Day 1 - Travel to China

December 2 & 3: Finally, my mom is on her way to pick me up. She left home at 4 a.m. with a backpack and two bags. First she flew to Newark, where she met up with the three other families in her travel party. Two of the families are adopting older children. The third family is adopting a baby from the same orphanage as me.

Here is a picture of my mom on the airplane, she is really excited to come get me!!!

They arrived in Beijing after thirteen hours of cramped quarters. They had no problems entering the country and as they exited Customs, they quickly found their guide, Guilan. It was 39 degrees outside, which felt really comfortable after the stuffy warmth of the airline’s cabin. The group boarded a small bus which took them into the heart of the city. They are staying at the Novotel (Peace) Hotel, a five-star hotel located on the famous Wang Fu Ching Boulevard. My mom can see a Louis Vutton store out of her 6^th floor window.

After settling into their rooms the group met in the hotel lobby to walk about one block to a restaurant to eat their first meal together. They sat in a private room with a round table in the center. On the table was a glass lazy Susan that took up most of the table. The wait staff brought in dishes one by one and set them on the lazy Susan. They ate duck, chicken, beef, pork, white rice, fried rice, eggplant, spicy green beans, eggs with tomatoes, celery with lily, broccoli and chow mein. Everything was tasty and well prepared.

After dinner the group returned to the hotel. My mom, unsuccessfully, tried to turn on the shower. She ended up taking a sponge bath before collapsing in bed.