What an Adventure

April 25, 2009
The past 24 hours have been quite the adventure. Yesterday we had to check out of the hotel by 1:30 and our train didn't leave until 6:30 so we went to Walmart for a while then hung out in the lobby. Gideon was sooo good. He is so precious to put up with everything. Tim and Emma went to KFC about 4:30 and picked up food to eat on the train. Then we took a taxi to the train station. Oh my gosh. Utter chaos. We had to walk a great distance from where the taxi dropped us off to get to the train station. It was soooo crowded. Chinese people pushing and shoving all over the place. It was so muggy and hot. We finally got inside and found seats. The train station was packed full of people and it was so very hot. We had to wait over an hour for our train. Now mind you we had Gideon, 2 back packs, the computer, my pack (purse), and 2 large suitcases, plus Emma had a suitcase. They finally called our train and once again the pushing and shoving to get to the train. Well we had to walk a long way and then we had to get down steps with all the luggage. I had Gideon and a backpack and was pulling a large suitcase, I couldn't get down the steps and I was amazed but 2 chinese people helped us get down the steps instead of shoving us. It was very nice. We get to our train and have to get everything up and on the train and down this narrow hallway. We get to our berth and there are 2 men in there we have to share with. I was not happy but so exhausted at this point. We cram all our luggage into this berth onto the small cots. The 2 men took the 2 upper bunks, thankfully. We try to settle in. It was so incredibly hot and Gideon was soaked through with sweat. I took his clothes off and just put him in a clean diaper. The air was slowly beginning to cool the room off. We finally ate our cold Kentucky fried chicken. We then just sat back and watched the scenery pass for a while. The bathroom of course was down the hall and filthy and a squatty potty. I would not be using a bathroom for the next 12 hours! We made Gideon a bottle and then we all laid down and soon fell asleep. We slept off and on for the next 12 hours. Gideon actually slept pretty good. The train stopped at least 10 times throughout the night and it was quite loud. We arrived about 7am Saturday morning. We got all our luggage off the train and met Emma (she had a different berth in a different car). We then dragged all our luggage back down some stairs and outside to our car that was supposed to be waiting and wasn't. It was raining, we were tired, dirty and just feeling disgusting! We also were hungry. We finally get our car and head to the Victory which is about 30 minutes away. We arrive at The Victory and have some more difficulties at the desk about deposits. That is another story. We have less than an hour to go to our room, feed and change Gideon and freshen up and go to our Medical appointment. We quickly give Gideon a bottle and head back out in the rain to get Gideon's visa picture and then to his medical appointment. He weighed a whopping 17.3 lbs. The Doctors had some major discussions in Chinese about Gideon's special needs and shook their head a lot. Poor Gideon was so brave but the tears finally came. We finished up there and wanted to get some food. It was now 10am and we still hadn't eaten. But we needed to exchange money first at the bank. No simple process but finally completed. We walk to Lucy's and they don't open until 11am. We walked back to the hotel to get the baby carrier, some jackets and different shoes--my feet were soaked from the rain. Then we walked back to Lucy's and devoured our lunch. Gideon had chicken congee, I had a chicken quesedila and Tim had a double cheeseburger and fries. It hit the spot. We are now back in our room and Gideon is napping. The rain is letting up and we hope to have a more enjoyable day later on. But we survived, after many prayers for our safety. We persevered and made it here. We still have one more train ride and then off to home on Wednesday. We hope to settle in and enjoy the next couple of days. Gideon continues to be awesome. Still so happy---except for our time in the train station. He has been a real trooper. We love you all and can't wait to see everyone real soon. I will save this and post pictures in a separate post.
love ya,
Tim, Jackie and Gideon
Finally in Guangzhou