Before I begin about our day, I need to write a few quirky things about our hotel here in Beijing, The Jianguo Hotel, so that I won't forget them. Our hotel room is 336 so we have to take the elevator to get to it. Who knew that getting on an elevator would be so difficult?! The elevator doors stay open long enough for one person to get on and then the doors shut quickly! When the doors begin shutting, they don't have a sensor to know that someone else is getting in. Cue the banging on our arms! I'm surprised we don't have bruises all over our arms. The doors will open after the hit you. We have learned to run onto the elevator now. You also have to use your room key in order to push the button of your floor.
The first night here, I noticed we only had 2 towels and 2 washcloths. I called housekeeping and asked for 1 more towel and 1 more wash cloth. We were shocked to hear our doorbell ring just minutes later. There was a lady standing there with just a towel. (Sidenote, the towels are the size of our beach towels and I love that!). I asked her if we could also have a wash cloth. She looked so confused so I started playing charades with her(Alana was in the shower so I couldn't show her what I was talking about). Finally she asked me to follow her and we went to the laundry room. She showed me a hand towel and I said, "No, smaller." She then looked like she understood and told me she would be right back. A few minutes later, she showed up in our room with a "Face Cloth". The next night I had to call again for 1 towel and 1 face cloth. A lady showed up again with 2 towels, 2 hand towels, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and 2 toothbrushes. Ugh! I started the whole charades game again. Eventually we got what we needed.
We are missing American TV although we have been entertained by the many singing competitions that are showing on most stations here. I finally found CNN so that will do for now.
We are not using the tap water to brush our teeth. We are using bottled water and boiling water in our room to use. Turning the faucet on is a really hard habit to break. Alana forgot and put her toothbrush in the water so I threw it away.
Our day began today visiting Tiananmen Square. It is the square outside of the Forbidden City and is the largest public square in the world measuring 4 million square feet. There is a building in the square that houses the body of Mao, the cruel leader that founded the People's Repubic of China in 1949. While we were listening to our guide give us information about the square, a Chinese couple came up and stood by our group. I quickly noticed the pointing at David's feet and talking to each other looking very confused. I think they had never seen size 14 feet and were shocked! It was so funny to watch their facial expressions.
We got a group picture before walking into the Forbidden City. I love this picture so much because this is a group of different people from all over the US that have sacrificed so much, left family behind, taken time away from jobs and suffered through fundraising and paperwork who all have one thing in common...to rescue an orphan. I look forward to reuniting with them in Guangzhou and see baby boys in all of our arms!
We continued through the Forbidden City. I thought it was funny to see basketball goals in the outside courtyard. It made me immediately think of my Avery and how he would be begging to go play if he were with us. We ended up going through 2 large courtyards before getting into the actual city. I can't even put into words how large and thick the gates and walls to the city are, so hopefully my pictures captured it. The roofs of the buildings were pure gold. The architecture was gorgeous! We were able to look into the palace but not go inside.
While waiting outside the palace, people began asking Alana and her friend Karis if their children could get a picture with them. The girls loved this. I kept thinking that it was so funny that they wanted their picture because they were Americans, then remembered I had been stalking their Chinese children as well, but without asking permission for their pictures=)
I also got the opportunity while we were in the city to talk with another couple in our group that are doctors. I told them about Aiden's special need and told them the specialist and hospital we have chosen for him. She told me we had chosen the absolute best care for him because she had actually done her residency there. I have been doubting myself the closer we get to receiving Aiden about truly being ready to meet his needs. This was some encouragement that I really needed to hear. It is also comforting to know that she and her husband will be close by if I need a doctor's opinion once we get him and can evaluate his needs. Thank you Jesus for constantly reminding us that you go before us and will never leave us!
As we left the Forbidden City and were walking to our bus, there were many disabled people on the streets begging for money. I began to cry thinking that this is what happens to children with special needs in orphanage that are never adopted and age out of the system at 14 years old. These are people that could have been adopted, given a much better life, and know that Jesus love them. It was so heartbreaking.
As we were leaving, I began feeling very sick. I felt nauseous and dizzy and it was just a scary feeling. Alana and David began taking great care of me. Alana used her fan to try to cool me off while David gave me meds, water, and just rubbed my shoulders. I knew we had such a fun afternoon planned but wasn't sure if I could keep going. This lasted for about two hours but finally I began feeling human again (and then couldn't get the song "Human Again" out of my head after telling someone that). I'm so thankful because I would have been so sad to miss the upcoming events.
Our next stop was a ride on the rickshaws for the Hutong Tour. Alana and I rode together and it was a fun ride. David rode with our guide, Tom. Again we were weaving in and out of traffic so it was a little unnerving, but we made it safely to our destination.
We had the privilege or eating in a Chinese family's home. Unfortunately I still couldn't eat so I missed out, but Alana and David loved it! I am so proud of Alana and her willingness to try different foods on this trip.
After lunch we toured a courtyard home and then found an exercise park while waiting on our rickshaws. The kids enjoyed getting to play some. There is a family here that brought their son and daughter and Alana has enjoyed getting to know them.
We went to a tea house next and were given a demonstration and tasting of different teas. This was one of our favorite things. The tea was delicious and we laughed a lot while watching the kids taste the different teas. Again, so proud of Alana for jumping in and participating in everything. After the tasting, we bought a beautiful tea kettle and tea cups to have displayed and use back home. They have a dragon on it so we thought this would be another beautiful piece of Aiden's culture to have in our home.
Our final stop of the day was the acrobatic show. We walked into the building and smelled popcorn, so we went straight to the concession stand. We bought a Coke Zero (be still my heart) and a bag of microwaved popcorn. It was the best and made us think we were back home for a moment! While waiting on the show, there was a lady in front of us that turned around and asked if we were American. The next thing we knew, she was trying to discreetly take our picture. She raise her phone above her head like taking a selfie and Alana and I could see our faces on the phone. Alana and I posed and smiled and she took the picture then turned around and gave us a big smile.
Well, if you drink a whole Coke Zero, chances are you need to potty. If you are in China when you need to potty, chances are you will be using a squatty potty. I sucked it up and went potty. So here is another tip...start training now for squatty potties. My legs felt like jelly again afterwards! TMI??
The acrobatic show was so entertaining! The show ended with bikes riding in the big ball like you see at the circus, but they kept adding more and more bikes! It was so scary. There ended up being 8 bikes in there at one time! Crazy!!
When we got back to the hotel, we decided to go to dinner with another family in our group. We took them to the same restaurant we went to last night where we ate for $11 total. We really enjoyed our time with them and look forward to meeting up again in Guangzhou.
Another great day! I am starting to get a lot of butterflies about meeting Aiden! Please continue to pray that God will prepare his heart for what he is about to experience and that we will be able to meet his medical needs!
So long Beijing!
I'll add pics when we have better connection.
The first night here, I noticed we only had 2 towels and 2 washcloths. I called housekeeping and asked for 1 more towel and 1 more wash cloth. We were shocked to hear our doorbell ring just minutes later. There was a lady standing there with just a towel. (Sidenote, the towels are the size of our beach towels and I love that!). I asked her if we could also have a wash cloth. She looked so confused so I started playing charades with her(Alana was in the shower so I couldn't show her what I was talking about). Finally she asked me to follow her and we went to the laundry room. She showed me a hand towel and I said, "No, smaller." She then looked like she understood and told me she would be right back. A few minutes later, she showed up in our room with a "Face Cloth". The next night I had to call again for 1 towel and 1 face cloth. A lady showed up again with 2 towels, 2 hand towels, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and 2 toothbrushes. Ugh! I started the whole charades game again. Eventually we got what we needed.
We are missing American TV although we have been entertained by the many singing competitions that are showing on most stations here. I finally found CNN so that will do for now.
We are not using the tap water to brush our teeth. We are using bottled water and boiling water in our room to use. Turning the faucet on is a really hard habit to break. Alana forgot and put her toothbrush in the water so I threw it away.
Our day began today visiting Tiananmen Square. It is the square outside of the Forbidden City and is the largest public square in the world measuring 4 million square feet. There is a building in the square that houses the body of Mao, the cruel leader that founded the People's Repubic of China in 1949. While we were listening to our guide give us information about the square, a Chinese couple came up and stood by our group. I quickly noticed the pointing at David's feet and talking to each other looking very confused. I think they had never seen size 14 feet and were shocked! It was so funny to watch their facial expressions.
We got a group picture before walking into the Forbidden City. I love this picture so much because this is a group of different people from all over the US that have sacrificed so much, left family behind, taken time away from jobs and suffered through fundraising and paperwork who all have one thing in common...to rescue an orphan. I look forward to reuniting with them in Guangzhou and see baby boys in all of our arms!
We continued through the Forbidden City. I thought it was funny to see basketball goals in the outside courtyard. It made me immediately think of my Avery and how he would be begging to go play if he were with us. We ended up going through 2 large courtyards before getting into the actual city. I can't even put into words how large and thick the gates and walls to the city are, so hopefully my pictures captured it. The roofs of the buildings were pure gold. The architecture was gorgeous! We were able to look into the palace but not go inside.
While waiting outside the palace, people began asking Alana and her friend Karis if their children could get a picture with them. The girls loved this. I kept thinking that it was so funny that they wanted their picture because they were Americans, then remembered I had been stalking their Chinese children as well, but without asking permission for their pictures=)
I also got the opportunity while we were in the city to talk with another couple in our group that are doctors. I told them about Aiden's special need and told them the specialist and hospital we have chosen for him. She told me we had chosen the absolute best care for him because she had actually done her residency there. I have been doubting myself the closer we get to receiving Aiden about truly being ready to meet his needs. This was some encouragement that I really needed to hear. It is also comforting to know that she and her husband will be close by if I need a doctor's opinion once we get him and can evaluate his needs. Thank you Jesus for constantly reminding us that you go before us and will never leave us!
As we left the Forbidden City and were walking to our bus, there were many disabled people on the streets begging for money. I began to cry thinking that this is what happens to children with special needs in orphanage that are never adopted and age out of the system at 14 years old. These are people that could have been adopted, given a much better life, and know that Jesus love them. It was so heartbreaking.
As we were leaving, I began feeling very sick. I felt nauseous and dizzy and it was just a scary feeling. Alana and David began taking great care of me. Alana used her fan to try to cool me off while David gave me meds, water, and just rubbed my shoulders. I knew we had such a fun afternoon planned but wasn't sure if I could keep going. This lasted for about two hours but finally I began feeling human again (and then couldn't get the song "Human Again" out of my head after telling someone that). I'm so thankful because I would have been so sad to miss the upcoming events.
Our next stop was a ride on the rickshaws for the Hutong Tour. Alana and I rode together and it was a fun ride. David rode with our guide, Tom. Again we were weaving in and out of traffic so it was a little unnerving, but we made it safely to our destination.
We had the privilege or eating in a Chinese family's home. Unfortunately I still couldn't eat so I missed out, but Alana and David loved it! I am so proud of Alana and her willingness to try different foods on this trip.
After lunch we toured a courtyard home and then found an exercise park while waiting on our rickshaws. The kids enjoyed getting to play some. There is a family here that brought their son and daughter and Alana has enjoyed getting to know them.
We went to a tea house next and were given a demonstration and tasting of different teas. This was one of our favorite things. The tea was delicious and we laughed a lot while watching the kids taste the different teas. Again, so proud of Alana for jumping in and participating in everything. After the tasting, we bought a beautiful tea kettle and tea cups to have displayed and use back home. They have a dragon on it so we thought this would be another beautiful piece of Aiden's culture to have in our home.
Our final stop of the day was the acrobatic show. We walked into the building and smelled popcorn, so we went straight to the concession stand. We bought a Coke Zero (be still my heart) and a bag of microwaved popcorn. It was the best and made us think we were back home for a moment! While waiting on the show, there was a lady in front of us that turned around and asked if we were American. The next thing we knew, she was trying to discreetly take our picture. She raise her phone above her head like taking a selfie and Alana and I could see our faces on the phone. Alana and I posed and smiled and she took the picture then turned around and gave us a big smile.
Well, if you drink a whole Coke Zero, chances are you need to potty. If you are in China when you need to potty, chances are you will be using a squatty potty. I sucked it up and went potty. So here is another tip...start training now for squatty potties. My legs felt like jelly again afterwards! TMI??
The acrobatic show was so entertaining! The show ended with bikes riding in the big ball like you see at the circus, but they kept adding more and more bikes! It was so scary. There ended up being 8 bikes in there at one time! Crazy!!
When we got back to the hotel, we decided to go to dinner with another family in our group. We took them to the same restaurant we went to last night where we ate for $11 total. We really enjoyed our time with them and look forward to meeting up again in Guangzhou.
Another great day! I am starting to get a lot of butterflies about meeting Aiden! Please continue to pray that God will prepare his heart for what he is about to experience and that we will be able to meet his medical needs!
So long Beijing!
I'll add pics when we have better connection.