Yiling Village and Humble Pie

Today Jane took us to a local Zhuang village. China is made up of 56 different ethnic groups. The majority for all of China is the Han people. But, here in Guangxi the majority is made up of Zhuang. The first time we met Jane she told us that she took one look at Qi Fu's picture and knew right away that he was Zhuang by his features. She said he is very Zhuang. She also claims that at least 2 of the girls in our group are Zhuang also.

The Zhuang people are known for their ability to do fine embroidery and sing. They have festivals where there are extemporaneous signing competitions and the boys ask girls out by singing to them! We seriously hope Qi FU has inherited this singing ability! They are also pretty small people - very slender and shorter than most - totally explains his size.

Yiling village is a very typical village for rural China and since all but one of our children came from rural orphanages, Jane really wanted us to see what life is like there. Let me just say, it was a very humbling experience. But it was also very eye opening for me. I just kept thinking that these people had very little, but their children were still loved and taken care of. There is no crime - everyone in the village trusts one another and they never lock doors. The children run around the whole village by themselves because everyone looks out for everyone else. The sense of community is very strong. It is too bad we have lost these traits. I think church is probably the closest thing that remains.

Most people in China live on about 1500 Yuan a month (about $200), but people in these villages live on a lot less. They still adhere to very traditional practices. Jane warned us that we would see the women working very hard doing their laundry on rocks at the watering hole, farming, carrying heavy loads, etc, while the men will be sitting around playing games like chess and checkers. She was right. (But to do the men some justice, she did point out they too work hard during the week days in the cities or on farms, but after work they get to come home and relax while the women's work is never done!) And the men help out with children very little in public. The men think that carrying a child or changing it, etc, will make them look weak. So, it is left up to the women - although they may help out in the privacy of their own home. As matter of fact, Eric went up to some men playing a game to take their picture and they laughed at him because he had Qi Fu on his shoulders! It was pretty funny.

We were also told to bring candy with us for the village children. Chinese people are constantly giving children candy - Qi Fu always has a piece or two stored in a pocket that some random stranger gave to him. And it is usually hard candy that he tries to bite. I really don't like this practice! Anyway, I do not know what we expected, but it certainly was not the mobbing we got when we showed our bags of candy. There were children everywhere grabbing and laughing and running away and then coming back for more. At one point we had to shew them away so that we could walk.

After we started walking again, we noticed a little boy about Qi Fu's age standing with his grandma watching us. He looked very shy and would not come over even with his grandma's prodding. Qi Fu noticed him and took one of his own candies from his pocket and walked up to the boy and gave it to him. It was so touching! I hope he keeps this type of compassion and generosity throughout his life.

I wish I could describe the smells in the village. They were...not that pleasant - a mixture of animal, fire, cooking flesh, and typical farm life. Trust me, I did not do it justice. And the flies were something from a horror film - they were EVERYWHERE. I have never seen so many flies in my life and I grew up on a pig farm. And speaking of pigs, we visited the home of a lady in the village who was the "richest" person there because she raised pigs and sold them. She had a typical 2 story home where her adult children and their families lived on the second level, and she lived on the first with the pigs. No joke. (Note: here in the countryside - especially among the Zhuang - the people are allowed to have more than 1 child, that is why this woman had 3 children - 2 daughters and 1 son.) Her house was made of cement and was still very humble by our standards, but a mansion according to theirs. It was pretty neat to see and she was very gracious.

Since a picture can say a thousand words, here is a slide show of our visit. I really hope you can get a feel for the village and the people there.

Green Mountain

Our big excursion of the day was a trip to Green Mountain. It is a state park type of place about 30 minutes outside of Nanning. The weather looked a bit dicey, but it held out until we were walking around one area of the park (we visited 3 different areas), and then it poured! Qi Fu loved it, of course. As a matter of fact, he was already soaked by the time the rain started because he discovered a rain puddle about ten seconds after we got off the bus and promptly not only jumped in it, but also sat! Yep, that's right, I said sat - full bum right down in the middle. Of course everyone laughed and that only encouraged more!

After the rain started, Jane - aka super prepared woman - produced a dozen huge umbrellas from her secret pocket or something. And Qi Fu insisted on being the one to carry it. Do you know how hard it is to stay under an umbrella carried by a two foot high person? Not so easy my friends. Eric, Hannah, and I opted for the soaking over the back aches. But, man did he look cute holding this giant umbrella. Brought to mind Alice in Wonderland and the giant mushrooms.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a local store that sells jade and pearls. Some really pretty stuff in there. Jane told us that it is traditional for men to wear the female Buddah. It is supposed to make them lucky with the ladies. We bought one for Qi Fu - to be kept until he is older, though I suspect he won't have any problems attracting girls with his wit and charm. He already has the ability to make one of the other little girls in our party smile and giggle. And that is saying a lot because she is having a really hard time and will hardly smile for anyone else. He's a little lady killer in the making!

Big Trip To Walmart!

Ok, what a joke! The place is called Walmart, but it DOES NOT look anything like what we are used to. I am embarrassed to admit, but I was so excited to go there this morning. We had a whole list of things to buy - including clothes for Qi Fu. We have only 2 outfits that fit and the pants he wore today kept falling off - literally- and they are a size 18-24 months! But when we got there, we soon realized that there were very few boy clothes - only one tiny rack with the same outfit in three colors. I am not kidding...that was it! So, we bought 2 of them in different colors and I hate them! But, I will keep them forever as a memento (although, he will never wear them again as soon as we go home:))

After our "big shopping trip" Jane took us to Pizza Hut for American food. It was very good!!! Qi Fu had his first pizza and spaghetti and loved it - along with every other food he has tried. I swear that boy eats and eats. Maybe he'll grow so his pants will fit:)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Tonight, we had our first really sad moment. After his bath, he went back into the bathroom and slipped on some water and hit his head. He started crying and I picked him up. He wanted to go to the bed, so I laid him down. Then he did not want me to comfort him. He kept crying, pointing, and saying "Mama, mama, mama, etc." Obviously, he wanted his foster mom, not me. I just sat next to him (but didn't touch) and sang to him. After a few moments he stopped wailing and pointed to his ear and said a few words in Chinese. Obviously, that is where it hurt. So, he let me rub it (for only a second!) and kiss it. Then he cried again! But it only lasted a minute or so, then he popped up and crawled off the bed and went back to playing. However, a moment later he hit his head on the TV stand and came to me rubbing it and pointing. This time he let me kiss it and rub it! BREAKTHROUGH...

To end the day, I pulled out the wikki stix and Hannah and I made him a bunch of accessories. It was funny. He would laugh, then take them off and put them in his cupboard with the rest of his stash. (We have discovered if we are missing something, that he probably has stored it in there!) The funny thing, however, was that I made a necklace and put it on him without his noticing. When he finally discovered it, he laughed hysterically and kept pointing to his neck and talking. He was surprised to find it and thought it was the funniest thing. It was so cute!

Test Post - Trying out a slideshow program

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Getting to Know Qi Fu

Man, this kid is CRAZY! But he is officially ours now!!! We finished the Chinese end of the adoption this morning after 2 brief interviews - one with a Civil Affairs official and the other with a notary. We still have to stay a few more days in Nanning, however, while we wait for his passport to be finalized and delivered. Then it is off to Guangzhou to visit the American consulate and prepare him for his US Visa.

In the meantime, we are having lots of fun getting to know Qi Fu (or Little Man Fu as I have started to call him). Today we walked to the park with our friends. We thought it was just a playground, but it was actually a minnie amusement park. He loved to ride the electric cars - although he did not like that he needed an adult to ride with him and help steer. After all, he is Chinese and thinks he can drive well on his own, but trust me, we know how they drive and there was no way we were going to let him behind the wheel by himself! After the cars, he got to ride in this three man bike with Eric and Hannah that circled the park about 20 feet off the ground. He was so cute waving from up there! Then he rode this minnie roller coaster where the cars were all shaped like cars. He rode in the firetruck one and really loved it because he could "steer" all by himself.

After the park, we had another group dinner at a Cantonese restaurant. It was very good. We have started to notice that Qi Fu hordes food - very common in orphanage children. He will keep wanting food until his plate or bowl is overflowing. He won't eat all of it, but I think he takes comfort in knowing it is there. Once he even hid a piece of beef on the ledge behind our booth and got it and ate it as we were leaving - kind of gross, actually. His favorite food is congee - a rice porridge that is kind of like bland rice soup with various meets. The only problem is, it is usually SUPER HOT and he hates to wait for it to cool down. He gets very upset if he can not have it right away! We have started to ask for an extra bowl to mix a little at a time with cold water to make him happy.

You would think with all the food he eats he would be bigger - but he is so tiny. He is wearing a size 18-24 month and they are even a bit big. We forget that he is almost 3, so when he does something a 3 yr old would do, we are surprised because he is so small. It is quite deceiving. Later today we are going to Walmart as a group to shop for necessities. And believe me some clothes are on our list because I only have 2 outfits that fit him. He wore one yesterday and he will wear the second today! And then, we will be in trouble because all the 2T clothes I brought are way big!

But, trust me his size does not slow him down one bit! The kid is a maniac. He never sits still and he is just bursting with talking and personality (reminds me A LOT of Lilly - I think I am in big trouble with those two!). The other families laugh at him and think he is so cute, but I think they are secretly relieved it is not them chasing him all over as they walk around with their sweet little girls :)

And speaking of the other families, it has been so awesome to be here with them. There were 5 families that hooked up in Beijing (there was a total of 7 families, but the other two were more to themselves). But only 2 came to Nanning with us - the Heckys and the Kruits. We also have the other 2 families with us, but again they are more on their own. One of those families is on their 4th Chinese adoption and is so helpful to the rest of us. They know everything and are always stocked with things that we do not think about because we did not even know we needed them! They have shared many things with us: cookies, fruit snacks, bibs, spoons, etc. We are all so grateful for them! But, the Heckys and the Kruits have been our constant companions and support during all of this. We are already making plans for a reunion in a year or so because we all live on the east coast (Ohio, Chicago, and VA). It would be fun to see these kids in a year speaking English and feeling like regular family members! And we will hook up with the other 2 original families in a few days in Guangzhou. We are excited to meet their new children. One has a boy about the same age as Qi Fu. Hmmm, wonder if he is crazy, too?

(Author's note: By the way, that cute little panda shirt in the photo was a mess by the end of the day. I am not sure it will ever be the same again. What a pity.)

Gotcha Day!

(Caution! This is a long post! I am using this as my personal journal, so I have included everything. Proceed with caution.)

Let me just start by saying that now I know why Qi Fu (Emmett) was tied to his crib in one photo!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. So, let me back up to the beginning...

March 24, 2009 was the most emotional day of my life. It was like getting married and having babies all in one. It is hard to describe how I felt, but let me just say it felt like an emotional whirlwind inside my head and stomach!

I finally fell asleep around midnight and woke up about 3am because I was so excited and nervous. Our day began with a gathering of the 5 Holt families in the hotel lobby at 5:30 am. We were then taken to the airport and were soon on our way to Nanning where we would meet our children.

I have to digress here and tell a little bit about our flight. It was a very unique experience that I do not want to forget. First of all, the 11 of us were the only Caucasian people on the plane. I think this was my first time being a true minority...I kind of liked it. The other passengers were very curious and friendly to us. I really enjoyed watching them. It was the loudest plane ride I have ever taken - people were standing up and yelling to people across the plane, laughing and gesturing as they settled in. And no one payed any attention to seat belt signs - they moved around whenever they wanted and when we finally landed, people were up and getting their stuff before the plane even slowed down! Oh, the shock of it all!

After landing, we met our Holt guide, Jane, who is a local of Nanning, at the airport. She is very kind and most helpful. She explained to us the procedure for getting our children and what we needed to prepare ourselves for. We had 2 hours back at the hotel to get ready and eat lunch.

Now, let me tell you about Nanning. Nanning is in the Guangxi Province (pronounced "Gwan-see" we found out after all of us had been saying it wrong for weeks). Guangxi is where all of our children are from. Now, this is what I expected China to be like - older, more gritty and rural than Beijing. (Beijing is a very westernized metropolis like NYC and caters to English speakers. It is very modern and elaborate. The area we stayed in was like 5th Avenue - only cleaner and nicer!) In Nanning, very few locals speak English and we have to do a lot of pointing and gesturing to be understood when Jane is not around. It's actually quite fun!

We had our first lunch in a restaurant across from the hotel. It is nicknamed "The Baby Restaurant" because there are babies painted on the front and it is where adopting families often eat. The food was really good (oh, by the way, we can say goodbye to any westernized food for the next week), but I learned after 2 meals there that I do not want to eat chicken while here. Every part of the chicken is used in the food - fat, gristle, bones, and all. I really don't like that. But, the beef and shrimp are yummy. Maybe I'll even get brave enough to try some of the other "sea food" available. We'll see...

After lunch, we were off to the civil affairs office to finally meet our children. Can I just say, I was so nervous that my hands were shaking and I don't think that has ever happened to me before! When we got off the elevator at the CA building, our children were standing in the hall with their nannies. They took one look at us and all started crying and running away! We were taken into a room to wait for them to be brought in individually, but we could hear them outside crying and one (we were told) kept saying "I don't want to go in there!" Of course all the moms were crying by now and we were all nervously laughing and joking. Then, after a brief welcome, they were escorted in one at a time to be met by their new families. Qi Fu was the third one brought in.

I went up to Qi Fu and handed him a car as I smiled at him. He took it with a smile and then turned around and walked away! I guess he thought I was Santa or something! But, after a few moments he realized what was going on and began to cry with all the other children. It was the saddest thing to hear - all these little people wailing and terrified! Qi Fu's nannies stayed for a few minutes. They had a bag of items from his foster mom for us (Jane translated the conversation for me). She gave us some extra clothes, diapers, a package of his favorite crackers, a photo of them with Qi Fu, a letter for us (which Jane will translate later) and his foot braces (which he hates and I don't blame him because they look torturous. They said we do not have to make him wear them. We can wait until we visit our doctor at home and get her recommendation. Phew!!!) Then the nannies left and we were on our own.

Poor little guy cried and cried. I could distract him for a few minutes by taking him to the window to see the cars and the elevator. But, it was the red balloon we blew up that made all the difference. He loves that balloon and has carried it around all day with him - I really hope it doesn't pop any time soon!

After a little while, he would let me hold him and comfort him. It was really adorable, he wanted his tears and nose wiped every few minutes. They said he likes hugs and that is true! He would let me and Hannah hold and hug him. Eric was a different matter. He didn't want Eric at all. (Of course most of you know little kids LOVE Eric and always go to him, so it was a bit of a surprise. Maybe the red hair did it?)

Eventually, it was time to go back to the hotel with our children. Qi Fu was so cute because when he heard we were leaving, he started to help clean up the toys in the room! By then he had stopped crying and was resigned to his fate. He walked with me to the bus (his little walk is so cute - he has a slight limp, but trust me it does not slow him down!). He climbed the bus stairs (which were huge) with my help and went straight to the back seat and snuggled up in the corner by the window with his balloon. On the ride he did not want us to touch him. He kept pushing us away and glaring at us. But, when I began to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" he sang along in Chinese! SO CUTE!!!

Once we got back to our hotel, his curiosity and naturally cheerful disposition got the better of him. As soon as he walked in our room, he plunged in. We began with stickers (which I put on his forehead and he proceeded to put on all of ours) and then it never stopped! He played with EVERYTHING and began laughing and talking. Our really big breakthrough came when I gave him markers and a coloring book. He took out the markers one at a time and would pull off the cap, scribble a bit, then put the cap back on and place the marker in a neat little row on the desk. He had a hard time taking off the lid and putting it back on at first, so I showed him and every time he did it on his own we would cheer and he would giggle.

Since I know this is super long and you may be getting bored, I will list a few things we learned about Qi FU on our first day:

1. He has been taught very well and is very neat. He put his shoes in the closet with ours when he saw them there and always cleans up. He knows how to do most things for himself and seems to follow rules very well.

2. He learns very quick! He has already began to mimic our words correctly and even started using sign at dinner when he wanted more food. It is quite amazing to witness!

3. He LOVES water. Seriously. I have NEVER seen a child love water as much as him and I already have 2 water babies! The first time he went potty and needed to wash his hands, he stuck his hand under the faucet and squirted himself in the face. He laughed hysterically and kept repeating it over and over. Then when we went to the lobby, he saw the fountain and I had to catch him before he dove in! I did let him splash in it a bit until I got some stern stares from the locals (bad mommy!). And last night after dinner we gave him his first bath and you would think we were at Disney World. He loved it that much! (They usually recommend not changing your child's clothes or bathing them for at least 24 hours, but with Emmett we knew he would have no problem as long as water was involved!)

4. He loves his veggies! Hopefully he can influence Lilly a little bit.

5. He did indeed have surgery on his little feet a couple months ago - he has the scars to prove it. We are waiting for more information to be sent over to us to take back home to our doctors.

6. He is a great sleeper (so far). He curled up with Hannah on the bed and was out in minutes. He did not want to be in the crib, so we let him fall asleep in the bed and then moved him. He has been asleep for about 11 hours now. We don't know how he will do when he wakes, but I suspect he may cry when he realizes we were not just a dream!

7. He is a BUSY little boy! Perhaps it is all the excitement, but I do not think he stopped for 10 seconds since we got back to the hotel. He loves to go on walks and ride the elevator.

So, that sums up our first day with Qi Fu. You may be wondering why I am not referring to him as Emmett yet. The reason is because we have not started calling him that yet. Over the next few days we will make the transition. Until then, he is our little Liu Qi Fu...

Finally We Get to See New Pictures of Emmett

Today we went to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. Now, I knew the place would be big, but I was not prepared for how HUGE it was! It seemed like it just went on and on and on...I really loved the Forbidden City- especially the Emperor's Palace. Being a history geek, I loved hearing about all the dynasties and emperors, especially the "baby emperors" who were coached by their mother's from behind a screen. You know what they say, "Behind every great man, is a woman!" But the most amazing fact I learned today was that the emperor was allowed up to 3,000 concubines!!! Imagine if each of them had only 1 child...but chances are, they each had several. The emperor could have several thousand children! Now we know the REAL reason why there is a population issue in China!

This evening our travel group all went out to see the nightly "Snack Street" here in Beijing. The street is lined with vendors selling the most bizarre foods - all skewered on sticks. If you can imagine it, it was being cooked on a stick! Squid, octopus, snakes, scorpions, silk worms and animal genitalia just to name a few. Really fun to see, but quite stinky and in no way edible in my book!

As cool as all of that was, it could not compare with our morning Holt orientation meeting. We learned a lot of important things to prepare us for the rest of our trip and adoption. But, the highlight came at the end when we were all given a scrapbook with updated photos and information on our children.

Things I learned from our update:

1. Emmett is tiny!!! He is still only 23 pounds and just about 21/2 feet tall even though he is 2.9 years old.

2. When it comes to clothes, gender is paid no attention. In one photo, Emmett is wearing a pink ruffled turtleneck!

3. Emmet is apparently quite rambunctious because he is TIED to his crib in the same photo!

4. He likes to play outside and take baths. He and Lilly should have lots of fun together.

5. He was sent back to the hospital for "surgery" in December and just returned to the orphanage in February. We are still trying to figure out what "surgery" means in his case. Our social worker believes it means recasting and braces. We'll see...

6. He loves hugs! Yeah!!!

7. He has the CUTEST smile and sweetest littlest face.

8. It is almost unbearable to wait until tomorrow to finally meet him and make him ours!

So, tomorrow is the big day - Gotcha Day! We leave Beijing at 5:30 am and will meet him around 3:30pm. Right now we have been encouraged to go to sleep early to prepare for our big day tomorrow, but come on, who can sleep?

Climbing The Great Wall

We had one of the coolest days ever! We met up with four other Holt families and went on a tour of the Great Wall and Old Beijing. The wall is everything you can imagine! We climbed up 850 meters to the uppermost part of the Wall in our area. It took about 11/2 hours and was one of the hardest climbs we have ever done. There were times when the grade was so steep, you were practically walking horizontal! And there were more pushy tourists than you can ever imagine! I finally just had to laugh when I was pushed around by two old Chinese ladies that were about 6 inches shorter than me...and that's saying a lot. It was pretty funny. Hannah even had one family request she take a picture with them! She was kind enough to oblige. But, the best part was the view. It was gorgeous! The Chinese terrain is different than anything else we have ever seen...very Mulan-like!

After the Wall, we went to a factory where they make copper and enamel pottery (I can't remember what it is called...I will have to look it up later). I could not believe how intricate the copper work was! We watched a couple of artists create and I can say they are VERY patient people!

Old Beijing was pretty neat, too. We rode in rickshaws to visit a local family and see their house. It was typical of homes in Beijing where 3-5 people live together. It was about 100 square feet (the size of our bedroom) and did not even contain a bathroom. There are public baths on each street that everyone shares. I can not even imagine waking up at 3 am and having to go down the street to use the toilet! It was fun to see how local people live, though. Now I know why our airport escort thought our house was a villa!

Also at the house, the niece was working on glass bottle painting. She actually paints inside of these teeny-tiny bottles. It was gorgeous work. She let me and Hannah try it...I kinda of made a heart and Hannah made a deformed smiley-face. Trust me, it was harder than she made it look!

We had our first chinese meal this afternoon. It was a group meal with our tour. We all sat at this huge round table with a lazy suzan in the middle that was crammed with plates of food...sweet and sour chicken, peanut chicken, vegetables in suace, ham and beef slices, dumplings, and fish (whole with head and eyes still intact). It was delicious. Unfortunately, one couple had already experienced stomach problems, so they barely ate more than rice. Made me wonder if we will be in their shoes sometime soon!

Check out some more pics of our day along the side of the page. We will make slide show links as soon as we are not too tired to spend time figuring it out!