First impressions of China

Leaving Hong Kong was a triumph. Imagine having to carry two heavy bags on a bus and a train in a place that really isn't very handicap accessible. What does that mean? There are very few elevators. We seriously struggled to make our way to the Hung Hom Train station in Kowloon. That meant we had to travel from Hong Kong Island to the mainland. It would have been hard getting a cab, and we couldn't get my bag down into the MTR subway system. We had to take a bus and then walk to the train station. It was amazing to see 90 lb LIz hoist a bag around that was 100 lbs. She has the battle wounds to prove it.

We made it to the Through train to Guangzhou and got on with some of the locals and some tourists. Guangzhou is the main adoption center for American couples. At the train station entering Guangzhou we saw a lot of "white people" many of which we guessed were parents coming for there babies. It gave Guangzhou a happy feeling/ first impression.

After rigorous immigration and customs inspections, we met Steve at the train station, and Steve said that Liz's bag was the heaviest he'd ever seen!!! We were so happy to see Jenny and Steve and there familiar faces!! There apartment is very nice, and is on the 21st floor of a huge high rise. All around us there are huge high rises. Its just like downtown New York City, everything is a huge high rise. Steve took us to the police station so that we could be registered. China requires visitors to be registered. Then he gave us a little tour around the around of town close to the apartment. They are very centrally located, we are close to a Subway stop and many restaurants and little shops. There are lots of parks and the Pearl River (one of the longest rivers in China) is visible from their apartment balcony.

There is little English around. This makes it difficult, but I really have come to appreciate the challenge of communicating. It is a humbling experience. Interestingly, the Chinese who work at Starbucks speak English very well! Jenny and Steve are so impressive with their Mandarin. They are really able to communicate with the locals. I don't know if we'd be able to make it around here without them. Actually... I know we wouldn't. They took us to a Chinese Restaurant Chong Qing Little Hole in the Sky. Chong Qing is a city in western China known for its spicy food. The food was yummy, and it was the first time I felt full since we arrived in China. We had three main entrees. A spicy tofu dish, a dish with celery and nuts and another dish with Chicken. An unusual thing they did was pour us tea, but they leave the tea leaves in the cups. Liz is saying that I am writing all the main events so I'll let her cover the rest of our first couple days from here.