Hello Everyone!
A couple of people have been bugging me to finish writing about my trip! Once I got back to the States, life went right back to normal, meaning obnoxiously busy:) I have a free evening though, and decided not to put this off any longer...Here goes!
After saying goodbye to our guide at the Naning airport, the Cody troupe made it through security once more, and boarded an airplane headed to Guanzuo. We arrived late in the evening and didn't arrive at our hotel on Shamian Island until about 10:30 pm. Once again the place we were staying was very nice, and this time there was a door between the girl's room and the boy/adult room. This made it a lot easier to send the kids back and forth between the bedrooms when we needed to.
Shamian Island is pretty small. I don't know exactly how big it is as I am terrible at measuring distance. There were three main streets running east/west the length of the island, and smaller streets going north/south between the main streets. It is a very touristy island, with tons of little shops all selling pretty much the same things: chop sticks, fans, chops, toys, paintings, silk clothes, etc. In the center of the island is a public park surrounded by the coolest trees! They have curvy branches, and some of them have the funniest aerial roots! There was a playground for the kids, and a work out park for the adults, a fountain, and tons of bronze statues of tourists.
On our first day there I was walking around poking my nose into little shops and taking pictures of whatever caught my attention. I happened into a store selling baby clothes, baby shoes, chopsticks and purses. The girl who worked there followed me around for a bit, then finally asked me where I was from. When I told her, the questions just kept coming. She was so curious about my life in America! We chatted for quite awhile, asking about and comparing each others cultures. I had to get going, so we exchanged email addresses, and I left.
A while later I got an email from her asking if I had any free time. I did, so the next night we went out on the town! We left the island and went into the main city of Guanzuo. She took me to the mall to meet some of her friends. They were a bunch of giggly, beautiful girls, all very friendly. After that we walked around for a while then had fried rice at a small restaurant where she often eats. After that we walked a while longer, then called it a night.
I learned some interesting things from her. Her name is Ming, and she speaks pretty good English. It was interesting trying to communicate more complicated ideas sometimes as she is still building her English vocabulary, but she was really quite good! After graduating from high school Ming moved from her family home in the Yunan province to Guanzuo where she and a roommate found an apartment together. She spends six days a week working at the little shop on the island, and on her day off she likes to practice her cooking, shop, and watch TV. Her evenings are spent with friends at the bar, shopping, or watching TV at restaurant near her apartment. An interesting side note, I asked her how old one must be in order to go to a Chinese bar. Surprised, she asked me what the age is in America. When I said twenty-one, her jaw dropped. Apparently the official age in China is sixteen, but that isn't a hard and fast rule. IDs are rarely checked, and as long as one "Looks old enough" he is permitted in the bar. It's funny how laws vary from country to country...we didn't go to a bar by the way:)
The few days we were in Guanzguo were spent touring some huge botanical gardens, wandering the island and going into the main city to shop. The Cody's also had several things to accomplish for the adoption, such as a doctor's exam for Justin, and lots of paper work. They also had to take an oath of citizenship for Justin, as he is too young to do it. I thought that was pretty cool.
The day before we left China I again went out and about with Ming. This time we mostly chatted, knowing it was the last time we would see each other for a long time, possibly forever. She wanted to show me her apartment, so we met early in the morning and grabbed breakfast at some little roadside stand and ate while we walked. As for the breakfast, I don't know what it is called, but it looked like a roll, only it was made out of steamed rice. Inside there was a piece of hot dog, a slice of carrot, and a small bite of chicken. Strange, huh? not my kind of breakfast food:)
We walked for several miles (Not an exaggeration, the Chinese walk a ton!) until we were in a section of the city that was quite run down. There were many old apartment buildings with stores on the first floors. Ming led me through a maze of a street to a dingy cement structure. We climbed five sets of stairs, and as I did, I saw what I could. Some of the concrete walls were wallpapered in old newspapers, and some of them were bare except for water stains. Most of the entrances to the apartments had metal gates in front of them. They were so rusted that I was sure I could just reach out and pull them off their hinges.
When we finally reached Ming's apartment, she said, "It is very plain and small. I hope that is ok." She seemed to have a funny mixture of pride at having her own place, and embarrassment that it was so small. The rusty gate guarding her living space was already open because her roommate, Joy, had not yet left for work. Ming and Joy live in a single room. If you were to set two queen sized beds next to each other, you would see exactly how big their room is. One half was filled with their bed, and the other half had a very tiny desk and a small wardrobe, leaving almost no walking space. The room was decorated very randomly with a few posters and funny figurines. They have no kitchen, and they have to share a bathroom down the hall with the rest of the floor. Even so, they seemed content, and were very hospitable. After hanging out at the apartment for a while we again went to the mall where Joy works. Again there were several of Ming's friends at Joy's shoe store, and we all took lots of pictures together!
I am so excited to have met Ming and her friends, and Windie back in Naning. Windie and Ming are both keeping in touch with me through email. It's pretty cool to hear what they do in there everyday lives, half a world away, and tell them what I'm up to over here. We may do many things differently, but when it comes down to it, we have a lot in common, being twenty-year-old girls trying to figure out what our places are in life and learning how to be adults. It's pretty cool to be able to share that with a couple girls on the other side of the world!
The night before we left China was spent packing. Bridget and I also managed to squeeze in one last stroll around the island. The next morning we left our hotel a something like 4:30. After meeting the other adoptive families, we all rode a bus to the airport and boarded the plane successfully. After switching planes in Tokyo, we continued our journey home. We arrived at the Sea-Tac airport at 8:30 Wednesday morning, April second. Funny thing is, our plane took off from China at 8:30 Wednesday morning, April second. Talk about time travel. Once again, we went trough security, customs, and immigration. The kids were great, stumbling along with their backpacks, doing their part to help out. After finding our baggage, we stepped on an escalator and rode it to the next floor where our welcoming party awaited! The Cody's were very happy to see their Grandpa, and I was so excited to see my mom, Bethany and Justin! After rounds of hugs they took our baggage from us, loaded it and us into vehicles and took us home!
Going to China was such an amazing experience, I can't wait to go back! Thank you for taking the time to read all these blogs, and for all your prayers.
Have a great evening!
jubilee
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
1. Tea Shop
2. Chinese Tea Party!
3. Cody fam in a honey shop
4. Isaac loved this puppet!
5. 3 on a bench
6. Isaac just chillin'! (It's a miralce:)
7. I love these pay phones!
8. A walk in the park. There are so many cool plants!
9. Isaac loved this light, so I snapped a pic
10. Chinese shoe store
11. Picking out some hair things for my sister, Phoebe!
12. Five elephant park. Jazz and Annabelle, this is for you!:)
13. View from my hotel window in Nanning
Saturday, March 29, 2008
this 'n that
March 29, 2008, 10:30
Hi everyone!
Wow, it's been several days since the last post, huh? I have lots of catching up to do!
After visiting the Nanning Orphanage, we drove to visit Tamsin's foster family at their apartment. We climbed a few sets of narrow cement stairs to the third or fourth story of an old apartment building. The family's apt was very small, and seemed especially small when we all crammed into it!
The family was very warm and hospitable, inviting us all to sit down and stuffing all kinds of snacks down the kids throats and giving tea to the adults. The foster mother especially was very excited to see Tamsin, and kept petting her hair and saying "Anna!" over and over with a huge smile. They used to call Tamsin "Anna" because she looked Caucasian to them with her red hair and light skin. There were several relatives there, I quickly lost track of who was who! Among them was a foster cousin named Windie. That is her English name anyway. She wrote out her Chinese name for me in Chinese characters, and when she said it I knew there was no possible way I would ever be able to pronounce it! Windie is my age, and is also going to school. She is studying to be an accountant, and enjoys it very much. Perhaps you will get to meet her one day as she really wants to visit the US! She is very sweet, and I look forward to keeping in contact with her through email.
After visiting with the family for awhile with the help of our guide who acted as translator, we all went out to lunch. The family treated us to a traditional Chinese dinner. That was an experience. There was a whole dead fish, a chicken complete with a head(they didn't serve the head, but showed it to us to prove that it was a whole chicken), cactus, boiled herb type things, green see-through noodles that had the consistency of chewy jello, pork, rice, and several other things that I think I have blocked from my memory. It really wasn't so bad, I didn't have to consume anything terrible, it was just very different than what I am used to! I sat by Windie, and we spent our time chatting and getting acquainted with each other. She is learning English and is doing very well, but has limited vocab.
When lunch was finished we all walked around this huge park filled with large greenhouses where the restaurant gets their produce. Windie had to leave for school at this point, but the rest of us took our time meandering through the park. Mei mei spent quite awhile riding on David's (our guide) shoulders, giggling almost the whole time. Tamsin hung onto my arm and chatted about random topics, and Isaac ran from person to person, even introducing himself to complete strangers!
On Monday we went to pick up Guo Feng (Justin, the newest Cody). He will be five in April, and definitely acts his age! He is very active and silly, and loves to play with his new siblings! He cried when we first met him, but that was expected, as this is a new experience for him. It is not unusual for newly adopted kids to grieve for their foster family or for the nannies at their orphanage, but Justin hasn't done this yet. He is very excited to have a family, and is constantly giggling, joking, and chattering or singing in Chinese! So cute! The other day we were walking around an outdoor market and he was riding on Bridgets back when he suddenly grinned, leaned over and grabbed my head, gave me a big kiss and said "Ai!". "Ai" is Chinese for love. He is a great fit for the Coday family, and will give Isaac someone to play with besides sisters!
A few days ago I spent the morning watching the Cody kids while Ron and Bridget took Justin to do some final paperwork. I took the kids to the park until it started raining, then tried to keep them entertained in the hotel room. Later that afternoon Ron and Bridget took all the kids to an amusement park while I escaped for some alone time. I wandered around Nanning for quite awhile, just looking at things, watching people and keeping track of landmarks so as to keep from getting lost. I had fun watching the traffic. There are bikes and scooters everywhere, funny trucks and vans, and the usual little sedan type cars. I also had to be careful crossing the streets. You have to understand that a green crosswalk light doesn't mean that it is safe to cross! It simply means that it is now legal to take your life in your hands and dodge your way through traffic! Pedestrians never have the right of way, size does. Even on the sidewalk sometimes! I was walking along, watching people when I turned around and there was a VAN, on the SIDEWALK, driving straight at me! Apparently that is allowed here...
I eventually found myself in a market place. There were tons of little shops selling all kinds of things. A little farther on was this huge open building filled small stands. There were a ton a people there, so I decided to see what they were selling. Big mistake. At first there were just cute little fruit stands, tables full of hair things and shoes, more fruit stands, underwear, fruit, and live chickens. Then, I noticed a strange smell and realized I had wandered into the part where they butcher those live chickens!!!! Butchers were standing behind these little counters with huge cleavers, just chopping away, and trying to sell the dead creatures! I was so grossed out, but had to keep going as there were so many people that I couldn't turn around! It was horrible...After that I left that place, found a park, and took a nice, long walk, alone, without any dead chickens anywhere near me!
Apparently most houses/apt is China don't have refrigeration, so they go out at some point during the day and buy what they will cook for dinner that night. I guess it makes sense then to go get a freshly "prepared" chicken, noodles, and whatever else they eat, but it makes me very thankful for our fridge, and that I don't have to watch my dinner die before I eat it!
On Wednesday our we rented a van and with our guide and a driver drone for five hours to visit Justin's foster family. On the way we stopped at his first orphanage. We couldn't go inside, but left them a bunch of donations. We took our time driving, stayed a night at a hotel, and the next morning drove to Justin's other orphanage, the one that managed his foster set up. Again, we couldn't go in, but the director came out to meet us and receive the donations. It was funny on our way to this orphanage, because our driver and guide were a little lost. So Justin, smart little boy, took over and gave them directions to it!
We then continued on to his foster family's house. They live in a very rural farming village. It was strange because the houses in this place were made of brick that was starting to crumble. Then we got to his house, and while it wasn't fancy by American standards, it was much nicer than any of the others. This is probably because the foster dad is a retired government official.
The family was very friendly, and there were a couple more foster kids running around. At one point I was inside with Mei mei who was very concentrated on the orange she was eating. I was playing with one of the foster kids. He was maybe four, and had trisomy-21, also known as down syndrome. He quickly fell in love with my camera, helping me take lots and lots of pictures. Of the floor. He would just double over and belly laugh with each picture he took! He was also carrying around a toy gun and shot me a couple times. Even so, he was very sweet, and I wanted to take him home!
When we were done playing, I looked up and realized the the rest of the Cody family and David were gone! I tried to ask the foster dad where they went. He didn't understand, and instead gave Mei mei and I a tour of the house! It was very strange, I will have to post some pictures that I took later. The family keeps their chickens on the second story of their house! Stinky! We got to go all the way on top of the roof, the view was pretty cool!
A few minutes later I found the foster mom and was able to ask in very mutilated Chinese where the rest of our group had gone. The mom smiled, put Mei mei on her back and took us on a ten minute walk through the village. I still didn't know if she had understood my question until I saw the rest of our family in the distance. They had gone to see a hydro-electric plant that gives the village and nearby cement factory power. There were also some sugar cane fields just beyond the power plant. Ron took me to see them both while the rest of our group headed back to the house.
When we got back they served us lunch. Chicken, with the feet. We drove back to Nanning that day, and the next flew to Guanzuo. That is where we are now, and I need to go.
Missing you guys, - jube
Hi everyone!
Wow, it's been several days since the last post, huh? I have lots of catching up to do!
After visiting the Nanning Orphanage, we drove to visit Tamsin's foster family at their apartment. We climbed a few sets of narrow cement stairs to the third or fourth story of an old apartment building. The family's apt was very small, and seemed especially small when we all crammed into it!
The family was very warm and hospitable, inviting us all to sit down and stuffing all kinds of snacks down the kids throats and giving tea to the adults. The foster mother especially was very excited to see Tamsin, and kept petting her hair and saying "Anna!" over and over with a huge smile. They used to call Tamsin "Anna" because she looked Caucasian to them with her red hair and light skin. There were several relatives there, I quickly lost track of who was who! Among them was a foster cousin named Windie. That is her English name anyway. She wrote out her Chinese name for me in Chinese characters, and when she said it I knew there was no possible way I would ever be able to pronounce it! Windie is my age, and is also going to school. She is studying to be an accountant, and enjoys it very much. Perhaps you will get to meet her one day as she really wants to visit the US! She is very sweet, and I look forward to keeping in contact with her through email.
After visiting with the family for awhile with the help of our guide who acted as translator, we all went out to lunch. The family treated us to a traditional Chinese dinner. That was an experience. There was a whole dead fish, a chicken complete with a head(they didn't serve the head, but showed it to us to prove that it was a whole chicken), cactus, boiled herb type things, green see-through noodles that had the consistency of chewy jello, pork, rice, and several other things that I think I have blocked from my memory. It really wasn't so bad, I didn't have to consume anything terrible, it was just very different than what I am used to! I sat by Windie, and we spent our time chatting and getting acquainted with each other. She is learning English and is doing very well, but has limited vocab.
When lunch was finished we all walked around this huge park filled with large greenhouses where the restaurant gets their produce. Windie had to leave for school at this point, but the rest of us took our time meandering through the park. Mei mei spent quite awhile riding on David's (our guide) shoulders, giggling almost the whole time. Tamsin hung onto my arm and chatted about random topics, and Isaac ran from person to person, even introducing himself to complete strangers!
On Monday we went to pick up Guo Feng (Justin, the newest Cody). He will be five in April, and definitely acts his age! He is very active and silly, and loves to play with his new siblings! He cried when we first met him, but that was expected, as this is a new experience for him. It is not unusual for newly adopted kids to grieve for their foster family or for the nannies at their orphanage, but Justin hasn't done this yet. He is very excited to have a family, and is constantly giggling, joking, and chattering or singing in Chinese! So cute! The other day we were walking around an outdoor market and he was riding on Bridgets back when he suddenly grinned, leaned over and grabbed my head, gave me a big kiss and said "Ai!". "Ai" is Chinese for love. He is a great fit for the Coday family, and will give Isaac someone to play with besides sisters!
A few days ago I spent the morning watching the Cody kids while Ron and Bridget took Justin to do some final paperwork. I took the kids to the park until it started raining, then tried to keep them entertained in the hotel room. Later that afternoon Ron and Bridget took all the kids to an amusement park while I escaped for some alone time. I wandered around Nanning for quite awhile, just looking at things, watching people and keeping track of landmarks so as to keep from getting lost. I had fun watching the traffic. There are bikes and scooters everywhere, funny trucks and vans, and the usual little sedan type cars. I also had to be careful crossing the streets. You have to understand that a green crosswalk light doesn't mean that it is safe to cross! It simply means that it is now legal to take your life in your hands and dodge your way through traffic! Pedestrians never have the right of way, size does. Even on the sidewalk sometimes! I was walking along, watching people when I turned around and there was a VAN, on the SIDEWALK, driving straight at me! Apparently that is allowed here...
I eventually found myself in a market place. There were tons of little shops selling all kinds of things. A little farther on was this huge open building filled small stands. There were a ton a people there, so I decided to see what they were selling. Big mistake. At first there were just cute little fruit stands, tables full of hair things and shoes, more fruit stands, underwear, fruit, and live chickens. Then, I noticed a strange smell and realized I had wandered into the part where they butcher those live chickens!!!! Butchers were standing behind these little counters with huge cleavers, just chopping away, and trying to sell the dead creatures! I was so grossed out, but had to keep going as there were so many people that I couldn't turn around! It was horrible...After that I left that place, found a park, and took a nice, long walk, alone, without any dead chickens anywhere near me!
Apparently most houses/apt is China don't have refrigeration, so they go out at some point during the day and buy what they will cook for dinner that night. I guess it makes sense then to go get a freshly "prepared" chicken, noodles, and whatever else they eat, but it makes me very thankful for our fridge, and that I don't have to watch my dinner die before I eat it!
On Wednesday our we rented a van and with our guide and a driver drone for five hours to visit Justin's foster family. On the way we stopped at his first orphanage. We couldn't go inside, but left them a bunch of donations. We took our time driving, stayed a night at a hotel, and the next morning drove to Justin's other orphanage, the one that managed his foster set up. Again, we couldn't go in, but the director came out to meet us and receive the donations. It was funny on our way to this orphanage, because our driver and guide were a little lost. So Justin, smart little boy, took over and gave them directions to it!
We then continued on to his foster family's house. They live in a very rural farming village. It was strange because the houses in this place were made of brick that was starting to crumble. Then we got to his house, and while it wasn't fancy by American standards, it was much nicer than any of the others. This is probably because the foster dad is a retired government official.
The family was very friendly, and there were a couple more foster kids running around. At one point I was inside with Mei mei who was very concentrated on the orange she was eating. I was playing with one of the foster kids. He was maybe four, and had trisomy-21, also known as down syndrome. He quickly fell in love with my camera, helping me take lots and lots of pictures. Of the floor. He would just double over and belly laugh with each picture he took! He was also carrying around a toy gun and shot me a couple times. Even so, he was very sweet, and I wanted to take him home!
When we were done playing, I looked up and realized the the rest of the Cody family and David were gone! I tried to ask the foster dad where they went. He didn't understand, and instead gave Mei mei and I a tour of the house! It was very strange, I will have to post some pictures that I took later. The family keeps their chickens on the second story of their house! Stinky! We got to go all the way on top of the roof, the view was pretty cool!
A few minutes later I found the foster mom and was able to ask in very mutilated Chinese where the rest of our group had gone. The mom smiled, put Mei mei on her back and took us on a ten minute walk through the village. I still didn't know if she had understood my question until I saw the rest of our family in the distance. They had gone to see a hydro-electric plant that gives the village and nearby cement factory power. There were also some sugar cane fields just beyond the power plant. Ron took me to see them both while the rest of our group headed back to the house.
When we got back they served us lunch. Chicken, with the feet. We drove back to Nanning that day, and the next flew to Guanzuo. That is where we are now, and I need to go.
Missing you guys, - jube
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Great Wall!
1. Tamsin and Mei mei on the way to the Great Wall
2. The Great Wall!
3. The Great Wall + Ron's head!
4. A watch tower on the wall. The soldiers lived in these as well.
5. Pretty arch over stairs leading down from the wall.
6. Inside one of the watch towers
7. Look how huge these stairs are! They are also very worn from age.
8. Apparently President Clinton took the same cable car we did at one point in history.
9. These are the cable cars that save lazy tourists from having to hike up the mountain to get to the wall.
Pics of the Forbidden City
1. Scary dragon inside the Forbidden City
2. Part of a rockery in the Imperial Garden
3. The Imperial Garden
4. Relief carving in one of the doors
5. HUGE courtyard!
6. Pretty little river thing
7. Tamsin and I in yet another of the couryards
8. Detail work on the corner of a roof
9. These structures are on top on a 40 ft wall!!!
10. One of the gates to one of the courtyards :)
11. Big old lion. Traditionally, these are guardians of the city gates
12. The main gate to the Forbidden City!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Chinese Dolls
March 23, 2008, 8:30 pm
Hello!
Happy Easter! How is everyone? It has been a strange Easter, as it is not celebrated in China.
Our first day in Nanning was pretty relaxing. Bridget and I walked around a while, poking our noses into tiny little shops while Ron took the kids to the hotel pool. I have never seen anything like these shops. Usually lining each side of the street, they are very tiny, maybe ten-fifteen feet square. The entire fronts of the stores are open, as if closed by a gate or garage style door. They are very cluttered with goods, every square inch being stuffed with some gizmo or other. For the most part one shop will sell only one kind of product. That is, one sells shoes only, another fruit, one plumbing parts, one underwear (there are underwear stores everywhere), and still more sell books, silk dresses, or unrecognizable matter that the locals call food.
At one of these small shops Bridget and I found a bunch of shoes that we bought for one of the orphanages, and later, some pants and small outfits. We only bought boy clothing, as people usually only donate items for girls. This is because the majority of children abandoned are girls. Unfortunately, Ron and Bridget said that they have seen orphanages where some of the boys had to wear dresses. That is pretty sad, so we decided to help those guys feel like guys by buying them things girls would not wear:)
Yesterday was pretty interesting. Our guide came to the hotel at nine-thirty to visit the Nanning Orphanage, and later, Tamsin's foster family. It took about half an hour to get to the orphanage. It is located in an older part of the city where most of the buildings are no taller than four stories. I found the area to be pretty run down and depressing. Even though the buildings are not very old, they were in disrepair and had a tired feeling. This is because things in China are not built to last. China does not have the building regulations we do, and they take many shortcuts in their construction. Consequently, just a few years after being built, the buildings begin to wear out.
I am not sure I can describe how I felt on reaching the orphanage, nor do I know if I want to. I have always been drawn to kids, especially orphans. When I was little my sisters and I spent hours pretending to be orphans and when I was a little older I dreamed about working with them one day. Even now I joke about moving into an orphanage and spending my life there, yet part of me is serious about it.
We drove through the brand new gate to the orphanage, and I saw the old gate where Tamsin was abandoned at just six weeks of age. It makes me sick to think of someone leaving a baby that small, especially when I've seen what a delightful girl she has grown up to be.
After walking a little way we came to the main building. It is four stories tall and looks pretty bleak on the outside. We followed our guide through the main entry where there was water dripping from the roof, and walked down some dingy halls. I could tell that someone had tried to brighten the place up because there were some goofy animals painted on the hall walls. Still it was dirty, the window were barred, and there was a strange smell.
Near the center of the building was a smallish outdoor courtyard with a few pieces of play equipment. Weeds were growing randomly through old cement, and there were a few puddles of mirky water. Suddenly, a movement caught my eye. I felt sick as I realized I was staring at a huge rat. When I looked closer, I saw several of these creatures darting around the playground, all of them large, plump, and healthy. Disgusting.
At first the nannies didn't want to let us in to see the children, even though we had brought donations for them. It wasn't until the director saw Tamsin and recognized her red hair (very rare for Chinese) that we were allowed upstairs to see the babies.
We were ushered upstairs into a fairly large room holding about 25-30 small metal cribs lined up in three rows in the middle of the room. Immediately inside the room were about six babies in walkers, and three nannies, each holding an infant. There were other babies sitting in some of the cribs, and through an open door I could see several more running around in walkers.
The nannies were very friendly, and eagerly brought the babies close for us to chat with. The only word that can describe these dolls is beautiful. One had a cleft lip, and another had an eye that was normal sized, while the other eye was quite small. Yet as they looked up at us, they were all so adorable! I bent down to talk to them, even though they wouldn't understand my English. They were so cute as they looked back at me, not knowing how to respond.
Then she caught my eye. In a nearby crib a little girl maybe six months old, wearing a Pooh Bear outfit was propped up by a pile of blankets. She was staring into space, not even acknowledging the presence of seven noisy strangers is her room. I went over and knelt down to say hi. She didn't even look at me until I touched her hand, and she didn't grab my finger like a baby her age should. In fact, she didn't even blink, she just stared at me. While the nannies are very loving and do their best to give attention to the babies, there just aren't enough of them to go around. In order for babies to mature and develop, they need to be held, talked to, played with. Without that attention they will have a very hard time learning to attach to people, to form normal, healthy relationships. More than anything I wanted to hold that little girl, to talk to her and rock her to sleep, to teach her how to smile. Unfortunately, there wasn't time, and we had to leave.
I still feel overwhelmed when I think about those little kids. Thankfully, there are many families who adopt them, and the Chinese are even starting to adopt there own orphans as they can afford it. I can only hope and pray that all those babies get good, loving homes and that someday I too can take some of them home and give them the love and protection they need.
I am exhausted now, I need to head to bed. I will have to fill you in on our visit with Tamsin's foster family another time. Until then, goodnight, I love you all!
jube
Hello!
Happy Easter! How is everyone? It has been a strange Easter, as it is not celebrated in China.
Our first day in Nanning was pretty relaxing. Bridget and I walked around a while, poking our noses into tiny little shops while Ron took the kids to the hotel pool. I have never seen anything like these shops. Usually lining each side of the street, they are very tiny, maybe ten-fifteen feet square. The entire fronts of the stores are open, as if closed by a gate or garage style door. They are very cluttered with goods, every square inch being stuffed with some gizmo or other. For the most part one shop will sell only one kind of product. That is, one sells shoes only, another fruit, one plumbing parts, one underwear (there are underwear stores everywhere), and still more sell books, silk dresses, or unrecognizable matter that the locals call food.
At one of these small shops Bridget and I found a bunch of shoes that we bought for one of the orphanages, and later, some pants and small outfits. We only bought boy clothing, as people usually only donate items for girls. This is because the majority of children abandoned are girls. Unfortunately, Ron and Bridget said that they have seen orphanages where some of the boys had to wear dresses. That is pretty sad, so we decided to help those guys feel like guys by buying them things girls would not wear:)
Yesterday was pretty interesting. Our guide came to the hotel at nine-thirty to visit the Nanning Orphanage, and later, Tamsin's foster family. It took about half an hour to get to the orphanage. It is located in an older part of the city where most of the buildings are no taller than four stories. I found the area to be pretty run down and depressing. Even though the buildings are not very old, they were in disrepair and had a tired feeling. This is because things in China are not built to last. China does not have the building regulations we do, and they take many shortcuts in their construction. Consequently, just a few years after being built, the buildings begin to wear out.
I am not sure I can describe how I felt on reaching the orphanage, nor do I know if I want to. I have always been drawn to kids, especially orphans. When I was little my sisters and I spent hours pretending to be orphans and when I was a little older I dreamed about working with them one day. Even now I joke about moving into an orphanage and spending my life there, yet part of me is serious about it.
We drove through the brand new gate to the orphanage, and I saw the old gate where Tamsin was abandoned at just six weeks of age. It makes me sick to think of someone leaving a baby that small, especially when I've seen what a delightful girl she has grown up to be.
After walking a little way we came to the main building. It is four stories tall and looks pretty bleak on the outside. We followed our guide through the main entry where there was water dripping from the roof, and walked down some dingy halls. I could tell that someone had tried to brighten the place up because there were some goofy animals painted on the hall walls. Still it was dirty, the window were barred, and there was a strange smell.
Near the center of the building was a smallish outdoor courtyard with a few pieces of play equipment. Weeds were growing randomly through old cement, and there were a few puddles of mirky water. Suddenly, a movement caught my eye. I felt sick as I realized I was staring at a huge rat. When I looked closer, I saw several of these creatures darting around the playground, all of them large, plump, and healthy. Disgusting.
At first the nannies didn't want to let us in to see the children, even though we had brought donations for them. It wasn't until the director saw Tamsin and recognized her red hair (very rare for Chinese) that we were allowed upstairs to see the babies.
We were ushered upstairs into a fairly large room holding about 25-30 small metal cribs lined up in three rows in the middle of the room. Immediately inside the room were about six babies in walkers, and three nannies, each holding an infant. There were other babies sitting in some of the cribs, and through an open door I could see several more running around in walkers.
The nannies were very friendly, and eagerly brought the babies close for us to chat with. The only word that can describe these dolls is beautiful. One had a cleft lip, and another had an eye that was normal sized, while the other eye was quite small. Yet as they looked up at us, they were all so adorable! I bent down to talk to them, even though they wouldn't understand my English. They were so cute as they looked back at me, not knowing how to respond.
Then she caught my eye. In a nearby crib a little girl maybe six months old, wearing a Pooh Bear outfit was propped up by a pile of blankets. She was staring into space, not even acknowledging the presence of seven noisy strangers is her room. I went over and knelt down to say hi. She didn't even look at me until I touched her hand, and she didn't grab my finger like a baby her age should. In fact, she didn't even blink, she just stared at me. While the nannies are very loving and do their best to give attention to the babies, there just aren't enough of them to go around. In order for babies to mature and develop, they need to be held, talked to, played with. Without that attention they will have a very hard time learning to attach to people, to form normal, healthy relationships. More than anything I wanted to hold that little girl, to talk to her and rock her to sleep, to teach her how to smile. Unfortunately, there wasn't time, and we had to leave.
I still feel overwhelmed when I think about those little kids. Thankfully, there are many families who adopt them, and the Chinese are even starting to adopt there own orphans as they can afford it. I can only hope and pray that all those babies get good, loving homes and that someday I too can take some of them home and give them the love and protection they need.
I am exhausted now, I need to head to bed. I will have to fill you in on our visit with Tamsin's foster family another time. Until then, goodnight, I love you all!
jube
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Walking around Beijing! (We were out and about for 8 hours!)
1. This is the most repulsive sight I have ever seen!!!! Bugs on a stick!! People actually eat these...
2. This horse was in a small shop, I thought Mary would like to see it.
3. Yay for Starbucks!!! A bit of home...
4. I laughed when I saw this Chinese parking lot. There are bikes and scooters everywhere in this place!
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