Settling back in

Today has been one of those lazy days at home, but we're all still really jet-lagged and feeling very tired. Tom and the girls slept most of the afternoon and I'm wondering how I'm going to get them to sleep tonight. Tom has already gone back to sleep (we had to bring both kids to their soccer practices).

Our last evening in China, we were taken on a boat cruise along the Bund in Shanghai. We had reserved tables on the 4th level and their was a band/singer during the ride. It was great to see Shanghai this way because actually walking on the streets in the evening is a little terrifying. We saw very little begging anywhere else in China, but in Shanghai there was a lot of it. The girls were getting alarmed because they will come right up to you and block your way.



The next morning (the day we left), was even worse. We were brought to a market area near the Bund that was very crowded and hot. There were lots of gardens here like we saw in Zhouzhuang the day before, but there was also a lot of shops and stores. It was really not the way to end our trip, but we did get a little more shopping done which was good. There was a lot of street vendors and begging in this area, so I was completely stressed out by the time we got back to the bus at 11:30. We had all our luggage on the bus since we were going straight to the airport, but I was worried about losing my purse which had our passports in it. I usually left them in the hotel safe on days we went sight-seeing, so I was very nervous the whole time. Plus, I was terrified I was going to lose Avery in the crowds of people, I was holding her hand very tightly!




After we'd waited in line for 1.5 hours to check in at the airport, we were advised that our flight was delayed for 8 hours. Apparently a passenger saw a crack in the wing of our plane, so we had to wait for another flight that was arriving at 9:30 pm. 10 hours at the Shanghai airport was not my idea of fun - but we had a couple of meals and did some shopping so it worked out OK. Here's a picture of a baby also waiting for the flight to Toronto. She really helped to keep the girls entertained during the long wait!


The flight took off around 11 pm and we arrived in Toronto around 1 am. Once we got through the hassle of checking our passports on the plane, we got through customs fairly quickly (I guess there are not many flights landing at 1 am). We found all our luggage and managed to get an airport limo home. The kids sang all the way home - they were very excited to be getting back to Newmarket. But it also meant that they were too wired to go to sleep at 3 am when we got home and it took me until 5 am to finally get them to bed.

So, after our wonderful adventure in our childrens' homeland, we are finally home. The trip was truly amazing. We all had so much fun exploring the history and culture of China and learning about the girls first few months. They had a fantastic time in China and Tom and I really enjoyed the relaxed nature of our third trip to this fascinating country. Thank you to everyone who followed along with us and who posted comments along the way. It was so nice knowing you were thinking of us on our journey.

And so, we say good-bye to China for now... until we return again in a few years.

We're home!

Firstly, I want to congratulate my sister and her family on the adoption of their third child today in Nanjing. They got Ethan at 10:30 a.m. and he's been doing great so far. You can follow her trip at www.journeytoethan.blogspot.com as well. I'm going on right now to post some photos she has sent (she's having trouble with blogger in hotel).

Congratulations Tania, Patrick, Liam and Nyla. The kids are so anxious to meet their newest cousin!

Sorry for the delay in letting you know we were home safely (I know our parents will be very worried!) Our flight was delayed for 8 hours in Shanghai and we didn't find out until we were checking in, so we got to know the Shanghai airport very well!

The flight was longer as well, because of the winds from the typhoon and the agents who came on to the plane once we had landed to check everyone's passports. Not sure what that was about, but I was very annoyed by that point - after having left the hotel 26 hours earlier!

Anyway, its 3:30 a.m. now (too late to call anyone), so I'm going to get everyone to sleep and post again in the morning (or afternoon - whenever we get up) about our last day in Shanghai and our trip home.

Zhouzhuang

We're back from Zhouzhuang and had a wonderful day touring around this ancient city built mostly on water. The drive was a bit difficult since traffic is worse than Beijing here in Shanghai. The girls whined a lot today again about the heat. The last 2 days we've experienced what we were worried about with traveling to China in August - the extreme heat and humidity. But - we've been very lucky - I think there have only been 3-4 days like this during the whole trip, so we can't complain. Here are some pictures from today.









Tonight we're heading down to the Bund where we'll go on a river cruise and have dinner in the heart of Shanghai. Tom's really looking forward to this because it was not originally in our itinerary and he thought we were going to leave Shanghai again without visiting the Bund (we only had one night here in 2001).

Tomorrow, our flight leaves around 2:30, so I likely won't post again until we arrive home. I will update then about our last evening in Shanghai and our trip home. I may also post more pictures from earlier in the trip. The uploading of photos is very slow here so I've haven't done many for some days.

Hope you are all well. Next time I post, we'll be home!

Nanjing and Suzhou

Sorry, I wasn’t able to post last night. Jody and I ended up running out to the Confucious temple again to do some last minute “bargain shopping” and we didn’t get back until almost 10. We had to be up at 6 am this morning so I thought I’d better get some sleep.

Yesterday was a tough day. We visited Dr. Sun Yet Sen’s Mausoleum in the morning (392 steps to the top!) and then had a nice lunch.


In the afternoon, we were brought to visit the Nanjing orphanage. I’m not sure what I expected, but I definitely wasn’t prepared for how I would feel seeing all those older children living in an institution.

The orphanage is world-renowned and definitely a model orphanage in China. It looked like the girls’ Montessori school in the classrooms and the babies playrooms. As well, it had therapy rooms where they worked with children with special needs and a complete medical clinic in a separate building.

We toured the babies rooms first (we were not allowed in but could look through the glass wall). The babies were so adorable and sweet. Some had special needs, but many looked healthy. There were many nannies looking after them, it looked like about a 3-1 ratio, although that could just be for the day time.



We were allowed into a few pre-school classrooms as well. The kids were a little alarmed and a few cried at the disruption, but they eventually warmed up to us and said a few words like “hello” and “good afternoon”. They were so sweet!

We were then brought to a large room where the presentation and show was held. The older children put on a wonderful show with dancing, a magic show, singing and kung fu demonstration. The first dance was to a song about how a mother’s love is the best love of all and one of the teachers joined in part way through to play the part of the mother. I was in tears, as were many of us, to watch the children dance to this song and act out the actions of meeting their mother and dancing with her. It was very hard to see, knowing that these children are waiting for a mother and may never have one. It was heart-breaking.

There was a little boy (10 years old) who they called the “Pocket Orphan” because he’s a little person. I couldn’t believe that name, but its true. He was quite the showman and put on a wonderful magic show. There was also a 14 year old girl who danced and assisted in the magic show. She was so tall and beautiful. We found out later that she is being adopted next month to an American family. We were happy to hear that, but wondered how hard it would be for her to leave all her friends and teachers, everyone she knows and loves in the world and move halfway around the world. She was so motherly with the younger kids, and now she may never see those friends again. It must be so hard for these kids to endure the endless stream of losses in their lives. From their first family to the friends that leave constantly through the years. And finally, when they leave themselves and lose their country, culture, language and everyone they know in the world. I think most of us couldn’t even imagine this for our children.


At the end, they showed a video about the Nanjing orphanage that also brought me to tears. I think the worst part was that these kids are living in the best orphanage in China. It was hard to imagine how some children are doing in the poorer orphanages.

Today, we stopped in Suzhou on our way to Shanghai. We weren’t able to do this when we came to get Avery in 2001, so we were glad to be able to see it this time. We were taken on a river tour on a boat, which was quite interesting. The houses are right up to the water, with some even having stairs that lead to the water.

We then went to a silk factory where the girls got to see how silk is made, right from the worm and caccoon to the final fabric weaving and dyeing.

In the afternoon, we visited one of the 120 gardens in Suzhou. It was unbelievable! Many of the gardens were made hundreds of years ago when government officials, etc. retired and would come to Suzhou to build a retreat and garden. We walked through fairly quickly, and it still took us an hour to get through it. Although the girls complained bitterly about the heat, we had a good time and enjoyed the beauty and history of the garden.


We’ve now arrived in Shanghai, where we’ll be until we leave to come home on Sunday. Our hotel has changed to the Hua Ting Hotel. Tomorrow we’re visiting Zhouzhuang – I think it’s a city built on water, like Venice, but I’ll know for sure tomorrow!

Will update again tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Dad!

First, we want to wish a very Happy Birthday to Pa - he turns 70 today! Hope you have a great day!

We're back now from Changzhou, the city where Avery lived for her first 9 months. We were received very warmly by the Director and other orphanage staff, but were disappointed to find out that we wouldn't be allowed to go to the orphanage. They brought us to the old orphanage to take pictures and to show Avery, but the new orphanage is being built and won't be ready until June 1, 2008. In the meantime, the children are in a temporary location (a factory) and they didn't want to bring us there. I know its probably because it is not a great location and they wouldn't want us to see that, but we were still disappointed. Avery seemed fine with it, she knows we'll be visiting the Nanjing orphanage tomorrow so that helped.

When we arrived at the old orphanage location, there was a huge banner that read "Warmly welcome Changzhou daughter returning with her Canadian parents" . Here is a photo of us with the Director and adoption manager in front of the sign:


We had a wonderful lunch with the staff and our 2 guides. The toasting went on for quite a while and everyone had a great time. After a while, Avery warmed up to to the staff. Here is a photo of her with the Director and a photo with one of the nannies who took care of her:



The Director brought us to a beautiful park in Changzhou (by the way - any of you who have been to Changzhou would not recognize it anymore - there are so many new buildings and high-rises - another city going through huge growth).


The Director was very open and honest with us. They told us we are the first Canadian family to bring our daughter back to Changzhou to visit. This really surprised us because I know Changzhou has been placing children in Canada for more than 15 years. There have been no adoptions from Changzhou by Canadians since 2001 either - which surprised us as well. I wondered if this was because most of the children are special needs. They told us there are approximately 150 children up to age 13 living in the orphanage. There are very few healthy children - most are special needs. Jiangsu is becoming more affluent and people's attitude towards daughters are changing, so there are many fewer babies being abandoned. This is great news, of course, but it also explains why the wait is approaching 2 years for a referral from China.

Tomorrow, we visit the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum and the Nanjing orphanage. Will update again.

We've arrived in Nanjing

We took a short flight today to Nanjing - only about 45 minutes. It was nice after all the traveling we've been doing the last few days. Nanjing is even nicer than I remember it. They've been doing a lot of construction (I know - I say this about every city) - but they've also renovated some of the stores on the main street near the Central Hotel. Things look much newer and nicer. I remember when we were here in January 2001, there was a lot of people begging on the streets, but we haven't seen one person begging today. It may just be the time of day we were out. I guess we'll see over the next couple of days.

The Central Hotel is quite nice, but our rooms are much smaller than the one we had 6 years ago. They are still ver clean and the hotel is definitely nicer than the one in Nanchang and Chengde.

Tomorrow, we travel to Avery's hometown of Changzhou. We are the only family traveling there (there are 3 families traveling to Yangzhou) but its not very far - about 1.5 hours each way. They've planned a special "Nanjing traditional banquet" for us tomorrow evening at the Confucious Temple. I remember it very well from last time - there were tons of little stalls along the river and tons of shopping! Judy - you'll remember the place I think - lots of Chinese decorations and beautiful scenery.

We found out this evening that the Civil Affairs Dept of Jiangsu knows about our homeland visit and would like to meet with us. So we will be visiting the Nanjing orphanage on Thursday afternoon where the children living there will do a presentation for us. We're feel very honoured that they would go to all this effort for us. Will definitely post pictures on Thursday evening.

That's it for now - will post about our Changzhou visit tomorrow night.

We have finally visited Guixi!

Nine years ago, when we adopted Quin, we weren't able to get to Guixi so see her hometown. At that time, there was not a good highway and the girls were brought to Nanchang by train (I believe around 4-6 hours one way).

So we were very happy today to finally get to Guixi ourselves and visit the orphanage and city where she lived for her first 8 months. The city was much bigger than I had imagined, with lots of construction and new buildings going up (just like the rest of China). The drive was only 2.5 hours each way and we were back in Nanchang by dinner.

The visit at the orphanage was fantastic. The girls were treated like royalty by the director and all the staff. They even made a huge banner welcoming the girls back to their hometown.


This is one of the nannies who delivered the babies to us in Nanchang 9 years ago.


But they especially loved visiting the babies room and playing with some of them while they tried to move around in their little walkers. We could have scooped one of those little cuties up and taken her with us! We took lots of pictures so they can see their little friends again.





This is Quin with the Director - after he bought them each a huge bag of peanuts - they just love to see the girls happy!


Tomorrow we're off to Nanjing. Its a free day so I may not post again until Wednesday since there won't be much going on tomorrow.