Where were we.......

When we last met, I had been singing the praises of the "White Swan Hotel" and rightly so! It was definitely one of the high-lights of our trip.


We didn't have long in Guangzhou, but this was the part of the trip for which we had been waiting. This was where our little "China Doll" would become an American citizen. Daddy and Mommy would have to go to the American Embassy and take an oathe to receive her papers. This would allow her to enter America with us.

The only glitch in our entire trip happened at the Embassy. Grandma and I had participated in every step of the process to this point. Here, however, we were unable to go into the Embassy with our kids. We had not been told that we would require our passport to enter. We didn't have them with us, so we had to wait outside. It didn't take long for the ceramony, but it would have been nice if we could have participated. Be sure you take your passports with you to the Embassy!


We did some sight-seeing while in Guangzhou. One of the high-lights was the Six Banyan Temple. The Flower Pagoda is a major part of the Temple. It is the type of structure that you would expect to see all over China, but don't. This picture actually doesn't fully show its granduer. It is a working Buddhist Temple. Some of the families in our group had their babies blessed by the Monks.

Another of the interesting sights that we saw was the Chen Family Temple.

The Chen Family Temple was built as a collective effort by the Chen families from 72 counties all over Guangdong Province at the end of the 19th century during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty. The temple was built to honor and worship their ancestors.

It was also used to house Chen family members who came from all over the province to sit for the imperial examinations.

It is like walking through a living museum. It has been completely refurbished back to its original condition.

We, of course, ate as much of the food as we could in our limited time schedule. I still could have eaten much more. It was everything that I had hoped.

Well, the day came for us to leave this beautiful and mysterious country. It was with mixed emotions that we prepared for our departure. On one hand we were leaving with what we had made the trip for, a beautiful baby girl, but we were leaving her country behind. I can't begin to explain the wave of emotions that were flowing through my body.

Would I do it again? In a heart-beat!! In fact, that will be the topic of my next post.

Getting close to the end of the trip!

Well, now it was time to leave Guilin. This area of China was definitely one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. I have traveled to most of the U.S. states, from Washington state to Maine and Florida, but I have found only one place that compares with the Li River valley in WoW! effect; the Grand Canyon. I know that President Nixon said it should be listed as the 8th wonder of the world. I couldn't agree more.

This time we were to travel by plane to Guangzho (Canton). Most of you who eat American Chinese food know Cantonese food well. If you are like me, it is your favorite. So, needless to say, I was prepared to have the munchies.

Those who eat American Chinese food probably also know that it has been developed over the years to meet our western tastes. Therefore, eating authentic Chinese, in Canton, is definitely a new experience. My wife, daughter and son-in-law were not as up to the task as I was. Their taste-buds were not liking what they were being fed. I must admit some of the offerings were a bit strange and I had to close my eyes and shovel it in. But I found most of it very much to my liking.

The majority of families adopting in China end their journey in China at Guangzhou. The reason for this is that the largest American Embassy is there. Therefore, all of the babies begin their citizenship quest in Guanzhou.

We went to our hotel when we arrived. Again, the majority (Maybe all, I am not sure.) of the families stay at the White Swan hotel. As the old saying goes -"It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!" Well, that doesn't go for staying at the White Swan. It is a "five star" hotel and lives up to its rating. Believe me!

Our first task was to check-in. Then, we simply had to check out all of the percs the hotel had to offer. You could actually get lost in this place. I did several times. There are shops galore. The restaurantes are beyond belief.

Next time, we will talk about the city and the embassy experience.

Touring Guilin!!

Since we had been sigh-seeing all morning, grandma, mommy and baby were extremely tired. They decided to stay in the hotel while my son and I did a self-guided tour of Guilin.

We began our tour directly behind the hotel. Here we found life as the average Chinese person lives it. There were shops of every kind. The one shop that seemed to be in every market place was a bicycle repair shop. Now the shop was not what you would expect to find in America, but resembled more of a junk store for bikes. They did appear, however, to be able to make any repair necessary.

The shop that caught our eyes most, was a pediatric pharmacy. Yes, that is correct. A pharmacy especially for the little ones of the town. The Chinese people, contrary to popular beliefs, are extremely family oriented. In this shop was every herbal remedy that you could imagine and many that you couldn't. These herbal medicines have been used for thousands of years. The pharmacist did things much as they have been done for much of those years. They took the raw herbs and combined them to make the desired remedy.

We can actually attest to their healing abilities. None of us was ever terribly ill, however, we did have our bouts with some stomach discomfort. Our guides were right there with some of the herbal medicines to give us comfort. There were specific remedies for whatever ailed us. They were extremely quick acting.

After touring this part of town, we decided to venture into the business part of town. Getting there we had to take our lives into our own hands. We had to cross three extremely wide and busy streets to get there. The Chinese have not been drivig cars for long, so they are not as efficient as what you would see in New York City, for instance.

The business section consisted of many large modern buildings, but the small open-air booths are what caught our attention. Here, again, you could find anything to buy that you could imagine. There were some touristy items, but the average tourist was southeast Asian, so most of the goods were not what we are used to seeing. This made the shopping much more interesting.

In this setting was the only time that I felt a bit uncomfortable about our situation. One of the hucksters that we were warned against, joined us during our walk. These guys are fluent in English and can talk about any location in the U.S. that you mention. This one even knew some of the local products from our small town at home. He wanted us to go with him to his shop, which was considerably off of the beaten path. Of course, what he was selling was of human origin. We simply told him that we had to meet our family at the end of the market, so after so agonizing moments, he decided to find other customers. This incident isn't very common, but it is good to be aware.

After this excursion, we decided to catch a cab and go back to our hotel. We had had a busy, but interesting day.

The next part of our trip would take us to Guangzhou (Canton). This is where we were told that we would get the best food in China.

Back again!!

Well, I have had to curtail my posts for personal reasons, but I am back to continue our journey.

In my last post, we were getting ready to take a trip on the Li River. We boarded a tour boat at Guilin. This was to be the most interesting tour we have ever taken, before or since.

I have stood and admired the Chinese paintings of mountains jutting up from the valley floor to thousands of feet above. My thought was that these painters have extremely vivid imaginations. Boy, was I wrong. Their paintings don't begin to tell the true tale.

The limestone peaks rise directly from the valley floor with no foothills as we know them in the States. Every turn of the river is a new photo experience. I can't even begin to describe what we saw. All I can say is, if you go to China, don't miss the Li River valley tours near Guilin.

Our tour ended at Yangzhou. This is a small village where the major business is tourism. As you walk towards your bus, you will be able to shop at many small booths and buy from vendors who carry their wares with them. Just remember to negoitiate with them. You should never pay asking price for anything, anywhere in China. Don't feel badly when you think you have purchased the item too cheaply, however. The Chinese are very shroud business people and will never sell without making a profit!

Riding back to our hotel that afternoon was an experience to behold. The road was two lanes, but the drivers made it into a four-lane road. Passing on the right may have been against the law, but you wouldn't have known it.

We had a car pass us on the right and directly behind him was a police car. I thought, boy, that person is in trouble now, but the police car simply passed us and then preceded to pass the other car.

As we drove along we passed many roadside produce shops. The area was known for its agricultural products.

Today is a nostalgic day.........

At 1:35 p.m., PST, February 22, 2005, one year ago today, our United Airlines 747 lifted off from San Francisco enroute to Beijing. This was the beginning of the most wonderful adventure of all of our lives. I am taking this opportunity to acknowledge an anniversary that changed all of our lives forever.

Those of you who are grandparents, know the feeling of seeing a new grandchild for the first time. Also, the excitment leading up the event. Well, sit back for a moment and imagine those feelings multiplied by 100; no 1,000.

Here we were, on our way to one of, if not the most, mysterious countries on earth. A country that has a 4000 year history. We were to see things that we never could have imagined. Then, add to that the excitement of adding a new grandchild to your family. I don't believe you will ever top the experience. I am teary-eyed simply thinking about it all.

I have been attempting to share the places we saw and the things that we did, but believe me, nobody can capture the essence of China. It is a definite "see for yourself experience".

Having a grandchild from another culture has proven to be a learning experience. The one thing that has proven to be a fact is, a child, is a child, no matter from which part of the world they come.

Our granddaughter has not been around that many other kids on a regular basis, but she still does numerous things that every kid does. This has lead us to believe that the world is a small place.

A prime example is, thumb sucking. She didn't suck her thumb for the first two or three weeks, then, all of a sudden, she discovered her thumbs. This is probably not the best example, since experts say it is a natural response for a child to suck. However, it does show my point.

Now, let's move on with the trip.

In my last post, we had just arrived in Guilin. We were seeing our hotel for the first time. What a gorgeous sight. As I said, it was a five star hotel.

The picture I posted is from a postcard that we received. Okay, I know your thinking, "yeah, all of those postcards make everything look better". Well, this was not the case. This place was better than the picture.

Directly across from the hotel was the Lijiang (Li) River. You could take a stroll at your leisure. Also, not two blocks from the hotel were some back streets that dipicted the true life in China's large cities. These were away from the tourist areas. Of course, remember, the tourists in China, especially in Guilin, are mostly Asian, not Westerners or Europeans. We were an oddity.

Most of the shops in these areas were open-air. They had roofs, but no fronts. There were, however, some fairly normal looking shops.

One of the most interesting shops that we visited was a Chinese pharmacy. They had everything from ginsing root to ground toad. This is not an exaggeration. My son and I spent several hours touring the out-of-the-way areas, while mommy and grandma got to know the baby.

The next morning we were off to the most scenic tour of our trip. A cruise on the Li River. We went from Guilin (Guilin city, as the Chinese say.) to Yangzhou. Visit the website I have provided for more information.

Our next stop.........Guilin

Up at 5 a.m. to meet the bus. Yes, meet the bus!

Here we are in Nanning, with a new baby, and we get on a bus for our next adventure. The trip would be 4 1/2 hours. As it turns out, this was definitely an adventure to behold.

We traveled on one of the newest freeways in China, from Nanning to Guilin. It wound through the rural areas that we would have never seen, otherwise. We saw the Chinese lifestyle up close and personal.

There were farmers with their water buffalo in the fields, but there were no motels along the way. I inquired about this oddity. The answer that I received made sense. Since cars are relatively new to China, not many people travel. Therefore, there is no requirement for motels. You have to go into the cities to stay.

We saw quaint villages with houses that looked like they were from a fairy tale. Some, however, were extremely modern.

As we got closer to Guilin, we began to see the type of scenery that has lead to it being called the most beautiful area in China; if not the world.

The limestone mountains rise right from the valley floor to thousands of feet in the air. There are no foothills.

Our first view of Guilin was spectacular! We crossed the Lijiang (Li) River and proceded down the main street of town towards our hotel.



We would be staying at the Royal Garden Hotel. This was a beautiful five star hotel.

The day has arrived.........

We were in Nanning for three days. After the experience of meeting our new granddaughter, it was going to difficult to do anything to compare. We did, however, manage to see a few of the sites.

Nanning is the Capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. More than 60% of the population of 2.8 million are Zhuang people, who are China's largest minority and virtually indistinguishable from the Han.

Mostly our sight-seeing was done in the immediate vicinity of our hotel. We were able to observe the way of life in another of China's more important cities.

The morning of March 3, 2005 was one of the high-lights of our trip. This was "Adoption Day". We went to the "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region" Notary Public Office so our kids could finalize the necessary documents to make the adoption official. As you can imagine, this was another extremely moving experience. One that none of us will ever forget.

Once our new granddaughter was offically a member of our family, we could at least relax a bit and enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery in China, maybe the world, Guilin and the Li River Valley.

This was the next stop on our journey.

Yes, miracles do happen.........

The remainder of that afternoon was spent in our son and daughter's hotel room becoming familiar with our new baby granddaughter. This was an extremely exciting time for all of us. We could have never imagined just how special and exciting it would be.

Of course, babies don't run on love alone. So, our next step was to visit a large Wal-Mart Super Store that was not far from our hotel. Yes, Wal-Mart! I was surprised also. We were allowed one hour to purchase any necessary items that were in short supply. Grandma would not be Grandma if she didn't purchase some clothes. This was her first priority.

The babies had been raised on conji (similar to grits in the south) to this point. Now, they would be given formula that would be similar. We were able to get conji in the restaurante at the hotel which made the babies happy. After our shopping was done, we went back to the hotel to rest.

"Gotcha Day".........

Get as much rest as possible. Well, that wasn't very much! How do you rest when you know why you are there. We were there to get our baby. I can't even begin to tell you how I felt. There were so many emotions going on inside of me.

I was the designated photographer. My roll was to capture every moment of what was to be one of the most exciting times of my son-in-law and daughter's lives. They were going to become parents for the second time. They already had a 20 year old daughter at home.

We boarded the bus for the Chinese Civil Affairs (CCA) office. For the second time that day there was electricity in the air; the first time was that morning in the hotel in Beijing. There was a constant buzz of excitement. Every dad was red-faced and every mother was crying and laughing at the same time. They all had their pictures of their baby in hand. They could only imagine what that first moment was going to be like.

The bus stopped outside this very large, official looking building. It was the CCA office. (See the picture in the previous post.) We all got off of the bus and walked briskly into the building. Our guides went ahead of us to find out where we were to go. Once they found our destination, they came back to get us.

There were some anxious moments when we had to wait in the hall outside of the elevator. Was there a problem? Had the babies not gotten to the CCA? Why the wait? Of course, there was actually no problem, just some last minute details to handle.

They lead us into this large room. There we were to wait another 15-20 minutes, while the paper work was placed in order. Finally, the Director of the CCA came to welcome all of the new parents and grandparents. She introduced the Director of the orphanage and told everyone what could be expected from the babies. Each one would deal with the trama in her own way. Therefore, there is no such thing as normal. They would be there for the next couple of days to help in any way that they could.

Then, we could see the care-givers in the doorway. Each one was holding a baby. One of our babies. Where was ours?

They all came into the room. I had the camera rolling. There was absolutely the most wonderful release of tension that I have ever seen. Everyone was crying. These perspective parents were ready.

The system was well thought out. The Director of the CCA would read the name of the baby in Chinese and the parents would come forward. As each baby's Chinese name was read, the parents met her in the center of the room. The care-giver would introduce the baby to the parents and allow for pictures to be taken.

Next, it was our turn. Our baby's name was read. The tears were rolling down my checks so much that I could hardly see to take the video. What a gorgous little thing she was. She hardly looked like her picture, since she was 4 months older than when it was taken, but I still felt that love for her that had developed over the past year.

After each set of parents had some time to become familiar with their new baby, it was time to receive their adoption documents. Our guides handed them to one of the parents. This was very exciting! It was the culmination of many months of frustration and work.

If you can imagine how exciting it is seeing one couple become parents, most for the first time, then imagine watching 10 couples becoming parents. Again, this is an experience that I don't have the words to describe. Simply put, it was a miracle.