Photos

Beihai and to Guangzhou

Day 9- Friday 6/25 Beihai City to Guangzhou

We decided that since Lia had such hard time leaving the nannies and she has been missing her foster Mom so much that I would go to the orphanage and Paul and the kids would stay at the hotel. After breakfast, I met Glen and another family that had arranged an orsomehow to see the inside of the orphanage. I was fortunate enough to be there at the phanage visit. They are Canadian and have twin girls that were adopted four years ago. This family had pre-arranged somehow to see the inside of the orphanage. I was fortunate enough to be there at the right time. We arrived at the orphanage property and entered through a gate that was open. We parked and the orphanage director and several nannies came out to greet us. One of the nannies who had been in Nanning was there. It was raining and they brought umbrellas to us. The central area of the property had a garden like area with a statue and another area with a small pavilion. We entered the orphanage and other family was greeted by their daughter's nannies. They were very happy to see the girls and you could tell they cared a great deal for them. We then went to see the playroom area. It looked like the room that two the pictures of Lia were taken in. We were not allowed to take photos of the room. We removed our shoes before entering. It had a blue cushioned floor, was bright, and had many colorful poster hanging. There was also a corner with ribbons hanging from the ceiling. I met Lia's nanny from the time she spent in the orphanage. She was a kind, caring woman. She held my hand while we spoke through Glen. He explained why she did not come to the visit. I showed her picture of Lia on my camera. I was also able to have a photo taken with her. There was a little girl several months older than Lia there that was also cared for by the same nanny. She was so sweet and wanted to see the pictures too. Her name was Piaoyi (Lia's Chinese name is Piaoyun). When I showed her the pictures she hugged the camera. I think she may have remembered Lia but I am not sure. She was a sweet little girl. They told me that she was being adopted soon by another American family (hurray!) She followed me with her nanny throughout the visit and waved and said bye bye to me. There were probably 8 or 10 kids in the playroom and maybe 4 or 5 nannies. We also saw the sleeping rooms, an exercise/therapy room and a nursery area with several tiny babies. The head nanny was there during our tour so I was glad that Paul stayed back with Lia and Andrew. I feel fortunate to have been able to visit the orphanage. After returning to the hotel we packed up and met Glen a short while later. The driver drove us to the center of city. We walked around a bit and took some photos. There was a statue that represents the city of Beihai, known as the pearl city. Pearls are one of the main industries in Beihai. During the drive we went past a docking area for many traditional and very old Chinese fishing boats. Many of the boats are also homes for these families. We did not get to stop and take any photos. We also visited Lia's finding spot in front of a China Post (bank). It is heart wrenching to think about Lia's mother and this choice she had to make. In many cases the baby's mother will place her in a very public spot early in the morning and then hide somewhere to ensure that the baby is safely found. The mother will be arrested if she is caught.

After leaving, we stopped for a quick visit to Silver Beach, the main beach in Beihai. It is tourist location for the Chinese. We then headed back to Nanning to get Lia's passport and head to the airport for our final stop - Guangzhou. Glen took us into the airport and checked us in and from there we went through security to our gate. While waiting our gate was changed and we moved with the crowds to another gate. The airport was very crowded. It was a different experience as people just seemed in a hurry. There is no such thing as waiting politely for others, everyone just seems to push there way along. We boarded a bus to take us to our plane outside, maybe 100 yards away. Our flight departed at 7:55 and arrived in Guangzhou one hour later. Lia was able to sit on Paul's lap and did great on the plane ride. After landing in Guangzhou and picking up our luggage we met our guide, Helen. In the first 10 minutes we knew it would she was going to be wonderful! She asked if we were hungry and offered to stop and get us food, she told us about the hotel, she gave us the week's itinerary and explained to us the schedule for the next day. Once we arrived at the hotel, she requested extra water and towels for us and came to our room to be sure everything was okay. She even waited to be sure they brought us the extra items. We got ready for bed. Lia had a hard time with bed again (it will probably be this way for a while, she really misses her foster mama at bedtime) but Daddy worked his magic and got her to sleep.

Photos

To Beihai

Day 8 - Visit to Beihai City (Thurs. 6/24)

We checked out of our hotel in Nanning around 9:30 am and unfortunately had to wait nearly an hour for our guide to arrive. Once he arrived we left Nanning for a three hour drive to Beihai City. This is where Lia's orphanage is located, where she lived with her foster family, and where she was found. The drive was on a very nice highway with little traffic. We passed many rural villages along the way. Some of the area was mountainous and some was farmland. It was a good feeling to be out of the city. We arrived at our hotel, the Shangri-La, around 1:30 in the afternoon. Our guide helped us check in but then basically told us he would meet us the next day at 9:30 am for the orphanage visit. We were told we would only be able to see the outside of the orphanage. Here we were in our daughter's city and left on our own. We were extremely disappointed with our guide. The hotel was older but we had a nice big room that overlooked the bay and a wonderful swimming pool next to the ocean. Since the guide did not help us to get lunch we ate some noodle dishes we had brought (similar to Ramen noodles) and then went down to the pool. There was no one else swimming. The pool even had a small waterslide for kids. Andrew had a great time. The water was nice and warm (which I liked). Paul mostly sat at the edge of the pool with Lia. I had brought stacking cups for her to play with so we took a few to the pool. We got her to start pouring water from cup to cup and by the time we left the pool she was playing on the step of the pool and had gotten quite wet. She still wouldn't get into the water or let Paul get in but hopefully we will turn her into a water girl soon enough. Paul was of course just dying to get into the water! He promised Andrew that after Lia went to bed they would go swimming together. After swimming we decided to get dinner. The hotel restaurant prices were very high so we got directions to a nearby restaurant. We walked and only had cross one section of road. It was busy but mostly with electric motorbikes. We found the restaurant and went in. After we were seated and we started looking at the menu, we tried to ask some simple questions. The waitress called over another waitress and she spoke maybe four or five words in English. Of course I forgot the translation book at the hotel so we just sort of winged it. Luckily most of the menus in China have pictures. We ordered a dish that looked like a sweet and sour dish (it was sweet and sour pork, that was very tasty but the meat had bones in it so it was hard to eat), and broccoli. We also tried to order just rice or noodles, however I had pointed to a picture of another dish with rice in it (there are no pictures of just plain rice or noodles) and that is what we got. We don't know what it was exactly, but it was some type of rice, vegetables and meat. It was not our favorite dish. Bedtime was again very hard for Lia. I took Andrew to the pool so Daddy could get her to sleep and then we switched places and I stayed in the room so Paul could swim with Andrew. Unlike daytime, the pool was busy with people. The hotel seemed to be more alive at night, with people in the lobby, the business center, and the pool. It was really nice being outside in the warm weather at the pool. Paul and Andrew had a great time together. It was a very nice relaxing setting.

Oh, and a couple of side notes: One of the pool attendants really got a kick out of watching Andrew swim. He was a very kind young man that could speak some English. Also, at one point during the day while swimming a group of attractive young women employed by the hotel walked by the pool area and also seemed to really enjoy Andrew. Later, we saw them at the hotel restaurant and one of them mentioned what a good swimmer he was. Andrew told me he saw them at the pool looking at him and he thought they were so beautiful that he wasn't paying attention and bumped his head in the pool! Andrew has been of interest to many people. Chinese people from rural areas and smaller cities do not see many western children. They are very interested in him and have also taken photos of him.

Last Day in Nanning

Day 7 - Nanning visit to Mountain Park (Wed. 6/23)

We met our guide (really only an interpreter, he did not really do much else) in the morning and went to Jiangxi (spelling) Mountain Park which overlooks part of the city of Nanning. It was a very pretty park that was fairly extensive. The part of the park we entered had a covered walkway which was recently built. It was a very hot, humid, and sunny day so it was nice to walk under a covered area. During one of the stops along the walkway I took out some bubbles and began blowing them. Lia was very excited about the bubbles and wanted to hold the bottle and dip the bubble wand. I let her and she would hold the wand for me to blow the bubbles. This was the first time that she let me play with her. It was really our first break through moment of enjoying each other. Other times she would just push me away or shake her head no to me. After our bubble time we walked some more. There was an area with outdoor exercise type equipment which Andrew enjoyed trying out and then a section of park with Chinese zodiac sculptures. Our driver picked us up and took us to another part of the park. There was a pond loaded with carp that the kids were able to feed. Both Lia and Andrew enjoyed feeding the fish and watching them. There were so many fish they literally looked as if they were swimming on top of each other, out of the water! We were also able to rent a small boat to ride around the pond. We were the only boat on the water and Andrew was the captain! It was a fun little ride although the wiring on the boat's forward and reverse switch was interesting. It got very hot as we drove the boat around. I don't think that it would have passed US safety standards. After the park we headed to McDonald's for lunch. Andrew got a happy meal and I got a double cheeseburger, fries, and a coke (diet coke does not seem to be available). Paul did not get anything and we weren't sure if Lia would like the food, but she sure enjoyed the french fries! When we returned to the hotel, Paul sat with Lia until she went to sleep. We all took a nap. This was the first day that Lia started crying for her foster Mother at naptime and at bedtime (her Di Yi). She also seemed very subdued and sad while we were in the hotel room. When we went out she was very happy and wanted to hold Daddy's and Andrew's hands but each time we returned her personality would completely shift. We know she is grieving for her loss and it is so hard. She is also very attached to the shoes she was wearing when they brought her to us. She does not want to take them off, even at bedtime. That afternoon we went to the hotel pool and discovered that Lia wanted nothing to do with getting into the water. To Paul's dismay, she did not want Daddy to get into the water either and screamed and cried when he jumped in. Needless to say, Daddy sat by the pool with Lia while Andrew and I enjoyed the water. He was able to get her to put her feet in the water sitting by the edge but that was about it. After the pool we headed out for another run to Walmart to buy some snacks and blankets to give to the orphanage. We discovered that Lia had definitely been shopping before. She picked up some children's shorts and held them up to her to see what they looked like! We bought some Chinese cookies and yogurt drinks which are very popular with children. On our way back to the hotel we picked up some dinner. Once it was time for bed, Lia got very upset. Her shoes had been off and she put them on and kept trying to pull Paul to the door. She cried and cried for her foster Mom. Everything she was doing told us she wanted to go home. She wanted to leave. It breaks your heart to know what she is going through and to know that her foster Mom is most certainly grieving too. Eventually Paul was able to get her to sleep.

Day 5 & 6

Day 5 - Lia Day (Monday 6/21)

The day started off with a great breakfast buffet. The buffet includes many breads and pastries, probably six different choices of juices, an array of fruits and both western and Chinese breakfast options. It is nice to have the familiarity of breakfast foods from home. After breakfast Paul and Andrew went swimming. The hotel has a very nice pool that is at least 25 meters (according to Paul). The water is safe and clean. It was great for Andrew to be able to play and swim to get out some of his little boy energy. The rest of the afternoon we just spent some time in the hotel room getting paperwork organized and resting (as much as possible). We were worried and anxious about the day and not knowing what the meeting would be like. When we talked with Andrew about the day, he said he couldn't wait to meet Lia and play with her. He was also excited about the "big brother" shirt we got for him to wear. We met Glen in the hotel lobby and headed to the Civil Affairs Bureau rooms at the Guangxi Lottery Hotel. Our guide told us there were about 10 families in Nanning receiving their children this week. When we arrived and walked out the elevator, Lia was there walking with her orphanage Nanny. She was wearing a little red, white, & blue outfit. I knew it was her and had said so to Paul just as the guide told us it was her. We walked to a room, passing many families that had already received their child. There was much crying going on. When the nannies (two were there, the head nanny and another who handles the paperwork) tried to hand Lia to me, she began crying her little heart out and clinging to the chief nanny with her legs. It was just heartbreaking knowing what she was going through. I can only imagine how frightened she must have been. We waited a while and the nannies talked with her to try to calm her down. They pulled out the photo book we had sent to the foster family and tried to show her the pictures. We don't know if the foster family received it in advance of us coming or not but we were pleased to see that they did have the photos. It was all very emotional and there were lots of tears from both of us. We could tell the nannies cared very much for her and, in particular, the head nanny had a special relationship with her. The nannies stayed for maybe 15 minutes and asked if we were ready to take her. I took her and she just cried and cried. Later we found out that she was calling for her foster Mother (da yi). I know that she was very loved and she was well cared for. She cried until we returned to the hotel and finally she fell asleep. Paul completed paperwork with our guide and then I gave Lia to him. She slept for a good 2 hours. We were so concerned about how she would react when she awoke. Amazingly, she did not cry. She just took everything in. We gave her a sippy cup with water and a container of cheerios. She liked the cheerios and was able to drink from the sippy pretty well. Andrew started throwing a beach ball with me and she intently watched and even smiled. Andrew and I went out to get some take out for dinner and when we returned she was on the floor playing stacking cups with Daddy on the floor. Andrew played with her as well, putting cups on his head and she would copy. She refused to interact with me, but was great with Paul and with Andrew. She was very close to her foster Mom so I expect it will take some time for her to accept me. It has been wonderful for Paul.

　

Day 6 - Official Adoption Day (Tuesday 6/22)

Today at breakfast we met two other adopting families. One was a family that I had connected with online. They have two biological children ages 10 and 7 and adopted a little girl around 4 years old. We also met a Mother and son, Vicky and Ben who had traveled together. Her husband was unable to travel. They adopted a little girl who had just turned 2 and they have three other children at home. It was nice to connect with the other families. After breakfast we met our guide and traveled to have our documents notarized and then to complete the adoption procedure. We had the opportunity to meet again with the nannies and ask questions about Lia. Lia has on a jade necklace which is a traditional first birthday gift. We found out it was given to her by her foster Mother. This will always be special to her. We also found out that we will be able to get a photo of her foster family and that we can correspond with them through the orphanage. Additionally, her foster care was sponsored by a US based organization called Grace and Hope. One funny thing that we learned is that she likes to watch Tom & Jerry! We were concerned about Lia seeing the nannies again and how she might react. Lia immediately started playing with the head nanny and was very glad to see her. They gave her a gift of a beautiful seashell with some Chinese words engraved. I believe it may be her name along with some other words, but I will find out for certain what it says tomorrow. We then finished the paperwork with the orphanage director, put her footprint on in red ink and the adoption was official! Lia did cry when Paul picked her up for the footprint but although she wanted to go to the nanny again and she did cry, it was not as bad as yesterday and she fell asleep very soon after. This afternoon while Lia napped (and I did a bit too), Paul and Andrew went to the pool. Later in the day we took a short walk, Lia likes to be outside, and then went to dinner with Vicky, her son & daughter and their guide David. Now everyone else is sleeping and I am going to attempt to get the last few days posted.

　

　

Re: Day 3 and 4

Day 3 - Climbing the Wall (Saturday 6/19)

Yesterday (Saturday in China) we began our day with our guide Catherine about 9:00 a.m. We traveled in Van for about 2 hours with a short break for a visit to a Jade factory/shop. Different types of Jade can be found throughout China. There were many Jade carvings that were very Intricate and some that had many layers carved inside a larger outer layer. Jade is a very popular gift for a child's first birthday as well as other special occasions such as marriage. During the rest of our ride Catherine taught us some words in Mandarin. We arrived at the Great Wall around 11:30 and stayed for a couple of hours. The scenery was quite spectacular with mountains all around us. The day was very hot and sunny. The steps going up were uneven with some being a foot or so high and others only a few inches. Most of the climb did have railings, at least on one side. Some sections of steps were fairly narrow and others wide. The stairs also wound around and did not just go straight up like a staircase. The three of us climbed up for a good solid hour but still did not come to a part of the wall that leveled out or started downwards. On the way up we passed 5 watchtowers. We stopped to rest a number of times during the journey on sections near the watchtowers or where there spots that had small sections of level ground. We were soaked with sweat a short distance into the climb. The climb downward was much easier overall, but a bit hard on the knees. Unfortunately the sky was very hazy (likely due to smog) so some of the views were not clear. Even so, it was still incredibly beautiful and an absolutely amazing experience! After our visit to the Great Wall we traveled a bit and stopped for lunch. The lunch was fabulous! While there were only five of us at the table there was probably enough food for ten! The food was served family style on a large lazy susan in the center of the table. They kept bringing more and more food to us until the lazy susan was completely full. We had the opportunity to try many different foods and the food was fabulous. Paul would say it is the best Chinese food he has ever had. After we finished eating we drove back toward Beijing and visited the Summer Palace, the place the Emperor would stay in the summertime. It was a beautiful area with a lake and many trees, along with the traditional Chinese buildings like those in the forbidden city. We also took a very short dragon boat ride across the lake. We were all very tired and therefore did not spend much time before returning to the hotel. Andrew wanted McDonald's to eat so Paul went across the street to pick it up for him, but by the time he returned Andrew had crashed for the night. He slept through till morning. He has been a great little trooper and is having a really good time!

 

Day 4 - Traveling to Nanning (Sunday 6/20)

Happy Fathers Day! Sunday morning we awoke and had breakfast with Jim & Teanne. We then finished packing up and met Catherine in the hotel lobby about 9:30. We checked out of the Beijing International Hotel and headed for the airport. Once again the airport was very efficient. It did not take long at all for us to check our luggage and get through security to our gates. Catherine is traveling with Jim & Teanne as there was not a good local guide available. They will meet their little girl, Maren, today! Our flight started boarding a little after 11:30. We waited in line for takeoff quite a while so we departed a bit late. It was about a three hour flight to Nanning. Once we arrived we just followed the crowds to get our luggage and then met our local guide Glen outside of baggage claim. He brought us to our hotel, the Marriot. On the way we discovered that Nanning is a city of 6 million people. It is huge with new construction going on everywhere. It is a very interesting combination of old with very new. There are many, many high rises everywhere along with construction equipment and cranes. Many new buildings are built using bamboo scaffolding. We were glad to find our room has two double beds (not always the case in China). The hotel is new and is very nice, upscale and modern. After unpacking we ventured out of our hotel to look for dinner. We were all very tired and crabby so we ended up venturing into Walmart. Yes there is a Walmart right around the corner from us. It is underground and has escalators that descend to it in several different locations. What an interesting experience. Despite the size of the city, it is obvious that most people have not seen westerners. Everyone looks at us but most do not respond if you say hello (Ni Hao). We purchased some water, bread, and a few packages of something similar to ramen noodles and headed back to the hotel. We ate dinner in our room and went to bed early. Monday afternoon Glen will meet us in the lobby and take us to meet Lia!

 

Day 2 - Touring Beijing

Day 2 in Beijing- Touring the city!:

After a solid night of sleep we had a good breakfast buffet at the hotel and met another couple from Kansas that are adopting a 11 month old girl. Teanne and Jim also used the FTIA agency and joined us on our tours of Beijing sites. Tiananmen Square is a large open plaza that is surrounded by the Great Hall, other monuments to the Chinese revolution. The Square is just south of the Forbidden City. A large photo of former Chairman Mao greeted us as we entered the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was built from the 1410's and finished in 1422. The buildings initially contained a total of 9,999 rooms. Nine is a very significant and important number and considered a lucky number. All the roofs of the buildings are made of wood and no nails were used for the construction of the roofs. Details of the construction and the intricate colors were amazing. The fact that many of the original buildings built more than almost 600 years ago are still standing was incredible. The site was busy with tourists and the day was hot and muggy probably in the mid 80's. The city also had a garden with many trees and a 10 meter man-made rock that was impressive. Many photos were taken and the video camera was running!

We drove to the site of the 2008 summer Olympics and took photos of the Birds Nest (location of the opening and closing ceremonies) and the Ice Cube (where Michael Phelps broke the record with eight gold medals). We did not get to go inside either facility.

The final part of the day was a Chinese acrobatic show that was a lot of fun and quite amazing. The show included an incredibly flexible lady, lion dancer, two young men performing feats of strength and balance, lady performing balancing acts on a tall stack of chairs and six motorcyclists inside a giant round steel cage. The show was entertaining and a great end to a great day in Beijing.

Andrew had a good time and did really well considering the large amount of walking we did. He snuggled into bed immediately after we returned to our hotel room - we weren't far behind. Today we tour the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. Overall the weather has been very warm and sticky but no rain at least during the day. We are getting very excited for the our big day on Monday! Thanks for everyone's continued thoughts and prayers and look forward to sharing our incredible travels with you! Go USA vs. Algeria- have not watched much TV but did read a Chinese newspaper in English on Friday.

-Paul    

 

Note:will post pictures soon.

Day 1 - We are in China!

We left home this morning at about 4:30 a.m. The first leg of our travels took us to Washington DC's Dulles airport. As we were departing the plane, we met a couple on our flight traveling with their 9 year old son. We found out that they were also traveling to Beijing to adopt a 5 year old little girl. It was wonderful to spend our time waiting for the Beijing flight chatting with another adopting family. Andrew had a great time playing with his new friend and the time in DC (5 hours) passed very quickly.

Our flight to Beijing was just shy of 14 hours. Although we were ready to get off the plane by the time we landed, the flight wasn't actually bad at all. There were plenty of things to do to pass the time. The Beijing airport was easy to get through. It was very clean and the customs desk was efficient. Our agency's coordinator met us as we exited the baggage claim area and got us to our hotel. We are staying at The Beijing International Hotel. This afternoon we had a chance to walk around the area a bit and eat a delicious meal at a restaurant nearby. The waitresses were so sweet as they tried to show Andrew how to hold his chopsticks! It has been a long but very exciting day. Tomorrow we meet another family from our adoption agency and we get to explore Beijing!

Leaving for China

Tomorrow morning we begin our journey to bring Lia home. Our travels will take us first to D.C. where we wait for our direct flight to Beijing, a 14 plane ride. We will spend several days in Beijing before flying to Nanning, in the Guangxi Province, where we will meet Lia and she will officially become our little girl. From Nanning we travel to Beihai, the city where her orphanage is located and where she was found. Lastly, we will spend about one week in Guangzhou to finalize all the US paperwork. We hope you enjoy reading about our journey.

Lia's Photos

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