China
Russia
Vietnam
Dear Family and Friends,
Hello again from not so sunny Florida. At least I think I'm in Florida, it really hasn't felt like Florida lately and to tell you the truth, my head hasn't stopped spinning since December. (O.K. , it 's been spinning a lot longer than that, but anyway.) I wanted to write to everyone and tell you a little about our trip. Rod would say, " We went to China, got our little girl, and came home. " Yes, I guess we did do that, but to me it was the absolute trip of a lifetime. And the bonus prize was that we got to bring home our daughter.
We started our trip Dec. 13th. We left Orlando and flew 5 hours to L.A., where we met my Dad and the other two couples from our agency that were adopting also. From L.A. we flew to Guangzhou, China, which took about 15 1/2 hours, then we flew to Beijing, which took another 3 hours. Talk about a long, tiring day. (And ALL the flights were non-smoking and so Rod was just a little irritable by the time we finally got there.)
Once in Beijing, the fun began. We had a day and a half to tour the city, where we saw Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. Tianamen Square, to me, was the least impressive site of all. The only thing about it was the significance of the events which took place there. The Square is 35 acres big and Rod was quick to point out to the tour guide that it takes a lot of room for tanks to run down students. I really enjoyed both the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. The sheer amount of time and effort put into both of these things is unimaginable, and the talent it took to build, carve, and paint it was breathtaking. It was certainly a sight that you don't get to see in Indiana. I'm sure that another sight to see was Dad and I riding a camel at the Great Wall, we just had to experience everything!
After touring Beijing, we flew to Changshaw, which was another 2&fraq12; hours. Then the moment we had long been waiting for came about 40 minutes after we got to the hotel in Changshaw. We finally had our angel, and that she certainly is. She was so good, she didn't even cry. The next hour or so we spent just staring at each other, and holding her, and loving our new little girl. It's really no different than the way I felt the first time that I held one of our boys except that I knew she could actually see me too. And she is beautiful. I know in my heart that she was definitely heaven sent, she was hand picked by God for us. With the obvious oriental looks aside, she looks just like one of our boys, with her little round face, dimples, and my nose and mouth. And out of all the babies we saw, she definitely had the most hair. Imagine my excitement. To my relief, after counting all her fingers and toes, she was surprisingly well. She had lots of really treatable things ranging from pretty severe rashes to ear and respiratory infections. But nothing that a little treatment and a lot of TLC couldn't fix. Mentally and developmentally she is just fine, it was very obvious to us that she had been well taken care of.
From this point on, the trip was an absolute whirlwind from place to place, and appointment to appointment. We did passport pictures, (3 times) adoption procedures, met with Chinese officials, tried to adjust to our new family member, and treated all of Tori's medical needs. We also had the opportunity to visit the outside of the orphanage where Tori had been raised. When our guide asked us if we wanted to stop, he got a very reluctant 'yes'. Needless to say, I had very mixed emotions about taking Tori back to "that place". But only after visiting there did I realize the extent to which my prayers had been answered. You see, every single day, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day, our family has been praying for the little girl that we would adopt. My prayers specifically have been for the angels to wrap their arms around her and look after her and keep her safe until we could get her home. I met Tori's angels, they were the 3 nannies that had taken care of her since she had arrived at the orphanage. All 3 babies in our group just lit up when they saw their nannies, you could see that they really loved them and the feeling was definitely mutual. I know funds were limited and living conditions were less than ideal, but these women did the very best for these girls they could with what they had; they gave them love and attention which was far and away the most important thing.
The next stop for us was back to Guangzhou. Here we had a medical exam for Tori and met with the American Consulate to get her visa and shopped. What a shopper's paradise1 Street after street of nothing but things "made in China". I could have stayed there for days, but our time there was so short, and the appointments there were so time consuming. We didn't have near as much time as I would have liked. That was probably a good thing, though, since my extra suitcase was already full, and by then we were very ready to get back and see our boys.
Overall, we enjoyed our trip to China. Even though we stayed at 4 and 5 star hotels, and ate some of China's finest cuisine, (Rod and Dad tried absolutely everything ranging from chicken feet to whole octopus.) There is no place like the U.S.A. I feel so blessed to have been born here. We didn't have a lot of opportunity to interact with many Chinese people, except our guides, but it certainly put life into perspective for me. A lot of people, myself included, take everyday things for granted; a warm place to live, plenty of food to eat, freedom to decide what political party, if any, to belong to, what church or religion to follow, what age we are when we want to have children, and how large we want our families to be. It may sound cliché, but freedom really is a wonderful thing. I felt very warmly received by most of the people there. They seemed to be grateful that we were taking these babies for our own. Some would give us the "thumbs up" sign, those who spoke English would say "lucky baby", and some would just smile and nod. My over all impression of the Chinese people was very good; and it was quite evident to us that they dearly loved their children. But in order for their country to decrease its population enough for there to be enough of everything to go around; these severe requirements are necessary. If you could see some of the homes these people live in, then I'm sure you would also say "lucky baby".
In closing, I would like to say "thank you" to all of you who helped us along our journey, whether in actions, by words or prayers, or by just listening to us while we waited. While this portion of our journey has come to a close, a whole new door has opened as we continue on our adventure of life. And with four kids, it's really becoming quite an adventure! Take care, and may God bless you on your journey. Love,
Rod, Joyce, Andrew, Ian, Alexander, and Victoria
