 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Home |
|
Photos |
|
|
|
|
Maps |
|
About Sue Mai |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our Journey |
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 10- The journey begins! Scott and I are on our way to Manchester airport. We've never been on such a long journey before. We'll leave Manchester at 9:10 and change planes in Detroit and Tokyo before getting into Beijing at 9:30 at night on April 11th. We'll talk to you again soon - from Beijing! |
|
|
|
Hello from Beijing! We arrived late last night after 26 hours of travel. After 4 planes and a quick tour of the Detroit, Tokyo and Beijing airports, we are here, ready to embark on our big climb up the Great Wall! We will be back tonight to tell you all about it. Stay tuned! |
|
|
|
Good morning! It is the morning of April 13th. Yesterday we toured Beijing. Our first stop was the pearl factory, where we saw some wonderful pearls and an oyster with raw pearls! We bought some things and it was wonderful to watch them make the necklaces for us. Next, we went through the imperial palace. It's huge! The Dragon Lady has got taste. (See history of Ming Dynasty). Our last stop was the Great Wall. OK, we only made it 1/3 of the way to the top. The day was crystal clear and the views were breathtaking.
We then stopped at a resaurant for dinner. The meals are great! They keep bringing food. We successfully ate with chopsticks and had fun playing "guess the dish." One person got the dishes right!
We're now off to meet Sue Mai tongiht. More later from Nanchang. |
|
|
|
We have Sue Mai!
Pictures will soon be on this internet site, hopefully soon.
We also will soon have pictures up of the Great Wall, the Imperial Palace and the Forbidden City from Beijing, as soon as we can find a better time to do the dial up services from China.
We are currently in Nanching in central China staying at a very nice hotel with an extremely patient business office helper.
If we cant get the pictures online, I can tell you that it is wonderful to have her. She is a puffy cheeked spirited lady of 1 1/2 years. She loves Cheerios, the outdoors and stacking cups.
It is currently Wednesday evening, still April 13th, and we will have more for you all by morning. Cheers! More later. |
|
|
|
We have now had our first night with Sue Mai. She slept very well - it was the parents who woke up at 4 am, wondering if our child was OK! But she is fine and rareing to go. Today we have the official registration. We also get to ask the orphanage director questions about her.
Yesterday we went to the Civil Affairs office to meet the babies. We all went into a room where the babies were waiting with the nannies. We were directed to sit in one area of the room and then one by one the baby s name was called out as well as the parents. Each family went up to receive their babies. They were all dressed in beautiful quilted jackets. It was a wonderful moment. |
|
|
|
It's the morning of the 15th and we have the morning off. Yesterday was a stressful day of interviews with the notary judge. The interviews went well and Sue Mai is now a member of our family! We also had a wonderful question and answer session with the orphanage director and staff. Sue Mai is thriving - she's smiling, crawling and said "da da" today! |
|
|
It is now April 18th. Yesterday we went to the park in Nanchang so we could meet with people from that town. People crowded around us and the babies like we were stars. Everyone was interested to know all about us and the babies. They were genuinely happy to know that the babies were going to homes in America. It was fun to meet with other parents from Nanchang and their babies. We saw families with both boys and girls. One family walked by with two girls.
We were also scolded by the clothing police. Sue Mai had some bare leg showing and when I put the stroller blanket on, I got nods and expressions of approval and smiles. It was very funny.
Today we went to a Buddhist temple. It was fascinating and imposing. They worship many gods. One of the Buddhas in the temple was represented with their version of archangels and had his foot upon the sea and upon the dragon. It very much reminded me of the book of Revelations.
Our next stop was a trip to the porcelin store and factory. You can get porcelin very cheap! We bought some beautiful things - a jewelry box for Sue Mai, a porcelin egg, and a year of the sheep plate to add to our plate collection in the dining room.
Sue Mai is making lots of progress. She is trying to hard to walk and can walk short distances holding on with one hand. She is babbling a bit and our guide said that one word she can say in Jiangxi dialect is shoe, which is also the Mandarin word for Child. I am using the Mandarin I learned, but other than a few words I find it hard to understand when someone answers back. |
|
|
|
Yesterday we took a trip to the Chinese countryside. This is the area where most of our girls came from. The countryside is poor, often with no running water or electricity. The stoves are run by propane. There is also no proper sewage or plumbing. We encountered rice patties next to new houses being built, and a pool table in the front of a one-room home. The people of the neighborhood were fascinated with us and crowded around us. One woman showed me her baby and it was not clear whether she was trying to give me her child. I got a creepy feeling.
The day was blazing hot and we were relieved to be back in the city. We went to a fancy restaurant where Sue Mai was popular with the waitstaff. Everyone crowded around to feed her and play with her.
Today is our last full day in Nanchang, where we will do the last of the paperwork. |
|
|
|
Greetings fromthe White Swan hotel! We are now in the lap of luxury. We are eager to try out the pool. We've already checked out the super-cool play room and oohed and ahed at the waterfall and the jade statues in the lobby. Today Sue Mai had her required doctor's check up and she charmed the staff. Then we went clothes shopping for some very cute clothes. Tomorrow is the famous "red couch"photo and a tour of the jade factory. |
|
|
|
Hello from Beijing! Yesterday was a very busy day. We all went to the American Consulate for our swearing in ceremony. The whole thing lasted five minutes. All they wanted us to do is to raise our right hand and swear that everything we said was true. We had to go through security and Sue Mai high-fived the guard. He loved it. Then we all got on an evening flight to Beijing where we entertained all the people around us with the bottle and stacking cup throw. Sue Mai commanded first-class service from the flight attendants and had her bottle wheeled to her on the drink cart.
Today we get to ride on a rickshaw and will visit Tianneman Square. Then tomorrow early we will board the plane for a LONG flight home!
We hope you enjoyed our travelogue. Because of space constraints we couldn't put everything on the page. But we have plenty of video and pictures and will tell you more soon when we see you all! |
|