Hong Kong, Day 1

July 29th, 7 pm, China Standard Time

After minimal crying on my part, I said goodbye to Grant at the airport, as he grandparents whisked him away for an 18 day fun fest that will no doubt return to me a child who has not heard the word "no" in some time. But, in all of his sweetness, he told me he loved me and would miss me, and, essentially, I needed to remember to bring him presents home. That's the trifecta of perfect to a mother of a toddler.

I boarded a plane headed for Newark, which was unremarkable except for the three minute stretch of the worst turbulence I have ever experienced. There were audible screams, swears, prayers and such. I was proud of the calm manner with which I met death in the face: no swearing or peeing of the pants, just some silent praying.

Then, the biggie: I boarded a plane with a direct route from Newark to Hong Kong, a sixteen hour flight. It was long, but not bad, and rather uneventful on all counts, which is how I like flights to be.

For the last several weeks, I have been really busy, so there was an emotion about Grace that had been absent for the last several weeks. I'm not saying that I didn't love her or didn't want to come get her, but I was so busy with all of the stuff to do to come get her (plus dealing with a two year old) that I didn't get the opportunity much to just think about her. But, when the wheels touched down in Hong Kong, all of the hypothetical about Grace became reality, and my eyes welled up, full of emotion for our little sweetheart. It's hard to explain what you do during a four year journey to your daughter: the waiting, the hoping, the disappointment. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that it all seems surreal for a long time... but as I touched down in Hong Kong, the surreal was gone.

Bret and I took the airport express train and transfered to the blue line to experience Causeway Bay, which is like Times Square meets Rodeo Drive. Actually, what Bret said was: "there's a great crepe place (where you load your crepe with 130 kinds of fresh fruit and cream [hello, sign me up in a hurry]) right off the train station. We lugged my stuff up to ground level, but Bret couldn't spot this famous crepe place. So, what did we do? Sure, you guessed it... we ventured out with suitcase into the streets teeming (1.2 billion people, so I mean teeming) with people. I have never been so hot (it feels like there's not enough air for everyone to breathe) in my life. But, that didn't stop Bret. We searched and searched and searched. Finally, I told him I had enough, settled for some expensive sorbet and headed back to the hotel where I ordered some beef (also known as the beef and lots of oil dish) before falling alseep for the night.

Right now, Hong Kong just feels like any other big city. I have been to Chicago countless time, New York quite a few, and let's not forget my California haunts of LA and San Francisco. So, while Hong Kong is glamorous and fast and flashy, I'm excited to head to the mainland, to Nanchang, to see what life is really like for most Chinese people.

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And now, as promised, I am transitioning to stuff only people in the adoption community will care to read:

Contential Flight Review: Newark to Hong Kong

1. If you're not flying first class, the best seats are in row 16: bulkhead. Row 31, which contains exit row and other bulkhead seats are good for leg room, but they are right by the bathroom, and people (lots of people) congregate there. I was in seat 16D, which was as good as it gets.

2. The food was lousy, and I'm not picky. Three "meals" are served, and don't be fooled by the little menu they give you on printed cardstock at the beginning of the flight, a menu that makes you think you're in for culinary greatness. I ate about half of my dinner (the beef had inedible fatty parts and the salad didn't qualify as such) and even less of my breakfast (though the omelet did look better than the dim sum I ordered, but I hate eggs). The best experience with food on the plane consisted of a steamed cheeseburger at around midnight. It was gas station worthy, but it still was the best thing I ate. So, I was glad I had some trail mix. You won't need much in the way of snacks, but I was glad I had something. Oh, and eat lunch in Newark. The C concourse, by the exit gate, has a food court (Ben and Jerry's, McD's, Pizza, Chinese, and a salad place) and a sit down Mexican restaurant.

3. I brought a pair of clean socks. I was wearing sandals, but I think this tidbit goes for those people wearing tennis shoes. I was glad I could take my shoes off and put on a fresh pair of socks. The guy next to me took his shoes off, without a fresh pair, and I paid the price (stinky, people, stinky).

4. The Continental entertainment system is a gem. It saved my butt. I watched four movies (all recent releases), and there were hundreds more I could have watched. It was dreamy. And then, in between movies, I played games on the console: freecell, that blasted reversi (I'm terrible at this game, which just made me mad, so I played for hours until I could beat the computer with consistency), crossword, sudku. I never read a book (I mean, I'm only an English teacher, people), never opened by carry on, and never took out my ipod. These consoles are the only way to fly.

5. I took a small pencil pouch (the flat kind with three rings that attach in binders) that I had purchased for 30 cents at WalMart and filled it with small portions of things found in my carry on. I had a few meds, a few tissues, a pen, a few snacks. And then, I plopped into the pocket in front of me. I never got up to get into my carry-on (except once to put my ipod away after I realized I would not need it). I'm sure a big ziplock bag would do the same thing, but it was a smart move on my part.

6. I wish I had purchased a drink in Newark to take on the plane. There wer multiple times that I was thirsty or needed to take some medicine (or the drink I had ordered with my meal was gone long before the "food" was), and I didn't have anything to drink. I ended up marching back to the galley and asking for some water, but it would have been really nice to have my Gatorade sitting there.

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Okay, that's all I can think of on the flight. We're heading out to Hong Kong this morning before we travel to the mainland tonight.

Grant, we miss you already, love you tons, and can't wait to see you again!

We're one step closer to Grace, and my heart just leaps at the tought of finally holding our little girl.