The Durfey's Come To China!!

I feel so blesssed that my family was able to come visit me for Christmas this year in China. They arrived on the 18th of December and we explored Kunming for a week then headed to Beijing for another week. This was the first time that people fully relied on me here, to be the translator, the navigator, etc. Usually I am with somebody that speaks better Chinese than I do or has been here longer and knows the city better, but not my family, I was it. Having them here also brought me back to reality a little bit, American reality that is. I was reminded of the strange things here in China that don't seem so strange to me anymore. I learned what makes foreigners feel uncomfortable, what they can deal with and what they just don't want to deal with.

My parents did a fantastic job at adjusting to life here in China. They tried different kinds of food, we rode the crowded buses and even exercised on the outside equipment! Most of all it was great to be around people that I knew and that knew me well. I have made lots of great friends here in China, but nobody knows me as well as my family and that is a wonderful thing.

I was most excited about our trip to Beijing. Our week here in Kunming was nice, but I live here so I can't be a tourist, but in Beijing, watch out...the camera was out at all times! Beijing was just as crowded and polluted as I thought it would be and very, very cold! We saw all the great sights, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, etc. My favorite was the Great Wall. Chinese emperors don't mess around when they build something. Everything in Beijing is on a massive scale and the Great Wall was no exception, hence the name. We took a cable car chair ride up and my brother and I took a tobaggon sled down. Can you believe it! They built a slide down from the Great Wall. It reminded me of the game Chutes and Ladders, a big metal chute down the mountain. I even took a piece of the wall home with me :)

I booked us a couple of rooms at a 240 yr old hostel/guesthouse, a short ten minute walk from Tianamen Square. My parents really enjoyed the 'hostel' environment, people from around the world traveling, all in the same boat as you. It was a nice warm oasis from the bustling streets of Beijing. They also really enjoyed watching me bargain at the markets. We went to the famous Pearl Market, that sells everything from scrolls, postcards, clothes, hats to pearls and electronics. We wanted to buy some souvenirs and presents so I turned on my game face and bargained hard with the shop owners. Its a big game you have to play, to try and get the price lower, and I have to say, I did a pretty good job. I never felt like we got taken for our money, plus speaking in the little Chinese that I know helped too.

My brother flew back to the states a few days earlier for work, and my parents and I left Beijing on the 31st. I got back to Kunming around 10 pm, just enough time to get my luggage and head over to a friends house to celebrate the New Year. I can't believe I have been here for a full 6 months already and that it is 2011! 2010 treated me well, I can only hope that 2011 will be filled with more adventures and blessings.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Years. G-ds Blessings!

Snapshots from the Durfey Family in Beijing: