "Fluff" part is over.....

"Fluff".....that's what I call the part of the trip where you do the sightseeing and physical stuff....climbing The Wall, visiting Tiananman Square, the beauty of the Summer Palace, and meshing with the crowd that is squeezing through the Forbidden City.  I learned there are millions of people EACH DAY that tour the Forbidden City.  I don't doubt that at all!  Touring is special and everyone that adopts from China, or just visits China, should definitely do it....you get to see, smell, feel, and taste the food of the country....and know what it feels like to be a major minority! We've only seen very few caucasion people, and most are not speaking English.

Have you ever wished you could do a "do-over?"  I have...many times.  The most recent was when we left the Forbidden City yesterday.  There are many people outside the exit trying to sell souvineers....and there are beggars, also.  I've been here a few times, and I think each time, I've seen something that stays with me....kind of haunts me, actually.  Yesterday, I saw a dwarf man with obvious spinal issues...he was begging on the sidewalk.  If I could "do-over" again....I would have stopped and discreetly dropped a large bill in his pan.  I also would have done a "Stefanie Silvey interview" with him....through our interpreter, of course.   I would love to know how he ended up where he is.  Does he have family?  I have come to understand through a local here, that dwarves, when young, are thought of as rather cute and they're pretty happy.  However, as they get older and opportunities are just not there for them, such as schooling and work....they get very unhappy and sometimes suicidal.  I know in my heart that Benjamin will most definitely be loved by his family in America, and that he'll be a successful person!

Now will come the emotional part of the trip.  We are packing up our souvineers, and looking to see what we almost forgot to pack up, looking under the bed, etc.  

All I can think about at this point, is Benjamin. So excited to meet him, at last!!!

Selfie, and Government offices in the background.  Our wonderful coordinator, Shirley, is photo-bombing in the background!  Hi Shirley!

See Chairman Mao on the building in the background??

Panoramic view of Tiananmen Square

The carvings are original, and so are the stones in the walway....imagine this being built in the very early 1400's.    

Amazing architecture.....originally, the red paint on the buildings was a mixture of clay earth and pigs blood.   The maintenance crew back in "the day" had to repaint the buildings a few times a year because the weather would wash the paint off.   

Of course, we had to check out the Mead Johnson formula section at the local Wal-Mart, which is in the basement of a building nearby.  The packaging of this can of Enfamil is different than how we package it in the U.S.