Just your basic 10 month old

For anyone who has had a 10 month old, we're pretty much your basic household ... two naps a day, experimenting with foods, playing with toys, dropping things on the floor a million times and looking at one's own reflection. Sounds eerily similar to my 18 month retirement.

Allison loves people of all ages, especially children. We're taking visitors, but with the napping schedule and bedtime schedule, there are just a few short windows of opportunity (and I would at least like to have regular clothes on and my teeth brushed). Feel free to call for an appointment.
: )

Here are some recent pictures.

All our best!
Darcie, Steve & Allison

Allison is doing great!

I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this blog, but just in case we'll post what has been happening since Tuesday.

Steve went back to work on Thursday and sensing her mother could not handle another 3 a.m. wake-up, Allison cut the old gal some slack. She slept from 9:30 pm until 4:30 am (and pushed the volume of the Huggies diaper to the limit). Allison has been taking 2 naps a day and usually has to be awakened. But she always wakes up happy, and we're all thankful that she likes her crib and will actually sleep in it.

Friday at 10 a.m. was Allison's "official" 1o month check up/doctor's visit and was Darcie's first solo flight leaving the house with a baby (for the record, she arrived 5 minutes early for the appointment AND managed to brush her teeth before she left). Allison is pretty much over her flu, so this was just the standard work-up. It has been determined that Darcie no longer needs to walk on the treadmill for exercise as preparing and dressing a baby to leave the house, then keeping her content at the doctor's office is its own form of exercise (and wrangling her into her pink snow suit takes it up a notch). Another form of exercise is changing a crib sheet - producing sweat and an upper body workout. As far as the doctor is concerned, we need to have some blood tests to see if we must to repeat any vaccines, as well as a renal ultrasound to ensure there was no melamine exposure (just to be safe - we don't think there was any exposure). Also, Allison weighs in at 15 lbs 8 oz and is 28 inches long. That's the 50th percentile for height and under the 5th percentile for weight. Allison is starting to eat a lot more and is taking 4-5 bottles a day, so we should be improving on the weight number by her 1 year visit.

Here are some "never before-seen" pictures and video for your viewing pleasure.

We're still working it out

"They" say that for every hour in time change, it takes a day to get back to normal. China being 14 hours different than Illinois, we have at least another week before we can attempt a more predictable sleep schedule. The other families in our adoption group are going through the same ordeal - which means we're all up, from Connecticut to California, from about 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.! We slept until 10:30 this morning - something I haven't done since college. Funny how quickly the day goes when you're in pajamas until 1 pm.

Yesterday we took our first trip to one of Darcie's favorite spots - the mall. It was mainly an opportunity to get out of the house and test drive the stroller, which can't be done outside right now. It was also an opportunity to take Allison somewhere she wouldn't be stuck with a needle (although Steve would rather be stuck with needles than go to the mall). Steve rode in the back seat with Allison to keep her company. Upon being put into the car seat, she stared ahead blankly as if to say, "I didn't ask for ANY of this." All in all we deemed the outing a success as it took only 2 attempts to seat her in the stroller and she lasted 45 minutes before fussing ensued (Cheerios were invoked for the final 5 minutes). It was also a success because Darcie found a really cute red/brown velour hoodie for Allison on sale for $5.98 at Baby Gap (can you tell who is writing this entry?).

By and large all is going well. Allison is certainly feeling better, eating more and inching out of her shell more and more all the time.

Red Couch Photos

It is a tradition among families who adopt from China to stay at the White Swan hotel on Shamian Island, Guangzhou and take a picture of the girls in the adoption group on one of the hotel's red couches wearing their new Chinese traditional dresses. You have only a few seconds to drop your daughter on the couch, back away and snap the picture before crying, crawling and general mayhem ensues. As you can see, all look a bit stunned and confused. It must have been the 30 or more people yelling brand new names and flashing bright lights in their faces.

Here are some pics and video with the famous red couch:

On the Mend

First things first ... we have received so many kind sentiments, congratulations and well wishes that we want to say how appreciative we are and thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts. We feel so very fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and such supportive family. Although, we've yet to have any takers on changing poopie diapers for us. So, if you REALLY want us to feel loved, just follow your nose on over to 1021 Forest. There's at least one opportunity per day to show how much you care.

Our 3rd and final trip to the doctor's office this morning (at least until a week from now when the regular check up occurs) ended only in a finger prick. This still produced ear-bending screams, but Darcie was quick with a lollipop in Allison's mouth to distract her. Eyes clamped shut, tears starting to flow, horror-movie scream, insert lollipop, one more scream and then "Hey, what's that sweet delicious taste??" Worse than a shot in the leg was taking it away from her to put on her snow suit.

The doctor rechecked Allison's white cell count and it is in the normal range, so there was no need to continue with the antibiotics. Her prior blood test came back positive for Flu A, and we are still waiting for the RSV test and the chest x-ray results. The reduction in symptoms may very well have been coincidental to the antibiotic, not because of it. But the net result is the same - Allison is showing signs of improvement. Frankly I think our doctor was being extra cautious not knowing what we could have brought over from China. For all she knew, we were butchering live ducks and chickens just hours before boarding the plane.

Allison is on China time and we think she is experiencing jet-lag. What gives us this impression? She is bright eyed and bushy tailed around 3 a.m. which would be 5 p.m. in China. We're starting work TODAY on changing this.

So many things that are normal to us are completely foreign to Allison and the other children from China. Our yahoo adoption group have mentioned their babies hate the car seat, pets and high chairs. Allison is tolerating the car seat (minor fussing) but we've only had her in it for 5-10 minutes at a time. She tolerates the high chair, but again we've only subjected her to it for 5-10 minutes and we remove her before any crying begins. We're trying to ease her into all of these new things as much as possible. The one thing she loved in China, taking a bath, has produced some anxiety here. In spite of having a little baby-sized inflatable tub that fits into the bathtub for her, she cries after a few minutes and tries to squirm out of it. We might try the kitchen sink tonight to see if that makes a difference. We don't want bath time to become a struggle both for physical safety and emotional security.

Steve taught Allison how to kiss her bunny rabbit (you know, the open mouth baby kiss, not an actual pucker). Upon saying, "Kiss the bunny," she'll lean over and put her mouth on the bunny's face. Last night, when she was kissing her musical caterpillar, Darcie said, "Can you give mommy a kiss?" and Allison leaned over and planted one right on Darcie's face. The absolute best feeling ever. Not only does she accept love from us, she's giving it back and showing signs of understanding (if not verbally, at least with physical direction).

Darcie's mom went back to her home in Indiana this morning. We were all very sad to see her go (while we know that Becky is also sad, we have a feeling she's looking forward to resuming her life as she knows it). Her moral support, suggestions/ideas and general help will be missed.

We are trying to catch up on mail, email, sleep, etc. so if we have been slow calling or responding to people, we apologize. Hopefully a routine will kick in sometime next week and make life in general a bit more predictable. We also hope to download some more pics from our camera and post some on the blog, so stay tuned for those.

First Pediatrician Visit

We went to the pediatrician today for Allison's first check up and because she still has a fever, runny nose, and raspy cough after 4 days of antibiotics.

The pediatrician did more tests on her than I have had done on me my entire life! Here is what she had done:

• Finger prick blood test
• Blood draw from her wrist
• A shot of antibiotic in her leg with a needle the size of a pencil lead
• Next they sent us to the hospital to get a mucus culture which consists of two swabs up her nose and a tube in her nose to extract snot
• A chest X-ray (at the hospital)

It is worth noting she screamed and cried hysterically for every procedure. For the X-ray, she had to be immobilized on a board with her arms up by her head in a foam wrapper.

So, our 3:15 Dr. appointment turned into a 3 hour ordeal. She is in bed now (probably from exhaustion). I think the pediatrician is just being cautious not knowing what bug she may have being from China.

P.S. The doctor confirmed she does not have an ear infection (also confirmed by our peaceful flight home). So, it turns out the White Swan doctors in China were quacks, and the China Clinic doctors were legit.

Not a very good introduction to U.S. medicine. We fear every trip to the doctor from here out is going to solicit screams of fear.

We're Home!

It's 4:33 pm in Deerfield, but 2:30 a.m. in China 1/15. We're home. Finally.

We were all a bit nervous for the flight home in light of Allison's ear infection and given that it was 13 hours. But Allison barely cried the entire flight, and we did not even spend that much time walking her up and down the aisle. The only time she cried was when we tried to wipe her nose (which is running constantly). It might have had something to do with the fact that we had every toy on hand, but we like to think she's just a good traveler. The upgrades came through for our return trip (courtesy again of our friend Mike) which made a world of difference on the flight.

Clearing immigration wasn't bad at all and took much less time than we thought. Once the agent stamped Allison's passport, she was a U.S. citizen. We were met at the aiport by our wonderful friend Julie who graciously drove our car (with carseat) to pick us up in -3 degree weather. She also stocked our fridge with groceries and and made a casserole for dinner for us. She was so excited to see Allison that she asked permission twice to hug her!

We then gave Allison the 5 cent tour of the house, her room and her toys. She was grinning through most of it. She then played with some new toys, pooped (twice) (hopefully that's not an indication of how she really feels about her new surroundings) and collapsed for a nap. We somehow need to get her on the Central time zone, which will be a new challenge. We have been up for nearly 24 hours straight, and we are so exhausted that we are actually geting dizzy. However, none of that seems to matter much to us now. We're home!

The Road to Hong Kong

The 14th was a whirlwind. The final step of the process was appearing at the US Consulate in Guangzhou for Allison's official swearing in. It sounds much more formal than it actually was. After being matched to our passports they had us stand, raise our right hands, and say "I do" to the oath. That "officially" made us parents in the eyes of the U.S. government, even though we had been acting the part for the last nine days. Even without the fanfare, there were still cheers and tears.

Right after we were at the Guangzhou train station to take an 1 hour and 50 minute ride to Hong Kong where we would catch our direct flight to O'hare the next morning. The train ride was not too bad, although you can smoke on trains in China, so there is no way to escape bad air, inside or out. With my cold, my voice is almost gone.

Upon arriving in the Hong Kong station and going through their customs, we were met by people in white coats wearing surgical masks. They used what looked like a grocery scanner on Allison's forehead and declared she had a fever. They ushered us over to a curtained area and wanted Darcie's and Allison's passports for recording purposes. They asked if we had any contact with birds. After several tense minutes we were allowed to leave (but not before being offered a mask to wear ourselves).

Driving from the train station to the hotel is all we really got to see of Hong Kong. However, that small taste was mind blowing. It is built next to a moutain right on the water, and there are so many flashing lights and neon signs that it is sort of a cross between Vegas and Manhattan. We drove by conservatively a dozen or so streets that had lights that put Times Square to shame.

We spent a brief night in the airport hotel for the Hong Kong airport. By the time we arrived at the hotel, we were exhausted, and we had pushed Allison to her limits. She was tired, hungry, wet and was sick of being dragged all over God's green earth. So, we changed her, gave her a bottle, and laid down next to her on the bed. She was face down, asleep, and she started to get this ear to ear grin on her face. The she just looked from one of us to the other, sigh and smile, and then drifted off to sleep. Of all of the incredible sights we have seen in China, this was the highlight of the trip.

Going to the Dr. in China

Allison's fever continued on the 13th, so we took her to the clinic in our hotel, the White Swan. As usual, it was another unforgettable experience in China. There was a doctor, and pharmacist (I think) and an interpreter attending. (I have yet to see any project involve less than 3 people). The doctor examined her and declared she had ear infections in both ears. This was interesting and disturbing since the official "clinic" we took her to yesterday declared both ears fine. The clinic is a mandatory part of all China adoptions and we don't know if they intentionally deceived us or were just incompetent. Either way, the outcome is the same, she has an ear infection, so we started the prescription antibiotics we brought with us.

The doctor put some drops in her nose to dry up her runny nose. She gave us a small vial of pink liquid with marker lines drawn down the side for her runny nose, drops for her ears, and vitamin C powder for her "appetite". We didn't give any of this to her. So, the bill for the doctor visit and the meds came to about 150 Yuan, or about 25 bucks.

That night, Allison's fever got up to 104.5. This was a scary moment, and none of us slept much that night. We learned later that the panic point for kids is a temp of 106, but we worried nonetheless. Tylenol got it under control. Poor Allison. We have known her for only a week and we know that she is not herself with this ear infection.

Later the next day, the antibiotics kicked in and her fever subsided without help from Tylenol. We were relieved, esp. since we will be flying home in one day.

We are both exhausted, and sick ourselves, so we just can't wait to get home.

Are Kids Ever Routine?

Allison went to bed last night easier than ever before. We thought we were in for a peaceful night. Then at 10:00 she woke up crying and spit up all over Darcie (think warm yogurt running down your neck and chest). Then at 12:00 she wanted a bottle and drank it all. At 2:00 am she was crying with a 102.4 fever. Then she slept until 5:30 am. Needless to say, we are exhausted (since we are also sick ourselves).

We are keeping up the Tylenol, and that has knocked out the fever, and she is pretty cheerful. We have some prescription antibiotics with us, so we are starting those as a precaution. Even though the technician gave her a clean bill of health, she has a runny nose, raspy cough and fever, so we hope to knock out whatever she has.

We're struggling a little with feeding her. She seems frustrated with us for what we are providing her - but her information stated that all she ate was bread, formula and congee (a rice soup). She is wanting to experiment with feeding herself at every meal which is challenging given that we don't have highchairs in our room and the highchairs in restaurants don't have trays. Also being first time parents we're completely paranoid about choking (she doesn't have teeth!). Watching her shove in those noodles and pork last night was funny, though! Funny, and sad because she was eating as if we had been starving her.

We are looking forward to being home (but not looking forward to getting home).

2 days and counting

It's 9:20 pm on 1/12. We had a big day today. We went to the clinic to have Allison checked over by "doctors." Allison had her Visa picture taken for travel back to the U.S. And the famous (or infamous) Red Couch picture was taken. Aside from all of that, a few other milestones reached were: Allison fed herself noodles and pork (we had no idea she could even do this) and Darcie was able to put Allison to sleep without any help from Steve.

The visit to the clinic was much like a trip back in time to the 1920's with doctors and attendants wearing white uniforms and masks. We all filed in and were told to go to 3 stations (ENT, height/weight/temperature, and Medical/Surgery). She weighs 15.3 lbs. The doctors poked and prodded her and she only cried a little. They checked her ears and they declared she does not have an ear infection, which is good news.

More Pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/OutingToPeopleSParkInNanning?authkey=6_vwmljKfwc#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/GuangzhoAndChenFamilyTemple?authkey=ww5ljoEn40s#

Counting down to Home

As I mentioned, it is getting tougher and tougher to make updates, so sorry about the wait. Allison is doing great. She is so happy and social during the day. Bedtime is a different story. She fights sleep and she is up every 2-4 hours. Her Nanny had her on a schedule of 2 bottles per night, so we need to try and wean her off of that when we get home. We also will try to get some protein in her to stick to her ribs a little better at night.

The new hotel is another scary new change for her to deal with, and we have two more to go (our Hong Kong hotel, and our house). We are trying to help her through it as best we can.

She loves to go to Darcie and play with her but she still needs Dad for comfort at night. She also HATES the crib in the White Swan hotel (as do we), so we will all be glad to stop living like Gypsies out of hotel rooms.

Darcie and I have both picked up head colds -- so that and lack of sleep means we are exhausted. We don't know if it is a virus or if it is the exhaustion combined with the pollution in the air. You would not believe the smog in every city in China! Many other families are coming down with it, too, and there are differening opinions as to what it is.

Not surprisingly, I love the food here and have rarely found something I didn't like. Darcie enjoys most of it and Becky is a good sport, and the good news is we are all losing weight.

We had a "test" flight from Nanning to Guangzhou, and that went very well. We were worried about her ears, but she did great! She barely cried. We think when she cries and pulls on her ears, that means "I'm tired". She has pulled on my ears once or twice, so I think that is what it is instead of ear infection. We are going to the Dr. tomorrow she he can check her ears for fluid. However, she has never had a temp.

When we go out during the day, we are sure to bundle her in multiple layers and coats and a blanket, and we still sometimes get scolded by the Chinese ladies on the street for not dressing her in enough clothes. It is pretty cold now for Guangzhou (it's about 50 degrees). All of the locals really make over her and our Agency gave us a card to explain in Chinese what in the world we are doing with this Chinese baby. We always get the "thumbs up" from the locals which means "the best".

We are busy every morning with paperwork and group outings, so that makes it hard to call home with the 14 hour difference. Hopefully I can provide another update or two before we leave.

Last Day in Nanning

It has been getting tougher to post updates between outings, naps, feeding, etc. I know what most of you are saying -- I told you so. We had a tough night last night as Allie woke up every hour or so and wanted a bottle or comfort. The worst was between 11:30 am and 1:30 where we gave her a bottle, put her down, 10 minutes later she woke up crying and threw up all over herself and Dad. This is what they call trial by fire. She is not sick -- no fever and generally happy, which is good.

Here are several new pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/PlayDate?authkey=XPaGMiStzAI#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/AStrollInNanning?authkey=98P0W9veWqI#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/GuanxiOuting?authkey=ST25icJZ5hE#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/PizzaPartyInHotel?authkey=ioQR77pgrqo#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/AllieSFavoriteShow?authkey=SqfmAknGDgE#

Nanning Wal Mart

Ever wonder what it is like to go to Wal Mart in China? Now you know...

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/20090107?authkey=Y7TnsLQF1vY#

Pictures of Lin Shi Yu in Yulin City

One of the gifts we received from the orphanage was a CD of a bunch of pictures of Allison in Yulin City, China. These are great pictures and we and Allison will treasure having these forever. Here is a sample:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/AllisonInChina?authkey=W3ElXlFW-hs#

Firsts

First nap (check)
First time Allie let Mom carry her around (check)
First ear infection (check)
First BM (check. Lucky Mom just happened to be getting lunch take out at that time, so Dad had that experience that first all to himself.)

New pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/20090106?authkey=L6YTs6e-hBw#

We completed the adoption from China’s standpoint this morning, which included an interview with Chinese officials. The Director of the Orphanage mildly scolded us, telling us through an interpreter that we need to dress her warmer (at the time, she had on a onesy, a warm track suit, and a fleece hooded jacket). Keep in mind that it is about 65 degrees in Nanning right now. When we got her, she was wearing what can best be described as a cotton snow suit. He also handed us a tissue and told us to wipe her nose. The other families said they didn’t receive this rough treatment, so we are guessing he may have a soft spot for Lin Shi Yu. Regardless, we made it through the gauntlet and it is now official from a Chinese government standpoint. Next week, we go to the U.S. Consultate in Guangzhou to make it official from a U.S. standpoint.

Allison is one of the smallest kids in the group. She loves the other kids and gets so excited and tries to scoot over to them whenever they are around. She rarely fusses, which is amazing given what must be going through her mind right now. We think she has an ear infection because she goes to bed and wakes up crying and pulling on her ears. We gave her some baby Tylenol and we do have some antibiotics to use if we need to. She is a good baby and we are so proud of her.

Victory!

Well, so far we have the sleeping part down, too. She slept from 9:00 pm and it is currently 5:45 am and she is still sawing logs. Wish I could say the same for me and Darcie. Hopefully her sleep will keep up and ours will get better. We should be adjusted to the time change just in time to go back to the States.

At 8:30 this morning, we have to go to the Child Welfare Institute to complete the adoption paperwork, and then it will be official from China's standpoint.

What was funny about yesterday is after years of countless forms and paperwork, all we needed to pick up Allison was our passports! Then, we just walked out of the building with our kids, with nothing more than a smile and nod from Security.

Gotcha!

The day we have been waiting for for so many years has arrived and it was worth every minute! We have a beautiful, healthy and happy baby girl! I know what everyone really wants to see are pictures, so here they are:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/20090105?authkey=sIxNt5QOR34#

Gotcha was around 3:00 pm and the wait leading up to that could not have been more exhausting and nerve wracking. It really helped to have so many great people in our group going through all of the same emotions.

Allison was a little bewildered during the hand-off, but she did great! She didn’t cry a peep (at first). However, the longer she stared at our new and strange looking faces, the more a furrowed brow turned to a frown, then a cry. (I get that from women a lot). Unfortunately, she is not used to Nana’s yellow hair, so Becky has had to ease in to the interactions more slowly than she would like.

We got to ask the orphanage nanny several questions about Allison, which was helpful. We found out they call her Yu-yu (her middle name twice, which is common for babies in China). She responds to that, so her nickname for now is Yu-yu (we think it's cute).

After Gotcha, Allie clung to Dad from 3:00 until bedtime at 9:00 pm. She let Mom feed her and help change her, but she didn’t want Dad to wander off too far. This is a common reaction for most babies for the first several days, and it is just a question of who is the “lucky one” to get chosen. I have to say, while I love every minute of it, it does make the logistics of daily tasks nearly impossible. However, it won’t be long before she is on Mom’s hip 24-7!

Allison is such a good baby. She rarely cries for more than a minute or two. And she loves to play and laugh. She babbles a lot and squirms constantly! She is also a good eater. She ate ½ a banana, a bowl of rice cereal, and a bottle of formula, so at least we know we have the feeding part down. I also had to stiff arm her with my left hand while eating a slice of pizza with my right.

The next stage is sleeping. They tell us she is a good sleeper, so we will find out tonight. It is amusing to see the parade of crying babies being walked up and down the hotel hallway. Let’s hope others aren’t amused by us later. I guess you will find out in our next posting. Take care!

4:45 am and wide awake

This is sort of a common theme. Go to be exhausted by 9:00 pm, then wake up around 3:00 or 4:00 am wide awake. It is a combination of jet lag and nervousness about meeting Allison for the first time.

Our hotel in Nanning is very new and caters to Westerners (a term used often around here). In fact, they have a restaurant in the hotel that is called the “Western Restaurant” where you can order a Chinese version of a cheeseburger or club sandwich. We went there for lunch and had an interesting experience: 2 burgers a club sandwich and three cokes came to about $45 (compared to the $15 we spent that evening for dinner for three in the Chinese restaurant). So, the food is “Western” and so are the prices.

Speaking of dinner, we have a great experience in the Chinese restaurant near our hotel. We were the only Americans in there at the time, and I don’t think they get that many as a rule. We were greeted with two reactions that I have seen a few times already in China:

1. Surprise (one waitress suppressed a scream), followed by
2. Amusement (as the group of six waitresses pushed forward the one who spoke the best English)

After that, we were bustled to the table and then quickly escorted around the restaurant to look at the pictures on the wall of all the dishes to order our meal. Any question about a dish was interpreted as an order, so soon we had a table full of different dumplings to eat.

We loved the food but the “herbal tea” the waitress recommended tasted like it was brewed from Nyquil and tar – it really made our toes curl. We had several steamed and fried dumplings and thoroghly enjoyed them. We were started Part 7 of Becky’s chopsticks lessons, which a table of locals found amusing.

Our waitress wanted to know what we were doing in China, and we said we were here to adopt a baby. Her face lit up and she struggled to find the right words in English to express her thoughts. She said that she was very thankful for what are doing and that we have a lucky baby. We told her we were the lucky ones.

Travel Day

Finally got the internet in our hotel room working, so this update is a little delayed…

Sunday was a travel day from Beijing to Nanning, so that occupied most of the day. Pretty uneventful, so there are no new pictures to share. Nanning is a beautiful, tropical city with “only” 8 million people. Bigger than Chicago, but small by China’s standards.

All of us expectant parents are becoming quite anxious about getting our babies tomorrow. There is just so many unknowns that we don’t even know what to worry about, so we just worry about everything. I guess that’s part of being a parent.

So, in the meantime, thought I would share just a few observations of China I found interesting:

• Customer service is at a whole different level. We just went to a grocery store, and there were more workers than customers. There were at least 15 uniformed young workers in the candy section alone!
• At our hotel breakfast buffet, I set the bacon tongs back on the plate sideways, and they started to slide off, and one of the uniformed waiters dove to stop the tongs from falling on the floor.
• The hot pot (to boil water) in our room was broken, so we called the front desk to get another one. We then left the room to go to dinner only to see a hotel worker running down the hall with a new one (when have you ever seen that in the States?)
• When you sit down in a restaurant, a waitress (I have never seen a male waiter, nor a waitress older than age 20) will come to your table and stand by it until you are ready to order. It feels like you are being rushed, but I think she would stand there for 20 minutes if she had to. When you do order, they zip off to get things started. If you are a dawdler, you shouldn't work in China.
• In spite of the focus on service, tipping is not common in restaurants, and we had one incident where I tried to tip and the waitress flatly refused the money. I think I embarrassed her so I backed off. However, we learned later that there is a certain protocol with Chinese etiquette, and sometimes things must be offered and refused more than once before they are ultimately accepted.
• Staring is not uncommon and is not considered rude. The locals here are very curious about us foreigners, and we haven’t even gotten our babies yet. We expect the staring to go up considerably after that!
• The beds are firm. Think boxspring with a yoga mat on top. Sleeping is not great, but my back has never felt better.
  
  Well, I am going to sign off, now. We are exhausted from jet lag and lack of sleep and have a lot to do to prepare for our big day tomorrow!
  

Just another routine day

Let's see, got up this morning, saw Tiananmen Square, the Palace of the Last Emperor of China... Oh! and climbed the Great Wall (almost forgot about that one).

I could write pages, but I think the pictures can tell it better than I could:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/20090103?authkey=1dDDc6-Dk7w#

Tomorrow we leave for Nanning (5:15 am wheels-up time). One more day before we get Allison, where things will start to get really exciting.

We Made It!

After a long, long flight -- we made it to Beijing, China! Actually, the flight wasn't that bad. We have to give a shout out to our friend Mike, who signed over some of his precious United upgrades, which made the trip much more tolerable. We even managed to sleep an hour or two. Anyway, this leg of the trip will be a breeze compared to the return!

We were sitting on top of the world (literally) as our flight path took us nearly over the north pole. It was pretty interesting to watch on the map and see the otherworldly icy landscape below. We descended south over Siberia on route to Beijing.

We had a few nervous moments at the massive Beijing airport. First, after getting our luggage and navigating through all of the crowds, we did not find our guide until we neared the airport exit.

Then, Darcie was a little panicked because in a jet-lagged haze, she accidentally brushed her teeth in the airport bathroom with tap water (a no-no when travelling in China). Hopefully, she'll be OK, we are treating her with a preemptive dose of Immodium.

Tomorrow our tour starts at 9:00 am. We will do Tiananmen Square, then the Great Wall.

Click here for a few pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/20090102?authkey=N7b9gyXtrwA#