July 4, 5, 6

As you know from Larry’s post, we made it to China safely, landing on our 4th wedding anniversary. The flight over went much better than I expected! Julie was such a big girl and seemed very excited to be on an “aih-pane.” She fell asleep shortly after take-off and slept for about 1.5 hours. She would have slept longer if lunch service hadn’t made so much noise. She woke up happy to have food in front of her though! After that we played with various things from her carry-on for a while. Then we walked around the plane for a while. Then it was time for food service again, this time a snack. When that was finished and we ran out of things to keep busy, we broke out the DVD player. What an amazing invention that thing is! We would have been in big trouble without it. At some point we took a break for dinner and then went back to videos. Julie was so clearly tired, but she can resist sleep pretty well if she is rested going in. She did eventually fall asleep, but only for 30 minutes because food service came back again. She woke up unhappy and let everybody know about it! At that point she was just so tired but couldn’t get past the noise and the inability to get comfortable. I tried everything I could think of but the screaming continued. Finally, I got out a lollipop and the tears magically ceased! After the DVD player, lollipops are definitely the best thing to have on a plane with a toddler! After what seemed like forever, we finally landed in Beijing.

We collected all our luggage except for our stroller, which never came up on the carousel. We were going to gate check it but decided at the last minute to check it with our bags because we thought it would be easier. Wrong! Apparently, a stroller (even umbrella) is considered “oversize luggage” and it doesn’t go in with the rest of the bags. If only I had know. After nearly an hour of waiting and talking to the airport people, the stroller finally came up on the oversized luggage carousel. Lesson learned!! We hurried to meet our guide and found out that the rest of the group was just getting ready to leave without us. I am so grateful that they didn’t!

We got to our hotel, checked in, and got to our room. Shortly thereafter, Julie fell off the bed from a standing position directly onto her back on the floor. Oh, the crying! Of course, that’s when the hotel staff came with the crib we’d requested for her. Oh, she was also naked from the waist down and I didn’t have any diapers because our luggage (including carry-ons) was yet to be delivered to our room. Traveling with kids is just a crazy experience!

Julie went to bed around 6:20pm China time, which was 5:20am Central time. What a little trooper! The rest of us ate Pizza Hut and fell into bed. Unfortunately, I soon woke up feeling not so good. I got sick in China last time and I was really hoping to avoid it this time. Not the case. Maybe it’s just how my body reacts to major sleep deprivation combined with major stress. It is what it is, I guess. Perhaps I should be happy to be getting it over with early in the trip, before we get Melody. I hope it works that way! I tried to sleep, but it was kind of hard while sweating and listening to my insides churn. At some point I took a Dramamine and dozed off a bit. Then Julie woke up. I looked at my watch and saw that it was 10 to 6, which was great! Unfortunately, I was wrong. I’m not sure how I managed to read my watch incorrectly, but it turned out to actually be about 1am! We realized something was up when it was still pitch black outside. So, we stayed up for a while, Larry took Julie for a walk, and then we went back to bed. We finally got up at 7am, for real!

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur. I spent it basically going from the bed to the bathroom and back again, while Larry, Julie and Grandma went out and about. We did get to visit with our friends, the Martindales, who are teaching in Beijing for two years. It was really wonderful to see them. Wayne became my hero by going out in search of Imodium, which is surprisingly hard to find in China. I have a literal drugstore in my luggage, but no Imodium. It’s just something I’ve never needed, until now. To make a long story short (or at least shorter), I am finally starting to feel a bit better. I haven’t eaten in 24 hours and I’m still afraid to try, but I think I’ll see how some crackers do. We didn’t get much sleep last night, since Julie woke up at 9:30 and spent the rest of the night tossing, turning and crying in bed with me. It is now Saturday morning in China, and a day full of touring. It’s nearly time to go, so I’ll have to post pictures later. Until then!