Plane diverted BACK TO BEIJING -- Almost Missed Gotcha Day -- ST CHRISTOPHER PROTECT US!

The day started out so well.  We were early for meeting our driver this am and we go to the airport early.  When we got on the plane David was in my seat and I was in his.  The flight attendant came up to him and thanked him for being a Chairman's Star Alliance partner.  She then presented him with a pillow and a nice First Class blanket.  Everyone was staring and kind of getting angry that he is getting this pillow and blanket and they were not.  David is NOT ABOUT POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE.  I was laughing and he was turning redder by the minute.  He kept trying to tell the lady that it was me but she wouldn't listen to him and just thanked him for being so wonderful.  It was quite humorous.  (If you know David you are laughing pretty hard right now).

So we thought we had all the fun we could with travel since getting to Beijing was such an ordeal.... absolutely NOT!  After getting up at 3:30 am to get to the airport we were in flight  and ALMOST TO GUANGZHOU when they decided to divert the plane back to Beijing because of the fire protection system.  We were FAR closer to our destination than Beijing but we went all the way back anyway.  The man beside me on the plane (not my husband man the man on the other side) became EXTREMELY belligerent and began yelling at the top of his lungs.  The two men behind us did the same.  They then proceeded to get in the flight attendants face.  After an hour of this things settled down.  We landed Beijing with fire trucks on the run way (were they for us? who knows but they were there and this made the situation even more unsettling).  I do not scare very easily but the upheaval on the plane absolutely scared me.  I told David when the riot broke out to go in the bathroom.  It was a mess.  After being stuck on the ground for 5 hours we finally get back on the plane.  This is only after they refuse to make announcements in English and refuse to tell anyone anything of relevance.  Thankfully a WONDERFUL Japanese man from Tokyo told me what was going on.  He was our Angel today.  He took our tickets, went to the counter and came back with 300 for each of us.  He said it was for our 'hassle'.  We had been told we may or may not get to Guangzhou.  Therefore meaning missing GOTCHA DAY.  This was NOT going to happen.  We were prepared to take a train and ride all night long to get here if we had to.  By this time David is furious (and he DOESN'T GET MAD -- he is as laid back as they come).  OK so things worked out and we are here.  I could say a lot more about the complete and total rudeness we encountered but I won't go there.  I still have to get my daughter.  (yes, rudeness is everywhere we just seemed to have more than our share today I guess).  I have been pushed, stepped on, kneed, bumped and many other things.  If you are in someones way then an "EXCUSE ME" doesn't work  they just simply push you aside.  I will end the story at that as it goes back to that "SPACE" thing that many have commented about in the past and I am sure will continue to do in the future. 

A few things we have learned while here:

•  Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way.  You will get honked at, grazed, clipped and flat out run over all with a policeman looking on and a "WALK" sign telling you to go.
•  I have never seen so many people spit in my entire life.  It is interesting.  Some take their foot and then rub it into the ground....hum, remind me not to carry their shoes for them.
• Toothpicks and dinner tables are a great match.
• The goal when a door opens is to get YOURSELF out first even if you are at the very back.  Same for the plane.. don't let anyone in the aisle ahead of you unload first. (yes this happens in many places I know).
• Diet Coke is impossible to find except for at the airport.
• If we ate as much rice and noodles in the US then we would look like what?
• No car seat laws here so it is weird to see babies being held in the front seat.  I still want to shake my finger at them. 

We are having fun.... I promise.  We are excited about GOTCHA DAY tomorrow and are so thankful that we made it here.  ST. CHRISTOPHER PROTECT US was mumbled on that plane ride a number of times today.  I guess when your overall adoption process goes so well something has to botch up so we are getting paid back with the travel part.  That's OK though... we can handle it. We have enjoyed the things we have gotten to see...just some of the extras have been surprising. 

Since the FAIR is going on and the Asian games are going to start things are crazier around here.  The dinner buffet at our hotel is $60.00 per person.  Mind you, we normally do not do buffets but we have encountered many of them since our arrival.  We have not eaten a lot on average anyway and we normally aren't 'cheap' people.  I AM NOT saying $60.00 is cheap! We went behind the hotel and ate at LUCY'S.... the place we were supposed to meet a group for dinner earlier but we missed that... thanks to the flight delays.  Helen, our guide, sent another car to the airport to get us.  She was waiting on us when we got to the hotel. We are NOW at the WHITE SWAN but have to change because it is booked for the trade show.  Moving is no big deal.  When it is all said and done we will have been on 6 flights one train and 5 hotels.  THANKFULLY we do not get on another plane for a number of days. 

I must go now and prepare for my labor and delivery tomorrow.  It will occur at 2:30 pm which will be 2:30 am East Coast USA time.  So if you wake in the middle of the night and hear some crazy person screaming..it is me.  Delivering a Toddler is something I am not used to.  We appreciate all of your comments.  They keep us going and we can not thank you enough for them.  I can see the FACEBOOK messages but can not reply to them.  Thanks for them as well.  We will do our best to keep posting... as long as it works we will do it.  When we are blocked out we will have a friend or my sister-in-law post for us.  So far though we have had very little computer troubles. All of our troubles have been air craft and airport related.

Thank you for your prayers too.  We pray tonight for extra strength.  David and I are both very teary and about lost it when we SKYPED with Luke earlier today. Please also say a prayer for David's parents who are caring for him. They are such a GOD SEND!!!  Gotta go to Sleep!  GOTCHA DAY is almost here!  

Again my disclaimer, sorry for typos and grammar errors... you never know when you may get booted out of this thing!  Ut-oh Braxton Hicks... someone boil some water... this baby's a coming.....