Today is the Day

Last night, I was dreaming that we were getting Melia today.  Which is funny because we're getting Melia today.  Apparently, I'm dreaming in real time.

Specifically, we are meeting at 8:45a.m. in the lobby and driving to The Civil Affairs office where we will meet Melia.  So we're pretty much "in labor" right now.  Katie is "pushing" so to speak and I'm just holding her hand waiting for our daughter to arrive.

So while we wait - I'll go ahead and post what we did yesterday.

Drive.....drive.... and drive some more.  It was supposed to be a 4 hour drive to Shijiazhuang, but between traffic and a small detour it ended up being closer to 6 1/2 hours.  The kids were absolutely amazing and didn't complain the entire time.  Of course, iPads and a 1 lb. bag of licorice help tremendously....

So what was our detour, you ask?  We actually got to stop by Melia's orphanage!  We were told over and over again that we would not be able to see it, but for whatever reason (perhaps b/c we asked 9 times if there was ANY way to see it) our guide took us to see it.

We pulled up to a "campus" looking area.  There were several different short, squat buildings and we were told that each building housed different kind of people-in-need.  One was a home for children, another was a home for the elderly (nursing home), a home for Special Needs, etc.  It was kind of an interesting thing to see.

We walked (in the very cold) over to the building where the children were.  Katie and I just stared into the building.  We were told that we were breaking the rules enough by just being in the area and there was no way to go in.  On the one hand, we were so thankful that he brought us this far, but on the other hand, it was killing us to know that Melia was right inside those doors and we couldn't go in.

There was a little confusion as to which building she was in, but then we were told that one building was for the orphanage and another building was for the foster care.  This was interesting to learn as we were told that Melia was moved to a foster care family once she was going to be adopted.  (About 6 months ago).  Apparently, that only meant that she moved across a small street to an identical looking building.  We'll never know all the details, but somehow she had more of a "family structure" in the second building with a mom, dad, brothers, and sisters.  Still looks pretty much like an orphanage to me.

Perhaps we'll find out more details today.  Here's the pictures.

We spent the whole day in this Van/Bus.  I felt obligated to take a picture.

We had to stop to gas up.  Look at how cheap gas is!  Oh wait, it's in liters.... and in Yuan.  If my calculation is correct that would be closer to $10/gallon.  Is that right?  Yikes.  I better ask our translator today....

Here's the orphanage, that Melia may have been in at first.  It sounds like she's moved around a bit, so it's hard to know all the details.

Here is where she has been for at least the last month.  We're 99% sure that she was in there yesterday when we were standing there taking pictures.  

Shortly after we left, our translator got a cell call from the Orphanage director who saw us outside and let him know that she was NOT happy at all that he broke the rules and let us see the orphanage.  Sorry!  

(But not really)

.....And for the 3rd evening in a row, Zac has fallen asleep on-the-go.  What a little trooper.  All the kiddos have been so awesome on this trip.  

Check it out!  He fell asleep standing up!

NEXT POST:  MELIA

Random Stories

We've got about an hour until we leave Beijing and head to Shijiazhuang, so I wanted to blog some random stories.

First of all, let's work on the pronunciation of Shijiazhuang.

Say "Sure"

Say "Ja"  (like the word Jack, without the "ck")

Say "Jwong"  (J like the word Jump followed by the word wong)

Now say Sure - Ja - Jwong and make sure that the Ja part is a higher pitch than how you say Sure.  Remember that Chinese is a "tonal" language so it's not just what your say and the pronunciation but also the tone, pitch and inflection.  In fact, our translator was telling us that in Chinese it is possible to have an entire conversation just by humming entire word sentences without opening your mouth.

I'm guessing this is why my "Chinese" is greeted with nothing but stares each time.

Funny story from last night:

First of all, the food is good.  It's fine.  But really, when was the last time you went out for Chinese food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 days in a row?

So we found a KFC last night....

And the kids were completely wiped out.  In fact, we looked over at Zac and he had fallen asleep with a piece of chicken hanging out of his mouth.  Ha!  He almost got a bite of dinner.

I guess you had to be here.  It was funny.


OK - So here's some more pics.  Here's me working away at 4:00am while the US markets are still open:

In the US, we call 911.  In China you would want to call 119!

There are only two 7 Star Hotels in the World.  One of them is in Beijing.... and I snuck in to it and used the restroom.  Most likely the only experience I'll ever have in a 7 star hotel.

Inside the 7 Star Hotel.  This is handcraft Mahogany.  I was told that the value of this aft per ounce is greater than that of gold.  

So the next post could be of Melia.  We'll be getting her in about 24 hours!  

Day 3... or 4.... or whatever

Today was another day jam packed full of tourism, but not quite as much as yesterday.

We started the morning with an adoption orientation meeting (oh yea.  I forgot that's why were here!)  We got updated pictures of Melia!  She looks great.  Quite big and healthy.  We may have actually brought clothes that are too small.  Oh well, we'll just have to do some shopping for her.

I would share the photos, but they were film pictures (remember those?) and I forgot to pack my scanner.

But it's OK - You'll all see her in 2 days anyway, because THAT'S WHEN WE GET HER!   TWO DAYS!  Yikes.  It doesn't quite seem real still.  But it will.

But back to today...  Our two big things were a Silk Factory tour and The Forbidden City tour.  Surprisingly, I thought the silk factory was cooler.  We got some very sweet Chinese silk clothes.

I'll skip the long stories and just post the pictures.  I wish I could post videos but we've got an extremely slow Internet connection here.  I'll keep working on it.

(This is not my best blog post, but we're running off to dinner.)

Day 2

Wow.  We accomplished a lot today.  It's 6:00pm here and the whole family is completely wiped out.

Let's go through the day's bigger events:

1.  The Great Wall:

I've seen many pictures of the Great Wall and I never realized how STEEP the wall is in parts.  Let me tell you something:  This walk was not for the faint of heart.  There were many times when I had to stop and catch my breath (think Stair-Master).  In fact, it was not uncommon for people to be laying down in the middle of the path trying to catch their breath and we would just to have to climb right over the top of them.

Funny story #1:  After we had spent over 2 hours going up and back down the wall, Zac finally asked our tour guide, "When are we going to see the Wall of China?"  ...... uh.... buddy, you've been walking on the wall this whole time.  Apparently, he thought that our entire walk was nothing more than a hike to reach a destination just to be able to see the wall.  I'd love to know what he had envisioned in that little mind of his.

Funny story #2:  On three different occasions, I caught groups of Chinese folks trying to sneak pictures of our family.  (The amazingly novel white people).   Seriously?  You're at one of the most famous land marks in all of human history and you take a picture of ME?  I must be pretty awesome.

2.  Hutong Lane (and Rickshaw)

After a lunch and few other stops, we found ourselves visiting a Hutong, which is nothing more than a "narrow street".  Too narrow for cars, so we had the joy of riding in a bike Rickshaw.  Very fun.  And very educational.  During our tour we were able to see how some of the people of China actually live.  Their supermarket, their parks, and we were even able to go inside one of their houses and get to see their living quarters.  We spent over 20 minutes talking to the wife of the house and asking her questions about her life.  Absolutely fascinating.  

Another interesting thing that really surprised me was how much time these people enjoy spending time outdoors.  It is quite cold outside this time of year and yet it seemed that "everyone" was outside playing in parks, riding bikes, walking their dogs, talking to each other, etc.  It was inspiring.

Other fun pictures to show you all:

Day 2 Part 2

Well, it's about 4:00am here.  Believe it or not, I've been up for about an hour and a half.  In truth, we all (Except Hallie) woke up around that time.  We did go to bed around 8:00pm, but still.....   Perhaps it was easier to sleep the first day because we were so tired from traveling.  I feel fine, but I'm thinking that by 3 or 4 in the afternoon, I'll be wiped out.

The Internet connection thing here in interesting.  Indeed, it is true.  We are NOT able to get into Facebook, Blogger, or YouTube via a regular connection here.  Thankfully, I was told about GoTrusted which is some sort of IP Encryptor.  It seems to work fine in our room with our wired connection, but GoTrusted appears to be blocked down in the lobby over the public Wi-Fi.  The problem is that our wired connection seems to be much slower than the wi-fi.... which seems backwards, but it is what it is.  The only real problem I seem to have is that it takes forever to download videos to YouTube.  Otherwise, I'd put more on.

Part 2 of yesterday involved lunch, swimming, napping and going to the Chinese Acrobat show.  The show was awesome!  It was very typical of what you would expect, but it had a feeling of something.... different.  The acts were full of talent.  Full of flare.  Big Chinese costumes.  Amazing men that could balance tremendously flexible women on their hands.  Women who could juggle umbrellas with their feet (yes, I'm serious).   But the amazing part is that it seemed so..... local.  The theater was quite a bit smaller than what you would expect.  Probably seating for less than 500 people.  And it was maybe 1/2 full at best.  It seemed so low key.  But I'm telling you that if a show like this came to Omaha, it would be a packed house at the Century Link Center with tickets going for $50 a seat.  But here, it seemed like nothing more than community theatre.  But the TALENT was so..... incredible. Amazing.

And as I sat there in awe, I was quite surprised at the emotion that emerged from within me.

It was an emotion of PRIDE.  A tiny seed that began to grow from within my heart.  I am so PROUD to have a daughter that is Chinese.  I am PROUD that she comes from such an amazing culture of art and history.  Before, I always viewed Chinese in a traditional "We/They" dichotomy.  (Example:  I (We) was sitting in the audience, and (they) were performing Chinese acrobatics on stage.)  

But last night, I had this strange sense that I am now.... part Chinese.  That I, in fact, was watching "my people"' on that stage last night.  That everything I saw and did yesterday somehow was being pulled from within a part of myself.  I know it sounds really stupid.  But it's how I feel.

It reminds me over and over again that, just like with Zac, it is I who am the blessed one from this wonderful institution of adoption.  So many friends comment about how "lucky" Melia is for getting adopted.

No..... No..... No, my friends.  It is I who am the lucky one.  It is I who am the blessed one.

Breakfast in China - Day 1

I can't begin to count the number of times we tell stories to Zac about our trip to Russia followed by watching a video clip from our blog.  He so enjoys hearing the stories.  I wish I had more stories to tell...

Therefore, you can bet that I'm going to try my hardest to document every possible moment of this trip for the sake of Melia as well as ourselves.  Afterall, if a tree falls in the forest.... and it's not documented on the Internet.... does it make any noise?

We all slept surprisingly well last night.  Most everybody was out by 11:30pm and didn't wake up until 5:30am.  That sounds like a short night, but considering it was our first night in this 180 degree turn time zone that we're in, I think we did OK.

Breakfast was indeed a magnificent spread.  There was a 50/50 representation of Eastern and Western cuisine.  Dozens of choices surrounded the entire room and the children were well stuffed by the end of the meal.  (Katie and I have worried a bit that our kids may starve on this trip.... so far, not the case)

In fact, I announced to the children that they are "required" to try at least one (preferably outrageous) Chinese dish during each meal.  It's all part of the experience that we're hoping to give them.

(See video for details)

Katie and I have tried as best we can to speak polite Chinese to the hotel employees and guests.  We have concluded that our Chinese must be completely and utterly horrible as we get the same reaction each time:

The first time we say something, it gets completely ignored.  Then when we repeat it, we usually get laughed at.

I swear I thought I said "thank you" to the waitress this morning for helping me with the coffee maker.  But her reply caught me off guard when she looked at me, giggled a bit and then pulled at her name tag.  "Yikes" I thought to myself.  "I hope I didn't just make an inappropriate remark about her name.... or her name tag...... or her chest."

It is also pretty interesting, as well as funny to be the 100% foreigners from a foreign country.  We stick out for a handful of reasons:

1.  We're loud.  That can sometimes be the case even in Omaha.
2.  We're white.
3.  We have 3 children.  Most everybody here only has 1.  (It's the law, afterall)

This picture from the zoo this morning says it all.  Notice how everyone is watching and photographing the monkey's?  Except for this little boy who absolutely could not take his eyes off of Hallie and Jake.  It was quite hilarious.

We all agree that the people are SUPER friendly here.  Smiles seem to follow us everywhere we go regardless of how obnoxious and clueless we may be.  Having a ton of fun.

Side note:  We won't get Melia until January 12th, so until then we will continue to enjoy and document our tourism adventures within this great country.  Tonight is a Chinese Acrobatic Show!

Januaray 8th, morning post

We made it!  We're in Beijing.  Everything went so smooth yesterday.  I am amazed as to how well the kids did with close to 24 hours of traveling yesterday.  I certainly felt like going crazy from time to time, so I am sure they did too.

Some notable things:  Our 14 hour flight from Detroit to Beijing was cut down to 13 hours because of a nice tail wind.  It may not sound like much of a difference, but expectations make all the difference in the world.

The drive to the hotel was only about 30 minutes.  I thought for sure it would be another hour or two to drive anywhere in Beijing, but it WAS 11:00pm when we landed, so rush hour appeared to have subsided for the day.  Again, another nice surprise due to low expectations.

The 6 hour layover in Detroit was also long, but fairly uneventful.  The tram provided hours of free entertainment.

Every time the beverage cart came by us on the plane (which was often), Zac would yell out, "Ahhh..... this is THE LIFE!"

The kids slept maybe 3-5 hours on the long flight.   Me?..... not so much.  I don't sleep on plane.  (With the exception of heavy medication)

Heading to the breakfast buffet now.  I've heard good things about this.  I'll take some videos and then upload them before we head to the zoo.

(These first few days are more geared toward tourism).  Adoption stuff will start on the 11th.