home sweet home/babies/China madness!

We arrived in San Francisco yesterday and have been enjoying the beautiful Napa wine country and my many family members that live in this area. After the airport my Dad took us immediately to the Cheesecake Factory. Not only was it delicious we were a little shocked at not being a minority anymore, or having to repeat everything 2-3 times. We went to Safeway later on that evening and basked in the spacious supermarket while admiring the availability of food items we struggled so much to find in Korea. We only needed Garlic Powder for my families famous tacos on Sunday, but again I was surprised when I asked where the restroom was and the clerk answered me without a confused and lost expression. This I experienced one too many times in that Asian country. It was a beautiful day and we almost shed a tear when the immigration clerk gave us a warm, "Welcome home!"

BABY NEWS!
On Friday the day before we all flew home I had one more Doctors appointment. In Korea this means nothing about the Dr. because I only see him for all of 2 minutes. These visits really mean I get another ultrasound which I always look forward to. This time it was extra special for two reasons, first the baby is definitely big enough to tell the sex and second Gma and Gpa Clawson could come with us and see the munchkin on screen too. I had to ask a lot of times for the Korean nurse to tell me the sex but she seemed confident that it is a BABY GIRL. We are so excited and unless something got lost in translation we will look forward to a plethora of pinks and purples. By the way were naming her Olive Clawson after Chas' 83 year old grandma. Hopefully our Olive will be as spunky as the original.

Endless China
I knew that Clawsons travel a little differently than Nobmanns and Chas had also warned me but I have more clearly defined the difference after this almost 3 week extravaganza. Clawsons travel/marathon tour and Nobmanns travel/tan/roll in the sand/room service. Needless to say I am tired but by the end I was comforted to know that even though Clawsons go all out they were just as tired as I was by the end. I did survive and barely held my own with these world class touring experts. There was hardly a dull moment and because of the spectacular planning we experienced and saw so many wonderful things.
Before China we all (actually only the women) did a lot of reading of memoirs and biographies of foreigners living in China or Chinese who have immigrated to the States. They were pretty incredible and if anyone is interested, two books I would recommend are River Town by Peter Hessler and Wild Swans by Jung Chang. One thing that impressed me is that China accounts for almost 20% of the worlds population and I know so little about the culture and history. These books and seeing so much from the trip has been so educational and memorable. Instead of rattling off all of our tours and adventures I want to share one. (picture at right: Chas and Judy on the Great Wall)

(Temple of Heaven old Chinese Checker Game)
Our second day in Beijing and China in general we went to the Temple of Heaven. This is where the Emperor would visit at certain times of the year to remember his ancestors and pay tribute/worship etc. The architecture and ancient feel of the buildings were beautiful but not my favorite part. There is a courtyard leading up to the buildings and the people who fill the courtyard are who made the trip incredible. Elders and their families come in the morning everyday before 10 am and dance, sing, exercise, play cards, chess and talk story. This is amazing because up until about 10 years ago leisure activities and some fine arts and traditional music were strictly prohibited or frowned upon. Seeing the people happy and spending time together sharing their abilities and learning together was emotional because all of this age group could remember the time when they lost this freedom for so many years. This was my favorite and most memorable part of China.

Near Future Plans:
We will be in California for another 5 days or so then off to Flagstaff to see Grammie (Chas' mom's mom) and then to Utah to me my mom and other family. We are driving from their to Nauvoo for a wedding and then finally to Virginia. We should be in Virginia around the 13th of October. It is going to be a crazy ride and I think by time we finish I will never want to see my blue suitcases again. However we are so excited to visit family and friends who we have missed this past year along the way.
(below is a video of the activities outside the Temple of Heaven)