Well this is it, we are really going to China. By the time most of you read this post, we will be somewhere in transit or in Beijing. Our flight will leave Minneapolis tomorrow morning at 9:10 AM andwill arrive in San Francisco at 11:14 AM. We leave San Francisco at 1:55 Pacific Time and arrive in Beijing at 6:15 PM Friday evening (4:15 AM our time). China is 14 hours ahead of Minnesota, if you are curious.
This list is for family and friends, so our friends shouldn't feel guilty if we tell you not to worry and you had no intention of doing so. That is for family. So, here we go. Don't worry about us, the plane isn't going to crash, we won't get lost in China and the Red Guard isn't interested in us. We are going to be taken care of from the minute we land in Beijing until we leave Hong Kong on 12/30 -- whether we want to or not.
We hope to send regular posts, but we don't know how often we will have access to a computer. Again, if you don't hear from us, don't worry we just aren't able to get to a computer to write home.
If there is an emergency and you need to reach us, the best way to do that is to call Danling or Sarah at Children's Home Society of Minnesota. They will know how to find us and will relay anymessages. Their number is (651) (deleted) and ask to speak with someone in the China program. If that doesn't work, contact my sister Deb. You can call her at (deleted), she will figure out how to reach us. (Deb, bet your thrilled to read that huh?)
Here is an overview of our itinerary while we are in China. We will be in Beijing from Friday 12/15-Tuesday 12/19. We fly to Changsha on Tuesday in the morning and should meet Isabel in the afternoon. We will stay in Changsha until 12/25 or 12/26 and then fly to Guangzhou where we will finalize the adoption paperwork. We fly to Hong Kongon 12/29 and catch a return flight home on 12/30. Due to the time difference we arrive in Minneapolis on the morning of 12/30.
Well even though I doubt we will be able to, it's time to try to get some sleep. The next time you hear from us, we will be somewhere on the other side of the world.
Michelle and Brian and soon to be daughter Isabel