We are in Beijing!!!

Friday, September 16, 2011We are here!!!
We had a long flight from LAX to Hong Kong. No leg room. Unfortunatly, as we boarded the plane we went through first class and saw the huge sitting areas the chosen few had, and then went through business class, which was very nice. And then we passed through the curtains and saw where the rest of us would sit. VERY CLOSE QUARTERS. It actually wasn't that bad. We flew Cathay Pacific, which we flew before when we went to Vietnam four years ago. Each seat had a tv screen so we basically watched movies and tv shows for hours. I think each of us got about two hours of sleep. I stole the window seat and Ray sat in the middle. We switched in the end so he could get a little sleep. It was a little painful, but we made it.
We arrived at Hong Kong and hung out for three hours before boarding our flight to Beijing. We spent most of the time trying to get the internet working so we could check and send out emails. Once we arrived at Beijing we met our guides and the other couple who is also adoption from Hangzhou. Very nice couple. They are adopting a little girl who is about to turn two. Once we arrived at the hotel we met our guide, Veronica. She helped us check in, told us about the next days itenerary and then brought us to a little store to buy snacks. After she left we had dinner at the hotel with Diane and Todd. You would think four intelligent adults could order a meal at a hotel resteraunt. It was actually quite a struggle. Our waitress didn't know English and neither did several of the other waitresses. I am not very daring when it comes to my food. I like to know what it is. And, honestly, I don't like to look my food has ever been alive. A manager was brought over to help and did manage to help us order something we could handle eating. Before he arrived Ray did his own version of Mandarin, which was by explaining what we wanted with a slight Italian/Spanish accent. Really. I personally did not think it helped. When the food arrived, the chicken was all dark meat, which I don't like particularly. I had forgotten that they like dark meat better here. The food was good, the service was good, it was a pretty cute little area we ate in and we really enjoyed spending time with Diane and Todd. I knew before coming here that food was going to be tricky for me since I am a pain and since I definitely have stomach issues with a lot of food. I will be eating lot of rice and vegetables, which is great. I also brought a lot of breakfast and protien bars from home to carry around. Better safe than sorry.
After dinner we headed back upstairs. Ray fell asleep three seconds after we got back to the room. We had made a plan to stay up until 8 pm to try to get on the right schedule here. I stayed up until 8:30, which felt like the middle of the night. Unfortunately Ray decided to get up at 3 am to check his email, eat Oreos (which are in a loud, crinkly bag), use the bathroom and reorganze his suitcase. So I am awake. I just figured out how to set up this blog while in China and so it begins....
No pictures from today. We meet Veronica tomorrow downstairs at 8:30 am to go to the Great Wall, Tin An Men (I'll spell it right later) Square, and the Forbidden City.