Sunday, July 11, 2010

Today was a travel day. But first we squeezed one last bit of adventure out of Beijing before catching a flight to Wuhan. Peicy met us at the courtyard at 9:30AM and we drove about 20 minutes to a hutong famous because of its close proximity to the Forbidden City. In the past many government officials lived in this particular hutong. We rode through the narrow corridors in a rickshaw to the residence of Mr. Li he Ping. Mr. Ping welcomed us (and many other curious folks) into his family’s living quarters. Michelle and I spent about 20 minutes just chatting with Mr. Ping in his sleeping quarters. We learned a lot about his family living conditions and typical daily life in Beijing. The courtyard was filled with pride as Mr. Ping shared some words of wisdom. We said good-bye and thank you (in Chinese) to Mr. Ping and followed the hutong out to a lake that runs through the city. There were many paddle boats passing by and the lake was surrounded by bars and clubs. All the establishments were quiet or closed on this Sunday afternoon.

On the way to lunch Michelle spotted a familiar site to us…yes, more Dutch people! This couple from Utrecht was taking in the sites by bicycle; a natural act for Dutch folk even in Beijing traffic. The fact that they were soccer fans decked out in national oranje (orange) enhanced their visibility among the regular drab commuters, cars and mopeds.

We arrived at the Beijing airport with plenty of time to catch our flight to Wuhan. Peicy was a great help escorting us through the rain, to the ticket counter and she even looked on as we snaked our way through security. She was a great person to have along this part of our journey.

After the 2-hour flight into central China we were greeted by Richard. He will guide us through the adoption process here in the capital of Hubei province and onto Guangzhou. During the hour drive to the hotel Richard gave us a general overview the process. He also offered some insight about Wuhan culture, food and the girls. They are “spicy!” Well known to be very outspoken, opinionated and high achieving young ladies come from this region.

We will do some shopping in the morning---the Walmart kind not “Jademart.” Then we meet Ava at 3:00PM. We are very excited and anxious to welcome her. In the next post we will introduce you all to Ava. Thanks for reading and for all the kind emails and guest book entries.

Daryl & Michelle