A Sad Goodbye

We had an amazing visit with Granny and from the moment of her arrival to our goodbye waves at the security gate a Beijing Airport, we stayed busy...Joanne and Granny, comment to add more of our fun times!

Dinner party at the neighbor's house

Friday Happy Hour on the Cul-de-sac

Brunch at a friend's home

The Pearl Market

The Toy Market, of course

The River Garden Resident's Appreciation Party

A farewell enchilada dinner for a friend moving on

Two full days exploring ISB and meeting the boy's teachers

Various cab rides to visit Joanne at work

Fuel at Langham Place Hotel

Five Star living at the Grand Hyatt and The Oasis Pool

Tien An Man Square

The Forbidden City

The Night Market

Wangfujing

The Great Wall - Huanghuacheng

Softball games at WAB

Great Leap Brewery in DaoJiao Hutong

Poolside at RG

Tuk-Tuk Purchase in ShunYi Urban Area

Gin Rummy Tournament(s)

Ho Hai Park
798 Art district

In the opening Chapter of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway suggests that as a newly arrived Long Islander it wasn't until someone asked him directions - and he could answer - that he felt like he was truly arrived.  I echo his sentiment and suggest that Granny's visit did more for me than just provide her wonderful company and the much needed hugs from a loved one we had only seen on Skype for the past four months.  It provided the chance to show her our life here, and that's all we did, just show it to her.  We negotiated for beads and pearls, we got her around in crazy cab rides and hired cars, we ordered food in the restaurant,  we walked to the coffee shop.  For the first time since our arrival, we became the one doing the showing instead of the one having everything shown to us, and this marks a significant change in our life here.  We best get used to it.  While I am new to expat life, it is old hat for many people here, and they shake hands and move on to Brussels, or Brasilia or Baghdad (or DC).  Our street is full of moving trucks and many of our new found acquaintances are packing out and leaving, some have gone already.  In just a few weeks, we will no longer be the new arrivals, and just as we did with granny, we will have to show the way to someone more newly arrived than us.