Day 2 -

July 27, 2014- Day 2

First half:

We were only able to sleep until about 1am.  Our bodies are still on Eastern time.  I woke up thinking about my 3 wonderful kids back in Tennessee and just had to try to talk to them.  I got out of bed (which was a very hard circle bed) and turned on Skype.  If felt so good to get to talk to my kids!  Cooper still had face paint on from Dollywood and both boys sported glow in the dark vampire teeth from Chuck E. Cheese.  Piper was stuck like glue to Aunt Julie.  Those kids are getting some very special attention while we are away!

After our Skype conversation Jeff and I still couldn’t sleep.  We found a new station on TV that was in English and a soccer game that at least we could follow the game and tune out the Mandarin.  It was useless to try to sleep any longer so we got dressed and reorganized our luggage.  We made a few more Skype calls to our parents before it was time for breakfast.  Breakfast at this airport hotel was a Chinese breakfast that looked oddly like lunch and supper.  I had hard-boiled eggs, very very salty rice, and sausage and green peppers.  Jeff had beef and green beans, some kind of tofu like substance, and “fermented milk”.  We haven’t gotten sick yet so it must have been safe to eat.  At breakfast we met the two other families that we will be traveling with throughout China.  One family is adopting another Bamboo kid that we have gotten a chance to get to know through facebook and the other family we met for the first time.  One family is from CA and the other MN.  We have already enjoyed lots of laughs together and I’m really excited about getting to know them better in the next 3 weeks. 

After breakfast we met up with first guide, Shiyan.  She has helped Bethany families for years and was so comforting to have an experience guide in a country that is so foreign in every aspect to us.  She led us to the subway and road with us for the hour and a half trip to the train station.  As we were waiting for the subway, Shiyan told Jeff and I that she had met our Miley several times and how pretty she is.  That was a proud parent moment for sure!  Of course she is beautiful!  So anyway, the subway actual took longer than expected so Shiyan collected our passports and train tickets and exchanged them for a later train.  Apparently passports are the main form of identification here…at least for foreigners.  (At the airport hotel, the password for us to get internet access was Jeff’s passport number.  I guess the government keeps track of everything and everyone over here.)  

It was so much fun people watching while we waited for Shiyan to return with our tickets.  A group of 3 girls maybe 10-12 years old came over and talked to one of the 9 year old girls in our group.  They wanted a picture with Julia because she is American.  It was so cute watching the girls together.  The Chinese girls were so curious of this group of Americans in their train station.  We saw other people sneaking phone photos of us as we walked around.  It was very amusing.

Right now we are on our 4 hour bullet train ride from Shanghai to Jinan.  

Our train is going about 300 kl/hr….it’s stupid fast!  I have no idea where we are right now, but we have gone though areas with lots of apartments or duplex type homes.  They look very old and worn and are surrounded by water.  I’m guessing they are some kind of rice patty, but that’s just a guess.  We’ve also passed through mountainous areas.  The mountains are smaller than the Smoky Mountains and are in little random “lumps”.  They are not in a mountain range like I’m use to in Tennessee.  Most of the land is flat and green.  The smog is horrible!!!! We haven’t seen the sky since landing in Shanghai yesterday.  Jeff guesses that we only have about a 1,000 ft visibility in front of us.  I am so thankful for our emissions laws in the U.S. right now!!!

We were told it would be hot and humid, but I can’t explain what it really feels like.  I grew up in Florida and this is so different.  Right now it is 88 degrees and the humidity is unbelievable!  We walked outside for about 5 minutes this morning and honestly could not believe it!

I can’t wait to get to Jinan!  We still don’t feel like we are really in China because we haven’t been out of an airport, hotel, subway, or train station since arriving.  

Oh and by the way, we get our Miley girl TOMORROW!!!! 

I really hope we can figure out which train station to get off…Shiyan isn’t with us right now and we definitely don’t speak this language…hehe.  Jeff has stepped up as the group leader, just like I new he would.  While everyone else is busy talking he is paying attention and watching.  I love him!

Second Half:

We made it off the train at the right train stop!!!  That was a big accomplishment since we don’t speak the language.  We met our guide, John, how led us to our van.  John knows very good English and told us a little about Jinan’s history.  Apparently the people who lived her a million years ago worshiped the sun god and they have found lots of pottery with the sun on it. So glad that this little Jinan girl will worship the real Sun!  Jeff asked John if he would show us Huaiyin Square, which is where Miley was found as a two month old.  He did!  We weren’t able to get out of the van, but we drove around 3 sides of it.

There was a playground, area to play chess, and grass areas to relax.  There were lots of shade trees which was nice to see in this city.  The square is also right next to the biggest hospital in the city.  John said that it was a good place for her birth mother to leave her.  I can’t imagine what her birth mother had to have gone through that day.  Lots of mixed emotions.  

So after the Square, John took us to the hotel.  It is so beautiful!  I feel very fortunate to be staying here!  I started right away unpacking our things especially Miley’s things.  The hotel workers brought a nice white crib in for her…it’s really starting to feel real!!! 

We found a mall near the hotel that had lots of restaurants.  We just picked one and hoped it was good.  Our waiter didn’t speak much English, but I think we equally had a good time trying to understand each other.  Never underestimate charades!  The food really was good!  After dinner we found a Wal-Mart type store and bought some bottle waters and cokes.  We saw lots of large live fish in takes and the biggest bullfrogs I’ve ever seen.  Yes I took videos of the frogs!  I’m wiped out now and starting to not make since so I’m going to say goodnight!

We will get Miley tomorrow at 10:30am!!!!!!!