We were fortunate to
be able to visit Huanggang, Hubei Province to see the city Sarah was born in/by and to see the orphanage she spent her first year at. An official from the Adoption sector of the Wuhan government, Shirley Zhong (pronounced Jong) accompanied us on our visit, along with 'our' Shirley and Molly. The city is about two hours away, by bus, from Wuhan. The drive through Wuhan itself was interesting, seeing East Lake, new condo developments that have a very Western feel to them, and "Optic Valley" which is the biggest area
in China for production of optic wires and cables. We noted that it took about 20-30 minutes to get outside of Wuhan from our hotel downtown; given that there are 15 million people in this city, this seems nearly impossible that the city isn't sprawled out further. Just gives you an example of how densely populated the Chinese cities are.
Outside of Wuhan, the countryside opened up and was quite beautiful. The land is terraced almost everywhere so that crops can be grown up and down the hillsides. There are lots and lots of rice paddies and almost every space is used for growing something, even right up along side the roads. It snowed last night in Wuhan and during much of the trip we could see a light dusting of snow over all the vegetation. Three crops are raised each year, usually two of rice and one of wheat.
We were told that Huanggang and the nine counties around it had a population of 5 million; Huanggang itself has 400,000, so 'by Chinese standards, it is a small city.'
(Sarah In Orphanage)
The Huanggang Social Welfare Institute is located close to the center of town. It houses approximately 120-150 children; last month 30 children were adopted out of the orphanage, but of course, new children arrive constantly as well. We were met by the orphanage director, the vice director and a number of other people, including a group of women that stood close together, by the front gate. Everyone in these smaller cities are so curious to see the Westerners, just as we noted last time we were in China. Steve was the last person off the bus and we were standing together when one of the women, dressed in a brown coat, came up and put her arms out to Sarah and Sarah immediately leaned towards her and put her arms out. Usually, Sarah pulls back when people have done this over the past two days, especially when Steve is holding her. Steve handed Sarah to the woman and the woman cradled her in her arms and rocked back and forth and instantly I knew it was Sarah's foster mother. (It turns out, the woman was Sarah's foster grandmother)The woman started crying and in a few short seconds, handed Sarah back to Steve, rubbed the tears from her eyes and turned to leave. I tried frantically to get the camera out for a picture, but the woman was gone and I had missed the opportunity. My heart ached for the woman and I held back tears. We had been told by Shirley that by law, the foster parents are not allowed to be at the orphanage when we go to visit; this law was enacted because too often the foster parents would continue to return day after day to the hotels where the adoptive parents are, making it
very difficult for everyone. It was gutsy of the woman to be there and I know she just wanted to make sure Sarah was ok and to see what we looked like, especially since our caregiver package never arrived at the orphanage (that is another story I'll write later).
We were taken inside the building to the third floor where we were brought into a reception room with a U-shaped table and baskets of bananas, tomatoes, tangerines and lollipop candies were setting on the table for us. Steaming hot green tea was also served in plastic cups. We were seated, told to eat, and the orphanage director and vice director welcomed us and told us about the orphanage. He told us how many parents who have adopted send updates to them; one family recently told them that their 9 yr old daughter won a gymnastic competion. If we send updates, we should send two copies so that one set can be given to the foster family and one can remain with the orphanage. He also told us that by what he could tell, the children in the room were with families that truly loved them. Other workers from the orphanage
were also there and wanted to see the girls again...many knew the girls by name, or if I said "Ping Jun" they nodded and smiled, or would call to someone else in the room and call out Ping Jun's name, as if to say, "here she is..."
We were then invited to go on a tour of the facility. We visited a building where girls around 10 years old were living. No panes of glass in the windows, doors open wide to rooms with bunk beds; the rooms were not heated on a day it was about 36 degrees F. outside. There were also a few boys that came up to see us...all were very friendly and full of smiles. We next went upstairs and saw a room with 12 cribs in it; children were kept here only until a doctor had checked them and determined they were healthy enough to place with a foster family;
the little ones are then moved out and remain with
the family the rest of the time until adopted. This is very different from the orphanage where Emily was as there was no foster care with that orphanage; Emily was in the orphanage itself the full 12 months she was in Yangzhou.
We returned to the main building and were taken to the second floor where lunch tables were set and one table had ingredients out so that they could show us how to make a Chinese dessert used for special occasions and holidays; it is a boiled rice ball,
but I can't remember the Chinese name. The vice director empied soft rice flour into a bowl and started slowly adding water and mixing it with 2-3 fingers, kneeding it into a sticky paste. While he was doing this, Shirley from the government agency started teasing him that he is a good husband to have because he knows how to cook and that all women should find a husband like him. Then the man's wife walked in and she was told about the teasing and she got a big grin on her face and nodded quite a bit. Shirley also teased that the best men work at the orphanage because they also know how to take care of children.
Once the paste was done, it is flattened and a dark pasty mixture (sugar, cinnamon and other spices) are put in the center. The rice paste is rolled around the dark center and a ball is formed. We were asked if we wanted to try, so many of us took a turn at making a rice ball; I helped Emily make two of them. The balls are then boiled in water and served in a bowl floating in the water; it is customary to serve four balls per bowl.
While the dessert was being made, a number of the ophanage workers were talking with Steve and telling us, through translation, that Sarah is so smart.
Next, lunch was brought out to us, on what looked like metal lunch trays with various food compartments in it. We were told a chef from a local three-star restaurant was hired to create a 'western lunch' that we would eat. Food was wonderful...a beef and potato dish, tomatoes and chicken, corn and peas, white rice, and a version of french fries with a side of ketchup, plus bottles of cold water. Emily only liked the rice and fries, Steve wasn't too fond of any of it, but I certainly enjoyed it. There was so much food on each tray and Steve and I commented on how well we were treated as
guests...we probably had more food than many of these people have on any given day. I also noted that no one from the orphange ate with us; they left the room when we ate. Towards the end of the meal, the director came around and I asked Shirley to tell him how good the food was. He smiled and told me, "We'll remember that for next time you come. We'll have the chef make more of it."
That was the end of our visit...they thanked us again for coming to visit and again told us they looked forward to our next visit. Their hospitality
was so warm and welcoming and the two hours we were there went by quickly.
We walked back down to the street level and moved towards the front gate and our bus. We spent about 10 minutes on the street, taking pictures by the gate and interacting with the local people. It was rather chilly outdoors and though we had Sarah in the coat we brought along and the bulky snow pants she was sent to us in, she wouldn't keep her mittens on or wear her hat. One woman came up and took Sarah's hand in hers and it must have felt cold...she started talking to the other women and then reached inside the collar of the coat and didn't feel enough layers on Sarah...she gave me a stern look and kept talking and I could tell I was getting lectured about how to dress a child. I was laughing on the inside as the same thing happened to me when I was carrying Emily around the streets of Nanjing, but on the outside I was calling for Steve to bring me Sarah's mittens as I was "getting scolded
again."
Soon after, Steve and I got on the bus, but were waiting for a few other families and for the director to bring out tea that some of the families purchased. It was then that I saw the woman in the brown coat again...Sarah's foster grandmother. I grabbed the camera and stood up, walking to the driver's seat but she was then standing behind others and walked into the building...but a few seconds later she was on the sidewalk, about 10 feet from the bus, waving at Sarah and smiling. I got up and went to the
opposite window and told Steve to look...I snapped two pictures of her and waived and she looked right at me and waved, keeping the hood of her coat over her head and not exposing much of her face. I mouthed "thank you" and put my hand over my heart and she appeared to not at me; I
took another picture and waved again. She just kept waving and smiling and I noticed that Sarah was staring outside and had her hand pressed up against the window. Sarah again saw the woman she knew as her grandmother. I barely kept from crying...and then the woman walked away, again with her head down. She didn't come out again until the bus drove away and I looked back and saw her in a crowd of women. I realized she'd never see Sarah, her Ping Jun, again, but I vowed to send updates so she knew how our little angel was doing.
After that, the bus drove around the city and stopped at each abondonment site so we could see where our daughters were found. Sarah was found at No. 12 Shengli Street which is where the "old" department store is located. We got off the bus and walked about, noted the street number and had some pictures
taken. It is VERY busy...can't imaging anyone leaving a child and not being noticed, unless it is during the night or very early morning hours. It was not as overwhelming as I expected it to be, but I'm happy we have pictures to show Sarah as she grows up. Our Shirley also took us to see the outside of the police station, as every child is taken there when found before taking them to the orphanage. She also took us to a local park where lots of children were playing as it is Saturday.
While we were waiting on the bus while for other families to see their daughters' abondonment sites, we talked to Emily about what was happening and that this was the same thing that had happened to her. She asked if a policeman also found her, and we said yes. Then she asked, "Mom, can you tell me the story about me?" So I told her about how we got her and our visit at the orphanage in Yangzhou. But within minutes she wanted me to tell her a story about a pink and a
blue poodle...so typical with children. To the point and then on to the next topic.
Finally, it was time to return to Wuhan; it was a quiet bus ride as we were all tired and it felt good to be on a warm bus after being out in the cold. Steve and I both noticed today that Sarah only wanted Steve at the orphanage and on the bus trip home, we think because she is missing her foster mother.
We arrived back at the hotel around 4pm and didn't leave our room for the rest of the night, eating dinner in. Though Sarah wanted nothing to do with me most of today, she was a different kid in the room...I played with her, fed her, and then she really started opening up. She wanted to walk everywhere and got fussy when we wouldn't hold her hands and help her walk; Steve even took her for a walk around the floor. She was laughing and teasing and reached for me many times. In fact, she was standing by the couch and I was in the middle of the floor; I reached out for her and called her name and she took three steps on her own and came right into my arms. She is already turning her head when she hears us call "Sarah."
Emily truly loves her sister. I hear her calling, "Sarah Sarah Sarah" all the time when she plays with her. I find this interesting as I used to say, "Emily Emily Emily" to her when she was younger...Emily loves to play with Sarah on the bed, as we all do. She loves to throw herself into the pillows or flat on the bed, almost like she's doing a belly flop in the water. Then she lays there and waits for us to tickle her or pull her back to us while she laughs, "heh heh," always two little short sounds.
Tonight was bath night, Sarah first, Emily second. I had Sarah on the bed and Steve was drying Em's hair in the bathroom when he noted a scratch under Emily's eye. He asked what happened and was told, "Sarah did it. Sarah didn't like me at first because she thought I was going to eat her. She thought we all would eat her. But now she knows we're not and she likes us Dad." I laid Sarah in bed next to Emily while we said our prayers and Emily asked 'to lead' and did a prayer she learned at school. After that, Em asked me if I would put Sarah into the crib so she wouldn't bug her, and then they both were tucked in and quickly fell alseep.
We are so blessed to have these two beautiful daughters. What an incredible day it was.
This photo was taken by Joseph Mamer
Hello from Minnesota. Our plane touched down in Minnapolis yesterday (Saturday) afternoon around 3:45 PM, and it's taken me over 24 hours to just find some time, and energy to get back to our blog site.
Also at 2pm, all the families showed up with their daughters for picture on the red couch in front of the Chinese panels on the first floor of the Red Swan hotel. (For the families who traveled with us last time, the Dragon panels were gone.) It was rather chaotic as nine little girls don't like tobe left sitting on the couch and have all these strangers standing around snapping bright lights at them. The crying started and Sarah was pretty good until the end and at that point they were all wailing.
At 2:50 our group of nine families piled into our tour bus, and there were 4 other buses there for other families. All buses left for the U.S. embassy together, which is now a 30 minute bus ride across the city, which wouldn't take so long if it wasn't for all the traffic. The embassy just moved this past fall; prior to that, it was located a block from the White Swan and only required a leisurly walk down the street. Last time too, strollers, cameras, etc. were all allowed in, but now we were allowed a diaper and wipes, a little food for the baby and that was it. Not even a pen is allowed inside the building.
their U.S. visa afixed in it and a sealed packet of information that was not to be opened except by a U.S. customs official at our port of entry. Back on the bus.
paperwork and returning requires only two forms for the whole family). I was a bit frazzled, but luckily Susan and Mark were quite calm. Mark went with Steve to help convert money and Susan helped me get Sarah changed and fed Emily something to eat. We hugged each other good-bye and it was a bit sad to know we were leaving, but for the most part, we just wanted to be on our way. The Alexanders were on the 4:45am Saturday morning "leave the hotel" timeline that all the other families had flying Northwest.
with us until our bags were checked in and took us to where we needed bording passes to enter. We grabbed a light dinner and then boarded the plane. This time, with the tailwind, the flight was only 13 hours, instead of the 15 hours going to China. The girls slept for 11+ hours of the flight and woke up in time for breakfast. Steve and I slept as best we could, but the economy business class of China Southern is certainly not as comfortable as Northwest business class as the seats don't lay down as far and the headrest gets in the way. When we landed in LA, it was around 5:45. Clearing customs took little time and was uneventful, but getting our luggage took about 50 minutes and waiting for our shuttle to the airport took another 35 minutes, so we got to the hotel around 2 hours after we arrived. Then it was off to dinner, good old American food of steak and salad that we enjoyed.
The good part of staying over night in LA is that Matt and Alison, Steve's children, live in San Diego and drove up to see us. It was so nice to see them again, to be able to visit and kick back in our room and just relax and have them meet Sarah and play with Emily. Around 12:30am, I finally started getting tired and Sarah had fallen asleep, but Emily was wide awake. So Steve, Emily, Matt and Alison headed out to get the big kids something to eat. They got back around 3:30 am and Emily finally was tired around 4am and slept until 7am, but Steve didn't sleep at all.
In the morning we were back to at LAX for a 10:15 flight home andall four of us slept the entire way home. Of course we had the last row on the plane so it took forever to deplane. Grandma and Grandpa were waiting for us at the airport and was it ever good to see them. We got home to find Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Elin, Uncle Joe and our cousins Libby and Frannie had made wonderful meal for us and were waiting to greet everyone. Our grandparents had decorated the house with welcome home signs and a fresh boquet of carnations and little white and light pink rose buds, j
