Update!

Greetings from my hotel room in Beijing. I should be sound asleep....but because of that terrible jet lag I'm wide awake at the moment so after swallowing a few sleep aid pills I figured I may as well write until they take effect Besides, Kianna is having the same problem, the dear thing fell asleep around 1:30 in the afternoon while we were out touring. At first I assumed she was just having her normal afternoon nap but after a few hours it became apparent it was not just a nap, it was her night time! We could not wake her up! She was like a floppy rag doll who could be passed from person to person, jostled in the vehicles and nothing would wake her! We were like "Oh no~" we knew the problem this would likely cause when our night time came......

Our hopes to skip out on jet lag by taking melatonin regularly on the way over, as suggested by Daniel Haley, most certainly did not work, because today was pretty tough. WE had hoped to sleep in till 8:30, but instead were all wide awake by 5:30. The breakfast buffet opens at 6 so we got dressed/ showered and were out their by 7. We all oohed and aah-ed over the wide variety of options. It was a good mix of chinese and american food. Definitely enough that we can get satisfied on. It's all set up attractively and the cooks wear the great big tall white hats. They don't have silver ware on the tables unless you request some. Its all chopsticks. Napkins is another thing they don't really use. Not sure if they never get messy eating or if they just wipe on themselves. But this mommy who is very aware of making as little laundry as possible and hoping each child can stay in the same outfit for at least the entire day sure misses napkins!!

After breakfast we roamed around and explored some of what the hotel has to offer. It has some fancy expensive looking clothing, toy and jewelry shops. The main thing that caught our attention was a Starbucks! It was set up just like the American ones. Its amazing how soothing it is to see something familiar when all the sights, sennces and language around you are foreign. We didn't have any money on us at the moment so we are still waiting to indulge on a cup of coffee.

We were to meet our guide and the rest of our group in the lobby at ten. But before that I felt like I could crash in bed and go to sleep. It was like that all day for Steve & I. It came in waves. Energy for a couple hours then all of a sudden we would be hit with such tiredness it really took effort to be "with it." We commented various times how grateful/wise it is not to have gotcha day on that  first day when our body is so disoriented. I told Steve it sure takes faith today to believe that I wont feel hazy and  groggy this entire trip! You mean theres a possibility we could ever get a good night of sleep and feel rested! Sure hope so!

There were only 2 other families in the lobby. Another one is arriving late tonight, and the another family skipped the Beijing part and went straight to their childs province. We will meet them later. The 2 families we met are both from MD and we are all adopting boys, and all from the same province! The one couple has their 12 yr old daughter along. The other couple has 5 older children, all at home. We enjoyed getting thawed out and got more relaxed with each other as the day progressed because we road around in a bus and toured as a group. On the agenda for today (friday) was visiting the great Wall of China. We had an hours drive there, which was nice because we got to see alot more of the city and surrounding area. We saw a mix of highly advanced looking architecture in the huge buildings and sky rise apartments along with a lot of poor looking areas. It was an amazing drive and really kind of hard to take it all in! Such a very different culture! It felt so good to get a glimpse of our sons culture. It occurred to me that even though this IS his heritage he will likely grow up feeling as much a foreigner to it as we do. Hopefully we can take enough of pictures for him to enjoy hearing about it as he grows up.

The Great Wall is truly an AMAZING sight!! So worth going to!! It's just incredible to try to take it all in. You've seen the photos many times in books etc, but suddenly you want to pinch yourself because its hard to believe you are standing there on it in real life! Pictures just dont do justice ! The mountains are so huge and jagged. Derek & Karilee thoroughly enjoyed climbing the wall. They of course would be way ahead of us, then look back and say "come on Mom & Dad! Whats taking so long!" Yeah right! We were out of breath and taking many rest stops, plus carrying Kianna and a back pack. In my jet lag state I completly forgot to bring along the Ergo baby carrier to the wall even though I had it packed in our suitcase for specifically a time as this! We also left our sun glasses at the hotel because it looked so hazy and overcast when we left we didn't think we would need them, but it was nice and fairly clear on the mountain and we regretted not bringing them. We climbed to the first big tower, then decided that was enough for our family. The steps were steep and you really needed to watch your footing because of uneven and mis shaped steps. We enjoyed browsing the little shops that were set up at the bottom. D & K each picked out a souvenir and we enjoyed watching nationals do hand paintings with their thumbs and fingers creating amazing paintings of the wall.  It was on the way back down that Kianna fell asleep, maybe around 2 pm and she slept the rest of the afternoon, evening and when we got back to our hotel at 6:30 pm I laid her in bed and she kept right on sleeping until 11 pm! Then she was ready to be wide awake, was hungry and wanted to play. All the rest of us were zombies! I felt sorry for her. I kept the lights real dim, let her eat a granola bar, dry cheerios and water. Then we gave her some melationin to help her relax and she went back to sleep again. She was restless the rest of the night but def allowed us ot get more sleep. We were all awake by 4 am and took melatonin to make us go back to sleep, which we did for a few more hours. 

Anyway, back to the afternoon yesterday, after we were done at the Great wall, our bus load went to a Tea House, the most famous one here in Beijing. Tea is a huge thing here, like coffee is in America. We all sat around a table while a girl told us about their different famous teas like Jasmine, OOlong, fruit tea etc. and what they use them for. Certain teas are good for digestion, some for calming etc. They have a special way they make it...and served us samples of each in tiny cups that held probably 2-3 tablespoons! It was very interesting! Carmen, I thought of you, because it was just like you had described it. 

Oh, another thing, we had been warned the children's blong hair would be an attraction. Oh my goodness! That is no understatement! Going up the great wall it almost got ridiculous the people that stopped and wanted a picture with her. Touching her and rubbing her cheeks. Also many posing with Karilee. Someone said blond hair and blue eyes to them means good luck so they like to touch/ take pictures. At the restraunts the waitress will just scoop Kianna up and attract a flock around them and want to pass her around. I'm surprised how well she has tolerated it. I asked Karilee what it feels like to be a celebrity!:)

After the tea house tour we were more tired than ever! Everyone in our group was looking pretty bushed! All we wanted was to crash in bed, but oh no, we were headed to another big chinese restaurant for a typical chinese meal where we sit at a large round table that has a lazy susan in the middle that they load with food and you turn it around and dish out whatever you want. Kianna is still sleeping in my arms and Derek laid his head on the table as soon as we sat down and was completely out for the entire meal. It was such a relief to get back to the hotel. My head was hurting and I crashed in bed and went to sleep shortly after.

Saturday morning: We just returned from the breakfast buffet which we all enjoyed very much. Steve is off to exchange some money and get our first coffee. we need to meet in the lobby in half an hour to leave with the group for the days sight seeing. We feel much better and oriented today. Kianna is crabby though. We are going to The forbidden City, and I forget the name of the other place. I think it will be a full day.

Sunday morning we leave the hotel at 7 am to go to the airport. Our flight leaves at ten, I believe. Tomorrow is THE day!!! We are ready for it!

Love & Blessings from China! Esther

PS. Reuben, Derek was so tickled ot find one of those little laser lights from a peddlar off the street that came running up to our bus with his wares. It's not quite as fancy as yours but he's tickled pink!