China Daily Article

From China Daily:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/24/content_7232900.htmThere are 5 pictures of the ceremony at the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Beijing.

We are in the background of two of the pics (one I am making a ridiculous face)!

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Mysterious Turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving from Fuling!!

Here, Lydia loves on one of the little ones.

Today was the ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the new orphanage...I was so happy that we got to go up there again...more time with the babies!

Here, I am chatting with a beautiful baby who has a cleft lip/palate. What a smiley thing, just a little cooing and she would brighten up and smile.

The ceremony was complete with more fanfare, speeches, and gifts for the girls. The mayor of Fuling and other city officials were there. He sat directly in front of us and at times, I saw him wipe away a tear as he watched the girls up on the stage. I truly believe that they care for the welfare of these children and are glad that we have brought them back for a visit healthy and happy. The girls were presented with a Chinese/English dictionary from the mayor and a jade pendant from Director Yang. All of the girls cut a piece of the red ribbon and released balloons.

After the ceremony, we were able to go back up and hold babies, then on to our Thanksgiving meal that they had prepared for us...turkey and fried rice. Strangely the "turkey" was pinkish and had the flavor and texture of pork...looked like ham to us! But, we were assured that it was indeed turkey because it was our Thanksgiving and we eat turkey..."comes from the leg part of the bird" we were told...the Emperor's New Clothes again! We laughed and ate it up though because it was good, no matter what it was!

Jason holds one of the cleft lip/palate babies. She was SO smiley and had beautiful eyes. Hope she will get surgery soon, but she was drinking very well out of a regular bottle and seemed very healthy.

Take a look at this beautiful little girl. We called her "the pink one" because she wore this outfit all three times we visited the orphange. As you can imagine, we couldn't put her down!

Babies!

We all took turns holding this sweet baby. What a cute chubby face! From what we gathered, this little one is not a "special needs" baby. We couldn't get enough of her! I sought her out every time we went to the orphanage...wish I could have understood what her name was. I wanted to put her in my backpack and sneak out with her---I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten far...I think that's illegal :-) But, we all wanted to take several with us....wish it was that easy.

The boys and Lydia took turns decorating the wall in the play room with some stickers that we brought.

A serious baby girl, probably 14-15 months old. This one didn't smile very much. She seemed healthy though...and what a pretty face!

A lonely soul...

We snapped this picture before leaving the orphanage today. Sadly, it is so symbolic of the life that these children live. Walking down an empty hallway, with head down, wandering through life...day after day.

The New Orphanage

We left the old orphanage through a crowd of people who had gathered outside of the gates. Most were middle age or older, watching the foreigners come out of the place with their Chinese girls. We must have been quite a sight! Especially because many people don’t even know that the orphanage exists or that’s what they say. In China, they often say what they want to hear, or what they wish to be true. One adoptive mother (who speaks Chinese and lives in Shanghai) was talking to some locals. She said her daughter was from Fuling and from the orphanage there. “Where?” they said, “Must be Chengdu or Chongqing, not Fuling, there’s no orphanage here.” and they were only standing a few winding blocks from it!! Could they be so uninformed? or just want to ignore the obvious…it’s like the Emperor’s New Clothes.


The new orphanage is located up on a small mountain with a thin winding road. The gates were large, with a tall tiled wall around the complex---no yucky food stalls and the pollution must be much less. We were welcomed by Director Yang and Vice Director Chen and trekked up the hill. The tiled building was nice, but I wasn’t too excited to see the large pretty building, I just wanted to get in there and see if I could get my hands on some babies!



We were invited into the building, given plastic footies to cover our shoes and were given free reign to wander around the baby rooms!!! We were lead first to a room of older special needs children (ages 3-4 probably, with Down Syndrome and cognitive deficits). We played with them for awhile and what characters!!! They would play little games of peek-a-boo and toss the toy, so we would pick it up, but also just wandered around with no one really watching them. Several times, we encountered one little girl wandering down the hall towards the stairs and I gently guided her back to the play room.

We were able to go all around the second floor and I finally found a room of babies! Of course the cute one immediately catch your eye, but we made sure to give attention to all of the little ones. It’s very difficult to not given too much attention only to the cuties…I can imagine what it is like for the nannies as they work with them all hours of everyday. I’m sure they have their favorites and the favs (usually cute) get the most attention. We took plenty of pictures and took turns holding “the littles”.


Jason has such pity for the kids and it is hard for him to be there, but he held babies and was the photographer. The boys ran around like goons and played with toys and special needs kids. I am proud of them that they aren’t afraid to interact with these little ones, who are so craving of attention. They have grown accustomed to being with special needs kiddos because of my job and I’m thankful that they are inclusive of differences.

I never wanted to leave there! I wanted to give hugs and rock and squeeze those little girls all night. Our guides tried to announce that it was time to wrap it up, but we mommas ignored them several times and continued to stroke baby cheeks and coo at puzzled eyes. One little one in particular I couldn’t put down---she has huge dark eyes, chubby cheeks, and a pouty lip…kind of reminds me of Lydia. I tried to find out her name, but couldn’t understand their pronunciation without seeing it in writing.

Finally, I tore myself away as it was time to go to another building. Director Yang had arranged for some chefs to teach the girls how to make dumplings. We washed with the tap water (no soap available). My hands were probably cleaner PRIOR to washing with the Fuling water J and headed off to the cafeteria for a meal. We had a lesson on dumpling making and then were served a meal that the nannies had prepared. Jason got a dumpling making demonstration directly from Director Yang. It was some of the best food we’ve had! Dumplings, greens, oranges, fresh vegetables. Even the boys got their tummies full.

Again, I was overwhelmed with the welcome that we were receiving. The orphanage staff was so proud to be hosting us and did an amazing job at serving over 100 people (children included!) AND, that we were allowed to touch, hold, and cuddle those little ones for as long as we wanted…truly amazing, especially since only eight years ago when adoption first began at this orphanage in Fuling, no parents were allowed in, ever, not even when you picked up your child. The relationship between the adoptive parents and the orphanage has grown so much since then.


The most wonderful part of the afternoon, was in the baby room. I was playing with some children when Jason came in with our guide and said that he had found Lydia’s nannies! He said, “These ladies recognized Lydia and said they were her nannies for the last eight months she was here” I couldn’t believe it---finally some REAL info!! These women we did not meet last time…I’m not sure why, but they weren’t presented to us. But today, we met them! Two sweet women…one older lady, and one younger. Lydia was sleeping, but they both talked to her, hugged her, and kissed her. We got lots of pics and when Lydia woke up, we showed them to her. Lydia let them hold her for a while, but then wanted to come back to me. She almost seemed to recognize the younger woman, as she stared at her for an extra long time and then wanted down.


I was overwhelmed to meet them, and showed my gratitude for their care with many hugs and tears. They stroked Lydia’s cheeks and had tears as well. Tears and hugs cross any language barrier and we stood awhile telling them our thanks (the only Chinese words we know).


I think we all left the orphanage with a full heart today. Full of gratitude for being allowed in there, full of sadness for the children who are there, and also full of hope that they will someday find a true family and permanent home.

The Old Orphanage---Lydia’s Finding Place

Another extremely busy afternoon and evening---12 hours of activities with no down time! After lunch, we drove to the old orphanage site…the place where Lydia was found at the front gate at 6 weeks old, and where she lived the next 14 months before we brought her home.

The old orphanage is located in the older section of Fuling, through winding hilly streets. It’s like a maze getting there, and just like last year, the vehicle stopped and someone said “we’re here” and I could hardly believe it, because it seemed as if we were in some yucky alleyway. This time, we approached the gates from the opposite end of the street, so we had a totally different view. As I walked down the hill towards the gates, I looked in at vendors that lined the thin street. A fruit stand, a noodle shop, a seamstress’ shop where she was making bedspreads out of huge flowery pieces of fabric. These aren’t the shop fronts that you might imagine, with large glass windows and pretty entryways. These are basically a room made of cement blocks that opens up into the street, with a metal garage door-like closure. Shabby and bleak, these places look. The fruit is bright and pretty, but some other wares look worn and tattered from sitting on the tables so long without being purchased; then you walk another 10 feet and there is a huge gate. This was Lydia’s first home.

I often wonder how anyone could have left her at the orphanage gate…especially now that I have taken a closer look at the surroundings. The street is very busy, with many people milling about and business taking place. How could she have been left in the middle of all of this without the parents/third party being noticed? At night, I guess. Or, possibly being “found at the orphanage gate” really means that a third party (finder) brought her to the gate and delivered her to the orphanage. The reports don’t say, and I’ve asked but get vague answers---we’ll never know. What I do know is that I can’t imagine my baby being deserted in that dirty street---someone must have been secretly watching to ensure that the orphanage workers found her and took her in rather than some other person taking off with her. It is very puzzling and mysterious, yet I know there are people in this city that know the answers. I would love to be more sleuth-like and find out more, but something holds me back. Either I don’t want to know the truth about her life or possibly I don’t think that these people want to be found…so I ask basic questions, but nothing too invasive, for fear of causing problems.

Because Lydia was with her birth mother for 6 weeks, I imagine that the decision to abandon her was well thought-out and was possibly a tough process for the mother (many babies are found as newborns, some with the umbilical cord still attached). Possibly Lydia’s family was to keep her until they found out she had health issues. I like to imagine that someone was watching for her today (possibly a family member or even her birth-mother) and has been able to catch a glimpse of Lydia; and be comforted to know that she is healthy, happy, and safe. Many people know that we are here…it is in all of the papers and the talk of the city as we are three police escorted buses full of foreigners in this isolated city, so it is possible that they are watching us to see their little girl. I know that if I couldn’t keep my child, to see her face again would be like a dream come true.

We walked around the old orphanage for about an hour, exploring the dirty old building. We got to see much more of it than that last time we were here, but today, the beds are empty and the rooms are cleared of toys and decoration. It is only a skeleton of the place that Lydia knew, as the children are already in the new building up on the mountain.

Lydia ran and played for a long time, not showing ANY recognition of the place at all. I thought she might have some memory or act that something was familiar, but she didn’t and I’m thankful. I hope that she will never remember the lonely days and nights from that place, and will only remember happiness and love and OUR home.

We saw the head nanny that brought Lydia to us last year, she recognized Lydia right away and talked to her for a little while. I had a chance to ask her some more questions and get a few more details about Lydia’s baby months, especially if she had a special nanny that she was attached to, so that we could ask to meet her. I brought out some pictures of Lydia with a nanny that we found on the web, but was told that nanny no longer worked for the orphanage…she left when Lydia was a baby. I was disappointed to have no answers once again, but glad to experience the orphanage leisurely, unlike last time when we were being ushered out quickly.

I’m so thankful that we came! We may never see this place again as it looks right now, and have a little bit clearer picture of Lydia’s babyhood…I always wondered about the nanny in the picture and was disappointed that we didn’t meet her last year. At least now I know that it wasn’t possible.

On to Fuling!

A wonderful welcome into Fuling today! Even our hotel had a banner out front welcoming us to the city.

This morning we were on the bus bright and early for our journey to Fuling, Lydia's birthplace and where she spent the first 14 months of her life. It is a two hour bus ride, which was uneventful; but, as we neared the entrance to the city, we were confused as we pulled over to the side of the road. Soon, we realized that we were pulling over so that we could join our police escort who would lead us into and around Fuling! Director Yang made a surprise appearance on each bus to welcome the girls (and parents) back to Fuling...what a great treat to see her!

Director Yang plays with the children near the river.

The girls pose for photos along the riverwalk.

The police and camermen followed our group around while we viewed the city and Yangtze Riverwalk. Fuling is a city of around 1 million people (small in China terms) and hardly ever sees foreigners, so this is a huge event for the city. Many city officials greeted us as well as we took photos of the River.

Another surprise, the sun is out! Fuling is a city nestled in the mountainous area of Chongqing, where it is cloudy and overcast most of the time. In fact, they said that we must bring happiness and good luck with us because the sun follows us...they have a saying here that "when the sun comes out here, the dogs bark because it is such a stranger." The sun has definately given us a clear view of Fuling...better than we had last year (all foggy and gray).

This afternoon, we visit the old orphanage and drive to the new orphanage up in the hills, and make dumplings in the evening.

Visiting the Pandas

The highlights of the zoo were as follows: the lazy Pandas, banyan leaves, learning tai chi with a sword, cheap soveneirs, and photo opportunities! The Pandas were a hit, Lydia especially enjoyed them (she slept through them last year). The boys were fortunate enough to be shown some tai chi moves from a kind man who was practicing with swords. The boys went over to watch him, and he invited them over to show them how to do it---it was great!













Lydia with one of our guides, Alice.







Again, the boys are requested in a photo.

Lydia cheesing with her pinwheel. The local women were selling soveneirs, which parents were immediately wary of, as the women pushed them into the kids' hands as we got off of the bus (we knew there was a pricetag attached to their "generosity"). I was the first to buy when I found out the treats were only a quarter! In the States, zoo treats are out of the question for us--too expensive. Here, we got a panda puppet, pinwheels, and wooden swords for super cheap (not that great quality, but put smiles on little faces) :-)

Tai Chi, CCAA, and flying to CQ

Another busy day today, and unfortunately no pics for it...I accidentally deleted some from this morning!!! Fortunately our travelmates will share...some how, just need to figure out a way.

We first to Jingshan Park, which is within the Forbidden City. It is a beautiful walking park, with Ming/Qing dynasty architecture. We went to watch the locals do tai chi in the early morning. We are still not able to sleep at night and then got up to be on the bus at 6:30 am. Still in the dark, we drove through the streets of Beijing to the park. We were able to do some tai chi and explore a bit.

Then on to the CCAA, which is the branch of government where the adoptions are processed for China. Here, we saw the thousands of files, the Matching Room or the "Magic Room" (where babies are selected for families)! Then, we went upstairs where they had planned some cultural activities for the children. Our group learned origami and the other group, calligraphy. It was a wonderful time, with the kids enjoying themselves in Chinese activities and where we got a chance to visit more with our travel group and chat.

I was overwhelmed by the planning and effort that has gone into this event. From being in the Beijing newspaper, to receiving greetings from the Secretary of State, to the fanfare at the Civil Affairs government offices, it has truly been a wonderful experience...to feel that they welcome our efforts to have bonds with China, and likewise that they want ties to our girls and America.

Later in the afternoon, we flew to Chongqing....how great it is to be back here! The scenery is lush, palms, and humid surrounded by green hills. While we waited for our flight out of Beijing, our gate area happened to have a play area---thankfully! The kids loved running around and we loved snapping pics of them!

Aren't these girls adorable? They are enjoying Tom & Jerry in the airport.

Our new friend, Gracie..isn't she adorable?!

What a huge first day!

Well, today was quite a huge event, packed with surprises and activities.

We began the day visiting the Ministry of Civil Affairs, where our group was greeted by the Secretary of State of China, along with several other government officials. The welcoming ceremony involved a wonderful slide show with pictures of all of the families and girls who were present. The Secretary of State gave a short speech, greeted the children, encouraged the parents by acknowledging our ties with China and his appreciation that we have brought them back to experience their homeland.

Because it is a Sunday, we were very impressed that the Sec of State would be here and really realized what a big deal this trip is, what enormous amount of planning has taken place for us, and what a wonderful experience this will be!

The staff of the Bridge of Love Adoption Service (who is hosting us) performed Chinese folk dancing, we did a group picture, and the children received gifts from the Sec of State. Many cameramen were there and we afterwards realized that our event was broadcast on China t.v.---the main news channel in China, AND we were in the newspaper! Articles were written up about our heritage visit---what a positive representation of international adoption! AND, Sam made it in China Daily (the English version of Beijing's daily paper)!!!


After the opening cermony, we visited the Olympic venues...the Bird's nest and Water Cube and then went on to the Great Wall. Everyone of course stares at the boys and people want to touch them---especially Jack, because he has blue eyes! They were asked several times for photo opps with teenage girls...little American boys as a photo prop :-))

The Great Wall trip was wonderful in that we were able to visit a site that we had not seen last year. We were able to take a cable car up to the wall (much to my dismay, as I have a fear of snapping cables and plummeting to my death! I imagined my demise on national Chinese television that night....but agreed to ride up!) After we got up to the wall, the boys had a GREAT time! The most smiles we've seen on the trip!

They and their new pal, Emma Kate, conquered the Wall together, hand in hand...so sweet :-)) I'll include pics after I get on the bus!

The peddlers on the way back down drew me in to look at t-shirts and other trinkets. Jack was absolutely shocked by the behavior of the lady pushing her wares, and even more shocked at our banter back and forth---I think he thought a fight was going to break out over her and I arguing about price! Luckily, they don't speak English and I could talk to him about what was going on without the lady knowing what we were saying. I bought a few things, with the lady cursing me and glaring because they think they don't get enough money. "So much money!" she yells at me, critisizing me that I'm too "rich" (notice the quotes :-). I feel badly for trying to get things cheap, but also know that what I'm buying is junkie anyway...not like shopping a boutique :-) Will post pics later

Up on the Wall...Ben joins us on the wall.

This tower was our goal.

Our new friend, Emma Kate (she's a COOL girl!)

We pose by the Bird's Nest. When we were here last year, it wasn't done yet, but really looks the same (like it's just a frame!)...but what a cool structure! Can you see that Jack is acting naughty?














Two Fuling cuties pose for pics by the Bird's Nest













Two American boys pose for a photo with Chinese girls!
















The boys with their new friend, Andrew. Can you tell what they are doing?? Andrew has a Nintendo DS. We considered purchasing some electronics for the trip, but didn't want to fly all the way around the world only to have them glued to a screen; so, our travel mates have done that for us...ugh! Hopefully it won't last long!

Let the Bus Touring Begin!

Today we start our first day of activities in Beijing. The schedule is absolutely packed...today we left the hotel at 8:30 am and didn't return until tonight.

We enjoyed a good western breakfast before starting our day in China.