Beijing Stuff

Another bulleted post as part of my journaling some memories triggers so that I can go back and add detail later as time permits.

• After the zoo, we went to Chinese fast food.  There are some pics in Katelyn’s album.


• They had sinks right there in the restaurant to wash you hands at.  One for adults and one for kiddos.  Kind of like the sinks in Bath and Body Works.


• There was Eagles music playing:  Hotel California.


• Then we heard a cheesy Donnie Osmond song.


• We had chicken on a stick and


• A platter of thinly shaved beef on rice.


• Did I tell you about these super itty bitty baby chickens for sale on the sidewalk in eensy teeny cages?   I don’t think I have ever seen chickens that small.


• We then went to the airport to head for Nanjing.


• The luggage limit is 20 kg.  We were at 19.9 kg, 19.7 kg, and 19.5 kg. 


• I couldn’t believe we made the luggage work that closely!


• Jason gave us a gift of a CD with traditional Chinese music.  Very soothing and beautiful music.


• Jason gave us all a hug when we left.  He stayed to watch as we went through security.  He was such a great guide.  We will miss him.


• We were at Gate 39.  When it came time to board everyone ran up to get in line.  Then all of a sudden everyone started leaving. 


• We are thinking, "OH great!"  What now?


• We somehow figured out that they changed the gates, so we followed the mass exodus of people down to the basement to gate 40 something.


• All of a sudden there is a monsoon of rain.  Jason had just told us it only rains about once a month in Beijing.  Oh, so it does it right now? 


• Everyone was lined up and then they said they were waiting for the rain to stop.  (Our interpretation of what was being said.) 


• Everyone quickly sat down. 


• Then they say "Boarding", so everyone quickly gets up.


• There were hundreds of people on this flight; it was amazing how quickly they could form a line and then sit back down again. 


• They brought a bus to take us to the plane. 


• The steps to the plane had a big arched covering over them. 


• People must not like getting wet here. 


• They must have profiled for the flight attendants, because they were all drop-dead gorgeous Asian women. 


• Katelyn had to go to the bathroom, right before I "thought" we were going to take off. 


• One of the hottie flight attendants gave Katelyn a little puzzle game where you move the squares around. 


• I moved them too much and I’ll be darned if I can get it back again.


• Oops.


• They started serving food to us while we sat on the runway.


• Rain slows things down in Beijing.


• Normally, Chinese people move very quickly as you can tell from the line forming earlier.


• We ate our noodle dishes dutifully as we were very hungry.  Josh and I had beef and noodle with some chili sauce on top.  Katelyn had rice and fish.


• There was also what I think were pickled bamboo shoots, a yummy sweet roll, and peanuts. 


• Katelyn was being super loud on the plane as she was very, very hyped about her birthday and meeting Emma.


• I turned my hearings aid off so that she wouldn’t make me lose my last thread of sanity.


• We flew China Eastern which was based in Nanjing, Jiangsu where we were headed.


• There was a little Chinese girl with her Grandma and Grandpa and she was wearing crocs and they had a Combi stroller. 


• It was an unusual site here in China. 


• Very European looking.


• Josh said something about that Emma’s caregiver was probably telling her about meeting her Mama and Baba tomorrow before going to bed like in the book the White Swan Express.


• I had a few projectile tears over that.


• Josh told me that when he was videoing at the zoo, his camera kept moving from the animals to the cute little kids! 


• Yeah, it was hard to concentrate on the animals.