My travel buddy/colleague, Sandra, and I arrived in Shanghai yesterday after a very pleasant and uneventful, albeit long, trip from Portland to Narita, Japan and then Shanghai. We knew we were being met by a driver from a school in Suzhou and that they would be holding a placard. I'm not sure why that feels so special, but it does! I had forewarned the colleague in China making the arrangements that we would have a lot of luggage. I was hauling a 52 lb duffel bag with clothes and shoes for the orphanage; plus, we had an oversized box containing a motorized child-size cart, which we will be adapting for children at the orphanage who have cerebral palsy and difficulty in moving. It's a great mobility device. Hats off to the Delta folks, especially the two ladies who checked us in Portland. They were so pleasant and gracious and thanked us for what we do on behalf of orphans in China. In addition, we had our other checked bag, which also contains things for the orphanage and our two carry-ons.
We wound our way through the entry points, navigated the hallways and escalators, and eventually reached the baggage area. We quickly commandeered two push trolleys and found our way to the conveyor belt. I spotted one of my suitcases and Sandra saw the big box. All of our luggage arrived and with it piled high on the trolleys, we headed out to find our placard holder. The connection was made and soon two teachers from the school we would visit today and the driver were helping us with all of our luggage and we headed for the vehicle. I nearly busted out laughing when I saw the 20 passenger mini bus! They explained it was the only vehicle available, large enough to hold the anticipated luggage. By that time I was almost too tired to laugh! We shoved everything in the aisle and to the back, found seats and headed out into the night.
The teachers were very friendly and did their best to talk with us, apologizing profusely for their lack of English. Since we speak so few Chinese words, we are always grateful and supportive of anyone who speaks English. I brought out my phone and showed some pictures -- a universal language. And, then we tried to sleep!
Within two hours we were pulling up to a very new-looking Howard Johnson's. The director of the school met us there and checked us in. We ended up in the most palatial suite we've ever stayed in! The director even ordered a snack and milk sent to our room. We were already in bed, but at 3:00 am we were snacking away!
Glad you have arrived safely, Chris. All our peace, love and light, Julie M. and family
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