Digging China

As Chris said, “I can’t believe I’m in China. I feel like I’m in a dream.” Our 24 hours of travel by car and plane have brought us safely to Beijing. Backlash from Ike made for a turbulent few hours outside of Detroit but we managed to fly north of the jet stream. The plane food was surprisingly “good.” At least Dave and I thought so. Chris, on the other hand, actually ate BBQ’d beef and later an omlette WITH CHEESE. When asked what he thought of breakfast, he said, “ I’m ambivalent.” Good thing we are toting a jar of peanut butter.
We were met last night by our guide, Joy and by thunderstorms. Joy said that we have come to Beijing at the best possible time of the year. She said the autumn is known here as the Golden Time. She has lined up the city tour for today. After a quick breakfast we will see the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and The Summer Palace. We are all very anxious to begin the trip.

Next Signs
We have talked many times to our neighbors directly to the left of our house, Sue and Craig Chang. I was under the false idea that they were from Korea. Of course now it seems obvious that Chang is not a Korean name, but you can imagine my surprise when Sue told me her native tongue is Chinese. She and her husband emigrated here from Taiwan. Sue offered her assistance in translation when we return providing that Aubrey speaks Mandarin and not Cantonese. How could that have been planned any better?
A few weeks before leaving, Gabe was playing with his friend Greg. Greg had forgotten to let his mother know where he was going. She walked down the street to find him at our house. She and I became engaged in conversation that led to talk of the adoption. Her husband was at that time in China, not far from where we would be going. When he arrived back in the states he had a wealth of information and ideas to make our trip easier. He brought us a phone and headphones enabling us to keep in contact with our boys while we are here. Our endless thanks to Bob and Camille for that.
Who knew, after living here for 6 years, these same neighbors would be just who and where we needed them. I think we can all figure it out by now, God knew.