My visual journal of August 19th, 2024.

My visual journal of August 15th, 2024.

I just took Hamer to get vaccinated; she received two shots. Today marks her last shot of vaccinations before starting primary school.

Hamer went to the Capital Museum and the National Center for the Performing Arts with her sister, brother, and grandma. They did it by themselves, which was quite an achievement.

My visual journal of August 14th, 2024.

My visual journal of August 13th, 2024.

Hamer arrived at safety. She felt not alone but accompanied, and not tired but exhilarated.

Hamer is on her flight homecoming by herself. She looked like a big girl as she walked through the gate. I asked if she was nervous, and she said she was excited and not nervous at all.

My visual journal of August 12th, 2024.

We had a long walk along the river after dinner. It was pleasant with the breeze.

Hamer had two great days with her brother. They enjoyed playing with each other from the moment they first met.

On the second day of our Beijing tour, it was a day of intense walking. By the end of the day, mom’s legs had already started to ache, and even the nephew, who had been walking quickly all along, didn’t want to continue. We traveled from the Temple of Heaven to Beihai Park, then along the Forbidden City’s corner tower to Jingshan Park, and finally to Chang’an Avenue. We wanted to see Tiananmen Square, but it required a prior appointment now. At the end, we enjoyed the KFC that the nephew had been eagerly looking forward to.

On the first day of our Beijing tour, we saw a lot and also walked a lot. We visited the Lama Temple, the Confucius Temple and the Imperial College, the Earth Temple, Qingfeng Steamed Bun Shop, the Drum and Bell Tower, the Yandaixie Street, Shichahai, Nanluoguxiang, and Beixinqiao Luzhu.

My mom and nephews went to Beijing yesterday, and Beijing welcomed them with heavy rain.

It’s pouring in Beijing again.

I’ve been working on a performance issue all day. It’s always challenging to identify the problem, speculate on the potential buggy code, make updates, switch between versions for comparison, and test. Then, the process repeats over and over again.

Hamer called me this morning and told us she had decided to go home on Monday. In the evening, she confirmed that with us again with patience and logic. However, because the ticket for an Unaccompanied Minor (UM) is expensive, we may postpone and discuss the plan later.

Today, I set up the phone holder and rearview mirror on my bike and started recording my rides. It’s good to see the route in the recordings.

My visual journal of August 8th, 2024.

Xiaoyan had a good day today. She gave an excellent presentation in English, and after that, she discussed and resolved a potential trust issue with foreign customers. Happy for her.

These nights have been so good. Jialing made dinner for us, and we had dinner together, then talked about our days or watched the Olympic Games together.

Jialing gave Xiaoyan a ride to work on Tuesday morning.

Yesterday and today, Xiaoyan discussed with Hamer the idea of buying a kid’s flying-alone ticket for her because she wants to come back earlier. Tonight, Hamer thought about it and told us she wants to do that, even though it means she won’t be able to buy more toys.

My visual journal of August 7th, 2024.

My visual journal of August 6th, 2024.