We are finally here after all these years of waiting. Not a lot of exciting things to report.
Ko got us to the airport and on time. I know, we were a bit shocked as well that she was actually on time. Thanks Ko, you’re a gem. Hope you had fun at the race.
Our tickets from Chicago to Beijing had us originally not sitting with each other, so in our infamous wisdom, we decided to ask the kiosk for different seats. We didn’t think that they would be able to accommodate our request. Well, our request came through, however they were in the very last row right by the restrooms and this is exactly where every other passenger on the plane took it upon themselves to congregate. Needless to say, Brian didn’t sleep at all, and Kayla got to sleep happily ever after.
Our journey to AnLi certainly can’t go as we all wished for now, could it? Well, it hasn’t. Kayla has come down with a very bad cold; Brian is sleepy due to no sleep. But we aren’t complaining, we are only days away from fulfilling our dream of holding our daughter for the very first time.
Saturday night we stayed in and went to bed early. No exciting meal stories to tell you as we haven’t eaten at all other than airplane meals and snacks. Oh, Brian had a salted nut roll. On Sunday we are doing the Hutong tour.
October 9, 2005 Beijing
We got a pretty decent night’s rest, and headed out early this morning for the Temple of Heaven. China is full of amazing culture, and it’s hard to put everything into words. The park was full this morning with lots of people doing their exercises, stretches, playing games, and dancing. After that we went for lunch at the Friendship Restaurant. Everything is served family style. It was actually quite good! Then we left for the Hutong Tour, which was unbelievable. We climbed the drum tower which included 69 steep steps, I mean steep and….so now we’re thinking we may not make it to the top of the Great Wall, but we’ll see only if Kayla can keep up Brian.
Had a rickshaw tour of the area, nearly got crashed twice or more. We got to go into a local’s house. Hutong is the oldest area in Beijing, and according to fung shei, is considered the best area in the city. The houses are built in a quadrangle, and the elders live in the south quadrant, and the sons or daughters live in the east and west quadrants. The center is a courtyard area. It was an unbelievable history lesson for all.
While in Hutong we got to tour a kindergarten for hearing impaired students. Above one door it said “hearing aid devices” and above the other door was “Australian cochlear implant” class. A few were playing in the courtyard when we arrived. We fell in love with a little girl with pigtails.
We just wanted to bring her home, along with Anli of course, with us right then and there! They were all waving and saying “hello” and “bye”. It seems most everyone knows some English.
Beijing has construction going on everywhere! It is unbelievable. In part because they are gearing up for the 2008 Olympics. Crossing a street or, for that matter, riding in a rickshaw, you are taking your own lives into your hands. One minor incident for our group, but all is well.
We’re turning in early again tonight. We ate supper at a restaurant in the hotel and figured on getting steak and lobster, instead we had pizza.
We have another full day ahead of us. We shall see if we can conquer the Great Wall.
All the above was and will be a great experience and certainly will be in our memories for a lifetime. However, we just want to head to Hubei and finally have our arms around our daughter.
