We made it.

We made it to the airport in Newark without hitting any traffic.  We got there an hour earlier than we needed to be.  We were fine with that because it would allow us time to walk around and get ready for the long flight ahead.  We stayed in the van for a bit with Annie and Becky and prayed and that was perfect for calming my anxious heart.  It was a teary good bye, but tears of the good kind.  Just minutes after going through security I (Jane) lost her boarding pass.  Yes, yes I did.  We asked a few security people around the area where we checked in, but no one had found it or turned it in.  So off to a service desk we headed to try and get a new one.  Thankfully the guy was very nice and he didn't give us any trouble or question it.  I just showed him my passport and visa and he  issued a new one and we headed to our gate.

We arrived in Beijing at 1:15 (Saturday).  Our flight had it's ups and downs.  It was a pretty quiet group on the plane.  I didn't even see any little kids.  I (Jane) got a little stir crazy about 6 hours in.  I had a very hard time sleeping, actually I got about 2 hours total of broken sleep.  The last three hours were the worst.  Scott's long legs had had enough of being cramped in a small space.  My ankles and feet swelled so badly that I could barely fit my shoes on.  It was painful swelling and yes we did get up and walk around and stand up throughout the flight, but by the end our bodies had just had enough.  Our landing was horrible.  For the last hour and half the flight turbulence actually made the entire plane moan and gasp.  Not sure what was going on, but motion sickness kicked in pretty awful for me.  We arrived in Beijing sooner than our flight was scheduled and we also flew through customs, so our guide was not waiting when we got off.  Thankfully it didn't take to long before she showed up.  In the moments that we waited I tried no to panic.

It's hot and humid here.  Sweat was dripping down as we drove from the airport to the hotel.  The traffic was horrendous.  We learned from our guide that in Beijing you can only drive on certain days of the week.  Whatever that last digit is on your license plate determines which days are yours.  For instance if your plate ends with a 6 you can only drive on Monday and Wednesday.  But everyone can drive on a Saturday, which is what made the traffic so bad.  Remember we are ahead so we landed in Ch*na around 1:00 Saturday afternoon.  Driving here is pretty much as I expected which is "you think at any minute you are going to die or kill someone."  Our guide reminded us that pedestrians do not have the right of way.  Here cars rule the road, bikes come in second and people walking last.  It's true, there were several people in our van driver's way and he wasn't stopping for a single one of them.  It was fascinating (as well as frightening) because the walkers do not fear the 40 mph oncoming van, they just simply step aside enough to give the driver room...and it's not a lot of room so you feel like you are still brushing against the walker anyway.  But it doesn't phase them a single bit.  I've decided I won't be doing any walking here!  Sorta joking, but not really.

We got to the hotel and coming into the lobby was really nice.  Walking down the hall on our floor not so nice.  The air reeked of smoke, I mean reeked.  We have been in our room for about three hours now and I have a sore throat and I know it is from the air quality.  I know we were warned about this and there is not much we can do about it, but I'm telling you it is awful and makes you feel physically sick.

We were so exhausted, especially me.  I did not sleep at all the night before leaving and only had three hours of sleep the night before that.  Not sleeping on the plane has pushed me over the edge.  We were not in our room but 10 minutes and the tears were streaming down my cheeks.  The culture shock, the smells, the noises, the realization we aren't "in Kansas anymore"  and missing our kids were terribly overwhelming and no sleep intensified it dramatically.  We need to get to a store and buy water, but we were both so exhausted we decided to take a nap.  So we set our alarm so we wouldn't sleep so long that it would interfere with overcomoing the time change later.  We put our heads on the pillows and we were both out!  We slept a good solid hour and although felt sluggish when we woke up mentally we were feeling a littel more stable.

Please pray for us.  I know you are, but this is not some luxury vacation.  Even staying in what is considered a nice hotel still doesn't compare to what we are use to at home.  It's dirty, the air is dry and smells of smoke and let's not forget we can't drink or even brush our teeth with the water.  Scott's doing great and I'm falling apart.  I know it will take some adjusting, but I'm ready to come home and we haven't even been here one night.