The little celebrity

Today we went to the Olympic Village to see the Bird's Nest (where the opening ceremonies and track events were held) and the Water Cube (where the swim meets were held). Both were way cool and very fun to see in person.









But the real fun had nothing to do with the Olympics. While we were on the field of the Bird's Nest, two ladies came up and wanted a picture with Quinn. We obliged, and that led to a literal swarm of people lining up for pictures. Some wanted just him, some wanted all of us, and one group wanted Tom out of the picture (too Asian-looking, I guess) and literally pushed him away. Quinn LOVED the attention and smiled and laughed throughout the encounter. When we were finally alone again, Tom started lifting him up towards the sky, and each time he did it Quinn would laugh and laugh and laugh.

Leah, the wonderful guide from our agency, had told us that mostly Chinese people visit the Olympic Village, and that a lot of them who come from small villages haven't seen Anglos before. Also, Chinese people love children and many are ashamed that China can't care for all its children but deeply grateful for foreigners willing to adopt them. They see adoption as a very positive thing and routinely come up and pat Chinese babies with foreign couples, smiling and saying, "Lucky baby." They also believe that children should be dressed extremely warmly, and are very comfortable coming up and scolding you if your child isn't dressed in at least three layers of clothing. In line for the Olympic Village this morning, at least three people pulled up Quinn's collar, yanked his hood over his head and pulled him pants down to cover his ankles.

Here, every baby is fair game and every adult is a parent. I suppose there's something to be said for that...



The Little Emperor LOVED the attention and even after the crowds dispersed was super-happy playing with Baba: