Beijing Day 2

What a day we had! After breakfast, the girls were given another surprise....they were measured by a seamstress for a custom Qi Pao dress. The lady will sew the dresses while we're touring and have them ready before we leave China.
We went to the zoo today to see the pandas. It was very hot outside again, so we didn't stay long, but it was fun seeing the pandas eating bamboo.
After the zoo, the REAL fun began. We all rode in bicycle rickshaws!! Some of the drivers serenaded their riders with songs, some gave Chinese lessons, and some were just funny. We made a brief stop by a lake to watch a group of elderly ladies do a traditional fan dance. They pulled some of the girls, as well as a few dads, into the dance. The rickshaws then took us to a local hutong (older style family dwelling with a courtyard). We visited the home of an elderly man and woman and they allowed us to tour their home and told us about their daily lives. We jumped back into our rickshaws and went to another home where the girls learned to make dumplings. We were then served the BEST meal (including the dumplings)!! YUM
The group then went to the National Children's Center. Part of the group learned to make tie-dye (Emily and Randy did this), while the others learned paper cutting (Emily and myself). The director of the center presented all of the girls with a nice set of postcards showing artwork of Chinese children.
We then went outside the center and the girls were all given a kite of their choice.....and then the kite flying began!
Dinner was at a noodle restaurant, where we were served an interesting variety of dishes, as well as a big bowl of noodles. The heat has really zapped our energy and appetites....so Emily and I didn't eat at all.
We were supposed to go to a Chinese opera in the evening, but several members of the group weren't feeling well, so we all opted to just go back to the hotel. The kids were THRILLED because they had an hour or so to swim. Emily wasn't too thrilled though that the hotel had a rule that everyone must wear a swim cap...that cost us $20 yuan.
I still need to write about today's adventures, but the internet is costing us per minute, so I'll be back on tomorrow. Emily and the other kids are swimming again right now, then we'll be going out again.