Theresa Does China: Mom's visit recap

After my visit in the States, my mom came back with me for two weeks.  We had a great time hanging out and experiencing China together!  Here are some of the highlights:  

-Ancient Culture Street - This was one of Mom's favorite things.  ACS is a great place to buy souvenirs  and it's fun because it just feels very China.  

-Street markets, traffic, and everyday quirky China - The "ordinary" things are the things I love most about China.  I'm glad my mom got to see the simplicity of China life, but also the difficulty of it.

-Tianjin Hai He River Cruise - The Hai He River is a beautiful place!  I could do the boat tour a million times and never get tired of how beautiful the city is from the river.  My mom and I got to hang out with a teacher friend of mine and enjoy a different perspective of Tianjin.  

-Chinese food is always an adventure in of itself. 

-Shepherd's Field Children's Village (www.chinaorphans.org) - The orphanage where I normally volunteer is currently closed to visitors, so we couldn't go there.  Instead, we took the train to nearby Langfang to visit the children at SFCV.  They are so sweet.  The big kids were at a VBS, but mom and I got to hang out with the babies and younger kids.  There was an older boy who we also got to play with.  What a character!!  I was glad my mom got to connect with some of the kids and see why I love my time at the orphanage so much! 

-Beijing and the Mutianyu Great Wall - We spent about a day and a half in Beijing.  We stayed in a pretty nice hostel (although I had to "lock" the door with a chair...).  We went to the Great Wall while we were there.  I am amazed every time I see the Wall!  

Shi Jia Da Yuan - We went to an old palace in Tianjin with my Chinese class.  It was a lot of fun!  The buildings are beautiful and we learned some fun facts about ancient China life.