From China With Luggage

Adoption Journal - full version with pics available here: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/8596/adoption.htm

Due to an unexpected pregnancy, Kathy was unable to travel with me to China to complete the adoption process that was two years in the making. I know she was very disappointed that she couldn't go, but I'll do my best to make it up to her.
I hope you enjoy the travel log. Please forgive any indiscretions I may have had with the English language. I assure you they are mostly a result of the haste in which I think and type.
All opinions are mine and are worth exactly the paper they're not printed on.
A few folks I'd like to take a moment to thank:
Kathy and Louisa, just for being you
Tony and Maureen Woltermann and Joe and Ruth Patrouch for being supportive to us in so many ways. This would not have been possible without you!
Jean Patrouch, for going with me
Joe and Felice, for going first
Katie Schlegel, for keeping Kathy occupied
Debi Albrecht, for just the fax, ma'am
LexisNexis and its employees for being so family-friendly and for giving me one less thing to worry about
Bev Oltmann, for giving me the handy journal in which I kept the following...

11/26/2002 - Tuesday
I took the call from Alliance in the basement. I had to slow the woman down before she got too far into the discussion. Kathy mentioned that she wanted to hear the news as well.
Waiting for her to pick up the phone, I was reminded of when we got the news that Kathy was pregnant with Louisa. Kathy was in the bathroom when that call came. Seems like that's the way it goes...exciting things happen when you're indisposed.
Anyway, with both of us on the line the woman rattled off the few details she had: birth date, weight, length, etc. She would send us the details via Fed Ex but, mercifully, would scan the picture and email to us. She remarked several times how precious and beautiful our new little girl was. We wondered if she said that to everyone she called. It sounded good anyway.
After what seemed like forever we received the emailed pictures and document. I was surprised how plump and healthy she looked. The accompanying sheet indicated that she favors an extra feeding each day. Sounds like one of my kids.
We spend the rest of the afternoon telling friends and family. I downloaded the pictures to our web page. Thank goodness for the high-speed access of our cable provider!
Louisa is sick today with a sinus infection. She assumes the surprise we have for her is ice cream. She's a bit disappointed, naturally.

11/27/2002 - Wednesday
The Fed Ex package came just after Kathy leaves to go shopping with her sister, Jean at the Sweet Water Christmas sale in the old PharMor. Remember what I said about being indisposed?
I leaf through the mound of paperwork. It's much more fun to cull additional details about our new child from the cryptic, half-English, half-Chinese document. Nine months old instead of the 12-24 months we expected. I wonder how this might change out initial expectations...

11/28/2002 - Thursday (Thanksgiving)
I spend the day working. I take the time to reflect on the things I need to do before I leave. Ugh. I meet up with the family at Joe and Ruth's and have a left-over (but still tasty) Thanksgiving meal. Jean seems anxious, but ready to go as well. She mentions wanting to learn some Chinese before we go. I had long ago given up that fantasy. I'm hoping to get by with my Chinese/English dictionary, our guides and my natural communication skills...I'd better buy an extra dictionary.
We call Joe and Felice later in the evening. They are happy to provide details they think might help. I feel pretty confident at this point. As long as nothing "goes wrong".

11/29/2002 - Friday
I send an email out to as many friends and family as I can think of. Congratulations notes start to trickle back. I suspect some of them think we're nuts. The ones with kids, anyway.

11/30/2002 - Saturday
Still working, but it gives me the chance to make copious copies of the documentation and start to catch up on my journaling. Reading through the travel suggestions packet makes this all start seeming a little more real and manageable.

12/02/2002 - Monday
Whew. Busy day. I get Louisa on the school bus and go over the paper work again. Before Kathy is out of bed I head out to get a certified check for Alliance and drive to work to get a free flu shot. I spend a bit of time on the phone with Alliance getting some questions answered as well. It was then off to the doctors to get a hepatitis A vaccination. Back home to make more phone calls to Alliance. Better documentation = fewer calls...not just a help desk thing. By 7:00 PM I think I have everything squared away to send via Fed Ex.
Louisa and I killed some time putting up some Christmas decorations. She's a very good helper.

12/03/2002 - Tuesday
I had the power of attorney forms notarized by Debi Albrecht, the department admin, and got the rest of the paperwork in a Fed Ex envelope and on its way, Feels like I can take a deep breath and relax now...I wonder if there is anything I forgot?

12/05/2002 - Thursday
Nice snow today. Something of a surprise considering only flurries were called for. I still haven't gotten anything from Alliance...they should have gotten the packet yesterday. Guess I'd better check. There is a disappointing lack of proactive communication with that group.
I'd forgotten to add before that Kathy and I had settled on Evelyn Ya Jie Woltermann. We thought we had more time to decide, but the packet required a name. Anna was a close runner-up. Maybe for the next child. The ultrasound Tuesday afternoon showed a very active baby in there. We find out the sex at the end of the month. Back to the name. We'll call her "Evie" for short. Kathy remembered it from The Mummy and like it quite a lot. I liked it, too, but think we should find a better source to claim it from.

12/26/2002 - Thursday (Christmas at the Woltermann's)
Another Christmas has come and gone. Christmas eve was spent in traditional fashion with the Patrouch clan. Joe, Felice and Quinn were up this year as well. Things went surprisingly well for that many people in one place. Poor Quinn was terrified of Amanda. I guess she'd never seen a dog up close before. Amanda didn't take it personally and showed it by eating all of Quinn's cookies that she could get her paws on.
Christmas day was spent at Joe and Ruth's. Mike, Denise and family were with his folks. Kathy stayed late playing games while Louisa and I caught up on sleep.
I worked today. Should be the last day for 2002. I checked through my paperwork and the White Swan hotel web site. I'm still waiting for a definitive travel date. I have visions of one-week notice. I guess it's time to start getting my list of things together. Having Jean along should help a lot.

01/01/2003 - Happy New Year!
Yesterday was pretty eventful. Our new big screen TV was delivered and I spent most of the day breaking down the old entertainment system and setting up the new TV and remotes. Looks great! Kathy, Louisa and I cleaned up a bit and got most of the Christmas stuff back in the attic. Two days ago we were at the doctor's having an ultrasound. Another girl! Everything looks good from a health standpoint. Now we can start working out names. After Louisa and Evie it may be tough to come up with another girl's name we like. Kathy thinks I'm disappointed that we're not having a boy. The variety would be nice, but things like that don't bother me.
We had a quiet night watching Spider-man on DVD. Kathy took her usual picture of Louisa after midnight...not sure why it never wakes her up.
Still not a word from Alliance. Evidently they are waiting for final travel approval. The waiting doesn't bother me as much as the frustration that after paying as much as we have, we can't seem to get a professional response. This is personal for us, but a business for them. I expect a more business-like approach.
I'm working today. Slow going, fortunately. I've been having shortness of breath the past few weeks. It's been persistent enough to see the doctor about. Looks like an anti-inflammatory was all that it took. I probably hurt myself wrestling with Louisa. Glad that's out of the way.
Jean's been having problems with her stomach. Hope she's going to be okay for this trip. It'll be tough enough even while healthy.

01/03/2003 - Friday
The Buckeyes win the National Championship! By far the most exciting bowl game I have ever seen, ending in a second overtime. Wow! We had Jean, Ruth and Joe over to watch.
Earlier in the day we received the call from Alliance. We were expected in China on 1/13. Since Ruthie, our coordinator, was out until Monday, most of our plans couldn't be made until then. My visions of one weeks notice have come true.
It gets better. Evidently the plan was to push the entire group back to the end of February to avoid the celebration of Chinese New Year. Because our INS paperwork expires the first week of February, Jean and I got to go alone. It beats waiting a month but we lose the benefit of traveling with other parents. I am not too concerned by this (possibly due to ignorance) but I am disappointed at the lack of consistency and organization in the process.

01/07/2003 - Tuesday
Kathy and I spent the day doing last minute shopping for the trip. I think we have just about everything we need.
Last minute calls from Glen, out travel agent through Alliance, bring concerns about our planned departure dates (Friday). We move it back to Saturday to make things simpler. Jean is feeling a bit edgy about the late travel changes. She was prepared to leave Friday. I feel a bit better about it since I still have yet to see the final packet from Alliance or the final travel itinerary from Glen. Smells like an eleventh hour operation coming.

01/11/2003 - Saturday
Today we left for China! We spent a relaxing morning making sure everything was packed and ready to go. Louisa got her Scooby-Doo fix, so she was quite pleased. We met Jean at Joe and Ruth's at 11:30 AM and then went to Damon's for a last meal together before the trip. We got to see the first half of the Flyers game before we had to leave. Joe and Ruth were in Chicago attending the funeral of a friend.
Kathy and Louisa dropped us off at the Cincinnati airport around 2:15 PM. Plenty of time for our 4:40 PM departure.
No problems with airport security and we buzzed on through to the gate to wait. Poetry.
The flight left on time, but was a bit cramped.
The Tuxedo was the in-flight movie. It was about as bad as the in-flight meal. Oriental chicken and veggies. Figures. The dessert (mousse) wasn't bad though.
A kid in front of us appears to be traveling alone. I saw a red jacketed guy bring him to the gate. He seems bored.
7:00 PM EST - Two hours in...my allergies have quit bugging me (it's January for Pete's sake!). The cost is the two antihistamines I had to take. Getting some sleep shouldn't be a problem! Unfortunately my ass has fallen asleep.
11:43 PM EST - Ugh. The flight to L.A. arrived on time. Jean and I spent a little time in a McDonalds having a drink, eating some McCookies and playing travel Scrabble. We've got five hours to kill before our 15 hour plane ride to Guangzhou. The currency kiosk appears to be closed for the night, which is unfortunate. Guess I'll have to figure out what bills to get in China.
The NFL playoffs are gearing up. I catch a few snips as I pass by cafes and bars in the airport. The Eagles nipped the Falcons!
As Jean and I sat we met a couple of other ladies that will be flying with us for the same purpose. We have a nice chat...we may even meet up in Changsha later in the week. One couple is bringing their five year old. Very brave.
The plane seems very small...hope it's not too crowded...and that the movie doesn't have an Oriental star...and that we don't get another Oriental meal. I'm such a whiner.

01/12/2003 - Sunday
7:41 AM PST - We're over halfway to our destination now. The plane I was worrying about wasn't ours. We're on a monster 777. The in-flight meal was some type of seafood and noodle dish (although I am sure I asked for the pork). A little better than the last meal, but still not good. There are televisions built into the back of the seats, but no instructions for their use that I can see. Jean and I both got several hours of much-needed sleep, although the seats are very cramped and it's difficult to find a comfortable position. I think we have five hours and some change left to go. Hard to tell with all the different time changes we've gone through.
I had a brief chat with the Chinese gentleman next to me before he switched seats to allow for more room (thank God). He seemed very appreciative of our adoption mission.
I think the biggest difference in my comfort level so far is the change of smells. Not a bad odor, but clearly different from what I am used to. I noticed it as soon as I got on the plane.
My neighbor did mention to me that he used to live in Changsha. I asked him if it was a nice city and got a so-so, used to be type of response. He seemed to think it was a bit cold. Guess we'll see.
I filled out a couple of customs forms they handed out on the way into the plane. Seemed pretty generic since I'm not carrying any animal or diseases. I hope I filled it out okay. One area asked why I was traveling. Business didn't sound right. Another part asked where the visa was issued. There was some Chinese text indicating this, but I didn't trust myself to copy it properly. Besides, it said fill out in English. I put down San Francisco, where the priority service had sent the passport from. Ugh, what a rough flight. Gonna be really interesting with Evie. Hope she is well.

01/13/2003 - Monday
7:50 AM Guangzhou - We made it! After the very long flight from LA we landed on time in Guangzhou. We skipped through customs very quickly and met our facilitator, Maggy. She was very helpful in getting us situated. She provided some timely tips to keep us away from the less reputable money changers and walked us around to all the airport destinations we would have to know for our next flight.
She brought us to the airport hotel, but they didn't have reservations for us. We acquired a day room anyway at a whopping $230 Y ($30 some , US). Very nice view. They really hustled to get the room ready, Traffic seemed light, even for 8:00 AM. Very hazy. I have a hard time seeing the mountains in the distance.
The mountains were very pretty in the background, but very hard to see through the constant smog.
Everyone seems apologetic about the cold, but it's still warmer than Dayton. Maggy left us at the hotel. She probably won't be with us the rest of the trip, but she might be at the White Swan later on in the week. Very nice girl.
Jean and I are both taking the time to catch up on journaling before we nap or shower. The Western-style restaurant on the second floor sounds promising.
One anecdote: Coming out of the airport to walk to the hotel, one of the doormen stomped out a rat trying to scurry across the way. Gross, man.
A couple of things to note from our conversations with Maggy: the role of pilot and stewardess is considered very high on the job scale. I thought as much from looking through the China Southern flight magazine. They had what looked like glamour-shot type articles about their stewardesses. Maggy said they are selected based on good looks, certain height and pleasant voices. They seemed a bit rude to me. Maybe a 15+ hour flight will do that to you.
China is very excited about the Olympics in 2008, especially in Beijing. Even the taxi drivers are learning English. To anyone considering such a trip, I think you would be very welcomed and comfortable.
9:45 AM Guangzhou Time. - Woke up from a brief nap and took a nice, warm shower. I feel a little closer to normal again. Jean's feet and ankles were swollen by the long flight, and are now returning to normal. We're starting to think about that restaurant on the second floor. Probably catch a little local TV, first. This should be interesting.
1:00 PM G.T. TV was more entertaining than I thought. Lots of soap opera type shows set in ancient times. Some Kung-Fu stuff and even women's hockey (in preparations for the 2008 games, I imagine).
Lunch was...interesting. Jean ordered the pork combination and I the Beijing duck. Neither of us recognized our dish, assuming what we were brought was some type of strange appetizers. Jean's had bean curd and slices of what seemed to be meat (pork?) and sea sponge (ugh). The other meat was very odd. It was full of spiny bones like fish, and didn't seem to have much edible meat on it. Evidently Beijing duck is fried and sugared duck skin wrapped in something like a tortilla with a molasses-type sauce with onions. We weren't putting it together right so they took the plate away and put the stuff together for us. After about another hour we started to figure out that this was our meal. We were a little afraid that more was to come, because we were done. I think the waitress was pissed, but I'm not sure why...we clearly didn't know what the hell was going on. I must say that the menu was impressive...they had stuff I wouldn't have eaten with someone else's mouth (snake, heads of something, an entire pig). Well, hopefully this will teach us something about eating in China. Thank God we went to the Western-style part of the restaurant!
7:50 PM - Whew, what a couple of days. We arrived in Changsha on time and were met by our guide, "Samuel". We also met our driver, "Mr. Leo". I've never had my own driver before. He was a scary-looking guy.
Mr. Leo...don't let the smile fool you Evie and Minh Wah Evie and Samuel
We took a 45 minute drive into the city from the airport. The airport area looked somewhat rural with a great deal of rice growth as far as I could see. There were lots of evergreen trees and the Yangtze river twisted everywhere.
Changsha, itself, was quite a change. The city seemed to erupt out of nowhere and go straight into mountains of high-rise stores, hotels and tenement buildings. As we drove the cars mixed liberally with bicycles and motorbikes of all varieties.
I saw a number of the bike riders carrying vegetables and trays of coal from nearby mines. The coal was cut into forms like giant pieces of Honeycomb cereal.
The smog was incredible. It was so thick that you could see it from across the street. It was like being in another world.
The hotel was the Tong Cheng from the Dolton Hotel chain. One of four five-star hotels in Changsha.
Jean and Evie pose in front of a statue commemorating the upcoming year of the goat in the hotel lobby
As we arrived in the lobby we were informed that our baby was here. Were we ready? I asked for a few minutes to get settled in. I still had less than a few hours of sleep since leaving on three days ago.
They brought Evie up around 6:30 PM. She looked healthy and well cared for. They had her stuffed into a heavy coat/pant suit. Her cheeks were bright red and she was sweating like a little pig.
I think they knew how tired we were, so they shuffled off after a few minutes to leave us alone. Evie was a little scared at first, but she settled down pretty quickly. After a little food, playing and a bottle, she passed out for the night.
Due to some confusion over the room, Jean spent the night with us. We managed to get that straightened out the next day. Minh Wah, the nurse, offered to let Jean stay with her if I was kicking Jean out (?).
The nanny, orphanage director, nurse and facilitator made an odd crew. The director and nanny spoke no English. Another lady (another nanny?) looked like she had quite a shiner from something. She also spoke no English.
Fortunately, Evie slept through the night. She rolled around a lot and sighed and moaned, but nothing other than that. Since she had cut 6 teeth since we'd last heard about her I worried she might be teething. It could have been a much worse night!
Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well anyway. Between exhaustion, jet lag and the previous days lunch, I was not in good shape.
The view from my hotel window. Visibility limited by the smog.

01/14/2003 - Tuesday
We were all up around 6:30 AM and ready to start our day. We went down to the Coffee Garden for a complimentary breakfast buffet. I was pleasantly surprised by the quantity and variety of food, Chinese and Western. In the shape I was in, I stuck with a very light fare of French toast, orange juice, hash browns and bacon. Jean was a little more daring with noodles and breakfast rolls.
There were several other couples in the cafe as well. The ladies next to us were from Kentucky. All seemed happy, but ready to go home.
At 9:00 AM we met Samuel and Minh Wah in the lobby and left for the Hunan Adoption agency. It was a 15 minute or so ride to a zoo. Couples and babies everywhere in various stages of the process. I was given a small area and some papers to fill out. Even in my state I remembered to bring the paperwork along. Barely.
Jean, Minh Wah and Evie waiting for me to take the picture and finish the paperwork. These rooms were about 80 degrees and packed with people
They shuttled me from room to room, signing this, filling out that. I kept the receipts, but here's what I remember paying for: $3000 US for the orphanage fee/donation, $160 US for notary costs, $300 US for some gentleman who asked exactly the same questions in an interview that most of the paperwork asked about, 100 US for Evie's passport and $250 Y for some other type of fee. I think I was in six rooms and done within half an hour. That building was hot, too. With the crowds of people jammed into the small rooms I was very happy to be done.
I gave some gifts we had prepared for the director, nanny, et al. I am not sure she understood the pewter plate commemorating 100 years of flight.
Jean was very helpful keeping the stuff together and remembering to get pictures of everyone. She even got the names of the women. Mr. Leo and Samuel helped with the baby since she had to be with us most of the time. Mr. Leo actually smiled. He's still very scary. I guess ten years as a driver in Changsha will do that.
I asked about Evie's background, but they seemed to dummy up very quickly. Either they didn't know much or weren't willing to discuss it. "Check paperwork we sent." They were a bit more forthcoming about her personal health information: never sick, very good eater, very strong (when she sees toys she wants she can take them away from the other children). She likes TV and wants to join in when she sees other children dancing. Jean thought that would go over well at home.
They sent us back to the hotel, where Samuel straightened out the room situation. Jean was moved to the room next to mine. They promised us shopping on Wednesday and some sightseeing after that.
I still wasn't feeling quite right at lunch, but the cheeseburgers we ordered from room service helped a bit.
I showed Evie pictures of Kathy, Louisa and Amanda I had taken the day we left. She seemed interested in them, but was a little too intent on chewing on them, so I put them away. She took two naps of approximately an hour each which enable me to rest as well. In the afternoon the three of us explored the hotel.
It offered the usual things, shops, restaurants, bars...but also a bowling alley, table tennis, a video arcade (closed) and snooker. There was a particularly interesting display of stuffed animals. They politely asked me to refrain from pictures, but I did take a couple first. They were amazing looking.
We ran into a few other adoptive parents. They also wished to get on with things and get home.
We had a late dinner of oriental noodles (Jean) and pork chops (me). Very tasty. My appetite is starting to return.
Jean went to her room for bed and I called Kathy and Louisa, who were just getting up. Kathy had spoken to Glen the travel agent and was doing a nice job of cleaning things up stateside. Hopefully things would be a little smoother from here on out.

01/15/2003 - Wednesday
7:30 AM - Evie's still asleep, which makes it over 12 hours. I slept well, too, and am staring to feel a little more like myself. We gave Evie her first bath last night. She was already tired and crying about something else, so I figured the timing was good. She wailed through the whole thing. She must have heard that's how we get rid of our kids out West. Afterward, she settled down, had some Cheerios and a bottle of formula. The formula seems like it puts her right out.
2:30 PM - Today was shopping day. Since Orange Islet or the "wall on which Mao wrote" was on the way, we went there first. Although it is Winter, the park was still very pretty. There were many orange groves that were said to be very sweet. The waters of the nearby river were supposed to make them that way. The park is famous in China because Mao Tse-tung stopped there, bathed in the river and wrote on a wall (I assume figuratively unless he used a mighty large pen).
Jean poses by Mao's wall. So far I haven't been able to determine what it says. I'm guessing, "Mao was here".
Evie fell asleep in the car, so Minh Wah stayed with her while Jean and I walked the grounds. It was fairly deserted...possibly due to the fee required to get in. Many of the surrounding houses and buildings were scheduled to be razed to make way for a large building slated to be a part of the park. Evidently, most buildings are owned by the government as opposed to private companies.
Finally the opportunity to take lots of pictures!
Orange Islet - Orange Islet is located on the central Xiang River, The length from north to south is about 5 kilometers, and the width is about 100 meters. It looks like a colorized ribbon with a specially face. Far from the Tang Dynasty it is famous for good oranges. The islet is good for swimming too. Mao Zedong often went to Orange Islet swimming in his youth. Orange Islet is one of key point of interests in Changsha.
On a dare, I ducked into a public restroom (or water closet) on the grounds. See me if you'd like to look at the picture and get a description. Needless to say, I will not be doing that again any time soon.
Afterward we went to a local shopping center. Much the same as ones at home except for the prices. They also have a pay as you go policy. You see a shirt you like, get a sheet of rice paper from the lady working in that area (it seemed like there were 3-4 people assigned per area!) and you bring it to the cashier. Pay the cashier and she stamps your paper. Bring the paper back to the shirt section and take your purchase. I was told that many stores are now emulating American shopping policy of bringing all your purchases to the cashier and ringing out at one time. Wynona Rider wouldn't get away with much in old China!
At the grocery store we picked up some essentials: Coke, Pepsi, pistachio nuts, Oreos. Nothing like comfort food to make you feel at home. Jean remarked on differences in the products (besides the Chinese labels), but I couldn't tell the difference. Since the local water wasn't safe, most of the soda we drank in China was warm.
The store featured a dizzying array of foods. A significant number of which I would not have guessed as edible. Tanks filled with sea life in various states of life added an interesting aroma, as did a large cauldron of some type of odd stew they had brewing.
Back at the hotel we headed down to Food Street for lunch. I ordered some green peppers and chicken. I'm pretty sure they just chopped up the whole chicken. Very little meat was evident amid the bone shards, gristle and pieces of chicken brain. I didn't eat too much of it, but I picked through it a lot. It was kind of like an anatomy lesson.
Evie chewed on rice. She seems to like being fed by chopstick.
Jean's dish was a little too reminiscent of our first meal in Guangzhou. I think we'll scale back on our daring local meals. The waitress was really pushing the bullfrog soup. I couldn't help but wonder if the bullfrog might have a better cut of meat than the chicken.
I watched some TV. Unlike Guangzhou's airport hotel that had only Chinese television shows, this place had HBO (with Chinese subtitles) and London CNN. The ESPN network with all soccer seems to be Evie's favorite.
One thing that seems consistent about the rooms is that the key goes into a slot by the door. It keeps power flowing to the room. I guess it's an energy saving thing so people don't leave the lights and TV on.

01/16/2003 - Thursday
Kathy called this morning. She's having some bleeding. She'll know in the morning if it's a concern. Baby's still moving, so that seems like good news. Seems like a good thing that she didn't come along.
Jean's birthday today! I hope she's enjoying the trip. She's been great to have along.
Dad's birthday was yesterday (Eastern Standard time) so I called him. He and mom were happy to hear from me. Things are going well so far! Evidently the Bengals have hired Marvin Lewis as their new coach. Despite lack of head coaching experience it seems like a good choice for many reasons. He seems like everyone's darling for an NFL job and you can't ignore the positive step in race relations in Cincinnati. Anyway, Mom and Dad sound good. I hope to see them soon.
Another fine breakfast in the restaurant. Evie loves congee...basically watered down rice, overcooked. Mix in some steamed biscuits and she's in heaven.
At 10:00 we met Minh Wah in the lobby and headed out to the Hunan Museum. Mr. Leo was otherwise engaged (possibly rubbing someone out) and we had a new driver. Not as good as Mr. Leo. He had to ask directions a few times throughout the day.
We enjoyed the museum grounds, but the mummy exhibit we'd hoped to see was closed until Saturday. Out having it cleaned, I surmise.
Side note: I spotted wild parakeets in the trees. I knew what they were as soon as I heard them.
We packed up and went to the Yuelu Academy, an ancient school and learning center.
Yuelu Academy - Yuelu Academy is located at the east foot of the mountain, being one of the oldest academies in China. It was established in the 976 during the Song Dynasty with the funds from the government. At its prime period when Zhuxi, a famous neo-confucianist in the Song Dynasty, gave lectures here, its students accounted about 1000. The academy existed through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, and was transferred to Hunan Institute of Higher Learning in 1903. After the Revolution of 1911, it became the Hunan Higher Learning Normal School and in 1926, officially named Hunan University. Serving as an institute for 1000 thousand years, Yuelu Academy is honored as a "One-thousand-year-old Academic Institution".
The grounds were beautiful, even at this time of year. Unfortunately, most of the placards were in Chinese and Minh Wah was only able to add so much information.
One of the buildings at the Academy
Mao went to this place (he was born in the Hunan province) as well. Mao is an extraordinary figure, particularly to the middle and older generations. I'll try to put it into perspective...I can't think of any American site that was turned into a national park because one of our leaders swam in a nearby river and wrote on a wall. He may have had more impact on one country than any other in recent times, with the possible exception of Hitler or Stalin. Despite his actions and eccentricities, his legacy in China is very clean.
The Academy was pleasant, although Evie was getting hungry. She seems to have bonded with me, preferring my company to others. Hey, I can't blame her. I'm such a sweetheart.
We sat in on a Chinese music session that was interesting and enjoyable. One stringed instrument, hanging stone plates that acted like a xylophone, a flutist and some large, gong-like bells. Very talented performers. At their next break they asked if we would like to purchase a song ($40 Y). She recommended Chinese Romeo and Juliet. She probably assumed Jean and I were married. Beautiful song and worth the cost to support the arts. I took a couple of pictures, but I don't think I had enough light.
On the way back we passed the Hunan Institute, essentially the local college. It looked much like US universities...dorms, shops and athletic facilities. They had dozens and dozens of basketball hoops. Evidently young Chinese have developed a serious jones for round ball! Kudos to Yao Ming.
On the long drive back I was struck by the thickness of the smog. This was the first clear day we've had here, but it still had a pea soup quality. The people walking and riding bikes along the road all seemed in a constant state of coughing, sneezing or expectoration. Wait for it...spit-for-distance as an exhibition event in Beijing 2008. The gold is assured.
Also of note, and Maggy, our facilitator in Guangzhou and eon ago mentioned it, is the propensity for Chinese who are walking together to be very close. So close, that it is not uncommon to see them walking arm in arm. It's probably the only way to have a conversation in that mass of humanity. I haven't developed the hang of it yet. Since I outweigh the typical Chinese person on the street by some fifty plus pounds, I think they are happy that I stay back a bit and avoid stumbling into them.
We made it back to the hotel after a long van ride. Another room service meal. They do a damn good job with those french fries! Anyone out there wondering why we aren't a little more adventurous about our meals? Feeding Evelyn is still a little tricky and I'm watching what she eats. Reason #2: last nights dinner. I can still see chicken bone shards and pieces of brain when I close my eyes. I finally got my appetite back this morning and I'm doing nothing to queer the deal.
Looks like we're headed for a local park tomorrow. Hopeful we'll get some photos of the hotel from outside, too. Not an easy task to go out, walk across the street and snap one...It's like Grand Central Station and Mad Max rolled together out there at certain times of the day.
I think I could handle driving here if I had any idea where anything was. Miles and miles of tall buildings. The weird thing is not that everything looks the same, like some cities...it's that everything looks completely different. Old, new beautiful, stylish, garish all thrown together.
Jean and I have been conversing on the rules of child-rearing. Let me see if I can remember the order (which is very important):
Keep the child on a schedule if at all possible
Never wake a sleeping baby (unless it interferes with rule #1)
Sleep when the baby sleeps
When changing a diaper, you're the boss!
After baby loads a diaper, give him/her a few minutes...I'll let you figure out why.
Whatever you do, don't panic (thank you Douglas Adams)
I'm sure I'll remember some more as things progress.
My MP3 player has been nice to have. Saves me from keeping the TV on and it makes me feel more at home.
9:50 PM - The three of us hung around and watched TV through the afternoon. The highlights were badminton and darts. The first dart match was steel tip and I was not impressed. It's been a while since I threw regularly, but I think I could have run with these characters. After throws they drank water! Everyone knows darts is a beer game.
Back to the Coffee Garden restaurant for dinner. We tried the dinner buffet for a change. Interesting. Some of the selections: whole fish (tails, heads, eyes, etc.) wrapped in seaweed, pigs feet, duck tongues, crabs cooked in the shell and a few other dishes I've managed to expunge from my memory. They did have a nice ice cream selection. Jean tried a few other desserts, but nothing was quite to her liking. Evie had more congee, some fried rice and part of a roll. She doesn't seem to care for watermelon or grapes at this point.
I gave her a couple of small spoonfuls of chocolate ice cram. She wasn't quite ready for the cold feeling and almost spit it out. Almost. She acclimated quickly. She'll fit right in at home.
After dinner it was bath night for Evie. She was run-down and beaten. I guess 14+ hours of sleep just isn't enough. She started to put up a fight like Tuesday night, but got distracted by how much fun splashing warm water is. I had to drag her out a bit later.
Evie in bed, fast asleep and Jean and I played a couple of games of Scrabble to pass the time. Joe and Ruth called to wish Jean a happy birthday. She was glad to hear from them and had a nice, brief chat.
A note about the room: strangely the televisions do not use infrared remotes, but rather have an RF signal detector, like a cordless mouse. Upside is that you can point the remote anywhere and it will work. Downside is that the thing'll go off and on for the heck of it. Not sure if it's stray signals or remotes from other rooms. If I'm unlucky I may end up with several hundred Yuan worth of Chinese porn on my bill.
Jean made an interesting observation: items in the mini bar are cheaper than identical items ordered through room service. Not sure what the thought process is there.
Another observation, this time regarding the Chinese and elevators: the prevailing theory is that an elevator isn't full, ever. They stop just short of having someone climb up to occupy the waster space between our heads and the elevator roof. I know since I had to hold Evie up there to keep her from being crushed.
I must say that almost without exception, a small child seems to bring out the best in these folk. The hotel waiters/waitresses fawn over all the children. Even the sullen and smashed elevator riders pause to smile and make faces at Evie. Even scary Mr. Leo just loves to hold her.
Tomorrow we hope to track down some post cards before we leave. I also hope to work on my master plan to make it back to Hunan U's basketball courts and play some hoops with the locals. For money. The two-handed set shot still seems pretty popular here.

01/17/2003 - Friday (TGIF!)
Evie had a rocky night for some reason. She moaned and groaned from 11:00 PM to 3:00 AM off and on. Even an extra bottle didn't help. Might be teething...or too much food...or too little. Still haven't got her figured out yet. Anyway, a poor nights sleep for me. I haven't done much to wear myself out, so I should be okay.
Back to the breakfast buffet! Evie ate two bowls of congee (the little oinker) and seemed in better spirits.
At 10:00 we met Minh Wah for our trip to the local park. Mr. Leo had other plans today (another hit?) so we took a taxi. Seemed like a long ride, which would strike a chord later.
It was a beautiful park with lots (but not too many) people, drummers drumming, Tai Chi, swordsman (women, actually) and kite flyers. Cages of budgies and rabbits were for sale. As pets I assume.

Don't mess with her...she knows what she's doing! A food court at Martyr's Island. The woman in red probably doesn't like the way Evie's pant leg is riding up.
Martyr's Park - Large park located in the heart of Changsha. Park is named for the pavilion erected for the victim's of the Japanese Occupation during WWII. Man-made Wanyue Lake borders the park. Park also has some amusement rides and a Chinese Ethnic Minority Village. Martyr Park is the largest park in Changsha, located at the northeast. The park covers over 118 hectares and the water area is about 40%. The east of the park is surrounded by the Liuyang River, the other borders are near the downtown Changsha. The park is divided into two areas: the commemorative area and the sight-seeing area.
There were food vendors everywhere, despite the cooler weather. Corn on the cob seemed to be the most popular item.
The tower at Martyr's Park

















The long path from the tower to the river
We walked for some time admiring the foliage and stone buildings. There were even some amusement rides. They were a little on the rusty side.
Evie was a bit fussy since she had a poor nights sleep and it was coming up on her nap time. I got tired of trying to hold her and photograph, but she wouldn't stay with anyone but me. I broke out the Snugli that Joe and Felice thoughtfully brought up for Christmas. Talk about a riot. You'd think the Chinese had never seen one before. Or maybe not a man wearing one. In any case, I was getting even more stares and giggles than usual. I kept checking to see if my fly was open. The topper was when an older woman came out of nowhere and started yanking on Evie's pant legs. The Chinese do not like exposed skin on babies. Didn't seem like frostbite weather...
We contemplated a boat ride on the river, but after speaking with the rower, Minh Wah declined. He was private industry and she was a bit untrustful of anyone who doesn't work for the state. He also charged on fee for going and another for coming back. That sounded ominous. Minh Wah mentioned later that she couldn't swim (like many Chinese women, evidently). Maybe she didn't relish the thought of dog-paddling back to shore.
We started to make our way back. An old man literally hopped up to make faces at Evie and general conversation (via our interpreter) with us. Didn't we find the Chinese to be friendly? Your daughter is very cute! Etc., etc. He followed us for a while yammering things that weren't translated for us. I guess old people in China get lonely, too.
Evidently parks are a hot spot for retired Chinese people. They go there to play games, instruments and Tai Chi.
When we got back to the entrance we milled around for a little while. Another chord striking in the distance. Did we want to take another taxi (nowhere to be seen) or walk back? I seemed to remember a long taxi ride to get there, so I was reluctant to walk. Evie was becoming a bit of a dead weight, even with the Snugli. Walking it is! I need to be more assertive.
After a couple of hundred yards Evie passed out. This was good as the Snugli was designed to allow her to kick me in the groin if I wasn't careful. Damned Snugli people.
Let's just say that I have a hard time remembering such a long walk. The only one that comes to mind is the Abrams Falls (the link marks the easy trail...we didn't take that one) trail in Gatlinburg, TN. The one where we missed the sign that indicated "difficult". Abrams Death March was more like it, especially with three young kids.
It was a great opportunity to see (and smell) the Chinese inner streets. The day was particularly clear, and even the smog wasn't so bad.
Minh Wah stopped to ask directions three or four times (the Chinese seem very helpful and willing to provide directions). Each time the helper remarked "that's a long way". I could have done without her mentioning that to me.
One thing that I recall in particular was a young couple eating a bamboo stick sold on the street. It looked like a cross between a thick celery stalk and a small tree. They seemed to enjoy it, though.
By the time we got back I was beat. Evie was flopped on the bed where she slept for another hour or so. I took the time to partake of a little TV. Pool tournament and Baja racing!
Jean took some footage of Evie crawling when she woke up. It only took her about four days to learn to crawl.
Some things Evie does not care for:
Being tossed in the air (Louisa used to enjoy it, but it scares the crap out of Evie)
Having a bottle taken away before she's done (of course I hate that, too)
Most fruit. Hope that changes.
Some things she does like:
Anything with rice
The formula I brought. Big time.
Playing peek-a-boo
Being carried by Daddy
Honey-Nut Cheerios
Aunt Jean
Falling backward onto a bed and getting pulled back up again. Repeat.
To the Coffee Garden for dinner! Rejoice! Jean and I find two more meals to enjoy (pork burger and the Dolton club sandwich). The Heineken makes my burger just a little bit better. I've always thought that Heineken went very well with Chinese food. Now I will amend that to include food eaten in China.
High energy drinks are very big here. Red Bull is in the mini bar. I assume they're mainly caffeine hits more than anything else. I haven't actually seen anyone drinking them, but with that much advertising someone must be.
With a noted lack of an FDA I am reluctant to try some of these things. I've seen commercials pushing some type of supplement to make you taller and thinner, as well.
Jean and I played Scrabble again that evening (she beat me the last game) and then she headed off to bed. I stayed up to watch Passenger 57 on HBO before falling off to sleep myself. Big date with a mummy tomorrow!
I called Kathy and she is fine. The doctor didn't even need to see her. What a relief. Sounds like Louisa is pretty charged up. Can't wait to see them again. I'm getting a little too used to this hotel.

01/18/2003 - Saturday
After breakfast we met to go to the Hunan Provincial Museum (again). Mr. Leo was with us once again.
This time he was sporting an Adidas pullover and red pants. I assume in celebration of the coming New Year (year of the goat). This seems a little strange since most Chinese men seem to prefer black or other dark clothing.
The museum was amazing! It was centered around a burial find, the Mawangdui mummy, from 2100 years ago. One of the three coffins produced a fantastically preserved body of a fifty-year-old woman. She was in such good shape that her skin was still flexible and moist in areas. Fingerprints were still evident. After it was excavated in 1971, Chinese doctors preformed an autopsy and removed all of her vital organs. These were, conveniently, on display in liquid-filled tanks in more or less their original shape. Yummy.
Mawangdui - In 1972, grave sites from the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD) were excavated in Mawangdui, northeast of Changsha. It was proved to be the graveyard of Licang family that lived during the Western Han period about 2000 years ago.
Three tombs were unearthed successively, in which the one of Marquise Dai, Licang's wife, was most famous. Countless elegant and elaborate objects such as trappings and decorations which made her stay in the afterlife a more pleasant one were found in her tomb, of these a T-shaped silk picture, supposedly a banner for the soul, is the most fascinating. It is in extremely good condition and describes the voyage of the dead to the next world. The painting techniques and the color are of the highest quality.
But more astonishing still was the body of the Marquise herself. It was swaddled in 20 layers of silk and was found surprisingly well preserved and in remarkable condition, from skin to inner organs. Her skin is still of elasticity and her fingerprint can be seen clearly.
The photo taken on Jan. 16, 2003 shows the hall of the new Museum of Han Dynasty Tomb in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, into which Xinzhui, the mummy unearthed from the Mawangdui Tomb of the Han Dynasty (206B.C.-A.D.220) was just removed, Jan. 11, 2003. The museum will be open to public in Jan. 18. (Xinhua)
Experts examine the crystal coffin containing Xinzhui, the mummy unearthed from the Mawangdui Tomb of the Han Dynasty (206B.C.-A.D.220), in a new museum in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Jan. 11, 2003. The mummy was removed Thursday into the new museum which will be open to public in Jan. 18. (Xinhua)
The museum was new and very well set up. The displays were in Chinese and excellent English, which made them much more helpful to us.
Charcoal, among other substances, was credited for keeping the tomb in such wonderful shape.
Musical instruments still had strings, clothes were still intact, food in pots was identifiable. Simply amazing! Some differences struck me from tombs of the Egyptians:
The body was not gutted or pieces removed. At the very least this allowed the Chinese doctors in 1971 to indicate that the woman's last meal was probably a muskmelon (seeds in esophagus and stomach) and that she probably died of a coronary attack.
Another difference appears to be in practicality. Many of the items buried with these bodies (rank of marquis) were symbolic or funerary items. Lots of wooden carvings of rhino horns and clay renditions of coins of the time. There were a number of personal items, but not a lot of actual riches and goods.
I was amazed by the condition of the many cloths that were recovered. The craftsmanship was astonishing in detail and quality. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to chain stitch that stuff!
After the tour we hit the small museum shop. Fairly typical and nothing that really jumped out at us. Surprisingly, there were no post cards. Minh Wah suggested that since it was new, more items were to come.
We left the museum and headed to a grocery store for some snack foods and baby formula.
Mr. Leo sang a bit on the drive there. Surreal. I find myself much more comfortable at the stores now. Last time was awkward. Now, I feel like I could do this on my own (sans interpreter).
Jean and I had seen a commercial for a new Crest toothpaste. From appearances (I still read and speak no Chinese) it was lotus flavored. Sounded like a great gift for someone! Unfortunately, they didn't seem to have it, or didn't want to admit it, or maybe the commercial led us to the wrong conclusion (that'd be a first).
I ended up getting Colgate herbal with Tea tree, honeysuckle and clove mint (all of them mixed together?). I know this because the box is in English and Chinese.
Seems like a James gift. His birthday is coming up.
Tomorrow is our last full day here, hopefully. Minh Wah was surprised that we hadn't received copies of our documentation from Tuesday's paper-signing session. She would call today. Since she mentioned that their offices aren't open on the weekend, I suspect a Monday delivery.
Pressed pork burger for lunch again! I'm gonna miss it when I get home.
I called Kathy this morning (last night for her) to make sure she was taping Farscape. Last season, so I don't want to miss out.
Seems like our computer is now on the blink. Figures it's wait until I was gone. In another couple of years I hope to have Louisa fixing it.
Only six minutes left on my phone card, so it's pretty well burned. Turns out that 275 minutes - 27 minutes when calling internationally. I blame the metric system.
It appears we're missing some rare weather at home. Single digits and snow. Here it's about 40 F and people are bitching up a storm. Feels pretty nice to me.
Another note about the room: the doors are held open with magnetic latches bolted to the floor. Not horribly interesting, but I don't think I've seen that before.
The supply of bottled water to the rooms has been faithful. I've only imbibed tap water once, while brushing my teeth. The quality doesn't seem bad to the naked senses, but no one here seems willing to drink it.
Tomorrow is our last day with Minh Wah, so I'll have to get a gift together for her.
She's been very helpful to us and is very pleasant. I am starting to suspect that she cannot read. The signs are there...difficulty finding things inside of well-marked buildings and on streets. We asked for directions on our death march yesterday three times despite passing at least one city map kiosk.
After dinner we went outside the hotel to take some pictures and see the city at night. The neon lights are very beautiful and the streets are just as crowded. Evie was squirming a lot and it was difficult to get a good picture with so many people and everything "in the way". It reminded me of Las Vegas. There is so much jammed together that it is difficult to get a look or picture of one single thing. A building around the corner in the shape of an inverted pyramid would make a great shot, but short of a helicopter, I'm not sure how to get the whole thing.
We packed it in pretty quickly and returned to the hotel to snap some pictures there.
We saw a couple we met in LAX in the playroom on our floor. They thought they were the last couple left since many of the couples have moved on to Guangzhou yesterday or today.
We had a nice chat/play session. They are new parents and are having some trouble with the adjustment. Food fussiness, poor sleeping, etc. I offered any advice I could, but most of this stuff gets learned the hard way. Some thought on being a new parent:
Everyone offers you advice
You probably won't listen to any of it
Later you'll wish you'd listened to it.
It's a vicious cycle.
Jean and I were treated to a subtitled version of Evolution on HBO. A friendly, familiar movie to keep us company. After enough time in the hotel room it's easy to forget you're in China.
Evie slept soundly through the night. I'm starting to feel a little cocky about this parenting thing.

01/19/2003 - Sunday
Last full day in Changsha! After breakfast we went out to see the Tianxin Tower. The grounds were like a park with a fair number of people walking around, doing Tai Chi, playing instruments, board games and badminton.
Tianxin Pavilion and City Wall - Tianxin Tower was constructed on the top of the south-east corner of Changsha's old city wall. Originally constructed 2000 years ago, the pavilion was rebuilt in the 1700's after being set afire.
The Tianxin Tower was built atop the southeast corner of the old city wall in Changsha. It is the only part that remains intact after it was built by a Changsha King at the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-25AD). The construction of the tower started before the reign of the Qing Emperor, Qianlong. Rising 17.5 meters, it has five stories and is supported by 60 wooden columns. On top of the tower are 32 rising turtle heads, 32 bronze hanging bells in the shape of divine horse and 10 loving dragons.
Evidently, these places are popular spots for retirees. Men retire at 60, women 55. Seems strange since Chinese women typically outlive Chinese men.
The park had many interesting plaques, statues and carvings to see. I got some good video footage, so I'll spare much of the written descriptions of the structures. Again, the people were very friendly. Young Chinese girls seem very interested in us. Lots of giggles and waving. I often have that effect on women. Lots of laughing.
Examples of the many stone carvings on the grounds. I think they modeled the guy on the horse after me, although no one in Changsha admitted the resemblance
This concluded our time with Minh Wah, and we said our goodbyes up near our rooms. Not sure how she like her gifts of Esther Price chocolates, Bath and Body Works creams, lotions and soaps and a small gratuity. Inscrutable Chinese.
Scanning through the channels I picked up a newscast on the Mawangdui mummy. I remember seeing cameras while we were there, and they even captured some footage of the three of us looking at the gigantic outer tomb. I didn't see us in the newscast, though. So much for our 15 minutes of fame in the Chinese television business.
This afternoon, after lunch, we plan to visit the Friendship Store. Named, we were told, because it is co-owned by Japanese and Chinese.
The walk to the Friendship Store was only two blocks, but blocks in Changsha are rather long compared to back home.
The store was very nice. It reminded me of a Lazarus. The prices seemed a bit steep, however, and nothing really jumped out at us.
On the way back to the room we stopped by the 9th floor to check our the pool. Very nice and quite large. Strange to have a pool on the 9th floor. Glad my room wasn't under it.
After we got back to the room we had a visitor, Jack Na. Suspecting that we were Americans he asked me to look over an upcoming questionnaire to make sure the English was okay. It needed some work, especially with the tenses, but we got it straightened out. Nice kid.
We were both full, so we decided to forgo dinner. There are only so many times one can have the same few meals without losing a bit of ones appetite.
Samuel called around 9:00 PM to let me know he had purchased the flight tickets for 2:40 PM tomorrow to Guangzhou. We'll be in the lobby and checking out about 1:00 PM. It's about a half-hour drive to the airport. Chinese air travel doesn't seem to require the same amount of gate-wait time as American airlines.
Evie is a little grouchy about going to bed this evening. Glad I broke rule #2 in favor of rule #1.

01/20/2003 - Monday
Ugh. Woke up around 6:00 AM to the smell of nasty diaper. Very wet and slimy all the way up her sleeper to her elbows. I'll spare you a photograph.
Extra bath this morning.
The sleeper is shot. By the time I could let it soak long enough to get the nastiness out, we'd be on a plane.
At breakfast we ate with some folks who would be traveling to Guangzhou with us. We were hearing stories from some of their friends that had gone on ahead about some of the wonderful Western-style food to be had at or near the White Swan.
Near the end of breakfast Evie had a rash on her face. She's rubbing at her face and eyes and ears. I notice that one eye is starting to swell. Great. She's had no food that she hasn't been eating all week. Her sweatshirt hadn't been worn yet, so maybe it's something with that. I take it off and give her a small dose of antihistamine.
After half an hour she's still having problems and Cheerios aren't distracting her from rubbing everything above the neck. Might have to try another bath and hope the towel from this morning wasn't what started this mess. I reminded myself of rule #6.

01/21/2003 - Tuesday - Guangzhou
The afternoon went much better than expected. Evie's swelling was down quite a bit before we checked out. Samuel met us in the lobby and have me all the papers we'd been waiting for. The additional costs for the room and room-related expenditures ran around $1200 Y ($140+ US). Not bad considering I had a few international calls, a number of min bar purchases and several room service meals.
Mr. Leo was with us soon and we were on our way to the airport. It was about half an hour or so through Monday morning traffic. On the was I saw an unattended grass fire on a hillside. Very strange-looking.
Samuel had our tickets ready to go, paid our airport tax and got us underway. Our bags were overweight and I paid a $90 Y fee. Strange as we had less than what we did going from Guangzhou to Changsha.
The Changsha airport was fairly nice. Much more modern than Guangzhou, which is scheduled to be replace by a new airport in the next few years.
Our flight was delayed half an hour and we sat and waited with a handful of other adoptive parents. A story started circulating about how last nights flight was delayed for several hours. We all felt somewhat unprepared for that eventuality. A one hour flight with a baby isn't in the same ballpark as a one hour flight with a four hour wait.
The plane came in and was ready at the amended time.
Evie got her bottle as we were taxiing down the runway and was soon fast asleep. She remained that way for the entire flight. I'm starting to really like this kid! Some of the other parents weren't nearly so lucky.
We departed the plan in Guangzhou and piled onto a bus for a ride to the terminal. This seems to be a factor of the Guangzhou airport and it's need for replacement. All of the flights we took from here required us to board a crowded bus to take us to and from the aircraft.
We hit our first snag after picking up our luggage. No one from Alliance was here to meet us. We waited around a while and I checked and re-checked the group of people milling around the gate. All of the remaining signs were in Chinese. Not much help if they were for us.
I was checking on a shuttle or taxi ride with the information desk (not an easy task) when our guide arrived. It was Maggy! She was out of breath from running from whence she came. It was quite warm in Guangzhou. I was starting to sweat under my light jacket.
Maggy apologized for being late and got us and our luggage to the White Swan shuttle. It was a quick drive through the inner city of Guangzhou. The city was very different-looking from Changsha. It seemed that there was more space between the buildings and along the highway.
I saw the first auto repair place of the trip (several, in fact). Sounds strange, but with the scads of cars we'd seen, there seemed to be no places for repair or gassing up.
The White Swan hotel resides on Shamian Island on the Pearl River. We took a causeway over the river and were soon pulling into the parking area.
The bellhop grabbed the bags and Maggy spoke to the front desk about our rooms. We reminded them that we were slated for two rooms, having learned from our trip to Changsha. Seemed like news to them, but they squared things away. We once again had adjoining rooms, this time on the 8th floor.
The rooms were nice and a little fancier than the Tong Cheng. We discovered right away that the mini bar and room service would be quite a bit more here.
Some other differences: the new tub was very nice and fairly large. Still the thought of submersing myself in non-potable water was not appealing.
The view of spectacular! We had a nice view of the Pearl River and the city on the other shore. As it grew darker, the other side became awash in neon lights. It looked like Las Vegas. Even some of the boats had neon piping.
Night time view of the Pearl River from my hotel window


















The view during the day. A little more smoggy...
Television was much the same with the exception of one or two more English-speaking channels and Cinemax. According to some documentation we found, Cinemax and one of the ESPN channels were banned in China. I figured if they couldn't figure out how to block it on their own satellite dish, then they probably weren't monitoring who was watching it. Nothing on anyway.
We saw a tape delay of the Titans-Raiders game. Shame, since we had already seen he final score on CNN earlier.
We were hungry since we skipped lunch (it was almost 6:00 PM at this point). We walked around outside the hotel to get a lay of the land and find Lucy's restaurant.
Small shops across the street looked interesting. Some even did engravings based on pictures. Hmm. Might be worth a look later.
Lucy's wasn't too busy and we got a seat outside in the spring-like weather.
Jean ordered the pork chops, Evie the chicken congee and I opted for the sirloin steak (ever the optimist).
Evie ate most of the bowl which (I swear to God) was more than could possibly fit in her stomach and the stomachs of two pals.
My steak was just wretched. At least the fries and the Coca-cola were good.
Either it is a Chinese custom to wait until you ask before handing you the check or we just have had the slowest service on our trip. I don't think we've ever been handed a check that we haven't asked for.
We stopped at a 7-11 for some soda, a rather large beer for me and some snack food.
Evie was soon asleep and I managed to catch an episode of Seinfeld in English. Paradise!
The next morning we met for breakfast and ran into another difference with the hotel: the breakfast buffet was crowded! We had to wait for several minutes before being seated.
The food was basically the same as what we had in Changsha.
At 10:00 we met our facilitator, Lourisa. She took us across the street to a photo shop to have Evie's visa picture taken. We just beat a large crowd of other adoptive parents.
From there we went to the medical examiner's office. They counted her fingers and toes, made sure her parts were attached and declared her healthy. They all commented on how good she was for crying only a little. She weighed in at 20 pounds (probably 10 of which was last nights congee).
We saw a group of small children from a local elementary school being led around the block. They were all tied together by a string. Kind of like a kiddie twelve-pack.
They all cheerfully called out "hello!" to us.
We returned to the hotel room for a serious paperwork session. We spent 30-45 minutes going over papers, signing things, etc. The only catch was that the single copy of Kathy's passport was almost illegible. Heck, I could barely tell it was her picture. I would call Kathy and my admin, Debi, to see if they could fax me a better copy.
13 hours difference does have its benefits. This will be done as I sleep.
We had lunch at Lucy's again. Jean had the chicken basket, I the fish and chips and Evie gorged on another cauldron of chicken congee.
As luck would have it, they did a pretty good job with their fried foods.
There seems to be a spice that we've found very prevalent in most of the food...probably curry. I am damned sick of it.
I brought Evie back to the room for her nap, which was cut short by housekeeping. They wanted to change the room and count the bottles in the mini bar.
The three of us took a walk around the hotel. Lovely scenery, complete with a coy pond, waterfall and a pagoda. In the second floor lounge there was a large cage with parakeets, love birds and small white birds I couldn't identify. Evie wanted in the cage in the worst way. Possibly to play...maybe she was still hungry.
The waterfall and pagoda in the White Swan lobby
A shot of the White Swan after dark
I bought a shirt in a hotel shop. It was somewhat Chinese and will probably serve as the single thing I bring back for myself.
We perused some of the other shops but decided to check the outside vendors before we did any more buying.
We stopped by the outdoor pool. It was a little too cool to imagine swimming but it was meticulously clean and even sported a waterfall. There was a pool shop selling floats, suits and toys that couldn't have been doing much business.
I fed Evie dinner in the room (oatmeal and some baby food...mixed fruit that I couldn't identify).
We confirmed our flight back to LAX. We'd heard that if you don't and they oversell, you might get left behind. Wouldn't want that! I checked on the upgrade to business class just for the extra room, but it was just too much. Hope I don't regret that.
I must say that the woman I spoke to from China Southern spoke wonderful English. No communication problems here.
Jean and I walked the street of Shamian Island looking for dinner for ourselves. Nothing looked good and we didn't want to sit around for too long with Evie, who was showing signs of missing the second half of her nap. We settled for room service and a couple of chicken burgers. Mixed with curry. Damn. At least the fires were good.
No Seinfeld on tonight, so I'll hit the sack early. I called Kathy to make sure the passport copying/faxing was underway. I may be wakened by a call or fax delivery.
Poor Louisa is sick with a cold. She sounds miserable.
If all goes well, I'll be wearing an oath to something tomorrow afternoon. One day closer to getting home.
We spent a little time this afternoon in the hotel's play room. It is sponsored by Mattel and had (Mattel) toys of all sorts. Several families were in an out during our time there.
When we returned we found that Mattel had given us a "going home" Barbie doll to commemorate our adoption of a Chinese baby. I found it humorous that at the bottom of the box it clearly indicates "this is not a toy".

01/22/2003 - Wednesday
Terrible nights sleep. Kathy and Debi came through! I noticed my message light flashing around midnight. My fax was in. It was much clearer than the other copy. It was slipped under my door a few minutes later. I assume Maggy got her copy as well. She'll call by 8:00 AM if not. I guess Maggy is assisting Lourisa with this piece of it.
Evie was in and out much of the night from 1:00 AM on. I think her ears may be bothering her. She seems to have a nasty case of eczema behind one of them that I can't wait to have looked at.
11:15 AM - Breakfast was a pain. No high chairs, so I had to feed Evie in my lap at a small table. We pretty much shoveled it down and got going.
Jean took Evie to the toy room while I went to the bank of China branch next to the hotel to get some more local currency. There is a number-taking system, but I think there is still some jockeying in line. This was my third time at the bank, the other two ending when I got tired of waiting. It seems to take forever. Once I got to the teller things went pretty smoothly. Important to bring your passport as identification.
I went back to the playroom for a while and we watched Evie play.
We went back to the room and I gave Evie some Cheerios. Seems like she still needs her morning nap. Kathy will be happy about that.
According to some friends we met, Phil and April, a number of the babies from Changsha have developed bronchial ailments and were receiving shots and breathing treatments. Been there with Louisa...don't want to do that again.
Her nose is still a bit runny, and I still suspect an ear infection, but so far she seems pretty happy and healthy.
No 8:00 AM call from Maggy, so I assume the passport fax was satisfactory and arrived to her. Now we're waiting for our 12:00 call from Lourisa to let me know if we have all the paperwork we need. I hope so...I don't have much else to give them.
2:30 PM - Good news! Lourisa called at noon to confirm that the paperwork is okay. All that is left to do is take an oath this afternoon and wait for Evie's visa to arrive Thursday afternoon.
We headed over to Lucy's for lunch, but they were closed for a staff party. We'll try later for dinner.
I stopped by the shop that we had Evie's visa picture taken. I arranged for etchings of her and Louisa. Fortunately I brought my old wallet and kept the pictures in it.
We worked out a price for both, but by the time we came back to check the picture we still didn't have things straight. Fortunately the girl who was there when we came back spoke an extra couple words of English and we got things squared away. At least I hope. They should be ready by tomorrow at 8:00 PM.
We went to Rose's for lunch The food was pretty good. I had some pork chops with a shake-n-bake like coating. Jean had noodles and beef. Evie had corn and chicken congee. Ate the whole thing.
Jean went to check out the shops while Evie got a bath and a nap. I wanted her to look presentable for the next phase of the process.
4:30 PM - We're finished! Lourisa took Evie and myself down the street to the American consulate. A large group of other families were going to the same place.
We showed our passports to get in. I brought only a spare diaper and some wipes. No bags or unnecessary items are permitted and were kept in a separate shack outside the main door.
We waited in a crowded room, chatting with other happy parents. Evidently this was a smaller than normal group. I'd hate to be in a larger one. Not much air flow.
After 5-10 minutes I got the call and was led to a glass-fronted booth. I received the receipts that indicated I had paid the visa fee.
Back to waiting for a little while until the rest of the group finished getting their paperwork.
An American (ambassador?) stood up before us and asked us to verify that all information we'd written or spoken were correct. That was it. All of 25 minutes and we were done.

01/23/2003 - Thursday
1:30 PM - Another day in lovely, spring-like Guangzhou. Breakfast was a little less crowded than the past few days, so either folks were gone or still sleeping off a night of celebrating. We even got a highchair for Evie.
After breakfast we went to the room and I called my mother to wish her a happy birthday. She and Dad were still out for the evening, but I talked with Cindy for a little while.
We took a taxi to the Six Banyan temple just across the river. The fare was about $15 Y or less than $2 US. Beats the hell out of cab fare in New York.
The temple was very active this morning. It cost $1 Y to get into the grounds and another $10 Y per person to walk up the temple/pagoda.
There were a number of worshippers praying to a variety of Buddahs around the grounds. Sticks of incense everywhere. We kept picture taking to a minimum. We were the only Westerners in sight and wanted to keep out of trouble.
The trek up the temple stairs (what I like to call the Buddhist death climb) was interesting. Each level had a set of 4-6 Buddahs, each with hands held in different positions.
The pagoda tower at the Six Banyan temple. Good for exercise, but avoid if you have a fear of heights
Sample Buddha
View from the top of the tower
We thought that each level signified something specific to pray for, but there was no one to ask.
The climb wasn't too difficult, but the stairs were unusually steep, particularly for China where steps seem built for shorter legs. The real trouble was the lack of head and waist room. At points it was more like spelunking than stair-climbing. Each level (there were nine total) had a set of Buddahs in a center room with a railing around the outside so you could walk around and look down.
Jean began to recall a dislike of heights.
It was a unique view, especially since the walls and doorways seemed to slope diagonally as you got further up. Definitely not a place to have vertigo.
I had visions of Michael Jackson dangling his kid over one of these railings. I further amused myself by imagining me dangling Michael Jackson over one of these railings. What fun that would be!
The view from the top was breath-taking. I took a number of camera shots, both still and video.
I could see a porch area that looked like it server as an elementary playground, a couple in suits walking their dogs on the roof, monks in the courtyard below, scurrying about.
The trip down was tougher than going up. The doorways were so low that for several I had to sit down on the stairs and scoot through. Having 20 pounds of extra squirm didn't make it any easier.
By the time we got down a tour group of Westerners had arrived. We followed their lead and snapped a few shots on the ground.
Jean hailed a cab and we were on our way back.
We enjoyed another fine lunch at Lucy's, each of us having the chicken basket (with only mild traces of curry).
We hit some of the shops across from the hotel on the way back. Evidently the prices on most of the items are negotiable, but at the cost listed it's hard to be too serious about haggling.
A baseball cap that would have run at least $10 US at a Kmart (much less a tourist trap) cost about $20 Y (~$2 US). Makes it hard to keep perspective. Makes tipping weird, too. Natural impulse is that a $10 Y tip is pretty good, but part of you feels like you're dishing out $10 US. On the other hand, the average salary in China is something like $1,500 Y a year...very strange.
Evie went down for her nap. She'll need her rest. We're planning on dinner with April and Phil at the Hard Rock Cafe tonight.
10:00 PM - Maggie came by a little after 3:00 PM with the visa documents. We are now official!
I wake Evie from her 2+ hour nap. No sense messing with a good nights sleep.
At 6:00 we met Phil and April in the lobby. We piled into a cab and headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe of Guangzhou. The food was expensive, but much more to our tastes. I had a chocolate milkshake for the first time in quite a while.
Shortly afterward, Evie treated me to the mother of all nasty diapers. Scratch one more little kid outfit. Hopefully this is all out of her system (literally) before our flight.
The cab ride back to the hotel was particularly stinky. Evie got a quick shower/bath and the clothes ended up in the trash bag.
I called Kathy for the last time to finalize plans and make sure we had what we needed at home.
Evidently it was so cold at home that Louisa's school was cancelled. This should be an interesting change for us now that we're used to 60-70 degree weather.
Jean picked up the etchings of Louisa and Evie. They looked great!
Maybe a bit more shopping tomorrow and a bit of relaxation. We're definitely ready to head home.

01/24/2003 - Friday
2:00 PM - Today we start the long journey home. Evie slept well last night and I woke her around 7:45 so that the three of us could have breakfast together. The buffet was much less crowded today.
We hopped over to the bank where I change some US money to Yuan for what I hoped to be the last time.
We hit a couple of the shops in a last-minute buying spree to try to cover gifts for people back home. It's sort of like buying Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve. Even now I am thinking of a few people that I should have brought something back for. Maybe I can pick up a few more things at the airport.
We went to Lucy's to fill Evie's belly with chicken congee in preparation for a light dinner this evening. On the way back I snapped a few last pictures of Shamian Island. I try to get a good one of ducks hanging in the window of a local shop.
Kinda makes you wonder how long those ducks and pigs have been hanging there...
On the way back a Chinese man sells us a book of post cards with sites of Guangzhou. Where the heck was he on our first day here? As far as we've been able to tell most of the shops had never even heard of post cards.
We head back to the room to give Evie the nap the is absolutely begging for. Bodes well for our trip tonight. She has been very consistent with her eating and sleeping habits.
While I catch up on my journaling, Jean watches a doubles tennis match featuring the Williams sisters. The play-by-play is in Chinese.
I've noted that Chinese play-by-play (and this includes soccer and basketball...and snooker) is filled with much less chit chat than American or European versions. They stay pretty quiet until there is action.
We arranged for the hotel room for an extra half day stay in the room. Jean checked out of hers on time. They allowed for a late checkout at 3:00 PM, but that still left three hours to kill until we could leave for the airport.
I think Lourisa thought I was crazy to pay for the extra stay, but I'm betting the extra ~$60 US will be well spent compared to walking around the lobby or making small talk in a crowded play room.
Time to finish my packing.
We took the shuttle to the airport with another couple heading back on the same plane. It was an older couple with a grown daughter. I wasn't clear on who was adopting. The girl seemed young and the couple seemed a bit old. Adoptions can make strange matchings, I suppose.
The airport was chaos when we arrived. After wedging into a slot by the curb we got our bags on a cart and headed into the terminal. An elderly man, who spoke no English, wanted me to hand him Evie in the worst way. I suspect he was hoping for a handout in exchange for his blessing. I was having none of it.
The line for departing China was quite long, but moved through pretty quickly. We said our goodbyes to Lourisa and went through the gates.
We had been warned to avoid the line for security strapping our bags. It was $10 Y a bag, completely unnecessary and would be opened in LAX anyway. A number of other Western couples didn't get the message and had their bags wrapped in the yellow straps.
This turned out to be a problem for some when we eventually reached the baggage check gate. After a very long wait one of the couples in front of us were told that their luggage was overweight and that it needed to be corrected. No fee, please remove excess baggage.
Since the bags were strapped shut and knives and other cutting implements hard to find past the security checkpoint of any airport, this caused considerable angst. Evidently there was a 40 kg limit on bags. I had not heard this and worried that some of our bags might be over. Turns out this was not the case and we sailed on through. I'm not sure what the final solution was for the couple that had the problem, but they made it on the plane in time. The woman was still spitting made about the conflict. She did not strike me as someone who let things go easily. I suspect she called the airline when she got back home to give them another earful.
Another crammed bus ride and we were boarding a 777 for our 12 hour flight to LAX. We managed to get an open seat in our row of three, which allowed for some welcomed stretching room. The man who vacated the seat in favor of one behind assured us he loved children (he had three girls of his own), but back problems required him to lay out a bit more than one seat would allow.
Evie was quickly asleep despite the hustle, bustle and noise of takeoff and associated plane nonsense.
As it happens they ran out of customs declaration forms that were printed in English and the stewardesses had to assist us Westerners in filling out the Chinese version. I can only assume that they weren't having me fill out an organ donor card instead.
About sic hours into the flight, Evie awoke and treated me to another nasty diaper from hell. The diaper cried no mas and another outfit was ruined. A long struggle in the airplane washroom ensued in which a perfectly innocent diaper was lost to half the contents of Evie's last bottle. The paper towels mysteriously disappeared from that wash room as well. What a joy.
She was pretty well behaved through the remainder of the flight, although she didn't sleep any more.
I was treated to Men in Black II and the Bourne Identity. Jean had managed to figure out the televisions in the back of the seats.
Back in LA!
They had us enter the same area that we had departed from so many days ago. We took a very long walk to a lower level where we waited in the new immigrants line with hoards of other adoptive families. It seemed to take forever. We passed through without a problem (we had all of our paperwork for Evie at hand) and we were on to baggage claim.
All the luggage arrived intact and we took it right on over to the Delta baggage check in for our next leg. They scan all bags again in LAX. They told us to wait around until our bags passed in case there was a problem. Due tot he set up of the machines, however, it really isn't possible to determine when your bags have completed the scan. We waited several minutes after had they disappeared into the machine and then moved upstairs to find our terminal.
We stopped in the McDonalds and feasted on some welcomed fast food. Evie got a pot full of her oatmeal. She seemed to enjoy being in a highchair that had straps and a tray.
We spent the next few hours laying around at our terminal waiting for the plane to arrive. We noted, with amusement, that the flight to Cincinnati was also China Southern. We couldn't get away from these guys! We hoped that the in-flight meal wouldn't be noodles.
Jean was starting to have troubles with her sinuses. She thought she may be coming down with an illness.
We got off the ground on time and Evie was soon back in the arms of Morpheous. She ended up sleeping three and a half of the four hour flight.
Cincinnati was a welcome site. We took a brisk walk and a tram to the baggage claim area to meet our family. I changed Evie into a fresh outfit and diaper so she would be presentable to Mommy.
Joe and Ruth, Kathy and Denise and Louisa were waiting for us past the security check point.
It felt good to be back home again!