For those of you who are still following along on our Groundhog Day Blog Chinese Style, here's a recap of Day 5.
Honestly, today is day six and I have to think really, really hard to even remember what we did yesterday. It is all seeming like a big blur. Doesn't help that on a normal day in my life I can't remember why I called someone by the time they answer the phone. My memory is bad on a good day. Yesterday was not a good day.
Hope was (and still is but I'll think about that later) in full on I'm-going-to-battle-and-make-everything-difficult-for-my-so called-new-mom-and-dad. She pushes every single limit that we set. But keep in mind we're setting them in English with a whole bunch of overly exaggerated facial expressions and hand gestures. We think that she is just sick of hearing us babble on and on with stern faces and just decides to laugh and make a big joke of it. Again, repeat from day 4 and 3 and...I can't really blame her. But we end up feeling like we're stuck in some bad parenting demonstration class and we're the examples. The class is called "What not to do as parents 101". I think we've moved on to the masters classes now. And we're still the bad examples that people look at and shake their heads. Or at least that's what the Chinese people do while we're at a restaurant with Hope and she is dropping things off the table left and right and eating with her hands and falling out of her chair and a million other things. They not so quietly look over their shoulders and whisper things to each other. She does, however, have this incredible redeeming quality and it is called cuteness. She is beyond cute and everyone knows it. Including her. If we aren't being stared at b/c she is flipping out and making us crazy, she's being stared at b/c she's so incredibly cute. She sits in her stroller and waves a pageant-like wave and bats her eyes at everyone she passes. Which in China is like 15 million people. She loves the attention and we just love that at the time she's not causing us any problems.
For the last two years I've told people that ask us what it's like to bring a four year that speaks no English into your family that it's not easy but it's way easier than giving birth to an infant and going through those first several months. But I'm beginning to second guess myself on that one. I sort of feel like I'm in labor, emotional labor, and it has far surpassed any labor pains I've had with all three of our other children combined. And Day 5 was my breaking point. And Andy's. And Hope's. Not a good combination. So I'm glad to be on this side of the day and be done with it. It was hard. Today hasn't been much better but I'm not writing about that for now.
As far as what we did to keep ourselves busy, we went to the Panjiayuan Antique Market in the morning. And I bought nothing. That's how out of sorts I was. I. Bought. Nothing. Mark it in the record books. Then we had lunch and it was less than ok. It actually kind of made me gag. It was a duck restaurant but I wasn't in the mood for eating duck. I'm not sure when I will be but it is on my list to do before we leave here. There weren't a lot of options to choose from so we ended up here b/c the menu had English on it. Anyway, the chicken we ordered was something like cashew chicken but some other nut. But I could not tell which parts were nuts, which parts were the meat of the chicken and which parts were the random "parts" and fat they mixed all in it. Oh, it makes me want to gag just thinking about it. I left hungry. Andy left still in shock that I hadn't bought anything in the market. And Hope left a mess because 50% of the food she eats ends up on her clothes, skin, and hair.
Then we took a taxi to Beihai Park. It was beautiful but hot. It's cheap to get in (like $3.00) and close to our hotel so we only stayed a little while. We ended our day eating at a new restaurant and walked around in the evening. Kind of how we end every day. Eat. Walk.
Click here for today's photos
And that was the day that looked lovely in photos but kind of didn't feel lovely.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
day four
Ah, day four. We're moving right along. Day four consisted of what we thought was one quick government appointment but ended up being a few things. The funny thing is that everything our guide told us would take "just a minute" took an hour. Maybe not a real hour but an hour in standing-around-with-a-toddler time. Whatever it was it was longer than a minute. Like two containers of animal crackers, two suckers, four cookies, a bottle of water, and 20 trips up and down the escalator hour. And the things that he said would take 20 minutes took a minute and a half. I'm not sure what kind of time they use here but it's definitely not what I'm used to. When we were in Mexico on a mission trip a few weeks ago the missionaries kept reminding us to be patient and flexible b/c things in Mexico change a lot. They called it "Flexico" time. I think China uses a similar clock. Only they reset it at random unexpected times so you think you're back on real time but actually aren't.
So here's what we accomplished today. It was a lot of hurrying up and waiting but it took up our whole morning so that's good. We appreciated doing something other than walking around the block(s). First we went back to the Civil Affairs office to pick up our paperwork that we either dropped off two days ago or they started two days ago. Not even sure what the "paperwork" was but it was important. We were on our way to the Notary's office next but realized I didn't have my passport with me. Our guide got really big eyes and declared we must immediately go back to the hotel to get it. So we did. Then we went to the Notary's office and stood/sat around for a long time. Again. Time warp China time. Then we got a very important folder handed to us (with a ton of notarized papers in it) and went to some government office where you get passports. Hope had her picture taken for her passport and we stood in line and another line and paid $30. Turns out we never needed our passports so I'm not sure why the guide had us go back to the hotel and get it earlier. Another you-just-do-what-you're-told-in-China moment. And that was it for our morning. Hope was about as good as any child would be which isn't that good. But again, who can blame her? This whole process just kind of sets her up to be bored and get in trouble.
Which brings me to lunchtime. Otherwise known as dumplingtime for the next 10 days in Beijing. And any frustration I had from the morning quickly disappeared with every bite. Nine dollars for two plates of dumplings (beef/carrot and pork/cabbage if you're dying to know and I know you are, right?!), steamed broccoli in some sort of amazing soy sauce-sauce, and two cans of room temperature Coke. The best deal in the world despite having no ice for the Coke. That's how good the food is. I seriously may shed a tear or a million when I eat my last meal there.
Random Chinese thought of the day...Traffic. I tipped our driver extra today because he hasn't gotten us killed in a car accident. The fact that anyone survives driving on Chinese roads is a miracle. Actually, it is amazing that anyone who walks, rides a bike, or is standing near a curb survives a day here. It is unbelievable. The thing that's weird about it is that is seems super chaotic and crazy but it isn't. It's like every Chinese person expects it and knows where every bike, pedestrian, car, bus, and random dumb American like me will do next so they all somehow avoid major collisions at the very last second and none of them seem taken back by it all. It may be by only by a millimeter but I have seen my share of close calls the last few days. I keep thinking we're on some Hollywood set where the car starts driving and you hear, "Cue the bus that almost sideswipes the car" and lo and behold the bus shows up and does exactly what it was told to do. Then the director says, "Cue the sweet old lady on the old metal bike" and poof! there she is and she does what she's supposed to do which is to nearly get run over by the car and she looks as if she's taking a leisurely bike ride in the park. She doesn't even blink. And then the director yells for the finale and every bike, pedestrian, car, bus, moped, and taxi takes to the street and they all play their parts and follow their paths to a t. Paths that seem chaotic but never actually are. That's what it's like here. But it's the finale every single minute of the day. Amazingly controlled chaos. I did, however, almost get hit by a motorized bike today and I was definitely not given a script to follow. We were crossing the street. A one way street and we looked a mile down the road before we crossed to make sure we were safe. But we neglected to look the "wrong way" down the road where no cars should be coming. Ever. Because to us a one way street means a one way street. But there was a nice old man on a very quiet motorized bike who was going the wrong way against traffic and he got to within an inch or so of the empty stroller I was pushing. I didn't even hear him till I smelled him. That's how close. And he casually smiles at me and lets me walk on and goes on his way. Give me a heart attack and then smile and bike away. China.
click here to see pictures from today
So here's what we accomplished today. It was a lot of hurrying up and waiting but it took up our whole morning so that's good. We appreciated doing something other than walking around the block(s). First we went back to the Civil Affairs office to pick up our paperwork that we either dropped off two days ago or they started two days ago. Not even sure what the "paperwork" was but it was important. We were on our way to the Notary's office next but realized I didn't have my passport with me. Our guide got really big eyes and declared we must immediately go back to the hotel to get it. So we did. Then we went to the Notary's office and stood/sat around for a long time. Again. Time warp China time. Then we got a very important folder handed to us (with a ton of notarized papers in it) and went to some government office where you get passports. Hope had her picture taken for her passport and we stood in line and another line and paid $30. Turns out we never needed our passports so I'm not sure why the guide had us go back to the hotel and get it earlier. Another you-just-do-what-you're-told-in-China moment. And that was it for our morning. Hope was about as good as any child would be which isn't that good. But again, who can blame her? This whole process just kind of sets her up to be bored and get in trouble.
Which brings me to lunchtime. Otherwise known as dumplingtime for the next 10 days in Beijing. And any frustration I had from the morning quickly disappeared with every bite. Nine dollars for two plates of dumplings (beef/carrot and pork/cabbage if you're dying to know and I know you are, right?!), steamed broccoli in some sort of amazing soy sauce-sauce, and two cans of room temperature Coke. The best deal in the world despite having no ice for the Coke. That's how good the food is. I seriously may shed a tear or a million when I eat my last meal there.
Random Chinese thought of the day...Traffic. I tipped our driver extra today because he hasn't gotten us killed in a car accident. The fact that anyone survives driving on Chinese roads is a miracle. Actually, it is amazing that anyone who walks, rides a bike, or is standing near a curb survives a day here. It is unbelievable. The thing that's weird about it is that is seems super chaotic and crazy but it isn't. It's like every Chinese person expects it and knows where every bike, pedestrian, car, bus, and random dumb American like me will do next so they all somehow avoid major collisions at the very last second and none of them seem taken back by it all. It may be by only by a millimeter but I have seen my share of close calls the last few days. I keep thinking we're on some Hollywood set where the car starts driving and you hear, "Cue the bus that almost sideswipes the car" and lo and behold the bus shows up and does exactly what it was told to do. Then the director says, "Cue the sweet old lady on the old metal bike" and poof! there she is and she does what she's supposed to do which is to nearly get run over by the car and she looks as if she's taking a leisurely bike ride in the park. She doesn't even blink. And then the director yells for the finale and every bike, pedestrian, car, bus, moped, and taxi takes to the street and they all play their parts and follow their paths to a t. Paths that seem chaotic but never actually are. That's what it's like here. But it's the finale every single minute of the day. Amazingly controlled chaos. I did, however, almost get hit by a motorized bike today and I was definitely not given a script to follow. We were crossing the street. A one way street and we looked a mile down the road before we crossed to make sure we were safe. But we neglected to look the "wrong way" down the road where no cars should be coming. Ever. Because to us a one way street means a one way street. But there was a nice old man on a very quiet motorized bike who was going the wrong way against traffic and he got to within an inch or so of the empty stroller I was pushing. I didn't even hear him till I smelled him. That's how close. And he casually smiles at me and lets me walk on and goes on his way. Give me a heart attack and then smile and bike away. China.
click here to see pictures from today
day three, but it seems like day 30
Ever seen the movie Groundhog Day? Well, that's what we're living. I swear we've been here a month. The only thing I will probably never tire of and seriously miss when we're home is the food. Maybe that's why I took a ton of food pictures today. I love it. Like I will probably gain 10 pounds while we're here despite the fact that the only other thing we do other than eat is walk a million miles. You'd think one could walk off a lot of pounds walking miles in the heat. But I'm pretty sure breakfast buffets, dumplings, noodles and a bit of Dairy Queen ice cream will trump calories burnt walking.
Speaking of dumplings, I think I'm going to dream about them tonight. We found the best dumpling restaurant in the entire world today. It was the one time we didn't have our camera with us so no dumpling pictures but I'll get some tomorrow. And the next day and every Groundhog Day after that too. Poor Andy and Hope will probably end up hating dumplings but I seriously could eat them every day. And they're pan-fried. And my chopsticks eating skills increased 100 fold b/c I wanted to eat them so quickly. Not kidding. I am a master at chopsticks now. You can be too if you ever find yourself at this restaurant.
Now, let's move away from the food. Today was another one of those, "Did we really just spend a whole day here for this?" kind of day. Today was "Go to the bank" day. That was our entire agenda for the day. Banks in China are generally very crowded so Andy went alone w/our guide. An hour and a half later, they came back unsuccessful b/c they didn't have the number to wire the money to the orphanage. Hope is obsessed with Andy and pretty much just tolerates me. I was working for her affection or at least for her to not completely reject me 24/7 while they were at the bank. Animal crackers, Google Translate, and a sticker book worked for about an hour and twenty three minutes. Two minutes before Andy came back from the attempts at the banking she realized that he was gone and was started screaming BABA, BABA (repeat a million times at a very high decible). So for the third attempt at the bank, Hope and I went along. And the bank was next to the dumping restaurant. See, all things lead to dumplings in my world here.
After lunch we had Hope take a nap. I tried to sleep. Andy tried to not sleep. And we both felt miserable by the end of the afternoon. Worst jet lag feeling yet. We forced ourselves to get out and walk around. We forced ourselves to eat. And I didn't have to force myself to eat Dairy Queen after dinner. By then we both felt better. Not sure if it was the time of day, the dinner or just a good old blizzard from DQ that did the trick but whatever it was it worked. We bought a Beijing tourist book and are going to try and get a taxi to take us to some different areas over the next few days. Really, it's a week and a half but I'm pretending it's just a few days.
Let me backtrack a minute so you know what the daily photos are. Before all of this we had breakfast at the hotel as usual and I took a ton of photos. You really can't imagine the breakfast buffets here in China. It is actually funny. There is everthing from cereal, fruit, omelets, breakfast stuff galore as well as mini hamburgers, baked beans, cheese and sausage and crackers, soups, salad bar, chinese noodles, stir fry, steamed cabbage and veggies, wontons and basically lunch and dinner both American style and Chinese style. It is a bit odd to be serving yourself some french toast while looking at and smelling the baked beans next to it and the stir fry pork next to that. After that we walked. See a pattern? Eat. Walk. Eat. Walk. Anyway, we found a Chinse Walmart-ish store called WuMart. I kid you not. WuMart. It was a huge grocery store and everthing else store just like Walmart but w/a Chinese twist. I took some photos but you really don't get the full picture from just photos. Too bad there's not a way to send smell through the computer. Someone should invent that.
Hope is just a doll and either charming us with her beauty and cuteness or making us crazy with her opposite-of-charm-and-cuteness. Pretty much similar to any other almost four year old. Only she does show huge signs of being completely overwhelmed with all the change in her life right now. She is desperately afraid Andy will disappear from her sight. She is leary to begin bonding with me. She is friendly and outgoing to just about any person that will look at her until they speak to her and then she freezes up and gets all shy and timid and looks for me or Andy. She seeks our attention by testing our limits. You see, no matter how much this all looks like a happy we're-all-a-family-now kind of story, this is a very traumatic time for Hope. Probaby second only to the day she was left by herself on a train at the age of two and a half. When I think about how she must be feeling I can't help but be filled with grace and compassion for her. This is not her happy ending. At least not that she can understand. She was literally told, "Say I love you to your new mommy and daddy. Give them a hug. Get in the car with them and be a good girl" just two days ago. Can you even comprehend someone telling your three or four year old that? For us, these three weeks are the end of an adoption process we've been working on for nearly a year. For Hope, this the beginning of a new life that no one told her she would be getting. Just as she was getting used to living in an orphanage and learning to survive and cope there, she is thrown into a completely different world. Considering the circumstances, she's doing great. And she's beyond cute...wouldn't you say?!
See pictures from today here
Speaking of dumplings, I think I'm going to dream about them tonight. We found the best dumpling restaurant in the entire world today. It was the one time we didn't have our camera with us so no dumpling pictures but I'll get some tomorrow. And the next day and every Groundhog Day after that too. Poor Andy and Hope will probably end up hating dumplings but I seriously could eat them every day. And they're pan-fried. And my chopsticks eating skills increased 100 fold b/c I wanted to eat them so quickly. Not kidding. I am a master at chopsticks now. You can be too if you ever find yourself at this restaurant.
Now, let's move away from the food. Today was another one of those, "Did we really just spend a whole day here for this?" kind of day. Today was "Go to the bank" day. That was our entire agenda for the day. Banks in China are generally very crowded so Andy went alone w/our guide. An hour and a half later, they came back unsuccessful b/c they didn't have the number to wire the money to the orphanage. Hope is obsessed with Andy and pretty much just tolerates me. I was working for her affection or at least for her to not completely reject me 24/7 while they were at the bank. Animal crackers, Google Translate, and a sticker book worked for about an hour and twenty three minutes. Two minutes before Andy came back from the attempts at the banking she realized that he was gone and was started screaming BABA, BABA (repeat a million times at a very high decible). So for the third attempt at the bank, Hope and I went along. And the bank was next to the dumping restaurant. See, all things lead to dumplings in my world here.
After lunch we had Hope take a nap. I tried to sleep. Andy tried to not sleep. And we both felt miserable by the end of the afternoon. Worst jet lag feeling yet. We forced ourselves to get out and walk around. We forced ourselves to eat. And I didn't have to force myself to eat Dairy Queen after dinner. By then we both felt better. Not sure if it was the time of day, the dinner or just a good old blizzard from DQ that did the trick but whatever it was it worked. We bought a Beijing tourist book and are going to try and get a taxi to take us to some different areas over the next few days. Really, it's a week and a half but I'm pretending it's just a few days.
Let me backtrack a minute so you know what the daily photos are. Before all of this we had breakfast at the hotel as usual and I took a ton of photos. You really can't imagine the breakfast buffets here in China. It is actually funny. There is everthing from cereal, fruit, omelets, breakfast stuff galore as well as mini hamburgers, baked beans, cheese and sausage and crackers, soups, salad bar, chinese noodles, stir fry, steamed cabbage and veggies, wontons and basically lunch and dinner both American style and Chinese style. It is a bit odd to be serving yourself some french toast while looking at and smelling the baked beans next to it and the stir fry pork next to that. After that we walked. See a pattern? Eat. Walk. Eat. Walk. Anyway, we found a Chinse Walmart-ish store called WuMart. I kid you not. WuMart. It was a huge grocery store and everthing else store just like Walmart but w/a Chinese twist. I took some photos but you really don't get the full picture from just photos. Too bad there's not a way to send smell through the computer. Someone should invent that.
Hope is just a doll and either charming us with her beauty and cuteness or making us crazy with her opposite-of-charm-and-cuteness. Pretty much similar to any other almost four year old. Only she does show huge signs of being completely overwhelmed with all the change in her life right now. She is desperately afraid Andy will disappear from her sight. She is leary to begin bonding with me. She is friendly and outgoing to just about any person that will look at her until they speak to her and then she freezes up and gets all shy and timid and looks for me or Andy. She seeks our attention by testing our limits. You see, no matter how much this all looks like a happy we're-all-a-family-now kind of story, this is a very traumatic time for Hope. Probaby second only to the day she was left by herself on a train at the age of two and a half. When I think about how she must be feeling I can't help but be filled with grace and compassion for her. This is not her happy ending. At least not that she can understand. She was literally told, "Say I love you to your new mommy and daddy. Give them a hug. Get in the car with them and be a good girl" just two days ago. Can you even comprehend someone telling your three or four year old that? For us, these three weeks are the end of an adoption process we've been working on for nearly a year. For Hope, this the beginning of a new life that no one told her she would be getting. Just as she was getting used to living in an orphanage and learning to survive and cope there, she is thrown into a completely different world. Considering the circumstances, she's doing great. And she's beyond cute...wouldn't you say?!
See pictures from today here
Monday, August 15, 2011
day two
Jet lag makes blogging hard. I have a ton of things to share but this computer sits about a foot from the bed and I'm tired. Well, I'm not tired from about 3:00am-6:00am but thankfully Hope is (she slept 10 hours last night!) so my only "fully awake" time is still spent in bed. Anyway, here's a recap of some of the last day or so.
To begin with the funniest story, today we went to the Civil Affairs office to officially adopt Hope. I think. I don't know, everything is in Chinese and done through a translator so I may be completely misunderstanding what we're doing but I do know we signed a bunch of things, answered more questions (that we've answered 101 times along the adoption process anyway!), and all three of us left with red ink-stained hands/fingers b/c in China a signature is only good when a fingerprint is next to it. Then we needed to get a family photo taken for..again, I don't know what for. For something important. We just say yes and follow our translator. So we walk in the rain (mist, really, but but it counts as rain to me) to a Kodak shop a few blocks away. We are ushered in to this tiny store and have our picture taken in front of a red backdrop. All good. Hope doesn't smile for any picture but looks adorable anyway. Then we move to the computer to pick the best one. Kind of like the Target photo store only it's hot and there are 6 people in the room that probably only should be holding two. They photos seem all the same expept Hope's eyes are looking in a different direction in each one. Andy and I have this plastered fake smile kind of look but Hope looks adorable so who really cares, right? Well, we just point to one and say, "that one." Then the Kodak worker saves the picture on the screen and we think we're done. But we look at the screen again and there is a major close up of my forehead. Like full screen close up. And we realize that the Kodak man is photo shopping my wrinkles. And pores. And literally starts pointing and clicking at every inch of my face. And Andy and I start laughing and no one standing around seems to think it's funny. He makes me look porcelain-like and says he's finished. And doesn't even take a second look at Andy's face. Or gray hair. Nope, the adoption family photo ends up being an untouched photo of Andy. A deer in the headlights kind of photo of Hope and a five minute photo shopped picture of me. Oh my goodness, we could not stop laughing. But while in China, you just do what you're told, don't ask questions and keep thoughts like "seriously, this is all we got accomplished today? We signed papers and took a photo...and erased all of Julia's freckles, wrinkles, blemishes, pores, and basically 39 years of living off her face?" All for the small cost of $50. And two hours.
Now, on to the star of the blogger-show. Hope. She is currently walking the halls of the hotel with Andy b/c she woke up from her nap just sobbing uncontrollably. He took her out to try and settle her down. Poor thing. She is having a hard time today. She hates being in the hotel room and I can't blame her. There isn't much to do in here and things like turning the lights on/off, trying to open the door, playing with the phone, tv, and basically anything that does not involve doing what she is allowed to do is what she chooses. But I kind of feel the same way. There is only so much time you can sit in a small hotel room w/out going crazy. We're not even done with day two and we've all had our fill. I think she woke up from her nap and saw these hotel walls and just flipped out.
She, does however, love to be in the stroller and about anywhere but in this room. Yesterday we walked around for a few hours and she just sat in her stroller pointing and telling us all kinds of things. We have no idea what she was saying but she was loving it. We had lunch at a small restaurant down the street yesterday and she sat perfectly still for the whole time. Andy and I kept saying to each other, "There is no way she's this perfect." Caleb was a nightmare-ish crazy kid during every single meal we had with him in China. I'm talking running around the tables, throwing food, refusing to eat, yelling, bouncing off the walls crazy. Hope was the complete opposite. Yesterday, that is. Today she is likely dealing with all kinds of grief, sadness, confusion, and who knows what else and she is basically either a handful (lunch was a Caleb-like experience today minus the running around but plus a broken porcelain spoon) or sobbing. Thank goodness this is our fifth kid and second adoption or we might be acting the same way. Our heart breaks for her. We keep telling ourselves that Caleb did a lot of the same things while in China but was completely different once we got home. So we're looking forward to home.
Speaking of our 5th child and 2nd adoption. While sitting in the Civil Affairs office answering questions and promising to love and care for and never leave Hope, she drops an animal cracker on the floor. I lean over to get it but our 23 year old male translator beats me to it and picks it up. He tells her in Chinese something to the effect of "It's dirty. You can't eat it." He's really sweet about it and just trying to help. But she tears up and starts whining/sobbing. I'm thinking, "Seriously, fake-wipe it on your pants and just give it to her." I can guarantee you a million dollars Kara never ate a fake-wiped animal cracker or any piece of food that had ever come close to the floor let alone the floor of a government office in another country. That kind of thing would have sent me on a germa-a-phobic frenzy back then. Today? Well, my thoughts were different. Like 5 kids and half a world away different. But I laughed at the irony of wanting to give her the dirty cracker as I had just made a promise to the Chinese government that I would take extremely good care of her. Probably wouldn't have looked so good for me to have picked it up and fed it to her.
Click here for photos
To begin with the funniest story, today we went to the Civil Affairs office to officially adopt Hope. I think. I don't know, everything is in Chinese and done through a translator so I may be completely misunderstanding what we're doing but I do know we signed a bunch of things, answered more questions (that we've answered 101 times along the adoption process anyway!), and all three of us left with red ink-stained hands/fingers b/c in China a signature is only good when a fingerprint is next to it. Then we needed to get a family photo taken for..again, I don't know what for. For something important. We just say yes and follow our translator. So we walk in the rain (mist, really, but but it counts as rain to me) to a Kodak shop a few blocks away. We are ushered in to this tiny store and have our picture taken in front of a red backdrop. All good. Hope doesn't smile for any picture but looks adorable anyway. Then we move to the computer to pick the best one. Kind of like the Target photo store only it's hot and there are 6 people in the room that probably only should be holding two. They photos seem all the same expept Hope's eyes are looking in a different direction in each one. Andy and I have this plastered fake smile kind of look but Hope looks adorable so who really cares, right? Well, we just point to one and say, "that one." Then the Kodak worker saves the picture on the screen and we think we're done. But we look at the screen again and there is a major close up of my forehead. Like full screen close up. And we realize that the Kodak man is photo shopping my wrinkles. And pores. And literally starts pointing and clicking at every inch of my face. And Andy and I start laughing and no one standing around seems to think it's funny. He makes me look porcelain-like and says he's finished. And doesn't even take a second look at Andy's face. Or gray hair. Nope, the adoption family photo ends up being an untouched photo of Andy. A deer in the headlights kind of photo of Hope and a five minute photo shopped picture of me. Oh my goodness, we could not stop laughing. But while in China, you just do what you're told, don't ask questions and keep thoughts like "seriously, this is all we got accomplished today? We signed papers and took a photo...and erased all of Julia's freckles, wrinkles, blemishes, pores, and basically 39 years of living off her face?" All for the small cost of $50. And two hours.
Now, on to the star of the blogger-show. Hope. She is currently walking the halls of the hotel with Andy b/c she woke up from her nap just sobbing uncontrollably. He took her out to try and settle her down. Poor thing. She is having a hard time today. She hates being in the hotel room and I can't blame her. There isn't much to do in here and things like turning the lights on/off, trying to open the door, playing with the phone, tv, and basically anything that does not involve doing what she is allowed to do is what she chooses. But I kind of feel the same way. There is only so much time you can sit in a small hotel room w/out going crazy. We're not even done with day two and we've all had our fill. I think she woke up from her nap and saw these hotel walls and just flipped out.
She, does however, love to be in the stroller and about anywhere but in this room. Yesterday we walked around for a few hours and she just sat in her stroller pointing and telling us all kinds of things. We have no idea what she was saying but she was loving it. We had lunch at a small restaurant down the street yesterday and she sat perfectly still for the whole time. Andy and I kept saying to each other, "There is no way she's this perfect." Caleb was a nightmare-ish crazy kid during every single meal we had with him in China. I'm talking running around the tables, throwing food, refusing to eat, yelling, bouncing off the walls crazy. Hope was the complete opposite. Yesterday, that is. Today she is likely dealing with all kinds of grief, sadness, confusion, and who knows what else and she is basically either a handful (lunch was a Caleb-like experience today minus the running around but plus a broken porcelain spoon) or sobbing. Thank goodness this is our fifth kid and second adoption or we might be acting the same way. Our heart breaks for her. We keep telling ourselves that Caleb did a lot of the same things while in China but was completely different once we got home. So we're looking forward to home.
Speaking of our 5th child and 2nd adoption. While sitting in the Civil Affairs office answering questions and promising to love and care for and never leave Hope, she drops an animal cracker on the floor. I lean over to get it but our 23 year old male translator beats me to it and picks it up. He tells her in Chinese something to the effect of "It's dirty. You can't eat it." He's really sweet about it and just trying to help. But she tears up and starts whining/sobbing. I'm thinking, "Seriously, fake-wipe it on your pants and just give it to her." I can guarantee you a million dollars Kara never ate a fake-wiped animal cracker or any piece of food that had ever come close to the floor let alone the floor of a government office in another country. That kind of thing would have sent me on a germa-a-phobic frenzy back then. Today? Well, my thoughts were different. Like 5 kids and half a world away different. But I laughed at the irony of wanting to give her the dirty cracker as I had just made a promise to the Chinese government that I would take extremely good care of her. Probably wouldn't have looked so good for me to have picked it up and fed it to her.
Click here for photos
Saturday, August 13, 2011
we have hope!
We went to the orphanage this morning and have Hope. It's lunchtime and we're sitting in our hotel room waiting on KFC to deliver some food for her. Our guide asked if she wanted KFC and she said yes. Honestly, I don't think she has a clue what KFC is but here we are waiting for 40 minutes for some chicken to be delivered to our room. Hope is investigating everything in the room here so I need to make this quick. A four year old in a hotel room isn't easy. A four year who doesn't speak your language in a hotel room = one hour seems like about one year. But she is a cutie. She has this deep raspy voice and giggles at Andy.
Got to go. Chicken is here. More details later.
Got to go. Chicken is here. More details later.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
if you're wondering
If you're wondering what we'll be doing in China for 3 weeks...
Our travel schedule:
Sat, Aug 13th: Arrive in Beijing late afternoon
Sun, Aug 14th: Go to orphanage to meet Hope, sign papers
Mon, Aug 15th: Civil Affairs office for adoption registration at 9:30am
Tues, Aug 16th: free
Wed, Aug 17th: Pick up registration certificate at Civil Affairs office and notarize Hope's passport
Thurs, Aug 18th: free, Chinese acrobatic show in the evening
Fri, Aug 19th: free, Great Wall tour (Mutianyu)
Sat, Aug 20th: free
Sun, Aug 21st: free
Mon, Aug 22nd: free, tour Chundixia Village
Tues, Aug 23rd: free, Kung Fu show in evening
Wed, Aug 24th: free
Thurs, Aug 25th: Pick up Hope's passport
Fri, Aug 26th: Fly to Guangzhou
Sat, Aug 27th: Visa photo and medical exam (including TB test)
Sun, Aug 28th: free
Mon, Aug 29th: Pick up TB test results
Tues, Aug 30th: Visa appointment and oath ceremony at U.S. Consulate
Wed, Aug 31st: Pick up visa
Thurs, Sept 1st: Leave for home!
Yikes, maybe I shouldn't have just typed that all out. I'm nervous again. Three weeks is a long time. Three weeks is even longer if you type every single day out and see it in black and white.
I'm actually getting very excited about it all. Well, "very" may be stretching the truth a bit but I am excited. I have felt like I haven't really had time to really appreciate the fact that we are going to China to get Hope. The girls and Andy and I just returned from a mission trip in Monterrey, Mexico about a week and a half ago. The timing for our China trip was not ideal as it ended up being just 2 weeks after we got home from Mexico. And to add to my stress level, the mission trip involved a lot of intense work projects...think making/pouring concrete in what felt like 500 degree heat. Oh, and mixing that concrete while wearing really cute brand new shoes that were not at all suitable for such work. Shoes that I bought for leisure walks around the orphanages we were to be working in. I somehow mistook "serving orphans" to mean sitting and playing with kids as opposed to the concrete work projects we were actually expected to do. To say I was unprepared for the mission trip would be an understatement. So I spent a lot of the time in Mexico feeling sorry for myself, complaining in my head to myself, and wishing I were home.
When I finally got home I was not at all ready to turn around and leave again. I spent a week feeling totally overwhelmed and unprepared to leave for China. In fact, I didn't want to go. The thought of unpacking from Mexico only to re-pack for a 3 week trip all while trying to maintain some sort of normal routine at home for our family was a bit too much for me to handle gracefully. I'll just say that any one who thinks we have it all together or that we have an extra dose of patience or love or angelic-ness is quite mistaken. I fail miserably at even the most basic things. To love. To put my needs aside. To be gracious. And thankful. And peaceful.
So that's where I've been. To Mexico. Complaining pretty much all the way. And then home. Complaining and whining there too.
And this is where I'm going. To China. For Hope. And I'm learning a whole lot of things along the way. To sum it up: I'm a mess. And God still loves me. I generally try too hard on my own effort to make things work. And He still calls me. I say I trust God and then completely don't. And He doesn't leave me. Or I do trust Him and then complain about every step of faith I take. And He is faithful to complete what He begins.
The road to adoption is filled with so many lessons. Lessons that I desperately need.
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30
Our travel schedule:
Sat, Aug 13th: Arrive in Beijing late afternoon
Sun, Aug 14th: Go to orphanage to meet Hope, sign papers
Mon, Aug 15th: Civil Affairs office for adoption registration at 9:30am
Tues, Aug 16th: free
Wed, Aug 17th: Pick up registration certificate at Civil Affairs office and notarize Hope's passport
Thurs, Aug 18th: free, Chinese acrobatic show in the evening
Fri, Aug 19th: free, Great Wall tour (Mutianyu)
Sat, Aug 20th: free
Sun, Aug 21st: free
Mon, Aug 22nd: free, tour Chundixia Village
Tues, Aug 23rd: free, Kung Fu show in evening
Wed, Aug 24th: free
Thurs, Aug 25th: Pick up Hope's passport
Fri, Aug 26th: Fly to Guangzhou
Sat, Aug 27th: Visa photo and medical exam (including TB test)
Sun, Aug 28th: free
Mon, Aug 29th: Pick up TB test results
Tues, Aug 30th: Visa appointment and oath ceremony at U.S. Consulate
Wed, Aug 31st: Pick up visa
Thurs, Sept 1st: Leave for home!
Yikes, maybe I shouldn't have just typed that all out. I'm nervous again. Three weeks is a long time. Three weeks is even longer if you type every single day out and see it in black and white.
I'm actually getting very excited about it all. Well, "very" may be stretching the truth a bit but I am excited. I have felt like I haven't really had time to really appreciate the fact that we are going to China to get Hope. The girls and Andy and I just returned from a mission trip in Monterrey, Mexico about a week and a half ago. The timing for our China trip was not ideal as it ended up being just 2 weeks after we got home from Mexico. And to add to my stress level, the mission trip involved a lot of intense work projects...think making/pouring concrete in what felt like 500 degree heat. Oh, and mixing that concrete while wearing really cute brand new shoes that were not at all suitable for such work. Shoes that I bought for leisure walks around the orphanages we were to be working in. I somehow mistook "serving orphans" to mean sitting and playing with kids as opposed to the concrete work projects we were actually expected to do. To say I was unprepared for the mission trip would be an understatement. So I spent a lot of the time in Mexico feeling sorry for myself, complaining in my head to myself, and wishing I were home.
When I finally got home I was not at all ready to turn around and leave again. I spent a week feeling totally overwhelmed and unprepared to leave for China. In fact, I didn't want to go. The thought of unpacking from Mexico only to re-pack for a 3 week trip all while trying to maintain some sort of normal routine at home for our family was a bit too much for me to handle gracefully. I'll just say that any one who thinks we have it all together or that we have an extra dose of patience or love or angelic-ness is quite mistaken. I fail miserably at even the most basic things. To love. To put my needs aside. To be gracious. And thankful. And peaceful.
So that's where I've been. To Mexico. Complaining pretty much all the way. And then home. Complaining and whining there too.
And this is where I'm going. To China. For Hope. And I'm learning a whole lot of things along the way. To sum it up: I'm a mess. And God still loves me. I generally try too hard on my own effort to make things work. And He still calls me. I say I trust God and then completely don't. And He doesn't leave me. Or I do trust Him and then complain about every step of faith I take. And He is faithful to complete what He begins.
The road to adoption is filled with so many lessons. Lessons that I desperately need.
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30
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