It’s like Stadium of Fire minus the Osmonds

Posted by on February 8, 2011

We arrived in Beijing Sunday night(the 6th). That flight is bearable until about hr 7 and then you realize you still have over 5 hrs until Beijing and then some claustrophobia can start to settle in, for me at least. That’s when I pop a pill that my lovely doc back in the states gave me, take a deep breath and watch another movie. The kids were great except for the fact that Miles is sick and he threw up a couple of times. The flight attendants were very kind though and willing to help out with anything they could. Because of Miles and I having this hacking cough we postponed our trip by a day. Mark was worried about being quarantined at the airport but we made it through really quick and were met outside by Robert(our translator) and Mr. Wang(our driver). They have been lifesavers(thank you Amazon). Once we got into our hotel, cleaned up some and could peel ourselves off the couch, we took a taxi to a very posh mall to get dumplings. I say posh because the only stores I saw were ones like Prada,Gucci,Burberry and many more like it. I’m dying for a Target. Miles couldn’t stay awake while eating and hasn’t really eaten much since we got here. He says it doesn’t taste like any of the Chinese food at home, he has had a lot of apple juice though. Soon he’s going to get his appetite back. Sofia’s highlight yesterday was seeing an older woman on the side of the road selling hot sweet potatoes for 6yuan, equal to 1$. You’d think she’d died and gone to heaven, which is good because before that she was being more like a little devil. We were able to see our apartment as well and measure the space so that we can buy some furniture. Thanks to a good friend(Teresa from Tennessee) that I met online who lived in Beijing for a few years, we have a few friends already that will take us furniture shopping and be there if we need help. Teresa, you have been a Godsend.

It’s Chinese New Year right now, year of the Rabbit. Fireworks are going off non-stop and huge ones. Like I said, it’s like stadium of fire outside our hotel all night long and some during the day. The ones at night are only suppose to go from 6-9pm but because there are so many people in Beijing the police can’t really control it. They go all night until around 3am. It’s a good thing we have jet-lag so bad or I don’t know how the kids would be able to sleep. It’s crazy. Today while Mark took the kids to a mall here in Beijing(supposedly the biggest in Asia) I went and bought myself 6 dumplings and a coke. I felt kind of happy to know I can still remember a few words. My meal came to 3.50$. Not too shabby. I took Sofia to the 7-11 by our hotel this morning. They have what I thought was a pork bun for sale but when we got back to the hotel it ended up being full of seaweed and sesame seeds. I couldn’t remember the name for pork. I need to figure that out soon. Well this is what’s going on so far. The kids start school tomorrow. Miles met his teacher yesterday, she’s from Bangladesh and there are only 15 kids in his classroom. I get to go to a hospital for all kinds of tests and blood work done per the governments request. I can’t wait.

4 Responses to It’s like Stadium of Fire minus the Osmonds

  1. Gina

    I enjoyed reading this, Stacey. Keep ’em coming!

    Thinking about you and your family and wishing you the best.

    Take care, and I hope you and Miles feel better soon!

    .gina

  2. Barbara Waibel

    I am so excited to hear about your first days. Those long flights get to me also. Enjoy the tests (ha ha) I had so many…. After the New Year celebration the fireworks will settle down a little. Moscow had some sort of fireworks often too.
    Miss You, HUGS

  3. Kathy Kilborn

    What an exciting time for you….once you all wake up and settle in you will all have a blast….I wish I was with you. Enjoy the party…..buy earplugs! 😉 Miss ya! Hope Sofi has a great time, the girls say Hi! and they miss her. Enjoy the food! and havae fun with the chinese language, I’m sure it will all come back really fast……keep in touch we all love hearing form ya…..kathyk and family

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