nine-hedgehogs-blog

Meila's hometown, Hefei

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:53:28 +0100

We have just spent 3 enjoyable days in Meila's town. We have seen parks, the new zoo, new shopping malls, old shopping districts and, most importantly, returned to Mei's finding spot and orphanage.

The city has changed a ton since our time here in Jan 2004. Our guide said that there were less than 2 million people here in 2004 and now there are over 5 million. There is construction everywhere and even the orphanage is currently building a new facility which will move all the children out and to the new building by the end of the year. We feel blessed that we were able to visit before this too changed. The staff at the SWI welcomed us warmly and allowed us to visit all the baby rooms, children rooms, play rooms, rehab rooms and preschool areas. We had brought lots of treats and passed them out to all the children. This was a great excuse to get in to all the rooms and play with some of the children. Meila was a bit shy during all of this and really didn't want to get too close to any of the kids or staff. Some of the little toddlers there didn't know what to think of us and started to cry. This upset Meila as I don't think she wanted to disrupt the flow or scare any of the children.
After our tour, we went to a meeting room and the director gave Meila a gift of a beautiful picture. It is like a small shadow box frame with a local tree sculpted of metal and Chinese characters that say warmly welcoming you back from the Hefei SWI. It was a good visit!

Just outside Meila's baby room, looking into the courtyard

The director giving Mei a gift

This little guy loved the cookie balls Meila passed out.(those are cookies hanging out of his mouth, not teeth) Don't you love chubby babies!

At the entrance of Hefei SWI

After our visit we went to a local restaurant for lunch where we were serve about 10 times more food than we could possibly eat. Our guide, Mr Ding, wanted us to try lots of local dishes and so we did. Mostly, we enjoyed them.

This yam dish was a local favorite for "internal cooling effects" in the hot summer.

Mom wanted to share this local restaurant with Aunt Diana.

Mr Ding took us back to the hotel where we met Meila 7 years ago. The Sofitel is way outside the city but the only 5 star hotel in Hefei. It is currently undergoing a lot of renovation but we enjoyed looking around and even rode the twin glass elevators. (brought back a lot of memories of the elevator races with Lauren and Trevor) I had alos forgot about the bowling alley there.

Pagoda in the park across from our hotel.

Not sure what this is, but it is beautiful and just around the corner of our hotel tucked between a bunch of old apartment buildings.

Guangzhou

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:38:58 +0100

Thursday, August 4th, and we are on the move again. Up early for a 1.5 hour bus ride back to Guilin airport and flight to Guangzhou.

We are staying at the White Swan hotel as we did for 3 of 4 adoption trips. We are told we will be the last group here to see it as it has always been for adoptive families. Within the month they start a year long renovation program and so it will be different if we every return.

The hotel is still beautiful with all it's charm...the waterfall and fish pond to watch during the extravagant breakfast buffet. The boats to watch going up and down the Pearl River and of course all the required shopping around the hotel. We have two days here with a very relaxed schedule. We are catching up on some much needed sleep, swimming in the outside pool with waterfall as the temperature is around 95 and humidity to match, and venturing across the highway to the more local/traditional shopping areas.

Our white swan red couch photo

Mom wants a waterfall like this by the gold fish pond..what do you think ,dad?

We made our way up and down lots of little alleys like this when we shopped across the river in Guangzhou. I could wander areas like these for hours (if I didn't have two little girls nearly sweating to death and begging to go back to the hotel swimming pool)

Last night, Friday, August 5th, we had a farewell dinner with all the families. It was very big with all 6 groups/300 people together for a traditional Cantonese dinner. Most of the trip we were traveling with just our smaller "ping-pong" group made up of about 13 families and 42 people. Then sometimes we would join togeher with the "panda" group and/or the "dragon" group but this was the first time for us all to be together in one room for dinner.

Our Ping-pong group

Guilin and Yangshuo

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:01:59 +0100

We were out of touch for a few days but will try to catch you up a little. We have been SO busy and seen So much in the last 3-4 days.

Our time in Xi'an was wonderful and our trip to Anya's orphanage couldn't have gone any better. I did add a few pictures into the post that Mark did for me about our time there. We headed straight to the airport after our time at Anya's orphanage and made it to Guilin around 10pm. That put us at the hotel around 11 and ready for sleep, especially because we had a full day and early morning scheduled for the next day.

We started the next day with a visit to an art school. We learned a bit about Chinese art and they had a quick demonstration by one of the instructors painting a bamboo scene for us. Then it was our turn to paint a bit...by the end we actually made a picture that looked like a plum blossom and bamboo .(well at least we could tell what it was) Next it was off to Elephant trunk park...For those of you who have seen Big Bird in China you will remember the rock formation that looks like an elephant drinking the river dry. We also saw some of the cormorant birds that fish for the local fisherman (or get whacked with the bamboo stick) and Anya and Mei got a photo with them.

Art school

Can you see the elephant?

If the birds sit on the bamboo stick they can't get whacked with it.

Group lunch (yummy), visit to a pearl factory, a little free time for swimming at the hotel, group dinner at hotel, night time fishing show on a boat ride. Did I mention that we have been busy?

Fisherman holds the bird over the basket and pulls the fish out of his mouth..yuck.

The next day was August 3rd...Anya's 11th birthday! We spent the first half of the day on a river cruise down the Li River to Yangshuo. It was beautiful and so unique, unlike anything else I have seen in China. The mountains and hills were amazing, water buffalo and farmers, little towns we passed...so much to see.

A man selling fruit pulled up on his little bamboo raft and sold fruit through the window of our boat.

As soon as we arrived in Yangshuo we made a quick 20 minute check in stop at our new hotel and then were rushed off to cooking school. This was a very cool experience that we all really enjoyed! The girls learned how to cook 6 Chinese dishes and they each had their own wok and station. After cooking everything we got to eat it plus a huge spread of food that the cooks had prepared.

Meila+big meat cleaver= huge smile

Duck egg dumplings are super yummy.

Enjoying the food.

Anya's birthday cake.

On the way out of the cooking school, we passed this lady bringing in her newly harvested peanuts. A cow started following her, trying to eat the leaves off. Something that you just don't see everyday at home.

We were rushed off to our last activity of the day..a night time performance of Impressions of Liu Sanjie. It was directed by the same man that directed the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics and it was really impressive(but hard to capture in a picture)

We fell into bed, not enough hours in the day to see everything!

Update from the US

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:57:32 +0100

Thank you Skype for allowing us to connect at all! Kelly was not able to get a good enough internet connection to post photos and stories of their trip to Anya's orphanage- so here's an update from what I could hear...

The trip to the orphanage was different than last time. Previously it had been beyond the city border and across corn fields and rural China- but now is connected by the cities expansion. Kelly said that it seemed they arrived much faster, and didn't cross any fields- although the big pink castle was the same- and in the same spot. Now the orphanage is run by Half the Sky (versus just a wing when we were there 10 years ago). They do not require a monetary donation for return visits as we had been advised, so the girls picked up some supplies for the children with guidance from the orphanage staff. They also had a chance to give the hats they (especially Anya) have been knitting for the last several months.

It really is a pink castle, Anya said she knew she was a princess.

With the assistant director and one of Anya's nannies. Anya and Meila have on the necklaces they were given.

All the nannies enjoying the picture book Anya made for them. Most of these girls were with Anya as a baby.

The nannies giggled when they saw the book that the girls gave them- a very nice book of photos from when Anya was there in the nanny's arms through today. Apparently they were reminiscing about which nannies were still there, who was taking the picture and there were a few tears and hugs when particular nannies remembered Anya. They gave Anya (and Meila) jade necklaces and it sounded like a very positive visit. Of course, Kelly will chime in when she has a clear internet connection to tell the entire true story- I'm just relating what made it through Skype!

These were two 11 year old girls that were very happy with the candy and treats Anya delivered to them!

A baby with one of Anya's knitted hats...so cute!

This is a sweet little 5 month old healthy girl, I think she looks perfect for my friend Polly's family! They told us that there are currently 400 children at Anya's orphanage and another 400 children that they have placed with foster families. Of these children, 95% have some type of special need and only 5% are healthy.

Last night, they watched fishermen using birds to fish... The birds have a constricting band on their neck so they can't swallow the fish they catch, and if they return without a fish they get bonked with a bamboo stick on the head. Nice
employee motivation program (ack!).

Last night, finished the day with an hours swim in the hotel pool, including a waterfall.

Reports are that Anita is doing very well also.

Fun Pictures

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 15:48:13 +0100

The girls at Chinese classes

Anya and Meila learning a new paddle ball game at the Temple of Heaven Park.

Temple of Heaven

Hand stretched noodles..yummy!

Anya getting her book signed by the farmer who found the terracotta warriors.

Pretty girls!

Xi'an

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 14:53:07 +0100

We have had a wonderful day here in Anya's hometown! It is nice to slow down for a day, sleep in and be away from the big group tour. (Our group has been great, with lots of nice families..it is just a different pace when you are going everywhere with so many other people)

We met our guide, Micheal, at 10 and were able to go see Anya's finding spot. First, he took us to the local police branch office where Anya finding papers said she was taken to. We talked to some officers, including one who was there in 2000, however he hadn't been there when Anya was found. They have no paperwork there either, so we didn't really find out any new information. We were able to take a few pictures though.
I was excited to see that our guide took us to the same factory that our guide in 2001 took us to as Anya's finding spot. I guess you always wonder if it is really "the spot" that is written in Chinese and how do they know which switch factory it is..There are ALOT of factories in a city of 7 million people! The area around the factory looked just as I had remembered it and so did the little park across the street. We walked all around the area, took pictures, and talked to a man who had retired from the factory..he had worked there in 2000 when Anya was found but he didn't remember anyone ever talking about a girl being found at the entrance gate. Anya seemed to take it all in, she asked a few questions, wanted a few pictures, and was then ready to move on with the day.

Tumen local police,Lianhu branch
Anya's finding spot

The afternoon we spent on our own, exploring all around the bell tower and drum tower. We did lots of shopping, ate at a famous dumpling house (even somehow figured out how to order and the dumplings were super great!)
The golden dumpling

We met Michael at 4:30 and he walked us over to a foot massage, followed by more shopping.
We love foot massages!

We found the old shopping area in the Muslim area that we had enjoyed when we were here to adopt Anya 10 years ago. Mary's shop was still there and Mary was very nice to us (we got outfits for the girls and Simon and Henry there) Then we found the artist that we bought our wood carving print from 10 years ago and he was there in his shop. Grandma Anita bought two pictures and we bought one cute little picture for Anya. Ding Ji Tang, the artist, signed all our pictures and book and was so nice about photos and asking us to keep in touch and email him.
Anya got a cute little duck pond picture made from a wood carving. Fun for her to have her own art work from a famous local Xi'an artist.

Mary with the girls (Meila was DONE shopping at this point!)

We didn't get back to the hotel until 8:30 and we were all starving. I am embarrassed to admit that we got take out from McDonalds as we didn't have the energy to figure out ordering anything else at that point. The night before we had Ramen noodles in our room and we didn't want that again. The girls got their second wind after food and tried on their new outfits, danced together, and did a lot of giggling!
They were crazy!

We are all looking forward to our big day tomorrow with our visit to Anya's orphanage.

getting caught up...

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:14:27 +0100

We have been so busy we seem to be a few days behind on our pictures and updates. The computer here is very slow so not sure what we will be able to get uploaded tonight.

This picture is just for Ethan.

We did make it to Xi'an yesterday after a 3 hour delay due to rain in Beijing. We went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda yesterday afternoon and then the Tong Dynasty Show with dumpling banquet in the evening. These were the same places that we visited when we adopted Anya so it brought back lots of memories. We are even staying at the same hotel, The Bell Tower, which is right in the middle of the city.

Tang Dynasty Show in Xi'an

Pigeon head on a chopstick..yummy!

Today we rode bikes on the Xi'an city wall and then went to the Terracotta Warriors for the afternoon. So much has changed since our time here 10 years ago. Much more built up and the crowds at each attraction are overwhelming. For all our trips to China, we have never traveled in the summer which is peak tourist season, it is amazingly different!

Sisters at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Grandma Anita biking the Xi'an City Wall

Mei and the warriors

The Great Wall and more

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:53:56 +0100

Another full day! We saw The Great Wall (at the same place we took Simon and Henry and Ethan three years ago) We took the steeper, less traveled side of the wall and it was beautiful with hardly another person on it. Amazing, because the opposite saw was swarming with people. The camel was still there from the last visit and Meila and Anya each took a turn on it followed by Popsicles ..brought back a lot of memories of our trip to China to bring Henry home.

Before and after the Great Wall we took two factory tours..The Jade factory and the Cloisonne Factory, both interesting but definitely overpriced and a bit of a high pressured sales department. We held our ground pretty good and didn't buy too much of anything.
Late afternoon was very hot which made the tour of the Summer Palace a bit less interesting with all the little girls ready to be done for the day and hoping for enough time to swim before dinner. We did take a neat boat ride on the lake there and the breeze was a welcome relief from the heat.
Unfortunately, the kids never got to swim as we made it back to the hotel with only 30 minutes to wash up, change and then walk a few blocks to our Peking Duck Dinner.
We have had two birthdays of children in the group this week and tonight celebrated with singing and cakes..Anya's eyes got pretty big with anticipation of her big day coming up next week!
We have an early day tomorrow, leaving at 7:30 for welcoming meetings with the officials from CCAA, BLAS, and other governmental offices to be followed by a group pictures in our newly issued matching shirts and hats.
Good night,
Kelly, Anya, Meila, and Grandma Anita

To See History

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:33:13 +0100

Our Day in Pictures:

Corn on the cob, on a stick, for breakfast=fun.

Ricksaw ride through the Hutong area of Beijing.

Lunch at local Hutong family's home.

Our host for lunch.

Could we find a "calender shot" somewhere is China?

Tian'an Men Square celebrating 80 years of communism.

All the children in our "ping-pong" group.

The Forbidden City..it is so hard to capture the immensity of it all, layer after layer.

The emperor's garden.

The acrobatic Show was pretty amazing. The boys would have really loved it!

We all almost fell asleep in our dinner..It was yummy though!

Back to the bus for a quick trip to the hotel and we were all asleep in minutes. It was another good day!

To explore Beijing

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:17:35 +0100

We have made it to Beijing! Wonderful flights, arrived in a full hour early, which had us checked in to our hotel and eating from the yummy breakfast buffet before 7am.

Our first day was a free day..left to explore and try to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime hour. We filled it with shopping. (How can you not love grocery shopping in China...every part of a pig you could want...snout, ears, feet, tail..yummy.)

(Smoked & Spiced Duck Tongues-So why does that duck look so happy?)

Next, we HAD to get foot massages. Meila made us do it! She has been asking me non-stop for the last two days to get massages on the FIRST day we are in China. We started out slowly with only a 70 minute massage and it was wonderful. Anya was very worried that it would tickle and that she wouldn't like it but she really enjoyed it too.

All that walking,shopping and massaging left us hungry so we found an interesting hot-pot restaurant and did our best to make wise choices off the Chinese menu. We thought we were doing okay, but the laughing and head shaking of the staff had us second guessing what we would end up with. We need not have worried as it turned out fine and we all seemed to enjoy our meal.

The only down side to the hot-pot restaurant was that it was HOT in there and Meila and Anya were feeling the heat and fading fast..But we still had several hours to stay awake. The answer was the hotel pool!

There were lots of funny rules posted at that pool..like no underwater swimming..hummm, is there another kind of swimming you can do in a pool?

Meila was our first sleeper of the night at 6:30. The rest of us are hoping to make it till at least 8pm. Getting ready for a full day of touring tomorrow