We are just finishing our first day in China. I forgot to mention yesterday that there are four children (counting Sydney) in our travel group. They are all girls... ages 3, 6, 9 (Syd), and 10. The three oldest bonded immediately and are having a ball together.

Our day began kind of sad... One of the adoptive moms, Deb, brought her parents (Mary and ?) along. I'm guessing they are in their 70s. Right after breakfast, Mary fell on the hotel steps and broke her leg up near her hip. She had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital, had a four-hour surgery, and must stay here in the hospital for 5-6 days. That means her daughter will have to leave them here to go on to Guangzhou to get her baby. Please keep them in your prayers.

After Mary was taken to the hospital the rest of our group went to a grocery store for bottled water and snacks. It was very interesting. We saw a lot of the same foods that are in the United States and some kind of different foods, such as dried shredded squid - (we didn't buy).

Next we walked to Silk Alley. That was a real adventure! It is inside a building and has booths inside.

The vendors very aggressively try to get you to buy from them and barter with you. At first we were a little overwhelmed and intimidated but... we got over it. By the time we left all three of us were actively bartering. It was really fun. Most of the people working there were really friendly and enjoyed Sydney.

We got silk outfits for Sydney and Lydia and paid very little. My first purchase was matching silk outfits for the girls. I bought both of them for $12!!!

We had dinner at good ole McDonald's...

I'm happy to report that the food tastes just the same. One interesting thing is that you can get a side order of corn with your Happy Meal instead of fries.

This evening we went to a Chinese acrobat show...

It was very good but all three of us were nodding off. We are exhausted!

It is extremely windy in Beijing and because it is near the desert, there are dust storms. So, if it isn't too windy tomorrow we are going to the Great Wall!

'Til tomorrow,
Carmen, Kyle and Sydney