Disappointing News...Flight Canceled

Their flight was canceled and they are stuck in Chicago for the night.  Penny was unsure about the flight time tomorrow but knows that it is around noon. Please pray for safe travels tomorrow too and no cancelations.

In Transit

This is Sara.  I just wanted to let everyone know they made it to Hong Kong a few hours ago.  Their flight should leave around 11:00 a.m. and that will be 10:00 p.m. our time.  Please pray for a safe and easy flight.  They should land in Memphis around 6:00 p.m. tomorrow.  Emily requested that all well-wishers wait until another day to visit as they will be exhausted and it will be late when they get home. Thanks for all your lovely comments and prayers...only a few more hours to go.  :)

Randomness

We really enjoyed the safari on Monday.  The rented stroller was a success as long as it was moving.  This safari is the largest zoo in China and has 10 pandas and even more koalas.  They also had several tiger species, not to mention a tiger nursery!  We spent 4 hours in the zoo plus an hour each way getting there.  It was nice to spend a day walking outdoors. 

When we got back we decided to attempt the McDonalds next door.  Did you know that cutting line is the norm in China?  Can you anticipate how well I took that when holding a hungry baby?  Then the bagger could not get our order right, and I will admit I got loud up in there.  The poor manager apologized when we finally got our order; I told Doug she was probably terrified of the American Amazon woman ;)

AnnHelen, who has already proven her love of hamburgers, was very excited to be given her very first chicken nugget and did what we now call her "ya ya dance".  Later when we Skyped, she was kind enough to demonstrate it for her audience.  She also showed off her wave, her no head shake, her patty cake, and at the very end of the call learned to blow kisses.  When we first logged on and said "there's your brother!" she shook her head no which got big laughs.  When we signed off I started checking my email, and she insisted to get back into my lap where she started waving at the computer.  So we used the opportunity to Skype with Sara also.  Skype is the bestest.

We had a free day today (Tuesday), so we went back to the pool.  Tonight we have a cruise on the Pearl River.  We really only signed up because there is nothing else to do.  We make multiple trips a day to the 7-11 that is right outside our hotel and to the Fresh Mart store in it.  When my appetite finally returned it did so with a desire for expensive Hagan Daas ice cream bars ;)  I also have drank a tremendous amount of Watson's ginger ale, which is way more ginger-y than our brands.

We watch a lot of lame HBO and, now that we are in Guangzhou, Discovery channel.  And my Kindle is the best thing ever invented.

AnnHelen is usually content to play on the bed with her toys, but she has started expanding her territory to the floor.  Today she fell and smacked her head on the floor, but she didn't cry.  She saves crying for manipulation and food.

Our hotel, China Hotel, is a Marriott hotel, and is one of the biggest I've ever stayed in.  There are lots of expensive shops in it, yet no souvenier shop (boo). 

Our room service lunch is about to be delivered.  Maybe I'll have something more interesting to post tomorrow.

Catching Up

It is driving me nuts not to be able to blog myself, but I am so very thankful for Sara's assistance.  However, not being able to go back and add pictures or see where I left off is just maddening.  I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm a bit of a control freak ;)

To recap, here is the schedule we've thus checked off:

·         Thursday, June 28 -- Arrived in Beijing

·         Friday, June 29 -- Great Wall, jade factory

·         Saturday, June 30 -- Tianamen Square, Forbidden City, silk factory, acrobatic show

·         Sunday, July 1 -- flew from Beijing to Xi'an, Shaanxi; met AnnHelen!

·         Monday, July 2 -- returned to Civil Affaris office to sign papers...we all laughed yesterday about signing papers that we really have no idea what we were signing

·         Tuesday, July 3 -- trip to Wal-Mart (ha) for supplies

·         Wednesday, July 4 -- city wall, city art museum, Wild Goose Pagoda (Buddhist temple), dumpling banquet and show

·         Thursday, July 5 -- Terra Cotta Warriors

·         Friday, July 6 -- packing day; left Xi'an for Guangzhou about 7 pm (flight delayed a bit); arrived to hotel after 11 pm

So, AnnHelen, much like her brother, chose to fully initiate me into motherhood via poop.  She waited until we were boarding the plane to Guangzhou to make a mess, and I had to change her in the airplane bathroom during the flight.  That was super fun.  She really did well on the plane, though, until the end.  And her sense of entitlement is mostly what happened.  At the very end of the flight the attendants passed out mints, and since she didn't get one she threw down.  Then, when we landed, all the people jumped up into the aisles, and we could not get up.  Much like if someone gets off the elevator and she doesn't, another fit.  It's like she knows she's a second child, ha.  Poor Elliott has no idea what's coming.

It is so nice to be met by guides everywhere we go, even when your plane is delayed.  The guide met us and Leia and then told us we had to drive around to another terminal to pick up one other family.  I kid you not that I yelled out "DAVE AND LAURIE!" when I saw them.  We are all so glad to be back together after being in different provinces.  We were really lucky to have Leia and Debbie; Dave and Laurie were the only ones in their province, and they were very ready to see friendly faces.

Unfortunately we all had to be in the lobby at 9:30 am the next morning to take the busses to the visa medical check.  There are 19 Holt families plus families with other agencies.   You can imagine what it sounds like for that many small children to be weighed and have a general medical overview done.  Two hours later, we were on our way back to the hotel.  AnnHelen snacked the entire time we were in the clinic.

One parent then had to report to a paperwork meeting in the hotel at 3 pm.  I wanted to smack anyone who asked what I thought was a stupid question.  It took 1.5 hours to do what should have taken 30 minutes.  Sigh.

Meals here are interesting in that you have to decide convenience vs cost.  If you eat in the hotel, it's much more expensive.  But to save money you have to go out and be adventurous, finding your own restaurant and ordering via a picture menu.  Sometimes with a baby the opportunity cost is just worth it to stay in.  Last night we had Papa John's pizza delivered.  I know, spoiled Americans.  But, we have been more adventurous than a lot of families, and you know what it got us?  Sick...from the airplane food (Xi'an to Guangzhou flight).  Not bad, but still, who wants to be sick in a foreign country with a baby?

Today was a free day, so we shared a cab with Dave, Laurie and Lainey to Shamian Island to shop.  It was not quite what we expected, and neither family ended up buying much.  I suspect Laurie and I may need a ladies only trip without the babies in order to accomplish any real shopping.  Lainey just turned 3 and is a true toddler, running and going and talking up a storm.  And AnnHelen thinks I should carry her everywhere.  Today we bought squeaker shoes, even though Michelle warned me not to, and at least it motivated her to let me put her down for awhile!  She cannot walk unassisted, but she walks if I hold her fingers.  Now that we have reunited with the other families, I can tell you she is the smallest baby, though far from the youngest.  With her small stature comes short person syndrome; have no fear, she will not be taken advantage of.  A little boy LOOKED at her highchair at breakfast, and she hollared at him.  Then Lainey touched her highchair at lunch, and she also hollared at Lainey. 

Tomorrow we are probably going to go to the "Safari", which is the zoo.  I think we may try renting a stroller as we sweat to death with the wrap (though it has been great). 

Visa appointments start on Tuesday, but we do not have our appointment until Wednesday.  On Thursday we pick up her visa then take a train to Hong Kong.  We stay Thursday night in Hong Kong, THEN FLY HOME ON FRIDAY!  We are tired of being away from home, tired of hotel living, and mostly, tired of being away from our boy.  We are so thankful to Aunt Penny for frequent email updates, which make me laugh and cry.  We are going to Skype again tomorrow.  It has been best to keep communication minimal with Elliott. 

In other thank you news...

·         Sara, my communicator

·         Katie V, the luggage has been awesome.  Also, I kept seeing "KTV" on signs in Xi'an, but never when I had the camera out!  It kept you clearly in my mind!

·         Tamra, for loan of the laptop

·         Hannah, for the Chinese $ to start out with

·         [This list is certainly not exhaustive, these are just the ones that popped into my mind right now]

·         EVERYONE FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!

More to come

Terra Cotta Warriors

I had no idea until we arrived in Beijing how cool our province, Shaanxi, is.  The capital city, Xi'an, which is where we are, was the capital of 27(?) of the ancient dynasties.  As we saw yesterday it's one of the few cities to retain it's city wall, which is over 600 years old.  And the biggest draw is the Terra Cotta Warriors, which were discovered in 1974.  Today I wished for Uncle Jack as to my mind this is an archeologist's dream.

It took over an hour by bus to reach the site, first stopping to see a kiln where they make replicas.  The same workshop also produces laquer furniture. 

The biggest pit at the site is bigger than 6 football fields.  I really wish I had pictures to attach.  Maybe I can get Debbie's tomorrow. 

Touring with kiddos is of course difficult, so we did the fast tour through most of the exhibits.  It was still very cool; this post does not do it justice.

City Tour

On Wednesday we went for a rainy 1/2 day tour.  We first went to the city wall, which stretches for 9 miles and is 12 meters wide.  I would have loved to walk or bike it, but of course I had a baby and it was raining.

 

 

Then we went to the art museum, which was small but very cool.  I wished Mrs. Shaw could have been there.  At the end of the tour we got to practice our (crappy) calligraphy skills.

 

 

The rain caused quite a problem for the drainage system here:

 

 

Our next stop was to the Wild Goose Pagoda.  So apparently I'm uncultured because I thought we were going to see a nature exhibit...not a Buddhist temple.  Live and learn.  It was very beautiful, and I couldn't help thinking of LC.

 

 

Unfortunately the above is the very last picture to be taken from our camera as Doug dropped it outside the temple. RIP, camera Erica gave me in 2008. We will now rely on Debbie's pics and pics on the phone. However, I cannot transfer the phone pics until we get back to the USA and I can turn data back on.

 

After a nap break, we went to an 18-course dumpling dinner and show that night.  Thankfully, I regained some appetite to enjoy it, but no one -- not even Doug -- could hang for the entire 18 courses.  Tiny Tiger Terror wanted to eat EVERYTHING, and we had a stand off.  Luckily, we got her calmed down before the show, which included music, dancing, costumes and sets.  I so wished for Kitty and Corgan!

Logistics of Hotel Living

What do you get when you mix an outdoorsman, a neurotic lady, and a baby who's trying to figure out what the heck is going on?  Answer: a very small hotel room. 

 

I researched the packing list for this trip very well, and I do consider myself a magician for packing for 3 people for 2.5 weeks in 2 checked bags.  Upon first meeting our new NE friends they were in awe of my skills (as they were pushing a luggage cart loaded down).  However, that packing was based on the agency's and other people's assurance that laundry service in the hotels was reliable.  All those sources failed to mention how expensive it is.  We prepared a bag of laundry in Beijing, and after I filled out the form the total came to $50 for just a few pieces of clothes!  We reconsidered and lugged the dirty stuff here to Xi'an, where I noticed a clothesline in our bathroom.  The first night I washed with the hotel-provided liquid bath soap.  Ick, smells like old man.  David took us the next day to purchase (Chinese) laundry detergent, which smells way better.  So, our nice soaking tub in the room has served as a washing machine, and my wringing skills - or lack thereof - have come under attack from Doug for 2 days now ;)  We are pretty sure AnnHelen's baby blanket will still be wet on Friday the 13th.

 

My new best friend is the electric kettle, which keeps us in instant coffee and bottles and serves as our bottle washer.  I am so over not being able to use tap water. 

 

Today David took us to buy more supplies...to Wal-Mart.  Boy is Chinese Wal-Mart different and HOT.  I'm also over the absence of air conditioning in public places. 

 

Beijing really spoiled us.  Though this hotel is just as nice as the one there, there are far fewer staff who speak English, which resulted in a very interesting room service meal last night and attempted conversation with a housekeeper today.  More importantly is the complete absence of Diet Coke anywhere in Xi'an!  David found me Coke Zero, but it's just not the same ;)

 

 

The other family here, who adopted a 7 year old boy, is feeling the strain of hotel living much more.  Boy is he funny (when a translator is available).  He calls Leah "American Mama".  After we left the Civil Affairs office the other day, he said, "American Mama, I still want to play your handwriting computer [iPad]."  One morning after we'd all been chattering away in English he asked the guide, "What are you guys talking about?" which just cracked me up.  He is full of mischief, and Doug and I have to make a conscious effort not to laugh at his antics. 

 

Having been called out of bed, that's all my mind can manage tonight.  Tomorrow we are doing a city tour, so I hope to have nice pictures to post.

Baby Steps

 

This tiny girl is big on personality, just as I assumed from the looks I could see in update photos.  She does not talk, only makes noises, but she uses non-verbal communication very well.  We were able to Skype with Mom, Elliott, Penny, Kitty, Corgan and Mrs. Shaw last night (how wonderful it was!), and she showed off her "No" hand wave.  It's very dismissive (and funny for now).

 

We are having feeding issues in that she has an unstopable appetite, and I'm trying to ensure she isn't overindulging as a result of orphanage living.  She is literally eating more than me at meals, though my nerves are the best appetite suppressant on this earth.  She has showed me her temper a few times already, but she's also given us some laughs.  There are other times she gets mad for a reason we don't understand, and she starts slamming her toys down.  Again, funny for now. 

 

Leah, the other adoptive mom here, lent me a computer charger, so I hope to be back blogging with regular frequency tomorrow.  Right now I've gotten out of bed by a call from our local guide to review paperwork, so I guess I better get to it.

Here She Is

I need to first warn you all about how very tiny she is.  I thought I was prepared; I was not.  But here she is!

 

 

When we went in the room, she did not want to go to me of course, but after we started pulling out toys she was slightly interested.  You may noticed a piece of red and black candy in her hand; it was hours before she would turn it loose.  When we had to call the nanny back in to ask questions, and then the nanny had to leave, she did cry (which I know is a good sign that she has had good relationships).  She didn't cry very long but sulked.  And bless her heart, her little chest was visibly breathing she was so scared.

 

When we got back to the room we played for a few minutes and then I broke out the puffs, which she really liked.  I then made her a bowl of rice cereal, and she was very serious about that.  Then we went to the hotel restaurant for Doug to eat, and she ate rice down there.  Her appetite is very good.  She quickly let us know she didn't like her bottle of water with just a little juice in it, waving that right hand any time she doesn't want something.

 

As indicated in her report, she does NOT like a bath.  I couldn't get her teeny, tiny body into that inflatable tub.  We ended up with an awkward sponge bath.

 

We have to return to the Civil Affairs Office this morning to officially sign the papers.  I'm very nervous about taking her back there since it will be a bad memory.  Luckily her nanny won't be there, and that was the main cause of her upset yesterday.

 

She is waking up now (slept well but moved 360 like the hand of the clock all night), but I know this waking up is very hard for her.  More to come.

The Jade Factory & Hutong Lane

Our next stop on Friday was the jade factory.  Jerry had given us a great talk about the significance of it, and then when we arrived we were given an educational tour.  The silk tour we went on Saturday did the same thing, and I will admit being knowledgeable about the products makes you want to buy them more, but also it helps us to understand China more.

The maroon statue is a pixu, or money dragon, made up of parts of various animals (that Uncle Bunky is a plagiariser!).  People like to have the pixu in their homes because it helps save money because the pixu eats "but never poo poo".  So, money goes in but never leaves :)

The boat, which is made from one piece of jade, took 3 workers 2 years to make.  Very big and very impressive1

We heard a lot about the 2008 Olympics.  Here is a picture of the jade that was inlaid on the medals.  It was very important to China for the medals to have a piece of Chinese culture on them.

Here is our guide "Andy" showing us the family ball.  It was what the worker were working on in the first few pictures.  From right to left shows the 4 stages the jade must go through.  When complete, the ball has 2 spheres, one inside the other, yet it's still made from 1 piece of jade.  It symbolizes the strength of the family.  We bought a smaller version, and it's the only thing we bought in the showroom.  Real jade is quite pricey!

Here are some pictures of other items for sale, all made from single piece of jade:

The Terra Cotta Warrior (which we will be seeing the real thing this week!) was $53,500, and the table was a whopping $480,000!

The most expensive kind of jade is jadeite, and it's the kind that changes color when you wear it.

Oh, we also had lunch on the second floor of the jade factory, which was served family-style via the biggest lazy susan you've ever seen.  However, our plates were the size of salad plates.  (The next day at another family-style lunch, our plates were saucers.  It's pretty clear to me why our country has an obesity crisis.)

Next we passed the Olympic Village, the veniew for tennis (I think?), the water cube, and the bird's nest (where the opening and closing ceremonies were held).  I failed miserably at a picture of the bird's nest.

So, we still were not done with our Friday outings.  Our next stop was Hutong Lane, the old downtown...or as my mind immediately characterized it: "the have nots".  We rode rickshaws (Spelling?) through this area.  I quickly noticed public bathrooms on pretty much every block; most people in this area do not have their own "wash rooms".  We rode down alleys, where we narrowly avoided hitting cars, other rickshaws, people, etc. 

This excursion was also the first time we were hounded by vendors, who followed us on our tour.  We stopped at the below house for Jerry to explain to us.  This door way is in far contrast to everything else we saw in this area.  Notice the 4 posts above the door - those indicate that the house behind was owned by the highest ranking people.

We stopped at a house to meet some local people.  I immediately noticed they had 2 posts above their door.  The inside was as tiny as it looked.  We entered through a dining room (the kitchenette was to the right), then passed into the sitting room.  It had a very large flat screen TV, but no couch only stools.  This family had a private washroom, and very steep stairs led up to 2 bedrooms above us.  Turns out this guy is a kung fu master, and his older son lives in Houston, TX (he gave us all a card on him).  It was an extremy interesting experience.

Doug and I had been awake since 1:30 am, so we were barely capable of talking on the bus ride back.  After room service, we were in bed by 6 pm.

Notes: On Saturday we went to orientation in the hotel and had lunch, then went to Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the silk factory.  I will post this at some point, but the laptop battery is getting low, and none of the adapters have a 3-prong plug.  I'm hoping I can borrow one from the hotel, but I'm saving the battery for the much-awaited AnnHelen posts.  I am typing this at 4 am Sunday morning, and we are leaving Beijing today for Xian, Shaanxi at 8 am.  TODAY IS GOTCHA DAY!!!

The Great Wall

We left our hotel Friday morning in the rain to travel 1.5 hours by bus to The Great Wall.  Our tour group was made up of 3 other families;

• Eric, Kathy, Bonnie (Kathy's mother, who has relatives in Pheba, MS!), and their 3 bio children; Julianna, Lawson and Preston
• Kevin, Lynette, and Eileen (Lynette's mother)
• Dave and Lori (left their 3 bio tween girls home)

Jerry, our guide for Friday and Saturday, told us so much about Chinese history and culture on the way there.  I see now why one of the recommended items to bring was an audio recorder; wish I had listened. 

Jerry is the first generation in his family to fall under the 1 child rule.  He told us that since his girlfriend is also an only child, that when they marry they will be allowed to have 2 children.  He also explained about the different ethnic groups.  He is of the majority (Han), which comprises 90% of the population.  Our driver represented one of the ethnic minorities.  If I understood correctly, the ethnic minorities are descendants of former emperors (prior to Han dynasty).  You could definitely tell a difference in their physical characteristics as well as a man we met later in the day (more to come on him).

When we arrived at The Great Wall, Jerry explained that there was the flat path and the climbing path.  I immediately said, "I want to go UP!" 

We were glad to see it was not raining when we arrived, but it was very foggy/misty.  Before turning us loose, he cautioned us many times to be careful.  Doug, Dave, Lori and I started the trek up, and we quickly realized why.  The surface of the stones was very uneven from settling.  But the worst part was the inconsistency of the height of the steps.  No joke, the height varied from 2 inches to 2 feet.  You would be climbing along and be taking tiny step, normal step, normal step, BIG step, etc.  The closer we got to the topmost building (yep, we climbed all the way to the one you can see at the very top), the more you could feel the change in atmosphere.  We huffed and puffed and sweated through our clothes.  But it was awesome. 

One thing we noticed was the insanity of the shoes the Chinese women wore.  There were women climbing in heels.  It was tricky enough in tennis shoes!

 I was actually a tiny bit disappointed, but I think it was because I was expecting to be able to get a panoramic view of the wall stretching for many, many miles.  The mist made it hard to see very far off.  However, it was worth arriving a day early for this experience.

Next up, the jade factory...

The Endless Travel

We woke up at 12 am on Wednesday, June 27, and left our house at 1:20 am to drive to the MEM airport.  We were operating on less than 3 hours of sleep at that point, not to mention I've been having trouble sleeping in anticipation for about a week.  We had a smooth drive to Memphis, arriving at the airport at 3:40 am, obeying orders to be there 3 hours in advance.  You might want to note for your own good that the signage for long-term parking there is confusing.  If you know you want the Economy lot, do NOT follow the long-term parking signs.  I think it's a trick ;)  Anyhoo, as I suspected, no flight counters are open at the time of morning, but us and the other obedient passengers waited for ~30 mins to get checked in.  You will notice a pattern of hurry up and wait, much like this entire adoption process, ha.

We flew out of MEM at 6:30 am.  I had started getting stuffy the night before, and I was determined to take an Advil Congestion before the flight.  Unfortunately, a lack of sleep makes me nauseated, so I could only get down 2 nabs to take the medicine.  Not a great combo, resulting in me not having sinus issues on the plane but being very queasy.  I actually slept for the whole 1.5 hour flight. 

We arrived in Chicago at 8:30 am, and thankfully my system had leveled out.  Y'all, ATL really has a leg up on so many airports when it comes to terminal-to-terminal transport.  We were driven across the "airplane parking lot" in a shuttle.  It felt like we were a ridiculous pawn in a board game.  We also saw a plane being towed in accompanied by emergency vehicles.  You can imagine Doug's response.  Once settled in the international terminal, we used the 3.5 hour wait to get in a good bit of walking in anticipation of the sitting to come.  I also had to purchase a 2-pack of ink pens since (cross fingers that this is the only thing) I forgot to pack one.  The price ensures I will never make that mistake again.  The ridiculous thing is that I removed an entire handful from the backpack that Leigh-Ann lent us.  Shaking head.

I knew that we were in the second to last row on the plane from Chicago to Beijing, but I refrained from telling Doug until the last minute.  He's a little like Elliott in that I have to sometimes strategically tell him things ;)  I did feel bad that he somehow missed the last 6 months of conversation about the price of plane tickets, and he thought we were not in Economy.  Then he kept trying to convince me that surely the seats were somewhat biggger (they are not).  The back of the plane had its advantages (near 2 lavatories and some extra space for stretching) and disadvantage (felt the takeoff, landing and turbulence more), but overall it was a great location.

Our seatmate (window) was a nice man who only once violated my arm rest space.  I, on the other hand, (middle) may have accidentally violated his space more than once.  Doug (aisle) only elbowed the flight attendant's rear end that one time (giggle).  Erica thought we should wear compression stockings, much to the disgruntlement of Doug.  Can't you just see us pulling those on in the gate area in the Chicago airport?  :)  She also stressed, as did a faculty member I work with, the importance of moving around on long flights.  I'm pretty sure Doug never wants to hear me say, "Get up and stretch your legs," ever again.   

I really thought that as tired as we both were that we could get some serious sleep on this plane.  Wrong.  Doug slept maybe an hour near the end.  I never slept more than an hour at one time, but I had the advantage of his shoulder.  He never could get into a comfortable position.  I wish I had a picture of my grasshopper legs in nearly every position I could imagine.  The man next to me was surprisingly limber as well.  Doug, not so much. 

We mainly passed the time watching movies on our seatback screens.  Just for a historical record, Doug watched 21 Jump Street, Hunger Games, and Sherlock Homes.  I watched The Devil Wears Prada (finally) and This Means War.  And surprisingly I didn't even finish one book on my Kindle.  Every time I tried to read my eyes would betray me, and the one-hour nap would begin.  We very much enjoyed watching the map of the plane's progress throughout the flight.  I (and the NE couple we've since met) assumed we would fly as the crow does straight across the Pacific from Chicago to Beijing.  Instead we arched up through Canada, over Alaska, and back down.  Imagine a semicircle because that's exactly what we did. 

I must say the food was pretty good on the flight.  They fed us a hot lunch (beef pot roast ala slightly elevated frozen meal, salad, roll, and brownie) about an hour into the flight, a snack (lemon cookie, pop chips, and a mini HERSHEY BAR!) about halfway through, and another hot lunch (melted turkey sub, chips, cookie) two hours before landing.  They also provided water pretty frequently, which we always partook of - I'm all about some hydration!

We landed in Beijing at 2:20 pm local time on Thursday, June 28, but our bodies were on 1:20 am Central time.  We were able to navigate to Immigration easily, then to baggage claim.  Yes, there is English signage.  As told, our guide had our names on a piece of paper just through the security exit.  It was us and a couple from NE, very nice people.  Our guide was Woo, and he looked like a Chinese Doug! :)  I also had the pleasure of seeing a Chinese mullet!  It took ~40 minutes to arrive at our hotel, Beijing Novotel Peace.  Very nice.  We were all pleasantly suprised at how much vegetation there is in the medians and along the roadsides.  And though yes it is a big city, we all also commented that the traffic isn't as bad as we thought.  Doug pointed out the Guatemala City was worse. 

Our guide not only helped us check in but also saw us all the way to our rooms.  One odd thing: one room key goes in a slot just inside the door to activate the power.  I guess this cuts down on wasting electricity? 

We knew we needed to stay awake to stave off the jet lag, but we were so mentally tired.  We went to the lobby bar/lounge area and enjoyed the view of the street outside and people watching. But my eyes started drooping, and  I was convinced that since we were so behind on sleep that we could go to bed at 6 pm local time since we needed to get up at 5:30 am to get ready for our Friday tour.  Well, I woke up intermittently afraid we would oversleep.  But we both have been up for good since 1:30 am.  Oh well, surely hiking The Great Wall will prepare us for a good night's sleep tonight?!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Preparation

Getting ready....