I saw the (blue) sky above Beijing & Steven was LOST in Beijing

When we were heading to the Silk Market (cheap clothes, shoes, glasses where you bargain to at least 1/4 of the requested price) we had for the first time since we arrived here in Beijing a blue sky!! instead of Smog. It was an unexpected surprise, because the air pollution here is a big problem and many people talk about it. The American Embassy even sends out a 'warning'-sms to inform their people to stay indoor when the air is unhealthy. There are many cars and factories in Beijing and because there is a large mountain in the north of the city, I was told that the wind does not blow enough to clean the air. Also there are not a lot of trees in the city which can clean the air.
So, even with the beautiful sky, we still took the underground and before we realized we lost Steven. He knew the way and he was in front of us and we thought he used the other exit of the subway-train, but the next station when we had to change to line 1 he didn't come out. We waited and went back to line 1 but no Steven. His cell phone was also not working. Steven thought we were going to another shop (complete different direction) and could not find us when he arrived there. Because the phone card was empty he could not reach us and after more than an hour waiting he went back with his subway-card. Luckily he knows the underground lines and stations and the small streets to our apartment so he could find his way back home. From home he could skype us that he was okay, but that was only after a few hours of worries.

Peking Duck (not for my vegetarian friends!!)
The other name for Bei Jing is Peking and a very famous dish here is Peking Duck. My mother always  tells the story about how she went to eat 'Peking Duck' when she was here in 1991. She had to eat the whole duck from eyes, head, feet/flippers etc.
So we had to try this. Audrey  (who is working at the Embassy here) and some Dutch friends found a perfect place to eat Duck. Much more fancy than our food-courts where we went so far. They had a separate kitchen with big glass wall where you could see how they prepared the Duck. After several starters served on the round turning place in the middle of the table the Duck came and we were eating it in small pancakes (what we learned before at Katima in Hout Bay). For the different parts of the Duck there was a different sauce and ways to eat it. The skin was dipped in crispy sugar, the feet was eaten with garlic and unions and YESSSS, I had the DUCK BRAINS.It tasted like pate.

We saw people eating black Scorpions,
 fury spiders, beetles,cat ears etc. but no
dog brain.

Near our apartment we have a food-court, so we love to go and choose noodles and eat with chopsticks between the locals. We also like to shop at the local supermarket and make an interesting dinner at home. What we don't like is the 'specialties' which some of the shops have on their menu. One day we saw a food shop with the most horrible insects and they were all ready to be fried. But also there were many clients waiting in line to eat these fried scorpions, big black spiders, cockroaches and locusts.


Queen's day

We do not only eat local food and special dishes. In most of the cities where we are, there are also many Dutch families working and living. So it happened that on the 30th of April and the 5th of May we celebrated Queen's Day (Koninginnedag) and Liberation Day with the Dutch kids. First our parents had an evening in Orange organised by the Dutch Embassy with all the local Dutch People living in Beijing. The children could go a couple of days later to a picnic and we went with Juune and Pieter to the International School in Beijing who also has a Dutch School in it. We did games and sold sweets AND there was traditional Dutch food (krentebol en bitterballen). Afterwards we went to swimming classes with them and I had hockey training on the fields of the British school. It was a fun day (but also tiring), but after a diner at my favorite restaurant Anni's we had another great day in Beijing.

Attractions
Steven is going to his football club every Saturday and Sunday and  the fathers play also and the mothers walk around the field and do Chinese exercises on Chinese music. Is is part of the sport fields used for the Olympics in 2008. The soccer and the walking reminds us a bit what we do every Sunday morning on Hout Bay Beach, when we play beach football at 10.00 with the fathers and sons and the ladies are walking on the beach.

After the training we went to see the National Olympic stadium of Beijing also known as the Bird's Nest because it looks like a nest. This stadium was built and used for the Olympic games in 2008 and the Paralympics.

We also visited this week The temple of Heaven,  a park with many buildings/temples, where the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties were praying to Heaven and their ancesters. It was built from 1406 to 1420 and is very big and impressive. Beside the several temples there is also a place where you can hear the Echo of the prayers, so people where standing there and giving a speech or started singing.


School
School is going great and we have a big apartment with a park around, so we both read in the park with the smell of flowers and hearing the fountains and the waterfalls. For EMS (economic management science) we had a big test
about inflation/unions/money etc. For Natural Science we are learning about the atoms and types of energy. For maths we have done more than 3000 questions on our IXL website and every week -as usual -a spelling test. Mom is being a great teacher teaching us a lot, but sometimes someone didn't go to bed in time or is bad tempered and than the day is spoilt. Steven is reading South African Memories about the Anglo Boer War and I am reading Jane Eyre. I love Jane Eyre, but its a long story.

Thanks Loes