I know many of you have been anxiously awaiting our post. Life is crazy when you first hit China. The flights were uneventful. The leg from DFW to LAX was great because the lady who checked us in bumped us up to business class, just because I paid her a compliment! Hey! Niceness has its perks, so I am pumping it up over here.
Lisa has been without luggage since the fine folks in LAX have decided that they needed it more than she does! It is supposed to arrive in about 10 hours. She is being such a trooper, and going with the flow. Lisa is an incredibly patient person and SOOO awesome to travel with. Hand washing has been a humbling experience! Other than clothes, we have everything else she could possibly need. She says, "At least I am in China, so that is all that matters." I am so glad she is here with me, and sharing these moments with me first hand. I feel so very blessed.
When we landed in Beijing, our GWCA guide, Michael, was easily found. We traveled with Alyson LaBarge from our OctDTC2005 yahoo group and her sweet mother, Jules. It was nice to have a connection with another family before arriving China. Alyson actually lives in the McKinney area, and our daughters are from the exact same orphanage! It is sweet, so sweet, to know that these girls who are like sisters will grow up close to each other for a long time. We will keep in close contact and allow their friendship to blossom over time. How wonderful is that for our girls?
Michael informed us he will be our guide all along this trip and speaks English very well. He is mid 20's and very energetic. He has already given us much insight and information on the ins and outs of Beijing, which is his home. He is an only child, due to one-child policy. However his mother, we learned, is one of 5 siblings. Obviously the policy came into effect after her parents were making families.
We have met other families on the same journey and traveling with us. We all share the excitement and yet feel how SURREAL this all is. It just does NOT seem real yet. We keep saying, "We have waited two years, we can surely make it through 72 hours." We each feel so blessed that our girls come from an orphanage that is brand new, they love girls and keep them healthy, they send a book with each baby that highlights the orphanage and their province, and the civil affairs office gives each girl a piece of porcelain that their province is famous for producing.
After we got our referrals in April, we did send a "care package" to the orphanage. In it we had a toy for our baby, a picture album small and safe enough to let the baby see pictures of their new families, and disposable cameras to take pictures of while in the orphanage. These arrived in early May, so we are hoping that they come back to us when they deliver the girls. How wonderful it would be to develop pictures of the girls' nannies, crib mates, orphanage, etc. Early pictures of life before they joined us. Savanah will treasure these I am sure.
Before I left, I donated money to the orphanage and later was told they used it to buy a digital camera and memory cards. It was nice to know that, now the girls will have some great referral shots and perhaps some updated information for the families before they travel.
Now about Beijing-it is pretty clean looking when you walk around. The driving isn’t insanely crazy but busy. If you cross the street, don’t look at the driver and he will not hit you. If you look at him, he has every right to run you over. LOL I am just kidding about that. One of our other family member friends said he had figured that little tidbit of information out on his own, and I thought it was funny. The honking is readily heard, but it really isn’t too bad. The weather has been cool, like 65 degrees and sprinkling rain on and off. We hope it stays this way for our busy touristy days ahead.
The people have been so very nice and helpful. They do like to practice their English. A young gentleman on the plane could WRITE English, but not speak it. He wanted to practice but was so shy! I was tired and wanted to sleep, which we did a lot of on the planes actually.
When the people here get home from work, it must be dog-walking time. As we were eating dinner and looking out the window, it seemed that many dog owners had their pets out on leashes and walking the city. We saw many kind of expensive pure breed dogs with cute little sweaters on. It was humorous.
The pictures are of our travel to Beijing but we will go back and include later 3 more of our travel group. I know the fun pictures begin when Savanah arrives, but sigh..... not until Sunday. I hope you enjoy our blog. We promise to write about the unusual and humorous side of our adventures, so you can see something different than you would on the other blogs. Little pieces of information to be shared, so you can see and hear about the real China and all it has to offer.
Things I have seen in China so far: McDonald's, Baskin Robins 31 flavors (featuring Green Tea ice cream, and one called Love Potion #39...?...) Subway, Movie Theater with English movies (Superman 3 now), Chinese versions of Ritz crackers, major soda brands, Lipton Tea in a bottle, Starbucks, Pringles, and the like.) Our group seems to be nutritionally daring and want to try all the local cuisine, stuff out of the ordinary...so we will have some stories to share along the way. Especially when we get to our province!
Love to Brianna, Kenadee and thank you cousin Rodney for holding down the troops while we are here. Dad, hurry up and get out of the hospital so you can come hug Savanah on June 13! (ya'll pray for dad, he had a stroke and fell and broke his shoulder/arm). Charles, thank you for arranging to put the crib together and mowing my lawn...hee hee. You're my hero! He wants brownie points! Mom, take care of everyone like you always do. Thank you Rhonda and Brooke for taking us to the airport. I miss each of you and think of each of you every day. Just ask Lisa!
We are planning a "meet and greet" for Savanah after we have been back a couple of weeks. More information on that soon. It will be on a Saturday afternoon. Savanah has some chubby cheeks that are just crying for many many kisses!
