We made it to Jinan via bullet train. Now that was exciting! A crowded train station, people staring at us like we were movie stars or aliens, impassive station agents asking for our passports in English and then repeatedly giving us additional instructions in rapid Mandarin. It was an adventure, to be sure. I think that our Beijing guide, Maggie, thought us incapable of navigating from the station to the platform to the train car, but it actually wasn't difficult at all. We found our seats and settled in with 30 minutes to spare. Maggie gave us a note with the name of out stop ("Jinan West") and the time of our arrival (13:52), but she needn't have worried. The voice on the loudspeaker gave us plenty of advanced notice of our upcoming stop, including the English translation. We simply listened for the announcement about our stop, gathered our not inconsiderable belongings, and followed the crowd off the train, down the escalator, and through the turnstile.
Angry Driver and I were much impressed by the whole experience and we must have certainly looked like the tourists we are what with the camera pictures, the cell phone videos, and the video footage. Bean, however, could not have cared less. He settled into his seat, looked out the window for about two minutes, wondered aloud why we weren't traveling more quickly, and then settled in to watch Brave on his Nabi Dreamtab.
Sigh.
I took this kid halfway around the world and all he wants to do is stare at a screen. Figures.
Granted, the scenery wasn't that exciting. Everything was shrouded in a foggy yellowish haze. The skyscrapers of Beijing gradually gave way to high-rise apartment buildings, then to a mix of high-rise apartment buildings and hovels, then to fields and power plants. Pretty much everywhere we looked, though, we could see signs of rapid construction. Although we traveled on a Sunday afternoon, workers were busy digging roads, building bridges, and moving things via crane atop high-rise tenement buildings. It is nearly inconceivable to think of how many people must live in China in order to fill all these buildings. And this entire tableau flew by at a mind boggling 305 km/hour. Crazy!!
After meeting our guide, John, and our driver, Name Not Given, we then experienced Jinan by van without seat belts. Again, there were people everywhere and it was hard to know where to look next. John said that over 7 million people live in the city and nearly 100 million people occupy Shandong Province. It seemed like every one of those people was out on the city streets today. Whereas Beijing was glittery and actually quite clean, Jinan looks to be, on first impression, a tad seedy.
Our first stop was to the bank, where we had the anxiety-provoking experience of exchanging $6800 US dollars (in cash that was hand-carried all the way from Blahtown) to Chinese yuan. This money will be used to pay the orphanage donation and other fees here in Pearl's province. It didn't exactly help me to feel safe knowing that the lone security guard and the bank manager were focusing all their attention on capturing cell phone pictures of Bean rather than watching for thieves and robbers.
After tucking the giant stack of yuan away, we drove to the Hyatt, which is super. Our room has two double beds and the staff even brought in what they call a "baby bed", which is a crib for Pearl. There is a spacious bathroom with a soaking tub, separate shower, water closet, and non-potable sink water (yeah! More tooth brushing with bottled water!). The bathroom has a window looking into the sleeping area, but there is an electric shade that captivated Bean in a way that the bullet train failed to do.
Up want the shade. Down went the shade. Up. Down. Up. Down.
We walked to the nearby mall for supper and it was 4 floors of pure awesome. There was also a basement sub-mall with a Tesco, which is a superstore that makes the Dollar Store appear to be high-end. After roaming around and passing about 30 restaurants with Mandarin signs and Mandarin menus, we found a great Chinese restaurant to celebrate my birthday dinner. Don't ask me the name of the place, though, since there was no English translation in sight. The food was fantastic and Bean's meal even came with a fun little plastic pink truck toy, but no one spoke English and the waitress seemed less than enthused about our lack of Mandarin proficiency.
Remarkably, we actually got what we ordered (tea, soup, tempura shrimp appetizer, beef with noodles, chicken and mushroom fried rice, and a kid's bento box - all delicious and only about $20 US for everything) and paid the bill without too much difficulty, although we realized at the end of the meal that all of the other diners paid for their food when they ordered rather than right before leaving. Oops. Our bad. No wonder our waitress didn't like us!
We left 10 yuan and an American $2 bill (for the novelty) as a tip for our server, and this caused quite the uproar and scandal in the restaurant. Several people kept trying to make us take our "forgotten" cash. We finally managed to convince them that we really did mean to leave the money for them as a sign of appreciation, but it was such an ordeal that I don't think we will attempt to tip anyone in Jinan again.
After dinner, we roamed the mall. Being the only Caucasians, we attracted some attention. Most people tried to be discreet and snap their cell phone pictures or sneak quick glances at us on the sly, but several people stared openly at us or pointed. A few elderly people pinched Bean's cheeks, but he tolerated their affections patiently. Several parents pushed their young children at us and insisted that the tots bid us "ni hao".
The whole thing was surreal and a bit funny, but this is the first time in my life that my family and I have been the minority in the crowd, at least in such an obvious way. With our blonde hair and blue/green eyes, we look so different from everyone else, and it isn't really a good feeling. I couldn't look at anything in a store without a bunch of people veering over in my direction to check me out. Bean couldn't be naughty or be silly without seeing ten people take note of his behavior.
I can't help but wonder how people here in Jinan will react when they see us out and about later this week with a Chinese toddler. Will their stares be warmer or more hostile? What will they think of our family? How will Pearl feel being associated with us here in China? How will she feel upon our return to the US and to Blahtown, where she will look so different from the majority of the population?
I wonder about these things but I am also getting excited to finally meet this child who we don't know
but already love. And we will meet her at the Children's Welfare Institute tomorrow morning! This is real. This is real.
Wow. This is real!
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