I'm not gonna lie; today was ROUGH! I was feeling a lot better yesterday. But it hit again at about 7:00pm last night. My nose was draining like a faucet and I have incredible pressure behind my cheeks wrapping back to my ears. At 8:00, I had to take 2 Benadryl and then it was lights out for me at 9:00. Thankfully I slept through the night until 5am, when I bolted out of bed for a Kleenex. It was a tough go for the next hour but then at 6, I needed to shower and get dressed anyways. Even though I knew I would be groggy, I was miserable and had to take another Benadryl at 7. I have never had a sinus infection before but am worried that I am working on my first one...
We all got dressed, finished packing, and then headed down to breakfast. After brushing teeth and a final check of the room, we were out the door with Jack at 9:00am to start the 1st leg of our journey home. Rocky had called Jack this morning to let him know that he was sick. So he was sending another guide to pick us up at the airport. MeiLin was really bummed!
I had KaiLi on my lap at first, she was such a wiggly worm, I couldn't take it. So she transitioned to BaBa's lap. Then of course MeiLin climbed in my lap... But it actually made the ride warmer. On the way to pick us up, the front passenger window broke and was stuck on the down position, so it was a chilly drive!
Once we got to the airport, Jack helped us to check our luggage and then we bid him adieu. This airport security was just as thorough as the last where they wand everyone and do a full pat down even after going through the scanners. It takes a really long time. There must have been 40 lines in use, it was a sea of people, but this one seemed surprisingly organized! We then walked to the very last terminal in the back of the airport. We weren't in a rush, and I was letting KaiLi walk to wear her out! We found a place to settle in. I was just trying to avoid falling asleep while sitting there. Brandon was a champ, he basically had to take care of the girls by himself. I wasn't much use.
MeiLin found a s'mores snack in the store (how cool is that!) and I feed KaiLi some of the snacks we had brought. When they were done, Brandon took the girls walking around. KaiLi loved that! Then MeiLin had to go potty so Brandon took her. Well, KaiLi didn't want to sit there while they went to the restroom, so she literally darted off. I just had to leave our stuff and run after her. Well, as you can imagine, she did not like this one bit. So then she erupted into a major fit. I tried everything I could think of, but nothing was working. After 15 minutes, I was waiting for the cops to ask me if I was kidnapping her! (15 minutes is a long time when people are staring!) I tried to give them the 'I am sorry but I am trying here' look as best I could. Finally an Asian woman came out of nowhere. She asked, "Is she Asian?" I said yes then she asked, "May I?" And I am like yes, please! So she scooped her up. KaiLi was still thrashing like she does with me, but the lady kept talking in her ear. Then after like only a minute, she calmed down. Man, there are so many baby whisperers over here! We had one come to our rescue with MeiLin three years ago, as well! She gave us a whole box of what is labeled "egg rolls" to feed her. And man, that is all KaiLi asks for. They are great except for the fact that they produce crumbs that defy logic. KaiLi liked this lady so much that she wouldn't leave her side. She actually boarded the plane with this lady (she was on the same flight). Man, I wish I could speak Chinese to soothe her in her native tongue. Sigh.
It took us about an hour to takeoff once we boarded the flight. They announced that three people had checked into the flight and had checked luggage but hadn't showed up for the flight. As a safety precaution, they had to unload all of the checked bags, find the ones for those 3 people, and then put all of the bags back on. Awesome. Well, at least we weren't waiting on a connecting flight. That could have been disastrous!
Brandon was basically a single father during the flight. This was a large plane with 2 seats on each of the sides and then 4 seats in the middle. We had the 4 middle seats. And this was a HUGE plane. We're were in row 67 and there were plenty of rows still to the back of the plane. So large that there were two walkways to board on the front and back of the plane! We sat as follows: me, MeiLin, Brandon, then KaiLi. Brandon said he lucked out. Two ladies and a man across the isle ended up playing with KaiLi almost the whole flight! (I think it is those big eyes, she looks like an adorable baby doll!) I had to pop another Benadryl around 11, so I was still quite useless. After lunch, Brandon could tell that KaiLi was trying to lay down (nap time!), so he inched over to give her room and she fell fast asleep. She slept for a full 11/2 hours until we parked at the airport!
I was really worried about pressure in my ears because of all the sinus pressure. I was golden during takeoff, yeah! (Though I was still a walking zombie because of the medicine.) Well, about 45 minutes until the flight landed, it hit me. The decent. I was expecting my ears to explode out of my head. That is excruciating pain! I tried sucking down a drink, chewing gum, I finally just held my fingers to my ear and pushed my little ear flaps into my ear to try and hold my head together. (That was a terrible description; I am body part challenged.) I just kept praying for God to take away the pain, but then also thanked him that it is me and not one of the girls this time! (MeiLin had this when we picked her up and I felt totally helpless.) Thankfully it subsided but that was a really long 25-30 minutes. OMG!
When we were to get off of the plane, we couldn't find MeiLin's phone anywhere (my old phone). Brandon just wanted to leave, but he was sure he saw it on the flight and I wasn't willing to leave until we found it. It turns out Brandon had put it in a weird pocket of his backpack and we had it after all. So there weren't many people left on the plane when we got off. This was not what I was expecting in the capital city of China at an Internarional airport. We got dumped on the tarmac again! We were not expecting this; all of our hats, scarves, and gloves were packed on top of one of our checked bags for after baggage claim. So not only is it 10 degrees but the bus had left! Unlike last time when they made us cram into one bus, this plane was too big for everyone to pack into just one. The girls had their heavy coats on, but only one layer of pants. Parents of the year! It was only a few minutes until the next bus arrived, but that was some cold wind!
We drove for like 20 minutes to get to the baggage claim. On the bus, we talked to a couple from Portland, Oregan. They were in China for vacation (yeah, I am not vacationing in the dead of winter to this place, but that is me!) Apparently the husband loves cold weather. His wife was heading back home in a few days and he was going on to Norway!
When we arrived, we walked into baggage claim. On the way in, I noticed that all of the water on the ground was frozen solid; even in places where it looked like just a little something had spilled. It was crazy! Baggage claim took forever but everyone else on the flight was in the same boat. Finally at 4:30 we had our bags and were headed to the terminal. Our new guide had a sign with our names on it. He informed us that we were walking 50 meters to the bus. I wasn't sure how far that was, but didn't want to take any chances. The girls looked like Ralphy's little brother on A Christmas Story, they were all bundled up. Good thing because 50 meters was a bit of a haul. When we got there, we had to wait for the driver to pull the van around. So cold! Brandon got some eye candy though, as a white Aston Martin drove by in front of the bus. His license plate said VIP.
We loaded up on the van and headed to the hotel. They advertised that they were right by the airport, and that is very accurate. It is right across the street from the entrance; it is very nice and new! We got room 1001 and Brandon was excited to see the view from the 10th floor. Nope, we are literally the first room on the first floor, Ha! Oh well, it is convenient!
The girls were starving so we literally dropped off our bags and headed to the restaurant. Brandon and I got our food pretty quickly, but the girls' fried rice took like 25 minutes. I am worried I might have something they can catch, so I didn't want them eating after me. And Brandon ordered spicy food. So we both just let our food sit there until it arrived. There was a lot of whining, mainly from MeiLin...
Brandon found a Chinese newspaper in English at the front desk. As I was waiting for VPN to connect, I took a quick look at it. They are expecting the lowest tempatures in 30 years here in Beiling tomorrow morning. Pretty sure we are just hanging out in the hotel until our flight tomorrow. I don't want to brave that with the girls!
On our last day in Guangzhou, one of the Albright girls, Leila, had started writing a book. It was about Ponies who go on an adventure. She had drawn a map that went with it showing where you could and couldn't go, the various regions, dangerous areas, etc. Well, after we put KaiLi down for bed, MeiLin wanted to show me her drawing. She had made a map, too. There where elevators, places with falling spiders, so cute! I didn't even realize MeiLin was paying attention when Leila showed it to me!
Well, I am about to pop 2 more Benadryl and call it a night. Prayers that these sinuses clear up before the flight tomorrow so I can help with the girls on a 14 1/2 hour flight!
Random facts that I learned about China:
Buying real estate. You can own property but you also have to sign a lease for 70 years. In China, you pay 3% property taxes when buying a property. But then they don't pay property taxes again for 70 years until the lease needs to be renewed.
Buying cars. There is a 150% - 200% luxury tax on imported luxury cars. Wowzers! So say an Audi for $50k in the US would cost around $75k-$100k in China. Talk about a wide chasm between the classes here in China! When I asked how that works for pre-owned vehicles, he said there really isn't a market for pre-owned cars. Interesting!
Education. Jacks daughter is 15 and she is in the 9th grade. Starting last year, he sent her to a boarding school in Canada. (I can't imagine!). He said that it is healthier there (no smog), she will get a better education, and it is less stressful. Here in China there is a test that everyone takes in Jr High. This determines whether your schooling stops or if you are accepted into High School. Then in High School, there is another test that determines whether your schooling stops or if you go to college. No exceptions and no do overs. He said the stress and pressure to do well is overwhelming and becoming a major issue in China.
My next blog will be from the comfort of our home after our marathon trip. It will likely take me a few days to write it out. I am praying that it is short and uneventful with no mention of pressure in my ears!
No comments:
Post a Comment