We arrived in Beijing around 2:45pm local time. The flight was long but made somewhat better by individual video screens for each seat on which you could watch movies (they had quite a selection!), listen to music, and play little video games. There were plenty of great cartoons so we are hoping we will have a similar situation on the way home which may help entertain Maddox. Otherwise, it was your typical 13 hour flight: struggling to sleep as much as you can, waking up with weird pains in your legs (but hopefully no DVTs), trying to get up and walk as much as possible without annoying the gentlemen who had the isle seat in our row.
We arrived and got through customs quickly. Our Beijing guide, Tom, was holding a sign for CWA (our adoption agency) as we exited baggage claim. We got along well with
him from the start. Tom is in his 30s and married. He was born in Beijing and majored in English. He has been working with CWA for over 10 years but has never been to the U.S., interestingly. He took us to our hotel which is very nice, probably more expensive a hotel than we ever would have gotten had we been traveling on our own. Above is the view from our hotel room window. We were so tired when we got to the hotel we really just wanted to sleep which is exactly what Stephanie (tried) to do...
him from the start. Tom is in his 30s and married. He was born in Beijing and majored in English. He has been working with CWA for over 10 years but has never been to the U.S., interestingly. He took us to our hotel which is very nice, probably more expensive a hotel than we ever would have gotten had we been traveling on our own. Above is the view from our hotel room window. We were so tired when we got to the hotel we really just wanted to sleep which is exactly what Stephanie (tried) to do...We met 2 other couples here who are also working with CWA: the Werts from SC and the Millers from NC. Great folks. We had dinner with Tom and the Werts tonight. They already have one daughter they have adopted from China. She is 2 1/2 and is here with them - so cute! Interestingly, we and the other 3 couples that are currently here from CWA are ALL adopting boys! Crazy considering the odds...
Dinner was delicious - our first taste of genuine Chinese cuisine. It involved a round table with Lazy Susan top for family style dining. The dishes were a beef/onion/pepper dish, chopped tomatoes with scrambled eggs and green onions (apparently quite a staple dish), broccoli, a sort of tempura chicken, and Peking duck eaten with a little pancake and a sweet sauce similar to that on Mu Shu in American Chinese (which those of you who have eaten Chinese with us know that we love) and rice. The chef carved the duck for us at the table. It was fantastic. We walked around downtown for a while and now we are ready to crash. Sightseeing tomorrow in Beijing...
Kudos to Jessie for getting the movie quote. JP
Jimmy, I am so impressed with all of the details! We will see if that continues when you are keeping up with the little guy:) I have been thinking about you guys all day. I hope everything continues to go smoothly. All of those long shifts & lack of sleep probably prepared you guys for this travel & lack of sleep!
ReplyDeleteYes, as for the details, I am trying to make this as interesting to read as possible! I think when we get Maddox our posts will consist of mostly pictures and a few blurbs here and there. But I am kind of enjoying this blogging thing!
ReplyDeleteI think this will be a great record of your trip for him and hopefully something that all three of you will treasure in the years to come...we are so excited for you.
ReplyDeleteHurry home we love you guys!
Brad, Kris, and the boys