Our First Full Day in Beijing
We are having a wonderful time, but naturally we are counting the minutes until we see Louis! This morning at the end of our information session, we received two new photos of Louis, and we could hardly tear our eyes off of them to go on the tour of the Forbidden City afterward. I told John I just wanted to sit in the hotel room for a few hours and look at them. But we know tomorrow we will have him in our arms.
And, although it is hard to compete with the first new photos of our son we have seen in 11 months, the Forbidden City was amazing. It was a little cold, especially for two people who stubbornly refused to carry winter coats 6,800 miles just so we could have them for a 48-hour visit to Beijing. But the architecture was beautiful and so ornate--and colorful. And the history is so rich. It makes American history seem so brief. I can't wait to share photos, but I have to hope that the business center in Changsha is more compatible than the one in Beijing.
Less exciting than our new photos of Louis is news that I have purchased my first flyswatter in China. I certainly have many Chinese-made flyswatters in my collection, but this is the first one bought in China. I will post a photo as soon as I can figure out what I am doing wrong with the computer here. The flyswatter itself is rather drab, but the cashier laughed almost hysterically when she overheard me telling one of the adoptive dads that I collect flyswatters. And I noticed the price went up as a result. A collector's item surely is worth more than a flyswatter bought in December!
The food here has been delicious. Our breakfast buffet featured American and Chinese food. I could probably get tired of lo mein and dumplings for breakfast, but it didn't happen this morning. Then we had a Chinese lunch, and we ate everything except some gelatinized squares. Everyone is so, so nice, and they all seem to be excited for us that we are here to bring our son home.
We are fortunate to be part of a great group of couples, and we are the largest group traveling together to our province. The other two couples traveling to Hunan Province are adopting 21-month-old girls, so Louis will have some playmates in the hotel there. Then we all head to Guangzhou, which sounds like a vacation--aside from the time worrying about filling out forms for the U.S. Consulate. That is the part of the trip we are most looking forward to--although right now all we can think about is tomorrow and meeting our son!
And, although it is hard to compete with the first new photos of our son we have seen in 11 months, the Forbidden City was amazing. It was a little cold, especially for two people who stubbornly refused to carry winter coats 6,800 miles just so we could have them for a 48-hour visit to Beijing. But the architecture was beautiful and so ornate--and colorful. And the history is so rich. It makes American history seem so brief. I can't wait to share photos, but I have to hope that the business center in Changsha is more compatible than the one in Beijing.
Less exciting than our new photos of Louis is news that I have purchased my first flyswatter in China. I certainly have many Chinese-made flyswatters in my collection, but this is the first one bought in China. I will post a photo as soon as I can figure out what I am doing wrong with the computer here. The flyswatter itself is rather drab, but the cashier laughed almost hysterically when she overheard me telling one of the adoptive dads that I collect flyswatters. And I noticed the price went up as a result. A collector's item surely is worth more than a flyswatter bought in December!
The food here has been delicious. Our breakfast buffet featured American and Chinese food. I could probably get tired of lo mein and dumplings for breakfast, but it didn't happen this morning. Then we had a Chinese lunch, and we ate everything except some gelatinized squares. Everyone is so, so nice, and they all seem to be excited for us that we are here to bring our son home.
We are fortunate to be part of a great group of couples, and we are the largest group traveling together to our province. The other two couples traveling to Hunan Province are adopting 21-month-old girls, so Louis will have some playmates in the hotel there. Then we all head to Guangzhou, which sounds like a vacation--aside from the time worrying about filling out forms for the U.S. Consulate. That is the part of the trip we are most looking forward to--although right now all we can think about is tomorrow and meeting our son!
Guangzhou was a little like a vacation as there was not much that had to be done adoption-wise, but I sure enjoyed our son's province much more than Guangzhou.
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you to meet your son!!!!