Leaving Nanchang (REVISED and out of order - should be before previous post)

Friday, May 25th PAcking, PAcking. Seems we have too much stuff. Shirley came to take us to Porcelene Street today. She had a very specific shop she wanted to take us to. I think it was her friend's shop or she's getting a kickback. We then got back to the hotel for a couple of hours and then left for the airport. All went smooth until we got to the airport. Baggage check was a long process. They wouldn't let mom go through security with us, so we met up with her a the gate. There must have been 20 babies waiting to fly to Guangzhou on this flight. They all seemed to be crying while we waited at the gate. One poor family had their young son with them and a very unhappy baby. The little boy got sick and through up all over the airport floor and all over himself. We felt so sorry for them, but they said there wasn't anything we could do to help. There was a gate attendant assigned to help mom on the plane. Apparently they didn't let him know when he was to get mom on board because he was very upset when everyone starting boarding before he got mom on the plane. When we got on the plane with all the crying babies, there was a technical difficulty so the attendants served drinks and hot food. The airplane took off with trays down and food on the trays. Very interesting experience! This was Cami's first plane ride. She was a champ! Didn't fuss at all. Talked and flirted with the man sitting next to us. Drank a bottle and fell asleep. No wheelchair when we landed. John was not happy because we were supposed to go to the baggage claim but it was a very long walk. We waited outside the gate until John tracked down an attendant. Ended up it was a stewardess that was not happy having to do this menial work. I realized that after I tried to tip her and she acted insulted. Peter, our Guangzhou guide, met us at the airport. He was nice but very down to business and experienced. I appreciated that very much! In the shuttle, he gave us a rundown on the next few days and what papers we needed to have at what time. Guangzhou is very big and very different. Much more modern. We are staying in an area called Shamian Island. Definitely a tourist location for locals and adopting people. The island about 900 meters by 400 meters. It has 2 main hotels, restuarants and lots, lots, lots of tourist shops. Intermixed there are apartment complexes and the Polish Consulate. We stayed in the Victory hotel. The hotel is wonderful, has osmosis water in each room that is drinkable, and has free computer access and internet in each business suite. Yea, I can now type this blog. Since we were served dinner on our flight, we just walked around outside a little bit and went to bed. We stayed at the Victory

Appointments (REVISED)

Saturday, May 26th Today Cami smiled! Yea. She smiled and giggled when we blew bubbles on her tummy. We are definitely starting to see personality! She likes to talk and blow bubbles. She loves to imitate. Everyone had a great night's slept last night. The beds are comfortable and it is at least a 4-star hotel but American standards. Today we had our final appointments in Nanchang. Pictures for her paperwork, forms, and Camryn's medical exam. She talked and smiled through her pictures. She was a little irritated during the medical exam but she tolerated it. She didn't like it when the nurse took her from me to weigh her. After the medical exams, we went back to the hotel for lunch and then went back to meet with Peter for 2 hours of paperwork for our Tue. appointment. We found out that there was a form that we needed to have notorized in the US so John will have to go to the meeting with Peter on Tue. instead of waiting for Peter to call us in the hotel. Camryn is continually entertaining us. She has a joyful, but opinionated personality. Every where we go, people (especially the Chinese people) tell us how beautiful she is. When we tell them she is from the Jiangxi Provence, they was "Ah, spicy girl!" I finally asked someone what that meant and they said it means talkative, lively, loud. I believe they may be correct! Tonight we went to a Thai restuarant to eat called the Cow and Bridge. Not sure I want to know why they named it that. The food was really good. We ordered what we thought we might recognize like Sweet and Sour Chicken; Squid (calimari); and Prawns. We also ordered our broccoli and it was wonderful. We later found out that they use Peanut Oil which gave it a great taste but isn't very healthy. This place was chopsticks only and no napkins. We finally asked for some and they brought 1 for all of us to share! Afterwards we went to a few shops on the way to drop off our laundry. We almost didn't get out! Lots of competing sales people and prices and they keep talking even as you walk away. Camryn had her with Sydni tonight. She seemed to enjoy it and splashed around a lot. She's such an easy going baby!

Shopping

Thursday, May 24 Today we went shopping on Pedestrian Street. Lots of clothing shops but not much else. We bought same clothes for Sydni, Camryn and I. Dalton was very dissappointed because he was really interested in finding some games for his gameboy. We cut it short because it started to get really rainy and cold. We went back to the room and ordered Pizza and watched a movie.

Meiling Mountain

Wednesday, May 23rd Visited Meiling Mountain We had asked Shirley when we arrived if it would be possible to visit Mt. Lushan, Meiling Mountain or other areas outside of Nanchang. Mt. Lushan would be too far, but we went today to see Puyoung Well in Meiling Mountains. Mom stayed at the hotel to rest, since she wouldn't be able to hike. It was about an hour's drive northwest of Nanchang. The town was small and poor. We got there about 10 am, but it was already 90 and humid. Shirley was interested in going too since she had never been there. We thought we would look at this well and then drive up to the mountains to hike. Turns out that it was a hike to get to the Puyang Well. The area was almost tropical that we walked through. We went over rope bridges and swinging bridges. The kids hiked up a step set of steps called Hero's Mountain. IF you make it up the steps you are considered a hero or herione. We had a good hike and Camryn was a trooper. She road in my front pack and talked and sang. Still no smile but we are getting closer. By the time we got done hiking it was already 1 pm so we headed back to town. We walked around Nanchang, ate at McDonalds (we weren't very brave when it came to food as we didn't want anyone to get sick) and had ice cream. We then headed back to the hotel. Everyone was tired and ready to go to bed. Gave Camryn another wash down again. Haven't tested a bath yet. She is sleeping through the night. Her schedule said she woke up at 4:3o for bottle, which she did the first night. Last night she sleep until 7:00 am. Grief maybe? I hope it's just that she is getting more comfortable.

FengCheng Orphanage

Tuesday, May 22 Fengcheng City Today we got to go to see the orphanage. Shirley went with us. It was about an hours drive from Nanchang. This is definitely a poor area of China. As we drove by, we realized what looked like falling down sheds were actually houses. This area is very agricultural and they grow rice, lotus blossoms, and corn. We took pictures as we were driving but not sure how well they came out. We had our first experience with "squatty potties" today. They are holes in the floor that you squat over and no TP. About 15 minutes outside of Fengcheng Sydni really had to go. Shirley had the driver stop at a hotel along the road. Very simple hotel. The bathroom was part of the supply closet. We were able to get permission to visit the outside of the orphanage but couldn't go in. Because we had a suitcase of donations and offered to buy formula for the babies, the director, Mr. Wong, met with us and took us to Camryn's finding place. Mr. Wong met us a the new orphanage that they had just moved into. As we were getting out, he kept telling the "aunties" to move the babies away from the front of the entrance. I guess we weren't supposed to see them. He let us take our picture in front of the orphanage and then hurried us back into the van. Camryn's finding place was outside the small post office just down the street from the old orphanage. We stopped and took pictures. We attracted a lot of attention because we were Western and had blond hair. The director and Shirley kept waving them away from us. Next we went to the store. Shirley asked how much formula we were going to buy. After we told her, Mr. Wong asked if we would change our mind and buy a crib instead. They didn't have enough cribs for all of the babies. We said fine. We bought one and Mom bought one. Mr. Wong gave us his email address so that we could keep in touch and he would send us pictures. Shirley then took us back to Nanchang. We were able to stop on the way back and take pictures of the rice fields. When we got back to the hotel, we all laid down for a nap. Jetlag is still getting us. We had a breakthrough with Camryn! AFter nap I decided to give her a snack (Cheerios) first and then a bottle. That went wonderfully. Because she has been with a foster mom instead of in the orphanage, she got much better care. We just needed to figure out what she is used to in her schedule and help her to feel comfortable. No smile yet, but I think we are getting close! Then we read a book and you could tell that she had been read to because she immediately starting turning pages. AFter naps we walked to Walmart for supplies and KFC. On the way, I started feeling really sick. Probably a combination of heat, jetlag and eating different food. That night I ate crackers and water while everyone else had KFC.

It's a New Day!

Monday, May 21st China time Nanchang, Jiangxi Provence, China Camryn is still getting used to us. Shirley had translated the foster mom's (called First Mom) sleeping and feeding schedule, but getting to know Camryn is still like figuring out where the missing puzzle pieces go. This morning John, Camryn and I spent the morning going to appointments and filling out paperwork. Oh, and giving them lots of new, crisp $100 bills. They looked them over pretty carefully, but not as much as other people because they were numbered and still in their money wrappers. We went to the CAB building (Civil Affairs Bureau) and Camryn had her picture taken for her passport, we paid money, and the director of the CAB interviewed us about our intentions. Then we went to the passport appointment, and then we ended at the Notary. This man asked us if we promised to never abandon or abuse Camryn. When Shirley translated, I thought she said "Will you abandon or abuse Camryn." I quickly said NO and the notary looked at me funny and then stamped the document. I didn't realize until later what I had! During the morning while we were gone, Mom, Sydni, and Dalton explored the hotel, got there stuff unpacked, and had breakfast. We ate leftover pizza for lunch. Since was were all still jetlagged, we all laid down for naps, including Camryn. When Camryn woke us, she was very upset and cried. I think this is round 2 of grieving. She woke in an unfamiliar place and she was scared. I tried giving her a bottle but she didn't want it. Mom and the kids were still sleeping so John and I put her in the front pack and went out to the department store next door. As soon as we went outside, she was much happier. She likes to be on the go. What a culture shock! Everyone talking in a different language, pedestrian traffic was crazy, and we didn't know how to find the stuff we were looking for in the store. We bought supplies, food, and a thermos for heating bottles. John and I were glad that we went out first before taking Mom and the kids. We got lots of looks, but everyone was friendly. John and I are both feeling a little overwhelmed with the different situation and taking care of our family. I think that we will feel better after we have been here awhile. When we got back to the hotel at 6:30 PM, the kids were still sleeping. John went to lay down with the kids and Mom came over to our room. I feed Camryn and she fell asleep on my while I was laying on the couch. I must have fallen asleep too for awhile. Mom and I were both tired, so she laid down on the couch until the others woke up and I took Camryn to our bed. I woke up at midnight and realized everyone was still asleep, including Mom. I fixed Camryn a bottle and she went back to sleep and slept through the night. The kids slept 15 hours!

Meeting Camryn

Sunday, about 2 hours after we landed, the orphanage director and his assistant brought Camryn to us in our room. They called first from the lobby and we could already hear her crying. She was so upset! When they brought her in she was sobbing. She is beautiful and much taller than we expected! She has lots of hair, big eyes, long legs and fingers. Shirley and the director tried to talk over her crying and told us (really John, because I was walking around with Camryn trying to calm her down) about her feeding schedule etc. Shirely asked about formula and if we needed anything. She went to the store to buy water, Chinese baby formula and rice cereal for Camryn and Pizza for us because we hadn't had time to change any money.Three hours of Camryn crying and me rocking her later Camryn fell asleep on my shoulder. We were exhausted. Mom, Sydni and Dalton had crashed earlier in their room. Mostly restful sleep as Camryn stuck to her schedule and only woke up once at 4:30 AM for a bottle.

We're not in Kansas anymore Toto!

The flight to LA was uneventful. Southwest was very helpful with Mom's wheelchair situation. LA Airport was crazy busy and we had to figure out how to get to the international terminal by aorport shuttle with Mom in a wheelchair and 6 bags of luggage. All worked out well once we found a couple of luggage carts that someone had left on the sidewalk (We gave God the credit for that!). We had a long layover in LA (5 hours). When we reached the Cathey Pacific airline counter there was a sign sitting out that we couldn't check our bags until 8:00 pm ( 3 more hours) so that gave us time to re-weigh all of our luggage to make sure that they didn't weigh too much. At the airline counter, there was a Chinese college girl named Stacey looking lost. (In the picture, Stacey is just to the right of John and smiling) She was waiting for the same flight, so I invited her to sit with us until the plane came. She was great fun and a fountain of information. She was returning to China after staying with a host family for a year while going to college. We would have adopted her too if she was available! :) The LA to Hong Kong flight was long, but not bad. We left LA at 11:50 LA time (1:50 AM Topeka time) We all slept 8-10 hours and that helped a lot. Mom has been a trouper. The flight was 15 hours from LA to Hong Kong. Because of the 15 hour flight and the 12 hour time difference, we skipped Saturday and arrived in Hong Kong on Sunday AM at 5:20 AM. After the airline unloaded Mom's wheelchair and we got out of the plane, we had to wait in the "Transfer Area" until the check-in desk opened at 7:30 am. This is where the fun started because people didn't speak English very well. After we checked in, we got moved to the front line of the security check because of Mom's leg. Then we were taken upstairs to the food court and the guy took us to Burger King. The bakery next door looked better so we ate there. In the bathroom, we were able to brush teeth and wash faces and that helped a lot. The bathroom was Western style still thank goodness! The flight from Hong Kong to Nanchang was good. It's a small airline, but the people were very friendly. We had to fill out declaration papers on the airplane. We arrived in Nanchang about 1:30 PM and went through security and customs. Shirley, our guide, met us at the airport and got us loaded into a van. Nanchang was hot and humid!! Luckily the van had AC. It was about an hour drive from the AP into Nanchang and our hotel. During the drive, Shirley gave us a brief overview of the next few days and told us that the Orphanage Director would be bringing Camryn to us at the hotel about 20 minutes after we arrived!

WE HAVE INTERNET ACCESS!

Monday noon (Guangzhou time) Sunday midnight (Topeka time) We are in Guangzhou at the Victory Hotel and we finally have internet access! The first hotel we stayed at in Nanchang said they had access through their system, but we could never make it work. The following posts will detail each day. I haven't figured out downloading pictures on this new computer system in Guangzhou so hopefully I will be able to download pictures later.