Not just another Monday in Nanchang

Nanchang Monday 10-31-11


Jewel is a great sleeper. We were told she wakes at 5am and goes to bed at 7pm. With a one hour nap at 10 and another nap later about 1 ½ hours long. This morning she awoke ready to get up. During the night there were several small cries but I just pulled her closer to me and with a few pats she was right back asleep. When she woke for the day she found Baba and I had changed rooms and he was sleeping next to her. Didn’t seem to phase her in the least. A little grumpy bedhead and then we got ready super fast to run down to the breakfast buffet. Time for showers and dressing after breakfast before our guide, Maggie, picks us up at 8:30 am.

The grief most of the children have is very real and manifests in different ways. Some children scream, pinch, bite, try to run away, refuse one parent or shut down. Our poor baby Jewel was shut down. She would look around but we still hadn’t seen her even attempt to use her hands which she keep closed in little fists. We were told she can crawl and stand but not walk. Have not seen any sign of either of those milestones. No playing or touching of any kind. I’m glad we had read up on these issues and were not worried. If anyone said Mama she would cry and look around. It is also the only word we were told she knows how to say. She did say Mama several times but was not looking for me. I feel so sad for her foster mom as well. I did everything in my power to meet or get information about us to her with no success. Foster parents are usually only allowed to keep the children until the next age stage. Once Jewel was walking she would most likely have moved to a different caregiver. But its nice to know she loves and was loved instead of the alternative of being in the orphanage where caregivers are busy with overwhelming numbers of children.


I decided to give her a bath after a great long nap around 11am. It seems to be a turning point. During the bath she reached out to touch and then grab a toy. Eventually she had two toys knocking them together. This seems like such a small thing for the average US 14 month old but to us it was huge. Dustin came into the bathroom and snapped a couple of pictures but she didn’t seem to want to play in front of him so he left. As the day continued she came more and more alive. Touching things and making it clear she wanted to be held 100% of the time. We could use ear plugs for diaper changes. She doesn’t seem to care most of the time which of us is holding her. The boys said while playing with her on the bed she crawled towards a toy. I didn’t see it and we haven’t seen any signs of crawling so maybe they were just being hopeful?

As we prepared for bed, after that horrible diaper changing again, D was holding her while I prepared a second bottle. And when I held out my arms and said come to Mama she reached for me. What a change a day makes!
　
After our last paperwork appointment we borrowed a stroller from the hotel. The supermarket, RT Mart, is a few blocks down the street. We arrived one day early remember to scope out the area. RT Mart is located in a mall. You take an escalator with no steps to each floor with your cart. The 3^rd floor is baby supplies and all kinds of Wal-Mart type items. The second floor is food. Live fish , turtles and frogs just waiting to be pointed at by the consumer. Perhaps you can even catch your own, we couldn’t tell. Our family received many more stares than usual as we strolled with our 2 boys and 1 baby girl. This is a huge family that only a very rich man could afford to care for. It is also not common for Chinese babies to be out and about. D saw one older woman look like she was commenting on Jewel (probably her lack of enough layers) but the women with her pointed at our boys. Like "Look, they have raised two already. They know what they are doing." But whatever was said no one tried to reprimand us. She was wearing two shirts, warm leggings and a blanket tucked all around her. Did I mention the rest of us were in short sleeves? It was a warm 70 degrees probably. I was even hot in the RT Mart. I think we are abandoning our jackets and long sleeve shirts here. We brought things we never planned on bringing home and Guangzhou is even hotter than Nanchang. We picked up some additional formula and baby food for the train ride. Wouldn’t want to run out there.

Tomorrow we check out of the hotel by 2pm and our guide picks us up at 4:30 to go to the train station. Our train leaves at 6pm headed for Guangzhou. Unlike the other train this one has 11 stops throughout the night. Our stop is the 12^th and final stop of the line. This is important because stops in the middle of the run only have 2 minutes to board or disembark and we need more than that. So both of our trains I chose have us as the first and last stop of each run. The train station in Nanchang was nothing like the one in Beijing. I don’t remember seeing any type of waiting room, paid or not. But we will be fine. Adventure is our middle name, right?

Nanchang Sunday 10/30

Well today we just walked around the area near the hotel with little D wanting to stop and eat at every other store. Oh, Thats not what you want to hear about? How about this!

Warning most pictures were blurry due to the photographer's inexperience.
4 pm
Our guide called from the lobby to say, "Surprise, Baby here early! Coming up in 5 minutes." The director and another man were with the guide and baby Jewel. Her eyes were so big but she didn't cry while they were giving her to us. We had to check a couple pieces of paperwork and the director and assistant left. I did ask some questions and they left her schedule with our guide. Then the guide had us take turns signing our paperwork to turn in tomorrow. They brought absolutlely nothing but a toy and the clothes on her back. Luckily I had brought a just in case bottle and formula. I still remember how to make a bottle in a flash and Xinxin downed a full 8 oz while D was signing paperwork. I sent him and little D to the store to try to find rice cereal to thicken the bottle and her brand of formula and smaller diapers. He forgot the baby food. Jewel's bedtime is supposed to be 7pm but with such a scary day I would have tried to lay her down early. I tried to wait until D got back with supplies. She took a short nap but spent most of the time looking around and then short crying fits. The director said her took her from her foster mom just this morning and drove straight to us. How scary for her. She asks for mama but it is not me she is looking for yet. Some time and she will accept us.

Nanchang Saturday 10/29

Saturday 10-29
　
We would and are going to take the train again. Trains are very rarely delayed and mostly on time as well. Being awake at dawn gave me the chance to eat a snack while watching the sun rise over rural China. Many fields and I also saw some water buffalo. I do wonder what many of these plants are. Some look like cotton plants, most are a mystery. Slowly our crew woke and freshened up as best as we could. There was no water I would risk drinking except what we brought so there was no way to brush our teeth. That would have to wait until hotel check in. Angela had called our Nanchang guide to make sure she was picking us up at the train. Good thing, she thought we arrived Sunday not Saturday. We disembarked and carried our luggage down some more stairs and there YangYang or Maggie found us. She didn’t have a sign but we were the only white faces in the sea of people. Very few westerners use the train system. I don’t know why. D says they were the softest beds we’ve slept on so far in China. And the boys slept until I had to made little D get up.
　
Nanchang is pronounced Nan Chung. Jewels name is pronounced Zing Sin with and almost silent g.
　
Our hotel is the Galactic Peace International Hotel. Despite our hopes it was not Star Trek themed. But is instead a very fancy 5 star hotel. Many of the businesses in China have many more employees than we would see in the US. Here there is a man whose sole job seems to be pushing our elevator button for us. The doormen have uniforms with tails and you can’t walk anywhere in the hotel without being followed and asked what you need. D is smoking again and is having problems finding a door to go outside where he can be left alone. At McDonald’s there are several employees whose job is to walk around wiping of tables and taking your trash to the trashcan. The Galactic does not have adjoining rooms so we requested next door. Couldn’t have gotten better. The hotel is made up of several triangle tower with 4 rooms on each side. We have the two at the end of one hallway. So we have been propping the doors open to both rooms for easy access. Very safe and only the occasional staff member walks by on the way to the staff elevator. The rooms are fancy with lots of toe stubbing marble and glass doors. I did not receive the iron I requested however so you will have to excuse the wrinkles in Sunday’s photos. We arrived and 8am many hours before check in and the said it would be about 30 minutes. While waiting we discussed the area within walking distance with Maggie. She suggested a porcelain shop to take us to around 2:30 to buy a tea set for Jewel. Jiangxi province is where porcelain was originally invented. When our rooms were ready we headed up and saw them wheeling in a white crib with pink Hello Kitty bedding. Yeap, that was our room. And also our other room too. Twins? No, we explained we only needed one crib so the took the other away. I have heard from other forum moms that at least 18 families are getting their babies Sunday. Not all of which are staying at this hotel, there are two other hotels adoptive agencies tend to book. Jiangxi and Guangdong are the two busiest provinces for adoptions.
　
There is supposed to be a good dumpling restaurant across the street. Crazy street and frogger games lessons are helpful. But the best advice is get right behind a Chinese person and stay right there until across. Remember no English in this province. Even our guide is very difficult to understand. Menu had pictures of stew pots full of food but no dumplings. I used the Iphone to ask for dumplings and they were listed in the back pages in writing, no pictures. So we thought we ordered some dumplings and a pot that looked like chicken. Dumplings never came and once we stirred the pot to scoop some out I was almost done. E didn’t see what was in there and I gave him a very identifiable wing and me a leg. D & D ate some more but I couldn’t even drink the broth part. And E refused to eat the wing even though he never knew what else was in the pot. Gross. Eating at the hotel is as expected very expensive. I pre-paid for the breakfast buffet 6:30-10 tomorrow. Full price the breakfast is 100Y each, $16. And lunch was 130Y, $21 each. We must find somewhere with an English menu and identifiable food.
　
Some people feel the travel experience included immersing yourself in all aspects of the culture. But D and I came to the conclusion many trips ago we like to see, touch, enjoy and maybe even smell the culture. But tasting the culture we leave for other. I’m not going to make excuses we never planned to really get into the local foods. We have tried many more foods in China than at any other place we have traveled. And that’s enough after that last meal. KFC, McDonalds and Subway are found on every street. Although the menu is not quite the same at least there is something E will eat there.
　
Around 2:30 Maggie picked us up and we hired a van to take us to the porcelain shop and another site. The shop was small but bursting with porcelain of varied prices. Many sets were $1000 and some as low as $30. We ended up buying a nice tea set with the lotus flower design. Lotus flower means very beautiful woman in China. They are shipping it to our hotel in Guangzhou. Don’t worry I used visa just to make sure everything comes as expected. And I didn’t agree until they agreed to purchase insurance on our 840 Yuan purchase, $134. We haven’t bought any other souvenirs and we planned on making a tea set purchase here from the beginning so I’m not going to feel guilty about the price. Maggie is used to guiding families that have just arrived in China so sometimes it irks me that I feel she is talking down to us. For example at the shop she kept trying to give me prices in dollars and I didn’t feel comfortable I was getting a good exchange rate in the translation. Once she saw me with my calculator figuring how much something was she stopped. Afterwards we did not have time to go to the pagoda as planned. I said fine we would just go back to the hotel and where was a grocery store. Oh to far, 15 minutes walking. Seriously? We just walked across Beijing. I had our van driver drop us off at the store with directions back to the hotel. Then she felt she needed to escort us into the grocery store until we could see the escalators. This is going to drive us nuts. At least its only a day and then we get Jewel and won’t be doing anymore sightseeing anyway. But its important to know where the grocery store is then too. And a McDonalds is right next door.
　
Made it back to the room safely with groceries and dinner. Showers and bed won’t be far behind. E is in one room with me and D & D are sharing a room. Subject to change at Jewel’s will. She will be coming to our room between 4pm-6pm China time. Her bedtime is 7pm so I’m not sure just how that will work out. Our guide has now given me 3 different times for when Jewel will be here so who knows. Sunday we are just planning on hanging out around the hotel. Maybe a walk around the neighborhood after breakfast since the babies are not expected until late.

Beijing Friday 10/28

Friday 10-28
　
Friday started off early with Mama feeling sick for several hours. I think the pollution finally got the best of me. Leaving the US I had a cough left over from a cold and here it is 10 days later still. No better no worse. E is also coughing quite a bit on certain days. Once the rain from Sunday passed there were beautiful skies for a day or so but then the smog returned. So Friday we luckily didn’t have anything planned except for packing. Plenty of time for extra resting with the late check out we requested for 2pm.
　
Angela picked us up at 4:30pm for the trip to the train station. Our train, Z65, was scheduled to leave at 8pm but with the traffic in Beijing we didn’t want to chance it. The arrived in plenty of time. The train station looked like an airport terminal with the crowds and gates. The exception would be in an airport there are many people who speak English as well as Chinese. Not so at the train station. We were going to hire a “red hat” who handles your luggage and gets you on your train car 30 minutes before official boarding. Instead since it was 6pm and we had two hours to departure we decided to use the pay lounge waiting areas and Angela made arrangements for the lounge personal to take us to our gate 50 minutes before boarding time. While out looking for food I did see the regular waiting area and it was much less nice. We had padded chairs, tables, TV, and private squatty bathrooms for the pay lounge area. At 7:10 he came to escort us to the stairs leading down to gate 3 loading. That’s right stairs. With 4 backpacks and 4 large suitcases. I’m glad we had been warned to pack light our we would have had more. Now at this time we are truly alone. No one speaks English. At the base of the stairs there was our train. Angela had already shown me how to read our tickets so we found our car and room no problem. Promptly at 8pm we were on our way. ADVICE Although you can fit 4 suitcases under the beds they cannot be fat suitcases like we pack. Next time we won’t use the outside pockets and they would then fit under the beds. There is also a loft for 2 suitcases above. The boys were excited to see a TV and the end of each bed. Chinese only, no subtitles. Once we were on the move we decided quickly to go to bed. And so ended Friday.

Thursday in Beijing

Today we mostly just walked around the neighborhoods. Visited the Temple of Heaven. Not much else to say, sorry.

Spelunking: the sport or pastime of exploring caves

Beijing Wednesday 10-26-11

China has been exciting and fun most of the time. But I’m ready to go get the babies. Angela has expressed concern over the number of bags we have to get on and off the train. We arrived in the airport with 4 large checked bags, 3 carry on bags, 1 computer bag and 3 backpacks. I told her since some of the items we consumable I hoped to bring less to the train station. But not the 3 bags less she wanted. D had a great idea and Angela will be taking Joseph’s clothes and toys and a few other items to FedEx. Including my kitchen knife and D’s pocket knife which are not allowed on trains. The box should be at the Holiday Inn Shifu in Guangzhou when we arrive. And some of our items of clothing will not be leaving Nanchang with us. We planned with a packing method called “take and toss”. Our long sleeve shirts, undergarments, socks and probably jackets will not be returning from China. But not to fear. We all packed the ones we didn’t like or want anymore in preparation for leaving them behind.
　
Wednesday was an adventure outside the city walls. We visited a rural mountain village that happens to have a marvelous cave system. The drive was longer than expected by us and by Angela I think. She nor the driver, Mr. Gow, had ever been there either. The three hour one way drive, however, gave D and I a chance to plague Angela with many questions about China’s culture and people. We should be drawing on the knowledge gained from these 6 hours in the van for years. Weddings, food, unlucky numbers, shoes you name it, we talked about it. Especially customs for babies and the SWI’s. Angela worked at an orphanage for two years and then at an adoption agency for several years after that. She has such a good heart for the babies and children. She said Thursday she would be calling SWI’s for families and would call to check on our Jewel and ask a few questions for us. How great is that!
　
Xianqi cave was very interesting. We love to visit caves all over the US and did wonder how the caves in China would be different. Well for one thing US caves are better protected from tourist hands to protect the cave system. Here is was encouraged, but we did not touch knowing the damage it causes. Stair, stairs and more stairs. Wet stairs with wet hand rails. Small narrow stairs and places that the handrail was a formation. Watch your head more than once. One narrow passageway that you had to turn sideways to get down. Exposed light bulbs hanging from wires above your head or on the walls. Awesome! The most authentic caving experience we have ever had. It even included an underground boat ride to get into the formation part of the system. We enjoyed the experience and I think Angela did also but she is so Chinese its hard to tell. Not many smiles even when I think she is enjoying herself.

　
Thursday we have to get the last of the laundry hung out drying to pack on Friday. We also need to gather the items to ship ahead to Guangzhou. I think we may try again to go to the Science and Technology Museum and the Temple of Heaven. We had so many days planned in Beijing its hard to believe they are almost over. I’m glad we had this time to acclimate to Beijing before heading to Nanchang which is less tourist friendly. And practicing our chop stick usage has paid off. Wednesday we didn’t even have to ask for forks at the restaurant. Which is kind of embarrassing since everyone is already staring at us by then. Angela is writing cheat sheet for us for ordering food. I have found it difficult to order the rice we prefer etc.

I'll leave you with little tidbit. At lunch we ordered prawns (jumbo shrimp). They are served fried in sesame seeds complete with shells, heads, legs and eyes. Angela said some people eat the whole thing. There was a dare regarding eating the whole thing and getting to play on the ipod on the van ride back to Beijing. Want to guess who won?

Tuesday Acrobats

Tuesday in Beijing 10-25-11

We didn’t make the most of our time today. Slept late and straightened up the apartment. Without a dryer we need to keep the laundry caught up including time to air dry. Which is very fast I guess because of the dry air. After finally getting around and out the door we took the subway to Olympic Park to visit the science and technology museum. Slight problem. We knew which subway stop but couldn’t find any signs or any English speakers to ask. There were many rickshaw drivers wanting to take us to see the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. Angela had already warned us that they sometimes take advantage of Americans without guides, so no help there. We needed to met Angela at the acrobat show in two hours and had the hotel write down the address but didn’t know where in town it was. So we decided to bag the Olympic Park and get a taxi to the acrobats. Good thing because it took one hour to get there. Found a late lunch while waiting and went in. We had a few minutes before seating and while I was planning tomorrow with Angela a line formed of people who wanted their pictures with E. Angela verified that is was because the Chinese love children so much that they keep asking him and not the whole family. Little D is cool with that. The smaller number of people asking or not asking him for photos is fine with him. He still gets plenty of unwanted photo attention. After more than a dozen pictures E escaped back to me for protection from his fans. He even had an admirer on the subway of his haircut and was asked to turn around so they could see the back. He says that was creepy and was glad when they exited the subway. The acrobat show was awesome! There is more than one show in Beijing and this one was at the Chow Lang Theater. Turns out its right next to a subway station and we took that home. Wow! Chinese rush hour is still going on at 7pm. We had to transfer to line 10 which Angela had said was the busiest line. The press of people was terrible. I have never been so crowded in my life, ever. We even had to plan in case we got separated where to meet. We did get both of our groups on one train, barely, then two more people squeezed in. Imagine front to back as close as family with total strangers. E had to face the ceiling to get any air to breathe. Only two stops then we transferred to a less crowed line thankfully and off line 10.

　
Speaking of a separation plan, in case you wondered we had Angela write a card for each person that says “I am lost please call and her cell phone number. We check to see that each boy has one in their back pocket every day before we leave the room. If we did lose someone I didn’t want them not knowing what to do or trying to get back to the room on their own while we are searching. Policemen are everywhere and I see cell phone usage just like at home. But E is worried about getting lost and doesn’t wander off much at all. Hard to get lost with all his paparazzi. Which might get much worse in Nanchang where less westerners travel.
　
We checked out the night market. Little D tried a couple of foods before we headed back to the room. Since my bedtime is earlier than everyone else I went right to bed after we bought some groceries and put them away. I love this apartment. I even let housekeeping come this morning, while we were there. And for people who know me that’s a big deal. I absolutely do not like housekeeping touching my stuff. Not worth a made bed to have them in my unattended room moving things. Here though they not only make the bed but wash dishes, mop floor and clean all the bathrooms. Much more through than I have ever seen. 5 stars. But with our adoption fees in the safe they won’t be allowed to come back unless I’m here. No sense in adding another worry.

　
Tomorrow we are going on a trip out of Beijing. We’ve asked Angela to take us to a cave system known as the fairyland of China. I’ll let you know how it goes. Leaving early so no Skype likely, sorry. It will be nice to see some of the countryside. Thursday maybe the Temple of Heaven and Friday time to checkout of the hotel and overnight train to Nanchang.

It's just another Monday. In Beijing China

Monday 10-24-2011 I have tried several times to post pictures and it keeps erasing the post. They are on Shutterfly.com adoptinginoklahoma password is China

Gotcha day is getting closer. After all this time waiting I’ll finally meet them. If I think to much about it I’ll end of a tearful mess just like I was at home before we left. I’m trying not to think about it. That’s not working but I’m still trying to concentrate on Beijing and the boys right now.

Monday we walked to the subway by T Square to check out the line for F City then instead we took the subway to the Beijing Zoo. The subway was easy breezy. We don’t live in a town with public transportation and had never ridden a subway before. Still it was so easy. Bought our tickets out of an automated booth that had an English button. Touch screened the stop we needed and 4 cards were dispensed, 2Yuan each. No matter how far you go it is 2 Yuan, about $.30 each. Taxi rides start the meter at 10 Yuan plus 2Y fuel surcharge, $2. And since the subway didn’t have traffic it seemed faster even with the stops. No lines in China, just push and shove. Even if rules are posted or lines are painted on floor or the seat belt sign is still on it seems the Chinese way is whatever they want.

D says the Beijing Zoo like photos of the zoos in the US in the 50’s. I thought most of the animals we saw had plenty of space but the enclosures were dirt and grey walls. The Panda House was interesting. But my favorite part was the Cockatiel display and the Parakeet display. Such common animals here and zoo exhibits in Beijing. The bears have learned to eat snacks thrown to them. More surprising was their love of Sprite. They would back up to the pit wall and patrons would slowly pour Sprite or water into the bears mouths. We bought French fry snacks with toppings like chocolate, yogurt with fruit or Thai sauce and I bought a fried chicken leg. A man with his child walked up while we were resting. He just wanted to visit. He lives close and comes once a week on the subway with his son who is 5. Oh no, it didn’t make me think about Joseph. Like I hadn’t been comparing all the hundreds of children we had seen today to Jewel and Joseph, sure. I think he wanted his son to meet Americans maybe? The boy was very shy just like many American children. We think we have discovered why so many people want photos with or of E. How many Chinese people see American children? Almost all of the tours we see that have white faces do not include any kids. One day the boys will think how lucky they were to come with us to China. During a rest break we were sitting by the panda house between two exhibits eating a snack. It sure was funny the number of people who came around the corner and took our photos. D said he thought we should have a moat or something to keep them back from our enclosure. Come see the strange Americans! They talk and eat before your eyes! Only one man was brave enough to ask me if they could have their photo with E. Most people who want to pose with E ask me before for permission. The candid shots however are not asked about. Little D was leaning in a nook and looked like he was sleeping so many photos of that too. I should take photos of the Chinese taking photos of us for later.

A subway hop and we were back to T square and the F City. The close F City at 5pm and it was a little after 3 so the lines were almost gone. Entrance fee 60Y each=$10. We were going to rent the audio headphone tour but at the last minute paid a guide 200Y=$35 to take us through. Most of the building are empty. The artifacts are in the National Museum or stolen by other countries who won’t give them back. Seeing the building and hearing their purposes was fun, especially by a guide who spoke hard to understand English. The North gate entrance has been closed so we entered through the South gate and left through the North. That was the worst part. Going in there are people trying to sell souvenir of course and guides offering their services. But leaving there were beggars and the souvenir salesmen were grabbing and yelling. Awful! You are trapped by barriers for probably an entire block before you can get across the street. I had E look at the ground or to his right at the F City most. ADVICE If you have children it would be better to walk back through the city and leave from the South gate even though it is more walking.

Speaking of walking. We walked or stood from 9:30am until 5pm with basically no breaks longer than 5 minutes. Its funny because on our first day Angela said we would need a taxi to get to Bei Hai park and we walked there the long way no problem. From the lack of seeing other Americans on the streets I think they maybe right in thinking Americans cannot get around without vehicles? If your guide says taxi you do or if all the other adoptive parents are flying then wanting to take the train is uncommon. But that’s us, an off the path family. At the end of today though we all wanted to get back to the room and put our feet up. Update on the Lee Garden Serviced Apartments. There are no dryers in Beijing homes. So it is not washer/dryer just washer. We will need to make sure the laundry is caught up in time to air dry before we pack on Friday.

Sunday in Beijing

Beijing Sunday 10-23-11

Hi everybody. This morning was a free day we intended to use to try again to go to the Forbidden City, Again without success. After getting a late start we decided to instead use the hotel pool and then go out and try our hand at restaurant eating. No to bad if I do say so myself. We got seated and the menu came. If this one and the restaurant Angela took us to are average then the restaurants around here spend a fortune on menus. They are like a huge book with large pictures of every dish. I had stopped at the apartment front desk and asked someone to write down “I do not want spicy” on a card. We were also told Boo Yow La which later Angela said could be mistaken for “I do not want anything” so that might be a problem. But the waiter seemed to understand the written note. We pointed out a pork slice and onion dish, a pork spaghetti looking dish that came with small wrappers like fajitas, a shrimp and leek burrito dish, Kung Po Chicken which is chicken, peanuts, onions and sauce, and pork/egg dumplings. Ordering drinks was difficult. We thought he was bringing water but hot water for tea was delivered. I said no and used an application on my Iphone to ask for bottled water. It worked! The App is reviewed as not accurate but we were thinking one word would be more accurate than a phrase. So after receiving our bottles of water we used it to ask for forks, no problem. Most of the dishes we liked. E was almost sick after I asked him to try the dumplings. Their wrapper is a pale white with what tasted like a meatball inside. He of course nibbled the edge of the wrapper and proceeded to make a scene. I still think he would have liked the meatball. He also refused to try the leek burritos after he had ordered them. LOL But the chicken and peanuts was a huge hit with him. Little D liked the pork fajitas the best and I liked the pork slices. Plenty of stares to go around. This was a restaurant not on the tourist street but a couple of blocks away. The staring will get worse in Nanchang so we better get used to it.

Colder weather has set in with quite a breeze as well. I still find the room stuffy without a balcony open. When we were walking to the restaurant it was sprinkling and too windy for the umbrella we borrowed from the apartment. One the way home we walked a new direction and stopped at a pastry store to bring home dessert. Yum. Angela was waiting in the lobby to take s on our new adventure. The produce and meat store. It had stopped raining and we got directions from the doorman to the closest store. We also got directions a few more times on the walk. The market was, as expected, interesting. Many different vendors. First we stopped at the spice vendor for soy sauce, sugar, plain bouillon granules, salt and spices. Next the raw meat vendor. Yes, just like you are picturing. The vegetable stall was my favorite and we learned about many vegetables that we weren’t even buying. Cucumbers have prickles all over and only buy the ones with the flowers still on the end for freshness. Egg stall and fruit stall and then we left. Little D and I were the only ones who went to the market so E and D could clean up the kitchen. Angela made us chicken wings with a sugar sauce, eggs with tomatoes, and I have to finish a noodle dish that she made the sauce for. It was fun and funny since our kitchen only has one pot and one pan. Any ingredients we forgot we had to do without. Although we did send D to the corner store with a note for soybean paste.

We rushed out after cooking to the Kung Fu show for which Angela had reserved tickets. Finding a taxi was difficult but we learned that available taxis have a red light on the windshield by the rearview mirror. Also you must add 2 to the price on the meter for a new fuel surcharge. That’s good to know. We need to be comfortable getting ourselves around especially once we get the new children. Monday I think we are going to try the subway.

Still adding photos to Shutterfly. Hopefully we will get that caught up Monday. We are having some difficulty getting them to download where we want them to go but we are working on it. I will post the password on RQ or you can email me. I do get any comments left here. They just do not show up on the blog until I have read them. So you could also contact me that way.

Beijing Saturday 10/22

Beijing, Saturday 10/22
1am. I’m not sure if this is considered jet lag since I am regularly up during the night at home. I’m looking forward to the cooler weather that is supposed to blow in today. We can already tell we are starting to need jackets. The last two days as we walked about in short sleeve shirts I noticed we were the only people with any skin showing. The people can obviously tell we are foreign, but I wonder if they think we are from Canada or some place with cool weather? I just can’t stand wearing long sleeves when the temperature is 70. Nor have I needed my sunglasses a single day with it being “overcast”. Pollution is a big problem in China, the air and the water both. Angela said 19 million people live in Beijing and all of the “youngers” want cars. To get a car you have to have a Beijing home address ID card. Only if your parents have Beijing cards can you get one even if you are born in Beijing. If you do not have a Beijing ID card and you have paid taxes for 5 years you can still apply to get a car license too. Every month there is a drawing from the applications for who will be allowed to buy a car. So there are no guarantees of when your number will ever come up. Quite a bit different from our home town where children get their drivers licenses at 16.

Making use of the peaceful early morning young D and I headed out together to find a less expensive supermarket and see our neighborhood. Going off the main tourist road is a great way to feel the real city. D and E were still sleeping so we decided to also bring home some breakfast since it was only 7am. After walking a few blocks I mentioned, “Everyone on this street is staring at us.” Dalton said that he had noticed as well. LOL When a full bus stopped beside us at a light there were so many staring faces I actually thought the people on the opposite side of the bus were going to move over to look also. Next time we have decided to wave. It doesn’t bother us yet but I can see how it would get old. At the Summer Palace yesterday we had many people taking our pictures, especially E’s. Today while out E even had someone touch his shoulder and ask in mime to take a photo. Afterwards another person said he should ask for Yuan. No, we are not letting him do that. But he thought is was a great idea to earn some extra spending cash. LOL

Saturday was our first day on our own. We headed out walking to the Forbidden City. Our guidebook said the North Gate would be less busy but after taking a wrong turn we ended up at the main South Gate. Wow. If 19 million people live in Beijing I think half of them were there today! The line was so long it stretched past the gate line area and far into T Square which is the courtyard of the F City. The lines at Disneyworld might have been this long at the worst times, maybe. We didn’t stand in long lines at Disney and guess what, we didn’t here either. Hopefully we can return earlier another day. Checked out T square a little and decided to walk to Bei Hai Park. Beautiful. Built in the 900’s with wandering pathways and rock sculptures everywhere. Jade Buddha and a temple built for the Dali Lamas visit in 1651. The lake was “foggy” but we rented a battery powered boat to see the shoreline and relax after the long walk. Walking there we of course took some back roads and saw many interesting people and sights. Even the sight of a mother and daughter getting granddaughter to urinate on the side of a building in her split pants by whistling. Children are taught a special sound to make them use the bathroom. Got to remember to ask Jewels signal noise.

After the park we took a taxi back to the room and tried to walk to a restaurant Dalton and I had seen on our walk that morning. I’m getting better at my charades and the rest of the family just stands there and laughs. But they sure don’t mind sharing in my purchases or using the information I obtain. Restaurants are only open during meal hours and we were to late for lunch and to early for dinner. Maybe tomorrow. We found a grocery store and bought some lunch for the room. There is an indoor pool we planned on using but found ourselves too tired today and just spent the rest of the evening resting in the room. E is full of excitement and is having a hard time today staying with the group. A good nights rest should recharge all of us for Sunday’s excursion. Angela is coming over after church. We are going to purchase some ingredients and she is going to show me how to prepare a couple of very simple Chinese dishes for the children. When I asked her about cooking lessons, I was thinking that an American child in such a emotional situation sure would benefit from a grilled cheese sandwich and a hot dog, maybe with some mac n cheese too.

Angela. I can’t say enough good things. She has made our stay so much more comfortable and I will be singing her praises to the online groups where I am a member. Not only does she connect us with our children by sending care packages and getting updates for the families, she also guides and hosts in her home. From the moment she met us at the airport with the traditional sign, helped us with check in and even escorted us up to our room she has smoothed the path. Our driver is someone she hires regularly to get us safely from place to place. Answering my thousands of questions along the way she gets us our tickets into the sights and tells us many personal things about China. Sure we could have taken a taxi and gotten checked into the room ourselves. But the time and stress saved had been worth any fees. She tries to get us the best prices for shows and our driver too. Without any prepayment she has bought our train tickets to Nanchang already and Sunday the tickets go on sale for the Nanchang to Guangzhou train we need and she is getting those too. Angela worked at one of the SWI’s for two years and the children have a place in her heart. That is why she has the package service and guides occasionally. I believe she only guides adoptive families. Her passion for helping the kids has even lead her to advocate for a specific child whose family is coming soon and she is involved in raising the standards in another very poor SWI. The city does not have money for essential services including the SWI. Her group buys formula for the babies and is trying to get enough money to hire some more staff. Can you believe 3 Ayis care for 50 babies 24 hours a day. She said they really care and the children are happy but it is very hard on the Ayis to be so short staffed. If you are interested in reading about her group (I think it is loves reach.com) there is a link on her care package website. ladybugsnlove.com

I’m off to try to catch a few winks before getting an early start to our Sunday. I’ll post this as soon as D wakes up since the internet connection is in the bedroom. ADVICE Take an Ethernet cable just in case. WiFi is spotty and the Ethernet cable in the room was broken. Saved a lot of hassle that we brought one. I’d rather spend my time blogging, shopping or sightseeing than working on getting the internet to work.

Beijing, Great Wall, Summer Palace

Beijing
Early Saturday morning. Before dawn.
Being that I’ve always been a light sleeper that wakes many times in the night, here I am posting for yesterday. D and the boys are all asleep. The air conditioning is turned off for the year already making our room hotter than I expected. The high temperature in Beijing is only low 70’s but it seems to be hotter in the room. We have two balconies. One that opens to the boys bedroom and the living room, and one that opens to the master bedroom. We open them when we are here but cannot sleep with them open because of the construction noise. Last night I watched two different road repair crews bring in heavy equipment and excavate and repair two large road sections all before morning. With the traffic here, I imagine they could never work in the daytime. Tonight I have moved into the living room to blog while everyone is asleep and I can hear a jackhammer and some occasional yelling through the open balcony door. It’s 4am.



Friday 10/21
Happy 40^th Birthday to me! We skyped home before leaving for the Summer Palace and Great Wall. Angela had to loan us some Yuan to buy groceries Thursday night but we were just to tired to go out and ate snacks from the airplane. Unluckily we also did not get ready this morning in enough time to run to a grocery store and made do with snacks again. ADVICE Bring granola bars or something filling just in case. They have been a lifesaver to us. Traffic is bad. Really bad. Angela and the driver decided we should go to the Summer Palace first since it was in town, then drive to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall after lunch. The SP was interesting. E likes that Angela answers his questions so he sticks close to her. We are also accompanied my our adoptive friends Amanda and Aaron. Their 4 boys stayed home but I think E managed to talk as much as 4 children so perhaps it reminded them of home? They have a blog listed on the side of ours and we might be in some of their photos too. The SP was where the royal court moved to in the summer heat. There is a lake to cool things off. The Long Corridor is a covered walkway that is many yards long to make it shady to walk along the shore. The lake was once small but they needed somewhere for Navy practice so the Emperor had the lake dredged out and the dirt was piled on a small island making a now very tall island with buildings on it too. A powerful woman behind the man, Cixi, ruled the SP and for many years make all the imperial decisions. One decision was to use money to build a marble barge on the lake instead of outfitting the Navy as the money was intended. She doesn’t sound much liked today. Because of her bad decisions?

Lunch was at a restaurant Angela said was very sought after and hard to get a reservation. We not eating at a normal lunchtime so we got in. A Lazy Susan rules the middle of the table. Turning so everyone can take out of the serving dishes. Many dishes are ordered and you take a small amount of each. But there was so much everyone could have seconds as many times of their favorites. E likes spicy but not new foods so it was most difficult for him. I see many granola bars in his future. He did like a string French fry dish with a honey coating. No surprise there. The meat was “tough”, the rice and “things” in it, the bacon “might” have had something resembling mushrooms and so on. I’ve got to say the fried rice was my favorite. Of the 10 or so dishes many set my mouth on fire. And these were the supposedly mild spicy dishes! Maybe many granola bars for me too. Can I live by rice alone? Angela said Cantonese cooking is usually less spicy but Jiangxi province is spicy too. Wow, I better start getting used to spicy if I plan on not wasting away here. I never thought about it but I guess I prefer bland foods. Of course, little D liked almost everything and tried everything at least once. When Angela kept saying do you like __?, his answer was always either yes or I'll try it.

The Great Wall. Well, what can I say that hasn’t been said before or that you cannot guess? The drive was long and the wall was high. We took the terrifying ski lift to the Mutianyu section. There was almost no one there and I loved the view. E wanted to walk the entire wall. A just laughed and told him that takes years. A couple had been on the news after walking the entire length and so it must be a big deal. He did get a army cap from one of the vendors who climb up every morning with all their goods to sell to the tourists. If you see him in later photos he has not turned into a communist, just continues to love hats. The steps on the GW are very shallow for horses we believe. Inside the watchtowers the steps become very high and difficult to navigate. No one had heard of hand rails back then I guess. Anyone can see how this impressive and tiring climb would keep invaders away, even without the guards. The toboggan down was fun and even I was told a couple of times to slow down.

On the drive back we stopped at a roadside produce stand. A says this area is famous for their walnuts and her and the driver wanted to purchase some while there. We would have gotten some also but without a way to crack them little D and I had to pass. Being that he loves to eat almost anything we did have a talk with A about food safety for us tourists. She said the produce should be fine. The water is not drinkable and we had heard not to eat anything that couldn’t be peeled. I did allow him to purchase a pomegranate since the edible part is inside. Had to err on the side of caution. The stand owners cannot move their produce without bruising it so they live there in a van. There was even a pen of chickens off the road in large free range pen and so the eggs they sell are very very fresh! The drive back was in the dark and so long both boys feel asleep. And after comforting E I may have caught a couple of winks myself. As soon as we arrived at the room we grabbed a couple of empty backpacks and tried to find a grocery store and some recognizable dinner. There is a major shopping street with traffic blocked just a couple of blocks away. Looks like it is very upscale. Although we did find a grocery we will probably try another direction tomorrow. I was practicing my charades and managed to get us some sandwich fixings for the morning, a box of cereal and milk, juice, water and Coke. ADVICE You have to pay for sacks so bring your empty backpacks to carry purchases home. Backpacks are worn on the front to prevent pickpockets. Dinner was decided when we saw the KFC colonel on a store front. Back home we found KFC Beijing is not quite the same either. Edible but not the same. No biscuits but rolls. Mashed potatoes are real not instant, which I like. But still a welcome end to an adventurous day. I fell asleep in the boys bed while D and D were skyping. Exhausted but happy. Saturday we do not have any plans and will maybe walk to the Forbidden City and T square. Possibly a taxi to Beihia park? I’ll see if D downloaded any photos I can attach to this post. And in the morning I’ll try to get them uploaded to Shutterfly and post the password.

　

Beijing Day One

Beijing, China

We have arrived. So far it’s not much different than Dallas in many ways. Our long flight was probably considered a great flight but was so very long. I knew it was 13 hours but it didn’t sound as long before we did it. I remember asking, “It’s only been 4 hours? It’s only been 6 hours?” I thought we would sleep a lot of the flight but I think maybe everyone got about 3 hours total each. United did a good job though. Thanks Aunt Kaye! The seats were together in the center aisle of four seats. Big TV in the front and smaller TVs spaced along the ceiling. They played 3 movies that were kid appropriate and one movie that was kid boring with two breaks for 2 hours each of sitcom reruns. Many meals or snacks and drink carts came down the aisle all the time. We all thought the food was perfectly fine but maybe we didn’t have the same expectations previous families had? If you are in the back of the plane you get the last choice of what is left on the cart for meals. But they always still had what we wanted. Chicken Marsala, salad with ranch, roll & cookie. Later turkey sandwich, banana and raspberry danish at some point. There were 4 bathrooms behind us and several more up front and everything seemed to work fine. So we will call this a good flight. I’m glad an attendant had told us the tail end would “move” during takeoff. If I could have aborted the plan and taken a slow boat to China I would have. It felt like the plane was going to rip in two pieces. But apparently that’s normal since I was the only one concerned.

The shades were kept down so we didn’t know if it was daylight or not most of the time. We got up and walked around stretching many times. Once, when we were very far North over the arctic, looking out the window we could see large sheets of cracked ice. Dalton commented on how gigantic they must have been to look huge from as high up as we were. We did take the arctic flight path. Not exactly over the North Pole but very far North and then over Russia and down.

Angela (of ladybugsnlove.com) met us at the airport and was wonderful getting us to our apartment. I asked her questions almost the entire hour it took so have many facts about China to share. She kind of implied the fog we could see out of the airport was weather related but I’m not so sure. A boring drive on a highway that could have been in any US city with nothing to see until we got very close to the hotel district. Then busy, busy! She got us checked in and took us up to our apartment. It’s a two bedroom, 2 bathroom with kitchen and washer/dryer. Exactly what we needed to call our home base for the next 8 nights. Its very clean and secure. So far my only concern is trying to get some cooler air into the apartment. Turning the thermostats cooler makes the fans run but doesn’t seem to bring any cooler air in. And we can open the doors to either of our two balconies but the construction noises outside are loud. I have heard China is always building. Our plane arrived at 3:30 pm and I was ready for bed by 7pm. Couldn’t keep my eyes open even long enough to go out and buy some dinner so we settled for snacks we had packed for the plane and didn’t need. But now here it is 1 am and I am awake. Angela is picking us up at 8am for touring Friday. I need some more sleep if at all possible. The computer won’t go online from the room, or maybe I just can’t figure it out, so I’m typing this now and will post when I can. The business center opens 6am-11pm. Water is boiling in the kitchen now so it will cool before morning for tooth brushing. Friday we have to get to a bank to exchange money and buy some supplies for the room. Ann (of redthreadchina) had sent our power strip to the hotel and it seems to be charging the Iphones fine. In the morning we will venture out to the pedestrian shopping area nearby and find some breakfast. Maybe fresh eels? Or more likely McDonalds that is supposedly on the next street over. Save the exploring for when we have more time and not before we leave for a full day of sightseeing.

Done!

Mundane Monday

As hard as it is to believe life is going on as usual around me. Today I had to work. Imagine trying to think about how many people will need to buy what kinds of dog food over the next month? How can this be a normal day? Didn't the whole world stop once I announced we had our travel approval? But no, ordering and other paperwork continues as normal. On a funny note I heard a couple of customers were in last week stocking up because they heard we would be closed for a month. I'm sure they felt relieved to hear the store would continue to be open normal hours, just without me.

Packing continues up to the moment we load the van I suppose. Hopefully that's normal? Spending months on our packing list was a big help. But the items still needed gathered or bought and put in a bag. The 44# weight limit has not been as challenging as I thought. Packing our suitcases full to bursting, we still have yet to have one weight the limit. I'm going to credit good planning on that too. Our smallest bag has our heaviest stuff and our largest bag the lightest contents. We will however be right at the limits once done.

In Two Weeks

Can you believe that in only two weeks from today I will hold my baby girl for the first time?

Ann and Amanda save the day.

The fellow adoptive mom, Amanda, who will be traveling to Beijing on the same flight had a question. We have been in contact comparing notes and helping each other with travel plans. She asked what we were doing about a power converter and adapter kit? I happened to remember that Ann with redthreadchina had power strips that she could ship to our hotel. No problem, I jumped over there and ordered one delivered to the Lee Garden Serviced Apartments where we are staying. What's the big deal you're thinking? Well, Ann checks your reservation before shipping. What? They don't have a reservation? Expedia assured me our booking was fine. They agreed to call the hotel. What? They don't have a reservation? An hour later and it was resolved. Or was it? Expedia said the hotel fax number was not working correctly. Don't they request some kind of confirmation? I now have a new confirmation number. But I have asked Ann to call back and double check that we are now staying at this hotel. If not for Amanda mentioning the power issue and Ann recently deciding to start selling power strips we would not have had a roof over our heads when we reached Beijing! And if I could have directly booked our rooms I would have. So I guess using a third party is just not the same. Our hotel in Guangzhou was booked directly through the Holiday Inn website so I would assume its good. Our hotel in Nanchang however, is booked through a Chinese travel site many other APs have used. ctrip.com Maybe I should have Ann ship something there as well?

Joseph update

We received a note from Ann with Redthreadchina.com. No new pictures but she did get his updated measurements. This should make buying his clothes a little more accurate. It also follows the trend of him growing steadily with every update. Good news. Now to start packing for him.

Dear Jen:
Below is Long Guang Bo`s information ;
height :100cm approximately 39"
weight :16kg approximately 35 pounds
head:47cm
chest:48cm
teeth:20
Have a wonderful day,love,Ann

Guess what I've been doing?

For every one item checked off the "to do" list, three more get added! Today we shopped for needed supplies. After hours of shopping the list went down from 13 pages to only 8. But still 8 pages of do-find-buy. Wow.

Our schedule is firming up daily. Angela from ladybugsnlove is going to guide us a couple of the days we are in Beijing. She sent Jewel Jingxin her care package in August if you remember. Angela has even agreed to give me a simple cooking lesson. How great is that! Our itinerary is posted under the link on the left side of the blog under the pages listing.