Day 2: Welcome to Beijing!

It's been a marathon getting to China! I didn’t sleep much the night before. Bro and I went out to SM around 9PM, after we picked Aunty of Genius Cousins up, to go to Dentist Aunty’s to greet them as they came home from Taiwan for Grampa’s funeral. We went out to MVP to eat dinner until about 11:30 PM, where the aunties described Grandpa’s funeral and their trip. From pictures, it looks like the ceremony was beautiful, restful, and peaceful.

Bro and I didn’t get home until about 1:30 AM, whereupon BF & I finished packing. I got about 3 hours of sleep before it was time to wake up. The morning was hectic! I dropped keys off to Fun Van, who is turtle-sitting. I already miss Lil F so much! BF and I drove to my bro’s office, where his friend picked us 3 up and dropped us off at LAX around 10:45 AM. We checked in relatively quickly and found the others. BF and I checked out the fancy Duty Free shop and then had McDonald’s before we entered security. When it was boarding time, we herded in with a chaotic group of Chinese people. We each sat in pairs along the left-side of the plane; BF and I sat at the plane wing behind Tita Dina and Shell and in front of Bro and FBIL.

The plane ride was soOOooOoo long. I thought I’d be alright, but it was hard man! BF had bought me a crossword/activity puzzle book so that kept me occupied along with Voyage of the Sea Turtle and my Chinese textbook. I took quite a few naps, too. The ride was difficult b/c the air was soOoOo dry and stuffy, and it would get cold and then hot. To top it off, wearing my contacts to preserve my vanity was so not worth it; I’ve never put so many eye drops before. The meals were alright. For the first one, we had a choice of pork noodles or beef stew with rice. I kinda had both since BF and I switched (this would become an ongoing airplane ride occurrence). For a snack, we had half a veggie sandwich and a ham and cheese sandwich. Unfortunately, lunch and/or the snack ruined BF’s stomach. For dinner, we both had rice with seafood (hot pot) and broccoli with fruit. We landed around 4 AM in Shanghai for a layover and took a long walk around the very quiet airport to get through security/imports and our gate. Bro got me a Sprite for 6 RMB before we boarded the plane around 8:20 PM and departed around 8:50 PM.

Dude, that was the looooongest plane ride ever! I fell asleep shortly after we took off but woke up after 20 mins just to see that only 20 mins had passed. That must have happened like 2 or 3 times when in total only an hour had passed! The next 50 mins was painful since I had to use the lady’s room, and I kept thinking we were descending. Plus, the stewardess came on 2x to say that we were descending. What’s the big idea!

When we got off, it was about 10:45 PM and we took a super long bus ride to get to the baggage claim. At the baggage claim, I went with BSILF to the restroom. I went into the first stall and boy was I in for a surprise! It was a squater! I mean, Cousin Gnat had warned me, but I still wasn’t ready for it. I wondered if BSILF next door was popping a squat. Turns out only the first stall is a floor urinal. Holy snikeys, man! We picked up our luggage and met our tour guide, Lee Wong, who gave us a verbal itinerary for tomorrow and the day after, during our half hour drive to Loong Palace.

I was giddy with glee when we arrived at Loong Palace hotel! It is a beautiful, ornate, and huge hotel! We are next door to bro and FBIL. We dropped off our luggage and then a few of them went downstairs to the Tropicana Lounge. I had to use the restroom, where a lonely mosquito flew out of the john. That cracked me up b/c my bro’s been soOoOoo paranoid about mosquitoes. Afterwards, Bro and I headed down to meet BF, FBIL, Lynn-Chan, & Gabe. BF and I came up first so we could settle down and prep for tomorrow.

They say not to use tap water even to brush our teeth so I boiled some water. (As a non sequitur, I use the bad tap water to wash my hands before taking my contacts out.) I took a nice shower while BF packed our day pack and then he took a shower and crashed. So far, it’s been a long journey to get here, but we are here!

I think it’s interesting that I am so used to landing in LAX, where the city is so brightly lit. When we arrived in Shanghai, there were hardly lights in view. Both airports were soOOoOo quiet and empty that it was almost creepy.

I am really excited about tomorrow! We’re hitting the floor running tomorrow. Should be tons of fun. It’s noon LA time but 3 AM here. I’m waking up around 6:30 AM to get ready for our first buffet breakfast! It’s supposed to be both American and Chinese breakfast buffet. Yummers! FBIL and I are going to go; hopefully, Bro will wake up, too.

I’m really happy to be here. As we landed and got on those walkways, shuttles, buses, and routes, I kept wondering if this is exactly where Dad was. I wish we could call him. I know God is watching over us and protecting us, too. Pastor Aunty prayed for us while they were on their drive up to San Jose (when we were taking off from LAX). I am really glad that I am here with Bro, FBIL, BF, BSILF & Hubby. Tomorrow should be a wonderful day, despite the thunderstorms and humidity.