Hello from Wu Han

Hello everyone. This is an update from Adam...

We arrived in Wu Han this morning, with our copious luggage in tow. We were met at the airport by our guide Shirley. As usual, the luggage just barely fit into the van and we were off to the hotel. For the second time we won the prize for most suitcases per person. The good news is, we always seem to have everything we need thanks to Laura Beth's careful planning and thorough packing.

The hotel is in the government and cultural district of Wu Han, which is about an hour from the airport. We crossed the Yangtze river, which is absolutely enormous. The engineering for the bridges and tunnels is itself very impressive. There was a very large building which I thought might be the Yangtze stadium... (groan) but no confirmation of that from the guide.

The ride to hotel was uneventful. From our guide, we learned quite a bit about the Hubei district, which is a fascinating place. Not only was it the geographical center of ancient China, it is also the spiritual center as well. This is the birthplace of Taoism and of the ancient art of Tai Chi. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was filmed here as well.

We settled into the hotel, had some lunch, and then took a trip next door to the Metro, which is not a train station. It was described to us as the German version of Wal Mart. It was quite an adventure. Just like Wal Mart, you could buy anything there. It was absolutely packed, with forklifts driving back and forth every where. We kept Eliana in the cart because that seemed like it would be safest. We bought some soy milk for Eliana, some chips and cookies for Ben. We were quite the spectacle in the store. Everyone stared at the western family with a Chinese daughter. As we tried to check out, we found out that it was more like Sam's club than a Wal mart, with a membership required. The poor cashier struggled to make us understand that we needed a membership card. We stood thee for a while, blank looks on out faces, shrugging our shoulders, when a kind woman behind us swiped her membership card and we were allowed to make our purchase. We will take another trip there tomorrow with Mei Mei and try to have the card issue sorted out then.

We did not do much else today. The truth is that we are all pretty jet lagged. Laura Beth, who I think has slept maybe 10 of the last 96 hours finally collapsed, but not until I promised to post and let everyone know that we are in Wu Han. We had quiet moment of reflection a little earlier in the evening. The kids went to sleep early, Laura Beth was organizing paperwork, and we were left in a quiet room contemplating the fact that we get to meet our daughter for the first time tomorrow. This thought is both exciting and more than a little frightening. We have so much to learn about her. We are a family that likes to prepare... but there is absolutely no way to prepare for this, we just have to let it happen.

Thanks again for all of your prayers, thoughts, and kind wishes. Signing off for tonight. Next stop is gotcha day.

Adam