As mentioned, we approach the capital of Jiangxi province, Nanchang, approximately 40 minute ride from the airport. The buildings I saw were on the outskirts of the city and I anticipate the buildings in the city of Nanchang to be filled with the people and everyone bustling about on the streets. As we approach old Nanchang where our 5 star hotel, Jin Feng Hotel, is located, I grow more silently concerned as our surroundings look very grim. The worry is overshadowed by the event of Gotcha Day/Gotcha Hour which will happen in 1.5 hours!
After check-in, which is handled by our tour guides Evelyn & Leigh, we are instructed to go to our rooms and wait for our luggage to be delivered, then report to the 2nd floor meeting room to go over the expectations for the Gotcha moment.
We are eager to get to our rooms and get the housekeeping over with. Once our luggage arrives, we each arm ourselves with "wet ones" and quickly sanitize the commonly-touched areas in our room ie phone, handles, light switches. We are trying hard not to get sick! And of course still nesting. Finally its almost 4 pm and we head to the meeting room.
The meeting room is set up classroom style and on the table at every two chairs is a box of rice cereal and our itinerary for the week. We all take our seats and look around smiling at each other in a "can you believe this is really happening" way. Evelyn begins to review the itinerary and expectations for the Gotcha Moment and most importantly, the caring requirements of our babies for the next few days as we become acquainted with each other. Evelyn says we have to hurry because the babies are coming earlier than the original expected arrival time of 5pm. My entire body begins to weaken.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The Journey
My apologies in blogging delays but life as been a whirlwind since we arrived in Hong Kong at midnight last Friday.
Saturday our groug gathered at 8am for a 1/2 day guided tour of the city followed by a dim sum lunch - we had probably 6 hours of sleep since we started our trip on Thursday morning - the same day of the second earthquake off the coast of Japan, our 1st destination - gulp. Fortunately, no tsunami this time and our flight departed as scheduled.
Hong Kong is fabulous! Beautiful, colorful, clean. We enjoyed a great tour and then walked to the harbour for a laser light show held nightly at 8pm. We took a picture of the famous Bruce Lee statue and drove by Jackie Chan's seaside home. So much luxury in Hong Kong - everyone was wearing an expensive label of some sort. We noted the many similarities to our own Atlanta. Big city, multi-cultural, teenagers in skinny jeans absorbed in the i-Phones.
Sunday we check out of our hotel and with much anticipation boarded our in China airline flight to Nanchang. We had an 1.5 hour flight and then we would take a bus to our 5-star hotel in the heart of historic old Nanchang. Nanchang was once the capital of China until one of the Emperor's decided to build a home in Peking, now Beijing, aka The Forbidden Palace. Nanchang is the capital of the Jiangxi province and our Reese is from Suichuan County located 3 hours south. Nanchang is home to 5 million people, I believe.
We landed in a remote, small airport and upon landing I head straight for the ladies room prior to immigration and come face-to-face with my first "squatty" toilet! I was informed of this standard toilet in China years ago but was told we Americans would be warned to take care of business in advance so to avoid the encounter. Fortunately, there was also a western toilet of the 2 available. Unfortunately, it was occupied - for awhile... A line was forming behind me of other ladies and I waved them on to the squatty until I thought "oh what the heck." Went in, closed the door, looked at this rather intimidating porcelain-banked hole in the floor and walked right back out...I waited what felt like an eternity for the opportunity of using the western toilet and received a few snickers from the other ladies at my rather obvious objection in pursuing this Chinese experience.
So up to now, everything has been so perfunctary that it overtakes the acknowledgement of what today is really about. We've been on the schedule of meet here, do this, hand papers over, complete more documents, stand, walk, go there- marching around like infantry under orders from a drill sargeant.
Finally we board the bus to take us to our hotel! I survey our surroundings on the bus ride. Much different from Hong Kong I notice but we are 40 minutes away from Nanchang. I see a lot of incomplete buildings. They look like housing starts but not completed. I saw this in Jamaica too - no big deal - and I look forward to seeing the big city of Nanchang and continue to gaze out the bus window on the Chinese landscape. I have read so many books on China in these past 5 years and I am enjoying matching my visualizations to this reality.
Saturday our groug gathered at 8am for a 1/2 day guided tour of the city followed by a dim sum lunch - we had probably 6 hours of sleep since we started our trip on Thursday morning - the same day of the second earthquake off the coast of Japan, our 1st destination - gulp. Fortunately, no tsunami this time and our flight departed as scheduled.
Hong Kong is fabulous! Beautiful, colorful, clean. We enjoyed a great tour and then walked to the harbour for a laser light show held nightly at 8pm. We took a picture of the famous Bruce Lee statue and drove by Jackie Chan's seaside home. So much luxury in Hong Kong - everyone was wearing an expensive label of some sort. We noted the many similarities to our own Atlanta. Big city, multi-cultural, teenagers in skinny jeans absorbed in the i-Phones.
Sunday we check out of our hotel and with much anticipation boarded our in China airline flight to Nanchang. We had an 1.5 hour flight and then we would take a bus to our 5-star hotel in the heart of historic old Nanchang. Nanchang was once the capital of China until one of the Emperor's decided to build a home in Peking, now Beijing, aka The Forbidden Palace. Nanchang is the capital of the Jiangxi province and our Reese is from Suichuan County located 3 hours south. Nanchang is home to 5 million people, I believe.
We landed in a remote, small airport and upon landing I head straight for the ladies room prior to immigration and come face-to-face with my first "squatty" toilet! I was informed of this standard toilet in China years ago but was told we Americans would be warned to take care of business in advance so to avoid the encounter. Fortunately, there was also a western toilet of the 2 available. Unfortunately, it was occupied - for awhile... A line was forming behind me of other ladies and I waved them on to the squatty until I thought "oh what the heck." Went in, closed the door, looked at this rather intimidating porcelain-banked hole in the floor and walked right back out...I waited what felt like an eternity for the opportunity of using the western toilet and received a few snickers from the other ladies at my rather obvious objection in pursuing this Chinese experience.
So up to now, everything has been so perfunctary that it overtakes the acknowledgement of what today is really about. We've been on the schedule of meet here, do this, hand papers over, complete more documents, stand, walk, go there- marching around like infantry under orders from a drill sargeant.
Finally we board the bus to take us to our hotel! I survey our surroundings on the bus ride. Much different from Hong Kong I notice but we are 40 minutes away from Nanchang. I see a lot of incomplete buildings. They look like housing starts but not completed. I saw this in Jamaica too - no big deal - and I look forward to seeing the big city of Nanchang and continue to gaze out the bus window on the Chinese landscape. I have read so many books on China in these past 5 years and I am enjoying matching my visualizations to this reality.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Paperwork and Wait Again
So after the thrill of Match Day - a day I spent literally falling in love with an emailed photo of our daughter - what happens next? Its kinda like scoring the winning touchdown after 5 long years of not being a contender, the "high" from the victory is suddenly overridden by paperwork and deadlines and another "queue" to wait in - SIGH.
Some of the highlights since Match Day:
1) Found recent photos of our daughter's orphanage taken last Fall through a yahoo group for families who have adopted from Suichuan (sway-chwan) SWI!
2) The orphanage appears to be very clean! The babies in the photos look very healthy!
3) The babies in the photos look like my peanut and the other 4 babies referred on 2/24 & 2/25!! We really believe we are seeing our babies - too too cool!!!!!
4) Found a pediatrician that I love! She has an extensive background in IA and adopted her 3 children from Guatemala. All of my concerns she readily addressed. Fingers crossed on this one - almost too good to be true!
5) Passport photos - check; VISA application sent - check; Agency papers notarized, copied & sent along with SWI fee - check!!
6) Purchased red envelopes & red gift bags, jelly belly jelly beans, 3 ballcaps featuring local ball teams - not finished yet - I plan to add lipsticks & chocolate, maybe a couple of ties - this gift-giving thing is a bit of a mystery so in my usual style I will probably overdo it :)
7) Purchased travel sized toiletries & Febreeze b/c someone stated in a travel forum that they took it and it was much needed to abate the constant smoke odor that permeates China
8) Read travel forum daily, review RQ 2006 forum daily, check temperature histories in Beijing, Nanchang, Guangzhou, Hong Kong
9) And wait.
10) And worry. I hate to add that one but its an anxious time - I won't list the worries but they are many & I'm holding my breath a little about everything.
11) Daydream about the future with my beautiful daughter!
But it is a beautiful Spring day and I'm publishing this post now so I can enjoy it!
Hugs!!
Some of the highlights since Match Day:
1) Found recent photos of our daughter's orphanage taken last Fall through a yahoo group for families who have adopted from Suichuan (sway-chwan) SWI!
2) The orphanage appears to be very clean! The babies in the photos look very healthy!
3) The babies in the photos look like my peanut and the other 4 babies referred on 2/24 & 2/25!! We really believe we are seeing our babies - too too cool!!!!!
4) Found a pediatrician that I love! She has an extensive background in IA and adopted her 3 children from Guatemala. All of my concerns she readily addressed. Fingers crossed on this one - almost too good to be true!
5) Passport photos - check; VISA application sent - check; Agency papers notarized, copied & sent along with SWI fee - check!!
6) Purchased red envelopes & red gift bags, jelly belly jelly beans, 3 ballcaps featuring local ball teams - not finished yet - I plan to add lipsticks & chocolate, maybe a couple of ties - this gift-giving thing is a bit of a mystery so in my usual style I will probably overdo it :)
7) Purchased travel sized toiletries & Febreeze b/c someone stated in a travel forum that they took it and it was much needed to abate the constant smoke odor that permeates China
8) Read travel forum daily, review RQ 2006 forum daily, check temperature histories in Beijing, Nanchang, Guangzhou, Hong Kong
9) And wait.
10) And worry. I hate to add that one but its an anxious time - I won't list the worries but they are many & I'm holding my breath a little about everything.
11) Daydream about the future with my beautiful daughter!
But it is a beautiful Spring day and I'm publishing this post now so I can enjoy it!
Hugs!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
