We're Here

We finally made it to our Hotel in Xi'an at about 11:30 PM Saturday night (11:30 AM Saturday morning, Cincinnati time). We're still trying to figure out our email. For some reason we are not able to send. I think it has something to do with the fuse.net server??? Later, I'll try to just open a yahoo or Gmail account and see if it works that way.

Our flights were very long, but no major problems. The flight from Chicago to Beijing was very bumpy. I had motion sickness for the first time. The coolest thing about the flight was that we flew North up over Canada and over the North Pole and down over Siberia and Russia. We could see sheet ice for hours from our window! I meant to tell Griffin this on the phone last night. I know he will think that's very cool!!!

Our guide, Annie, met us last night at the airport. It took about an hour to get to our hotel from the airport. The way people drive is SO CRAZY! They just switch lanes right in front of other cars, turn into traffic and go the wrong direction. Basically it's just a "free for all". Cars drive on sidewalks to pass traffic and people cross the street right in front of cars. The weird thing is that nobody gets angry or has road rage. Also, at major intersections, military guys stand on the corner. Annie, our guide, is very nice. She told us a lot of interesting things about the city of Xi'an. It's one of the oldest cities in China, about 5,000 years old. Later this week we'll visit a Temple, the Terracotta Warriors and a few other historic sites.

The hotel we're staying out is very nice (photo below). I think it's funny that we get complimentary slippers instead of a robe that you might get in the U.S.A. They have a complimentary breakfast buffet every morning. This morning we had toast, fried eggs, yogurt, fried noodles, fruit (oranges and bananas) and coffee. Kyle tried some sausage, but said it tasted really weird. All the meat looked a little strange, so I didn't attempt to try any. I did try some cantaloupe and watermelon, though. I was told not to eat fruit that you couldn't peel, but I couldn't help myself. I think I'll survive! They also have fried rice, spicy cheese soup, different types of bread and rolls, these preserved pickled eggs, aged cabbage and a few other things. Obviously, we stayed away from this stuff. The fried noodles are my favorite. I could eat them for every meal!!!!

Kyle woke up early and walked around the streets to check stuff out. He said there are brand new buildings right next to buildings that are 1,000 years old. You can see bikes and three wheeled motorcycles everywhere. They are still having small aftershocks from the earthquake in May. Just Friday they had a 3.0 aftershock. People who live in high-rises will camp out in the streets. They are still afraid to sleep inside. Kyle said "even the dogs look Chinese". Also, people write their phone numbers on the sidewalk outside there homes in paint...just thought that was interesting.

We are meeting our guide at 5:30PM today to go to the Civil Affairs Office to pick up Will. We will sign a paper to get temporary custody for 24 hours. Then, tomorrow, we will go back to the Civil Affairs Office and make the adoption official.

Right now we are going to go explore the city some more. Kyle is watching Chinese cartoons and is getting impatient. There is so much to see, so we don't want to spend too much time in the hotel.