A more Official version of day 2 (aka October 12)

Well, after a good night's sleep, I am feeling much more rested, but much more anxious than I was last night. My husband wrote a post describing exactly how I feel here. (The link to his blog page with daily updates is here.) We meet Kate in only a few hours, and my stomach is completely tied up in knots.


So, to distract myself, I am going to write about our adventures yesterday. We have been traveling with three other families. We spent the day on Saturday together, and they are a great group of people. There are two couples (Bob & Casey and Mike & Bette), and then a lady (Patty)traveling with her mom (Debbie) and daughter (Emily). Her hubby and other kids are at home anxiously awaiting their return. Patty and family had to catch an earlier flight out of Beijing, so they left us shortly after breakfast. The rest of us loaded up with one of our guides and headed to Tian An Men Square. It was just like in the pictures - completely packed with people, and bigger than you can imagine. Yesterday really gave me an idea of how huge China's population is. You can't move without bumping into someone.

Will rode on my back much of the day, and once again the kids were celebrities. People were patting their heads and following them around with video cameras. I have to say, the novelty has worn off and we are tired of it now. (Our new guide says it will be worse here in Nanjing. Oh goody.)

This is a picture of our group, minus Patty's family. The man next to Mimi is random. The longer we stood there, the more Chinese people kept jumping into our photo. It was just one of those moments were you just kind of laugh and roll with it, so we told our guide it was fine. Keep taking pictures!

Anyway, after the square we walked across the street to the Forbidden City, the royal home and place of government during the time of the emporers (pre-1912). We were just swallowed up in a sea of people. We developed a system where the middle person who could see the guide would hold up their hand so that the people in back could follow. You can see part of the sea of people in the photo below, although this really doesn't do it justice.

At one point we tried to get near the main palace (in photo above) but it was impossible. There was a huge mob of people pushing and shoving to get a glimpse of the inside. So we pushed and shoved to get out of there. Below is a photo of me and Will on the bridge going into one of the palace courtyards. I remember seeing this bridge in a textbook photo as a child, and I had always wanted to see it in person. That was probably the highlight of my trip to the Forbidden City.

Tim, in his blog, did a good job of describing the political contrast of Tian An Men Square and the Forbidden City. But I also think that part of the popularity of the Forbidden City lies in the fact that this system of royal privilege and lavishness has been abolished and the current government doesn't use this as its model. I don't think I am explaining that well. It is hard to put it into words here, but it was all very interesting. Maybe I will try when we get home. What am I saying? I am going to have a new daughter when I get home!!

After the city, we were taken to the airport. We got through security fine, found a place to eat (thank you, Flavor Tang), and found our gate. When we boarded the plane, it was very hot and people were sweating accordingly. You get the picture...ummm...smell. Thankfully, Will and I fell asleep, and we landed shortly. We had gate checked the stroller, and normally they meet you at the gate with it when you get off the plane, but it wasn't there. So we went to baggage claim and it wasn't there either. We waited and waited. Finally, Tim starts to ask people where it should be. They all point to the baggage carousel. I went back to the gate thinking maybe it was delivered later. I talked to three different people - in Mandarin, no less! Side note- I have been listening to Mandarin CDs trying to learn some basic phrases. They finally came in handy! So the extent of my Mandarin is "Excuse me, do you speak English?" and "Where is...? It is over there. It is not over there. It is here." Etc. I can also say baby. So I kept saying "baby" and pantomiming me pushing a stroller. Everyone thought I was nuts, I am sure. So one lady looks like she knows what she is doing, although the only English word she knew was "bag", so I followed her. She took me back to baggage claim and pointed at the carousel again. At this point I was so frustrated. I kept saying in Mandarin, "It is not there." (Later our guide tells me that I was speaking Beijing Mandarin which is different from Nanjing Mandarin. Great.) We were on a different level from baggage claim, standing above the carousel. Finally I spotted Tim, and he is pushing Will in the stroller. I had to laugh. I thanked the lady (in Mandarin), and joined my group. Apparently, it was labelled oversized baggage and was delivered in a different spot. It had been sitting there the whole time. (BTW, please don't think I am bragging because I learned a bit of Mandarin. I am trying to show how bad I am at it!)

We find our guide (who calls herself Kate) and board the bus. Kate is 23 and has been a guide for awhile, but this is her first adoptive family. She is very sweet. And I am sure it will be fine (in other words, pray for us.)

She brought us to the Mandarin Garden Hotel. This is the kind of place where people use the lobby to take wedding photos. They were doing that when we arrived. We met a nice man from Virginia who is here for his fourth adoption, and he gave us his room number in case we need anything. Thanks, Brandon and Nicole!

Anyway, our room is a massive suite. It enters into a kitchen/dining/living area, where we have a microwave (yay!) and a fridge that sort of works. There are two separate bedrooms and two separate bathrooms. It is perfect for our family. Of course, the beds are hard as rocks and I haven't tried the breakfast yet, but I am happy. And scared out of my mind. Have I mentioned we meet Kate in less than 3 hours?

Tim and I slept a full eight hours, but the boys woke up at 3:40 am (poor Mom!). I have a feeling this may be a day of meltdowns for more people than Kate. Now, we are off to breakfast and then we meet the guide. Actually I am not sure I can eat breakfast, but I guess I need to try. I have no idea when I will get to post again, but I will try. Love to all.