Another Amazing Day in Beijing

Hi everyone. Sorry I am delayed on my posts, but our days have been so jam-packed that it is hard to find the free time to dedicate to writing and we have been so tired by the time we return to our hotel room. Saturday was yet another amazing day in Beijing. As you can see from the photos, we made our way to the Great Wall of China. It is easy to see why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. To think that it was constructed over 2 and a half thousand years ago is as mind-boggling as the enormity of the structure itself. Despite the chilly 36 degree weather, almost everyone in the group braved the cold and attempted at least a portion of the hike up the wall. Combine the steep incline, cold, wind gusts, ice and snow on the steps, oh yeah and those steps. One step may be 6” inches in height and the very next one nearly 2 feet! Definitely not up to code. Needless to say, it was an aerobic adventure. Most everyone in our group only climbed to the first lookout tower, but Chris, Glen and myself forged on. I made it to the 4th lookout tower and decided that was enough for me and that I would wait there for Chris and Glen to climb the rest of the way (there are 7 towers on the section we climbed) and join them on the decent for safety reasons. I was so afraid I would slip and fall on the ice on the way down. While waiting there, I became increasingly cold and decided that I would continue to walk at a leisurely pace up the wall until I ran into Chris and Glen. Well, I made it to the 5th tower and no Chris or Glen. I continued on and made it to the 6th tower and still no Chris or Glen. I started on my way to the last tower but quickly stopped when I saw that the incline was such that Chris and Glen on their way down, were having to walk sideways, bent over with both hands on the railing. That was enough for me! Oh yeah, and there are gift shops at almost every tower. I couldn’t imagine having to walk up the wall everyday in that cold for work!

Along with our visit to the Great Wall, we stopped at a government owned Jade Factory. We have now learned that “government owned” = expensive! Supposedly, the authenticity and quality at a government owned factory is guaranteed, where it is not at a local store. They had many beautiful items and we learned how to identify real jade from the fakes. Everyone back home would be so proud of me. I have shown great restraint when it comes to shopping. As Beijing is a major city (14 million people) the prices are quite expensive. The 2 families who have adopted from China previously keep a close eye on me and tell me everything I want I will be able to get in Guangzhou for a fraction of what it costs in Beijing.

Along with the Great Wall and the Jade Factory we had another delicious lunch, went to a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, the Olympic Village (saw the bird’s next and water cube) and then to a Chinese acrobatic show that would have had Mr. Milo saying WHAAAAAT! It was amazing the things they did the positions they contorted their bodies into.

We departed Beijing on Sunday morning and took an hour flight to Zengzhou (pronounced zen-jo) which is the capital city of the Henan province. This is where we and the other 4 families will get our babies. When we landed it was a chilly 32 degrees and snowing. They closed the highway due to fog, so we hung out in the airport for about an hour waiting for our adoption agency rep to arrive. Zengzhou, while not nearly as modern as Beijing is still a large city (8 million people). The plan is that we go to the registration official’s office at 9:30am on Monday morning (that is 5:30pm Sunday in SD) where the orphanage directors and possibly the nannies will deliver our babies to us. The foster families will not come as they prohibit interaction between the foster families and adoptive families. We will have a few minutes to ask questions about our new babies and then the directors and nannies will leave. I am unusually calm right now as I type this a mere 4 hours before we get our daughter, but am sure the nerves will kick in shortly. Good bye for now. The next post will be when we have Dani in our arms!