Well, I am finally back on Blogger again, and what can I say...it feels good! For some reason Blogger is not filtered in Guangzhou, but filtered in Nanchang, a bit like trying to figure out which plug adapter will work in which socket! (thanks Todd, your electrical thesis, a Magellen transformer, 14 various plug adapters and one Staples power strip have worked like a charm). So, I am trying to back up a bit to catch you up on all the whirlwind goings on....lets start with finally getting our daughter in Nanchang, on October 28th, which already seems like a long time ago.
From our arrival in Nanchang, it was a crazy day right up until the time we got Li Jing, literally no time to prepare ourselves for much of anything other than to act and react. Upon checking in to the Galactic Peace Hotel, which by far has been the nicest accomodations thus far (sorry White Swan fans, but true!), we had a lengthy CCAI meeting to go over our agenda for the week and be informed of the status of the arrival of the babies and how all it all would work. The meeting ended at 4:40pm, giving us just enough time to run back to the room and grab the cameras and psychologically prep ourselves for the culmination of our three year wait! When we went back down to the meeting room at 5pm, the babies were all behind closed doors and we anxiously gathered outside. We could hear a few of them crying through the door. Our CCAI guides, Evelyn and Sissi worked with the orphanage director to organize the list, who got babies first etc.
They soon began bringing them out one by one in order of our names on the list. It was all a blur, but it seemed we were somehow about half-way on the list. I was able to sneak a peak through the door a few times, and spotted a little Pebbles Flintstone hairdo way back in the room, and knew immediately it was her. When she came out in the orphanage directors arms, I just remember her eyes, runny nose and petrified look. The first shot in this posting was when she was just brought out the door, held by the orphanage director. Somehow, the amazing CCAI Evelyn got this shot while we were oblivious to who even had our camera, these girls are good!...Li Jing...first gazing upon 3 alien creatures soon to be her new family. She was handed to Lynne without a battle and was quiet and scared. Her fist was clenched tightly and eventually we found that she had a mangled slice of a tangerine in her hand. Jianxi is known for the best tangerines in China (another gimlet from our tour). In a few minutes she began to cry, but all in all was not too out of control. As with most families, our next goal was to get her to the room for the initial bonding time... which everyone I think yearns for, but is also slightly terrified of in some ways. After getting her to the room, we had about a 30 minute off-on crying period at most, then all became smooth sailing and has remained so throughout the trip. This went far better than we ever anticipated.
As corny as it sounds, we seemed to have an immediate warmth and connection from and with this child. Some of the others in our group really struggled with issues regarding attachment, grieving, bonding, eating and sleeping so we feel very fortunate. Who knows what may come later (like when she turns 16) but the initial few days were nothing but easy with Li Jing. We went on a number of tours around Nanchang including a beautiful pagoda temple & bonzai gardens, a rural village, a public park and gardens tour, and finalized our week at the Galactic Peace with a birthday dinner for all the new babies. We had most excellent CCAI guides, Sissi and Evelyn, that we developed a great relationship with and respect for. They not only helped us care for the babies, but also told us a wealth of info about Jianxi province, culture and traditions. Some of our personal highlights were visiting a local fleamarket, the local Walmart, and a number of incredible meals in various restaurants all of which served up local cuisine (without getting too visceral if you know what I mean). Nanchang is truly a city devoid of westerners. To take Andie out in public is to attract a crowd quickly. She was captured by numerous cell phone cameras wherever we traveled, and I must say she handled it well for a not yet 6 year old! I took one adventure out by myself to try out my Chinese, and though it was somewhat passable for the niceities, it only got me about 15 minutes from the hotel before I felt out of my element. A giant guy with silver sunglasses and armed with Canon cameras does not go unnoticed (who speaks weak Manderin with a southern accent). All in all, I felt very safe as the people are overall very hospitable but quite curious. By our departure on November 3rd, we were all probably yearning for a change of scenary and definitely ready to move on the next hurdle. The paperwork and money exchange in Nanchang was not too bad, as CCAI had everything very streamlined for us. We somehow were able to avoid much of the waiting and red tape it seemed a lot of other groups had to be subjected to. For example, getting the babies delivered to you in your hotel and not a civil affairs bureau is evidently quite rare. They also streamlined the Notary processes and other pay-ups so all we had to do is go as a group (one parent) with the cold hard cash to pay all fees at once. The hardest part was getting us (all dads) across the six lane street in front of our hotel without anyone getting killed (seriously, these folks don't stop for anyone except a Chinese lady with her hand held up!). Getting loaded for the flight to Guangzhou was a bit of a challenge for we all found our accumulated goods were mounting up. I was informed that the extra duffle bag I bought at the Walmart would not be sufficient for the remainder of the trip so guess we will be buying another in Guangzhou. Usually, afternoons were free for the babies to nap so Andie and I would usually go to the very plush pool and spa for a 2 hour swim. This was a great treat for her, though the water was a bit cool even for me. Luckily, a smaller pool was heated and swimming some laps kept it all comfortable (and burned off some of the extravagent eating I hope). All in all a very positive experience with CCAI, Nanchang, and the Galactic Peace Hotel. Now we lug all of our numerous suitcases onto a plane that looks way too small for the flight to Guangzhou. This parting shot is for my dad, who was a lifelong Buick man...wouldn't he be amazed! Stay tuned, tomorrow I will start the Chronicles of the White Swan. Make sure to visit the photo album link somewhere on (your) right for way too many photos. Cheers!
Well, I am finally back on Blogger again, and what can I say...it feels good! For some reason Blogger is not filtered in Guangzhou, but filtered in Nanchang, a bit like trying to figure out which plug adapter will work in which socket! (thanks Todd, your electrical thesis, a Magellen transformer, 14 various plug adapters and one Staples power strip have worked like a charm). So, I am trying to back up a bit to catch you up on all the whirlwind goings on....lets start with finally getting our daughter in Nanchang, on October 28th, which already seems like a long time ago.
From our arrival in Nanchang, it was a crazy day right up until the time we got Li Jing, literally no time to prepare ourselves for much of anything other than to act and react. Upon checking in to the Galactic Peace Hotel, which by far has been the nicest accomodations thus far (sorry White Swan fans, but true!), we had a lengthy CCAI meeting to go over our agenda for the week and be informed of the status of the arrival of the babies and how all it all would work. The meeting ended at 4:40pm, giving us just enough time to run back to the room and grab the cameras and psychologically prep ourselves for the culmination of our three year wait! When we went back down to the meeting room at 5pm, the babies were all behind closed doors and we anxiously gathered outside. We could hear a few of them crying through the door. Our CCAI guides, Evelyn and Sissi worked with the orphanage director to organize the list, who got babies first etc.
They soon began bringing them out one by one in order of our names on the list. It was all a blur, but it seemed we were somehow about half-way on the list. I was able to sneak a peak through the door a few times, and spotted a little Pebbles Flintstone hairdo way back in the room, and knew immediately it was her. When she came out in the orphanage directors arms, I just remember her eyes, runny nose and petrified look. The first shot in this posting was when she was just brought out the door, held by the orphanage director. Somehow, the amazing CCAI Evelyn got this shot while we were oblivious to who even had our camera, these girls are good!...Li Jing...first gazing upon 3 alien creatures soon to be her new family. She was handed to Lynne without a battle and was quiet and scared. Her fist was clenched tightly and eventually we found that she had a mangled slice of a tangerine in her hand. Jianxi is known for the best tangerines in China (another gimlet from our tour). In a few minutes she began to cry, but all in all was not too out of control. As with most families, our next goal was to get her to the room for the initial bonding time... which everyone I think yearns for, but is also slightly terrified of in some ways. After getting her to the room, we had about a 30 minute off-on crying period at most, then all became smooth sailing and has remained so throughout the trip. This went far better than we ever anticipated.
As corny as it sounds, we seemed to have an immediate warmth and connection from and with this child. Some of the others in our group really struggled with issues regarding attachment, grieving, bonding, eating and sleeping so we feel very fortunate. Who knows what may come later (like when she turns 16) but the initial few days were nothing but easy with Li Jing. We went on a number of tours around Nanchang including a beautiful pagoda temple & bonzai gardens, a rural village, a public park and gardens tour, and finalized our week at the Galactic Peace with a birthday dinner for all the new babies. We had most excellent CCAI guides, Sissi and Evelyn, that we developed a great relationship with and respect for. They not only helped us care for the babies, but also told us a wealth of info about Jianxi province, culture and traditions. Some of our personal highlights were visiting a local fleamarket, the local Walmart, and a number of incredible meals in various restaurants all of which served up local cuisine (without getting too visceral if you know what I mean). Nanchang is truly a city devoid of westerners. To take Andie out in public is to attract a crowd quickly. She was captured by numerous cell phone cameras wherever we traveled, and I must say she handled it well for a not yet 6 year old! I took one adventure out by myself to try out my Chinese, and though it was somewhat passable for the niceities, it only got me about 15 minutes from the hotel before I felt out of my element. A giant guy with silver sunglasses and armed with Canon cameras does not go unnoticed (who speaks weak Manderin with a southern accent). All in all, I felt very safe as the people are overall very hospitable but quite curious. By our departure on November 3rd, we were all probably yearning for a change of scenary and definitely ready to move on the next hurdle. The paperwork and money exchange in Nanchang was not too bad, as CCAI had everything very streamlined for us. We somehow were able to avoid much of the waiting and red tape it seemed a lot of other groups had to be subjected to. For example, getting the babies delivered to you in your hotel and not a civil affairs bureau is evidently quite rare. They also streamlined the Notary processes and other pay-ups so all we had to do is go as a group (one parent) with the cold hard cash to pay all fees at once. The hardest part was getting us (all dads) across the six lane street in front of our hotel without anyone getting killed (seriously, these folks don't stop for anyone except a Chinese lady with her hand held up!). Getting loaded for the flight to Guangzhou was a bit of a challenge for we all found our accumulated goods were mounting up. I was informed that the extra duffle bag I bought at the Walmart would not be sufficient for the remainder of the trip so guess we will be buying another in Guangzhou. Usually, afternoons were free for the babies to nap so Andie and I would usually go to the very plush pool and spa for a 2 hour swim. This was a great treat for her, though the water was a bit cool even for me. Luckily, a smaller pool was heated and swimming some laps kept it all comfortable (and burned off some of the extravagent eating I hope). All in all a very positive experience with CCAI, Nanchang, and the Galactic Peace Hotel. Now we lug all of our numerous suitcases onto a plane that looks way too small for the flight to Guangzhou. This parting shot is for my dad, who was a lifelong Buick man...wouldn't he be amazed! Stay tuned, tomorrow I will start the Chronicles of the White Swan. Make sure to visit the photo album link somewhere on (your) right for way too many photos. Cheers!
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