Day 1--Beijing...Feb. 23, 2007

We arrived last night (Thursday). We all woke up around 1:00 A.M. local time starving!! Today, we toured the Forbidden City and the Wutong district. The Wutong areas are cramped neighborhoods. We rode in a rickshaw through this district. We went to a woman's home to eat. She is a 70 year old retired nurse who has been cooking for tour groups for 10 years. Her husband died just last year. This was an eye-opening experience since we got to see what the homes are like for most of the people in Beijing. There is just one room and a small kitchen. They have to use a communal bathroom. Many of these neighborhoods are being torn down to improve the image of Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. I took an overhead photo of part of the Wutong neighborhood. You can get an idea of what I am talking about. The people are being moved to new apartments on the outskirts of the city. This particular Wutong district is being preserved because of its historical value, but the government has ordered the people to clean up the exterior parts of their homes. The food she made was wonderful....it was like going to your grandmother's house!! This is an experience that we will never forget! We did not get this opportunity when we traveled here three years ago to adopt Kaleigh. Kaleigh was the star of the show today! There are 27 other people in our group in Beijing and they all thought Kaleigh was just beautiful and well behaved. Unlike last time we traveled here, our group in Beijing will be splitting up to go to their respective provinces. Only one other family is going to Hubei with us on Sunday. Tomorrow, our tours include the Great Wall, shopping, Ming Tombs, and an acrobatic show. Kaleigh is worn out tonight!! She crashed around 6:OO this evening. Not sure if we can do all of this tomorrow. We want her to be healthy and happy when we get her little Mei Mei ("little sister"). Take care. See you tomorrow.