Group Shot

Today was a quiet day...full of shopping. Since it was raining on and off we stayed close to the hotel. Thankfully, the area around the White Swan caters quite well to the Americans here to complete their adoption at the US Consulate. Gift shops galore. Every imaginable trinket and Chinese souvenir to tug at the new mother's (and occasionally father's) heart. "Look at this traditional Chinese outfit. Sooooo cute. My daughter simply must have this in all available sizes so she can wear it to every special event from now through high school." All kidding aside the dresses are very cute and we have it on good authority that the girls love them for a long time.

The only real highlight of the day was dressing the girls up in their traditional outfits and taking a group picture on the red couch in the lobby of the White Swan. Families have made a custom of doing this and the whole process just wouldn't seem complete without it. Of course, it is the hardest photo to stage because the tots are squirmy and fussy and easily distracted. Oh well, so much for my art direction skills. You just have to love the shot for its realism.

Michelle got a good candid shot of me showing Hannah a little affection. It was a rare moment. Not. I can't help myself. I've fallen hard.

Tomorrow we have our appointment at the US Consulate to pick up Hannah's visa. The end of this part of our journey is almost over. Friday we leave for Hong Kong. I am not permitted to take any photos at the consulate so the post tomorrow may be text only. Unless, of course, Michelle can catch another candid. ;)

Andrew

Shop 'Til You Drop

We left Changsha yesterday evening. We spent our last day walking around the city and eating at the Food Street one more time (Andrew just could not get enough of the place!).

We survived our first plane ride (much to my relief). I was quite anxious about how it would go, but Hannah could not have been better. She tried desperately to get the man sitting next to us to play with her, but, to no avail. She even grabbed his magazine at one point and he simply moved it further away from her. The lack of attention from a complete stranger is a new experience for her and she wasn't quite sure what to do! The best part of the flight was the snack, which was a tube of Ritz-like crackers individually wrapped in crinkly wrapping. She spent the 50 minutes playing with the unwrapped cracker package- banging them, throwing them on the floor, playing with the wrapping. She had such fun that we saved the pack for the plane ride home. Hopefully it will provide several more hours of entertainment. Despite the fact that she has an ear infection (which I am not treating since it does not seem to bother her in the least), she only cried on the plane when we landed and that was because she had pooped just as the plane was touching ground. Great timing!

We made it to the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou about 8:30 pm. This hotel is full of Americans adopting Chinese children. We all have to come to Guangzhou because this is where the US Consulate that deals with adoptions is located. The White Swan is legendary in Chinese adoption lore in the US. Practically everyone stays here. We are in good company (or at least famous company) since Queen Elizabeth, International Olympic Committee chairman J. A. Samaranch, Deng Xiaoping and President Nixon have all been guests here. It is quite something to walk around and see so many Chinese children with American parents.

This morning we went for visa pictures and for Hannah's medical exam, which are required by the consulate. The exam lasted all of 2 minutes (if you add up all the components). She weighed in a 16# 6 oz and was 69 cm. The best part of the exam was the doctor who pinched Hannah's thighs and said she was fine and sent us off to the next part of the exam!

After she had her "medical" done, Anli showed us the lay of the land. The hotel is on Shaiman Island. It did not take long to discover that the island is chock full of souvenir shops filled to the brim with Chinese clothes, baby clothes, shoes and much more. Most of the stores have very similar, if not the same, things and they are eager to make us a "good deal". They clearly know who their clientele is as it seems things are geared towards Americans who are ready to spend, spend, spend on their newly adopted Chinese babies!

It was eye opening when we left the island to walk around other parts of Guangzhou this afternoon. We walked through a HUGE traditional Chinese medicine market. Scorpions, anyone? If you fry them and eat them, they help with arthritis. Traditional Chinese medicine does not believe in curing as much as they do preventing illness. They believe that the body is all connected and basically, if you are sick, your connections are out of whack. They spend most of their time trying to keep the connections aligned, if you will, with daily doses of Chinese medicines either as soup, wine or tea.

We also went to an unbelievable pearl and jade markets. There were pearls everywhere. We splurged and bought Hannah a strand of pearls with matching bracelet and earrings for a future gift. So all you grandparents out there, you are on notice. No pearls as gifts! Other jewels are fine, but pearls are covered.

Tomorrow is a free day for us. Anli has to go to the consulate to get the paperwork started, but we get to spend our day oooohing and aaaaahing over Hannah.

Michelle

All Things Good To Eat

This trip is turning out to be as much a culinary experience as it is a cultural and adoption one. We took a morning trip to Hunan University's campus to walk around and explore their Confucius temple. It is the oldest university in China. One of the buildings was built in 976 AD. On the sides of the entry way are 2 quotes from eminent Chinese scholars that basically say that all the best people go to the school and all the best people are from Hunan Province. Of course, we know that already since Hannah is from here. Oh, by the way, Mao once taught at the school.

We had lunch again at our favorite restaurant off the hotel lobby. We continue to explore the many options from throughout the country plus order some of our favorites. Hannah gets to sample almost everything that we try. She is such a good eater. We are very excited. So far she has tried pumpkin, egg plant, spicy noodles (maybe too spicy), fermented soy beans, steamed egg, smoked tofu, watermelon, grapes, and yogurt. We even gave her shad roe at the Japanese restaurant we ate at the other night. It was a big hit.

Lunch was followed by a meeting to go over the paperwork we will need for our meeting at the US Consulate. We are flying to Guangzhou tomorrow for the next to last leg of our journey. Hannah needs to get a visa in order to enter the States. The process includes a medical examine, an interview and a few pictures. The whole process will be complete by Thursday.

For dinner tonight we ate again at the Japanese restaurant, only this time we had a feast. Anli, our Chinese coordinator, accompanied us and whenever she is around the ordering improves tremendously. We must have had about 8 courses. The meal started off with the table side chef preparing really large shrimp. She meticulously cut, peeled and cleaned each one and carefully set the heads off to one side. They were seasoned and cooked throughout the whole meal, at which point she delicately served one to each of us. I told her eating shrimp heads was against my religion, but she wasn't buying it (maybe if she spoke English I would have gotten off the hook). The instructions were to eat them shell and all. I could only bring my self to try a few bites from the neck side. There was no way I was downing the whole thing. As the saying goes 'When in China'. They were very crunchy and tasted a little like overcooked popcorn.

After dinner, we all rushed up to Anli's hotel room where we were met by the lovely ladies from the photo studio with our albums. For those of you not following the blog religiously, you need to know we all went to have our girls photographed at a local place that was recommended to Anli by another guide. The experience was a bit kitschy, but fun nonetheless. Hannah got to try on many different traditional outfits and she was a hit with her big smile and happy disposition. We ordered a package deal that included a book, a small folding screen, book marks, and wallet cards. We look forward to sharing some of the items with the grandparents.

Michelle has done a great job of packing up all our stuff, which has unexplainably grown since we arrived almost beyond the capacity of our available luggage space. I foresee another suitcase in our future for the trip home.

In closing, I have to mention that Hannah is saying Da Da. Michelle claims that she doesn't associate the words with me yet, but my head and heart are swelling regardless.

Andrew

Aquatic Fun

We had quite a full day today. Thankfully, it started out with Hannah having slept 12 hours last night! Unfortunately, her mommy and daddy didn't (but we all know who is most important, so who cares about us). Today she only took a couple of 20 minute power naps (it was the same yesterday), so hopefully, she'll sleep through the night again.

We started out the day at the zoo in Changsha. It is in a beautiful park. We wandered through the zoo and then into the park. We spent a couple of hours there. People constantly stopped and played with the babies. One older women commented on how much our babies look like girls from China (I don't think she realized that they ARE Chinese) and Anli, our extremely patient guide, just smiled and nodded patiently. In the park there is a replica of what a "minority" house looks like. There are 52 minorities in China and their houses are different than the Han Chinese houses. They are also different than the utilitarian housing built by the communists and seen throughout all the cities here. There is a fairly sizable minority population in Huai Hua, the city where Hannah was found. Anli thinks Hannah looks Han (the majority in China) but one of the girls in our group may be Dong.

After our outing, we came back to the hotel and headed straight for the pool. The attendant at the pool was very concerned that the water was too cold for a baby. I told him not to worry, that she likes to be cool. About 15 minutes later, he came back and told me the water temperature was only 27 degrees Celsius and she will get cold. Meanwhile, Hannah was having a great time splashing and kicking her feet. She didn't want get out. She is a little hot pot- I am convinced that the air conditioning in my house will be on in the winter to keep she and Andrew comfortable. I have resigned myself to wearing 5 layers of clothes instead of the 2-3 I normally wear from October till May.

We spent much of the afternoon at a photo studio- think Sears but with Chinese props and costumes for the kids. Anli had heard about the place from a local guide and we all decided to participate. Hannah was a ham. When she smiles really big, you can't see her eyes because her cheeks are so big they scrunch them up. It is really adorable! We get the pictures tomorrow. Everything here is a little kitschy and this album will prove to be no different (but that is part of the fun). While being posed for the pictures by the photographer, we saw Hannah roll over for the first time. We let out quite a cheer!

We are so blessed by her and this whole experience. She loves the water, eats everything, only cries if she is hungry, tired or has a dirty diaper. Her favorite toys so far are the wrapper from the ice cream Andrew shared with her and her ziploc full of cheerios. And did I mention that she has the cutest tushie ever?

Michelle

Strolling through life

Yesterday we made a trip to a local department store and found the experience to be enlightening. The big stores here have it all. Kind of like a Costco, but not bulk. Each floor has a focus with the one floor usually dedicated to a grocery store. We bought Hannah rice cakes that her orphanage told us she liked. They are indeed yummy. Cover almost anything with a fine layer of sugar icing and its gotta be good. We also picked up a really cheap umbrella stroller that we used to go to dinner. Hannah loved it so much she fell asleep in it on the walk back to the room.

For dinner on Thursday night we had Japanese in the hotel. What you say? Japanese food in China? Can they really make good sushi? We all think so. Hannah even sampled the shad roe and loved it. She is a little gourmet. This kid eats everything we put in front of her. It is such a joy feeding her.

Today we explored the neighborhood around our hotel. First up was a brief excursion to an embroidery factory just about 10 minutes away by car. The artistry and skill of this craft is truly amazing. The beauty of the work was just stunning. Of course, I was immediately drawn to an 8 panel series of the seasons that cost just 148,000 Yuan. That's only $18,500. Michelle always said I have good taste in art.

After the factory tour, Michelle and I took about a 3 hour walk with Hannah in her beloved stroller. She was great. So were all the people we encountered. I have to tell everyone that the Chinese seem to love kids. And they aren't shy about sharing their enthusiasm for babies. We were approached repeatedly and Hannah's toes were grabbed and tickled by both men and women.

We went to several large stores exploring and a highlight was a multi-level book store where we found more English/Chinese/Pinyin baby books for our little girl. In one store they offered us drinks of water and we gave a little to Hannah who seemed to like 'drinking' from a big person cup. So, like any good parents, we bought her a sippy cup.

For lunch we ate back at the hotel in the 'Food Street', the equivalent of a food court back in the states. All the food is Chinese, but from all the different provinces. Since we walked in just before they were closing, the waitresses were free to dote on Hannah. She really attracts attention (see pictures). This girl is like a rock star. As soon as we entered, the wait staff descended on us, took Hannah and let us get some food. They insisted that we eat while they fed her and even rocked her to sleep when she got fussy. We offered them 2 tickets to the States so they could come back with us. How are we ever going to eat out once we are home without this kind of support???

The evening brought bath time and again she loved it. I think I might have loved it more though. The best part might be getting to wrap her up in a big bath towel afterwards and snuggling with her on the bed. It doesn't get much better than that!

Tomorrow we are planning to go to the park. Since it will be Saturday we are told to expect many locals there also enjoying the day.

Andrew

P.S. The tushie shot is a special request from Bubie.

It's Official

Well, we've been parents now for 30 hours and so far everyone has survived. Of course, Hannah already has us wrapped around her little finger. We just can't get enough of her!

This morning, we went back to the adoption center to do the paperwork to make the act official. We pick up her passport on Monday. We both had to place our thumbprints on the official document. Hannah's right footprint is on the document as well (see picture). We have also include a snap shot they gave us of the location where she was found. We didn't expect to get this at all. We had an official family photo taken and then had everything notarized. One of the notary's official questions was "do we want to give her back?". I told him that Andrew won't even put her down so there is no chance of us giving her up!

We have discovered that the only time she cries is when she is hungry. She has taken 4 bottles today and ate more solid foods than I did. We are still trying to get the hang of all getting to eat together (or finding time to eat at all for that matter). We actually did make it to dinner tonight as a family- a big step for new parents- and she had pumpkin, tofu, rice congee, and watermelon. She likes to get fed from chopsticks instead of us putting things in her mouth with our fingers. She is not yet picking things up and feeding herself. Eating definitely is not an issue- she must be our child!

We did have one concern about her... she did not have a wet diaper for 16 hours. The doctor in me was getting a little nervous because she even went through the night without urinating. Children here wear split pants and are taught to pee on command. Good thing we found out from the orphanage nanny that her signal is a whistle. When Andrew realized how worried I was, he suggested we put her over the toilet to see if she would pee on command. After whistling and tickling her tushie, she went in the toilet! We could not believe it. She has since started going in her diaper though, which is a HUGE relief to me because I can't whistle!

We made it through her first bath tonight. She didn't love getting her hair washed, but tolerated the rest of the bath quite well. You could even say she enjoyed it. Of course, we have a million pictures of her in the tub. Andrew is either holding her or the camera at all times.

She has been sleeping well today. She took 2 naps, each for 2.5 hours and she is now asleep (hopefully for the night). She has a cold so she was up coughing a few times during the night last night. She is so darn cute though that didn't mind waking up with her despite our exhaustion. Neither of us has slept well on this trip- the jet lag, my being sick with a cough, the anxiety has made for not much sleep. I guess it was good practice.

Tomorrow is a free day. No appointments or official business. We're looking forward to spending the day playing with Hannah without interruption. Like I said, we just can't get enough of her!

Michelle

Hannah Tess Shu Fang Iskowitz

We would like to introduce everyone to Hannah Tess Shu Fang Iskowitz. What a mouth full.

She is finally in our arms!

She is health, happy and appears to be very content. At the moment, she is sleeping peacefully in her mothers arms.

Thanks to everyone who has sent us well-wishes either through email or the blog.

Love,
Andrew, Michelle and Hannah


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Our Last Day B.K. (Before Kids)

As if being in China wasn't enough to make our heads spin, we found ourselves climbing the Great Wall and walking in the footsteps of emperors today. I have bruises from where Michelle keeps pinching me. It really is surreal.

We started our day off with a trip north of Beijing to visit a portion of the Great Wall. The shear scale of it boggles the mind. Even though the rumor about it being visible from space has been debunked (read what NASA has to say on the topic here) it is still way big and very, very impressive.

Of course, as with every monumental attraction in China, there were many other tourists visiting the wall today like we were. Climbing was complicated by the throngs moving up and down in semi-orderly fashion. Americans have to quickly adjust to the fact that many of the world's cultures just don't share our passion for standing in lines and waiting one's turn. I paused several times to let a senior citizen go before me only to have someone from behind me cut us both off.

The one thing all tourist are universally good at (Americans might actually take the title in this one) is stopping dead in their tracks in the middle of wherever they are to do a tourist thing. Many people would just come to a complete and unexpected standstill to snap a photo or take a sip of water. Perfectly acceptable and expected unless you're in the middle of a crowd moving cautiously on very steep steps. I wistnessed some near fatal collisions.

The portion of wall we visited was clearly refurbished and very well maintained. I have read that many portions are in near or complete disintegration. The full length exceeds 4,100 miles, which in and of itself is a staggering fact when you realize that the entire continental US is I believe under 3,000 wide.

For lunch we visited a set-up that we are learning is a very typical tourist trap. The scenario goes something like this: build a factory showcasing the production of one of the many fine crafts that China is famous for (jade, silk, embroidery, cloisonne) and stick a reasonable good restaurant on it and an enormous 'discount' store. Free tours of the production process are given by guides that speak very good English and afterwards groups are lead immediately into the shopping area where there are a gazzillion sales associates standing at the ready.

Despite the fact that it all smacked of consumerism the insight I gained into how these beautiful pieces of artwork are created made it all worth while. Today we visited a cloisonne factory and I have to say that I was amazed at the number of steps and level of effort that goes into creating one piece. These items are not mass produced. Each one is painstakingly made by hand. Many hands in fact.

From lunch we headed back into Beijing to visit Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. Not enough can be said about these two places so I won't even try. We all know about Tianamen Square since it was brought crashing into our collective consciousness in 1989. The square is in front of the Forbidden City, the home of the emperor, and is in fact considered the 'court yard'. Like we mentioned in previous posts the Chinese emperors did nothing on a scale short of grand.

Portions of the Forbidden City are covered in scaffolding for renovation. Nearly everything is being touched up for the 2008 Olympics. The make over is wonderful to behold. The color are spectacular. You can compare redone portions against old areas and it all reminds me of before and after images I have seen of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Well it is 10pm here in China's capitol and I have to break the computer down now and pack for our trip tomorrow to Changsha. I can't believe our daughter's 'gotcha day' will be here in less than 2 hours. Sleep is not going to come easily for us. We leave for the airport at 5:30am so we'll have an early start to a very special day. Our appointment at the provincial adoption services agency is at 4pm. At that time, we will be handed our daughter. By the time most of you read this, we will have Shu Fang in our arms.

Sweat Dreams!

Andrew

Its Good To Be The Emperor

Yesterday we met up with Anli, Trish and Jason at 9am and were off for a full day of sightseeing in Beijing. We started with the Temple of Heaven which was built about 600 years ago. It is an enormous park now with Beijingers milling around, doing exercises (different kinds of dance and tai chi, singing, playing instruments. None of them were out there asking for money for their performances, they were just doing it for pleasure. It was wonderful to see Chinese of all ages out and about in the park on a Sunday morning.

The building was used 3 times a year by the emperor – just after the first new moon, at spring solstice and at fall solstice. They made sacrifices to the god of heaven in the temple. Much of Beijing's significant sites are being refurbished so a lot is closed. Fortunately, at the Temple of Heaven, much has already been restored so we were able to appreciate all of its beauty.

The best part of our experience at the Temple of Heaven was seeing all the beautiful children with their parents and grandparents. Can you tell we are a little obsessed? They really still have amulti-generationall approach to raising children. The kids were adorable. They walk around in split pants (crotchless) as infants and toddlers so they can do their business whenever, wherever. Diapers are not the in thing here. Bare tushies are. It is just so cute to see everywhere you turn. We spent just as much time looking at the children as we did appreciating the history and architecture.

We then went to the Yuanlong silk factory and learned how silk is made. It is really cool! There were many beautiful silk duvet covers and silk comforters. Maybe we'll buy one the next time we are here.

We had lunch with Anli at a local Beijing restaurant then were off to the Summer Palace. It too is getting a face lift so we did not see some of the famous hallways that all the guidebooks talk about. Nonetheless, the setting is beautiful on a man-made lake and the grounds are lovely. It was packed with people! We walked along the lake and absorbed as much as we could of the architecture and spectacle of the buildings that were available for us to observe. A boatride across the lake to get a good view of the whole palace was a highlight for me. I am amazed at how big these emperors made things for themselves. I guess it is "good to be the king".

The last planned activity of the day was a Chinese acrobatic show, which was just amazing! The performer's strength and agility were beyond words. Andrew has the whole thing on video in case anyone ever wants to see it.

Dinner was in the hotel because we were all wiped out. Trish, Jason, Andrew and I met up with Colleen, our agency's director of international adoptions, and had a nice time before all of us went to crash. It is great to be busy during the day because it is keeping us distracted and makes us tired so we can, in theory, get a good night sleep. But really, who can sleep when you know you are going to be an instant parent in a couple of days?

Hopefully, we will be able to pay attention to Anli during our tours today of the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City. Tomorrow morning we fly to Hunan Province to pick up Shu Fang.

Michelle

Panda Paradise!

I got to hold a baby panda!!!!! We went to the Chengdu Panda Research Center, which is about 20 minutes outside downtown Chengdu. It is somewhat zoo-like but the habitats that the pandas live in are much larger and more true to their natural habitat then at the National Zoo in DC. There are about 30 giant pandas living there. We were supposed to go in the afternoon on the day we arrived in Chengdu, but our guide suggested we change that plan since the pandas tend to be sleeping in the afternoon. I am sooooooo thankful that she made that suggestion.

We arrived at the center at about 9:30 am. There were already a lot of tour buses there but our guide, Julie, said it was quiet compared to other times she has been there. We were able to see several pandas eating and got to watch a couple of 4 year olds playing for a good 20 minutes or more. They were frolicking and tumbling and wrestling. It reminded me of Harley and Duncan playing at home. They were just adorable. I could have watched them for hours.

The highlight was getting to hold Jin Jin, an 8 month old panda. We watched him climb down a tree and play a bit then Julie directed us to the area where we could hold him. At first, I didn't realize that I was going to get to hold the panda we just saw playing. It was pricey and we did not have enough yuan to pay for it. I tried to keep my disappointment in check, but it was tough. Thankfully, Andrew and Julie found out they would take US dollars and my day was made. There were tons of people there at the time so the handler asked us to come back in about 45 minutes because Jin Jin gets upset with so many people around. When we came back there was hardly anyone there. They brought Jin Jin to me and for 2.5 minutes, I was in heaven. He was sooooooooo cute. We've got it all on video that I will undoubtedly bore all of you with at some point.

After the panda reserve, we went to an embroidery shop where they make hand made silk embroidery pictures and silk brocade pieces on a loom. They also make carpets. We got to see the artisans working and even got to try our hands at carpet weaving. The work was just beautiful.

From there, we went to lunch for our last meal with Julie and Mr. Chun and then off to the airport. We made it back to Beijing and in the airport we stumbled upon a group of Spanish parents just back from Canton province with their new Chinese babies. I spoke with one parent who said all of the babies are healthy and eating well. It really hit us that in just a few days, that will be us. We can't wait!

Today we are going to the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.

Michelle

Best Day Yet

Michelle and I agree that yesterday was our best overall day so far in China. I started off by waking up early and wandering around the neighborhood surrounding the hotel. This is something I particularly enjoy doing when I travel. Seeing the locals in their morning routine is priceless. Everywhere people were off to work or opening shop or reading the paper. I walked past food vendors preparing meals and kids walking to school. Further along I eventually came to the elementary school where many of the children were heading. They were cackling loudly as chidren do and gathering in groups around several carts selling every imaginable cheap plastic toy. There was even a guy selling silk worms. As you can imagine they were a big hit with the under ten crowd.

At 8:30 we left for Leshan. We were in the car for about 2 hours, but it was totally worth the drive. Funny how we didn't consider the fact that the sites we were came to see might not be right outside our hotel. Leshan is called the River Town because 3 rivers converge there. Don't ask me to name them. It is also famous because of the Giant Buddha carved a 1000 years ago into the side of the mountain facing the convergence point where many boats have sunk. A monk decided to raise money to build the Buddha to protect the fisherman who were losing their lives. The project took 90 years. The big guy is 71 meters high and about 100 people can fit in his lap.

The walk down to few the sculpture from the ground is a little treacherous. But worth it.

Once we were back in Chengdu we went for a traditional hot-pot meal. We were joined by Julie, our guide, and Mr. Chun, our driver. Sharing the meal with them made it more than just a typical meal. It was a real life experience.

After dinner we went to watch a Chinese Opera. The performance included acrobats, a hand-shadow performer, with the highlight being a face changer. If you are unfamiliar with the ancient Chinese performance art of face changing, you are in for a real treat. Go rent the movie "The King of Masks" by Chinese director Tian-Ming Wu. We found it at our local Hollywood Video and it is available from Amazon.

This morning we are off to see the Pandas. If we are lucky, we will get to hold a baby.

More later.

Andrew

On the road in Chengdu

Today we arrived in Chengdu and after dropping our stuff off in our room we had a very satisfying lunch in the hotel restaurant. Our guide and driver joined us and we enjoyed a very tasty meal of steamed cod and spicy beef. It definitely helps to have a native speaker (or 2) help with the ordering. We ate family style and were given a lesson in the correct way to use chop sticks.

After changing some money at the bank, we took a ride to visit the Sanxingdui Bronze Museum about 40 kilometers away in the town of Nanxing. The complex was built to display a vast collection of relics discovered accidentally by a farmer over 2 decades ago. Everything was found in several sacrificial burial pits. The artifacts are quite stunning.

Since a good portion of the trip was waswn't on the highway, the ride to the museum gave us some time to observe the locals, their landscape (both urban and rural) and daily routine. From our arrival in China, I have been impressed with the sheer volume of visual information that bombards the population everywhere one turns. Whether its billboards or banners, bicycles or buses its a cacophony of sites and sounds and they are as colorful as they are loud.

Things would be more overwhelming if the backdrop of buildings and sky were equally bright and cheerful. Instead they are mostly grey and dull. There seems to be a coat of dust on everything. We were told in Beijing that most dwellings are intentionally left colorless to signify the humility of the occupants. This is certainly true of the older apartment buildings and factories we could see, but there certainly appears to be newer construction that seems to be bucking the trend.

Something else I have observed is the frequency the Chinese in the 3 cities we have visited use their car horns. It is an incessant clamor for attention. With cars, buses, trucks, bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and pedestrians all converging together often times without care for the rules of the road, the din can be deafening. Can you recall the last time you used your car horn? I can't even recall which part of my steering wheel you have to push to make it work. Literally, our driver probably used the horn 30+ times. And that was just on the return trip.

The picture I attached was taken during our drive of one of the many truckcycles (motorcycle trying hard to be a truck) that competes for space on the road. You wouldn't believe either the amount of stuff or oblong sizes that these guys manage to haul.

Tomorrow we will make the trek to see the Leshan Giant Buddha.

Good night!

Andrew

Terracotta Warriors

We have been in Xian for 2 days and have really enjoyed the city. The highlight was seeing the terra cotta warriors. The sheer size and scope of Emperor Qin's ego is incredible given that he had 720,000 people working over a 40 year time span to create his tomb for the afterlife. The tomb included these warriors, bronze chariots, deer bones for good luck in upcoming battles and weapons for those battles as well. He wanted to remain emperor in the afterlife so he wanted to be as equipped as possible, should the need for an army arise. It is really amazing to see hundreds of life sized warriors, each with a different face as each face was done by hand, lined up as if in battle.

Tomorrow we are off to Chengdu. We are scheduled to see the pandas (the highlight for me of this first week of travel). Stay tuned... hopefully there will be a picture of me holding a panda posted tomorrow!

Michelle

Rickshaw Tour of Beijing's Hutongs

The morning of our first full day here we took a rickshaw tour of Beijing's old residential neighborhood. We had an English speaking guide accompany us on bicycle. He led us through the narrow streets to a farmers market, a nursery school, and a local family's home where we were served jasmine tea.

Beijing is an amazing place with throngs of people and bicycles. There are over 15 million people living in the urban area and approximately 11 million bikes. Driving anywhere is serious business. Our guide asked us kindly not to try to talk to him during the trip from the hotel this morning because navigating the congestion takes all his concentration. After a few minutes out of the hotel parking lot and it becomes all too clear what he is talking about. The volume of cars is staggering and maneuvering is complicated by the people on bikes, mopeds, and foot.

You can see other pictures from our tour on Flickr.

We're on our way!

Here is the view from the 747.

We flew from Chicago over Alaska and down through Siberia.

The flight was very full. In fact, we heard that United oversold the flight by 27 seats. They were offering a sweat deal to anyone volunteering to get bumped. No amount of travel vouchers though would keep us off this flight.

Andrew

Ni Hăo

Ni Hăo

Well we are off to China tomorrow morning! We can hardly believe that after almost 18 months, we are finally on our way to get our daughter. We are overwhelmed, excited, anxious, exhausted and everything in between.

Thanks to all who have emailed and called to wish us a good trip. We hope you will all be following along with us on this adventure of a lifetime.

We got updated info on Shu Fang: She is now 27.95 inches, 16.75 #. She lost some weight after having a bout of diarrhea after she was introduced to apple. She is apparently doing fine now. There will just be a little less of those cheeks to pinch when we first meet her!

We are so thankful to Anli, our coordinator in China, who has planned an amazing last child- free hoorah for us for the first week we are there. We really feel unbelievably taken care of. Once we get there, everything will be on auto pilot and we just get to enjoy. Its the getting ready to get there that has got us a bit crazed.

Well, we've got to go now. Its 10:05 pm and we are still finishing last minute things. We are leaving for the airport in 8.5 hours. I guess if we don't sleep much tonight, we've got a 14 hour plane ride to catch up!

Love to you all.

Michelle and Andrew