Settling back in

Today has been one of those lazy days at home, but we're all still really jet-lagged and feeling very tired. Tom and the girls slept most of the afternoon and I'm wondering how I'm going to get them to sleep tonight. Tom has already gone back to sleep (we had to bring both kids to their soccer practices).

Our last evening in China, we were taken on a boat cruise along the Bund in Shanghai. We had reserved tables on the 4th level and their was a band/singer during the ride. It was great to see Shanghai this way because actually walking on the streets in the evening is a little terrifying. We saw very little begging anywhere else in China, but in Shanghai there was a lot of it. The girls were getting alarmed because they will come right up to you and block your way.



The next morning (the day we left), was even worse. We were brought to a market area near the Bund that was very crowded and hot. There were lots of gardens here like we saw in Zhouzhuang the day before, but there was also a lot of shops and stores. It was really not the way to end our trip, but we did get a little more shopping done which was good. There was a lot of street vendors and begging in this area, so I was completely stressed out by the time we got back to the bus at 11:30. We had all our luggage on the bus since we were going straight to the airport, but I was worried about losing my purse which had our passports in it. I usually left them in the hotel safe on days we went sight-seeing, so I was very nervous the whole time. Plus, I was terrified I was going to lose Avery in the crowds of people, I was holding her hand very tightly!




After we'd waited in line for 1.5 hours to check in at the airport, we were advised that our flight was delayed for 8 hours. Apparently a passenger saw a crack in the wing of our plane, so we had to wait for another flight that was arriving at 9:30 pm. 10 hours at the Shanghai airport was not my idea of fun - but we had a couple of meals and did some shopping so it worked out OK. Here's a picture of a baby also waiting for the flight to Toronto. She really helped to keep the girls entertained during the long wait!


The flight took off around 11 pm and we arrived in Toronto around 1 am. Once we got through the hassle of checking our passports on the plane, we got through customs fairly quickly (I guess there are not many flights landing at 1 am). We found all our luggage and managed to get an airport limo home. The kids sang all the way home - they were very excited to be getting back to Newmarket. But it also meant that they were too wired to go to sleep at 3 am when we got home and it took me until 5 am to finally get them to bed.

So, after our wonderful adventure in our childrens' homeland, we are finally home. The trip was truly amazing. We all had so much fun exploring the history and culture of China and learning about the girls first few months. They had a fantastic time in China and Tom and I really enjoyed the relaxed nature of our third trip to this fascinating country. Thank you to everyone who followed along with us and who posted comments along the way. It was so nice knowing you were thinking of us on our journey.

And so, we say good-bye to China for now... until we return again in a few years.

We're home!

Firstly, I want to congratulate my sister and her family on the adoption of their third child today in Nanjing. They got Ethan at 10:30 a.m. and he's been doing great so far. You can follow her trip at www.journeytoethan.blogspot.com as well. I'm going on right now to post some photos she has sent (she's having trouble with blogger in hotel).

Congratulations Tania, Patrick, Liam and Nyla. The kids are so anxious to meet their newest cousin!

Sorry for the delay in letting you know we were home safely (I know our parents will be very worried!) Our flight was delayed for 8 hours in Shanghai and we didn't find out until we were checking in, so we got to know the Shanghai airport very well!

The flight was longer as well, because of the winds from the typhoon and the agents who came on to the plane once we had landed to check everyone's passports. Not sure what that was about, but I was very annoyed by that point - after having left the hotel 26 hours earlier!

Anyway, its 3:30 a.m. now (too late to call anyone), so I'm going to get everyone to sleep and post again in the morning (or afternoon - whenever we get up) about our last day in Shanghai and our trip home.

Zhouzhuang

We're back from Zhouzhuang and had a wonderful day touring around this ancient city built mostly on water. The drive was a bit difficult since traffic is worse than Beijing here in Shanghai. The girls whined a lot today again about the heat. The last 2 days we've experienced what we were worried about with traveling to China in August - the extreme heat and humidity. But - we've been very lucky - I think there have only been 3-4 days like this during the whole trip, so we can't complain. Here are some pictures from today.









Tonight we're heading down to the Bund where we'll go on a river cruise and have dinner in the heart of Shanghai. Tom's really looking forward to this because it was not originally in our itinerary and he thought we were going to leave Shanghai again without visiting the Bund (we only had one night here in 2001).

Tomorrow, our flight leaves around 2:30, so I likely won't post again until we arrive home. I will update then about our last evening in Shanghai and our trip home. I may also post more pictures from earlier in the trip. The uploading of photos is very slow here so I've haven't done many for some days.

Hope you are all well. Next time I post, we'll be home!

Nanjing and Suzhou

Sorry, I wasn’t able to post last night. Jody and I ended up running out to the Confucious temple again to do some last minute “bargain shopping” and we didn’t get back until almost 10. We had to be up at 6 am this morning so I thought I’d better get some sleep.

Yesterday was a tough day. We visited Dr. Sun Yet Sen’s Mausoleum in the morning (392 steps to the top!) and then had a nice lunch.


In the afternoon, we were brought to visit the Nanjing orphanage. I’m not sure what I expected, but I definitely wasn’t prepared for how I would feel seeing all those older children living in an institution.

The orphanage is world-renowned and definitely a model orphanage in China. It looked like the girls’ Montessori school in the classrooms and the babies playrooms. As well, it had therapy rooms where they worked with children with special needs and a complete medical clinic in a separate building.

We toured the babies rooms first (we were not allowed in but could look through the glass wall). The babies were so adorable and sweet. Some had special needs, but many looked healthy. There were many nannies looking after them, it looked like about a 3-1 ratio, although that could just be for the day time.



We were allowed into a few pre-school classrooms as well. The kids were a little alarmed and a few cried at the disruption, but they eventually warmed up to us and said a few words like “hello” and “good afternoon”. They were so sweet!

We were then brought to a large room where the presentation and show was held. The older children put on a wonderful show with dancing, a magic show, singing and kung fu demonstration. The first dance was to a song about how a mother’s love is the best love of all and one of the teachers joined in part way through to play the part of the mother. I was in tears, as were many of us, to watch the children dance to this song and act out the actions of meeting their mother and dancing with her. It was very hard to see, knowing that these children are waiting for a mother and may never have one. It was heart-breaking.

There was a little boy (10 years old) who they called the “Pocket Orphan” because he’s a little person. I couldn’t believe that name, but its true. He was quite the showman and put on a wonderful magic show. There was also a 14 year old girl who danced and assisted in the magic show. She was so tall and beautiful. We found out later that she is being adopted next month to an American family. We were happy to hear that, but wondered how hard it would be for her to leave all her friends and teachers, everyone she knows and loves in the world and move halfway around the world. She was so motherly with the younger kids, and now she may never see those friends again. It must be so hard for these kids to endure the endless stream of losses in their lives. From their first family to the friends that leave constantly through the years. And finally, when they leave themselves and lose their country, culture, language and everyone they know in the world. I think most of us couldn’t even imagine this for our children.


At the end, they showed a video about the Nanjing orphanage that also brought me to tears. I think the worst part was that these kids are living in the best orphanage in China. It was hard to imagine how some children are doing in the poorer orphanages.

Today, we stopped in Suzhou on our way to Shanghai. We weren’t able to do this when we came to get Avery in 2001, so we were glad to be able to see it this time. We were taken on a river tour on a boat, which was quite interesting. The houses are right up to the water, with some even having stairs that lead to the water.

We then went to a silk factory where the girls got to see how silk is made, right from the worm and caccoon to the final fabric weaving and dyeing.

In the afternoon, we visited one of the 120 gardens in Suzhou. It was unbelievable! Many of the gardens were made hundreds of years ago when government officials, etc. retired and would come to Suzhou to build a retreat and garden. We walked through fairly quickly, and it still took us an hour to get through it. Although the girls complained bitterly about the heat, we had a good time and enjoyed the beauty and history of the garden.


We’ve now arrived in Shanghai, where we’ll be until we leave to come home on Sunday. Our hotel has changed to the Hua Ting Hotel. Tomorrow we’re visiting Zhouzhuang – I think it’s a city built on water, like Venice, but I’ll know for sure tomorrow!

Will update again tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Dad!

First, we want to wish a very Happy Birthday to Pa - he turns 70 today! Hope you have a great day!

We're back now from Changzhou, the city where Avery lived for her first 9 months. We were received very warmly by the Director and other orphanage staff, but were disappointed to find out that we wouldn't be allowed to go to the orphanage. They brought us to the old orphanage to take pictures and to show Avery, but the new orphanage is being built and won't be ready until June 1, 2008. In the meantime, the children are in a temporary location (a factory) and they didn't want to bring us there. I know its probably because it is not a great location and they wouldn't want us to see that, but we were still disappointed. Avery seemed fine with it, she knows we'll be visiting the Nanjing orphanage tomorrow so that helped.

When we arrived at the old orphanage location, there was a huge banner that read "Warmly welcome Changzhou daughter returning with her Canadian parents" . Here is a photo of us with the Director and adoption manager in front of the sign:


We had a wonderful lunch with the staff and our 2 guides. The toasting went on for quite a while and everyone had a great time. After a while, Avery warmed up to to the staff. Here is a photo of her with the Director and a photo with one of the nannies who took care of her:



The Director brought us to a beautiful park in Changzhou (by the way - any of you who have been to Changzhou would not recognize it anymore - there are so many new buildings and high-rises - another city going through huge growth).


The Director was very open and honest with us. They told us we are the first Canadian family to bring our daughter back to Changzhou to visit. This really surprised us because I know Changzhou has been placing children in Canada for more than 15 years. There have been no adoptions from Changzhou by Canadians since 2001 either - which surprised us as well. I wondered if this was because most of the children are special needs. They told us there are approximately 150 children up to age 13 living in the orphanage. There are very few healthy children - most are special needs. Jiangsu is becoming more affluent and people's attitude towards daughters are changing, so there are many fewer babies being abandoned. This is great news, of course, but it also explains why the wait is approaching 2 years for a referral from China.

Tomorrow, we visit the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum and the Nanjing orphanage. Will update again.

We've arrived in Nanjing

We took a short flight today to Nanjing - only about 45 minutes. It was nice after all the traveling we've been doing the last few days. Nanjing is even nicer than I remember it. They've been doing a lot of construction (I know - I say this about every city) - but they've also renovated some of the stores on the main street near the Central Hotel. Things look much newer and nicer. I remember when we were here in January 2001, there was a lot of people begging on the streets, but we haven't seen one person begging today. It may just be the time of day we were out. I guess we'll see over the next couple of days.

The Central Hotel is quite nice, but our rooms are much smaller than the one we had 6 years ago. They are still ver clean and the hotel is definitely nicer than the one in Nanchang and Chengde.

Tomorrow, we travel to Avery's hometown of Changzhou. We are the only family traveling there (there are 3 families traveling to Yangzhou) but its not very far - about 1.5 hours each way. They've planned a special "Nanjing traditional banquet" for us tomorrow evening at the Confucious Temple. I remember it very well from last time - there were tons of little stalls along the river and tons of shopping! Judy - you'll remember the place I think - lots of Chinese decorations and beautiful scenery.

We found out this evening that the Civil Affairs Dept of Jiangsu knows about our homeland visit and would like to meet with us. So we will be visiting the Nanjing orphanage on Thursday afternoon where the children living there will do a presentation for us. We're feel very honoured that they would go to all this effort for us. Will definitely post pictures on Thursday evening.

That's it for now - will post about our Changzhou visit tomorrow night.

We have finally visited Guixi!

Nine years ago, when we adopted Quin, we weren't able to get to Guixi so see her hometown. At that time, there was not a good highway and the girls were brought to Nanchang by train (I believe around 4-6 hours one way).

So we were very happy today to finally get to Guixi ourselves and visit the orphanage and city where she lived for her first 8 months. The city was much bigger than I had imagined, with lots of construction and new buildings going up (just like the rest of China). The drive was only 2.5 hours each way and we were back in Nanchang by dinner.

The visit at the orphanage was fantastic. The girls were treated like royalty by the director and all the staff. They even made a huge banner welcoming the girls back to their hometown.


This is one of the nannies who delivered the babies to us in Nanchang 9 years ago.


But they especially loved visiting the babies room and playing with some of them while they tried to move around in their little walkers. We could have scooped one of those little cuties up and taken her with us! We took lots of pictures so they can see their little friends again.





This is Quin with the Director - after he bought them each a huge bag of peanuts - they just love to see the girls happy!


Tomorrow we're off to Nanjing. Its a free day so I may not post again until Wednesday since there won't be much going on tomorrow.

We're in Nanchang

Sorry, I wasn't able to post last night - we had to get up at 4:30 am this morning to get our flight to Nanchang, so I was trying to pack all our suitcases before going to bed.

Yesterday was a great day. We visited the Terracotta Soldier Museum for most of the day. There are 5 pits that we can go into and walk around. It was really neat to see some of the pits where they've just uncovered part of the soldiers/horses. It was fascinating to think that these soldiers were made 2200 years ago and that the amount that we saw was just a fraction of what is buried still. This was the first place we visited where the girls asked lots of questions and were really interested in the story behind the soldiers.





The other great thing was that we were brought to a Western buffet for dinner! We have been eating Chinese food for lunch and dinner every day, so most of us (especially the kids) were really excited to see spaghetti and meatballs! It was the last dinner where the whole group (9 families) were there. We all went to our respective provinces today and some will re-unite in Nanjing or Shanghai later in the week. There are 3 families we won't see again on the trip.

This morning we caught the 7:30 am flight to Nanchang and arrived before 9 am. They were actually early taking off and landing! Once we were settled in, Jody, Lauren, Quin and I went to the "Porcelain Street" to so some shopping. Tom brought Avery to the Tang Weng Pavilion (Tania - you'll remember it from our first trip).

Since we're still a little overloaded on Chinese food, we're ordering in Pizza Hut tonight and relaxing in the hotel before our trip to Guixi tomorrow. Its about a 3 hour drive, so it will be a long day since we're coming back tomorrow evening.

Hope you are all well.

We're truly in Shangri-La!

Our hotel in Xi'an is the best hotel we've ever stayed in! Its so nice and clean, really wonderful after a night at a not-so-great hotel and a night on the train.

This morning we visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda - it was built during the Tang Dynasty, but there are lots of gardens and newer buildings around it. It was really nice.


After lunch, we went to the Xi'an city wall. The wall is a 3 km x 4 km rectangle that surrounds the centre of the city. It was also built during the Tang Dynasty and was very interesting to see.


The girls went swimming this afternoon while I attempted to re-organize our suitcases - we've accumulated a lot of stuff and we're starting to run out of space! Once we get to Nanchang, I'll be able to prepare half of the donations which will clear out some space. I'm hoping to not have to buy another suitcase this time.

Tonight we went for a dumpling banquet which was totally amazing. There were 16 different types of dumplings brought out to our tables. At first, I was doing a great job of trying each kind, but by about the 10th one, I was starting to lose it. Needless to say, I couldn't try all 16 types, but the ones I did try were really delicious. I think Avery ate the most she's ever eaten on this trip, which I was very glad about. She's been living on rice, noodles and watermelon for the last week.

Tomorrow we finally visit the Terracotta Soldier Museum. Tom's been waiting for this for 9 years (since we came to get Quin in Oct 98), so he's really excited. Will post again tomorrow night since I'm not sure how things will go once we get to Nanchang.

We're in Xi'an

I want to take a moment to talk about the great service we’ve been receiving in China. I’ve been mostly talking about what we’ve done every day, mainly because I’ve been so tired at night when I’m posting to the blog, that I haven’t been able to say much.

This is the first time CB has used Bridge of Love Adoption Services, and the service has been truly amazing! On top of the several gifts the girls have received (hats, T-shirts, puzzles and toys), they provided us with water in our hotel room and on the bus every day. We haven’t had to buy any water yet! The guides have been so helpful – even taking care of getting our laundry done in Beijing since the hotel prices are quite high. I got about 25 pieces of clothing cleaned and ironed and delivered to my hotel room for less than $40. Everything was wrapped in its own bag as well, which was great for re-packing. Anything we need done, they take care of it for us. I haven’t been to many other countries, but I can truly say that the service we receive in China is far above anything we’ve ever received at home.

This post is going to be fairly long since I haven’t been able to post for the last 2 nights. On Wednesday, we checked out of the hotel in Beijing and headed to Jinshanling where we finally walked the Great Wall of China. This was a new location for Tom and I so we were thrilled. It was about 3 hours from Beijing, so there are very few tourists there and we had the Wall almost to ourselves. We had lunch at the foot in the town and then headed to the gondolas.

The gondola ride was about 10 minutes and then we had to hike another 20 minutes or so up to the wall. What a fabulous view of the wall from all angles! It was just amazing. We walked along the wall for about 45 minutes (Tom was way ahead and we couldn’t catch up anyway). Along the way, there are self-appointed guides who follow you along, hoping for a tip once you get back to the gondola. I was a little annoyed at first, but I soon realized I was very glad to have her with us. She was a young woman who spoke some English and since I was holding Avery’s hand the whole way (the wall is quite rough and some of the stairs are very steep and crumbling), I was quite exhausted by the time we turned to head back. She held Avery’s hand the whole way back so I only had to fend for myself and make sure Quin wasn’t too far ahead of me. The heat was almost unbearable (the rainy days have ended and we’ve had scorching heat for the last couple of days) and we were all soaked with sweat. I was so glad to have her with us. We tipped her and also bought some postcards and a book (this is where they make the most I think) since I was so grateful. In talking with her along the way, I found out she was from the local village (along with all the other “guides”). The funniest thing was while we were riding the gondola back down the mountain, we could see them running down along the pathway – and they beat the gondola down! If I had known that, I would have walked down – the gondolas were a little scary.



Next, we headed for Chengde where we stayed the night. The city is quite beautiful, but the hotel was not the greatest, so I was glad it was just one night. The beds were like the ones in Changzhou when we adopted Avery - it felt like we were lying on a board! Anyway, we were all so exhausted from our hike on the wall, that we slept 10 hours. I really needed that!

On Thursday, we visited a Buddhist temple in the morning called Putuozongcheng. It was completed in 1771 and is an exact replica of the most sacred Buddhist temple in Lhasa, Tibet. It was a bit of hike up to the top, but with breaks along the way, we all made it and took lots of pictures of the building and the view. The girls even had an ice-cream at the top which stopped the whining for a while. We left the hotel at 8 am that morning to try to beat the heat and crowds, which was great. By the time we left, there was a huge line up to get in and the clouds had dispersed so it was getting really hot.


After lunch, we made the long ride back to Beijing for a Peking duck dinner. Alice, our guide in Beijing, who didn’t travel with us to Chengde, met us for dinner. It was really great to see her again.

From the dinner, we headed to the Beijing train station for the overnight train to Xi’an. This was an experience I’ll never forget. The train station was a complete zoo! It was so packed with people, that I was terrified we were going to lose one of the kids. We were each pulling our own suitcases and Tom and I had a bag and backpack as well, so we couldn’t hold their hands. They were real troopers. A couple of the kids were crying and scared, but Quin and Avery stayed calm and just followed along. The cabins in the train are pretty much what you would imagine. No frills. Just 2 bunks and a small space in between. We had to shove the 4 suitcases under the 2 bottom bunks and the backpacks on an overhead shelf. A few other families paid extra for the bunk in their own cabin (if they had fewer than 4 in their family), but we didn’t have this luxury so had to use every square inch of the cabin. The bunks were as hard as the floor, but at least the sheets and blankets were clean. Once we were settled in though, it was fine. The train left around 9:30 and the girls were asleep by 10:30. It was an 11 hour train ride, so we arrived in Xi’an at 8:30 this morning. By the time we got to our bus and then to the hotel, it was 9:30 and we were all ready for breakfast! The buffet was awesome and we've now checked into our rooms.



Since the internet is working much better here in Xi'an, I've posted a few pictures from Tuesday as well. Will update again this evening about today's events.

Another busy day!

Today was our busiest day yet. Our day started at 4 a.m. with a trip to Tiananmen Square to see the flag raising at sunrise followed by a trip to a local park to learn Tai Chi at 7 am. OK, OK, Tom was the only one to go to the flag raising, but he woke me up when he was getting ready at 3 am!

After the morning activities, we visited the Bridge of Love Adoption Services (BLAS) offices where the staff put on a wonderful presentation for the girls. They even got to do some caligraphy in the big boardroom! They all had a lot of fun.

After lunch, we finally got to go to the zoo to see the pandas. This had been something the girls have really been looking forward to (this and the Great Wall tomorrow). It was quite amazing to actually see the pandas in real life. They look just like all the stuffed animals the girls have - they are so cute!


From the zoo, we went to a Hutong area (backstreets), where we got a rickshaw tour of the residential streets of China and a tour of a local family's home. This was quite the experience for all of us. The homes in the Hutong are built around a courtyard. Its like having your backyard in the middle of your house. It was really neat!


We only got about 1 hour to rest at the hotel before we headed out for a traditional dinner of Hot Pot (the girls ate very little) and then on to the Chinese Acrobat show. It was fantastic! You would not believe what these acrobats can do - Avery's eyes were glued to the stage for the whole show (even though she was up at 6 am this morning). She was competely fascinated with the act.


So now I'm packing our suitcases because we leave Beijing tomorrow. I can't believe our 4 days here are almost over already. The time has flown! We head to the Great Wall and then on to Chengde. I will try to post again tomorrow, but I will have to figure out the internet thing again. Hopefully, it'll be as easy as this hotel was.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Guests of the State

Today was quite the day! We started with a visit to the Childrens’ Palace, which is a huge complex with everything from a sports arena to a small amusement park. The girls learned how to use a Chinese yo-yo (and were given one as a gift) and how to tie-dye. They took a couple of rides at the amusement park before we headed out to lunch.

After lunch, we drove about 45 minutes to the Summer Palace (where the Emperor spent his summers), but a thunderstorm started as soon as we got there, so we had to hurry through. I was a little upset about that because the last time we visited the Summer Palace, it was a freezing day in January and we didn’t enjoy it much then either. Maybe next time we’ll get better weather!

Speaking of which, except for today’s thunderstorm, the weather has been fantastic! We haven’t had much sunshine, but the temperature has stayed in the 20’s, so it has been great for sight-seeing. One of our biggest worries about coming in August was the weather. When my sister traveled in August to adopt my niece, it was brutally hot and I was a little stressed we would get that kind of weather as well. We’re expecting the provinces to be much hotter, but at least its not bad for the first week here.

When we arrived back at the hotel from the Summer Palace, the girls’ dresses were waiting so we all got ready quickly and headed off to our meeting with the Vice Director of Civil Affairs for China. He is the highest ranking official in charge of adoptions in China. We were brought to a press conference room where each family was seated together (they had name cards for each family). The girls all sat in the front row with the parents behind them. There was a photographer there and some other officials.

The Vice Director made a very nice speech and then presented each girl with a certificate and a stuffed Olympic character. The girls were all thrilled, to say the least – I think they felt a little like celebrities! The Vice Director then hosted a fantastic dinner at their offices. It was very elegant – we were quite impressed.

So far, this trip has been fantastic! Bridge of Love Adoption Services has taken really good care of us, and we could not be happier with their service. We are all having a wonderful time, and once we’re over this lingering jetlag, the trip will only get better! We’ve managed to keep Avery up tonight until 9:30, but Quin skipped out on the swimming because she could not keep her eyes open. She was asleep before 8 pm. Seeing as they were both up at 3 a.m., I’m a little surprised she made it that long! I’m hoping for a much later morning tomorrow – keeping my fingers crossed!

Jetlag

I was having some trouble viewing our blog from the laptop in our room yesterday, so I decided to come down to the business centre to do it tonight. But, its the same on this computer, so I guess for some reason I can't view it from China? Not sure why, I'll ask Tom to figure it out tomorrow, if he can. Right now, he's asleep with the kids - we're not quite over the jetlag yet.

We all woke up several times during the night last night, and we were up for the day by 4:30 am. I'm hoping tonight will be better and by tomorrow we'll all be adjusted to the time zone. It will be a long day if we're not! Tomorrow evening, we meet with the Vice Director of Civil Affairs (very high ranking official in charge of adoptions for China). He wants to meet all the girls and give them each a gift.

Today, we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was overcast and humid so it was very nice. If it had been sunny, it would have been unbearable to walk the length of the Forbidden City.

After lunch, we all took taxis to the Silk Market and shopped for a couple of hours. The girls cannot stop talking about this experience. We were hounded like crazy by the salespeople. You could not walk by a stall (and there are thousands of them), without the salesperson calling out to you to buy something. If you show any interest, you will not get out of there without buying something. I ended up paying too much for a T-shirt for Quin, but got a great deal on a pair of shoes. We bought some Olympic souvenirs too. That was great because the sale of Olympic stuff is all regulated in China, so there is NO bartering. You pay the price and that's it - just like at home. Quin was so anxious to come to China and barter for things, but once she got a taste of it, she was very happy to go back to our way of shopping. She's figured out that bartering can be very stressful!

We're in Beijing!

We’ve arrived in Beijing! What a difference in just 6 years – you would not believe the construction that’s going on here. Its incredible! We didn’t get to see much yet – just on the drive from the airport to the hotel, but we’ll have lots of time to explore over the next 3 days.

Our day has been long and very exhausting. We arrived in Beijing about 3:30 p.m. local time and got to the hotel by 5:00. There were several different lines at the airport (even one where they take your body temperature as you walk through to make sure you’re not sick), but we made it through them all pretty quickly. Everyone was a little cranky tonight while we waited for the pizza to arrive, but it finally did and everyone (except me) was asleep before 8 pm. I guess that’s what happens when you add an extra 12 hours to the day!

The girls were fitted this evening for their traditional Chinese dresses as well. It was supposed to be tomorrow morning, but our guide has told us that the Deputy Director of CCAA (China Centre of Adoption Affairs) has invited us to meet with him on Tuesday. So I guess those 15 dresses will need to be made quickly!

Tomorrow we’ll be visiting the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in the morning. So far, it looks like we have a free afternoon, so the shopping will begin earlier than I thought!

We leave tomorrow!

Well, we leave tomorrow for Beijing and we are busy with last minute packing and shopping. The girls are quite calm, but Tom and I are bouncing off the walls! Avery's still asleep (her schedule hasn't been the best this summer) and Quin was up early as usual. She's been worrying about missing soccer while we're gone.

Speaking of soccer, the girls both won their games last night. Here are a couple of shots with our new camera (which Tom insisted we needed for the trip to China).
Quin was lucky to get to her game last night. Our van broke down (great timing!) and thanks to Michelle and Maddy, we were able to hitch a ride to Lake Simcoe. All's well though, the van will be ready today (with its new alternator) and we'll be ready to leave when my brother picks us up tomorrow - thanks Aurelio!

Our flight leaves for Beijing at 2:30 pm, but we're going to try to be at the airport by noon. The flight is only 13.5 hours long, but we arrive in China at 3:40 pm Saturday because of the 12 hour time difference!

We will be in touch as soon as we can figure out the internet access in our hotel in Beijing. Hopefully, on Saturday evening.

Thanks to everyone for their best wishes,

Tom, Paola, Quin and Avery