July 2...we are in China!!

 I (Susan) am posting this for my sister Betsy/Elizabeth because they don't have access to the Internet right now. They have arrived safely in China!! This is the latest news:

July 2, 2010

Made it to Beijing yesterday.  The plane ride was long, but not too bad.  The airport experience in Beijing was much more pleasant than I had anticipated.  The airport is huge, but really wasn’t too crowded.  We learned that in China, “the children and the elderly must be escorted on elevators.”  We went through customs, which was a mob scene. But, a guard pulled us out of line, asking if we were “singles” or “group.”  When he repeated his question for the third time, we understood that he was trying to separate us from the massive groups of college students who were travelling together.  I guess their visa situation is different.  The guard took us to a much shorter line.  I guess we looked different because Cassie was standing there clutching Brown Bear.  We then got our luggage and looked for our guide.  By the way, luggage carts in China are free.

I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to be met by someone holding a card with my name on it.  Let me say that there were dozens of people holding name cards, waving banners, yelling and clapping.  After a brief panic, we found a young woman holding a sign that said, “Bethany,” the name of our adoption agency.  She took us down to the parking garage where a driver was waiting to take us to our hotel.  Beijing has every bit as much traffic as Northern Virginia. We are staying at the Chang An Grand Hotel.  It is beautiful and expansive.  We were too tired to appreciate much of anything.  As a surprise, Shiyan, the Bethany employee here in Beijing, had arranged a dinner for all the American families.  There are 12 families, including us and 9 American children.  The CEO of Bethany Christian Services was in town and treated us all to a wonderful buffet dinner. 

After dinner, we wandered around the lobby for awhile.  There is a large room with various fish tanks in it.  Some are rectangular and are mounted to the wall.  Others are round and are on top of pedestals.  I could tell they held marine life and was able to recognize eels, rays, and some kind of fish.  There was also a small pool with a seal frolicking in it.  Then, an employee who was dressed like a butcher appeared.  Not sure about the seal, but I think I’ll eat vegetarian tonight.