Thursday, March 9, 2006

Stardate Day 3 with Hannah. There has been a rift in the time/space continuum and my life has become the Chinese version of the movie, "Groundhog Day." Hannah has had a sudden burst of energy and woke up happy today and as the day wore on she was bouncing off the walls and ceiling.

We toured the state owned embroidery factory today. The craft has been handed down for thousands of years and perfected to the point that some embroideries even look photographic. The ladies who were embroidering were very friendly. One even brought her little boy to work with her and he and Hannah really connected....to the point that he tried to follow us out and all the ladies were laughing. One embroidery can take a year or more to make.

As I was saying...Hannah has really come alive in a big way and we are wore out. She pats my belly and says, "da da." She and Pam are connecting more and more and she can also say "ma ma." She gets very hyperactive as her nap times get closer, becoming more spazzed out until it reaches a boiling point where she finally conks out for a nap. It seems she is eating, drinking, and going potty in greater volumes and frequency. Kristin is amazed at the level of care needed for one little baby. Earlier she asked in amazement, "how many more times can she eat and go to the bathroom?" To which I replied, "They call it parenting."

Breakfast is a strange mix of Chinese food and breakfast food. Today there was "pork blood soup" on the breakfast bar. Lunch was spam-like sandwiches and supper was......you guessed it.....Chinese food again. Pam and Kristin didn't eat much, so I made a taxi run to McDonald's (they are all over the place here). McDonald's was all out of hamburgers.... no kidding. So I went next door to KFC and got a bucket deal......they really liked it.

Funny event of the day: I was holding Hannah on my lap and Pam yelled that the toilet was overflowing. So I handed her to Pam and went and sat on the tub and opened up the commode and held onto a part to stop the water while they called room service. Hannah starts screaming for me, so Pam had to come with Hannah and sit next to me on the bathtub. Then a maid came in and started plunging the toilet and we were all three huddled around the commode until the matter was resolved. It's no wonder the Chinese think Americans are weird.

Our guide, Peter, works for the state owned travel service, and is a wealth of information. You can tell he really likes the babies and the adoptive parents. He gives us history lessons as we travel around. He has a daughter who is a graduate student in the university. Students get to go to the universities based on test scores. Peter fancies himself an expert on Chinese babies. He says, "Chinese baby only cry only for four reasons.....one, baby hungry.....two, baby sleepy......three, baby cold.......four, baby need diaper change." He says the province where our babies come from is famous for agriculture, beautiful women, and high test scores. He assured us we would receive beautiful, highly intelligent babies. When Peter explains one of the many cultural differences, he ends by saying, "It's the Chinese way".......this has become the motto of the parents in our group. If he really doesn't think your question is intelligent enough to merit an answer, he walks away in silence. He is really a great guy with a magnetic personality and is one of many Chinese citizens who have made our trip fun and interesting.

There are many wealthy Chinese people now. I haven't seen one rickshaw. Up to this date we have been primarily in two large cities. Tomorrow we have an opportunity to go an hour out in the country and visit an orphanage. We are all counting the days to go to the White Swan Hotel. That is where the Queen of England and also Richard Nixon has stayed. There is more access to western food there, too (see itinerary).

I know we look tired in some of the photos and we are. But since we came here, we have gotten plenty of sleep, but the job of transitioning this baby into our family is a stressful one, but we believe it will all be worth it in the end. Thanks to all of you who have helped us get this far and thanks to those who are keeping things going until we get back.
Jeff