Sarah's here!

We were told to be in the lobby of the hotel at 3:00 to meet our coordinator, Xiulan. We arrived with her a few minutes before 3:00 and already the babies and nannies were in the lobbies. They were handing out babies before Xiulan was there.

A man was holding Sarah. J and I went around his back to see her face and he handed Sarah to J!!!! She began to cry and he did not know what to do. I took her and she cried as did about 1/2 the babies. The lobby was bustling with activity, people stopping to watch, too much stimulation, so we all headed to our rooms.

Sarah continued to cry and cry. Finally we set her on the bed so she wouldn't have the "giant strangers" holding her. She picked up her shoe and that gave some comfort.

We finally figured out she was tired. We got her to sleep (thus the reason I am able to post so soon.) We'll see what she thinks of us after she wakes up.

Xiulan visited us and said the babies who cry are the smartest babies. She will be a genius. Also, Xiulan said she was spoiled. Since she was in foster care, that may be true by comparison.

Chongqing arrival

Arrived Chongqing late Saturday night. We were met by Xiulan ("Shoe-Lawn") who is an amazing older Chinese lady who is a spitfire. She's the reason we chose this agency.

We're in a BBIIIGGG city! Luckily we have McDonalds and Pizza Hut across the street. We went to the supermarket this morning to buy water and sprite. We scoped out the pampers. When our group walks around we cause quite a lot of stares.

After 3 years of hearing how cold the hotels are in China, we've landed in a hot box. All of us are breaking out our shorts. I suppose no matter the temperature, since it's late October, they've turned on the heat. We borrowed a fan for the room and we have the window cracked.

We were going to travel to the orphanage to get the babies but we found out last night that the girls are coming here. I thought I might be disappointed, but I'm actually glad. We're tired from traveling from Beijing and all our "baby gear" is here in the room. No need to figure out what we should pack for the bus ride. Less than 4 hrs to get the babies....gotta go get cameras ready!!!!

Saturday

If you want to stay in order, read Friday’s blog first, then this one.
We had a breakfast buffet at the hotel both days. There are lots of choices, and even some we want to eat.  If we drink the water here, we risk getting sick so we drink boiled water or bottled water. This morning in the rush to get packed, I forgot that and put water from the faucet on my toothbrush. It promptly went in the trash.

We checked out and loaded in the van with Phoebe and Mr. Gua, headed for the Great Wall. It was about an hour drive NE to the mountains. Peddlers rush you as you exit the van, wanting to sell hats, t-shirts and postcards. Never pay the price they ask; they will haggle with you.

The Wall was crowded and the climb was a kicker. It was amazing to stand on such an ancient structure. There were “gutters” built to keep rain water from building up on the wall. The steps were all different sizes and heights. It was very challenging at times. We were all glad we did the climb. The tall Americans got lots of looks. Several people wanted to have pictures with Jack including a group of older ladies that kept touching his face.

Afterwards we had lunch at a government-owned cloissone factory and store that caters to tourists. The food was more enjoyable there. Again, chicken and rice.

Friday, with all the fog, around 1,000 flights leaving Beijing were cancelled. We did not know this until we were on our way to the Great Wall. We headed to the airport early. Phoebe was able to get us checked in early. There was some anxiety when something appeared in one of our checked bags on the x-ray machine and S had to unpack the whole thing for the screener. We still don’t know what it was.

Down at gate 25, we ran into one of the families from our travel group and the Alabama family. There was a second anxious moment as the fog rolled in at the terminal. We all wondered if we would get out of the airport or if we would have to spend another night in Beijing. We boarded the bus out to the plane and realized the fog was only near the terminal. We met another travel group family on the plane. Dinner was served – chicken and rice.

Friday

Friday we awoke to a weather report of 100% humidity and 0.1 km visibility. It was a foggy day in Beijing. We were picked up by Phoebe and Mr. Gua, the driver. Driving is an adventure in China. It seems everyone makes their own lane. It gives new meaning to “tear on the dotted line”.
Our first stop was Tian’namen Square. S asked our guide to show him where the student uprising occurred. She responded, “that is not part of our history.” Later he asked her, “Can you show me where the protest DID NOT occur?” 

Next we went to the Forbidden City. Built during the Qing Dynasty, it is amazing that it is still in such good condition and so beautiful.

For lunch we were taken to a local restaurant. The food was quite different than what we are used to. Thank goodness for chicken and rice.

We then headed to the Temple of Heaven, a beautiful park also built during the Qing Dynasty where the emperor would worship the god of the heavens three times a year. S asked more difficult questions, asking our guide what was her religion. She replied, “communist.”

Our last stop was the Summer Palace where the emperor and empress would escape the heat of summer at the Forbidden City. It’s on man-made Kunming Lake. We could not fathom how they dug such a large lake before heavy equipment was invented.

J fell asleep on the way to the Summer Palace. He managed to muster enough energy to wake up and make the walk. He fell back to sleep on the ride back to the hotel. He went straight to bed, missing yet another meal. I had peanut butter cheese crackers and hit the bed. S ordered a hamburger from room service that was questionable.

At midnight, J was wide awake wanting to play his DS. We managed to get him back to sleep for 4 more hours.

Bathrooms are an adventure in China. Most don’t have commodes, only a hole in the ground. There’s a little stick figure picture on the door indicating if it is a western-style toilet or a squatty pottie. There’s usually one toilet paper dispenser at the door when you go in. You take in with you what you think you’ll need. Sean swiped the t.p. from the hotel and brought it with us to the Great Wall.

Long day of Sightseeing

We somehow got a private tour yesterday of Tiannamen Square, the Forbidden City, The Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. We were supposed to be with a group but Phoebe and Mr. Gua showed up drive us around all day.

We love Phoebe. She was very attentative to J and has a great sense of humor. We'll blog more and send photos soon. The're stuck on the flash drive right now and I can't see them. We're headed down to check out and hit the Great Wall. Mr. Gua and Phoebe will take us around again today.
K

The best sleep ever

We pushed ourselves to stay up until 6:00 p.m. China time. Sean walked over to the corner Pizza Hut and picked up comfort food from home. Funny thing, they gave us ketchup packets to go with the pizza.

Jack felt lousy last night (sore throat, tummy ache) but he's a new man this morning - yay! We were all WIDE awake at 3:00 a.m. Thus we blog! What else is there to do at 3:00 a.m. in China!

Surely we'll be on time to our 8:30 tour. ha!

A note: We can post blogs from here but we cannot SEE our blog - go figure - so we cannot see comments either.