Stuck in Bejing

Due to incliment weather leaving Newark, NY, Pedro and I are one day behind schedule. Our flight into Bejing landed after the time we were supposed to depart on our way to Manila. Unfortunately, the next available flight wasn't until 24 hours later - so the airline put us up for the night, paid for our meals (except for 38 yuan - they didn't tell us that there was a limit of 50 yuan per person before hand). I think this is the longest layover I have had yet, but I'm really happy to have Pedro here with me to spend it with.

So, Valeria and one of Pedro's brothers, Jose, was planning to meet us at the airport in Manila, and we'd stay at her relative's that night before heading to Pangasinan. However because we were not on the flight, we concerned about how to tell her we weren't coming. We, thankfully, were able to get a hold of Pedro's friend, Aika, who translates for us, to call Valeria and update her on what the situation was. After the first call, we thought Jose and Valeria had already gone back to Pangasinan. We were contemplating to staying in a hotel once we got there and travel to Pangasinan ourselves, rather than letting them spend the money to travel 6 hours back to Manila to try it all over again. When calling Aika again to have her tell Valeria the new plans, we learned that she and Jose were able to stay with their neighbor's niece in Manila - so they still will be able to meet us when we land.

Though this sets us back a day, I am a little glad that we were able to have the time to rest here in Bejing and adjust to the time change. Seeing how tired we were last night upon landing, I think it would have been a lot for us if we were to handle the first meeting as well. Thinking back on the moment I stood on in front of my birth mother and grandmother for the first time in 18 years, I remember there were a lot of emotions, questions and thoughts racing through my mind - so with 12+ hours of rest behind us, I think we're in a better state to jump into it all.

So now, we are here in Bejing Capital International Airport waiting to board. Because of our flight change, we also were upgraded to first class, which included access to the business lounge (classy). One more hour, and we'll be on our way to Manila.

Let's pray for smooth sailing from now on!

We are so exhausted.... I worked all day, and he ran around the city (and then some) getting last minute stuff done. We sat in the car this morning, making lists of what needed to get done, at what time, in what order. Oh, intentions are always great - but in the end we are still up.

I am sitting on my computer, about to finish putting together a photo album for my birth mother, and Pedro is in the other room finishing packing up his room. While he leaves, his parents will be repainting the walls, so we spend from when we arrived back at the house at 11:30 pm until now packing a majority of his things in boxes and moving them into the other room. But we still need to repack our bags to make sure everything fits nicely. We have decided to only pack lightly - for a couple reasons: (1) we won't have to worry about checking any luggage in, and will make moving through airports much easier, (2) the less conspicuous it will be for us to be in the areas we are going to, versus if we had big suitcases, etc., (3) the less to carry, the easier it will be able to travel around the Philippines, i.e. on motorcycles, walking or whatever we may come across., and (4) it just isn't necessary to have a lot with us. We figure, it's easy enough to wash shirts and underwear every couple days - a couple pairs of pants/short and a few shirts is all we really need anyway.

So what we've narrowed it down to (so far) is just 2 small bookbags, a camera case, and a junior guitar. I'm excited that we are both bringing things that reflect what we each enjoy the most - photography and music. It will be great to have my camera with me, taking pictures of this experience, documenting the smiles, the embraces, the emotions and the pure beauty of the Islands. It will also be a joy to watch Pedro as he shares his love of playing the guitar, and music, with others - passing time in the airport, entertaining his siblings, and even the children at his shelter.

We spoke to Valeria, Pedro's birth mother, earlier tonight - Pedro call to just verify the flight information, as well as informing her that he sent her some money for the family, specifically for Jeevalyn (his youngest sibling, who's 4 years old and unable to walk) to get the medical attention she needs. He told her that when we arrive in Manila, we will assist her in setting up a bank account to keep the money there. Because Pedro just began taking Tagalog lessons with a tutor, and I only know another filipino dialect, we have difficulty understanding Valeria. Luckily, Pedro has a friend who is graciously willing to translate for him. Here is the beginning of tonight's conversation:

How we will communicate once we are there, without Pedro's friend "by our side", will be an interesting challenge - it was a concern that Valeria also brought up, but we all figured that we will somehow figure it out. Apparently, Valeria also speaks Visayan, which is the dialect that I am more familiar with. Hopefully, between the two of us, we'll be able to get along for the time that we're there (and thankfully for technology, Pedro has downloaded some of his Tagalog CD lessons onto his iPod - with the intention of spending some of our 20+ hours of travel studying the language! Let's see how much of that time will be catching up on sleep! :-P ).

Anyhow, it's already a little after 3:00 am - I still have to finish the album and Pedro has a last-minute trip to CVS (oh, procrastination...) But the next time we post, we will probably be in Manila and with Pedro's family. So, wish us safe travels and look forward to our next update!