Well, we made it to Hong Kong in one piece. OK,OK, actually 5 pieces, with our three pieces of luggage. Way too large luggage! As we were leaving the express train bound for Kowloon from the HK airport, I asked David how he thought we were going to carry a baby with all this luggage. He had no answer. neither did I. We will be ditching a bag. Or two!
Our flight here was the longest flight I have ever taken to Hong Kong. I can thank my bad airplane-lucked husband for that. It took fully 17 of the most discomfort filled hours I have had the displeasure to endure. We had to refuel in Taipei (totally unexpected), which added another agonizing 2.5 hours to our fateful trip.
However, it is definitely me we can thank for the fact that our taxi driver got lost going 5 blocks form the train terminal to the hotel. The terminal was so big that we couldn't figure out how the hell to get out of it, even though I knew it was right down the street from our hotel. And why is it that in EVERY major city I visit the taxi drivers get lost? I mean, how is it possible? They drive around the city for a living????? Anyway, no matter what the cause ( which, I suggest is my bad taxi karma), it happened again. And we are staying at one of the oldest and grandest hotels in HK, indeed in Asia. My god, who doesn't know where the Peninsula is? my cab driver, that's who.
I am trying to remember, was there actually a time when I was absolutely CHOMPING at the bit to get on a plane bound for HK (or anywhere, really)? Because if there was, I cannot for the life of me figure out why. Or maybe it is really that international travel has degraded severely in the last 10 years. Please tell me it is so. I am not a particularly large person, but I BARELY fit into my CENTER seat. Every time I had to get into my bag I was afraid I was going to break my neck trying to get down to the damn thing. I do not know how my husband survived. Or maybe he didn't. Perhaps I should wake him up!
Alas, I fear that the truth is that it is I who have degraded severely, and not the travel. I think it is safe to say that my globetrotting days are truly, and blessedly, OVER. I will venture even deeper into my demise to suggest that I am even beginning to understand my in-laws fancy for cruises. that is it, I have descended into traveller's hell and shall never return!
But, it is not that bad here in Hell! The Peninsula is a lovely hotel with fabulous amenities and warm snuggly sheets and a marble bathtub with a t.v. in it. I have already taken a shower and 2 baths. David is working out at the gym, so I am going to join him to enjoy the Hong Kong harbour view and ride the bike. Afterwards we will head to the pool for a little work out. Yes, ladies, that's right!
We fly to China proper tomorrow and get to meet our little Ginger at long last on Monday afternoon. It appears that we will actually get to be rested and refreshed to meet her, as she will come to us in the afternoon, after we go to the bank, of course. I am glad; suffice to say I am NOT at my best right now.
I cannot wait. I cannot believe. I cannot believe that after all this time, it is finally happening.
There is still time for something to go wrong, never fear! More later!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
We're going!
Finally! We got our travel dates on Monday, and we are leaving for Hong Kong Thursday this week! Yes, that is the day after tomorrow! These last couple of weeks have been extremely trying, as we have known that we were going soon, but could not confirm exactly when. I am so please it is finally over!
Sunday night we had a lovely dinner at one of our fellow families' homes, with 2 other families going with us. It was very nice, and so great to have a chance to chit chat before we leave and the madness begins! These people are going to become very important to us as members of our extended family, as our daughters are nearly "sisters", all coming from the same orphanage. It just makes me get all teary thinking about it. I know, I know, EVERYTHING makes me teary these days!
I just booked our stay at the Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong, and David's last day of work is today, so he will finally do his packing, and we will be ready to go!
David's parents come tomorrow and will stay till Fri or Sat. Nina arrives Thursday night. we practically pass one another in the International terminal at SFO! I am sorry we will miss her. But I think we will make her stay after we get back, as we are going to need someone to take care of us!
Cuyler is having a bit of difficulty with our leaving, as it finally sinks in to his little 5-year-old consciousness. we have been talking to him about this for a loooo-ong time, and we keep reminding him that we are leaving to get Mei Mei, but he, of course, can't think beyond who he gets to play with after school today! Anyway, he is feeling a bit melancholy and is having separation anxiety, not wanting me to leave him, crying, holding on to my leg, etc. Finally! He never did this when the rest of the kids did. all the other kids would be crying, holding on to their Moms and Cuyler would give me a kiss and say, "Bye, Mom, see ya later!" and trot off to whatever the activity was. Old Chopped Liver is finally getting her due!
And jut to spice it all up a little, I learned yesterday that I have stress fracture in the bottom of my foot! Perfect timing! My foot has been bothering me for a while now, but it has finally gotten painful enough for me to go in, and that was the result. No wonder it hurts! We may not be doing those fabulous walking tours I had laid out for us in HK! I may be forced to lie in a the Pen and just use the swimming pool. Darn!
Next time I post will be from China!
Sunday night we had a lovely dinner at one of our fellow families' homes, with 2 other families going with us. It was very nice, and so great to have a chance to chit chat before we leave and the madness begins! These people are going to become very important to us as members of our extended family, as our daughters are nearly "sisters", all coming from the same orphanage. It just makes me get all teary thinking about it. I know, I know, EVERYTHING makes me teary these days!
I just booked our stay at the Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong, and David's last day of work is today, so he will finally do his packing, and we will be ready to go!
David's parents come tomorrow and will stay till Fri or Sat. Nina arrives Thursday night. we practically pass one another in the International terminal at SFO! I am sorry we will miss her. But I think we will make her stay after we get back, as we are going to need someone to take care of us!
Cuyler is having a bit of difficulty with our leaving, as it finally sinks in to his little 5-year-old consciousness. we have been talking to him about this for a loooo-ong time, and we keep reminding him that we are leaving to get Mei Mei, but he, of course, can't think beyond who he gets to play with after school today! Anyway, he is feeling a bit melancholy and is having separation anxiety, not wanting me to leave him, crying, holding on to my leg, etc. Finally! He never did this when the rest of the kids did. all the other kids would be crying, holding on to their Moms and Cuyler would give me a kiss and say, "Bye, Mom, see ya later!" and trot off to whatever the activity was. Old Chopped Liver is finally getting her due!
And jut to spice it all up a little, I learned yesterday that I have stress fracture in the bottom of my foot! Perfect timing! My foot has been bothering me for a while now, but it has finally gotten painful enough for me to go in, and that was the result. No wonder it hurts! We may not be doing those fabulous walking tours I had laid out for us in HK! I may be forced to lie in a the Pen and just use the swimming pool. Darn!
Next time I post will be from China!
Friday, February 20, 2009
The travel permission/consulate date torture
OK, so they told us a couple of weeks ago that we MAY need to be in Hong Kong on Feb 27 )yes, that is 2009, next week). However, they are STILL not certain and will not give us the go-ahead to buy out tickets. They finally got travel permission from the Chinese government yesterday, but now our Liaison in China has to get us appointments at the American Consulate in Guangzhou. They are trying for March 9. So, we will likely get all our permission today, so we can buy our tickets tonight. David and i are flying next Wednesday if this is the case, to spend a few days in Hong Kong as our last childless romantic fling. I do so love HK! we are staying at he Peninsula in Kowloon - a FAR cry from the old Mansions down in the traveler's ghetto!
Yes, that is right, we do not have our tickets yet for a trip we are taking to China in 5 days. Well, I guess I won't be able to use my miles!
Our whole group of 9 families is all a-twitter with are we/aren't we leaving next week? stress. It is proving to be quite stressful for people, particularly David, who never likes to not know what is going on. He seems to have come to some kind of homeostasis with it as of yesterday, though, and is much more relaxed. We all email back and forth every day asking little questions and sharing little tidbits. It is kind of fun.
Sunday night we are going to the home of one of our fellow traveling families for a little pre-trip get-together, which will be really fun. I am looking forward to getting to know these people, because I know that they are going to be an important part of my life from this day forward, as we are going to be relying on one another so greatly as we embark on this journey of bringing our daughters home. i find it very touching and humbling. My other friends who have adopted from China have yearly reunions with their traveling group, and consider all the girls sisters, as many of them come from the same orphanage. I think all of our children but one is coming from ShangGao SWI.
Anyway, I am finally excited. Over-the-moon, completely beyond the pale, over the deep end, can barely stand myself excited. To tell you the truth, i sometimes never thought the day would come. And now, here I am sitting next to my suitcase full of onesies and cute little outfits writing this blog. Life is awesome!
Yes, that is right, we do not have our tickets yet for a trip we are taking to China in 5 days. Well, I guess I won't be able to use my miles!
Our whole group of 9 families is all a-twitter with are we/aren't we leaving next week? stress. It is proving to be quite stressful for people, particularly David, who never likes to not know what is going on. He seems to have come to some kind of homeostasis with it as of yesterday, though, and is much more relaxed. We all email back and forth every day asking little questions and sharing little tidbits. It is kind of fun.
Sunday night we are going to the home of one of our fellow traveling families for a little pre-trip get-together, which will be really fun. I am looking forward to getting to know these people, because I know that they are going to be an important part of my life from this day forward, as we are going to be relying on one another so greatly as we embark on this journey of bringing our daughters home. i find it very touching and humbling. My other friends who have adopted from China have yearly reunions with their traveling group, and consider all the girls sisters, as many of them come from the same orphanage. I think all of our children but one is coming from ShangGao SWI.
Anyway, I am finally excited. Over-the-moon, completely beyond the pale, over the deep end, can barely stand myself excited. To tell you the truth, i sometimes never thought the day would come. And now, here I am sitting next to my suitcase full of onesies and cute little outfits writing this blog. Life is awesome!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Playgroup Babyshower
My playgroup, a group of 5 other women whom Cuyler and I have been meeting oce a week to play with since he was born, held a lovely shower for me last weekend at my friend Nicola's house. It was just absolutely unbelievable, all the touching and personal touches they came up with.
When one walked in the door, she was greeted with a red thread to signify our long wait for our little Ginger. They had pictures of Ginger EVERYWHERE, and the whole house was decorated with Chinese lanterns.
Before the party Nicola had emailed everyone and asked them to send her a little wish for our family, and all of these were printed out and cut out and inserted into hand-made fortune cookies by Kelly Demos. They were dipped in chocolate and red sprinkles, too! At the end of the party they presented me with the photo to right, which included all of the wishes in a lovely frame surronding the picture of Ginger. Sharolyn made that one.
At one point my friend Emmeline read the story of the red thread, about a King and Queen who had everything they wished for, but felt a stirring and tugging at their hearts that they could not account for, and so they left their kingdom in search of the source of their pain and after crossing the workd found a baby in a small village in China, who was at the other end of the threads, tugging on them.
I cried my eyes out through out the entire story. All the years of waiting and detaching myself from the outcome must have finally caught up with me! It was very touching. And, the next day I saw one of my students who was at the party and she called me a CRY BABY!
To sum it up, my family and I are just very very lucky people to have so many wonderful and cherished friends!
When one walked in the door, she was greeted with a red thread to signify our long wait for our little Ginger. They had pictures of Ginger EVERYWHERE, and the whole house was decorated with Chinese lanterns.
Before the party Nicola had emailed everyone and asked them to send her a little wish for our family, and all of these were printed out and cut out and inserted into hand-made fortune cookies by Kelly Demos. They were dipped in chocolate and red sprinkles, too! At the end of the party they presented me with the photo to right, which included all of the wishes in a lovely frame surronding the picture of Ginger. Sharolyn made that one.
At one point my friend Emmeline read the story of the red thread, about a King and Queen who had everything they wished for, but felt a stirring and tugging at their hearts that they could not account for, and so they left their kingdom in search of the source of their pain and after crossing the workd found a baby in a small village in China, who was at the other end of the threads, tugging on them.
I cried my eyes out through out the entire story. All the years of waiting and detaching myself from the outcome must have finally caught up with me! It was very touching. And, the next day I saw one of my students who was at the party and she called me a CRY BABY!
To sum it up, my family and I are just very very lucky people to have so many wonderful and cherished friends!
Baby Showers Galore!
Since I last posted I have been given three absolutely beautiful baby showers. Little Ginger will be the best dressed baby in town! At work some of my students arranged a HUGE shower, with 58 people attending! It was extremely gratifying to be honored by my wonderful students, as they are such a source of encouragement and inspiration to me. They like me, they REALLY like me!
My Tues-Thurs morning deep water aerobics class bought me a beautfil Petunia Picklebottom diaper bagthat will serve as my carry on and goes with all my outfits! I cannot WAIT to go to Babies R Us and spend the many wonderful gift cards we were given as well. I can't even name all the wonderful quilts and blankets that my talented ladies showered me with! One of my student's mothers knitted 5 dozen infant caps for me to take to the orphange, too! What an incredible group of thoughtful, caring women. And how lucky I am! I hope to get some pictures from that shower to share soon.
And before that, my friend Emily arranged a lovely little surprise shower at the park after preschool. She and her daughter made gorgeous pink cupcakes and we opened presents and had fun. I was so surprised that when I walked up, I said, who'd the party for? and they said "You!" I turned around to see who was standing behind me!" It was very very sweet and totally unexpected.
It has just been the non-stop party shop!
My Tues-Thurs morning deep water aerobics class bought me a beautfil Petunia Picklebottom diaper bagthat will serve as my carry on and goes with all my outfits! I cannot WAIT to go to Babies R Us and spend the many wonderful gift cards we were given as well. I can't even name all the wonderful quilts and blankets that my talented ladies showered me with! One of my student's mothers knitted 5 dozen infant caps for me to take to the orphange, too! What an incredible group of thoughtful, caring women. And how lucky I am! I hope to get some pictures from that shower to share soon.
And before that, my friend Emily arranged a lovely little surprise shower at the park after preschool. She and her daughter made gorgeous pink cupcakes and we opened presents and had fun. I was so surprised that when I walked up, I said, who'd the party for? and they said "You!" I turned around to see who was standing behind me!" It was very very sweet and totally unexpected.
It has just been the non-stop party shop!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Dossier translation and next steps
We got the translation for Xin Zhi's medical record and dossier this week. How fun to read it all in detail and not have to fuss over little characters that I cannot dredge up from my addled memory! Below are the highlights, directly quoted from the dossier:
* She was found on the steps of the orphanage on November 15, 2007, the day after her birth
* She was wearing a blue cotton top and flowered bottoms.
* She was given to a foster family, and "Grandma Pan" was responsible for her well being
* She enjoys interacting with people
* Little Xin Zhi has a pair of sparkling eyes that seem to talk
* Sometimes she is so happy that she bursts into giggles
* She has rosy fat cheeks that make people want to kiss them
* She started standing up at 8 months as is now walking a few steps
* In sum, she is a lovely smart girl
We cannot wait to meet little Ginger (this is the name we have finally chosen. The reason is that it is close in meaning to her name, which means one medicinal plant, and it sound phonetically as close as we can get in English.) So, her full name is Ginger Xin Zhi Nina Peck! Cuyler was not willing to let go of the Nina part of her name that we had already chosen to use. Ginger was never even mentioned as a name originally, but it really just seems to fit for her.
I am going to a travel meeting Monday and will learn more, but they have tentatively told us to be in Hong Kong by Feb 27 to meet the group, then travel to Nan Chang, the capital of Jiangxi province, where Xin Zhi lives. We may get to visit the orphanage, and we will hang out for about a week in Nan Chang with our new babies. Oh, yes, we are travelling with 9 other families! After that we are off to GuangZhou to the US Consulate where we will hang for another week, taking care of immigration issues. On their current timetable we will be home by March 12. However, it could all be pushed out a week. we will see. My sister Nina arrives Feb 26 to take care of Cuy-Cuy and will stay till end of March- a great help!
David and I plan on hitting HK a few days early, recovering from jetlag and tooling around HK. I haven't been in years, and I can't miss an opportunity to get is a few good Hong Kong walks! It wil be fun to be there with David, and we will stay at the Peninsula for a night, which has long been a dream of mine.
The next couple of weeks are jam-packed with buying everything we need, packing, arranging everything for Cuyler and buttoning down our work issues. Oh, yes, and TWO baby showers next week! We are busier than centipedes in a tap-tapping contest, and WAY more excited!
More as soon as we get definite travel plans
* She was found on the steps of the orphanage on November 15, 2007, the day after her birth
* She was wearing a blue cotton top and flowered bottoms.
* She was given to a foster family, and "Grandma Pan" was responsible for her well being
* She enjoys interacting with people
* Little Xin Zhi has a pair of sparkling eyes that seem to talk
* Sometimes she is so happy that she bursts into giggles
* She has rosy fat cheeks that make people want to kiss them
* She started standing up at 8 months as is now walking a few steps
* In sum, she is a lovely smart girl
We cannot wait to meet little Ginger (this is the name we have finally chosen. The reason is that it is close in meaning to her name, which means one medicinal plant, and it sound phonetically as close as we can get in English.) So, her full name is Ginger Xin Zhi Nina Peck! Cuyler was not willing to let go of the Nina part of her name that we had already chosen to use. Ginger was never even mentioned as a name originally, but it really just seems to fit for her.
I am going to a travel meeting Monday and will learn more, but they have tentatively told us to be in Hong Kong by Feb 27 to meet the group, then travel to Nan Chang, the capital of Jiangxi province, where Xin Zhi lives. We may get to visit the orphanage, and we will hang out for about a week in Nan Chang with our new babies. Oh, yes, we are travelling with 9 other families! After that we are off to GuangZhou to the US Consulate where we will hang for another week, taking care of immigration issues. On their current timetable we will be home by March 12. However, it could all be pushed out a week. we will see. My sister Nina arrives Feb 26 to take care of Cuy-Cuy and will stay till end of March- a great help!
David and I plan on hitting HK a few days early, recovering from jetlag and tooling around HK. I haven't been in years, and I can't miss an opportunity to get is a few good Hong Kong walks! It wil be fun to be there with David, and we will stay at the Peninsula for a night, which has long been a dream of mine.
The next couple of weeks are jam-packed with buying everything we need, packing, arranging everything for Cuyler and buttoning down our work issues. Oh, yes, and TWO baby showers next week! We are busier than centipedes in a tap-tapping contest, and WAY more excited!
More as soon as we get definite travel plans
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Information trickle
We have learned a little more about Xin Zhi and our upcoming trip to China. At the end of this post is a link to her orphanage, with comments from some people who have adopted children from Shanggao Social Welfare Institute (SWI for short). If you scroll down the link, you will even find some Shutterfly pics of the orphanage itself. Man, I am loving technology right now!
It seems that Zin Zhi lives in a very large and modern orphanage that is shared with an old folks home, and the children stay in a room with a senior citizen who is given a small stipend for taking care of the child. What an amazing idea- giving two members of society who so often get overlooked the opportunity to love and nurture one another. I have no doubt that the love and affection go both ways, and that both parties benefit tremendously. I must admit I am pretty surprised by the Chinese Government's forward thinking and social experimenting with two classes so under valued. Warms the shackles of my rotten little heart, it does!
Anyway, the consensus from people who have adopted from our SWI is that the children seem to be happy, healthy and well cared for. I can't tell you how relieved it makes me that there is a chance that our little girl has been loved and held and cared for so tenderly. It makes me cry. But then, I cry a lot these days! Whenever I hear that song by Jason Mraz, I'm yours. It cannot wait - I'm yours! We are finally getting our daughter!
On another note- we have not decided what to do about her Wesetern name yet. We had originally sort of settled on Nina, after my sister, but because Xin Zhi will be 15 months when she gets here, and she knows her name, and because she will be in such shock already with so many changes, we are thinking of calling her Ginger, which sound a lot like Xin Zhi Our name is our virtue, as Mraz says, so it is important to me!
We still don't know when we fly to China, but we have a travel meeting Monday to discuss details. Hop to know when we go by end of next week, maybe. I am getting to know the 9 other families we will fly to Chine with. 5 families total are from the Bay Area, which is really nice.
I need to go get Cuyler up and we need to start our day, so here is the link to the orphanage if you are interested. One of the funny things is that in one of Xin Zhi's pictures she is leaning against a big yellow hand, and I see the hand in some of the videos and most of the babies pictures from the institute. The ubiquitos HAND!
http://www.gurrad.com/china/shanggao.htm
It seems that Zin Zhi lives in a very large and modern orphanage that is shared with an old folks home, and the children stay in a room with a senior citizen who is given a small stipend for taking care of the child. What an amazing idea- giving two members of society who so often get overlooked the opportunity to love and nurture one another. I have no doubt that the love and affection go both ways, and that both parties benefit tremendously. I must admit I am pretty surprised by the Chinese Government's forward thinking and social experimenting with two classes so under valued. Warms the shackles of my rotten little heart, it does!
Anyway, the consensus from people who have adopted from our SWI is that the children seem to be happy, healthy and well cared for. I can't tell you how relieved it makes me that there is a chance that our little girl has been loved and held and cared for so tenderly. It makes me cry. But then, I cry a lot these days! Whenever I hear that song by Jason Mraz, I'm yours. It cannot wait - I'm yours! We are finally getting our daughter!
On another note- we have not decided what to do about her Wesetern name yet. We had originally sort of settled on Nina, after my sister, but because Xin Zhi will be 15 months when she gets here, and she knows her name, and because she will be in such shock already with so many changes, we are thinking of calling her Ginger, which sound a lot like Xin Zhi Our name is our virtue, as Mraz says, so it is important to me!
We still don't know when we fly to China, but we have a travel meeting Monday to discuss details. Hop to know when we go by end of next week, maybe. I am getting to know the 9 other families we will fly to Chine with. 5 families total are from the Bay Area, which is really nice.
I need to go get Cuyler up and we need to start our day, so here is the link to the orphanage if you are interested. One of the funny things is that in one of Xin Zhi's pictures she is leaning against a big yellow hand, and I see the hand in some of the videos and most of the babies pictures from the institute. The ubiquitos HAND!
http://www.gurrad.com/china/shanggao.htm
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Mei Mei room
Mei Mei's room is the sunniest room in the house