The initial plan was to enjoy the hotel today before leaving for the airport to Hefei. Since no swim last night, we decided to take an am swim. Ali and Jim slept in , Kimmie decided to just read and relax, so M & M and I went for a 7:30am swim. A beautiful water fall in the pool along the Pearl River with tropical gardens and the first birds we have seen or heard. A perfect way to start the day.
Michael met us at 9am for breakfast. He wore his UT T-shirt we had given him. We had a long leisurely American breakfast, and ate almost all the different offerings of French toast, eggs, bacon, pastries, orange juice, fruit and coffee. We took more pictures and before we knew it , it was time to say our goodbyes to Michael and check out of the hotel. So hard to say good bye as we have a special bond with him. He has seen Kimmie grow and change, he is the one who made the match for the adoption with Kimmie. When asked about how he did the match, he said God did it.
The flight to the Hefei only 90 minutes. Marguerite got a little queasy on the plane, but soon passed. Our guide Snow was right there to meet us. Like Maoming, Hefei has changed considerably. New buildings, wider roads. Modern structures, lots of cars and lovely cooler weather, no humidity.
Our hotel is a Holiday Inn, very nice. Much nicer than the Holiday Inns in the states, it is a 5 star. The women here dressed more fashionably. Kimmie, Margaret and I had a fantastic dinner at a noodle house. A waiter helped us order and his English perfect. When complimenting him, he quickly replied that he isn’t Chinese, from the Philippines, we all laughed.
Tomorrow is full day, touring Hefei. Thank you for your emails and prayers. We are having a the time of our life.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
June 23, 2008 Travel back to Guangzhou
Yorkee arranged for a somewhat American breakfast. We had fried eggs and pancakes- butter and banana, closely resembling square crepes. Kimmie munched on the vegetable dumplings and sweet potatoes- we skipped the chicken feet today.
Off to the train and yes we go soft sleepers. So comfortable and relaxing. The train compartments has 2 sets of sleeper that are more like bunk beds, with an small isle dividing them. The Banks family shared one, M & M shared the bottom bunks in the next compartment. Ali was lite up. As I was sleeping, the Aunts inquired more about Ali’s feelings and her visit to her orphanage. They asked her if she thought she was going to be left there. She responded emphatically no. More questions lead to her changing the subject but they did discuss what her life would be like if she lived in China. M & M said that her birth mother must have really loved her to leave her in such a public area and take the risk of being jailed for 3 years. Ali agreed. Ali thought she would be very happy, as that would be the life she would know. Yorkee told us that children go to school from 7am-11am, travel home from 11-12 where their parents meet them at home ( leaving their jobs) to give them lunch and have a rest, returning to school from 2pm-5pm. Ali looked at her watch during her conversation with M & M and said she would be on her way home to have lunch if she lived in China, and really liked this schedule. She thought she would like Chinese food and I added that she would probably enjoy seafood which she dislikes. She kept M & M entertained the entire 5 ½ train ride full of energy, laughter, and picture taking. A huge change in her disposition.
The Maoming diet continued with cookies, crackers and I continued to enjoy the Leiche.
The train ride went very fast this time. Before we knew it, we arrived back to Guangzhou, where Anna met us outside the station. Our luggage was gathered and we went to the White Swan Hotel, a five star hotel. Beautiful and well maintained. Jim and I stayed here with Kimmie when we got her. There we lots of families with their newly adopted Chinese girls. We had conversations with several families hearing about their adoption stories. It took us back. I most enjoyed the faces and reactions of Kimmie and Ali, as they got joy looking at the children, and seeing the faces of families so happy to receive their new daughters. The waiting period now is 3 years. Most of the families we spoke with waited at least that long.
We had a great dinner- Cantonese style, was very delicious. Anna gave us Chinese table etiquette, as we have a meal in a few days in the home of a Chinese family and don’t want to have manners that might be offensive.
The hotel has a beautiful swimming pool, a feature I wouldn’t have even thought about using 12 years ago when Kimmie was a baby. All the girls decided to take an evening swim. As we started to leave, we saw Jim in the hallway and he asked that I come toward him as he had a surprise. As I turned the corner, there stood Michael ( our guide when we got Kimmie and have kept in touch with these 12 years- he was with us when we went to Beijing 3 years ago and has been a guest in our home in Austin). I screamed and started to cry as I wasn’t sure if Michael was going to be able to meet us, so this was quite the surprise. As it turned out, he planned his business (he is in charge of adoptions for an agency in China) around our stay in Guangzhou. He took us to do some power shopping… got some great deals ( Eric and Trey – you will be happy). We shopped until 10pm, literally shopping until we dropped.
Off to the train and yes we go soft sleepers. So comfortable and relaxing. The train compartments has 2 sets of sleeper that are more like bunk beds, with an small isle dividing them. The Banks family shared one, M & M shared the bottom bunks in the next compartment. Ali was lite up. As I was sleeping, the Aunts inquired more about Ali’s feelings and her visit to her orphanage. They asked her if she thought she was going to be left there. She responded emphatically no. More questions lead to her changing the subject but they did discuss what her life would be like if she lived in China. M & M said that her birth mother must have really loved her to leave her in such a public area and take the risk of being jailed for 3 years. Ali agreed. Ali thought she would be very happy, as that would be the life she would know. Yorkee told us that children go to school from 7am-11am, travel home from 11-12 where their parents meet them at home ( leaving their jobs) to give them lunch and have a rest, returning to school from 2pm-5pm. Ali looked at her watch during her conversation with M & M and said she would be on her way home to have lunch if she lived in China, and really liked this schedule. She thought she would like Chinese food and I added that she would probably enjoy seafood which she dislikes. She kept M & M entertained the entire 5 ½ train ride full of energy, laughter, and picture taking. A huge change in her disposition.
The Maoming diet continued with cookies, crackers and I continued to enjoy the Leiche.
The train ride went very fast this time. Before we knew it, we arrived back to Guangzhou, where Anna met us outside the station. Our luggage was gathered and we went to the White Swan Hotel, a five star hotel. Beautiful and well maintained. Jim and I stayed here with Kimmie when we got her. There we lots of families with their newly adopted Chinese girls. We had conversations with several families hearing about their adoption stories. It took us back. I most enjoyed the faces and reactions of Kimmie and Ali, as they got joy looking at the children, and seeing the faces of families so happy to receive their new daughters. The waiting period now is 3 years. Most of the families we spoke with waited at least that long.
We had a great dinner- Cantonese style, was very delicious. Anna gave us Chinese table etiquette, as we have a meal in a few days in the home of a Chinese family and don’t want to have manners that might be offensive.
The hotel has a beautiful swimming pool, a feature I wouldn’t have even thought about using 12 years ago when Kimmie was a baby. All the girls decided to take an evening swim. As we started to leave, we saw Jim in the hallway and he asked that I come toward him as he had a surprise. As I turned the corner, there stood Michael ( our guide when we got Kimmie and have kept in touch with these 12 years- he was with us when we went to Beijing 3 years ago and has been a guest in our home in Austin). I screamed and started to cry as I wasn’t sure if Michael was going to be able to meet us, so this was quite the surprise. As it turned out, he planned his business (he is in charge of adoptions for an agency in China) around our stay in Guangzhou. He took us to do some power shopping… got some great deals ( Eric and Trey – you will be happy). We shopped until 10pm, literally shopping until we dropped.
June 22, 2008 Gaozhou Welfare visit
We met at 8am for an authentic Chinese breakfast. Fruit is not a staple for breakfast, theirs is more like lunch. Meat, vegetables and bread. We tasted delicious dumplings, steamed bread, cake and sweet, rice congee, chicken feet, organs and breads. I was the official taster on everything, then if it tasted good to me the rest of the crew followed suit. Jim had the hardest time, followed by Margaret and Ali. Marguerite and Kimmie and I were the most adventurists.
Maoming has changed unbelievably in the last 10 years. The city is “only” 7 million people. Too small in Chinese terms for an airport, so the only way to get there is by train or car. The main industry is petroleum. The buildings are new, lots of palm trees, wide boulevards, looking more like Miami. Margaret and I were amazed. It isn’t the same city.
During our car ride, Ali sat next to me, her back turned, me rubbing her shoulders, and very quiet. She was taking in the ride. The road side was filled with workers harvesting Leiche a hard shelled melon the size of golf ball, peeled, and only grown in this region. Locals were selling it on the road side one after the other. We saw a truck bed full of chickens- not whole chickens, chicken parts that you would see in the grocery store. It must have been 95 degrees outside, and the chicken completely exposed. UGH…. The FDA would have a hay day with that.
A 40 minute car ride to Gaozhou where the orphanage is located is more economically depressed area, with streets piled with garbage. Actually this looks more like Maoming did 10 years ago. Margaret asked Ali if she was nervous about the visit, she replied “ gee I am hungry”.
We asked to be taken to the original orphanage first where Ali was. It closed in 2001. It is now a condemned building. The director and 2 assistant directors met us there. We took pictures and then followed them back to the new orphanage. The orphanage has 2 parts of it. One side is technical school for computer science and the other is the orphanage. It is very simple in design, somewhat barren but clean open and airy. The director took us into his air conditioned office where we were offered hot tea and Leiche that were freshly picked, with pictures of Chinese children with their foreign parents on the wall. We talked for a long time, lots of questions being patiently answered. I showed the pictures of Ali’s nannies when we got Ali in 1998. To our happy surprise, one of the nannies still worked at the orphanage. (The current director has only been with this orphanage for about 1 year). She was brought in with 2, 3 year olds, the oldest in the orphanage. She remembers Ali’s nanny but didn’t really remember Ali specifically. She smiled to know that Ali is well and healthy. I made arrangements prior to coming, to donate a box of toys and clothes. The packages arrived ahead of time and I requested they wait until we got there to open the boxes. As we opened them we pulled out the toys for the girls to play with. They were very timid… Kimmie and Ali got on the floor to show them how to use them. Needless to say they were overwhelmed. We were in the office for about an hour, cameras and video flashing everywhere. It brought us joy to watch them. Very tempting to take one of them home.
When the official tour began, they requested no cameras. The first stop was the special needs room of about 10 children, mostly with cleft palates and under the age of about 15 months. One child looked so frail and white. Didn’t look like she was going to live very long. Another child was paralyzed in one leg. Margaret being a nurse surmised the birth mother might have had a difficult delivery, as it could be the reason she was paralyzed. The rest of the children looked very healthy, alert, well feed and good color. The Banks family has never see a cleft pallet, so it we were interested and we had lots of questions for Margaret and Marguerite about how this is repaired. The director told us that these children will be easily adopted. The next room was the healthy children. Some babies looked as young as a few weeks. The room had no a/c, but they were covered with blankets and towels- A Chinese way to make sure the children don’t get colds- but they must have been roasting. The diapers looked like pillow cases, freshly washed diapers were being dried outside the hallway. Each baby had a clean diaper.
A set of twin girls, were to be adopted very soon, one baby was getting her family the next day. The only boy in the room got Marguerites’ attention and she began to hold him. At first he wasn’t responsive but after only a few minutes the bonding began. I watched out of the corner of my eye and saw the temptation of Marguerite to want to shower this baby with kisses. I became attached to a baby girl who must have been about 6 months. I gently touched her tummy and she spilled out with laughter. This went on for about 15 minutes. Each time I wiggled her tummy she burst out in giggles. It was really hard to leave her, but I know she will be adopted soon. (My gut feeling and prayer).
The babies are in cribs with no mobiles or toys. Each crib has a hard surface and most of the babies have the bald spot on the back of their head. The rooms were light, sunny and airy. We all commented that the directors show a lot of emotion to the babies, and the nannies were loving and kind. They told us the babies eat rice congee, vegetables and bone marrow was added for added nutrition.
The orphanage holds 150 babies. Right now there are 33s. Traditional believes are giving way to contemporary thinking. The Chinese tradition of boys taking care of the parents is not the modern belief. The daughter’s parents now become a blended part of the boy’s family and girls are more accepted in the more modern cities. So there is a bigger decline in the abandoned babies.
We returned to the office where we were shown the original paper worked and documents. We saw Megan’s and Amy’s (adopted at the same time as Ali) paperwork and took a picture of the page to show them when we get home. Up until then, I thought Ali was abandoned at the police station. This is partially correct. The paper work the director had, showed she was found at Fujian Road and then brought to the police station. He told us he would take us there.
The director offered us gifts of necklaces, a seed grown only in the area- it is to ward off evil spirits. Ali’s Chinese name was already engraved – Gao Xian. Gao is the surname from the region, Xian means strong constitution- very fitting for Ali. The seeds were taken to engrave each of our names and represented to us at lunch. We brought Jelly Bellies, hats from UT and wooden airplanes which Breed and Company donated for us to bring. We thought there might be older children to we offered the jelly Bellies to the nannies.
There is a basketball court and Jim wants to show them Ali’s athletic skills. She shoots a lot of baskets and even though it is the official height (taller than she is used to playing) she nails a lot of baskets. The directors applaud.
On the way to lunch, we were taken to Ali’s finding place, on Fujian Road. The police station was only 1 block away. Perhaps if the police station was open, we might have found more information about her finding, but unfortunately it is a Sunday and closed. . At this point Ali is not very happy. It is extremely hot and humid and she just wants to get in the car and go. So a few minutes later we do after taking pictures.
Lunch was a feast. Good meats, fish, delicious shrimp, pork that no one touched. We even had cokes. We were the first family to visit the orphanage in 2008. (There are only about 2-3 visits from families per year- not a common occurrence). They asked us to each write something in their journal about our visit to the orphanage. Even Kimmie and Ali wrote in the book.
Saying many goodbyes, we headed to the Maoming Mansion, the dumpy hotel Margaret and I stayed 10 years ago. It is even more of a dump and still open but extremely special since that is where we were given Ali.
A local mall had a Wal-Mart. We couldn’t believe it. We shopped the mall; Kimmie got a few shirts, the rest of the crew found some gems at Wal-Mart.
Back to hotel and rested. McDonalds even to me sounded yummy, so that is where we had dinner. Kimmie’s flip flops she brought were falling apart and found beautiful flip flops for a whopping $2.
A McDonald’s hamburger in China is the same, but we ordered a milk shake and got hot chocolate, no milk shakes.
Everywhere we went in Maoming we were starred at. For 2 reasons- one, very few foreigners ever have a reason to go to Maoming. Secondly, westerners with Chinese children… very curious to the locals. At McDonalds- people would stop and look through the window to stare at us, some parents would bring their children by us to show them us. “Look…. White people!” Now we know how minorities feel. A young woman came up to me and said “welcome to our city” and wanted to know where I was from. And she said she was so happy to meet me. Maybe she never met a westerner. Thank goodness for our guide because NO ONE speaks English.
We decided to go the grocery store to get food and water for the return train ride. At 9pm it was packed. At one point Margaret got separated from our group. A Chinese woman tapped her on shoulder and pointed to me because she knew Margaret was lost and knew who she was with.
Kimmie and Ali have been remarkable travelers. No complaints, eating the food (Ali is finding some things she likes), sleeping, just very easy going. We are so blessed.
As the day wore on, Ali’s disposition changed dramatically. She became animated, interested in conversation, sharing her life with her aunts, telling them all about Anna, Isaac her best friends, camp this summer with them and on and on. The pressure was off….
Looking forward to sleeping on the hard surface tonight.
Maoming has changed unbelievably in the last 10 years. The city is “only” 7 million people. Too small in Chinese terms for an airport, so the only way to get there is by train or car. The main industry is petroleum. The buildings are new, lots of palm trees, wide boulevards, looking more like Miami. Margaret and I were amazed. It isn’t the same city.
During our car ride, Ali sat next to me, her back turned, me rubbing her shoulders, and very quiet. She was taking in the ride. The road side was filled with workers harvesting Leiche a hard shelled melon the size of golf ball, peeled, and only grown in this region. Locals were selling it on the road side one after the other. We saw a truck bed full of chickens- not whole chickens, chicken parts that you would see in the grocery store. It must have been 95 degrees outside, and the chicken completely exposed. UGH…. The FDA would have a hay day with that.
A 40 minute car ride to Gaozhou where the orphanage is located is more economically depressed area, with streets piled with garbage. Actually this looks more like Maoming did 10 years ago. Margaret asked Ali if she was nervous about the visit, she replied “ gee I am hungry”.
We asked to be taken to the original orphanage first where Ali was. It closed in 2001. It is now a condemned building. The director and 2 assistant directors met us there. We took pictures and then followed them back to the new orphanage. The orphanage has 2 parts of it. One side is technical school for computer science and the other is the orphanage. It is very simple in design, somewhat barren but clean open and airy. The director took us into his air conditioned office where we were offered hot tea and Leiche that were freshly picked, with pictures of Chinese children with their foreign parents on the wall. We talked for a long time, lots of questions being patiently answered. I showed the pictures of Ali’s nannies when we got Ali in 1998. To our happy surprise, one of the nannies still worked at the orphanage. (The current director has only been with this orphanage for about 1 year). She was brought in with 2, 3 year olds, the oldest in the orphanage. She remembers Ali’s nanny but didn’t really remember Ali specifically. She smiled to know that Ali is well and healthy. I made arrangements prior to coming, to donate a box of toys and clothes. The packages arrived ahead of time and I requested they wait until we got there to open the boxes. As we opened them we pulled out the toys for the girls to play with. They were very timid… Kimmie and Ali got on the floor to show them how to use them. Needless to say they were overwhelmed. We were in the office for about an hour, cameras and video flashing everywhere. It brought us joy to watch them. Very tempting to take one of them home.
When the official tour began, they requested no cameras. The first stop was the special needs room of about 10 children, mostly with cleft palates and under the age of about 15 months. One child looked so frail and white. Didn’t look like she was going to live very long. Another child was paralyzed in one leg. Margaret being a nurse surmised the birth mother might have had a difficult delivery, as it could be the reason she was paralyzed. The rest of the children looked very healthy, alert, well feed and good color. The Banks family has never see a cleft pallet, so it we were interested and we had lots of questions for Margaret and Marguerite about how this is repaired. The director told us that these children will be easily adopted. The next room was the healthy children. Some babies looked as young as a few weeks. The room had no a/c, but they were covered with blankets and towels- A Chinese way to make sure the children don’t get colds- but they must have been roasting. The diapers looked like pillow cases, freshly washed diapers were being dried outside the hallway. Each baby had a clean diaper.
A set of twin girls, were to be adopted very soon, one baby was getting her family the next day. The only boy in the room got Marguerites’ attention and she began to hold him. At first he wasn’t responsive but after only a few minutes the bonding began. I watched out of the corner of my eye and saw the temptation of Marguerite to want to shower this baby with kisses. I became attached to a baby girl who must have been about 6 months. I gently touched her tummy and she spilled out with laughter. This went on for about 15 minutes. Each time I wiggled her tummy she burst out in giggles. It was really hard to leave her, but I know she will be adopted soon. (My gut feeling and prayer).
The babies are in cribs with no mobiles or toys. Each crib has a hard surface and most of the babies have the bald spot on the back of their head. The rooms were light, sunny and airy. We all commented that the directors show a lot of emotion to the babies, and the nannies were loving and kind. They told us the babies eat rice congee, vegetables and bone marrow was added for added nutrition.
The orphanage holds 150 babies. Right now there are 33s. Traditional believes are giving way to contemporary thinking. The Chinese tradition of boys taking care of the parents is not the modern belief. The daughter’s parents now become a blended part of the boy’s family and girls are more accepted in the more modern cities. So there is a bigger decline in the abandoned babies.
We returned to the office where we were shown the original paper worked and documents. We saw Megan’s and Amy’s (adopted at the same time as Ali) paperwork and took a picture of the page to show them when we get home. Up until then, I thought Ali was abandoned at the police station. This is partially correct. The paper work the director had, showed she was found at Fujian Road and then brought to the police station. He told us he would take us there.
The director offered us gifts of necklaces, a seed grown only in the area- it is to ward off evil spirits. Ali’s Chinese name was already engraved – Gao Xian. Gao is the surname from the region, Xian means strong constitution- very fitting for Ali. The seeds were taken to engrave each of our names and represented to us at lunch. We brought Jelly Bellies, hats from UT and wooden airplanes which Breed and Company donated for us to bring. We thought there might be older children to we offered the jelly Bellies to the nannies.
There is a basketball court and Jim wants to show them Ali’s athletic skills. She shoots a lot of baskets and even though it is the official height (taller than she is used to playing) she nails a lot of baskets. The directors applaud.
On the way to lunch, we were taken to Ali’s finding place, on Fujian Road. The police station was only 1 block away. Perhaps if the police station was open, we might have found more information about her finding, but unfortunately it is a Sunday and closed. . At this point Ali is not very happy. It is extremely hot and humid and she just wants to get in the car and go. So a few minutes later we do after taking pictures.
Lunch was a feast. Good meats, fish, delicious shrimp, pork that no one touched. We even had cokes. We were the first family to visit the orphanage in 2008. (There are only about 2-3 visits from families per year- not a common occurrence). They asked us to each write something in their journal about our visit to the orphanage. Even Kimmie and Ali wrote in the book.
Saying many goodbyes, we headed to the Maoming Mansion, the dumpy hotel Margaret and I stayed 10 years ago. It is even more of a dump and still open but extremely special since that is where we were given Ali.
A local mall had a Wal-Mart. We couldn’t believe it. We shopped the mall; Kimmie got a few shirts, the rest of the crew found some gems at Wal-Mart.
Back to hotel and rested. McDonalds even to me sounded yummy, so that is where we had dinner. Kimmie’s flip flops she brought were falling apart and found beautiful flip flops for a whopping $2.
A McDonald’s hamburger in China is the same, but we ordered a milk shake and got hot chocolate, no milk shakes.
Everywhere we went in Maoming we were starred at. For 2 reasons- one, very few foreigners ever have a reason to go to Maoming. Secondly, westerners with Chinese children… very curious to the locals. At McDonalds- people would stop and look through the window to stare at us, some parents would bring their children by us to show them us. “Look…. White people!” Now we know how minorities feel. A young woman came up to me and said “welcome to our city” and wanted to know where I was from. And she said she was so happy to meet me. Maybe she never met a westerner. Thank goodness for our guide because NO ONE speaks English.
We decided to go the grocery store to get food and water for the return train ride. At 9pm it was packed. At one point Margaret got separated from our group. A Chinese woman tapped her on shoulder and pointed to me because she knew Margaret was lost and knew who she was with.
Kimmie and Ali have been remarkable travelers. No complaints, eating the food (Ali is finding some things she likes), sleeping, just very easy going. We are so blessed.
As the day wore on, Ali’s disposition changed dramatically. She became animated, interested in conversation, sharing her life with her aunts, telling them all about Anna, Isaac her best friends, camp this summer with them and on and on. The pressure was off….
Looking forward to sleeping on the hard surface tonight.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Travel day to Maoming June 21
The plan is to fly into Guangzhou, then take a train to Maoming and follow the same travel as Margaret and I did 10 years ago to get Ali. There are no airports in Maoming, even though it is an industrial city. I wanted Ali to experience how we got here. All good intentions
As easy as our flight was to Shanghai, our travel day started just the opposite. After wolfing down breakfast at 6am for Amy to meet us at 6am, we made it to the Old Shanghai airport (built in the last 10 years) in less than 20 minutes. Bused to the tarmac to the plan, all is good. We sit and sit and sit. No explanation for the delay, 90 minutes passed and we finally take off. No one was upset like they would have been in the states, no one questioned why the delay. As the only westerners on the plane, we followed course. Quite the different response Americans would have had for such a delay. (Including myself). Obedience and cooperation was certainly displayed. We landed in Guangzhou and were suppose to take our luggage for storage to the White Swan Hotel. (President Nixon stayed there when China opened their doors to the US).
Bait and switch begins, patience is tested and I failed miserably, probably because I made all the arrangements and everything untangled. Our guide Anna didn’t have a handle on what needed to be done. We needed to store our luggage because the train to Maoming because the train is very small, so we all down sided our luggage to bare minimum. After speaking to her office several times, Anna found a hotel next to the train station to store our luggage, We had to trust this was okay, no other options, had no prior information about the hotel what so ever.
Then the long brutally hot walk to the train station. I thought I was going to bake. The train station is not safe. Lots of beggars, and pick pockets, you have to walk swift and close together. I was most concerned about Kimmie and Ali. They stayed close and but we were all challenged in staying together, as people push and shove, and Anna kept moving fast ahead of us. I would holler at her to wait and she would but it wouldn’t last long. That added to the stress, as it challenged us to stay together. People so close to you, pushing and shuffling, up long flights of stairs, with our luggage, down long flights of stair, concerned about pick pocketers, keeping Ali and Kimmie close, very very stressful.
Then we get thru all this and Anna informs us we have different seats in the train then I ordered. We were to have sleeping compartments like we did in 1988. Jim through a casket. More stress….BUT after we finally got settled in our tiny seats 3 and 3 facing each other, we made lemonaide out of lemons. The scenery was amazing. As we got out of Guangzhou, the country side changed from buildings to rice patty fields. The housing structures have changed considerably in the last 10 years. New housing replaced by new. Some of the housing were just small shacks, with stick roofs. The girls jaws were dropping. We saw people working in rice patties, with their water buffalo, tiny little towns that were just agricultural.
As the only Westerners on the train, we drew lots of attention. As Jim pulled out his rubix cube to pass the time,several young men gathered around him to watch him solve the puzzle. Ali became an expert in solving the rubix cube, quite the task for an 10 year old. A baby with her mother and grandmother sat next to us. We found out the baby is 10 months old, and they are from Maoming. The mother let me play with the baby, she was so well behaved, in fact there were lots of children on the train, and you wouldn’t even know it, they were perfect travelers. One young women, put her hand on Jim’s and said “ Welcome to to China” in English and struck a small conversation with us, asking about the girls and if they were Chinese. She was so pleasant. Telling us America is beautiful and we replied that China is beautiful.
Since the flight was so delayed, we had no time for lunch. We stopped off at a 7/11 and got snacks and water. Our day of food is the Maoming diet… crackers, and liquid.
We almost missed our stop in to get off the train, as the train was 35 minutes early. We left a bag of Kimmie’s on the train with a book she read, but were lucky that was all, because we were so rush to get through the crowed, standing room only, train compartment.
Yorkee our Maoming guide met us, and quickly explained to us, she got a call from her office about us wanting the sleeping compartment for the train. She made arrangement for that to happened, of course with a monetary upgrade.
Our hotel is fine. The bathrooms are funky. The shower is a corner next to the toilet, no separation. Everything gets wet. No big deal, but different… a hot shower is a hot shower. We all feel fast asleep… a good nights rest.
As easy as our flight was to Shanghai, our travel day started just the opposite. After wolfing down breakfast at 6am for Amy to meet us at 6am, we made it to the Old Shanghai airport (built in the last 10 years) in less than 20 minutes. Bused to the tarmac to the plan, all is good. We sit and sit and sit. No explanation for the delay, 90 minutes passed and we finally take off. No one was upset like they would have been in the states, no one questioned why the delay. As the only westerners on the plane, we followed course. Quite the different response Americans would have had for such a delay. (Including myself). Obedience and cooperation was certainly displayed. We landed in Guangzhou and were suppose to take our luggage for storage to the White Swan Hotel. (President Nixon stayed there when China opened their doors to the US).
Bait and switch begins, patience is tested and I failed miserably, probably because I made all the arrangements and everything untangled. Our guide Anna didn’t have a handle on what needed to be done. We needed to store our luggage because the train to Maoming because the train is very small, so we all down sided our luggage to bare minimum. After speaking to her office several times, Anna found a hotel next to the train station to store our luggage, We had to trust this was okay, no other options, had no prior information about the hotel what so ever.
Then the long brutally hot walk to the train station. I thought I was going to bake. The train station is not safe. Lots of beggars, and pick pockets, you have to walk swift and close together. I was most concerned about Kimmie and Ali. They stayed close and but we were all challenged in staying together, as people push and shove, and Anna kept moving fast ahead of us. I would holler at her to wait and she would but it wouldn’t last long. That added to the stress, as it challenged us to stay together. People so close to you, pushing and shuffling, up long flights of stairs, with our luggage, down long flights of stair, concerned about pick pocketers, keeping Ali and Kimmie close, very very stressful.
Then we get thru all this and Anna informs us we have different seats in the train then I ordered. We were to have sleeping compartments like we did in 1988. Jim through a casket. More stress….BUT after we finally got settled in our tiny seats 3 and 3 facing each other, we made lemonaide out of lemons. The scenery was amazing. As we got out of Guangzhou, the country side changed from buildings to rice patty fields. The housing structures have changed considerably in the last 10 years. New housing replaced by new. Some of the housing were just small shacks, with stick roofs. The girls jaws were dropping. We saw people working in rice patties, with their water buffalo, tiny little towns that were just agricultural.
As the only Westerners on the train, we drew lots of attention. As Jim pulled out his rubix cube to pass the time,several young men gathered around him to watch him solve the puzzle. Ali became an expert in solving the rubix cube, quite the task for an 10 year old. A baby with her mother and grandmother sat next to us. We found out the baby is 10 months old, and they are from Maoming. The mother let me play with the baby, she was so well behaved, in fact there were lots of children on the train, and you wouldn’t even know it, they were perfect travelers. One young women, put her hand on Jim’s and said “ Welcome to to China” in English and struck a small conversation with us, asking about the girls and if they were Chinese. She was so pleasant. Telling us America is beautiful and we replied that China is beautiful.
Since the flight was so delayed, we had no time for lunch. We stopped off at a 7/11 and got snacks and water. Our day of food is the Maoming diet… crackers, and liquid.
We almost missed our stop in to get off the train, as the train was 35 minutes early. We left a bag of Kimmie’s on the train with a book she read, but were lucky that was all, because we were so rush to get through the crowed, standing room only, train compartment.
Yorkee our Maoming guide met us, and quickly explained to us, she got a call from her office about us wanting the sleeping compartment for the train. She made arrangement for that to happened, of course with a monetary upgrade.
Our hotel is fine. The bathrooms are funky. The shower is a corner next to the toilet, no separation. Everything gets wet. No big deal, but different… a hot shower is a hot shower. We all feel fast asleep… a good nights rest.
Friday, June 20, 2008
a little more
For those of you who know about my parent coach Gail Allen, here is some interesting stuff for Gail and I to discuss. When the girls got back from our excursion today, I knocked on Jim's door at the hotel(he and Ali are sharing a room), no answer. An hour later I called the room, still no answer. I got worried... as it was almost 7:30and no sign of them. Then a tap on my door, it was Jim, he had gotten a massage, and Ali was sound asleep. She had only eaten french fries, Jim couldn't get her to eat. She was not happy about going down for dinner, and only ate a few bites of her hamburger. A Chinese burger IS different. She was very needy. She told Jim she isn't looking forward to going to the orphanage. When asked last weekend, she told her adult cousins, Trey and Eric, she isn't looking forward to it either. Jim thinks she is very nervous about going. I am hoping to calm her about it tomorrow. I think she is a bit overwhelmed. Sensory overload. Tomorrow is a big travel day. I have lots of energy bars. Ali was happy when I suggested we pack a couple of freeze dried dinners I bought at REI in anticipation of her dislike of the Chinese food.
I forgot to tell you about the silk factory tour... we actually got silk cocoon. They demonstration the spinning and we pulled a sheet of it. Kimmie, Marguerite, Margaret and I used full strength to pull it. It is much harder than it looks. The sheet looks like the Halloween webbing used to create spider webs.
At the pearl factory they opened an oyster... for Dad- trivia question: how many pearls do you think were in 1 oyster? To all of our surprise 28.
We are all repacked for our train ride. Bed time for me now as it it 10:12pm. We rise at 5am.
Have a good Friday, and I will have a good night's sleep.
Love to you all,
Karen
I forgot to tell you about the silk factory tour... we actually got silk cocoon. They demonstration the spinning and we pulled a sheet of it. Kimmie, Marguerite, Margaret and I used full strength to pull it. It is much harder than it looks. The sheet looks like the Halloween webbing used to create spider webs.
At the pearl factory they opened an oyster... for Dad- trivia question: how many pearls do you think were in 1 oyster? To all of our surprise 28.
We are all repacked for our train ride. Bed time for me now as it it 10:12pm. We rise at 5am.
Have a good Friday, and I will have a good night's sleep.
Love to you all,
Karen
We are here and shopped till we dropped
We had a non eventful flight to Shanghai. A 15 hour flight doesn't seem that long when you eat, watch tv and read the whole time. Kimmie finished a 700 page book, Ali read, played games and watched 4 movies, Margaret and Marguerite did what I did, and Jim had good intentions of getting some work done, but relaxed, read and played games. Getting through customs was easy and our guide Amy was waiting for us.
It was 4:30pm when we got to our hotel, a five star named Huating Hotel, across the street where soccer will be played at the Olympics. ( the only venue here in Shanghai). With good intentions to go exploring and eat out, we all decided to meet in 1 hour. At 8:30 we woke up and decided to bag dinner and we all slept thru the night.
A combo breakfast of Chinese and American satisfied us all and we were off for Shanghai adventures. Yuan gardens was our first stop dating back to the 1500's. It was so hot and humid, Ali lasted an hour wasn't feeling good and Jim was kind enough to offer take her to the hotel. Amy put them in a cab, and we all continued. Next stop pearl shopping, knock off watches. That really made us hungry!!! An authentic Chinese meal ....so good. Even Margaret liked it.
The Shanghai musuem was amazing. Calligraphy, broze displays, Chinese paintings, Porcelin, all dating 500-1500 B.C. Blows your mind thinking how old Chinese histroy begins. Makes the US look so young. 4 floors of Chinese history. We were really tired after that. BUT... found the energy to do some final shopping at the museum shop ( what a surprise).
Amy is extremely knowledgeable about history, facts, dates. Anything you ask her she knows. She specializes in Shanghai history and culture. Shanghai is much more modern that I expected. They are getting rid of the old building replacing with new- everywhere. The architecture is modern and interesting. We have lots of pictures to share with everyone.
Everywhere we went today people were fancinated by Kimmie. Wanted to know if she spoke Mandrian, and explained to me how important it is for her to learn the language. For her bd Jim and I are giving her the Rosetta stone for learning Chinese.
Now we are packing for our trip to see Ali's orphanage. We leave the hotel at 6:30am tomorrow for a 8:30 flight. We arrive in Guangzhou and then get onto the train to Maoming for a 5 hour train ride to Ali's orphangage Maoming SWI. This is the same train ride Margaret and I took to get Ali 10 years ago. Rual China will be very different than the modern city we just experienced. I am anxious to see how Kimmie and Ali respond to the this.
I am not sure when I will be able to blog again, as I Maoming is not as modern as Shanghai and our hotel will not be as nice. In fact, Margaret and I are dreading the hotel, because the "Maoming Mansion" where we stayed was a real dump. I am hoping we have something nicer.
I am finding I am much more relaxed on this trip than any other trip to China. Having this be my 4th time, I am a "expert" bargainer. I got some really good deals today. I was in charge of the doing the negoitations. It was really fun.
All for now, love to all,
Karen
It was 4:30pm when we got to our hotel, a five star named Huating Hotel, across the street where soccer will be played at the Olympics. ( the only venue here in Shanghai). With good intentions to go exploring and eat out, we all decided to meet in 1 hour. At 8:30 we woke up and decided to bag dinner and we all slept thru the night.
A combo breakfast of Chinese and American satisfied us all and we were off for Shanghai adventures. Yuan gardens was our first stop dating back to the 1500's. It was so hot and humid, Ali lasted an hour wasn't feeling good and Jim was kind enough to offer take her to the hotel. Amy put them in a cab, and we all continued. Next stop pearl shopping, knock off watches. That really made us hungry!!! An authentic Chinese meal ....so good. Even Margaret liked it.
The Shanghai musuem was amazing. Calligraphy, broze displays, Chinese paintings, Porcelin, all dating 500-1500 B.C. Blows your mind thinking how old Chinese histroy begins. Makes the US look so young. 4 floors of Chinese history. We were really tired after that. BUT... found the energy to do some final shopping at the museum shop ( what a surprise).
Amy is extremely knowledgeable about history, facts, dates. Anything you ask her she knows. She specializes in Shanghai history and culture. Shanghai is much more modern that I expected. They are getting rid of the old building replacing with new- everywhere. The architecture is modern and interesting. We have lots of pictures to share with everyone.
Everywhere we went today people were fancinated by Kimmie. Wanted to know if she spoke Mandrian, and explained to me how important it is for her to learn the language. For her bd Jim and I are giving her the Rosetta stone for learning Chinese.
Now we are packing for our trip to see Ali's orphanage. We leave the hotel at 6:30am tomorrow for a 8:30 flight. We arrive in Guangzhou and then get onto the train to Maoming for a 5 hour train ride to Ali's orphangage Maoming SWI. This is the same train ride Margaret and I took to get Ali 10 years ago. Rual China will be very different than the modern city we just experienced. I am anxious to see how Kimmie and Ali respond to the this.
I am not sure when I will be able to blog again, as I Maoming is not as modern as Shanghai and our hotel will not be as nice. In fact, Margaret and I are dreading the hotel, because the "Maoming Mansion" where we stayed was a real dump. I am hoping we have something nicer.
I am finding I am much more relaxed on this trip than any other trip to China. Having this be my 4th time, I am a "expert" bargainer. I got some really good deals today. I was in charge of the doing the negoitations. It was really fun.
All for now, love to all,
Karen
Monday, June 2, 2008
Alot has changed in the last 6 weeks. We are no longer going to Chengdu for obvious reasons and will be touring Guilan instead. China is very strict on the visa applications. They required hotel confirmation numbers and the Kimmie and Ali's adoptions decrees from China to prove they were born in China. In addition there is a breakout of foot and mouth disease in Anhui and Gao Zhou, the 2 provinces where the orphanages are. BUT we are persevering and moving forward with our plans.
I have ordered toys and clothing for the Gao Zhou orphanage and a digital camera for the Anhui orphanage. They will be shipped and arriving on or near the dates we go. These are our gifts.
Only 2 weeks until our departure!!
I have ordered toys and clothing for the Gao Zhou orphanage and a digital camera for the Anhui orphanage. They will be shipped and arriving on or near the dates we go. These are our gifts.
Only 2 weeks until our departure!!
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