Wenzhou

Here's something for you to have a  good laugh:  we don't know why, but it seems to be quite popular for the Chinese to wear eyeglass frames with no lenses!  It's hilarious.  Thankfully, the people are all staring at us, so I guess it's ok for us to stare back at them.  Tim commented, "for the Chinese to be so smart...."  really- it's peculiar  (grin)

 

So, I'll try to catch you up on everything.  We left our hotel yesterday around 8:30 headed back to the CAB (Chinese Affairs Bureau).  Leo, our guide, told us we would be going back to this office to do more paperwork.  We were prepared for this - a backpack of activities for the kids, and our back pack of documents, etc.  Leo failed to mention that we would have the official adoption ceremony, and guess what?  We had no cameras.  That's right.  Several of you know we purchased a fabulous new hd video camera for all these special moments in China, and yes, we have now missed the opportunity to have this monumental moment captured! 

 

Read on...It keeps getting better!

 

So next we go to the notary public office where we have to pay approx. $550 U.S. dollars - that's right - $550 for a stamp.  While waiting, our precious new daughter opens her little mouth and precedes to vomit all over herself.  (We should have gone less Western on the buffet.)  The people around us just look around as though nothing has happened.  Leo asks for something to help us clean her and the floor with.  I can see a lady in a hallway reach into a nasty sink and pull out a rag so trashy looking we probably wouldn't keep it as a rag in the states, and she's going to give that to me.  I'm like no way here.  Leo tells us we can go to the c-store next door and purchase something.  REALLY?  Come on.  For $550, I want a stamp and some paper towels.  Thankfully, someone got it.  We finally get the paper towels and I get Lily cleaned up a little bit.  I rolled her dress up and we finally got to leave there headed back to the hotel. 

The day before, Leo also told me that we would have time to pack for our overnight trip to Wenzhou.  Well, he underestimated.  We basically had about 45 minutes back at the hotel.  This might seem like plenty of time, but I had clean up my daughter, clean her clothes and shoes, pack the 5 of us in bags small enough that we could carry them on the train, and on top of that, Lily had her first emotional breakdown.  Her breakdown included a big cry.  I call my cries like this, the big, ugly cries.  You know the ones where you can't really quit, catch your breath, or make it look like you haven't been crying.  It was so sweet though too.  I know it had to be good for her.  When Molly Kate asked me on skype why Lily had cried, I tried to explain to her, that just like I had cried everyday for the three days before we left for China because I was going to miss her and Annie, our home, family and friends, Lily was probably crying for her own similar reasons.  I held her and sang "Jesus Loves Me"j over and over and over again. I'm sure it was good for her and it was sweet for me too.

After getting her calmed down, we got her changed, got us packed, and rushed out to meet Leo for our ride to the train station.  He told us we would be able to purchase KFC there for lunch.  We get there, and yes, as he said there is a KFC, but...the pictures don't look like ours, and the menu is in CHINESE!  So, we tell Leo we will need him to order for us, and he's like, "Don't you eat KFC at home?"  We don't order in a foreign language!  Thankfully, we got a bucket of chicken and a few sides which at this point we must carry it with us b/c we're running late to catch the train.  We snake our way through thousands of people (imagine nyc, new year's eve, multiplied to the nth degree) for a decent little hike - all the while I'm carrying Lily b/c although she does walk, her cp would slow us too much.  Finally, we make it to the train.  It pulled out about 3 minutes after we were seated.  Too close for my liking.  But, we made it. 

Now, the train was actually a real pleasure.  We were in first class, and the train was fast and relaxing (155 mph).  The kids watched movies, Tim and I visited and enjoyed the view.  The countryside was beautiful.  There were many farms along the way.  Rice farms, vineyards, etc.  I enjoyed seeing the people who live outside the large cities we have visited.  After our train ride we had about a one mile walk carrying all our luggage and our daughter (who still hasn't warmed up enough to Tim to let him carry her) to the waiting car.  We drive along this terrible, pot-hole filled "road"  for a while and then down other roads with some CRAZY driving for about 40 minutes.  The poverty we saw was remarkable.  It was very unlike the poverty I've seen before in Belize, and other pictures like Honduras, etc, b/c this poverty was in the city.  After this drive, we pull up to our hotel.  Amazing contradictions in China.  We were in a hotel last night, the Dynasty of Wenzhou, and it was certainly among the swankiest hotels I've ever stayed at.  The chandelier in the foyer cost more than most wealthy American homes.  A guy Tim met last night at dinner said it cost $400,000.  For a light!!!

Our stay last night was great.  We ate dinner in the hotel and it was very good food.  Tim tried shark-fin soup, eel, and a mystery shellfish.  We girls stuck to spaghetti, hamburger (which was served with an over-easy egg on top of the patty), and fried rice.  Have I mentioned the beds here in China?  Most rooms have either one king or two "twins."  Their twins are a little wider than ours, so we've been re-arranging the furniture by pushing these beds together.  In Hangzhou, we have a 3 bed bedroom.  We've pushed all three together and we sleep all 5, oldest to youngest in this make-shift super-king bed.  Lily probably thinks we're crazy!  Last night we had two twins and one roll away bed.  Tylenol PM is a blessing here.

 

Today has been nice.  We had breakfast at the hotel and it was good.  Cheerios aren't the same in China, but the ones I had this morning were exceptional.  Honestly we haven't had tons of Chinese food, but it has all been good.  We went to some official government building here in Wenzhou and applied for Lily's passport.  When we come home, she will come with a Chinese passport and an American visa.  We will be able to pick up her passport in Hangzhou on Friday.  After that, we had the option of travelling to the orphanage or back to the hotel to rest.  This was a very difficult decision.  I really badly wanted to go and see the orphanage, and I was told on a yahoo group b/f leaving the states that I would be told at the CAB back in Hangzhou that we would be  able to see the orphanage but not go in, and then when we get to Wenzhou, they would actually let us in to see a few rooms.  However, today in Wenzhou, one of the orphanage ladies told our translator twice we would only be able to see the office.  Something to do with Lily's age.  I don't know what to believe.  It wasn't an easy decision, but we decided not to go.  Leo, our translator seems to scare Lily a little bit too, and I just didn't have anyone to explain to her that we would not be leaving her there.  I don't know what her reaction would be, but the day was going so well, and I didn't want to upset her, especially if I was only going to be able to see the office.  I will have to go by the pictures of the orphanage I have seen posted on the yahoo group.  If we had had someone that Lily could have trusted to explain to her exactly what was going on, I think my decision would have been different.  Most of you know I received new pictures and some videos from a lady I met on the yahoo group when she travelled to Wenzhou in November, and I was going to try to do this for another family, and I'm saddened that I wasn't able to do this either. 

 

After that we went back to the hotel and skyped, rested, packed and ate a McD's picnic.  McD's is the same in China as it is in the states - if you don't check your carry out order, you might not have it all.  We were missing one cheeseburger and one coke.  Thankfully we believe in sharing.  Now we are on the train back to Hangzhou.  See what you get when I have too much down time? 

 

One more thing.  The potties.  Are you familiar with squatties?  Well, that is what the Chinese prefer.  Thankfully, most of the places we have been have both, but not all.  (All the hotels have a western potty, and it is listed as an amenity when you check out the hotels online.)  What if the Ritz Carlton began listing their porcelain thrones as an amenity?  Hah!  To go along with this interesting tidbit about China, I should also tell you that toilet paper is not provided.  I am embarrassed to admit that I am now stooping to stealing the toilet paper from the hotels we stay in. 

 

The best news of the day is that Lily is slowly warming up to Tim.  Thanks for prayers.  Continue praying for us b/c each day could and probably will present it's own new challenges.  

 

I am aware that this entry makes it pretty clear that Leo is not on top of everything, but that isn't completely his fault.  Our guide was supposed to be a lady named Sara.  However, we think Sara took the money that our agency paid her to guide us and probably paid Leo a portion of that, and she is just giving him directions.  Needless to say, Tim and I aren't really pleased with Sara, but Leo is trying.

He shared with us that he is an atheist and his wife is a Christian.   Earlier Tim and Leo had a brief discussion.  Leo is very intelligent and is an atheist because it seems most logical to him.  Tim put on his Christian apologist hat and answered Leo's questions but tried to steer the conversation toward the Gospel .   He seemed to be listening just to appease Tim, but you never know how God is working the little things in life together.  You can continue to pray for Charlotte and now Leo, too. 

 

Love you guys!  MM