The Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, as has the National Holiday Week, so you would think everyone would be happy after eating all those Mooncakes and dancing in the streets, but it isn’t the case.

My understanding is that there are pockets of people who are not happy after finding out we won’t be traveling to China. Sorry folks, blame it on the virus!

We were to travel today and it would have been a lovely day to fly, however, we were even more comfortable and less stressed watching Netflix and sitting on our comfy den chairs. Instead of our fold flat seats, we were forced to sleep on our spacious king-sized bed with our fuzzy comforter. So far I’m not too put out!

And so today we are officially kicking off our Chinese Staycation! That initial nervousness of landing in a foreign country and hearing a different language needed to be a part of our adventure, so we went to the Chinese Market to pick up a couple of last minute supplies. As some of you know, I was using Duolingo to learn a few phrases, so I was excited to use them.

With my best pronunciation skills I said: “Nǐ hǎo. Wèishéme shānyáng shì lǜsè de?” Instead of showing us where the Oyster Sauce was located, the woman just burst into laughter.

Once she stopped laughing, she asked me to repeat my question in english. Apparently, using my new language skills, I said “Hello. Why are the goats green?” So much for that skill set. That’s why we would have had a translator with us in China. We should have brought Wei Wei along.

At least we got the oyster sauce, along with many other tasty ingredients for some good eating ahead. One of the days will be our joint cooking class, so we’re looking for some items that I can’t mess up. If only the Chinese were known for their outdoor grilling of hamburgers.

The Chinese market also provided us with access to many different varieties of tea to try. No Red Rose or Lipton on this trip. We’ll be trying a few different green teas, black teas, oolong teas and white teas. We were also able to obtain some jasmine tea, which smells delightful.

Driving home, we were surprised by the lack of ancient structures and interesting architecture along our route. Many were probably rebuilt as a Walgreens or Tim Hortons. We thought we saw a Buddha in the distance, but as we approached we realized we were just passing by a Jenny Craig’s. Oh well – Peace, Brother!

Once we were home, we sat down to enjoy some beautiful and tranquil music. Here is a sample for you to enjoy too.

Later, while Sue was making dinner, I was listening to a podcast about sports and recreation in China. Two gentlemen, Mr. Wat and Mr. Hu talked about the love of table tennis, gymnastics and basketball throughout the country. Additionally, baseball has gained some popularity in both Beijing and Shanghai. I’m still not sure I believe what they said however, as in the introductions they said Mr. Hu would be on first and Mr. Wat would be on second. Hmm?

Tonight we had a simple dinner and began planning for some of the upcoming activities. We’re looking forward to the many sites that lie ahead during our stay in Beijing.