An Incredible Surprise

As a disclaimer before this blog entry kicks into gear, we are running on steam and so if there are lots of mistakes and such, you'll know why.

In the past three days, Dad and I have been in three airports, spent 17 hours in the air, and been in three different countries. Phew! We started out in Atlants heading towards Detroit. As a frequent traveller, Dad has earned the perks of being a part of the Delta Sky Miles Elite program and so we got to enjoy the fancy lounge area complete with snacks, comfort, and very interesting and very loud business phone calls :) We jumped on the plane and two hours later we were in Detroit.

After a quick dinner stop, we jumped on our 12 hour flight to Beijing. The flight flew by...haha! We were served meals at all times of the day and night and were lucky enough to have TVs in the back of the seats that had hundreds of movies you could select. I watched some girlie movies and Dad watched Coraline with Chinese subtitles... :)

We landed in Beijing at midnight on Tuesday to giant neon signs clad with Chinese characters. Taxis swarmed the departures area and before we knew it, we were on our way to our hotel for a couple of hours. Having no Chinese and no concept of how far the hotel was away, I think we made some taxi drivers night. I hope he spends all the extra money somewhere good. We grabbed a late dinner of soup and fruit platters including dragon fruit-- a little strange, but delicious none the less. And then to bed for a grand total of 3 hours!

An early morning wake up call and shuttle got us to the airport by 6am and we checked in with no problems at all. All went swimmingly despite being separated at security. The flight to Ulan Bator was smooth and the scenery was breathtaking-- mountains that looked like they were perfectly folded paper and frozen lakes that spread for miles.

We arrived on time and with our bags and then were off to tackle getting money and finding a taxi to our hotel. Unfortunately, Leo was mot meeting us till the next stop in Olgi and so we prayed for good luck and flexibility. We set our bags down and dad went to try getting money out of the ATM. I had realized when I picked up my bag that the pointy corners of the chutes and ladders game that we were bringing for Leos school werent sticking out of my suitcase. Worried that something had happened with my luggage, I started rummaging through my bag. All of a sudden I heard hi. I looked up and there was Leo. I jumped up, giving him the biggest bear hug I could give, and sobbing. I was so overcome with surprise and joy that I just couldnt stop my tears. Every hour of travel, every cent saved up (or still to pay off) was worth it for that moment.

Though tired and weary, my heart is full. We are with Leo and have spent the day with him, hearing him haggle in Mongolian, having him show us this city, and having him guide us, help us, and answer our every question.

I'll blog soon with more, but tonight dad and I will go to bed with hearts overflowing with Gratitude for those who helped plan this surprise and keep it a secret, for the chance to be here, and for the unconditional and life-giving love of family.