父母来了

Here it is, the much anticipated update of the misadventures of Karen and Steve.  I'll break the tension now by saying that the trip has been fantastic so far.  The arrival itself was happily uneventful, with the appropriate flowers from me, and crying from my mother.  We arrived at the hotel to find it more than good enough for the likes of me.  My mother, as you can imagine, could be heard saying over and over again, "This is just too nice." but she enjoyed it nonetheless.  The first night we went to Qianmen, or, rather, I dragged them, as they were pretty exhausted from twenty hours of travel.  I think the sight of Tiananmen did a good job of waking them up.

As my mom put it, "We're really here!"

Anybody else never imagine my parents standing in Tiananmen Square?

 That night we met my friends in Qianmen for dinner, an affair that involved a table with our own small skillet on which we grilled vegetables and meat.  It was a great introduction to the kind of authentic Chinese food I have been enjoying for the past four months.  They also got an introduction to the kind of public restrooms that China has to offer.  I'm not sure what my mom faced when I walked her to the bathroom, but I know that when my dad and I went next door, we were faced with a tattooed Chinese man squatting over a whole and smoking.  This didn't phase me in the least, but I would pay good money for a picture of my dad's face when he saw it.  Needless to say, they have been avoiding them ever since.

After sleeping in, a much needed treat, we headed for the National Museum on Sunday.  Occupying one whole side of Tiananmen square, it is the largest in the world.  I think my parents were appropriately impressed by the 100 ft high main hall.  We made our way through the exhibition on Chinese history, with everybody picking their own favorites.  I was partial to the beautifully wrought seals, as I was the first time I went in February, while my mother enjoyed the pottery.  Steve, for his part, liked it all, but commented, unsurprisingly I might add, that  "I just don't do replicas."  As if a replica of a 60,000 year old skull was made meaningless by the presence of the word replica.  That's my dad, gotta love him.  Speaking of my dad, you might be wondering right now where all the great pictures of the museum have gone to.  Well, my dad definitely used the camera, but not quite as he intended.  Therefore, instead of pictures, we will have to make do with some shaky videos of the best China's National Museum has to offer.  Thankfully, I had my iPhone, so I took some photos of my own.

Steve Robertson, movie maker.

This girl was far more interested in them than the video on construction techniques.

I wish I could say he didn't continue to take videos when he wanted to take pictures, but I can't do that.  That afternoon we headed back to Qianmen to go shopping, where we discovered just how different my sense of style was from my father's.  To each his own.  

That night I insisted we feast on 北京烤鸭 (Beijing Duck), Beijing's most famous, and delicious, dish.  After a little bit of walking we finally found the place that was supposed to be across the street from our hotel.  I'm not sure what was more enjoyable, the duck, or watching my dad use chopsticks.  All joking aside, it has been great to have them here.  I didn't realize how much I missed them until they arrived.  This is only a taste of our adventures so far, stay tuned for more, including how my mother was struck by lightning on the Great Wall (she's fine).