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
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