Day Zero and Day 1…

Day Zero = November 1, 2012. I call it Day Zero because we completely missed it. Left Chicago on October 31^st at 10pm, arrived Beijing, November 2, 1am. Kind of cool. Great flight. Much easier than I thought it would be. Not much to tell. We all slept the first half, got fed 3 times and watched a couple movies. Rolled thru immigration at 1:30am, grabbed our bags, then a 30 minute ride to the hotel. Crashed around 3am. Total travel time: 26 hours.

 

Day 1. Up at 6:30am. Only 3 hours of sleep, but wasn’t so bad. Had a great western breakfast downstairs. Bacon, Fried eggs, scrambled eggs and rice, sausage, watermelon, orange juice… all the good stuff. Great way to start the day. Another adopting parent from Kentucky, Elizabeth and her mom, sat at our table. We met the rest of our group on the bus.

 

Our guides were great. Michael and George. To keep us all together and not knowing all of our names, they gave our group the nickname, Sticky Rice. It was funny hearing George say, “OK sticky Rice, follow me.” Day started by visiting Hutong City, an old section of Beijing, and rode in a rickshaw.. Then everyone was invited into a local’s 150 year old home and visited with a family member with a tour of the house. Next, we toured the government run Silk Factory. Yes, of course Kerry bought something for me to carry. Hunter got a change purse for Kerry and some Angry Birds Chopsticks. Afterwards, lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Shocker.

 

 

 

The afternoon we walked Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Today was definitely a heavier pollution day. The Square was interesting with all the government buildings, but the Forbidden City was awesome. Like nothing I’ve every seen. Just so massive in size. As a group, we got a lot of attention, especially the two little 6 year old blondes. Many people were taking photos with the individuals in our group, my locals never saw a blonde before. Back to the hotel by 5pm. By 6 we were all hungry. Our intentions were Chinese, but our big, first dinner in Beijing…. 2 Big Macs, a Chicken Sandwich, Fries and Cokes. I’m pushing for the Hard Rock tomorrow. Going to bed early. Bus leaves for the Great Wall at 7:45.

 

It was a good day. Great meeting our group and hearing about everyone’s children, present and future. All the families are so very nice. I’m looking forward to meeting their new additions also. Hunter is enjoying himself and traveling well. He has been very talkative with the other families and spending time with him on this trip has been really enjoyable. Kerry and I are soaking it all in. One day closer…