Overall, our travel day was uneventful. The kids did surprisingly well. And so did the adults. Now, don't get me wrong....it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine. But, we didn't have too many major melt downs until the plane landed in Beijing.
Immigration and customs were a breeze. Gratefully, the kids did exactly as they were told so we didn't have any issues. For those of you who know us well, you may remember a little incident we had in Jamaica. Sara absolutely refused to look at the immigration officer. She was about 8, so he could really see her from his post and she refused to look up so he could validate her presence. sigh. That was rough. Fortunately... we didn't have any such behavior.
Now, after we got our luggage, the next obligatory stop was the bathroom. Enter melt down #1. I had prepped the girls for the bathroom situation in China. Sometimes, we will see normal toilet.. other times we may only have a squatty potty option. Well, this terrified Sara. So the mere thought of even going into the bathroom was enough to set her off. Even though we found a western style toilet, the girl had a melt down. I'm sure it was just displaced emotion from the 18 hours of travel. It does have me a bit concerned about the rest of the trip though. It supposed to be wickedly hot this week. Hydration will be essential. And well... what goes in must come out. Well.. we made it through the melt down, found our guide and headed out of the airport relatively unscathed.
The first photo op along the way came courtesy of Seth, who saw the Pfizer building from the highway! Pretty cool! We made it to the hotel after about a 45 minute commute. Vivian got us checked in and settled. And the hospitality at the hotel has been really fabulous. The rooms? Well, they are just OK. The people here have been fabulous.
We decided to head out in Thursday night to grab a snack. We weren't terribly hungry, but just needed a little something. And honestly.. we just needed to get out of the hotel. Otherwise, we all would've feel asleep by 6 pm. Yes.. the jet lag sucks!! Anyway, on our way out, we were greeted by the hotel manager. They had gifts for the kids and they helped us with money exchange, directions, etc. we found a nearby McDonald's where we order via picture menu. And then headed back to the hotel for so much needed sleep.
Shawna seems really excited and a little anxious. More than once, people have tried to talk to her, assuming that she knows mandarin. The first time, it didn't phase her. By the fourth time.. she's feeling a bit self conscious now and I heard her singing in jibberish in the shower. Sigh More on that later.
Speaking of showers... one other little tidbit about China... the water is not drinkable. We have cautioned the kids extensively to not drink the water... not even a little bit when they brush their teeth, etc.
Sara was looking for the duct tape last night. Why? Well, she wanted to DUCT TAPE her mouth shut during her shower so she wouldn't accidentally swallow any water. For those who know Sara well, y'all can appreciate the humor in this. There have been many many times that I wanted to duct tape Sara's mouth shut. But, not for the shower my dear.
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