Coming Home!!!!

I've had problems posting pictures this week, and gave up. I'll do them frome home when we get there. It's Thurs night or actually Fri morning at 12:30am. We leave at 6:00am. Other than taking the Pearl River Dinner Cruise on Tuesday night, we really didn't do a whole lot the last few days besides some shopping, the medical exam and today's oath at the American Consulate. It may be corny, but I really feel a lot of pride when I'm taking the oath. We have a lot of problems in our country, but there's a lot of good too, and I feel proud to be an American.

Siena is doing well. I got my first kiss on the cheek from her today. The honeymoon ended over the weekend, and we got to experience her short temper, impulsiveness, and loudness. We had to get across to her that some of her reactions were not acceptable, by taking away one of her toys or movies. She pouts by crying quietly (which makes you feel awful), after initial yelling, and then freezing. The weird thing is that after I had to be firm with her a few times, she started to accept me more readily, joke with me, and hold my hand. Before that daddy was the main acceptable one. There have been fewer incidents the last 2 days. I know everything will probably change again once we get home and she has to adjust to a totally newe living environment where there is basically no one who understands her. At least the last few days give me hope. I really pray hard about this constantly. She has a loud voice naturally, and when she started yelling, I thought I was going to loose it. She and Maria get along pretty well, although there is a competitive edge to the relationship. It really seems normal. I love watching them play and hearing them both laugh uncontrollably sometimes. They are complete opposites. Maria is cautious, quiet and shy while Siena is a daredevil, loud and outgoing--she says hi to everyone when we walk down the street, and happily poses for photo shots. Siena also likes to joke around a lot and try to make people laugh. I also think she was a caretaker. She wants to help Maria do everything, which sometimes annoys Maria. She has a hard time accepting help with anything, and gets mad if you don't let her at least try it alone first. I do like that she is very neat and tidy, and helps keep everything that way.

Oh well, I need to get some sleep. Please pray for safe travel home!

Erminia

Finally getting pics to post-will add more later

Mon-10/15-The Safari Zoo

This zoo was amazing. I haven't been to the San Diego Zoo in over 20 years, but I think this place would give it a run for it's Money. There are 2 sections, a part of the zoo you walk through, like most of those in the US, and another drive through section. We went throuth the drive through section first. Many of the animals are freely roaming and will come right up to the car. There was an ostrich I thought was going to extend its neck into our small bus. Deer, antelope, zebras, giraffes, camels and a host of others that I can't remember the name of, were roaming around. I don't mean just 1 or 2, but herds of them. It was interesting to observe them, and see them up so close. When we got to predatory animals, there was a deep pit and wire that prevented the animals from getting out. The view was still closer than normal,and again, there were large groups of each animal: lions, tigers, cheetahs, black bears, brown bears, white leapords, and countless others. Rhinos were also set further apart, as were Wallaby's and Kangaroos.



Now you would have to guess that I took so many pictures on the drive thru, that by the time we got to the really good stuff, my camera battery went dead! So I don't have picures of some of the real cuties and rare animals---just video. They had a least 8 Koalas sitting in their gum trees, that were so incredibly cute! I would have loved to hold one. They also had 3-4 Pandas that also were cute...but I have no pictures. Cute chimps and other monkeys were also around.



We spent a good 3 hours at this zoo. All of us enjoyed it and I recommend it to other families. We had gone to the City zoo on Friday after the orphanage. It was nice, but no comparison to this one. We stopped at McDonalds on the way back. Burgers have a spice in them we don't have in the US, but we were so hungry, we ate them anyway.

The Weekend

We had a pretty nice weekend. The weather has been hot during the day, i.e. in the 90s and cools off a bit at night. On Saturday, we took the girls to a small amusement park we had driven past somewhere in the city. There were only 2 rides they were tall enough to go on alone, and Larry and I took them on a couple more they could go on with a parent. The prices were pretty comparable to ride tickets at a state fair in the US. They really enjoyed it. After that we went back to the hotel and took them swimming or I should say, Larry got in the pool with them and I just sat on the edge---the water was cold! In the evening, we took our ritual walk to the park so the girls could burn up some more energy, and then went to Lucy's for lunch.



On Sunday, we met another couple that is here adopting a beautiful 3yr old and all went to church across the street. The service was in Cantonese, but the music of the hyms was very familiar and we quietly sang in English. It is a small church, but packed to gills with local Chinese. The four of us and our daughters were the only foreingers. It was great to see a lot of young people in there too. This church is allowed to preach without being monitored--we think. Our guide told us of another church that has guards posted on the outside to make sure only foreigners are allowed in (have to show a passport) and takes names of any Chinese that try to go in. It's hard to imagine those kinds of restrictions. After church, we walked down to the mall to look around and maybe shop. The streets were packed as I hope the pictures show. It was just a normal Sunday--no holiday or anything--but even shopping the day after Thanksgiving can't compare. There are just a lot of people everywhere. Trying to navigate a stroller through it all was a nightmare too. Maybe that's why very few of the Chinese women seem to use them. Most of the babies and toddlers are carried. They look heavy, and the women are usually small frame, but obviously very strong. We ate at KFC and I have to say it was close to what we have at home. We saw more interesting sights on the way home in the shops. The day was exhausting.

Fri-Orphanage Visit

We visited Guangzhou Social Welfare Institute on Friday. That was the place that arranged for her lifesaving surgery at age 2, filed the necessary papers to find her a permanent home, and placed her in foster care. It is evident as you walk around that they do care about the children in their care. This SWI has many Waiting Children (Special Needs). Our guide estimated 70%. Most are not severe by any stretch of the imagination. There are both boys and girls. Some have special needs that are such that they will be there their entire life. It's always hard walking around and seeing all these children, most of which offer you an eager smile, some very shy, and others that reach out and want to be held. Half the Sky (HTS)sponsors preschool program here and we saw the classes and also a toddler room in which HTS personnel play and cuddle the toddlers. One of the HTS program directors was there and she recognized Siena from when she was in the program, prior to entering foster care one year ago. She immediately set off on a search for Siena's HTS preschool folder where they document progress, complete with photos. It really is priceless. They found it and gave it to us. We will have it translated when we get home. That folder was an unexpected surprise. I would urge everyone planning their trip to remember to ask for it when you go.

We went around to every classroom in which one of the children on my list (from the waiting parents on our GSW Yahoo group) was in. Each child was called out, and I got to hold several of them, have their parent's messages translated to them, ask all the questions, and surprise of surprises-we took pictures. None of the pictures are to be posted anywhere on the internet, including here. They are for personal use only. I have sent them to the waiting parents with those very strict instructions and I trust they will all comply. The only children in my blog pictures are ours-Maria and Siena.

It was a very special and moving experience. Siena remembered one of her close friends, a beautiful little girl that is deaf. I pray with my whole heart these children find permanent homes, and that anyone fighting the urge to adopt, whether in the US, China, Ukraine, or anywhere in our world, gives in. The rewards are incredible.

Thursday- Sun Yat Sen Memorial & Market

First let me start by saying we are amazed and thankful at how well Siena is doing. She sleeps through the night, has a wonderful appetite, and a cute sense of humor. She can get quite loud at times though, but if that is the worst thing we have to handle, we are truly blessed. I have added to my Cantonese vocabulary how to say, Speak softly, Do not yell, Do not run. Siena talks to us constantly, but is learning to add hand motions to we can understand. She also likes to tell on her little sister, talking about MeiMei and pointing out something Maria may have done. Maria does the same with her too. All in all, quite normal.

Thursday was kind of an easy day. We went to the SunYat Sen Memorial Hall in the morning. He was a doctor, proclaimed head of government in 1923, prior to the Communist party. Our guide Samson was quite knowledgeable about the history of the Nationalist Party and how the Communist Party came into power. It realy peaked my interest to learn more. After that we headed to another local Chinese restaurant in the shopping area. All the American fast foods were available in the area, but we passed on those. As we walked through on our way to the restaurant, there were many interesting things to see, unique to the Chinese culture. Having a weak stomach, I have to admit there was nothing I really was tempted to try. After we got back to the hotel, we relaxed awhile, and then took the girls to the park nearby to burn off more energy.

More to come.

Erminia

Weds-Baiyun Mountain

OK so I'm a little behind in my posts. I'll try to catch up on and off today.

On Weds. we hiked up Baiyun Mountain. The girls were real little troopers, but did get tired. We had to carry Maria on and off, and Siena a little on the way down. We had good view of the city from the point we reached...not the highest, but high enough since we didn't bring strollers. Guangzhou seems to have that same pollution haze we have in Louisville. It was pretty hot outside too. They had a stone foot massage path along the side of the trail that you could walk on barefoot up/down the mountain. I tried it and it hurt. No one seemed to enjoy it much. We were ready for lunch after our hike and went to a real local Chinese restaurant our guide knew about. Chopsticks only. It takes so much effort for me, that I'm losing weight from eating less!

More later about Thurs.

Erminia

Tues Morning Walk Along the Pearl River

On Tues we woke up early and decided to go for a walk along the Pearl River after breakfast. We didn't need to leave to finalize the sdoption until 10:00am. It was a beautiful day with a great breeze. What amazes me is how many people are outside participating in all sorts of exercise or damce. In the first area we came up to, I heard the music for the Electric Slide, and sure enough, there was a group of folks dancing the Electric Slide. A few feet away from them was a group doing Tai Chi. Quite a contrast in music and style. I stopped after I had counted 10 different exercise groups along the river alone. We went in a few blocks where there is another small park. The girls eagerly jumped on the slide and it kept them busy. Right next to the slide, were more folks exercising and a grop of soldiers that took turns doing flips and turns in the chin-up bars. A little further and we passed some women doing traditional Chinese dance. It was a great way to start the day. After we got back to the hotel, from finalizing the adoption, we relaxed at the pool. We put float belts on both girls. Siena was pretty fearless. She jumped in several times and would go under water but it was clear she really had no idea what to do. Larry tried to slow her down and teach her to kick while he held, but she had enough soon after. We'll have to work on that this weekend.

Erminia

Gotcha Day

I really don't think anything could have gone better. We arrived at Civil Affairs before Siena did. When they walked in, I knew it was her. She looked up at us from another room across the hall, and smiled. I waved and she waved back. A few minutes later they walked over. She seemed a little nervous, but was still smiling. Ms. Zuang told her who we were and gently nudged her over to us. We gave her some presents, which she opened with Ms. Zuuang's help. She seemed to really like the purse and play make-up. Ms. Zuang kept talking to her the whole time, and she kept smiling. When she came over to us, she started pulling something out of her backpack. It was the little photo album I had sent her of us and our home. She pointed to the pictures and us smiling. When Ms. Zuang told her she needed to leave with us, I could tell she was a little nervous, but she took our hands and came along. We came back to the hotel and she pulled out her other treasures which included the 2 Barbie dolls, and stuffed little dog, all well used I might say, that we also had sent. I was happy she had gotten the package and got to keep a few things. She also had a picture of herself with 3 children, I believe she lived with in her foster home. I don't know their names. I may try to scan it when I get home and post it. She and Maria played well together, coloring and with Barbies. Siena talked a lot all night long. We would just smile and reply in English, guessing at what she was saying. Our guide came back and took us to dinner at Papa John's---a favorite at home. She ate pizza and played with Maria, who by now was having little jealous fits every now and then. We came home and all got ready for bed. She and Maria slept together. Ms. Zuang had said that Siena wakes up every night at 11:00pm. She didn't last night, and slept all through the night. Maria woke up 3Xs! I think Siena was exhausted, and Maria a little distraught at having to share our attention. All in all, it was a great day.

I'll post about Day 2 shortly.

Erminia

We Made It!

Our flights were all on time and no luggage was lost! That all has to be a good sign. We did have some nervous moments on the flight from Tokyo to Guangzhou. We were starting to experience some turbulance. The pilot then announced that we all had to make sure to buckle up our seat belts for the next 30 minutes or so because we were flying into a typhoon! Larry and I just looked at each other. I said a prayer, and I'm sure he did too. I think we were actually flying right above or to the side of it. It was pretty bumpy with some quick drops down and then back up. But it was over after about 20 minutes. We really weren't scared though, which surprises me, but I think God filled us with peace not to worry about it. We arrived at 11:00pm Sunday , or 11:am Sunday EST...almost exactly 24 hours from our Louisville departure. Guangzhou timeOur guide Samson was waiting for us, and got us to our hotel quickly. He's a nice guy and very personable, friendly and knowledgeable. We're in good hands.





Well, we leave to get Siena in about 2 hours, so we've got to get ready. I can't believe it the time is finally here. Please keep all of us in your prayers, especially Siena.





More later!





Erminia

Our Daily Itinerary

I will update this as we coordinate sightseeing with our guide.

Oct 6 - Sat: Fly to Guangzhou 11:00am
Oct 7 - Sun: Arrive in Guangzhou 11:00pm (11:00am Eastern Std time)
Oct 8 - Mon: Meet Siena JieXian 3:30pm at Guangdong Provincial Children's Adoption Centre
Oct 9 - Tues: Adoption Registration & Notarization
Oct 10 - Weds: Passport Application
Oct 11 - Thurs: Free Day
Oct 12 - Fri: Pick-up notarized adoption records
Oct 13 - Sat: Pictures
Oct 14 - Sun: Free Day
Oct 15 - Mon: Visit Guangdong SWI in the morning
Oct 16 - Tues: VISA paperwork and medical exam
Oct 17 - Weds: VISA application @ US Consulate
Oct 18 - Thurs: Afternoon - Oath taken at the US Consulate; Pick-up VISAs
Oct 19 - Fri: Fly home to US!!!!