Here we are at day 5 already, in a way it feels like we’ve been here for weeks, but now that this day is upon me it seems like I just arrived. For today is the day that we tour the orphanage my youngest was at for a few early moments of life.
Driving up to the orphanage it looks exactly the same as it did years ago when Kim and I had the chance to walk through with our child. Pulling up into the parking lot (I use lot loosely as it was simply a place for the bus to let us off) there are multiple people standing outside awaiting our arrival with smiles and open arms. Departing the bus we were all introduced to the orphanage director and assistant director as we were led into a large meeting room. Many different people were introduced and many, speeches were given all telling how proud everyone is with the orphanage, the children, and our families and adoptions in particular.
From there we are all split into small groups and given separate tours of the orphanage, dad and I were paired with a family from Spain. (a little language barrier as dad and I neither on know Spanish, but we worked it out best we could) We toured a new section of the orphanage that I hadn’t seen before and were told that new earthquake standards had caused the old building to be evacuated as it was not rated high enough with the new regulations. The new building was extremely clean and very nicely built and decorated. There were shoe holders for the children, wooden floors, a toy room, a physical therapy room, I could go on telling of all the different rooms, but I’ll just let you know that I was pleasantly impressed with the apparent care taken in designing the new orphanage.
We got to see a few of the children and I took as many pictures as I was allowed, there are some rooms that I couldn’t take pictures. (like the hospital, and the room with the really young kids – I saw some that were only a month or two old) I was worried that my dad would find this part of the trip boring, but I look up and he has taken a baby from one of the nannies and was holding her and making her giggle by rubbing her chin. This happened more than once, so I think he was having a pretty good time. There were a lot of special needs children with varying problems from cleft lip and hand deformities, to cerebral palsy. The children with special needs involving the brain were considered unadoptable by my guide. I told her that there are families here very willing to accept children with this type of special need but was told that these children would not be on any adoption list. This was some of the saddest news that I had received and just stood dumbfounded as my brain tried to figure out why things work this way.
After the tour we were treated to lunch at the orphanage and had another amazing meal here in China. From lunch it was back to the orphanage where we were all separated and finally found out that we were going to get a chance to view our children’s files. This was amazing and something each and every one of us was secretly praying for. As the file was opened my heart was racing and felt like I may pass out as the first page came into view.
Due to the personal nature of my child’s file I will only share any information that I found there with my immediate family, I hope you all understand this as I’m sure you will.
From there it was back to the meeting room where we had a great question and answer session where all of the families thanked the director for this opportunity and hopped that it was something that would continue in the future. We all tried our best to walk carefully as we didn’t want to be the group that caused anyone to reconsider allowing more families to see their children’s files. We wrapped things up at around five and made our way back to the hotel and then meet for dinner at Pizza Hut next door. Pizza Hut was a nice break from traditional Chinese food and we had a nice comic relief moment. There was one family that wanted to order just a pepperoni pizza but the menu only had options for 5 or 6 pre-designed pizzas. After finally figuring out how to order a pepperoni pizza, you had to order a cheese pizza and add pepperoni, go figure; we all sat and had great conversations waiting for our food. As the pizza came out the waitress didn’t call out “pepperoni pizza”, nor did she say “cheese pizza with pepperoni”, no she came out and announced “American special”. Who would have guessed that a pepperoni pizza would get the name American special?
Well, tomorrow is quite possibly the most important day yet so it’s off to bed for a well deserved night’s sleep.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Day 5 - The Orphanage
Here we are at day 5 already, in a way it feels like we’ve been here for weeks, but now that this day is upon me it seems like I just arrived. For today is the day that we tour the orphanage my youngest was at for a few early moments of life.
Driving up to the orphanage it looks exactly the same as it did years ago when Kim and I had the chance to walk through with our child. Pulling up into the parking lot (I use lot loosely as it was simply a place for the bus to let us off) there are multiple people standing outside awaiting our arrival with smiles and open arms. Departing the bus we were all introduced to the orphanage director and assistant director as we were led into a large meeting room. Many different people were introduced and many, speeches were given all telling how proud everyone is with the orphanage, the children, and our families and adoptions in particular.
From there we are all split into small groups and given separate tours of the orphanage, dad and I were paired with a family from Spain. (a little language barrier as dad and I neither on know Spanish, but we worked it out best we could) We toured a new section of the orphanage that I hadn’t seen before and were told that new earthquake standards had caused the old building to be evacuated as it was not rated high enough with the new regulations. The new building was extremely clean and very nicely built and decorated. There were shoe holders for the children, wooden floors, a toy room, a physical therapy room, I could go on telling of all the different rooms, but I’ll just let you know that I was pleasantly impressed with the apparent care taken in designing the new orphanage.
We got to see a few of the children and I took as many pictures as I was allowed, there are some rooms that I couldn’t take pictures. (like the hospital, and the room with the really young kids – I saw some that were only a month or two old) I was worried that my dad would find this part of the trip boring, but I look up and he has taken a baby from one of the nannies and was holding her and making her giggle by rubbing her chin. This happened more than once, so I think he was having a pretty good time. There were a lot of special needs children with varying problems from cleft lip and hand deformities, to cerebral palsy. The children with special needs involving the brain were considered unadoptable by my guide. I told her that there are families here very willing to accept children with this type of special need but was told that these children would not be on any adoption list. This was some of the saddest news that I had received and just stood dumbfounded as my brain tried to figure out why things work this way.
After the tour we were treated to lunch at the orphanage and had another amazing meal here in China. From lunch it was back to the orphanage where we were all separated and finally found out that we were going to get a chance to view our children’s files. This was amazing and something each and every one of us was secretly praying for. As the file was opened my heart was racing and felt like I may pass out as the first page came into view.
Due to the personal nature of my child’s file I will only share any information that I found there with my immediate family, I hope you all understand this as I’m sure you will.
From there it was back to the meeting room where we had a great question and answer session where all of the families thanked the director for this opportunity and hopped that it was something that would continue in the future. We all tried our best to walk carefully as we didn’t want to be the group that caused anyone to reconsider allowing more families to see their children’s files. We wrapped things up at around five and made our way back to the hotel and then meet for dinner at Pizza Hut next door. Pizza Hut was a nice break from traditional Chinese food and we had a nice comic relief moment. There was one family that wanted to order just a pepperoni pizza but the menu only had options for 5 or 6 pre-designed pizzas. After finally figuring out how to order a pepperoni pizza, you had to order a cheese pizza and add pepperoni, go figure; we all sat and had great conversations waiting for our food. As the pizza came out the waitress didn’t call out “pepperoni pizza”, nor did she say “cheese pizza with pepperoni”, no she came out and announced “American special”. Who would have guessed that a pepperoni pizza would get the name American special?
Well, tomorrow is quite possibly the most important day yet so it’s off to bed for a well deserved night’s sleep.
Driving up to the orphanage it looks exactly the same as it did years ago when Kim and I had the chance to walk through with our child. Pulling up into the parking lot (I use lot loosely as it was simply a place for the bus to let us off) there are multiple people standing outside awaiting our arrival with smiles and open arms. Departing the bus we were all introduced to the orphanage director and assistant director as we were led into a large meeting room. Many different people were introduced and many, speeches were given all telling how proud everyone is with the orphanage, the children, and our families and adoptions in particular.
From there we are all split into small groups and given separate tours of the orphanage, dad and I were paired with a family from Spain. (a little language barrier as dad and I neither on know Spanish, but we worked it out best we could) We toured a new section of the orphanage that I hadn’t seen before and were told that new earthquake standards had caused the old building to be evacuated as it was not rated high enough with the new regulations. The new building was extremely clean and very nicely built and decorated. There were shoe holders for the children, wooden floors, a toy room, a physical therapy room, I could go on telling of all the different rooms, but I’ll just let you know that I was pleasantly impressed with the apparent care taken in designing the new orphanage.
We got to see a few of the children and I took as many pictures as I was allowed, there are some rooms that I couldn’t take pictures. (like the hospital, and the room with the really young kids – I saw some that were only a month or two old) I was worried that my dad would find this part of the trip boring, but I look up and he has taken a baby from one of the nannies and was holding her and making her giggle by rubbing her chin. This happened more than once, so I think he was having a pretty good time. There were a lot of special needs children with varying problems from cleft lip and hand deformities, to cerebral palsy. The children with special needs involving the brain were considered unadoptable by my guide. I told her that there are families here very willing to accept children with this type of special need but was told that these children would not be on any adoption list. This was some of the saddest news that I had received and just stood dumbfounded as my brain tried to figure out why things work this way.
After the tour we were treated to lunch at the orphanage and had another amazing meal here in China. From lunch it was back to the orphanage where we were all separated and finally found out that we were going to get a chance to view our children’s files. This was amazing and something each and every one of us was secretly praying for. As the file was opened my heart was racing and felt like I may pass out as the first page came into view.
Due to the personal nature of my child’s file I will only share any information that I found there with my immediate family, I hope you all understand this as I’m sure you will.
From there it was back to the meeting room where we had a great question and answer session where all of the families thanked the director for this opportunity and hopped that it was something that would continue in the future. We all tried our best to walk carefully as we didn’t want to be the group that caused anyone to reconsider allowing more families to see their children’s files. We wrapped things up at around five and made our way back to the hotel and then meet for dinner at Pizza Hut next door. Pizza Hut was a nice break from traditional Chinese food and we had a nice comic relief moment. There was one family that wanted to order just a pepperoni pizza but the menu only had options for 5 or 6 pre-designed pizzas. After finally figuring out how to order a pepperoni pizza, you had to order a cheese pizza and add pepperoni, go figure; we all sat and had great conversations waiting for our food. As the pizza came out the waitress didn’t call out “pepperoni pizza”, nor did she say “cheese pizza with pepperoni”, no she came out and announced “American special”. Who would have guessed that a pepperoni pizza would get the name American special?
Well, tomorrow is quite possibly the most important day yet so it’s off to bed for a well deserved night’s sleep.
Day 4
Day 4 was quite possibly the easiest day yet, it was off to the airport and boarding a plane to Kunming. There’s a lot of new construction around the Kunming airport so it seemed to take almost as long for the bus to get us to the hotel as it took the plane to get to Kunming.
The hotel in Kunming is the same one Kim and I stayed at for our journey here three years ago and it seems that the absolute only change is the name. The room was identical, the lobby hadn’t changed at all including the fresh flowers, and even the restaurant where we ate breakfast every morning has the same chair covers. You know what, that’s not a big deal to me at all, it’s comfortable, the staff is nice, and I know my way around the area. What else could you want?
So day 4 is over and day 5 starts early so I’ll see you all there.
The hotel in Kunming is the same one Kim and I stayed at for our journey here three years ago and it seems that the absolute only change is the name. The room was identical, the lobby hadn’t changed at all including the fresh flowers, and even the restaurant where we ate breakfast every morning has the same chair covers. You know what, that’s not a big deal to me at all, it’s comfortable, the staff is nice, and I know my way around the area. What else could you want?
So day 4 is over and day 5 starts early so I’ll see you all there.
Day 3 - The CCAA and other stuff
Is it only day 3, you have to be kidding me, with all the stuff we’ve already done it has to be day 5 or 6 already. I guess I have to believe the calendar (sometimes I think it lies, like when it tells me my age) and say welcome to day 3.
Day three starts with a trip to the Beijing Tianhou Silk Co. Ltd., yes, a government run silk factory, but I love them because you learn quite a lot while you’re there. (just don’t buy anything there) We were taught all about the slim worms life cycle, how fast they grow, how they make the silk, and how it’s harvested, really was quite interesting. Walked through the showroom and if I had the money and space I would have walked out with a silk bed spread, the thickest king size was only 860 RMB. Now that only included the bedding, you needed to buy a silk cover for the bedding to slide into, and those were quite a bit more expensive. All we could see were bedding items and I was getting quite amazed that a silk factory would only make up silk bedding. So after about 20 minutes walking through the bedding section we were led through a curtain to another room where all the other silk goods were for sale, such as; robes, shirts, suites, ties, boxers, lingerie, jackets, socks, rugs, and so on and so on. If I were still working in a funeral home and had need of wearing dress shirts every day I would have bought two or three there, they looked and felt fantastic. (I know I said don’t buy anything here, but these shirts were great!)
From the silk factory we all loaded up on the bus and made our way across town to the amazing Temple of Heaven. Even though I’ve been here before I was still impressed by the beauty and size of the temple as well as the grounds surrounding it. Even though it was a Monday (it was Monday wasn’t it) there were a lot of people there, we found out from our guide that the elderly get to pay about 50 RMB for a years pass to all the parks in Beijing. When we entered there were a group of older people dancing and a few quickly came up and asked for dance partners from our group, the children quickly jumped right in and learned a few dance moves from these amazing elders.
It’s only been three years since my last visit to the Temple of Heaven and it has lost absolutely none of its grandeur in that time. The architecture is amazing, the art work fantastic, and the stone carving is so great that I could sit and marvel at it for days and days. The last time I was here the echo wall was under construction but this time dad and I were able to go in and see what we could hear. (get it “echo” wall) There were just far too many people to get the echo wall to work properly so I settled for just having a look and sitting in the shade, cause man it was one hot mug today. Dad stood in line for ten to fifteen minutes for a glimpse inside the small temple inside the echo wall while the rest of the crew decided that a rest in the shade wasn’t such a bad idea. From there we walked through and over the round altar and watched as people took turns standing directly in the middle and apparently praying for something before stepping down for the next person to do the same. Then it was out the exit take a left and walk into the Dai restaurant.
The Dai restaurant was quite possibly the best food I’ve had in China so far, we had a huge spread with rice, pork, beef, vegetables, chicken; some mild some spicy, simply delicious. We all commented how it seemed to be designed kind of like the rainforest café in the Mall of America, there were “trees” holding up the floor above us. (I would say the second floor but our floor was two floors below ground level) Unfortunately with dad and I usually bringing up the rear (not because we’re slow, because we try to be polite) we got the last remaining seats which left us with our backs to the stage. The show was a mixture of dancing, a flute player, and a guy singing. The dancing reminded me a lot of the various dancing acts that perform at the Greek Food Festival in Little Rock, the flute was really good, and the singer seemed a little on the feminine side. (o.k. he was flaming)
After lunch it was off to the CCAA and BLAS, two offices I have never had to chance to visit and was really excited about it. At the CCAA we were able to look into the Archives Management Department and see stacks and stacks of files on the cabinets waiting to be reviewed, (don’t worry I took lots of pictures) I don’t know the different agencies color coding but I was able to make out one “Great Wall” package. I also took a look into the document receiving and sending department where the dossier’s are received and was actually able to get a photo of them signing for a package. (I don’t know for sure what it was, but what kind of packages get sent there)
I probably spent most of my time watching and taking pictures of the matching room, it was really hard not to get emotional standing there knowing that this was where so many perfect matches are made. Especially knowing that my eldest was matched to my wife and I here and they did quite possibly the most perfect match by getting us together. There’s no way words could express the feelings that come over you when you’re standing there knowing what a great jog they did for me and so many others.
After our tour of CCAA we went up a few floors and entered the BLAS offices where the kids were able to learn some calligraphy and history of China. The offices were very nice but all the activities there were geared for the kids so dad and I just sat back and enjoyed watching the kids learn and enjoy their time there.
Since we were running late we didn’t get a chance to go to the pearl market, so our guide has us visit another market that was closer to the CCAA and BLAS building. This market was very similar to the pearl market but not quite the same; it was a little smaller and less competition so I think the deals were not as forthcoming as I received from the pearl market on our last visit to China. We only had 30 to 45 minutes at the market so we made a b-line for the pearl floor because dad and I both had orders for that particular item. The time it took both of us to haggle down to a decent price and for the workers to finish the work made our shopping there limited to the pearls. Oh well, maybe we can take a side trip to the pearl market later.
After dinner it was back to the hotel for some sleep cause tomorrow we fly to Kunming and the most important part of this journey starts.
Day three starts with a trip to the Beijing Tianhou Silk Co. Ltd., yes, a government run silk factory, but I love them because you learn quite a lot while you’re there. (just don’t buy anything there) We were taught all about the slim worms life cycle, how fast they grow, how they make the silk, and how it’s harvested, really was quite interesting. Walked through the showroom and if I had the money and space I would have walked out with a silk bed spread, the thickest king size was only 860 RMB. Now that only included the bedding, you needed to buy a silk cover for the bedding to slide into, and those were quite a bit more expensive. All we could see were bedding items and I was getting quite amazed that a silk factory would only make up silk bedding. So after about 20 minutes walking through the bedding section we were led through a curtain to another room where all the other silk goods were for sale, such as; robes, shirts, suites, ties, boxers, lingerie, jackets, socks, rugs, and so on and so on. If I were still working in a funeral home and had need of wearing dress shirts every day I would have bought two or three there, they looked and felt fantastic. (I know I said don’t buy anything here, but these shirts were great!)
From the silk factory we all loaded up on the bus and made our way across town to the amazing Temple of Heaven. Even though I’ve been here before I was still impressed by the beauty and size of the temple as well as the grounds surrounding it. Even though it was a Monday (it was Monday wasn’t it) there were a lot of people there, we found out from our guide that the elderly get to pay about 50 RMB for a years pass to all the parks in Beijing. When we entered there were a group of older people dancing and a few quickly came up and asked for dance partners from our group, the children quickly jumped right in and learned a few dance moves from these amazing elders.
It’s only been three years since my last visit to the Temple of Heaven and it has lost absolutely none of its grandeur in that time. The architecture is amazing, the art work fantastic, and the stone carving is so great that I could sit and marvel at it for days and days. The last time I was here the echo wall was under construction but this time dad and I were able to go in and see what we could hear. (get it “echo” wall) There were just far too many people to get the echo wall to work properly so I settled for just having a look and sitting in the shade, cause man it was one hot mug today. Dad stood in line for ten to fifteen minutes for a glimpse inside the small temple inside the echo wall while the rest of the crew decided that a rest in the shade wasn’t such a bad idea. From there we walked through and over the round altar and watched as people took turns standing directly in the middle and apparently praying for something before stepping down for the next person to do the same. Then it was out the exit take a left and walk into the Dai restaurant.
The Dai restaurant was quite possibly the best food I’ve had in China so far, we had a huge spread with rice, pork, beef, vegetables, chicken; some mild some spicy, simply delicious. We all commented how it seemed to be designed kind of like the rainforest café in the Mall of America, there were “trees” holding up the floor above us. (I would say the second floor but our floor was two floors below ground level) Unfortunately with dad and I usually bringing up the rear (not because we’re slow, because we try to be polite) we got the last remaining seats which left us with our backs to the stage. The show was a mixture of dancing, a flute player, and a guy singing. The dancing reminded me a lot of the various dancing acts that perform at the Greek Food Festival in Little Rock, the flute was really good, and the singer seemed a little on the feminine side. (o.k. he was flaming)
After lunch it was off to the CCAA and BLAS, two offices I have never had to chance to visit and was really excited about it. At the CCAA we were able to look into the Archives Management Department and see stacks and stacks of files on the cabinets waiting to be reviewed, (don’t worry I took lots of pictures) I don’t know the different agencies color coding but I was able to make out one “Great Wall” package. I also took a look into the document receiving and sending department where the dossier’s are received and was actually able to get a photo of them signing for a package. (I don’t know for sure what it was, but what kind of packages get sent there)
I probably spent most of my time watching and taking pictures of the matching room, it was really hard not to get emotional standing there knowing that this was where so many perfect matches are made. Especially knowing that my eldest was matched to my wife and I here and they did quite possibly the most perfect match by getting us together. There’s no way words could express the feelings that come over you when you’re standing there knowing what a great jog they did for me and so many others.
After our tour of CCAA we went up a few floors and entered the BLAS offices where the kids were able to learn some calligraphy and history of China. The offices were very nice but all the activities there were geared for the kids so dad and I just sat back and enjoyed watching the kids learn and enjoy their time there.
Since we were running late we didn’t get a chance to go to the pearl market, so our guide has us visit another market that was closer to the CCAA and BLAS building. This market was very similar to the pearl market but not quite the same; it was a little smaller and less competition so I think the deals were not as forthcoming as I received from the pearl market on our last visit to China. We only had 30 to 45 minutes at the market so we made a b-line for the pearl floor because dad and I both had orders for that particular item. The time it took both of us to haggle down to a decent price and for the workers to finish the work made our shopping there limited to the pearls. Oh well, maybe we can take a side trip to the pearl market later.
After dinner it was back to the hotel for some sleep cause tomorrow we fly to Kunming and the most important part of this journey starts.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Trip to Orphanage: 8-12-09
Good evening all!
I spoke with Bryan this AM, right before they were heading to bed. They visited the orphanage today. God answered our prayers, and all the families were allowed to view their child's file. The families were not allowed to take pictures of the items in the files or write any information down. The information contained there matched the information we had on "S". Bryan also saw 4 pictures we'd never seen before. It was bitter sweet to know that there are more pictures of our baby but to not see them. . . SIGH! Bryan stated that the letter and photo albums we'd sent, previously were also in "S"'s file. I'm happy for that! Bryan was able to meet "S"'s nannies and the lady that checked on her weekly while she was in foster care.
They toured the orphanage, and were allowed to take many pictures. Bryan took a picture of every child he saw just in case that child either has a family waiting to bring them home, or will in the future. Pictures of your child are like precious jewels. These are glimpses into their lives before they join your family.
Something funny. . . when we traveled to receive "S", the director and assistant director were both females. The director is the same woman, but there is a newer assistant director. The new assistant director is MALE! Bryan took female watches (THANK YOU to my cousin, Bridget!!!!). In China, it is considered rude to open a gift in front of the person who gave you the gift. I'd love to see the look on the assistant director's face when he opens a beautiful, pink faced watch! Oh well! We tried. He can just give it to his wife. :-D
No new pictures or update from him yet, as he was tired. Tommy was asleep before Bryan and I got off of our skype phone call, and Bryan was following him as soon as we hung up.
As I am typing this post, it's after 11 PM, which makes it just after noon on Thursday, August 13. The group left the hotel at 8 AM to go to Anning, one of the foster villages. It's a 2 hour drive, so they should have had 2 hours there so far. Praying for a photo album from the foster family and lots and lots of answers to our many questions! I hope they enjoy their gifts and the photo album we sent for them.
I'm anxious about what is going on in Anning. I've got a sick feeling in my stomach. . .just nerves. I know I'm going to cry when I hear about this day. Oh, how I wish we'd all been able to go. I'm just so thankful that Bryan was able to go. This group made history yesterday and today! I pray that it opens many, many doors for the families that follow and for the families that take their child back for a birthland tour.
Many blessings to you all!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Day 2 by Bryan
Here's another post written by Bryan:
Day 2 is over but not quite in the books, so here goes.
The Marriott still has the same amazing breakfast, so no need to dilly dally with all of that again. (any way it will just make my wife more angry with me)
Day 2 was huge, big, phenomenal, and dare I say great, yes it was great, why, because this was the day dad and I made the fantastic climb all the way up to the Great Wall of China. We visited a section different from my first two trips here; this section is called the Mutianyu section and seems to be out in the middle of nowhere. The other two sections of the wall I have had the pleasure of climbing were pretty much right along the interstate while this one consisted of driving along a two lane road for at least an hour passing small houses, farm land, more houses, a store or two, a long stretch of nothing and then more houses and farms. The drive out was actually very nice, I thoroughly enjoy getting to see the non tourist side of China so I spent a lot of the time snapping pictures out the bus window during the drive. Once there the families were given the option of paying 50 RMB to take the cable car to the wall or walking up for free, dad and I decided to walk it. Now here I use the phrase “walk” VERY loosely as this was no stroll through a park, quite the opposite, it was a climb up steep stairs which were so numerous it would be like trying to count the stars. I have to give my dad some major props, he held in and after five or six breathers we were both standing on top of the Great Wall of China. I still get an amazing feeling standing atop a structure that was built 2000 years ago and holds so much history; I only hope my kids are as amazed as I still am when it’s their turn to visit.
Unfortunately, the day was extremely overcast so the views from the wall were a little disappointing, but the wall itself didn’t let us down in the slightest. Not many choose to climb so there were only about 20 to 30 other people on the section of wall we were on, so it almost felt like our own little private little tour. The guard towers on the Mutianyu section are numbered, the cable car take you to tower 15, the climb splits so you can go to tower 10 or 8, and dad and I took the road less traveled to number 8. The first time I climbed up into one of the towers I learned, quite painfully, that there is a low ceiling in the stair well (my head crashing into it can be heard on my home movie), so this climb had me a lot more aware. Again due to the overcast skies the view was lacking, but from what I could see my imagination filled in a beautiful view that will stretch across the horizon for miles and miles.
Coming back down is always a lot easier than climbing, and dad again was fantastic, and never once wished for a ride in the cable car. He said it was a good thing for his heart and wanted to tell and show everyone that he climbed up to a manmade structure that can be seen from space, he has climbed up the Great Wall of China.
Back at the bottom the venders that hardly said a word during our passing them during ore trip up now starting trying to hock their wears on us almost forcefully. (this is really no big surprise if you’ve been to China before but I’m not sure dad was expecting it to this degree) We did stop at the first store and bought some shirts that said “I climbed the Great Wall” because I mean we were there, we climbed the wall, and now we can say “been there, done that, got the t-shirt” and actually mean it. Having a sack with shirts already purchased and the nice little phrase “boo yao” got us the rest of the way down with little hassel. In the midst of all the vendors is a small opening to the right and that was where our group went and had a wonderful lunch right at the base of the mountain.
After lunch we drove past the Olympic arena in order for a photo opportunity out the bus window, but just as we were getting close the rain began coming down in buckets. We all took photos but the rain kept any of them from being any good, it sure made me glad that we went there the day before. As we made our way past the water cube our guide told us that it would probably be crowded as it was the first anniversary of the start of the Olympic competition and that’s when it hit me, dad and I were here on the first anniversary of the opening ceremony. It took me a minute to let all of that set in and I really had wished I realized it when we were here yesterday as I think it would have made it that much more impressive.
After the failed photo op at the water cube we were now off to take part in a tea ceremony. Running in from the rain we all took our places around a large table and watched as a wonderful young lady told us all about the art of drinking tea. We sampled five or six different types of tea, pure being one of them again, and I think dad found two or three that he would be willing to take home and drink again. We didn’t buy anything at the tea house but we all got a kick from the Chenglish written on the sign over the door on the way out “Be careful, don’t be slip, please”. You gotta love direct literal translation.
Dinner this even was across the street from the hotel and once again didn’t disappoint in the slightest. The most memorable portion of the meal was the desert, it was sweet potato slices covered is some type of crunchy shell that was a little sticky but held in the heat of the potato being cooked. I think everyone agreed that they could have brought out another helping of those.
After the climb up the wall and a great dinner I had to fight to stay up long enough to talk to my wife and kids before falling asleep probably before my head hit the pillow, hopefully day 3 will be a little less of a workout.
Day 1 by Bryan
I have finally heard from Bryan again! The following is a post he sent me about their first day in China. Hope you enjoy! He also sent me some pictures. I will post those as I can this evening. Battling a headache, and having to share the computer with the girls.
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Well here we are, our first full day in the Peoples Republic of China, and the wonders of the country never seem to cease.
We’re staying at the Marriott Beijing West and absolutely love the room. The beds are either comfortable or we’ve been so tired that we haven’t really noticed and on entering the room there’s a hallway prior to the beds that can be closed off in case one of us wants to stay up on the computer. I’ll try to get some pictures of the room later so I can post them here. The breakfast here is fantastic, it’s buffet and includes eggs (scrambled and fried), bacon, sausage, breakfast fried rice, vegetables, cereal, fruit (and pineapple was on there but I didn’t eat too much this time), and waffles, etc. etc. Needless to say my dad and I have yet to go hungry in the morning. They also have a great black tea and a green tea that we get with breakfast where words cannot describe the wonderful flavor.
Our first trek outside of the hotel was a cab ride to Tiananmen Square which came off with no incidents and a fair price of 29 RMB. (that comes to about $4.50 for a distance of about 7 miles, not too bad) It’s really hard to describe Tiananmen Square, I’ve seen it in pictures and on the T.V., but you can’t quite grasp the size of it until you see it in person. We walk up and it is completely packed with people due to it being a Saturday so we didn’t get to see the whole expanse at once. There’s security you have to go through and get your bags scanned before you can enter. Then you walk out of the tent and among the throngs of people eating, walking, talking, and doing quite a number of different things all in this huge open area. I still didn’t appreciate the sheer size of the square until about half way across when I stopped and looked around. Once in the middle of Tiananmen Square, when you take that moment to stop and look around you can feel the importance of it to the country and its people as well as take in the grand scale while trying to look from one side to the other and end to end. It was quite simply amazing.
From there we crossed under the street and walked through Tiananmen Gate (you’ve probably seen the picture of Tiananmen Gate, it’s the one with the LARGE picture of Chairman Mao on it) on our way to the Forbidden City. Once through the gate we were asked by three or four complete strangers if we wanted them to be our guides and take us through the Forbidden City, of course we said no, we just wanted to walk in and take in all the sights cause we could read about the historical part of it. Well, it’s a good 100 to 200 yards from Tiananmen Gate to the actual entrance of the Forbidden City and it was almost elbow to elbow with people, all the combined body heat probably had raised the area by 10 degrees. We get to the other end, the actual entrance of the Forbidden City, and see the ticket line stretching completely through the serpentine gates and notice that the line is moving at a snail’s pace. Needless to say, that was as close as dad and I made to the Forbidden City, but what we did see was beautiful.
From there it was a quick 5 block walk due East to wangfujing to show dad where we stayed on our previous visits and take a look at the night market. (wanted to try a grasshopper or starfish) We walked through the Oriental Plaza mall in order to get some well deserved air conditioner and stopped off for a drink at the Dairy Queen. From there it was back up and another stop at an arts and crafts multilevel shopping center. We both found a lot of things we wanted but decided it best to wait and see if we can find the same item at the fantastic Pearl Market. Further North we next visited a children’s store where the best item I found was a couple of puzzles, one of Mickey and Minnie as Emperor and Empress in a temple with Chinese scrolls hanging around them and another of a Chinese lady. (again didn’t buy anything with a visit to the Pearl Market coming soon) We finally arrive at the Wangfujing Night Market but seeing how it’s only 1 p.m. there is nothing going on, hence the name “Night Market”. (well duh!)
Our next trip was back to the subway station with a little side trip to McDonalds, I know what you’re thinking “you can have McDonalds here”, which is true, but I can only get Pineapple pies at the McDonalds here. Taking a break dad and I both drink down a soda and chow on a delicious, hot, moist, pineapple pie. (yum yum yum)
Taking the subway in China is really no big deal, you just have to know where you’re going and what direction the train you’re getting on is going. With that done the station announcements are in Chinese and English, there’s a station indicator over the door, and a subway map on the back of your ticket. We decided to go see the Olympic grounds which took three transfers, five flights of stairs, fighting to get into and out of overcrowded cars, and a cost of 2 rmb. It was some of most fun yet.
We walked out of the subway station to and amazing courtyard made to resemble an ancient Chinese hutong, simply beautiful. Turning left from the station you look up and see the tower that the Olympic flame was on during the games and it is gigantic. From there it’s just a few stairs up and we got our first glimpse of the famous “birds nest”, and all I can say is that it is awe inspiring. We walked around the grounds taking various pictures of the Olympic flame tower, the birds nest, and all the little things around like the ground lights (which are shaped like the birds nest), and the keep off grass signs (which actually read “the grass is smiling at you please detour”. As we got closer to the birds nest the water cube slowly came into view along the right side so my attention quickly shifted over there due to the fact that Olympic history was made there by team USA. After many, many pictures we decided it was time to head back and call an end to our sightseeing excursion for the day, and since the closest subway station to our hotel is over half a mile down an eight lane road we got a cab and made it back to the front door in less than an hour.
Wrapping up the day included a trip to the Hard Rock Café, (not my choice, we went with some travel mates) and had a great time visiting with new friends while listening to the Hard Rock’s cover band do quite an amazing job on stage.
Good night from the P.R.C. and I will hopefully have more tomorrow.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Heading to Kunming, Yunnan Province
Well, I've not heard anything from Bryan since the AM of the 9th (our time, evening of the 9th China time). He was exhausted from their Great Wall tour, and hopefully from shopping that afternoon. They are starting their Tuesday (11th). After breakfast they are scheduled to fly to Kunming.
Kunming is the capital of Yunnan province. Yunnan province is the furthest SW province in China, and sits on top of Laos and Vietnam. It is called "Eternal Spring", as the temps rarely get above the 70s or below the 40s. Yunnan grows 85-90% of all of China's flowers. China has 56 different minority groups. In Yunnan alone there are 36 different minority groups represented. Yunnan province was the home of the US Flying Tigers unit from WWII. (A film is currently being made about the Flying Tigers.) Kunming is lush and beautiful!! I can't wait to go back to visit again!! The majority of people are very nice. We got more strange looks while in Kunming than we have any where else in China. Not only were we some of the hand full of Americans in the entire city of millions, we also had S with us. Two overweight Americans with a Chinese child was not something these people see on a daily basis. :-D
There is nothing tourist-wise scheduled for them on the 11th day. Bryan will probably take advantage of the free afternoon/evening to show Tommy around Green Lake and then head to Wal-Mart for some Dove candy bars. We're not for sure what they're called in China, but they're similar to a Crunch bar. They are the delicious Dove chocolate, though, and about 1000X better than a crunch bar! I'm looking forward to the ones he brings home for the girls and I! (My mouth is watering just thinking about the taste.)
The 12th, is a big day. It is the day they get to tour the orphanage. Bryan is suppose to get to meet the nannies that took care of S the short time she lived there. He has a photo album for the orphanage from the past year, as we've been lucky enough to have others take photo albums to the orphanage for us. (A HUGE Thank you to all that have done this for our family!) We are praying, and ask that you pray too, that Bryan and the other families will be able to view their child's or children's file(s) at the orphanage. We so desperately want to have more pictures of S, especially of her before her surgery. Then on the 13th, Bryan gets to meet S's foster family to learn about the 10+ months she lived with them. We would also like to request your prayers for the other families. Some of the other children's foster families had not been found as of the 7th. We don't want anyone to miss the opporunity to meet them!! THANK YOU!!!!!!
Please note: we do not plan to share much, if any, of what Bryan learns from the orphanage or S's foster family. We believe that this information is too personal to share with the world, and if or when S wants to share that information, then it will be her choice.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Same Pics - Larger though!
Here are some of the same pictures, just in a larger formate. I don't know what happened when I saved them the first time. :-( These are the ones I was able to save in a larger formate.
Still haven't gotten a post from Bryan with a description of what they've done. Monday, August 10, they are visiting the Temple of Heaven, shopping at the Pearl Market, visiting CCAA, and taking culture classes at BLAS. (For those non-China families: CCAA= Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs; BLAS= Bridge of Love Adoption Services)
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Pictures from August 8, 2009
The Bird's Nest - Olympic Stadium
The Water Cube - Olympic Aquatic Center
Tianamen Square
Tianamen Square
Tommy at Tianamen Square
Tianamen Square
Tianamen Square
Good evening,
Once again this is Kim. Bryan only sent me pictures before they headed to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Hopefully, he'll email me something in his own words to describe their adventures so far.
This is Bryan's first time to go to this section of the Wall, and he was excited to explore more of this amazing, ancient structure. As this is Tommy's first trip to China, he was excited to be able to see two things he had to see while in Beijing: 1) Tianamen Square and 2) the Great Wall.
After visiting the GW, they had the afternoon free before meeting back with the group for dinner. They're planning on going to the Buy Now store this afternoon.
I realized as I was saving these pictures to our hard drive that they were at the Olympic Stadiums EXACTLY one year to the day of the Opening Ceremonies!!!! How cool is that?! I don't know if they went inside any of the buildings or just walked around the grounds. I'll be glad to get a written update, because when we've talked the girls have taken up the majority of the time.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
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