Trip to China
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Sunday, August 31, 2008 Today was Sunday. We had a great day! We have loved our guide, Rebecca. She has been wonderful! Ian and I ventured bright and early to the breakfast buffet here at the hotel. One advantage of our slightly messed up sleep schedule is that we are awake by about 3:00 a.m. and have no trouble getting an early start on the day :) A Chinese breakfast buffet is quite different than what we find at Embassy Suites when we take the kids to Disneyland. They served corn on the cob, rice noodles, all different kinds of bread and dumplings, a couple different kinds of congee, fruit, yogurt that you drink from a straw, all sorts of vegetables and meats. There were many things we didn’t recognize (and I didn’t try). But, there was plenty to choose from and it really was very good! There were even signs posted on the tables that said, “Watch your portion size”. The dining area overlooks a beautiful lake called West Lake . After breakfast, our guide took us to a Baptist church. We were able to attend their services with about 2,000-3,000 young people and families. Our guide told us that the church was built entirely from donations and can accommodate 6,000 people. It was raining quite hard when we arrived. But through the rain, thousands of people made their way to the church on bicycles and mopeds. I was really glad we went. It was a great experience! Our guide also took us to a grocery store called Tesco. I thought it might be a little like Costco, but it wasn’t. It was more the size of a very large grocery store. We stocked up on a few supplies for the week. We bought bottled water, yogurt drinks for Sophie, some egg crackers that Rebecca said that all the babies love, Pringles and gum. Ian bought some sweet/spicy Pringles and some tomato Pringles. There were even some that were blueberry flavored. We bought the kids some gum and Chinese suckers to bring home. I had a great time taking pictures of all the different products and could have actually spent a lot longer just looking around. I got quite a few stares from grocery clerks probably wondering what I was doing taking pictures of cereal and soda pop :) For lunch, Rebecca took us to a Noodle House that she said has been there for more than 100 years. She taught Ian how to order while I saved us a table. Ian said everyone behind the counter was yelling and that they seemed very upset. But Rebecca just smiled and said that they aren’t mad, it’s just their way. We had dumplings, wonton soup and noodles. Rebecca taught us how to dip our dumplings in vinegar. It was really very good! While there, I saw a darling little girl walking around in split pants. Her dad seemed so proud of her and kept smiling at me. Maybe he could tell that I thought she was so CUTE! We are getting quite a few stares mostly from the older folks and children. The kids are quick to offer a greeting in English when they see us. Walking back from lunch, we passed a lot of shops. We found one that sells beautiful fans with scenes of West Lake on them. I think we’ll go back to get one for Sophie later this week. West Lake really is beautiful with lots of trees and greenery around it. There is a dancing water show there every night that we are going to try to go to it later as well. When we arrived back to the hotel, Rebecca helped us complete some paperwork for the adoption. She gave us details about what to expect, how long we’d be there and what to bring. Apparently, if it is not raining too much :), we will walk the 15 minutes to the Civil Affairs Office with all our documents, eight gifts for the orphanage officials, a baby bag, camera, camcorder, etc. Hopefully, Sophie will be content in our arms on the way back to the hotel as we are sure to draw lots of attention if she is crying and upset. This mama is prepared with all sorts of tricks in the baby bag, so I am hopeful for a smooth transition. I pray she will feel how much we love her! Around 3:00 p.m. , Ian and I decided to take a short nap and when we woke up it was the middle of the night :) Wow, we didn’t realize how tired we really are! It’s 4:00 in the morning right now and only 5 hours until we meet Sophie for the first time! They will wake Sophie soon I’m sure as it is a 2-3 hour drive to the Civil Affairs Office. She’s almost here…and we can’t wait!

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