Sorry for not being able to blog yesterday, it was a full day to say the least!!! So, I found out what the forbidden city is.... and as much as I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to tell you all about it, I can't, it's impossible. It is a very neat place, and if you ever get the chance you should look it up. Basically it's the place where they Emperors lived in China. It is called the Forbidden City because during the time of Emperors, laypersons were not allowed within the city gates. It took us 5 hours to walk through it, and what we did was not an extremely extensive walk! We got to see what it would be like to be famous in the the city, people were stopping us often to take pictures of us. I'm not quite sure why, there seems to be some differed opinions as to why, but I will tell you this, I DO NOT admire that part of being famous, and NO you can not have my autograph! For a while it seemed like we could only walk about 5 feet before someone was tugging on one of our arms saying "picture? picture?" From the Forbidden City, we went to Summer Garden, which is the emperor's summer house, yeah I know, must have been rough! From there we went to the pearl factory where we got to see how pearls were formed. The unique think about the pearls is that all the pearls from the pearl factory, they get from the Summer Garden. From there we went to the silk factory where we got to see how silk was made. They took us through all the steps of making, it, complete with offering us the highly nutritious silk worm. Don't worry, I was tempted to try it, but when it came down to it, that is one Chinese delicacy that I had to pass on! From there we went to a place called hometown hopefuls, this is a fun little place where people affiliated with the Olympics can go as a kind of escape. Now, I didn't think I could top the $37 dinner our first night here, but oh parnelly I can! So, here is a list of all the free things Hometown Hopefuls had for us, food, drinks and desserts, massages, and the use of a laptop for as long as you want or need! Yeah I know, I am totally spoiled! Now at some point I am going to have to really take the time to sit down and blog the details of these trips, they were by far the most amazing tours I have ever been on. I never realized how rich China's history is. So needless to say the exhaustion was why I wasn't able to blog yesterday!
Today we spent the day shopping. Now many of you may not realize, that I'm kinda a big deal when it comes to shopping, and I've been known to do some damage when absolutely necessary. Well friends, I think it's safe to say I have met my match. Today we went to the silk market. Imagine you're local convention center, for Iowa, it'd be the wells fargo arena. Now imagine that it was completely filled with vendors. Now add in 8 floors, and the best barterers in the world, and that's silk market. 8 floors of vendors in rows, I almost had a panic attack when I walked in, too many people! BUT, you'll be happy to know, that I am now, officially, a professional barterer! Tonight we went back to the Olympics to watch more track and field, it was so exciting! I didn't realize that a lot of world records were not made at the Olympics, fun little fact. We saw many records broken we saw Jamaica take all 3 medals in the 100m, now that was a sight to see. It is just all very cool, once you metal, whomever won the gold metal, they have us rise to the winners' national anthem. So now I am back to the hotel, and I am ready to crash!
p.s If you have enjoyed the pictures I have posted on my website, those and more are available to view and even purchase from http://www.jstoiaportraitdesign.com The author of that website is a wonderful woman named Jamie, she has come with us to not only support Shani, but it just so happens that she is also the best photographer in the world, and yeah I checked, pretty sure that one is a fact! Check out her website, she also has a blog of what has been happening in China, and well since I'm on a kick so does the famous athlete herself, Shani's blog is http://sites.google.com/site/shaniusa08/Home. Kamilah (the baby, who's not really a baby cuz she's off to college this fall!) her website is http://www.kamarks.blogspot.com
With Love,
Tsehaye
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Day 2
So as I am sure many of you may have already heard, Shani didn't do too well in yesterday. She jumped somewhere around 44 feet, and her PR (personal record) is 47'3. The jump she had yesterday was the shortest distance she has jumped in the last 3 years. It was a very emotional day yesterday for everyone, but instead of dwell on the bad, http://www.startribune.com/ that is the link where you can read about yesterday.
I was sitting in the birds nest yesterday, which I added pictures of yesterday, and I was praying for my sister. I sat there praying, and all of a sudden I started thinking about all the people out there rooting for her. I was thinking about all the prayers, all the good energy, everyone's love going out to my sister, and then, everything was ok. At that point I knew that what ever happened would be just fine. It was absolutely heartbreaking for us, as I'm sure it was for you also, but one thing our family has kept in mind is that it's not through the good times that we grow, it's through the tough times. It was very cool to be there, and we were there looking out into the field full of Olympic hopefuls and it was amazing, her talent brought us here, that brought us there as a family. There are tons of wonderful things that came from this also, she placed 28th with one of the worst jumps she's had in 3 years! That translates to, on her worst day, she is still the 28th furthest triple jumper in all the world! Seriously how stinkin cool is that?!?!?!?! Also, if she had hit what she had consistently been jumping recently, she would have made it to finals. Now I'm not exactly sure of the accuracy of this next statement, but... I'm pretty sure that she would have been the first American to make it to the finals in the Olympics in triple jump! (ok ok maybe not the first, but one of the first, and that woulda been cool too!!!) She is an amazing woman, and wonderful wife, and she has the most amazing husband who was there by her side every step of the way. Afterward, she didn't want to meet up with us, but her husband was relentless in calling her, and trying to find her. They spent the evening walking and talking. My family all came together to support each other, and Shani, of course, but the coolest thing, is that when you're in your really really low points, there is nothing, more miraculous, or comforting, or amazing then a family's love. Our family may not have it all right, but if there is one thing we do have, and have it abundantly, it's love. The other good side of things is that we now have the rest of our vacation to really take in China, I mean lets not forget where we are now!!!! So, thank you EVERYONE, for your prayers, for your thoughts for everything, we definitely felt it yesterday.
Random thoughts
I was sitting in the birds nest yesterday, which I added pictures of yesterday, and I was praying for my sister. I sat there praying, and all of a sudden I started thinking about all the people out there rooting for her. I was thinking about all the prayers, all the good energy, everyone's love going out to my sister, and then, everything was ok. At that point I knew that what ever happened would be just fine. It was absolutely heartbreaking for us, as I'm sure it was for you also, but one thing our family has kept in mind is that it's not through the good times that we grow, it's through the tough times. It was very cool to be there, and we were there looking out into the field full of Olympic hopefuls and it was amazing, her talent brought us here, that brought us there as a family. There are tons of wonderful things that came from this also, she placed 28th with one of the worst jumps she's had in 3 years! That translates to, on her worst day, she is still the 28th furthest triple jumper in all the world! Seriously how stinkin cool is that?!?!?!?! Also, if she had hit what she had consistently been jumping recently, she would have made it to finals. Now I'm not exactly sure of the accuracy of this next statement, but... I'm pretty sure that she would have been the first American to make it to the finals in the Olympics in triple jump! (ok ok maybe not the first, but one of the first, and that woulda been cool too!!!) She is an amazing woman, and wonderful wife, and she has the most amazing husband who was there by her side every step of the way. Afterward, she didn't want to meet up with us, but her husband was relentless in calling her, and trying to find her. They spent the evening walking and talking. My family all came together to support each other, and Shani, of course, but the coolest thing, is that when you're in your really really low points, there is nothing, more miraculous, or comforting, or amazing then a family's love. Our family may not have it all right, but if there is one thing we do have, and have it abundantly, it's love. The other good side of things is that we now have the rest of our vacation to really take in China, I mean lets not forget where we are now!!!! So, thank you EVERYONE, for your prayers, for your thoughts for everything, we definitely felt it yesterday.
Random thoughts
- I am so glad we live in a place where there is not limit to how many kids we can have
- I am so glad we live in a place where it's not normal to take my kid away at the age of 5 because she has a gymnasts body, so she need to start training for the Olympic
- I am so glad we don't have numerous guards on every corner watching us go through our daily lives
- Why do the babies have pants with the butts out?????
- I'm glad the government wont come to my job and say "you're out of a job for a month or so, good luck!"
- I am so glad my friend prays ;-)
- and yes, I've definitely thought about writing before, but I cant tell you what that conclusion is right now, but I will get back to you.
- FINALLY... while I have had some pretty crazy moments in my life, the scariest by far is everyday when I get into a taxi here!
- Ok, this is really the "Finally"... I got bit by something on my right leg, if I die, I love you all LOL!!!!!!!
Well friends, we are off to the Forbidden City, I'm not sure what that is, but it sounds good doesn't it?!?!?! Don't worry, I will take tons of pictures and keep you updated!
With Love,
Tsehaye
Friday, August 15, 2008
China
Good Morning everyone! It's 3 in the AM and I am definitely not tired, so what do I do? That's right, I blog!
Where to begin??? We got on the plane at 8 this morning, total it was about a 14 hour plane ride. It was the coolest plane ride I had ever been on. Most pilots, when flying to China take a south east flight to China, but our pilot took a north west path. It was the coolest thing ever! At one point I looked out the window, and we were flying over Antartica! I saw an entire ocean, FROZEN! There were glaciers that looked like they could very possibly be the size of all Des Moines! There were also some that looked to be the size of my foot! It was an amazing site. I went back to the window to look about 6 hours later, and it was desert! When we got to Beijing, it was all greenland!
Beijing, was not at all what I expected. It was the best of the past present and future. The arcitecture is so cool! I will have to take pictures later on today and post them so you can see what I am talking about. Some of the buildings were very traditional style buildings. Right next to those buildings, were buildings that were sky scarpers like you'd see in any big city. Next to those would be buildings that looked like Rhombus'(rectangles, on their side, and tilted)!
When we got to the airport, I learned that the Beijing airport is currently the largest indoor space in the world. They are so advanced in technology also, their customs, was not the traditional, wait in long lines, have some airport representative search through your stuff, etc. Instead, they had what looked like metal detectors that you walked through, and that was it!
We got to our hotel, and don't even worry about how Ron, Jamie, Kamilah, and I are all sleeping on twin beds in our 4 star hotel! The beds are super hard, alot like the floor, I actually contemplated taking the floor to the bed, as it may have given a little more comfort, because of the carpet lol! The bell hop spoke some English, and recomended a hotel restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was beautiful! Each party that wen there had their own private room, with their own personal waitstaff. We, however, needed 7 waitstaff, because, the menu was in all Chinese, and the staff spoke little English. Ron did, however, have his "Chinese for Dummy's" book that helped a little. We resolved that minor detail by telling the waitress what meat we wanted and she'd flip through the menu and suggest something. The food was amazing, even though we have no idea what we ordered! My dad decided to pick up the check for our first dinner in Beijing. Those of you who know my family know, that this is not an out of the ordinary thing. What was, however, was that when the bill came, dad paid for it, then went to the hotel room to see how much he had paid in Yero, and dont even worry about how the bill came to $37! Yes, you read that correctly, for 7 people, dinner was $37!
We went back to our rooms, completely stuffed, and still laughing about the dinner experience. It finally hit me, I am in Beijing, China! I looked at Shani and said "Wow, I have butterflies!" She looked at me with HUGE eyes, and said "Why? Because you just realized that tomorrow you're competing in the Olympics, in China?" I looked at her and said "Did you just freak out?" she laughed and said "Yeah, but I think I'm over it now!" Oh it was so funny we all laughed at that one. Although, it is a very sobering thought!
So, that's it so far, I will try really hard to keep everyone updated with this blog as to what is going on here. I will also try to upload pictures later today, so you can enjoy Beijing with me. This has been a wonderful experience already so far, it's reminded me how ginormous (yes, i made that word up) the world actually is. It reminded me that the possibilites are limitless and all you have to do is to reach out and grab them. This is a truth that I will try hard to hold on to because it is a truely liberating, and exciting truth. After all, we only have a short time on this earth to live our dreams, I don't want to waste any time stating "what if" or "if only", because the "what if's" and the "if only's" are there for you to explore. (marinate on it for a while) ANYWAY, I love you all dearly, and can't wait to blog again to keep you all as close to me as humanly possible as I go through this adventure!
With Love,
Tsehaye
Where to begin??? We got on the plane at 8 this morning, total it was about a 14 hour plane ride. It was the coolest plane ride I had ever been on. Most pilots, when flying to China take a south east flight to China, but our pilot took a north west path. It was the coolest thing ever! At one point I looked out the window, and we were flying over Antartica! I saw an entire ocean, FROZEN! There were glaciers that looked like they could very possibly be the size of all Des Moines! There were also some that looked to be the size of my foot! It was an amazing site. I went back to the window to look about 6 hours later, and it was desert! When we got to Beijing, it was all greenland!
Beijing, was not at all what I expected. It was the best of the past present and future. The arcitecture is so cool! I will have to take pictures later on today and post them so you can see what I am talking about. Some of the buildings were very traditional style buildings. Right next to those buildings, were buildings that were sky scarpers like you'd see in any big city. Next to those would be buildings that looked like Rhombus'(rectangles, on their side, and tilted)!
When we got to the airport, I learned that the Beijing airport is currently the largest indoor space in the world. They are so advanced in technology also, their customs, was not the traditional, wait in long lines, have some airport representative search through your stuff, etc. Instead, they had what looked like metal detectors that you walked through, and that was it!
We got to our hotel, and don't even worry about how Ron, Jamie, Kamilah, and I are all sleeping on twin beds in our 4 star hotel! The beds are super hard, alot like the floor, I actually contemplated taking the floor to the bed, as it may have given a little more comfort, because of the carpet lol! The bell hop spoke some English, and recomended a hotel restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was beautiful! Each party that wen there had their own private room, with their own personal waitstaff. We, however, needed 7 waitstaff, because, the menu was in all Chinese, and the staff spoke little English. Ron did, however, have his "Chinese for Dummy's" book that helped a little. We resolved that minor detail by telling the waitress what meat we wanted and she'd flip through the menu and suggest something. The food was amazing, even though we have no idea what we ordered! My dad decided to pick up the check for our first dinner in Beijing. Those of you who know my family know, that this is not an out of the ordinary thing. What was, however, was that when the bill came, dad paid for it, then went to the hotel room to see how much he had paid in Yero, and dont even worry about how the bill came to $37! Yes, you read that correctly, for 7 people, dinner was $37!
We went back to our rooms, completely stuffed, and still laughing about the dinner experience. It finally hit me, I am in Beijing, China! I looked at Shani and said "Wow, I have butterflies!" She looked at me with HUGE eyes, and said "Why? Because you just realized that tomorrow you're competing in the Olympics, in China?" I looked at her and said "Did you just freak out?" she laughed and said "Yeah, but I think I'm over it now!" Oh it was so funny we all laughed at that one. Although, it is a very sobering thought!
So, that's it so far, I will try really hard to keep everyone updated with this blog as to what is going on here. I will also try to upload pictures later today, so you can enjoy Beijing with me. This has been a wonderful experience already so far, it's reminded me how ginormous (yes, i made that word up) the world actually is. It reminded me that the possibilites are limitless and all you have to do is to reach out and grab them. This is a truth that I will try hard to hold on to because it is a truely liberating, and exciting truth. After all, we only have a short time on this earth to live our dreams, I don't want to waste any time stating "what if" or "if only", because the "what if's" and the "if only's" are there for you to explore. (marinate on it for a while) ANYWAY, I love you all dearly, and can't wait to blog again to keep you all as close to me as humanly possible as I go through this adventure!
With Love,
Tsehaye
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