We're Here!!!

As Tony put it earlier, the airplane ride and layovers and rushing to get on the next airplane was horrible. Thankfully four out of eight airplane trips are out of the way.

We started off pretty good out of Charlotte. No trouble, no delays, just a little cramped for a short flight.

Then got to Atlanta. That airport was crazy with lots and lots of people. Logan was excited that he got to ride a subway train. This flight was delayed b/c it was overbooked. Then when we finally boarded we waited and waited b/c there was too much weight on the plane and they had to fill up with more fuel.

Anyway, that did cut down on the layover time in LA. We met up with another family in our travel group during the Atlanta flight and then two more in LA. The LA layover was still long and if adjusted for Eastern standard time like we're used to, we didn't take off until almost 3am. We had to carry a sleep 4 year old that was too tired to walk plus our carry-on's to board a bus to take us to the plane. He ended up crashing again as soon as we boarded.

The 15 hour plane ride from LA to Gaungzhou was horrible. We felt like sardines. I think every American on the plane was on their way to adopt. As soon as we boarded this plane, all we wanted to do was sleep but that didn't happen except for Logan. They kept the lights on to serve us a meal. I was trying to lay back in my chair the flight attendants kept coming by making me put my chair up. The backs were not allowed to lie down while people were eating nor were the armrests allowed down even if we didn't eat. The flight attendant's were not nice at all. By the time food was done, we attempted sleep again. I might have gotten 1-2 hours but that's about it. I just couldn't sleep. Tony probably got about the same amount. Logan didn't eat the meal and he still hasn't had a good meal since we left LA (and that was McDonald's if that counts). The flight attendant's weren't so great at providing drinks on that flight either. There were times I just wanted to parachute out. I was going nuts not sleeping and being cramped in that space AND the worst part was after Logan woke up, he was WIDE open. He was restless, irritable and cranky. We were SO ready to get off that flight.

After that flight was over, we had to find our luggage and clear customs. We lost out on some money. We had been warned about people in this airport scamming. We were with another family and was told to pay money for a bus ride b/c we were late boarding our next flight. We had no Chinese Money on us so the other couple paid. Well, it turned out to not be a bus but a golf cart, BUT there was one driver and he took off with a few others and no other drivers ever came back to pick us up. We barely made it over to boarding our flight from Guangzhou to Chongqing. Then on that flight we were all split up. Luckily Tony switched around so he was only one row in front of Logan and I was further back in the back.

Chongqing is AMAZING. I knew it was overloaded with people but never imagined this much. We had a bus ride to our hotel and thank goodness I wasn't driving and Tony is glad he wasn't driving for the sake of hearing me complain about the craziness on the road. No stoplights, no lanes. People just drive all over the place. There could be just an inch between each vehicle and it didn't bother anyone (except me of course).

Our hotel is fabulous. I've never stayed in a hotel this nice. The only thing wrong so far is the bathtub does not empty so my shower turned into a bath for my legs. Our room has a great view of the city and overlooks many of the high rises people live in. Some are no so nice looking unfortunately.

We've already toured a grocery store. We filled about 4 grocery bags for a total of about twelve USD. We crossed a road on foot....very dangerous. People stared at us the entire time we were out. Logan kept getting touched by people. Our guide said they were saying he wasn't warm enough. Everyone in my group was wearing short sleeves except Logan I think and he was in long sleeves and jeans. Every Chinese person on the street has on coats. To us it's very warm but I guess they think it's cold. Another couple has two sons and they were getting the same looks and comments. Our guide said that these people only see Americans on TV so that's why they stare so much at us tourists.

Logan is crashed on the couch now. His body thinks it's 4:10am but it's 5:10pm for us in China. Tony and I are waiting to go with the group for dinner tonight. We're hoping to meet the rest of the families with our agency receiving daughters tomorrow from Xiushan.

Our guide has told us we will see our daughters at 1:30 Monday. The director of the orphanage has told her that almost all of the babies are sick with colds and diarrhea and once we get them back to our hotel rooms we can talk about seeing if they need to see a doctor. Our guide will take us to a Chinese doctor here in Chongqing if needed. After receiving the babies, we will return to our hotel rooms and later we will be given a chance to talk to the director and/or nannies.

I haven't been able to hear from the twins since leaving Atlanta so I'm very anxious to talk to them later tonight. I'm waiting until it's Sunday morning for them.

BTW, we have found a McDonald's and KFC across from our hotel. At least we have these to fall back on if we get hungry or tired of Chinese food.