Sunday, January 30, 2005
Oh Yeah! We're also in China
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This was written on Sunday, posted on Monday ]
It’s 9:15 a.m. here and Tian is napping following her breakfast of rice cereal, rice, and rice congee (porridge). Do you see a theme there? I’ve had to mix her formula that I brought from the States, rich in vitamins, with the rice cereal to get her to “drink” it. We will be trying to stretch her interest in other foods but we are not really worried about it now. Tian slept all night, from 9:00 to 6:45 this morning, with no sounds at all except those sweet baby breathing sounds.
You may be wondering if all we are doing is sitting in the hotel room amazed at our daughter. Hardly! Let me bring you up to date on what we have done so far in China. (It’s actually almost too much – Tian and China too!)
Wednesday, January 26
Three families flew into Kunming and received our daughters within a few hours. The rest of the day was spent in our rooms trying to stay awake until 8:00 p.m. Steve and I were so exhausted and exhilarated by the whole experience we didn’t realize it ended up being 24 hours without food. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Steve without food for 24 hours, not believable.]
Thursday, January 27
We ate breakfast in the hotel at the buffet of western and eastern foods. Steve leans west and I have been eating a lot of fried rice and stir fried vegetables. We met in the morning so Xiu Lan could look at the babies and count their layers of clothes! She then walked us, always at lightning speed and shouting information as she goes, to a restaurant where she thought it was suitable for us to eat lunch. She rushed off to work on details at the police station.
In the afternoon, I went with Linda, Debbie, and Katie to a department store with the babies. We looked around, not really buying anything and then stopped at a convenience store for some more bottled water and a few cokes.
That evening we went to an amazing Korean restaurant with Xiu Lan where she treated us to a huge meal of wonderful food. “Try this! Give the babies peas! More! These greens are from snow peas – very expensive! Eat them!!” It was a great experience.
But then she announced we were going to do paperwork! I thought I was going to die! I was so tired. Xiu Lan was wonderful and Linda, who is quite experienced with this fifth time process, helped. We got through the pile of papers to fill out. I can’t even tell you how at the end of my rope I was at the end of that evening. The time change does not encourage intensely detailed work at 9:00 p.m. your second day in an Asian culture. [EDITOR'S NOTE: The husband bailed and went to sleep early.]
Friday, January 29
Friday was a big day that seemed to stretch as the babies grew hungry and tired. But we kept keeping on! It was a visit to the Minority Village or sometimes called Nationalities Village. There are many minorities that live in Yunnan province. Epcot-like, but with only a $15 entrance fee, we were able to go into a number of different villages for experiences like a tea ceremony with the Bai people and a zip-line ride with the Tibetans. The shopping was fun and included some beautiful craftsmanship.
That evening we were on our own, so the three families headed out to Rocco’s, a restaurant with some wonderful Italian food. It was great to have a break from the Asian food for one evening. Steve and I enjoyed bruschetta and lasagna.
Saturday January 30
Xiu Lan met us at 9:40 to go over more paperwork on the adoption process. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Again, the husband bailed from the paperwork. Do you see a recurring theme?] We basically just reviewed some papers to be sure the information was correct. We then boarded taxis for a wild ride into another part of the city. There is a beautiful park around Green Lake. We walked and strolled the babies. It is so much fun to just see life here. We saw a young man in white doing tai chi, some old men playing maijong, ladies with tiny Pomeranians, little children with split pants… We were looked at very carefully sometimes with a smile, sometimes not, but always with raging curiosity. A few children say “hello” and then laugh and run. The tulips are blooming in this city of eternal spring. It is really a beautiful place.
After hearing all of the stories about Walmart, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to shop in a five story “super-Walmart”. We found some great deals like tennis shoes for Steve at $10 a pair and some Chinese New Year things. We had quite a basketful and the bill came to $30. This included 2 pairs of tennis shoes, 2 shirts, rice cereal, CNY envelopes, 12 Cokes, and a few other miscellaneous things. It was really fun!
Sunday, January 31
We have just eaten breakfast and are getting ready to head out the door to visit some temples and the “Dragon Gate.”
[EDITOR'S NOTE: The photographer was momentarily distracted by a beautiful Chinese baby and left his video camera and still camera in the lobby of THE KUNMING HOTEL. Later in the day when the loss was discovered, the wife of the photographer did some quick thinking (not in the photographer's purview which in this case means the extent of the photographer's competence) and had someone call the hotel and secure the cameras. Although the cameras were safe, no pictures of Dragon's Gate or the Temple of 500 Buddhas were taken. The following is one borrowed.}
Now I’m back from that simple little trip – six hours later. We hiked up a huge hill with strollers and then left the babies at the bottom with the wife of Stephen (one of our guides). We began to hike up – up – up 715 steep, uneven, slippery, hewn out of rock stairs to the top of a very high mountain. There were shrines the whole way up, works of Taoist craftsmen, one requiring fourteen years of chipping rock into a work of art. Steve and I began one long hike up a staircase and the sign said “No striding”. HA! We were proud of ourselves that we dragged ourselves to the very top, no danger of breaking the striding rule. On the way back we were able to visit a Buddhist temple that reminded us of the first martial arts fight scene in Hero. It was a great, but exhausting day. I wish I would have worn tennis shoes!
Only today and tomorrow in Kunming and then we head to Guangzhou on Tuesday.
It’s 9:15 a.m. here and Tian is napping following her breakfast of rice cereal, rice, and rice congee (porridge). Do you see a theme there? I’ve had to mix her formula that I brought from the States, rich in vitamins, with the rice cereal to get her to “drink” it. We will be trying to stretch her interest in other foods but we are not really worried about it now. Tian slept all night, from 9:00 to 6:45 this morning, with no sounds at all except those sweet baby breathing sounds.
You may be wondering if all we are doing is sitting in the hotel room amazed at our daughter. Hardly! Let me bring you up to date on what we have done so far in China. (It’s actually almost too much – Tian and China too!)
Wednesday, January 26
Three families flew into Kunming and received our daughters within a few hours. The rest of the day was spent in our rooms trying to stay awake until 8:00 p.m. Steve and I were so exhausted and exhilarated by the whole experience we didn’t realize it ended up being 24 hours without food. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Steve without food for 24 hours, not believable.]
Thursday, January 27
We ate breakfast in the hotel at the buffet of western and eastern foods. Steve leans west and I have been eating a lot of fried rice and stir fried vegetables. We met in the morning so Xiu Lan could look at the babies and count their layers of clothes! She then walked us, always at lightning speed and shouting information as she goes, to a restaurant where she thought it was suitable for us to eat lunch. She rushed off to work on details at the police station.
In the afternoon, I went with Linda, Debbie, and Katie to a department store with the babies. We looked around, not really buying anything and then stopped at a convenience store for some more bottled water and a few cokes.
That evening we went to an amazing Korean restaurant with Xiu Lan where she treated us to a huge meal of wonderful food. “Try this! Give the babies peas! More! These greens are from snow peas – very expensive! Eat them!!” It was a great experience.
But then she announced we were going to do paperwork! I thought I was going to die! I was so tired. Xiu Lan was wonderful and Linda, who is quite experienced with this fifth time process, helped. We got through the pile of papers to fill out. I can’t even tell you how at the end of my rope I was at the end of that evening. The time change does not encourage intensely detailed work at 9:00 p.m. your second day in an Asian culture. [EDITOR'S NOTE: The husband bailed and went to sleep early.]
Friday, January 29
Friday was a big day that seemed to stretch as the babies grew hungry and tired. But we kept keeping on! It was a visit to the Minority Village or sometimes called Nationalities Village. There are many minorities that live in Yunnan province. Epcot-like, but with only a $15 entrance fee, we were able to go into a number of different villages for experiences like a tea ceremony with the Bai people and a zip-line ride with the Tibetans. The shopping was fun and included some beautiful craftsmanship.
That evening we were on our own, so the three families headed out to Rocco’s, a restaurant with some wonderful Italian food. It was great to have a break from the Asian food for one evening. Steve and I enjoyed bruschetta and lasagna.
Saturday January 30
Xiu Lan met us at 9:40 to go over more paperwork on the adoption process. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Again, the husband bailed from the paperwork. Do you see a recurring theme?] We basically just reviewed some papers to be sure the information was correct. We then boarded taxis for a wild ride into another part of the city. There is a beautiful park around Green Lake. We walked and strolled the babies. It is so much fun to just see life here. We saw a young man in white doing tai chi, some old men playing maijong, ladies with tiny Pomeranians, little children with split pants… We were looked at very carefully sometimes with a smile, sometimes not, but always with raging curiosity. A few children say “hello” and then laugh and run. The tulips are blooming in this city of eternal spring. It is really a beautiful place.
After hearing all of the stories about Walmart, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to shop in a five story “super-Walmart”. We found some great deals like tennis shoes for Steve at $10 a pair and some Chinese New Year things. We had quite a basketful and the bill came to $30. This included 2 pairs of tennis shoes, 2 shirts, rice cereal, CNY envelopes, 12 Cokes, and a few other miscellaneous things. It was really fun!
Sunday, January 31
We have just eaten breakfast and are getting ready to head out the door to visit some temples and the “Dragon Gate.”
[EDITOR'S NOTE: The photographer was momentarily distracted by a beautiful Chinese baby and left his video camera and still camera in the lobby of THE KUNMING HOTEL. Later in the day when the loss was discovered, the wife of the photographer did some quick thinking (not in the photographer's purview which in this case means the extent of the photographer's competence) and had someone call the hotel and secure the cameras. Although the cameras were safe, no pictures of Dragon's Gate or the Temple of 500 Buddhas were taken. The following is one borrowed.}
Now I’m back from that simple little trip – six hours later. We hiked up a huge hill with strollers and then left the babies at the bottom with the wife of Stephen (one of our guides). We began to hike up – up – up 715 steep, uneven, slippery, hewn out of rock stairs to the top of a very high mountain. There were shrines the whole way up, works of Taoist craftsmen, one requiring fourteen years of chipping rock into a work of art. Steve and I began one long hike up a staircase and the sign said “No striding”. HA! We were proud of ourselves that we dragged ourselves to the very top, no danger of breaking the striding rule. On the way back we were able to visit a Buddhist temple that reminded us of the first martial arts fight scene in Hero. It was a great, but exhausting day. I wish I would have worn tennis shoes!
Only today and tomorrow in Kunming and then we head to Guangzhou on Tuesday.
# posted by lorrainegriffith @ Sunday, January 30, 2005 
