we woke up to Ben coughing pretty hard today and it is all rainy and cold out so we decided it was the perfect day to stay inside,rest and play.
Currently Ben is learning how to use the camera with Gary. Maybe he will be a photojournalist?
Thank goodness for the breakfast buffet!
So crazy I was excited to see chicken curry this morning, yes for breakfast because I have learned you need to eat what you like when you find it what ever time that is...
Back to play time for me
Lovin' my china boy!!!!!!
Peace
Nancy
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sometimes you get what you ask for but don’t get what you expect.
Sometimes you get what you ask for but don’t get what you expect.
Today we took a trip to the orphanage and the place where they found our little boy when he was 1 week old. It was not as I had imagined it. The first floor of the teachers’ dormitory in the middle school turns out to be a lonely uncovered stairway in a back alley. I was in tears when I returned to the van. I had pictured his mother taking him some place where he would be protected from the elements and safe. Like a corridor on a bench in the school building. He was in the area of the teacher’s apartments so he would be found easily but not exactly as I had pictured this scene at all. I was so grateful he was placed with us and that we were taking him away from all of that.
The orphanage was not what I had expected either. Post modern building of concrete and wooden doors. There is a colorful playroom with toys, it even included therapy equipment, but the gardens or outside play area was basically concrete with a bare basketball hoop and a lonely slide. I would not have called this a garden. They are very proud of the institution and yes that is a good word for it. The rooms are clean and decorated for the children, the nannies were obviously in love with the kids and especially Ben. They all wanted to hold him and love him and play with him. I was nervous when they took him from my arms that he would think we were giving him back but he was ok. His little friend Huai Yang An is 2 ½ years old and has not been matched yet even though he is on the waiting child list. He had a tumor removed they tell me and is doing very well no problems. I do not know if this was a real Tumor or a growth of some kind, it was at the base of his spine sacral/buttock region as they showed me his healed scar when I asked where the tumor had been from. They could not elaborate on what type and my guide is very poor at asking questions and translating for me to them. She was having conversations with the staff and not telling me what was said and not telling them what I said even when I asked her to translate for me! Very frustrating as a nurse and mother wanting to express gratitude!!
Yes Karen I gave Yuan Yuan a hug and kiss and told her mama and baba are coming as soon as they can.
Did I mention the driver got lost once we were in Huai an? Yes they did not bother to let us know or explain as he was making u-turns in the middle of busy trafficked bridges. I am grateful to be here now! Remember China does not use car seats for children so I was holding Ben tightly and had seat belted both of us together. The guide and driver just kept talking/ arguing in Chinese and we had to ask what was going on, which we surmised without her after the third turn around. All I could think was we just drove 2 ½ hours and are paying for this car service, do not tell me they have the old address and we will not be able to see the orphanage now. I just kept giving it up to God as I had NO control in this situation. After 20 minutes or so they finally got us there. This was very nerve racking. It was a gated driveway into a concrete landscape that lacked for warmth.
The staff then decided to take us to the location of the new orphanage which will soon be the largest in the province connected to a senior housing project. It was an active construction site that left me very nervous to have a baby anywhere near but we did the ooh and ah over the new construction that appears massive. When asked if there was any supplies we could get for them our guide kept translating that cash was preferred because they know what they needed. Very disturbing that even after we had told her we did not want to give money she would not accept that or assist in arranging to forward gifts/donated toys cloths to the center when they brought the next child down to Nanjing. Another reason we were not pleased with this guide! We ended up giving some money with the intention that this would go to medicine for the children, I truly hope it does, Since she kept talking about money to them we felt we were not able to walk away without offering a donation without looking poorly.
By the time we were done there all I wanted to do was return to the hotel. We had packed energy bars and snacks as well as formula for Ben so we told her to forget about lunch out, esp when she again went - Oh you don’t like Chinese food(we had been eating nothing but since we arrived and I really had to restrain myself from saying something I’d regret)
Originally she had told us very few children are adopted from this province in south china because this area is richer. As we drove thru Huai an it became very clear that this was not a rich city and not at all the same city we saw on the internet when we researched the area. There was a lot of construction, and poor living condition in the older building areas. Today she said this was a poorer area and that this orphanage was low middle in rating. Why does it seem she contradicts herself all the time??? I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. She now called the area northern china???
On the way out it was a refreshing change to be in the country side. My soul sighed relief when we were out of the city. I am not a city living type of person my being craves the quiet of the suburbs. It was nice to see another side of china, for the last week we had only seen sky scrapers and a few ancient areas. I expected to see more pagodas and what one sees on travel shows about china which I am sadly missing. It was so interesting to see the contrast between city living and country living, quite the country mouse city, mouse scenario. We were able to see farm regions and oxen, goat, ducks, sheep, etc. Our guide said many Chinese people prefer the noise of the city and city living especially the young people.
On the way home I just wanted to get here! Ben’s breathing was getting worse and I could here the secretions in his airway which I could not suction due to erratic driving and fear of hurting him if a sudden move happened I might jabb him with the bulb syringe (one I had acquired from my old peds nursing work not the silly ones with the big end that barely lets you get to the base of a nare). He fell asleep and never got his afternoon bottle as lunch so he was tired cranky and hungry when he woke up. We started on cherios hoping it would be only a few more minutes left of the drive. Then we hit horrible rush hour traffic that just stopped dead! Poor Ben gaged on a cheerio and between the mucus and the cough and the cheerio, well you can imagine what happened next all over me and my coat and him. Good the mucus was out bad he felt rotten and I was covered. The guide unhelpful. Now I was getting beyond cranky and just wanted to be back “home”. We got to the hotel and she is calling his name loudly and stimulating him and irritating him after I had calmed him down. I walked away from her and told her to leave him alone. When we got to the room and I was putting him down she was trying to get him to stand on his feet and be active. He was tired and still felt lousy I took him back and comforted him. She says he only wants to be held. Well yeah when she is around and bugging him…ok I’m still a bit cranky from this episode so I’ll stop here before it gets worse.
Ben became playful after we were back a while and is fine. I suctioned his nose a few times and did some reiki and reflexology for him. He had some congii for dinner after some mashed up bananas to settle his tummy. He went to bed late for him and is out like a light now.
All and all we have much to add to his adoption story from going and since the new large orphanage will open next year if we had not done this he would not know what this place was like by the time we come back on a heritage tour 13 years from now.
I can hear the traffic on the main street below now and long for the quite of our real home.
1 ½ days to Guangzhou we can do this…
She is arranging a trip to a park that sounds lovely tomorrow I hope it is a much better day than today.
Peace and love
Nancy
Today we took a trip to the orphanage and the place where they found our little boy when he was 1 week old. It was not as I had imagined it. The first floor of the teachers’ dormitory in the middle school turns out to be a lonely uncovered stairway in a back alley. I was in tears when I returned to the van. I had pictured his mother taking him some place where he would be protected from the elements and safe. Like a corridor on a bench in the school building. He was in the area of the teacher’s apartments so he would be found easily but not exactly as I had pictured this scene at all. I was so grateful he was placed with us and that we were taking him away from all of that.
The orphanage was not what I had expected either. Post modern building of concrete and wooden doors. There is a colorful playroom with toys, it even included therapy equipment, but the gardens or outside play area was basically concrete with a bare basketball hoop and a lonely slide. I would not have called this a garden. They are very proud of the institution and yes that is a good word for it. The rooms are clean and decorated for the children, the nannies were obviously in love with the kids and especially Ben. They all wanted to hold him and love him and play with him. I was nervous when they took him from my arms that he would think we were giving him back but he was ok. His little friend Huai Yang An is 2 ½ years old and has not been matched yet even though he is on the waiting child list. He had a tumor removed they tell me and is doing very well no problems. I do not know if this was a real Tumor or a growth of some kind, it was at the base of his spine sacral/buttock region as they showed me his healed scar when I asked where the tumor had been from. They could not elaborate on what type and my guide is very poor at asking questions and translating for me to them. She was having conversations with the staff and not telling me what was said and not telling them what I said even when I asked her to translate for me! Very frustrating as a nurse and mother wanting to express gratitude!!
Yes Karen I gave Yuan Yuan a hug and kiss and told her mama and baba are coming as soon as they can.
Did I mention the driver got lost once we were in Huai an? Yes they did not bother to let us know or explain as he was making u-turns in the middle of busy trafficked bridges. I am grateful to be here now! Remember China does not use car seats for children so I was holding Ben tightly and had seat belted both of us together. The guide and driver just kept talking/ arguing in Chinese and we had to ask what was going on, which we surmised without her after the third turn around. All I could think was we just drove 2 ½ hours and are paying for this car service, do not tell me they have the old address and we will not be able to see the orphanage now. I just kept giving it up to God as I had NO control in this situation. After 20 minutes or so they finally got us there. This was very nerve racking. It was a gated driveway into a concrete landscape that lacked for warmth.
The staff then decided to take us to the location of the new orphanage which will soon be the largest in the province connected to a senior housing project. It was an active construction site that left me very nervous to have a baby anywhere near but we did the ooh and ah over the new construction that appears massive. When asked if there was any supplies we could get for them our guide kept translating that cash was preferred because they know what they needed. Very disturbing that even after we had told her we did not want to give money she would not accept that or assist in arranging to forward gifts/donated toys cloths to the center when they brought the next child down to Nanjing. Another reason we were not pleased with this guide! We ended up giving some money with the intention that this would go to medicine for the children, I truly hope it does, Since she kept talking about money to them we felt we were not able to walk away without offering a donation without looking poorly.
By the time we were done there all I wanted to do was return to the hotel. We had packed energy bars and snacks as well as formula for Ben so we told her to forget about lunch out, esp when she again went - Oh you don’t like Chinese food(we had been eating nothing but since we arrived and I really had to restrain myself from saying something I’d regret)
Originally she had told us very few children are adopted from this province in south china because this area is richer. As we drove thru Huai an it became very clear that this was not a rich city and not at all the same city we saw on the internet when we researched the area. There was a lot of construction, and poor living condition in the older building areas. Today she said this was a poorer area and that this orphanage was low middle in rating. Why does it seem she contradicts herself all the time??? I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. She now called the area northern china???
On the way out it was a refreshing change to be in the country side. My soul sighed relief when we were out of the city. I am not a city living type of person my being craves the quiet of the suburbs. It was nice to see another side of china, for the last week we had only seen sky scrapers and a few ancient areas. I expected to see more pagodas and what one sees on travel shows about china which I am sadly missing. It was so interesting to see the contrast between city living and country living, quite the country mouse city, mouse scenario. We were able to see farm regions and oxen, goat, ducks, sheep, etc. Our guide said many Chinese people prefer the noise of the city and city living especially the young people.
On the way home I just wanted to get here! Ben’s breathing was getting worse and I could here the secretions in his airway which I could not suction due to erratic driving and fear of hurting him if a sudden move happened I might jabb him with the bulb syringe (one I had acquired from my old peds nursing work not the silly ones with the big end that barely lets you get to the base of a nare). He fell asleep and never got his afternoon bottle as lunch so he was tired cranky and hungry when he woke up. We started on cherios hoping it would be only a few more minutes left of the drive. Then we hit horrible rush hour traffic that just stopped dead! Poor Ben gaged on a cheerio and between the mucus and the cough and the cheerio, well you can imagine what happened next all over me and my coat and him. Good the mucus was out bad he felt rotten and I was covered. The guide unhelpful. Now I was getting beyond cranky and just wanted to be back “home”. We got to the hotel and she is calling his name loudly and stimulating him and irritating him after I had calmed him down. I walked away from her and told her to leave him alone. When we got to the room and I was putting him down she was trying to get him to stand on his feet and be active. He was tired and still felt lousy I took him back and comforted him. She says he only wants to be held. Well yeah when she is around and bugging him…ok I’m still a bit cranky from this episode so I’ll stop here before it gets worse.
Ben became playful after we were back a while and is fine. I suctioned his nose a few times and did some reiki and reflexology for him. He had some congii for dinner after some mashed up bananas to settle his tummy. He went to bed late for him and is out like a light now.
All and all we have much to add to his adoption story from going and since the new large orphanage will open next year if we had not done this he would not know what this place was like by the time we come back on a heritage tour 13 years from now.
I can hear the traffic on the main street below now and long for the quite of our real home.
1 ½ days to Guangzhou we can do this…
She is arranging a trip to a park that sounds lovely tomorrow I hope it is a much better day than today.
Peace and love
Nancy
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Nancy's view
Yesterday was a whirlwind of emotions.
A few bumps with the guide and figuring out formula proportions from a package all in Chinese. I could however figure out the correct proportion of medicine from the Chinese powdered medicine he is on for his nose cold and yucky junky cough. Please God keep us from having to go to the hospital! Language is still an issue even with the room service last night.
We had a good night he is such a good baby!
Gary is head over heals in love and so am I.
They asked if we knew he was special needs and if we still wanted him, Gary said look at his face how could you say no. Hmmmm there might be problems then if that's the case but YES we want him!!! The little bump is small and barely noticeable we shall ask the doctor if it can be observed or has to be removed from his left temple. There is solid bone around it so I am fairly confident we are not looking at the worst case scenario mentioned by the international doctor.
He was clingy to me today when we had to go back to the same location for paperwork.
He was probably afraid we were going to leave him. Once we came back to the hotel room he settled in again and played. Even had a bottle and lunch before falling asleep in the stroller in the restaurant. He found his smile while we were out at the restaurant and became my giggling boy I saw in pictures for so many months.
Unfortunately I had to play mean nurse and wake him for medicine (he has a cold with a wicked cough when he is due for medicine) which caused heck getting him back down for nappers but he is settled now.
He can throw a good cry and arch quite well when he wants to.
Amazing how attitudes changed around here after we received a baby. Now they are nicer to us, even brought lunch so fast I thought we were in a different restaurant!
We were getting looks and felt unwanted yesterday.
So Glad we brought the computer which I use when he is napping or asleep for the night. I needed that connection to our world when things got rocky here.
He is curious and amazing I just love him already.
It’s taken me so long to write this that he is beginning to wake from his nap.
Tomorrow we will travel to the orphanage to visit and see where he has spent his 16 months before we have come to bring him to America. We may also be able to see where he was left by his parent safely to be found and brought to an orphanage. These we think are valuable pieces of his history we will be able to share with him when he gets older which will add to his adoption story.
Happy 16 month birthday Luo Rui
Love Mommy and Daddy (aka Mama and Baba)
A few bumps with the guide and figuring out formula proportions from a package all in Chinese. I could however figure out the correct proportion of medicine from the Chinese powdered medicine he is on for his nose cold and yucky junky cough. Please God keep us from having to go to the hospital! Language is still an issue even with the room service last night.
We had a good night he is such a good baby!
Gary is head over heals in love and so am I.
They asked if we knew he was special needs and if we still wanted him, Gary said look at his face how could you say no. Hmmmm there might be problems then if that's the case but YES we want him!!! The little bump is small and barely noticeable we shall ask the doctor if it can be observed or has to be removed from his left temple. There is solid bone around it so I am fairly confident we are not looking at the worst case scenario mentioned by the international doctor.
He was clingy to me today when we had to go back to the same location for paperwork.
He was probably afraid we were going to leave him. Once we came back to the hotel room he settled in again and played. Even had a bottle and lunch before falling asleep in the stroller in the restaurant. He found his smile while we were out at the restaurant and became my giggling boy I saw in pictures for so many months.
Unfortunately I had to play mean nurse and wake him for medicine (he has a cold with a wicked cough when he is due for medicine) which caused heck getting him back down for nappers but he is settled now.
He can throw a good cry and arch quite well when he wants to.
Amazing how attitudes changed around here after we received a baby. Now they are nicer to us, even brought lunch so fast I thought we were in a different restaurant!
We were getting looks and felt unwanted yesterday.
So Glad we brought the computer which I use when he is napping or asleep for the night. I needed that connection to our world when things got rocky here.
He is curious and amazing I just love him already.
It’s taken me so long to write this that he is beginning to wake from his nap.
Tomorrow we will travel to the orphanage to visit and see where he has spent his 16 months before we have come to bring him to America. We may also be able to see where he was left by his parent safely to be found and brought to an orphanage. These we think are valuable pieces of his history we will be able to share with him when he gets older which will add to his adoption story.
Happy 16 month birthday Luo Rui
Love Mommy and Daddy (aka Mama and Baba)
March 30th Part 2: He’s 16 Months Old Today
The happy smile of a child can wash away all sadness and frustration. – Gary Frank March 30, 2010.
When Ben (currently Luo Rui) smiles at me he is the only thing that matters. If he’s smiling, the world is right. I have surprised myself with how quickly I’ve taken to this boy. I knew I would bond with him and all, but I thought Nancy would be numero uno, and I’d fall in after. Not so much.
Okay, so Nancy’s handling the medical, nurse, kid’s got a cold stuff, as well as the initial diaper changes, and I wind up being the consolating figure when Ben’s upset. But he’s getting used to the medicine dropper and getting his nose suctioned out. Kid snot is like super glue. He’s not crying as much. He is NOT into baths. Even standing in two inches of water set him off. I’m sure he’ll get used to it. At some point.
He was crying over something before and I picked him up and it was like a switch got flipped. One second crying, the next, calmness. Awesome, huh?
Does anyone have any idea what happens to a human heart when your 16 month old child looks up at you with his arms out-stretched? It is the power to make icebergs instantaneously melt. Blink. Gone. How do you not pick him up? You do. And then he clutches on to you with those little fingers like his whole world depends on you. Simply magnificent. Just as magnificent is his smile. It’s not just his mouth, but his whole face, and that smile radiates joy and love and security and comfort and trust.
We have him in a blue, feety PJ outfit with cartoon monkeys and bananas. You never think a human can be so freakin’ cute, but there he is, the human embodiment of cuteness.
Okay, reality check for those who think I’ve gone over the deep end. I know there will be times that his innate cuteness will save his life. That’s why God made him so cute, so later on, when he becomes Mr. Hyde to this cute Dr. Jekyll, we won’t . . . well, you parents know what I mean. And you know what, no matter how many parents told me one thing or another about what parenting is going to be like, in the end, it is a very unique experience that each parent goes through, filtered by their past and their emotions. Sure there are some common factors: diapers, teething, tantrums, etc., but then there are those times when everything people told me can’t prepare me for the experience. Just having him in our room is an amazing experience. I keep pausing and looking at him.
He napped too long and too late this afternoon, so getting him to sleep tonight was a bit of a challenge. He stood in the crib and pulled on the bars like a little criminal, and I laid him back down and told him to go to sleep in that lilting voice that’s so sweet as if we can lull the boy to sleep land just by speaking. He gave me the smile. I told him it wasn’t working and to go to sleep. A little less lilt, a little more parent. He got up again. It’s time to go to sleep. Less lilt. He looked curiously at me. What’s that tone? Never heard that before. Neither one of us have heard that tone. Parent tone. I laid him down and he sort of shuffled around, made some disgruntled noises, but eventually fell asleep. I never had to pull out the next repeat: Gotosleep. One word, no lilt, quick and somewhat sharp. Commanding, parental, authoritative. Or the final repeat: Go. To. Sleep. Now. No lilt, sharp, punctuated words so he understands the full implications of the tone. I can guarantee, cute little Ben will hear those words in those tones at some point in his life. We all do.
Tomorrow we’re going to visit his orphanage and hopefully, he won’t freak out too much, thinking that we’re bringing him back. But Nancy wanted to visit and meet his nanny, so we’re going. Five hour round trip and we have to pay for the van for the day. I think it should be pretty cool to see China between Nanjing and Huai’an.
Thursday is a free day and Friday is picking up his Visa and heading to Guangzhou for the final paperworks before we head home on the 9th!
I guess that’s all from here, reporting live from Nanjing, it’s Gary (the new dad), and his sleeping family, wishing you hope, peace, and joy.
Gary . . .
P.S.: If anyone’s planning to bring us take-out when we get home, a piece of advice: No. More. Fried. Rice. Evah.
When Ben (currently Luo Rui) smiles at me he is the only thing that matters. If he’s smiling, the world is right. I have surprised myself with how quickly I’ve taken to this boy. I knew I would bond with him and all, but I thought Nancy would be numero uno, and I’d fall in after. Not so much.
Okay, so Nancy’s handling the medical, nurse, kid’s got a cold stuff, as well as the initial diaper changes, and I wind up being the consolating figure when Ben’s upset. But he’s getting used to the medicine dropper and getting his nose suctioned out. Kid snot is like super glue. He’s not crying as much. He is NOT into baths. Even standing in two inches of water set him off. I’m sure he’ll get used to it. At some point.
He was crying over something before and I picked him up and it was like a switch got flipped. One second crying, the next, calmness. Awesome, huh?
Does anyone have any idea what happens to a human heart when your 16 month old child looks up at you with his arms out-stretched? It is the power to make icebergs instantaneously melt. Blink. Gone. How do you not pick him up? You do. And then he clutches on to you with those little fingers like his whole world depends on you. Simply magnificent. Just as magnificent is his smile. It’s not just his mouth, but his whole face, and that smile radiates joy and love and security and comfort and trust.
We have him in a blue, feety PJ outfit with cartoon monkeys and bananas. You never think a human can be so freakin’ cute, but there he is, the human embodiment of cuteness.
Okay, reality check for those who think I’ve gone over the deep end. I know there will be times that his innate cuteness will save his life. That’s why God made him so cute, so later on, when he becomes Mr. Hyde to this cute Dr. Jekyll, we won’t . . . well, you parents know what I mean. And you know what, no matter how many parents told me one thing or another about what parenting is going to be like, in the end, it is a very unique experience that each parent goes through, filtered by their past and their emotions. Sure there are some common factors: diapers, teething, tantrums, etc., but then there are those times when everything people told me can’t prepare me for the experience. Just having him in our room is an amazing experience. I keep pausing and looking at him.
He napped too long and too late this afternoon, so getting him to sleep tonight was a bit of a challenge. He stood in the crib and pulled on the bars like a little criminal, and I laid him back down and told him to go to sleep in that lilting voice that’s so sweet as if we can lull the boy to sleep land just by speaking. He gave me the smile. I told him it wasn’t working and to go to sleep. A little less lilt, a little more parent. He got up again. It’s time to go to sleep. Less lilt. He looked curiously at me. What’s that tone? Never heard that before. Neither one of us have heard that tone. Parent tone. I laid him down and he sort of shuffled around, made some disgruntled noises, but eventually fell asleep. I never had to pull out the next repeat: Gotosleep. One word, no lilt, quick and somewhat sharp. Commanding, parental, authoritative. Or the final repeat: Go. To. Sleep. Now. No lilt, sharp, punctuated words so he understands the full implications of the tone. I can guarantee, cute little Ben will hear those words in those tones at some point in his life. We all do.
Tomorrow we’re going to visit his orphanage and hopefully, he won’t freak out too much, thinking that we’re bringing him back. But Nancy wanted to visit and meet his nanny, so we’re going. Five hour round trip and we have to pay for the van for the day. I think it should be pretty cool to see China between Nanjing and Huai’an.
Thursday is a free day and Friday is picking up his Visa and heading to Guangzhou for the final paperworks before we head home on the 9th!
I guess that’s all from here, reporting live from Nanjing, it’s Gary (the new dad), and his sleeping family, wishing you hope, peace, and joy.
Gary . . .
P.S.: If anyone’s planning to bring us take-out when we get home, a piece of advice: No. More. Fried. Rice. Evah.
March 30th Part 1: A Stranger in a Strange Land
I took a walk today to feel Nanjing, to know the city we’re staying in a little better. There are a number of skyscrapers and a lot of neon like NYC (hey back there in New York! Missing ya!), and old and new buildings. There are a lot of shops at ground level with a few “take out” places where you go up to the window, place an order and get your food right there.
Almost every word is in Chinese. Surprised? Not really. See, Beijing is an international city where folks from all over the world come to, so the city itself is friendlier to foreigners. Nanjing is not international and if there are any tourists, they’re from other parts of China. When I said we might be the only non-Asians in the city, I probably wasn’t too far from the truth. We did meet another couple in the Civil Office who were also adopting, but a little girl.
I’ve never felt so “alien” as I did walking the streets of Nanjing. It wasn’t just because I could read the signs, but people I passed openly stared at me as if they’d never seen the likes before. Perhaps many of them haven’t. I would wonder how many people in the U.S. Midwest have seen Asians or Swiss folk on a regular basis.
I took some pictures, but when I realized I was the ONLY one taking pictures, I decided not to be too obvious. I didn’t want to have any run-ins with the local law enforcement.
If anyone out there is thinking of adopting or coming to China, please learn Mandarin. This is there country and we shouldn’t expect them to speak English (as nice as that would be!).
Dinner was room service, as it’s too frustrating to go out to a restaurant and deal with people that don’t understand English. My own fault, but even if we had finished our Mandarin course (we stopped about week four because of the flood one week and packing the next week), and studied the 8-disc CD set, we still wouldn’t have an easy time. We’d be better prepared, but as I’ve learned, people in Beijing have a different dialect than the people in Nanjing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we ran into a completely different dialect in Guangzhou. Having a book of Mandarin is wonderful. I can ask all sorts of questions about a variety of subjects. I just won’t be able to understand the answers! We are very much looking forward to being home in our own familiar environment where people may mangle the English language, but at least we understand them!
Gary . . .
Almost every word is in Chinese. Surprised? Not really. See, Beijing is an international city where folks from all over the world come to, so the city itself is friendlier to foreigners. Nanjing is not international and if there are any tourists, they’re from other parts of China. When I said we might be the only non-Asians in the city, I probably wasn’t too far from the truth. We did meet another couple in the Civil Office who were also adopting, but a little girl.
I’ve never felt so “alien” as I did walking the streets of Nanjing. It wasn’t just because I could read the signs, but people I passed openly stared at me as if they’d never seen the likes before. Perhaps many of them haven’t. I would wonder how many people in the U.S. Midwest have seen Asians or Swiss folk on a regular basis.
I took some pictures, but when I realized I was the ONLY one taking pictures, I decided not to be too obvious. I didn’t want to have any run-ins with the local law enforcement.
If anyone out there is thinking of adopting or coming to China, please learn Mandarin. This is there country and we shouldn’t expect them to speak English (as nice as that would be!).
Dinner was room service, as it’s too frustrating to go out to a restaurant and deal with people that don’t understand English. My own fault, but even if we had finished our Mandarin course (we stopped about week four because of the flood one week and packing the next week), and studied the 8-disc CD set, we still wouldn’t have an easy time. We’d be better prepared, but as I’ve learned, people in Beijing have a different dialect than the people in Nanjing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we ran into a completely different dialect in Guangzhou. Having a book of Mandarin is wonderful. I can ask all sorts of questions about a variety of subjects. I just won’t be able to understand the answers! We are very much looking forward to being home in our own familiar environment where people may mangle the English language, but at least we understand them!
Gary . . .
Monday, March 29, 2010
[Note from the "webgeek" Nanci - I posted out of order - this should have gone up first - apologies for any confusion]
Yesterday we left Beijing at 3 pm, taking a bus from the one terminal to the airplane. Luckily for all parties concerned, it had jet engines and not propellers! The flight was about two hours and other than a few bumps, was relatively calm. We were served roast beast on warm rolls and I discovered this:
I do not like to eat roast beast
I do not like it, I like it least
I will not eat it on a plane
I will not eat it on a train
And though some might call it a feast
I do not like to eat roast beast
Nanjing is not Beijing (Actually, Beijing isn’t Beijing. It used to be Peking (the northern capitol of China)). It was much harder to find dinner (for us at least) and the area wasn’t as well populated or well lit. We also felt like the only non-Asians in the city. Not many people speak English, and if they do, it’s quite broken and somewhere between us, translations easily get lost. We wound up at a Hibachi Steak House. I had fried rice and salmon while Nancy had Fried Noodles. Trust me when I say a papaya milk shake is not like the milk shakes in the U.S. It’s more milk (and not the kind we’re used to (probably goat’s milk or some other animal I usually don’t drink milk from) than shake and very little papaya taste.
Back to the room to relax, unpack, check emails and fall asleep.
There’s a rickety crib in our room. Although the hotel is most definitely a five star hotel, the room isn’t very kid-friendly. Very nice in a Modern Design Magazine kind of way: all edges and glass. Perfect for a curious 16-month old. As I lay in bed, I wondered if this was the last night of sleep I’d get until Guangzhou on Friday.
Speaking of last night of sleep, we go to meet our new son in two and a half hours! Holy cow! It’s still not completely real, though more so with the crib in the room. Are we ready for this? I suppose about as ready as any two Americans in China can be!
We need to find a stroller, even if we have to buy one of those cheap ones. This city isn’t kid-easy. I had hoped to be near a park, but there aren’t really any within walking distance, making it a challenge to go somewhere just to walk. Between the bicycles, mopeds, and scooters, not to mention all the cars, it’s not altogether safe on the streets. Last night, there were bicycles and scooters riding the wide sidewalks. Hopefully Nancy, our tour guide (not a representative from Holt) will have some ideas of where to go. We may have to take a taxi, but at least we’ll get to a park. Actually, our guide comes with a driver, so maybe he can take us to a park.
We’re off to lunch and then Nancy’s meeting us at 1:30 so we can get some formula and then at 2 we leave for our meeting. When next I write, I will be semi-officially, a dad. Once all the registration and adoption paperwork is felled out, I’ll be officially Dad.
Be well, have fun, and enjoy the ease with which you converse with the people around you!
Peace,
Gary . . .
Yesterday we left Beijing at 3 pm, taking a bus from the one terminal to the airplane. Luckily for all parties concerned, it had jet engines and not propellers! The flight was about two hours and other than a few bumps, was relatively calm. We were served roast beast on warm rolls and I discovered this:
I do not like to eat roast beast
I do not like it, I like it least
I will not eat it on a plane
I will not eat it on a train
And though some might call it a feast
I do not like to eat roast beast
Nanjing is not Beijing (Actually, Beijing isn’t Beijing. It used to be Peking (the northern capitol of China)). It was much harder to find dinner (for us at least) and the area wasn’t as well populated or well lit. We also felt like the only non-Asians in the city. Not many people speak English, and if they do, it’s quite broken and somewhere between us, translations easily get lost. We wound up at a Hibachi Steak House. I had fried rice and salmon while Nancy had Fried Noodles. Trust me when I say a papaya milk shake is not like the milk shakes in the U.S. It’s more milk (and not the kind we’re used to (probably goat’s milk or some other animal I usually don’t drink milk from) than shake and very little papaya taste.
Back to the room to relax, unpack, check emails and fall asleep.
There’s a rickety crib in our room. Although the hotel is most definitely a five star hotel, the room isn’t very kid-friendly. Very nice in a Modern Design Magazine kind of way: all edges and glass. Perfect for a curious 16-month old. As I lay in bed, I wondered if this was the last night of sleep I’d get until Guangzhou on Friday.
Speaking of last night of sleep, we go to meet our new son in two and a half hours! Holy cow! It’s still not completely real, though more so with the crib in the room. Are we ready for this? I suppose about as ready as any two Americans in China can be!
We need to find a stroller, even if we have to buy one of those cheap ones. This city isn’t kid-easy. I had hoped to be near a park, but there aren’t really any within walking distance, making it a challenge to go somewhere just to walk. Between the bicycles, mopeds, and scooters, not to mention all the cars, it’s not altogether safe on the streets. Last night, there were bicycles and scooters riding the wide sidewalks. Hopefully Nancy, our tour guide (not a representative from Holt) will have some ideas of where to go. We may have to take a taxi, but at least we’ll get to a park. Actually, our guide comes with a driver, so maybe he can take us to a park.
We’re off to lunch and then Nancy’s meeting us at 1:30 so we can get some formula and then at 2 we leave for our meeting. When next I write, I will be semi-officially, a dad. Once all the registration and adoption paperwork is felled out, I’ll be officially Dad.
Be well, have fun, and enjoy the ease with which you converse with the people around you!
Peace,
Gary . . .
Sometimes, you don’t know you’re ready to be a dad until your son is there in front of you. – Gary Frank. March 29, 2010.
Today was Our Family Day. Many adopting parents call it Gotcha Day, but that sounds more like you’ve caught something as opposed to finally meeting up with your son after 3+ years of waiting. Family Day.
We went to the Civil Affairs office at 2 pm, to pick our son up at 2:30. We were early. So was he. About 2:15, a couple of men came in holding a familiar looking baby. Our son, Luo Rui. We marveled at him, took our family picture, and went on our way to the supermarket to buy formula and rice. The supermarket didn’t have his brand of formula, as it’s one of the less common ones, but it was used by his orphanage, and as we were concerned about how finicky he’d be, we decided to look else where. We did manage to buy a Mickey Mouse stroller, animal crackers (for him) and chocolate somethingorothers for us.
At the supermarket by the hotel they didn’t have his formula, but I bought a different brand as well as a Coke. Nothing like a little sip of home. The Coke, not the formula.
So he’s not that finicky (yay!) and he’s here with us in the hotel. Aside from some tense moments with the formula because we forgot to ask our guide how to mix the formula and every word on the package is in Chinese, all’s well.
I discovered he’s so soft, soft as a . . . well, something that’s real soft. And, he sleeps like . . . well, something that sleeps really well.
He is awesome, an incredible little person. My son. I’ll tell you something: Long ago, when Nancy and I first started talking about adoption, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea. He wouldn’t really be MY son, not with my DNA, but someone else’s, not my genes . . . As I sit here now, it makes not one bit of difference that he’s got someone else’s DNA. He is my child. I’ve already calmed him down after Nancy gave him medicine that he did not like, without a second thought. Not once in all of this did I look at him and think, “He’s not really mine.”
Truth is, he’s a child of God, and we’re here to give him love, a home, and direction to be a kind, loving human being.
He’s already discovered himself in the mirror, though he reached for the reflection of a cup, trying to grab it. He stood up with a little help and figured out how to remove the “Do Not Disturb” sign off the door. And we’ve taken about 125 pictures of him. He’s sleeping right now, cute as the Dickens (assuming the Dickens were cute, that ranks pretty darn high on the cuteness scale).
Tomorrow it’s back to the Civil Affairs office in the morning for paperwork, and that’s it for the official stuff until Friday when we pick up his Visa and head to Guangzhou for all the exit paperwork. There, we’ll meet up with the other adopting families we met in Beijing. It’ll be fun to swap stories!
For anyone wondering, I am still with goatee. He was neither frightened, nor overly interested in my chin shrubbery.
Remember all those mixed feelings of uncertainty and doubt I told you about? Gone. I will be the best father/dad I can be and that’ll be just fine.
From China, with love and hope,
Gary . . .
Sunday, March 28, 2010
We will receive Ben tomorrow (Monday) and then it will all become real...
Seems very surreal now even though our new room here in Nanjing has a crib (rickety but a crib non the less)
Today we did well getting to the new province but found finding food much more challenging!
We are on our own now no other families with us and that is a bit more unnerving when you really don’t speak the language and are in a city. We feel like the only Americans in this southern capital city. Nanjing is like NYC and a lot of reconstruction is going on not as lit and open as the other city area we were in, in Beijing.
Not as many restaurants that have English menus or small amounts of english speaking wait staff. The food choices were a lot stranger and we wandered around trying to find more than the guide had suggested originally. When I asked for suggestions she insisted she bring us to a place show us the menu and if it was not good took us to the next place by the 3rd one I felt like the stupid American and asked to stop. She pointed out the hibachi place we did end up eating in tonight. I would not bring Ben there as things we take for granted now in the US are not a part of the culture here.
Smoking in restaurants is still permitted and so many people smoke it is sad.
The hotel here has room service and a western restaurant that our Guide neglected to mention when she kept referring to pizza hut and KFC.
There are a few other places we may try but tomorrow being the first day with Ben I’m thinking room service might be the best way to go. He may not be a happy boy with the adjustment to us taking over care 2 complete strangers to him.
Hopefully the guide (Nancy) will stay and help with his transition once we get back to the room.
I miss Beijing already. There was a children’s toy store there and book store. We luckily bought 3 story books with Pinyin (written Chinese) and English. Only BMW and designer stores were seen on our walk and the streets are so busy we have to take tunnels done below the street to cross. They are dimly lit and a bit unnerving for me especially without a sense of where we needed to go. I hope we have enough to keep him occupied here until we can get to the White swans play room. This just doesn’t seem ideal for walking around with a child when he gets tired and bored.
The hotel is gorgeous though and even had a deep tub to soak in which I took advantage of tonight to decrease the stress. After so many years of waiting and hoping tomorrow is the day and we are both filled with such emotion and uncertainty for how this will really all go. We are trying to let go of any expectations and roll with what ever happens. It is natural and healthy for him to be upset and grieve a while after he is removed from the Nannies. We will try visiting his orphanage but the guide looked surprised we asked to do this.
Seems very surreal now even though our new room here in Nanjing has a crib (rickety but a crib non the less)
Today we did well getting to the new province but found finding food much more challenging!
We are on our own now no other families with us and that is a bit more unnerving when you really don’t speak the language and are in a city. We feel like the only Americans in this southern capital city. Nanjing is like NYC and a lot of reconstruction is going on not as lit and open as the other city area we were in, in Beijing.
Not as many restaurants that have English menus or small amounts of english speaking wait staff. The food choices were a lot stranger and we wandered around trying to find more than the guide had suggested originally. When I asked for suggestions she insisted she bring us to a place show us the menu and if it was not good took us to the next place by the 3rd one I felt like the stupid American and asked to stop. She pointed out the hibachi place we did end up eating in tonight. I would not bring Ben there as things we take for granted now in the US are not a part of the culture here.
Smoking in restaurants is still permitted and so many people smoke it is sad.
The hotel here has room service and a western restaurant that our Guide neglected to mention when she kept referring to pizza hut and KFC.
There are a few other places we may try but tomorrow being the first day with Ben I’m thinking room service might be the best way to go. He may not be a happy boy with the adjustment to us taking over care 2 complete strangers to him.
Hopefully the guide (Nancy) will stay and help with his transition once we get back to the room.
I miss Beijing already. There was a children’s toy store there and book store. We luckily bought 3 story books with Pinyin (written Chinese) and English. Only BMW and designer stores were seen on our walk and the streets are so busy we have to take tunnels done below the street to cross. They are dimly lit and a bit unnerving for me especially without a sense of where we needed to go. I hope we have enough to keep him occupied here until we can get to the White swans play room. This just doesn’t seem ideal for walking around with a child when he gets tired and bored.
The hotel is gorgeous though and even had a deep tub to soak in which I took advantage of tonight to decrease the stress. After so many years of waiting and hoping tomorrow is the day and we are both filled with such emotion and uncertainty for how this will really all go. We are trying to let go of any expectations and roll with what ever happens. It is natural and healthy for him to be upset and grieve a while after he is removed from the Nannies. We will try visiting his orphanage but the guide looked surprised we asked to do this.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Update from Nancy
We received a red silk covered folder filled with information on Benjamin yesterday.
It has everything they want us to know about him from his favorite friends and nanny to his sleeping and eating patterns. He does not like his bath time and cries; wait till he has some cool bath toys he'll never want to get out!
I have not stopped looking at it since we received it.
We are developing further questions to ask of the Nannies when they bring him to us so that his transition is easier.
We met some more couples and families from our travel group at orientation and the luncheon. We are in a very nice group of people. Who else would adopt but loving caring people?
The tours were nice and the forbidden city extraordinary yesterday. It was interesting to see that they still use ancient machines to spine the threads of silk worm cocoons into thread then weave them into cloth from a single strand if possible.
Last night was fun relaxing at the Hard Rock café. Thanks Mike for suggesting we find the place it was a short taxi ride to and from and a whole lot of fun with one of the other couples. This night be our last night out without worries of babysitters so we took advantage of it.
We went out this morning in search of picture books with Chinese and English writing and were successful at the foreign language book store. Sadly Gary's books were not to be found in the large book store of this smaller shop. We did she Steven King dean Koontz and Douglas Clegg though.
We need to head out shortly to the airport for Nanjing. Stay tuned for more fun filled adventures as we add Baby to The Family Frank …
It has everything they want us to know about him from his favorite friends and nanny to his sleeping and eating patterns. He does not like his bath time and cries; wait till he has some cool bath toys he'll never want to get out!
I have not stopped looking at it since we received it.
We are developing further questions to ask of the Nannies when they bring him to us so that his transition is easier.
We met some more couples and families from our travel group at orientation and the luncheon. We are in a very nice group of people. Who else would adopt but loving caring people?
The tours were nice and the forbidden city extraordinary yesterday. It was interesting to see that they still use ancient machines to spine the threads of silk worm cocoons into thread then weave them into cloth from a single strand if possible.
Last night was fun relaxing at the Hard Rock café. Thanks Mike for suggesting we find the place it was a short taxi ride to and from and a whole lot of fun with one of the other couples. This night be our last night out without worries of babysitters so we took advantage of it.
We went out this morning in search of picture books with Chinese and English writing and were successful at the foreign language book store. Sadly Gary's books were not to be found in the large book store of this smaller shop. We did she Steven King dean Koontz and Douglas Clegg though.
We need to head out shortly to the airport for Nanjing. Stay tuned for more fun filled adventures as we add Baby to The Family Frank …
I Don't Eat Scorpion
Ever closer, but in the mean time . . .
I don’t eat scorpion on a stick. Nor do I eat silkworm larvae on a stick, or starfish or sea horses. I could’ve tried any last night as we strolled with another couple (Emily and Matt) through a market that reminded me of Seaside Heights in NJ if it was in the world of Blade Runner. Folks were hawking everything from plastic Buddhas to still living scorpions on a stick. One woman even grabbed my coat to show me her collection of . . . stuff.
Today was the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The City was incredible and I wish I could remember every history lesson we got from Emily, our guide, but alas, I was too busy taking 100+ pictures, some of which will be up soon (I’ll put the link up when they’re up). Stunning details and carvings of dragons and lions adorned many buildings, painted in the royal colors of red and yellow. There were many terraces with a few immense courtyards where the emperor would hold festivals.
Compared to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square was interesting, though no where near as impressive. It is one of the largest open squares in China with a monument dedicated to all the fallen heroes in China’s revolutions. Chairman Mao’s mausoleum is an imposing structure with nothing in the U.S. to compare it to. The chairman is still interred in a crystal coffin that the public can view.
I did find it interesting how many people walk around selling postcards, watches, and souvenir books of the Forbidden City. Capitalism at it’s microcosmic finest. Note to self and others: It may not be the best ideas to take photos of the military; one could wind up being “detained.” I wasn’t, only because, for some reason, the camera decided to stop functioning while I was attempting to take a photo of a couple of soldiers. Ah well.
After all that, we went to a silk factory and learned how silk was “made.” While the woman went through how a silkworm does its thing, I had a Mothra moment. Have you seen a fully grown silkworm? They look like Mothra. I figured maybe we’d get Ben something silk OR Nancy a blouse or scarf. One jacket (Ben), nightgown (Nancy), and shirt (mine) later, we were done. The jacket is a dark electric blue with traditional Chinese symbols. The nightgown is rose with a swirling design, and the dress shirt is black with a black dragon design. I’m sure there will be pictures of the jacket and short forthcoming. Don’t hold your breath on the nightgown, that’s for mine eyes alone.
Before all that, we had an orientation with the Beijing rep from Holt (our agency) who went over what to expect when we get to our province and then when we get to Guangzhou. Would you be surprised if I said there’s a LOT more paperwork coming? Registrations, authorizations, notarizations, and then a few more forms for good measure. If I could collect them all, they’d probably be more pages than my first novel (418 pages)! I decided the only thing that was important was the next hour, else I’d have run screaming from the room on information overload. Okay, maybe that’s a tad dramatic, but there’s a LOT of paperwork to fill out.
We did get more photos of Ben (remember him? Yeah, he’s the reason we’re here!). There are moments I have to remind myself that I’m here to get my son. He’s turned somber from the happy, giggly kid in the early photos. I think he’s just more contemplative of the world and maybe he’s sad he’s forgetting everything he knew before he was born. We also learned his sleep times (up at 6:30 am and to sleep at 7 pm) and that he loves car toys. In the photos he’s wearing a long-sleeve Rolling Stones “tongue and lips” T-shirt. So he obviously appreciates good music already! He’s 79 centimeters tall and around 22 pounds.
I’m anxious, excited, and filled with trepidation for what we’re doing. It’s enough to be adopting, but to be doing it in a country where I don’t speak the language, some 8,000 miles from home, family, and friends is quite another. Add to that a child who’s never heard English, who doesn’t eat our foods, who has friends we’re taking him away from, and is on China time. Is he going to like us? What if he doesn’t?
Tomorrow, Sunday, we leave for Nanjing at 3:00 pm and arrive close to 5:00, in time to meet our guide, get to the hotel and eat dinner. On Monday, at 2:30 (or so) we go to the Civil Affairs office and meet Benjamin for the first time. This will be an emotional moment for all of us. I don’t think Ben’s ever seen a blond-haired woman or a man with facial hair. For those keeping score, to keep the scare factor down, I trimmed close to three inches off my goatee. And no, it’s not coming off entirely, unless Ben decides it’s his favorite pull toy, and then we’ll have to have a serious talk. But in the meantime, it stays.
So yes, emotional. We’ve waited close to four years for this moment, and even longer (closer to 7 years) if you count our entire adoption journey. And heck, I’m going to be a dad. I’m not sure I can express what that means right now, if for no other reason than I’ve never been one and no matter how many dads tell you what it’s like, only I will know what it’s like for me. I’m excited, scared, apprehensive, confident, curious, and a few other, as yet unnamed emotions!
We finished today with a trip to the Hard Rock Café with Bruce and Lila, a wonderful couple with four kids waiting at home. It was so wonderful to have a grilled chicken sandwich with fries! We did buy the obligatory Hard Rock Café T-shirt to add to my growing collection of HRC shirts. London is still eluding me. One day . . .
We saw our first concert at a Hard Rock. These guys came out, mohawks, and tattoos, and played some great songs from the fifties and sixties. So much for judging a book by its cover.
It’s after midnight here, which is lunch time for y’all on the east coast of the USA, so I’m going to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. Remember, any questions or comments, please post them and when we can see them (which may be when we get home) we’ll answer them!
I hope you’re all doing well and the Spring is wonderful, and I can’t wait to get home with our new son.
Peace & Love,
Gary & Nancy . . .
I don’t eat scorpion on a stick. Nor do I eat silkworm larvae on a stick, or starfish or sea horses. I could’ve tried any last night as we strolled with another couple (Emily and Matt) through a market that reminded me of Seaside Heights in NJ if it was in the world of Blade Runner. Folks were hawking everything from plastic Buddhas to still living scorpions on a stick. One woman even grabbed my coat to show me her collection of . . . stuff.
Today was the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The City was incredible and I wish I could remember every history lesson we got from Emily, our guide, but alas, I was too busy taking 100+ pictures, some of which will be up soon (I’ll put the link up when they’re up). Stunning details and carvings of dragons and lions adorned many buildings, painted in the royal colors of red and yellow. There were many terraces with a few immense courtyards where the emperor would hold festivals.
Compared to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square was interesting, though no where near as impressive. It is one of the largest open squares in China with a monument dedicated to all the fallen heroes in China’s revolutions. Chairman Mao’s mausoleum is an imposing structure with nothing in the U.S. to compare it to. The chairman is still interred in a crystal coffin that the public can view.
I did find it interesting how many people walk around selling postcards, watches, and souvenir books of the Forbidden City. Capitalism at it’s microcosmic finest. Note to self and others: It may not be the best ideas to take photos of the military; one could wind up being “detained.” I wasn’t, only because, for some reason, the camera decided to stop functioning while I was attempting to take a photo of a couple of soldiers. Ah well.
After all that, we went to a silk factory and learned how silk was “made.” While the woman went through how a silkworm does its thing, I had a Mothra moment. Have you seen a fully grown silkworm? They look like Mothra. I figured maybe we’d get Ben something silk OR Nancy a blouse or scarf. One jacket (Ben), nightgown (Nancy), and shirt (mine) later, we were done. The jacket is a dark electric blue with traditional Chinese symbols. The nightgown is rose with a swirling design, and the dress shirt is black with a black dragon design. I’m sure there will be pictures of the jacket and short forthcoming. Don’t hold your breath on the nightgown, that’s for mine eyes alone.
Before all that, we had an orientation with the Beijing rep from Holt (our agency) who went over what to expect when we get to our province and then when we get to Guangzhou. Would you be surprised if I said there’s a LOT more paperwork coming? Registrations, authorizations, notarizations, and then a few more forms for good measure. If I could collect them all, they’d probably be more pages than my first novel (418 pages)! I decided the only thing that was important was the next hour, else I’d have run screaming from the room on information overload. Okay, maybe that’s a tad dramatic, but there’s a LOT of paperwork to fill out.
We did get more photos of Ben (remember him? Yeah, he’s the reason we’re here!). There are moments I have to remind myself that I’m here to get my son. He’s turned somber from the happy, giggly kid in the early photos. I think he’s just more contemplative of the world and maybe he’s sad he’s forgetting everything he knew before he was born. We also learned his sleep times (up at 6:30 am and to sleep at 7 pm) and that he loves car toys. In the photos he’s wearing a long-sleeve Rolling Stones “tongue and lips” T-shirt. So he obviously appreciates good music already! He’s 79 centimeters tall and around 22 pounds.
I’m anxious, excited, and filled with trepidation for what we’re doing. It’s enough to be adopting, but to be doing it in a country where I don’t speak the language, some 8,000 miles from home, family, and friends is quite another. Add to that a child who’s never heard English, who doesn’t eat our foods, who has friends we’re taking him away from, and is on China time. Is he going to like us? What if he doesn’t?
Tomorrow, Sunday, we leave for Nanjing at 3:00 pm and arrive close to 5:00, in time to meet our guide, get to the hotel and eat dinner. On Monday, at 2:30 (or so) we go to the Civil Affairs office and meet Benjamin for the first time. This will be an emotional moment for all of us. I don’t think Ben’s ever seen a blond-haired woman or a man with facial hair. For those keeping score, to keep the scare factor down, I trimmed close to three inches off my goatee. And no, it’s not coming off entirely, unless Ben decides it’s his favorite pull toy, and then we’ll have to have a serious talk. But in the meantime, it stays.
So yes, emotional. We’ve waited close to four years for this moment, and even longer (closer to 7 years) if you count our entire adoption journey. And heck, I’m going to be a dad. I’m not sure I can express what that means right now, if for no other reason than I’ve never been one and no matter how many dads tell you what it’s like, only I will know what it’s like for me. I’m excited, scared, apprehensive, confident, curious, and a few other, as yet unnamed emotions!
We finished today with a trip to the Hard Rock Café with Bruce and Lila, a wonderful couple with four kids waiting at home. It was so wonderful to have a grilled chicken sandwich with fries! We did buy the obligatory Hard Rock Café T-shirt to add to my growing collection of HRC shirts. London is still eluding me. One day . . .
We saw our first concert at a Hard Rock. These guys came out, mohawks, and tattoos, and played some great songs from the fifties and sixties. So much for judging a book by its cover.
It’s after midnight here, which is lunch time for y’all on the east coast of the USA, so I’m going to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. Remember, any questions or comments, please post them and when we can see them (which may be when we get home) we’ll answer them!
I hope you’re all doing well and the Spring is wonderful, and I can’t wait to get home with our new son.
Peace & Love,
Gary & Nancy . . .
Friday, March 26, 2010
Nancy's Report from China
I just read the post Gary placed up when I was napping before; now it is my turn as he naps. We just got in from wandering around Wangfujing (shopping street). Our group of 3 families had dinner out and what an adventure that turned into. Not every place can speak English and even if they can there can still be large communication barriers if you try asking a follow up question. We have learned to ask for englich menus with pictures in them. At the very least we can point to them and nod yes please. So much for the little mandarin I tried to learn I have been doing NI Hao and Xie Xie: hello and thanks. Yes I am in need of a refresher with our language book because I feel like I am not making enough of an effort I really do not like tourists who do not at least try to say a few things in the local language.
We found the exotic food area vendors with everything from scorpions to star fish to seahorses on a stick to be fried up for you. Some of these bugs were still squirming on the stick. EW! And Oh MY!! No one in our little group was brave enough to try these delicacies. We will put up pictures later. Someone else eating near by described the scorpion as crispy. His friend was not as happy with his taste and made the most amusing faces as he dove for the garbage can to spit it out.
We are getting used to the exchange rate the first night we had been awake for over 24 hours as I was trying to do the math in my head. That was not working well. It is making much more sense now but I do wish I had brought a calculator as someone suggested.
Gary’s impression of the flight and mine was a bit different since he kept sleeping and I napped a few times for an hour at a time. I was awoken once to a call for any medical person on board. I ended up caring for a sick passenger for almost an hour before a MD was located and awakened to take over her care. Nurses can’t prescribe so I was basically monitoring her and identified medication for the flight staff who spoke to an MD by phone at one point. This was a first for me let me tell you. With 6 hours left in the flight her allergic reaction was not so good but she was able to take some of her own medication to help that.
I was able to watch 2 movies that seemed to help pass time since the cabin was very dark as people tried to sleep so reading would have been difficult. I did not get the laptop out due to close quarters and tiredness. Any one doing this journey I highly recommend watching movies to pass time without staring at your watch. I doubt we will be able to do this on the way home with Ben but …on the flight going to China try it. One of the movies I watched was Everybody’s Fine. What a sad movie! I truly hope our family is not like that once Ben is older that he thinks he would have to lie to keep appearances that it’s all ok. The other was an old Audrey Hepburn flick called Love in the afternoon. Very cute and I love Audrey Hepburn.
I have had my stair master workout for the month with the great wall stairs. The view was nice but the area we climbed looked down on the road we traveled to get there wish we could have made it up a bit further to see the other side. We could see the wall winding out over the mountains from where we were which was spectacular. We just didn’t have enough time here. We were only given 1 hour. This is the one thing I do not like about organized travel tours. If we had done it on our own we would have spent 3-4 hours here to see as far as we could go. Lunch was nice and all the food was good and recognizable. So far we have found options that were not too strange for our tastes. The Hutong tour was interesting but a bit sad. The area felt really run down and living quarters were small with paths between some areas of the home from the kitchen to the dining/living room area one would have to go outside. What they called a courtyard felt more like an alley way. I can’t imagine what that is like in the winter as Beijing can get quite cold. They say there is a strong community bond that is not seen in apartment living here in the Hutong. I suppose it was needed to survive but also due to living so close. I appreciate the peak at history in this region but feel sad that some still live in such run down conditions. Not all were so run down but still it is not what we would be used to at all.
Well that is today’s adventures.
In addition to our blog not being able to be accessed here I am not able to send email from my normal address so if you send me an email I can read it but not respond. I will try responding from the Yahoo email address: frankwisdom09@yahoo.com
We shall see if we can keep this up daily. In Nanjing I do not think our hotel has internet we can connect to we will need to try using the business center for updates. If that doesn’t work we will repost once we reach Guangzhuo.
One more full day before we travel to Ben’s province.
We found the exotic food area vendors with everything from scorpions to star fish to seahorses on a stick to be fried up for you. Some of these bugs were still squirming on the stick. EW! And Oh MY!! No one in our little group was brave enough to try these delicacies. We will put up pictures later. Someone else eating near by described the scorpion as crispy. His friend was not as happy with his taste and made the most amusing faces as he dove for the garbage can to spit it out.
We are getting used to the exchange rate the first night we had been awake for over 24 hours as I was trying to do the math in my head. That was not working well. It is making much more sense now but I do wish I had brought a calculator as someone suggested.
Gary’s impression of the flight and mine was a bit different since he kept sleeping and I napped a few times for an hour at a time. I was awoken once to a call for any medical person on board. I ended up caring for a sick passenger for almost an hour before a MD was located and awakened to take over her care. Nurses can’t prescribe so I was basically monitoring her and identified medication for the flight staff who spoke to an MD by phone at one point. This was a first for me let me tell you. With 6 hours left in the flight her allergic reaction was not so good but she was able to take some of her own medication to help that.
I was able to watch 2 movies that seemed to help pass time since the cabin was very dark as people tried to sleep so reading would have been difficult. I did not get the laptop out due to close quarters and tiredness. Any one doing this journey I highly recommend watching movies to pass time without staring at your watch. I doubt we will be able to do this on the way home with Ben but …on the flight going to China try it. One of the movies I watched was Everybody’s Fine. What a sad movie! I truly hope our family is not like that once Ben is older that he thinks he would have to lie to keep appearances that it’s all ok. The other was an old Audrey Hepburn flick called Love in the afternoon. Very cute and I love Audrey Hepburn.
I have had my stair master workout for the month with the great wall stairs. The view was nice but the area we climbed looked down on the road we traveled to get there wish we could have made it up a bit further to see the other side. We could see the wall winding out over the mountains from where we were which was spectacular. We just didn’t have enough time here. We were only given 1 hour. This is the one thing I do not like about organized travel tours. If we had done it on our own we would have spent 3-4 hours here to see as far as we could go. Lunch was nice and all the food was good and recognizable. So far we have found options that were not too strange for our tastes. The Hutong tour was interesting but a bit sad. The area felt really run down and living quarters were small with paths between some areas of the home from the kitchen to the dining/living room area one would have to go outside. What they called a courtyard felt more like an alley way. I can’t imagine what that is like in the winter as Beijing can get quite cold. They say there is a strong community bond that is not seen in apartment living here in the Hutong. I suppose it was needed to survive but also due to living so close. I appreciate the peak at history in this region but feel sad that some still live in such run down conditions. Not all were so run down but still it is not what we would be used to at all.
Well that is today’s adventures.
In addition to our blog not being able to be accessed here I am not able to send email from my normal address so if you send me an email I can read it but not respond. I will try responding from the Yahoo email address: frankwisdom09@yahoo.com
We shall see if we can keep this up daily. In Nanjing I do not think our hotel has internet we can connect to we will need to try using the business center for updates. If that doesn’t work we will repost once we reach Guangzhuo.
One more full day before we travel to Ben’s province.
Our Journey to Ben (Pt. 1 )
First, a disclaimer: As Google is leaving China, we have no way of posting to out blog. So our most excellent friend and awesome IT woman, Nanci K. is posting word docs that I’m sending her. We’ll have pix posted as soon and they will also be on our Yahoogroup. Now on with the trip…
Well, we made it. To Beijing yesterday, which should be your today. Or tomorrow. No, our today is your tomorrow, so our yesterday is your today. I think.
The plane trip was long and apparently, I (Gary), have the same reaction to Bonine as I do to Benadryl, which meant I spent most of the plane ride trying to not fall asleep and existing in a fog-like state. Not good. But I’ve since recovered.
My first impression of Beijing was that it was cold and hard. There are a lot of concrete buildings on the ride to the city. Once we were in the city proper, it was different, and I felt the life that teemed on the streets and the flow of traffic (very much like Route 17 in Paramus, NJ during rush hour!) pouring down the highway. We were in a shuttle with two other couples Emily & Matt and Liz and Stephen), also in Beijing on their adoption journey.
The Novotel Peace Hotel is quite nice, above the usual hotels we stay at. You need your room key to power the lights. Take out the room key and you’ve got five minutes before darkness settles in.
We ate dinner with the other two couples at a little restaurant one minute from the hotel. The menu had pictures so we could point.
Everyone speaks English, if not a bit broken. The problem is the translation. This morning I called to find out if I needed to use a converter to run my shaver, as the bathroom seemed to be equipped with the correct plug. But I didn’t want to chance it and burn the shaver out. So I asked: Do I need a converter for my shaver? Her response: You need a converter? I’ll send someone from housekeeping up. No, Is aid, I just need to know if I need to use one. Oh, she said, I can send someone up with a converter. You see how this is going, right? Turns out the shaver’s fine.
This is all very surreal. I don’t feel like I’m in China. I got on a plane, flew for 13 hours, landed and now I’m in . . . China? Even at dinner, I could tell myself I’m in Chinatown in NYC.
Breakfast this morning was very good: fruit, waffles covered in raspberry sauce and chocolate, something that may’ve been quiche or flan, fruit smoothies, and orange juice.
All the surrealness was dissipated today when we went to the Great Wall. You know all those pictures you see of a wide wall with plenty of flat walkways? That’s not the part we were at. Stairs. Lots of stone stairs. We climbed stairs for close to a half hour to what I thought was the second watchtower, but was only the first. We still got our hero card for climbing the wall and the obligatory “I have climbed the Great Wall” T-shirt. In orange. Pix coming soon.
Joining us were another two couples, all linked together through Holt International, our adoption agency.
Then it was back to the bus and off to lunch. It’s like family style: lots of food on a central rotating platform that everyone eats from. You move the wheel (some call it a lazy Susan) to get to the food you want and spoon or fork it quickly. Several times I found myself holding a fork over food I didn’t want as someone had turned the wheel before I had a chance to grab what I did want.
The restaurant is attached to a large gift shop (sort of like Disney, where every ride ends in the gift shop!), where we bought two cloisonné ornaments: a panda (cuz we are in China, right?) and a mouse (cuz Ben was born in the Year of the Mouse (please, not rat)).
We next went to a Hutong, which at this moment is sort of complex to explain, but suffice to say it’s a very small one level apartment complex with narrow roads and tiny courtyards.
We’ve got a few minutes before we’re off to dinner, so I thought I’d write this before we got too backed up!
Everything has an odd smell. Go ahead, call it pollution, but there’s also other smells like the soap and the air in the rooms, which is not unpleasant, just different.
We have orientation tomorrow and on Sunday we leave for Nanjing, where Ben waits (I wonder if he knows we’re coming?). On one hand, I’m excited to be going to get him, but then I’m also sad for him, as he’ll be leaving his friends, playmates and nannies that he’s known all his life. I’m hoping the transition period will be brief and not too traumatic. I’ve heard stories of children crying for four days straight.
Speaking of stories, I’m already forming a rather complex story idea and world building from our visit to the Great Wall and the hutong today.
Every now and then I pause and ask myself: What am I doing here? Oh yeah, getting a small person to call son. It’s weird thinking of myself as a father, having never been one to anything more than cats, and they never grow up. I start wondering if I’ve got it in me to be a good dad to Luo Rui (or Benjamin as we’ll call him).
Well, we’ve got to get ready for dinner. Thanks for listening and please feel free to comment or ask questions. As we don’t have a chatroom (which would’ve been awfully cool) to share our story, this will have to do!
More soon.
Peace,
Gary and Nancy . . .
Well, we made it. To Beijing yesterday, which should be your today. Or tomorrow. No, our today is your tomorrow, so our yesterday is your today. I think.
The plane trip was long and apparently, I (Gary), have the same reaction to Bonine as I do to Benadryl, which meant I spent most of the plane ride trying to not fall asleep and existing in a fog-like state. Not good. But I’ve since recovered.
My first impression of Beijing was that it was cold and hard. There are a lot of concrete buildings on the ride to the city. Once we were in the city proper, it was different, and I felt the life that teemed on the streets and the flow of traffic (very much like Route 17 in Paramus, NJ during rush hour!) pouring down the highway. We were in a shuttle with two other couples Emily & Matt and Liz and Stephen), also in Beijing on their adoption journey.
The Novotel Peace Hotel is quite nice, above the usual hotels we stay at. You need your room key to power the lights. Take out the room key and you’ve got five minutes before darkness settles in.
We ate dinner with the other two couples at a little restaurant one minute from the hotel. The menu had pictures so we could point.
Everyone speaks English, if not a bit broken. The problem is the translation. This morning I called to find out if I needed to use a converter to run my shaver, as the bathroom seemed to be equipped with the correct plug. But I didn’t want to chance it and burn the shaver out. So I asked: Do I need a converter for my shaver? Her response: You need a converter? I’ll send someone from housekeeping up. No, Is aid, I just need to know if I need to use one. Oh, she said, I can send someone up with a converter. You see how this is going, right? Turns out the shaver’s fine.
This is all very surreal. I don’t feel like I’m in China. I got on a plane, flew for 13 hours, landed and now I’m in . . . China? Even at dinner, I could tell myself I’m in Chinatown in NYC.
Breakfast this morning was very good: fruit, waffles covered in raspberry sauce and chocolate, something that may’ve been quiche or flan, fruit smoothies, and orange juice.
All the surrealness was dissipated today when we went to the Great Wall. You know all those pictures you see of a wide wall with plenty of flat walkways? That’s not the part we were at. Stairs. Lots of stone stairs. We climbed stairs for close to a half hour to what I thought was the second watchtower, but was only the first. We still got our hero card for climbing the wall and the obligatory “I have climbed the Great Wall” T-shirt. In orange. Pix coming soon.
Joining us were another two couples, all linked together through Holt International, our adoption agency.
Then it was back to the bus and off to lunch. It’s like family style: lots of food on a central rotating platform that everyone eats from. You move the wheel (some call it a lazy Susan) to get to the food you want and spoon or fork it quickly. Several times I found myself holding a fork over food I didn’t want as someone had turned the wheel before I had a chance to grab what I did want.
The restaurant is attached to a large gift shop (sort of like Disney, where every ride ends in the gift shop!), where we bought two cloisonné ornaments: a panda (cuz we are in China, right?) and a mouse (cuz Ben was born in the Year of the Mouse (please, not rat)).
We next went to a Hutong, which at this moment is sort of complex to explain, but suffice to say it’s a very small one level apartment complex with narrow roads and tiny courtyards.
We’ve got a few minutes before we’re off to dinner, so I thought I’d write this before we got too backed up!
Everything has an odd smell. Go ahead, call it pollution, but there’s also other smells like the soap and the air in the rooms, which is not unpleasant, just different.
We have orientation tomorrow and on Sunday we leave for Nanjing, where Ben waits (I wonder if he knows we’re coming?). On one hand, I’m excited to be going to get him, but then I’m also sad for him, as he’ll be leaving his friends, playmates and nannies that he’s known all his life. I’m hoping the transition period will be brief and not too traumatic. I’ve heard stories of children crying for four days straight.
Speaking of stories, I’m already forming a rather complex story idea and world building from our visit to the Great Wall and the hutong today.
Every now and then I pause and ask myself: What am I doing here? Oh yeah, getting a small person to call son. It’s weird thinking of myself as a father, having never been one to anything more than cats, and they never grow up. I start wondering if I’ve got it in me to be a good dad to Luo Rui (or Benjamin as we’ll call him).
Well, we’ve got to get ready for dinner. Thanks for listening and please feel free to comment or ask questions. As we don’t have a chatroom (which would’ve been awfully cool) to share our story, this will have to do!
More soon.
Peace,
Gary and Nancy . . .
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
I can hardly believe it has been 7 months 2 weeks and 6 days since we joined the children of promise program and here we are packing for China. We will meet our little boy in 6 days! It still feels a bit unreal actually. So much of this process has been one step forward 3 steps back that I keep waiting for someone else to say we have to wait on another form or approval. We have the supplies and then some. We have the love that has always been within us for our child. What more do we really need, except again the paperwork they ask from us. We will be able to celebrate mothers day and father’s day this year on a whole new level of JOY!! This journey has been so much longer than our “tickers” reveal to you all and it is amazing that it will finally happen. I think I’ll be in a bit of shock for a few days once we receive him. I keep praying it will be a smooth transition for him and not too traumatic leaving his home. I know there will be adjustments on all our parts as we get to know each other and learn to meet his needs.
I am sending love ahead of us to pave the way for easy transitions and lovely travel.
Thanks to all our friends and family for the years and years of support.
With loving kindness
Nancy & Gary
I am sending love ahead of us to pave the way for easy transitions and lovely travel.
Thanks to all our friends and family for the years and years of support.
With loving kindness
Nancy & Gary
Travel time is so close...
We will leave tomorrow to do a great wall of china tour before officially meeting our travel group. Excitement is crackling the air as packing does the same to my nerves. I will try to stay as close to China's lower weigh limits but we may end up paying a little in fees for overage. I'll know more of that tonight when it is all together and ditributed between 2 suitcases and 2 carryons. I confess to being a chronic over packer so this is really hard.
Gary is working today since it is tax season and hard to get away. I am off so all the last minute details can be taken care of.
Luckily our flight is not untill 12:15p tomorrow so our ride isn't coming at any ungodly hour to pick us up. Hopefully I will be able to sleep with all the excitement and nerves.
Our taxes are being mailed today. YAY. One less thing to be concerned about now. And hopefuly refund money soon to help with my unpaid family leave.
In an attempt to make sure we had what we needed for "gift" I probably over purchased. That is weighing down the bags too. Oh well better to be covered. And by Nanjing that will all be gone.
Everyone keeps telling me do laundry in country and we will most likely but ...I still like having what I need. Which has expanded now to diapers , wipe, bottles, toys and blankies for baby boy Ben!
I hope he likes what I have set aside since we will all be in a hotel room for 11 days together before that long pane ride home. 15 1/2 hours is how long that trip direct from Hong Kong is. This will be a crazy parenting challenge with a 16 month old.
So the travel goes like this we fly into Beijing China a day after we leave. We will be able to tour the Great wall and the forbidden city/Tianamin square before we receive Benjamin. We stay here until 3/28 when we transfer to his province Jiangxu, capital city: Nanjing. We receive Benjamin Rui 3/29 and stay here until he receives his passport for travel. 4/2 we travel to Guangzhou for the last of the governmental paper work and medical check. 4/8 we travel to Hong Kong by train and will be flying home 4/9.
Now that things from travel are out of Ben's room there is walking space yay! I can't wait till he is home with us. It will be such a joy to have our little boy home at last!!
We have taken a few classes in speaking chinese but sadly I think I will still be completely lost if someone start speaking fast and in long sentences. One of the women in our travel party speaks Mandarin and we will have guides from the travel agency which will bridge the gap in language.
5 other wonderful couples are traveling with us. Some of them are also receiving their first child. Others are more experienced parents and have gone to China previously for an adoption. All good resources I am sure we will become quite close during this trip. I hope the children can stay friends as well as the parents.
That is all for now I must finish the packing.
Thank you all for your overwhelming support and prayers for safe travel.
Blessings
Nancy
Gary is working today since it is tax season and hard to get away. I am off so all the last minute details can be taken care of.
Luckily our flight is not untill 12:15p tomorrow so our ride isn't coming at any ungodly hour to pick us up. Hopefully I will be able to sleep with all the excitement and nerves.
Our taxes are being mailed today. YAY. One less thing to be concerned about now. And hopefuly refund money soon to help with my unpaid family leave.
In an attempt to make sure we had what we needed for "gift" I probably over purchased. That is weighing down the bags too. Oh well better to be covered. And by Nanjing that will all be gone.
Everyone keeps telling me do laundry in country and we will most likely but ...I still like having what I need. Which has expanded now to diapers , wipe, bottles, toys and blankies for baby boy Ben!
I hope he likes what I have set aside since we will all be in a hotel room for 11 days together before that long pane ride home. 15 1/2 hours is how long that trip direct from Hong Kong is. This will be a crazy parenting challenge with a 16 month old.
So the travel goes like this we fly into Beijing China a day after we leave. We will be able to tour the Great wall and the forbidden city/Tianamin square before we receive Benjamin. We stay here until 3/28 when we transfer to his province Jiangxu, capital city: Nanjing. We receive Benjamin Rui 3/29 and stay here until he receives his passport for travel. 4/2 we travel to Guangzhou for the last of the governmental paper work and medical check. 4/8 we travel to Hong Kong by train and will be flying home 4/9.
Now that things from travel are out of Ben's room there is walking space yay! I can't wait till he is home with us. It will be such a joy to have our little boy home at last!!
We have taken a few classes in speaking chinese but sadly I think I will still be completely lost if someone start speaking fast and in long sentences. One of the women in our travel party speaks Mandarin and we will have guides from the travel agency which will bridge the gap in language.
5 other wonderful couples are traveling with us. Some of them are also receiving their first child. Others are more experienced parents and have gone to China previously for an adoption. All good resources I am sure we will become quite close during this trip. I hope the children can stay friends as well as the parents.
That is all for now I must finish the packing.
Thank you all for your overwhelming support and prayers for safe travel.
Blessings
Nancy
Friday, March 19, 2010
Oh, oh, oh, oh...my little China ... boy
Nihao!
So here we are, Friday night, March 19. The flood waters have receded and the basement is dry once again. It was not a good week in the water in the basement category. Okay, so we didn't get 18" like last time, or even four feet. With the pump we had, we managed to keep it to under 2". Why do I tell you this here? Because while all that was going on, we had to make some travel arrangements because ...
(drum roll, please...)
We're leaving for China on Wednesday, March 24. Holy cow and good God. That's right, kind reader, we are China bound! I'm moving ever closer to the moment of utter dadness. I've never been a dad before (at least not in this lifetime. If I was in a past life, I don't remember it), so this is gonna be (as they song) a whole new world.
There are four other families that will be in Beijing and Guangzhou with us, one of them from Harrisburg, PA. It'll be nice traveling with a small group of Americans as we make our way through a foreign land, the Middle Kingdom (between Heaven and Earth), as it's called.
Arrive in Beijing after a 13 hour, 45 minute flight from Newark (which I way prefer over JFK or LaGuardia). We have our orientation there as well as a trip to the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square, and the Forbidden City. We even get to see a silk factory.
Then it's off to Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu, the province where Ben's staying. Speaking of Ben, we are presented with him on March 29. The name of the city where the orphanage is, is Huai'an. I think we'll be getting a tour of the orphanage.
A few days later we're off to Guangzhou for all the bureaucratic stuff. Paperwork, medicals, visas, etc. I'm hoping we have a day to sneak over to the safari park. We're in China, we should see a panda or two, right? We have close to a week there to make sure everything's on the up and up. Ben needs to have all his papers in order.
Here's the cool part (one of the many cool parts): We leave China at 10:25 am on Friday, April 9th, fly for 15 hours, 30 minutes and arrive in Newark on Friday, April 9th at 1:55 pm. You do the math. Planetary rotation and time zones, and flying into the past. Does this mean that if we watch the news in China before we leave, we'll know what's going to happen in the US before anyone else does?
As Linus once said to Charlie Brown: Take consolation that the world can't end tomorrow because somewhere in the world, it already is tomorrow.
That's the travel plans. Plenty of writing time as we cross the country and the Pacific Ocean. I'll wave at you West Coasters as we go over ya!
I'm hoping to upload pix as we go, so you can all share our journey with us.
Talk to you soon.
Peace,
Gary . . .
So here we are, Friday night, March 19. The flood waters have receded and the basement is dry once again. It was not a good week in the water in the basement category. Okay, so we didn't get 18" like last time, or even four feet. With the pump we had, we managed to keep it to under 2". Why do I tell you this here? Because while all that was going on, we had to make some travel arrangements because ...
(drum roll, please...)
We're leaving for China on Wednesday, March 24. Holy cow and good God. That's right, kind reader, we are China bound! I'm moving ever closer to the moment of utter dadness. I've never been a dad before (at least not in this lifetime. If I was in a past life, I don't remember it), so this is gonna be (as they song) a whole new world.
There are four other families that will be in Beijing and Guangzhou with us, one of them from Harrisburg, PA. It'll be nice traveling with a small group of Americans as we make our way through a foreign land, the Middle Kingdom (between Heaven and Earth), as it's called.
Arrive in Beijing after a 13 hour, 45 minute flight from Newark (which I way prefer over JFK or LaGuardia). We have our orientation there as well as a trip to the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square, and the Forbidden City. We even get to see a silk factory.
Then it's off to Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu, the province where Ben's staying. Speaking of Ben, we are presented with him on March 29. The name of the city where the orphanage is, is Huai'an. I think we'll be getting a tour of the orphanage.
A few days later we're off to Guangzhou for all the bureaucratic stuff. Paperwork, medicals, visas, etc. I'm hoping we have a day to sneak over to the safari park. We're in China, we should see a panda or two, right? We have close to a week there to make sure everything's on the up and up. Ben needs to have all his papers in order.
Here's the cool part (one of the many cool parts): We leave China at 10:25 am on Friday, April 9th, fly for 15 hours, 30 minutes and arrive in Newark on Friday, April 9th at 1:55 pm. You do the math. Planetary rotation and time zones, and flying into the past. Does this mean that if we watch the news in China before we leave, we'll know what's going to happen in the US before anyone else does?
As Linus once said to Charlie Brown: Take consolation that the world can't end tomorrow because somewhere in the world, it already is tomorrow.
That's the travel plans. Plenty of writing time as we cross the country and the Pacific Ocean. I'll wave at you West Coasters as we go over ya!
I'm hoping to upload pix as we go, so you can all share our journey with us.
Talk to you soon.
Peace,
Gary . . .
Monday, March 8, 2010
We received our USCIS clearance today!!
So for all you who have been following along our USCIS clearance update has arrived For all those who can follow the alphabet soup of all of this, that is from the I 600process which is the I 171H clearance.
What this means is, once this form is received in China's consulate, we can make our consulate appointments and set our travel date.
We are a huge step closer to bringing home Ben!!
We will have Ben home before mother's day and Fathers day this year most likely. How excellent is that!!!
I am contacting the agency and sending the faxed copy off in the am so this can keep on moving forward.
There is so much to get done now and some serious packing and baby proofing needs to be moved up on the priority list here.
Keep up the prayers we need them.
Patience strength hope and love
Nancy
What this means is, once this form is received in China's consulate, we can make our consulate appointments and set our travel date.
We are a huge step closer to bringing home Ben!!
We will have Ben home before mother's day and Fathers day this year most likely. How excellent is that!!!
I am contacting the agency and sending the faxed copy off in the am so this can keep on moving forward.
There is so much to get done now and some serious packing and baby proofing needs to be moved up on the priority list here.
Keep up the prayers we need them.
Patience strength hope and love
Nancy
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Paiting my Baby
My painting for Ben
he is a sea of calm, spirit energy supports him and flows to him, with abundance following him.
Love Mom
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
China adoption process and information
for any one who has more questions about china programs and adoption
here is a link http://www.babyjellybeans.com/web/do/site/folder?ID=121761&parent_id=121761 to a friends blog she has said it so well I feel it is silly to attempt recreating her information here.
Enjoy.
Nancy
here is a link http://www.babyjellybeans.com/web/do/site/folder?ID=121761&parent_id=121761 to a friends blog she has said it so well I feel it is silly to attempt recreating her information here.
Enjoy.
Nancy
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