Flying Home

Hong Kong's airport is easy to navigate but hard to order food in. We didn't have time for breakfast before checking in, so we thought we'd just eat airport food. That's a problem if you don't really understand the menu. We ended up with enough breakfast to feed the whole family. I ate noodles with barbecue pork and didn't touch the soup. Raymond and Annalyn had a bucket of congee with fish intestines and gills. Yummm!

When we got on the airplane, I immediately apologized to the business man who had to sit with us. I could just imagine what terror he must have felt seeing a new adopted toddler nestling in beside him for a fourteen hour flight. But, doesn't the Lord have this all planned out? The man was pleased to be sitting with us, as he brought home his second daughter from China lass than a year ago. And, another man behind us jumped in with questions, as he and his wife have been considering international adoption. I gave him a card, and I hope his wife is following along. (Hello there!) Perhaps another family is starting this journey.

The 747 home was SO much more comfortable than the 777 we took to get there. We went economy both ways, but there is an enormous difference. If you're going, try to stay out of the 777 sardine can.

Descending toward home we spotted the massive cross at Lifechurch. What a sweet sight that was! It took us a while to get off the plane, go through the first emigration line, go through the second (at which one Annalyn became an American I'm not sure)and get checked through customs again. When we finally headed toward baggage claim, we saw the sweetest sight ever. First, I spied a big batch of balloons and banners. Then, I saw our precious boys coming out to hug us. How long we've waited for those hugs! Then, grandparents and friends were there snapping photos and weeping.

Annalyn went right to her new brothers. She went right to her new grandparents. She seemed to recognized them. The boys started arguing over who got to sit by her in the van, and they still are. Makes me smile that their fights are over who GETS to ride beside baby sister.

Hong Kong

I didn't have Internet service in Hong Kong, so I'm kind of catching up. We saved quite a lot of money by taking the train instead of flying from Guangzhou. The train station was easy to navigate and the train itself was comfortable and enjoyable. Annalyn played stacking cups in the floor while we caught glimpses of rural areas and smaller towns. We saw farmers in big straw hats working the rice fields. We saw fruit and vegetable plants in every crevice and hillside possible. There isn't any wasted land for wild flowers or weeds. Even the space under the railroad tracks is farmed.

The only thing I had really been nervous about during the whole trip was getting from the train to the hotel. Neither the adoption agency nor the travel agency had been willing or able to book a hotel for us. The one they recommend is attached to the airport and costs an arm and a leg. I was not willing to pay for that one, but I wanted somewhere decent to stay that one night there. I finally had called the local AAA agent and she booked a fine sounding hotel on the same island as the train station. I had the name of the hotel in English only and did not have directions or a map. We gathered our luggage (pack light) and headed out the door toward the taxi stand. I was praying for help getting to the hotel. I could just imagine wandering all over the island with a Chinese speaking taxi driver, and I was begging God for guidance. As we approached the door, I scanned the buildings around us. Right across the road on the side of a huge mall were the words 'Harbor Plaza Metropolis.' Stunned, I commented, 'Honey, that's the name of our hotel.' We crossed the breezeway over eight lanes of traffic and strolled through a huge mall and ended up in our hotel. Another miracle! I wasn't looking for the hotel, and the sign wasn't obvious, but I noticed it just in time. We have had everything we needed when we needed it.

Almost Ready to Leave

This will be our last day on the island. Early tomorrow we'll take the train to Hong Kong and stay a night there before heading home. For us, Friday will last 37 hours. I miss my boys so much I can hardly stand it.

We went to the Guangzhou zoo yesterday. It's a nice, little zoo. The cages are old style, but the animals are well taken care of. The best habitat is reserved for the animal of the year. This happens to be the year of the tiger, so a couple of the tigers have luxurious accommodations. I wonder what they do in the year of the rat.

Annalyn slept through the zoo trip and most of her immigration appointment. She did wake up in time for the oath, which was not really an oath for her but for us. We had to swear that all the information was true. We are now officially done. We have to wait for her visa to arrive today, then we can start home.

It has been quite a thing to watch these girls change from being orphans to being daughters. In the orphanage, a nanny has only a few minutes to feed each child. The children learn to swallow quickly and not slow down to chew. They are fed congee with bits of chicken or vegetable for nutrition. Congee is slimy rice mush that slithers down the throat. It's an efficient way for one nanny to feed 20 children. It's a feeding frenzy and the children know that they must move fast to not go hungry.

Annalyn has figured out that we have plenty of food and that she can eat her fill. She (and the others) eats an enormous amount of food. She will try anything and prefers spicy vegetables. She is feeding herself some, although we are still spoon feeding her like a baby. We are also nursing her with a bottle for bonding time. In the orphanage, babies are handed bottles in their cribs. In a birth family, babies are nursed with momma looking into their eyes and smiling at them. We are bottle feeding that way in order to make that connection in her mind.

Hotels on Shamian

 

There are two hotels in Guangzhou on Shamian Island that make their bread and butter off American adoptive families. The British built White Swan is the most popular. It is quite elaborate with a fancy swimming pool, a waterfall, waiters in black tie, jade statues, and a large play room sponsored by Mattel. Mattel also gives a special Barbie doll to each family who stays there. She is a regular blond Barbie carrying a Chinese baby. The French built Victory is quite nice but more plain and comfortable. It has larger rooms, soft beds, a modern crib, and drinkable tap water. There's no Barbie, but it's $300 cheaper. Of course, I had chosen to stay at the Victory.

When we arrived in Guangzhou, Jason met us, put us in a van, and said to check in at the White Swan. But wait! We have reservations at the Victory. Opps! Agency had made a mistake. Stay at the White Swan tonight and we'll work it out tomorrow. Upon check in, we were assigned a room on the executive floor at 'no extra charge.' Good thing since we had paid for the other hotel. So, one night in the White Swan was fun, but packing up to move the next day was not. We might be the only people to stay at both hotels in the same trip. We do have to walk a few blocks for every group meeting and outing takes place at the White Swan, but I would take the Victory over the White Swan anytime. You just don't know what a luxury it is to turn on the water and brush your teeth or take a drink without boiling it first. We are so spoiled in America. By the way, that one night in the White Swan got Annalyn the Barbie. Better warn the GI Joes, boys!

There are so many traditions surrounding lady bug adoption. One tradition involves setting all the new children on one of the many red couches at the White Swan and trying to get a photo without too many of them crying. Look! No tears! Not one babe in our group cried. Well, you can see Peyton slept through it, but no one cried. Aren't they all so beautiful?

Have a Duck Foot, Momma

We went on the traditional Pearl River cruise tonight to see the lights of Guangzhou. A buffet was served with many Chinese dishes. Our guide Jason had dared me to try a duck foot, so I put one on my plate just in case I got brave enough. I sat down and put Annalyn on my lap. She was overjoyed when she saw the duck foot. Maybe they serve them at the orphanage because they are cheap protein and kind of like chew toys. So, she grabbed it. Raymond pulled out the camera to get a picture of her gnawing on the foot. I laughed really hard with my mouth wide open. Can you see where this is going?

Shamian Island

Annalyn and Daddy went to the hotel for a nap. Friends had gone on a tour of a Buddhist temple. I was strolling the island by myself. I was in a shop when I suddenly heard all kinds of racket, mostly drums. I asked the shop keeper what was happening. He said that there is always a street celebration for the opening of a new business and that a restaurant is opening down the street, I ran to see. It was raining, so the crowd lined one side of the street with umbrellas while the performers filled the street and stage in front of the new restaurant. I saw lion dancers, a puppet looking guy, many drummers, and a rooster man playing a saxophone type instrument. I could only stay about half an hour as we had a meeting to attend. I had to leave when the women came out to play the stringed instruments. I would have loved to stay all afternoon.

At night, we wander the island. It's maybe a mile long and three blocks wide. There are police everywhere. Quite a few people, mostly shop keepers, live on the island. There is a small school, a Protestant and a Catholic church, a few convenience stores, several restaurants (pricey ones by Chinese standards), stuff and junk shops, a wedding photography studio (brides dress in the studio's gowns to have portraits taken all over the island), the two five-star hotels that specialize in housing adoptive families, and stone paved common areas for playing and dancing. This would be a beautiful place to vacation.

It is so much the opposite of Shanghai. I cannot come up with words to express how congested and crowded Shanghai is. I keep thinking of the cranberry juice commercials where men stand in a flooded cranberry field in their waders and the cranberries float side by side gently pushing each other because there is no space for them to spread apart. The crowd of people is like that. The cars and bikes and pedestrians are like that. Everywhere is bumper to bumper, shoulder to shoulder, bumper to shoulder. It seems the only traffic law is stopping for a red light. Although there are barely inches between vehicles (and humans) we saw only three wrecks, and we noticed that none of the cars are driven with dents. Everyone moves in sync with everyone else. I don't understand it, and I'm so glad to be on the island now.

Sunday at Church

Annalyn heard the gospel preached in both her languages today. We attended the Christian Church on the island. It is a simply decorated, gorgeous, 1800's building with about 200 citizens and a dozen or so adoptive families. I had heard through reading others' blogs that a shop keeper named Judy attends there, so I looked her up and found out the time for the service. The message was about sacrifice – both Jesus sacrifice on the cross and our daily sacrifices in serving Him. It was preached in Mandarin and translated into English. (Sunday School class is conducted in Cantonese.) It was beautiful to sing familiar worship songs in difference languages at the same time. We are so glad Annalyn's first church service could be here, and she got to hear John 3:16 in her native language.