Our visit to Beijing has been nothing but non-stop fast and furious touring! That's why my blog is so behind. We literally are on the go from 7 am to 9 pm. Then I am knocked out and tired by bedtime. It does seem, ironically, that many of us in this travel group all seem to have a 430 a.m. internal alarm clock that goes off and we stay awake. It is the weirdest thing!
We have so enjoyed getting to know the families in our adoption group. Everyone has a sense of camaraderie, and we seem like a big happy family. For example, this morning many in the group noticed Lisa had on different clothing, and came up to her at breakfast and said, "Your luggage arrived????" And they were so happy to hear it had. Everyone said she has been a real trooper!
Last night we went to see an acrobatic show. Let me just say that I am completely convinced that many here are born with rubber skeletons! It is just simply impossible to contort the way these people bend, move, and twist! I sat there for an hour and repeated "no way!" or "ooohhh that has gotta hurt" and moaned in sheer agony the entire time. It was simply amazing and I bought a DVD to show you all! Incredible......truly!
I teased this morning at breakfast that I had came home afterwards and practiced every move on my bed to show Lisa what they were doing during the show. I added that I had completely mastered every move, and was promptly taken to the emergency room. LOL.
We had a busy June 1. After a good breakfast we went to go see the Giant Pandas at Beijing Zoo. We saw 6 of them, learned they ONLY eat Bamboo, and thought they were the cutest things. We took pictures and then on the way out I noticed something very worth a photo opportunity. In the picture below, you see me sitting on the left...don’t look at me, look up above my head at the baby being held by daddy. Do you see the cute naked bottom that I see? It was sooooo funny to see this, so we HAD to take a picture. We also got to experience on several occasions why split pants are so handy here in China! Yep! Moms just put down a plastic bag, let their children do their business, and promptly clean them up with toilet paper, right there in front of the whole world. It is such a sight. I wonder though, what is the average age of potty training?
We have several children in our adoption group. Abby (see yesterday's post) is 3.5 and was adopted from China. She is so sweet and polite and smart. We are lifetime friends, as we have taken a special liking to each other. She picks me out of the crowd and comes running over to me. One day I took a picture of her using my Polaroid camera, and gave her the magic picture. She promptly went around showing absolutely ANYBODY and EVERYBODY a picture of "sweet abby"...the locals got the biggest kick out of her. She went from person to person, stranger to stranger, and proudly displayed her new photo. She just brought a smile to every face!
There are two brothers from Houston, Chris who is 11 and 15 yr old Andrew. They have been absolutely amazing. They simply have the BEST attitudes in every way. They relate so well with adults, so we have consistently been joking around and also having some serious conversations. Each is very excited to finally be here and adopt their baby sister. Chris said, "Being around Abby gives me lots to look forward to with my sister, I am so excited!" Ok folks, I nearly cried right then. Their parents have done such an awesome job.
Ramon, a 5 year old, is really getting lots of attention with his curly blonde hair and big blue eyes. He is quite the jokester and loves a laugh. In all this touring, he (and all the kids really) have been such awesome troopers and don’t complain or seem miserable in any way. Ramon gets asked many times for a picture, he gets many smiles and looks of sheer fascination. We will post the cutest picture of him with 2 sweet local 5 yr olds doing ballet stretches in Forbidden City. It was quite a spectacle and many circled around to see the blondie and little local girls pulling their legs up over their heads with such ease...You just have to see the picture on June 2 post!
We went to a Tea House at the end of our tour today. I highly recommend that. You sit in a private room and sample the teas, learn how to make them, learn how certain teas improve your bodily functions (high blood pressure, diabetes, liver, kidney functioning, etc.) The tastes of each is distinctly different. Jasmine tea, although a beautiful smell, is my least favorite to drink. Honestly, it tastes just like I bit off a flower and am trying to wash it down. I couldn’t handle that one. My favorite was the lychee black tea with a touch of real rose flavor. It was a less pungent flavor and had a hint of sweetness naturally. I bought some of that to bring home and try. Tea does help you sleep and rest peacefully. I knocked out that night.
Some interesting sights we witnessed incidentally today are worth mentioning. Two men were in a very serious fist fight on the side of the highway and going at each other. Torn shirts, scratched faces, and three Chinese women trying to get them off each other let me know somebody wasn’t very happy! They must have been in one car, because the one car was literally sitting on the side of the highway and all five were out of the car. We were so close to them, passing them at 40 mph, we could have hit them.
I also saw a taxi driver pulled over the side of the road, relieving himself quite freely...Funny, he did NOT have on any split pants...???
The food here is so delicious. Many Asians are lactose intolerant, so that is right up my alley! I have had some of the finest noodle dishes, spicy foods, and interesting combinations of food offered to me. And I am trying anything.
It is still so surreal to all of us to believe that we are just 48 hours away from holding our beautiful babies. We have waited so long, been through so much, jumped through many hoops to be right here. And it is finally happening! The one thing I have been so touched to learn, is that God does every single thing in HIS time...and does it with such precision and expertise. God still continues to provide to us JUST ENOUGH in every way. Just enough time, just enough money, just enough cool weather and sunshine. I feel so incredibly blessed in hundreds of ways. I am traveling with the most amazing people, blessed to meet such sincerely nice folks. I am blessed to be here and have the opportunity to start my family in this way. I am definitely blessed with a cousin so calm and peaceful, who holds us all together. My family at home has been amazing, helping with Brianna and loving her in my absence. She is doing so well and being an amazingly good girl. The support I have had with this adoption has been so comforting.
Thanks to all of my friends reading my posts and emailing us. KEEP IT UP! Savanah will enjoy reading your words when she is older! Please sign my guestbook and feel free to email often. All comments will be printed out and bound for a keepsake for my little girl.
I am indeed the lucky one. And will feel forever humbled by all of this.
Just 48 hours more to "mommy time!"
