Jenna and Ryan, 12-28-09.
Jenna with big sister Leah, 1-1-10.
JENNA - Present Day 2010
Jenna and Ryan, 12-28-09.
Jenna with big sister Leah, 1-1-10.
Introduction.
Present Day = February 7, 2009. I wrote this journal entry (this story) for Jenna's journal back in July 2007. I transfered it to this blog and finished it on March 29, 2009.
Note: Since after a time nobody left any comments I decided to use the comments to keep a running commentary. This blog just took too much effort for something like that to go unused. Feel free to check them out, or you can just ignore them.
Brett
Ryan, Leah, and Jenna 2-12-2009
In March 2006 we decided to adopt a daughter from China. After adopting our daughter Leah and sons Alexander and Benjamin from South Korea – we were going to adopt through the Holt-China program. When we received and scanned over the big red book that explained Holt’s China adoption process in detail we were a little overwhelmed. Adopting from China looked a lot more difficult than adopting from Korea. It started out as Cheryl’s idea (as usual); she has wanted to adopt a daughter from China since at least 2004 (as far as I know). Add to this the fact that she had an ally in Leah, who had been praying for a little sister for quite some time. They finally got me onboard and we decided to get started heading down the long road of adoption again. We started out in the regular program but also decided to be in the waiting child (special needs) program simultaneously. It proved to be a good choice because as it turns out if we would’ve only been in the regular program we would still be waiting (possibly years) longer for just a child referral. So our road wasn’t as long as it might’ve been. Skipping all the boring paperwork stuff and jumping to…
First before our story I wanted to post another China story...
The Bridge
The old woman squats uncomfortably outside her tiny shack while washing the laundry. The muddy ground from last night’s storm has made her ordinarily calming chore a necessary nuisance. With crooked and arthritic hands, she finishes her rapid scrubbing and expertly wrings out the last piece of clothing. The repetitive task always gives her a chance to reflect on the vagaries of her difficult life. Deep lines etched in her face reveal years of accumulated wisdom and incessant worry.
Her aching arms overloaded, she struggles to rise while trying to prevent her only pair of slippers from becoming covered with the muck. Heaving an exhausted sigh, she slings her pail of soiled water into the street, narrowly avoiding soaking a passing bicycle cab and its occupant. Words of apology are not expected or needed in this small and overcrowded community, so she slowly turns to take the clothing inside. She climbs the creaky stairs to the frigid, unused second story to hang the laundry on the metal bar outside her window. In this biting cold, the clothes will need many hours to finish drying, during which time she will ignore the nagging pain in her hands in order to work at her knitting.
The old woman collects used sweaters and knits colorful scarves from the scraps of wool she unravels. With another scarf ready to sell, she will be able to buy meat and dumplings to prepare a special meal for her daughter’s annual trip home. She is too proud to admit to her family that her usual diet consists only of rice and green vegetables. The old woman has never accepted help from anyone, and this time will be no different. She will just have to work harder and faster to earn the money needed to make this visit special.
Later on, from the corner of her eye, she spots a small boy sitting on the first step of the ancient Bridge of Luck. The bridge has covered one of the city’s most famous canals for over one thousand years; she longs to hear the stories it could tell. It used to carry only the weight of horses, bicycles, and people, but now must withstand a daily barrage of cars and trucks. On the pedestrian side, with his finger the small boy is tracing the carvings of dragons and phoenixes embedded in the old stone. He was a healthy-looking boy of six or so, with the darker skin and wider eyes of a person from the countryside or a minority village.
Judging by the thickness of his arms, his mother probably let him hold the baskets when his family brought in last season’s crop. The old woman is troubled to see he is dressed poorly, with only one thin layer of tattered clothing to protect him from the bitter wind. She notices he is not active as a normal boy of his age should be, but instead appears to be in a state of anxiety or bewilderment.
“Not another one,” she mutters under her breath.
Every month at least two or three children, sometimes even helpless newborns, are abandoned at this bridge. The parents superstitiously imagine this is one last gift to bestow on their offspring – leaving them at a place they believe will bring eternal luck.
Back in my time, she muses, we would take care of our own children no matter what the cost or burden.
These days, however, many children are discarded because their parents cannot afford them, are displeased with having a girl rather than a boy, or are ashamed to raise a child with a disability. For the old woman, the rescuing of these unfortunate waifs has been her lifetime duty. This time enough is enough, and she was determined not to become involved.
Does no one take responsibility for their own flesh anymore? She thinks despairingly. They know government policies put restrictions on how many children a couple can raise. The mothers should be thinking of this before being so irresponsible with their men. They don’t consider the inevitable problems of parenthood before becoming pregnant, because they know how easy it is to commit this act of cowardice – this abandonment – after their babies are born.
She thinks disapprovingly of how China continually boasts of the many improvements and successful developments of the last century, but this one subject remains an unspoken blemish mostly hidden in shame from the rest of the world.
Perhaps she is wrong and this boy is only out exploring the city, or maybe his parents have left him for a short time and will return. With a last worried glance, she returns to scrubbing her stone floors.
Several hours and chores later and following a small meal with several cups of green tea to help ease her hunger, the woman prepares to lie down for her much anticipated afternoon nap. As she reaches to close the curtain, she can’t resist another look. She is struck with the realization that the boy on the bridge is blind. He has stopped crying and has ventured a few steps from the bridge, using his chubby hands to feel the way. He was calling for someone.
I am not taking another child to the orphanage, the old woman argues with herself. Let someone else do it for a change. The many children and babies she has delivered to authorities over the years have burned holes in her heart and haunted her dreams at night.
She is now a wrinkled old woman with tired bones and a jaded mind. Why can’t she live out the remainder of her life without further turmoil? Why had her family’s ancestors chosen to make their home in front of this ironically “lucky” bridge? Why was it she who’d been selected to witness such sadness? Had this also been the fate of her mother and grandmother, who had lived here before her? If she’d had any other place to go, she would have left a decade ago, of this she is sure.
As she stands at the window regressing into her past, she spots someone approaching the other side of the bridge. The young woman wears a tired expression as she silently creeps closer. She squats in a nearby doorway, making it obvious she has come to spy upon the boy, though it is equally plain to see she doesn’t want him to know she is there.
The old woman watches. It is his mother, she thinks sagely. What a cruel thing for a wretched old thing like me to witness.
Though disgusted, she cannot pull herself away from the unfolding drama. Wrapping herself in an old quilt, she pulls up a chair to keep vigil. She can see the mother is becoming worried, wringing her hands helplessly while observing the many people casting pitying glances at her son but not offering him help. The cold night is coming on fast, and she is clearly fighting a battle within herself; she probably wants to run to him and hold him close one more time, but does not want to prolong the agony of the inevitable.
From the window, the old woman can see the wash of tears falling silently down the young mother’s scarlet cheeks. She struggles with her mixed feelings of anger and empathy for this young woman’s plight. She battles the knowledge that she could either rescue this boy or watch him suffer through the night.
The old woman returns to her kitchen and prepares a heaping bowl of hot rice porridge. Resignedly, she lays her near-finished scarf across her arm.
Oh, the many children who have worn my scarves, she laments. She allows herself only a short moment to sift through the memories and faces of those in her past before focusing on the current situation.
With one hand on her trusted cane and the other holding the food and scarf, she hobbles out of her home and toward the boy. As she moves closer, the young, desperate woman notices her and prepares to flee. The old woman solemnly stares into her eyes, giving her a knowing nod of compassion. Methodically, she continues to work her way through the evening traffic, pausing to let the hordes of foot and vehicular traffic pass. The mother stares, her shoulders bent in a stance of shame but relief evident in her haunted eyes.
The boy whimpers once more as he stumbles over the uneven walkway and back to the steps of the bridge. He is not brave enough to go farther and wants to stay where his mother can find him. She promised she was coming back, but now where was she? Why was she taking so long? He wants to smell her familiar scent and be led back to his safe, comfortable home. He is tired, cold, and very frightened. He has tried to act like a big boy but can no longer stanch the flow of tears.
The old woman stops in front of him and stoops to give him a reassuring pat on the head. She wraps the unfinished, multicolored scarf around his shoulders and begins speaking to him gently. He is at first scared by the intrusion into his dark, private world but the soothing sound of her grandmotherly voice and the warmth of the scarf calms him. Lowering her aching body, the old woman sits down beside the boy and offers him the steaming food.
Behind her son, the heartbroken mother blows a soft kiss into the air, says a silent goodbye, and slips away into the dark. As the boy begins to devour his first meal of the day, the old woman mentally prepares herself for a sleepless night consoling this latest unlucky child.
“Don’t worry little one,” she whispers, “for now you will have a warm pallet to sleep on and tomorrow your new life will begin.”
Kay Bratt – Silent Tears – pgs. 376-382.
Note: Since after a time nobody left any comments I decided to use the comments to keep a running commentary. This blog just took too much effort for something like that to go unused. Feel free to check them out, or you can just ignore them.
Brett
Ryan, Leah, and Jenna 2-12-2009
In March 2006 we decided to adopt a daughter from China. After adopting our daughter Leah and sons Alexander and Benjamin from South Korea – we were going to adopt through the Holt-China program. When we received and scanned over the big red book that explained Holt’s China adoption process in detail we were a little overwhelmed. Adopting from China looked a lot more difficult than adopting from Korea. It started out as Cheryl’s idea (as usual); she has wanted to adopt a daughter from China since at least 2004 (as far as I know). Add to this the fact that she had an ally in Leah, who had been praying for a little sister for quite some time. They finally got me onboard and we decided to get started heading down the long road of adoption again. We started out in the regular program but also decided to be in the waiting child (special needs) program simultaneously. It proved to be a good choice because as it turns out if we would’ve only been in the regular program we would still be waiting (possibly years) longer for just a child referral. So our road wasn’t as long as it might’ve been. Skipping all the boring paperwork stuff and jumping to…
First before our story I wanted to post another China story...
The Bridge
The old woman squats uncomfortably outside her tiny shack while washing the laundry. The muddy ground from last night’s storm has made her ordinarily calming chore a necessary nuisance. With crooked and arthritic hands, she finishes her rapid scrubbing and expertly wrings out the last piece of clothing. The repetitive task always gives her a chance to reflect on the vagaries of her difficult life. Deep lines etched in her face reveal years of accumulated wisdom and incessant worry.
Her aching arms overloaded, she struggles to rise while trying to prevent her only pair of slippers from becoming covered with the muck. Heaving an exhausted sigh, she slings her pail of soiled water into the street, narrowly avoiding soaking a passing bicycle cab and its occupant. Words of apology are not expected or needed in this small and overcrowded community, so she slowly turns to take the clothing inside. She climbs the creaky stairs to the frigid, unused second story to hang the laundry on the metal bar outside her window. In this biting cold, the clothes will need many hours to finish drying, during which time she will ignore the nagging pain in her hands in order to work at her knitting.
The old woman collects used sweaters and knits colorful scarves from the scraps of wool she unravels. With another scarf ready to sell, she will be able to buy meat and dumplings to prepare a special meal for her daughter’s annual trip home. She is too proud to admit to her family that her usual diet consists only of rice and green vegetables. The old woman has never accepted help from anyone, and this time will be no different. She will just have to work harder and faster to earn the money needed to make this visit special.
Later on, from the corner of her eye, she spots a small boy sitting on the first step of the ancient Bridge of Luck. The bridge has covered one of the city’s most famous canals for over one thousand years; she longs to hear the stories it could tell. It used to carry only the weight of horses, bicycles, and people, but now must withstand a daily barrage of cars and trucks. On the pedestrian side, with his finger the small boy is tracing the carvings of dragons and phoenixes embedded in the old stone. He was a healthy-looking boy of six or so, with the darker skin and wider eyes of a person from the countryside or a minority village.
Judging by the thickness of his arms, his mother probably let him hold the baskets when his family brought in last season’s crop. The old woman is troubled to see he is dressed poorly, with only one thin layer of tattered clothing to protect him from the bitter wind. She notices he is not active as a normal boy of his age should be, but instead appears to be in a state of anxiety or bewilderment.
“Not another one,” she mutters under her breath.
Every month at least two or three children, sometimes even helpless newborns, are abandoned at this bridge. The parents superstitiously imagine this is one last gift to bestow on their offspring – leaving them at a place they believe will bring eternal luck.
Back in my time, she muses, we would take care of our own children no matter what the cost or burden.
These days, however, many children are discarded because their parents cannot afford them, are displeased with having a girl rather than a boy, or are ashamed to raise a child with a disability. For the old woman, the rescuing of these unfortunate waifs has been her lifetime duty. This time enough is enough, and she was determined not to become involved.
Does no one take responsibility for their own flesh anymore? She thinks despairingly. They know government policies put restrictions on how many children a couple can raise. The mothers should be thinking of this before being so irresponsible with their men. They don’t consider the inevitable problems of parenthood before becoming pregnant, because they know how easy it is to commit this act of cowardice – this abandonment – after their babies are born.
She thinks disapprovingly of how China continually boasts of the many improvements and successful developments of the last century, but this one subject remains an unspoken blemish mostly hidden in shame from the rest of the world.
Perhaps she is wrong and this boy is only out exploring the city, or maybe his parents have left him for a short time and will return. With a last worried glance, she returns to scrubbing her stone floors.
Several hours and chores later and following a small meal with several cups of green tea to help ease her hunger, the woman prepares to lie down for her much anticipated afternoon nap. As she reaches to close the curtain, she can’t resist another look. She is struck with the realization that the boy on the bridge is blind. He has stopped crying and has ventured a few steps from the bridge, using his chubby hands to feel the way. He was calling for someone.
I am not taking another child to the orphanage, the old woman argues with herself. Let someone else do it for a change. The many children and babies she has delivered to authorities over the years have burned holes in her heart and haunted her dreams at night.
She is now a wrinkled old woman with tired bones and a jaded mind. Why can’t she live out the remainder of her life without further turmoil? Why had her family’s ancestors chosen to make their home in front of this ironically “lucky” bridge? Why was it she who’d been selected to witness such sadness? Had this also been the fate of her mother and grandmother, who had lived here before her? If she’d had any other place to go, she would have left a decade ago, of this she is sure.
As she stands at the window regressing into her past, she spots someone approaching the other side of the bridge. The young woman wears a tired expression as she silently creeps closer. She squats in a nearby doorway, making it obvious she has come to spy upon the boy, though it is equally plain to see she doesn’t want him to know she is there.
The old woman watches. It is his mother, she thinks sagely. What a cruel thing for a wretched old thing like me to witness.
Though disgusted, she cannot pull herself away from the unfolding drama. Wrapping herself in an old quilt, she pulls up a chair to keep vigil. She can see the mother is becoming worried, wringing her hands helplessly while observing the many people casting pitying glances at her son but not offering him help. The cold night is coming on fast, and she is clearly fighting a battle within herself; she probably wants to run to him and hold him close one more time, but does not want to prolong the agony of the inevitable.
From the window, the old woman can see the wash of tears falling silently down the young mother’s scarlet cheeks. She struggles with her mixed feelings of anger and empathy for this young woman’s plight. She battles the knowledge that she could either rescue this boy or watch him suffer through the night.
The old woman returns to her kitchen and prepares a heaping bowl of hot rice porridge. Resignedly, she lays her near-finished scarf across her arm.
Oh, the many children who have worn my scarves, she laments. She allows herself only a short moment to sift through the memories and faces of those in her past before focusing on the current situation.
With one hand on her trusted cane and the other holding the food and scarf, she hobbles out of her home and toward the boy. As she moves closer, the young, desperate woman notices her and prepares to flee. The old woman solemnly stares into her eyes, giving her a knowing nod of compassion. Methodically, she continues to work her way through the evening traffic, pausing to let the hordes of foot and vehicular traffic pass. The mother stares, her shoulders bent in a stance of shame but relief evident in her haunted eyes.
The boy whimpers once more as he stumbles over the uneven walkway and back to the steps of the bridge. He is not brave enough to go farther and wants to stay where his mother can find him. She promised she was coming back, but now where was she? Why was she taking so long? He wants to smell her familiar scent and be led back to his safe, comfortable home. He is tired, cold, and very frightened. He has tried to act like a big boy but can no longer stanch the flow of tears.
The old woman stops in front of him and stoops to give him a reassuring pat on the head. She wraps the unfinished, multicolored scarf around his shoulders and begins speaking to him gently. He is at first scared by the intrusion into his dark, private world but the soothing sound of her grandmotherly voice and the warmth of the scarf calms him. Lowering her aching body, the old woman sits down beside the boy and offers him the steaming food.
Behind her son, the heartbroken mother blows a soft kiss into the air, says a silent goodbye, and slips away into the dark. As the boy begins to devour his first meal of the day, the old woman mentally prepares herself for a sleepless night consoling this latest unlucky child.
“Don’t worry little one,” she whispers, “for now you will have a warm pallet to sleep on and tomorrow your new life will begin.”
Kay Bratt – Silent Tears – pgs. 376-382.
July 10, 2007 - Getting Ready.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Below is the Itinerary for our journey to China...
NW = Northwest airline
NW 5657Y 11JUL WE Cedar Rapid/Minneapolis 1245P 145P
NW 19Y 11JUL WE Minneaplis/Tokyo 305P 505P + 1 day (arrival on 12 Jul)
NW 11Y 12JUL TH Tokyo/Beijing 625P 920P
July 12 Thursday arrive Beijing from Tokyo by NW 11 (9:20pm).
Please meet our English-speaking tour guide and driver at airport exit for transfer to hotel after going through immigration and customs - Novotel Peace hotel.
July 13 Friday Peace hotel (B/L)Please meet our English-speaking tour guide and driver at hotel lobby for tour to Great Wall and Hutong Lane.
July 14 Saturday Peace Hotel (B)Free day
July 15 Sunday Peace Hotel (B/L), 9:00AM, orientation at Dong Qu Guo Ji Mansion. Half day tour of Tiananmen Square and Temple of Heaven.
July 16 Monday(B)Airport transfer Beijing/Changsha CZ3124 (11:15am 1:35pm) (local guide has the ticket). Airport pick up Dolton Hotel. Child handoff in Civil Affairs Bureau in the afternoon.
July 17 Tuesday Dolton Hotel(B) Morning, adoption registration and notarization at the C/A office, 3:30pm shopping at Wal-Mart.
July 18 Wednesday Dolton Hotel(B) Optional activities arranged by Holt. Schedule to be announced by your Holt escort (Embroidery Museum).
July 19 Thursday Dolton Hotel(B) Optional activities arranged by Holt. Schedule to be announced by your Holt escort. Visited Jenna SWI in Zhuzhou City and Shennong Park (Finding Place).
July 20 Friday (B) Airport transfer Changsha/Guangzhou CZ3387 (4:50pm 6:10pm) (local guide has the tickets). Please meet your guide at airport and transfer to hotel - White Swan Hotel.
July 21 Saturday White Swan Hotel(B)10:00am-11:00am paper work checking at the meeting room. 11:30am- 11:45am baby visa photo taken.
July 22 Sunday White Swan Hotel(B)Optional activities arranged by Holt. Schedule to be announced by your Holt escort. (Church and the Pearl Market).
July 23 Monday White Swan Hotel (B)11:00am-12:00N visa medical exam 3:30pm-4:30pm exit meeting at the meeting room.
July 24 Tuesday White Swan Hotel(B)Optional activities arranged by Holt. Schedule to be announced by your Holt escort. (Six Banyan Temple).
July 25 Wednesday White Swan Hotel(B)2:45pm-5:30pm Consulate Oath-taking and pick up visa - Guangzhou Zoo.
July 26 Thursday(B)Your guide will take you to airport. Guangzhou/Tokyo NW 10 (8:20am).
NW 10Y 26JUL TH Guangzhou/Tokyo 820A 200P
NW 20Y 26JUL TH Tokyo/Minneapolis 340P 1240P
NW 2805Y 26JUL TH Minnapolis/Cedar Rapid 450P 555P
_______________________________________
This day was a long one. It was our last day before Cheryl & I departed for Beijing, China on the first leg of our trip to receive our daughter Jenna. I made sure that our lawn was mowed so the grass wouldn’t be too high when we returned in 2 ½ weeks. Cheryl had to pack our children’s clothes and toys they would need while they were staying with their grandparents. We also had to load up 3 dog houses, 3 plastic dog kennels, one large chain link kennel, dog food, and 3 dogs for a trip to Heather & Bill’s house where they would be staying. Without any help and without being able to drive to the spot where the dogs would be to unload all this stuff – this ended up being a huge task which wore us out. We got it done just before dark and went to get something to eat. Then we dropped the kids off at the grandparents. I was having second thoughts about leaving the children behind – especially since Ben was so upset that we were leaving. It was too late however, so we finally went home to finish packing after 10 p.m. The packing lasted until pretty late and we only managed to get a few hours sleep until the next day.
Addition: This is a later addition. This blog does or has been read by some people who have made comments to me personally about it. One of the comments was I don't have many pictures of Jenna early in the blog (besides the couple right at the beginning) So the following are a few of the pictures Jenna's caretakers gave us on the night we received her...
These are pictures of Jenna taken earlier in the year at her orphanage.
Below is the Itinerary for our journey to China...
NW = Northwest airline
NW 5657Y 11JUL WE Cedar Rapid/Minneapolis 1245P 145P
NW 19Y 11JUL WE Minneaplis/Tokyo 305P 505P + 1 day (arrival on 12 Jul)
NW 11Y 12JUL TH Tokyo/Beijing 625P 920P
July 12 Thursday arrive Beijing from Tokyo by NW 11 (9:20pm).
Please meet our English-speaking tour guide and driver at airport exit for transfer to hotel after going through immigration and customs - Novotel Peace hotel.
July 13 Friday Peace hotel (B/L)Please meet our English-speaking tour guide and driver at hotel lobby for tour to Great Wall and Hutong Lane.
July 14 Saturday Peace Hotel (B)Free day
July 15 Sunday Peace Hotel (B/L), 9:00AM, orientation at Dong Qu Guo Ji Mansion. Half day tour of Tiananmen Square and Temple of Heaven.
July 16 Monday(B)Airport transfer Beijing/Changsha CZ3124 (11:15am 1:35pm) (local guide has the ticket). Airport pick up Dolton Hotel. Child handoff in Civil Affairs Bureau in the afternoon.
July 17 Tuesday Dolton Hotel(B) Morning, adoption registration and notarization at the C/A office, 3:30pm shopping at Wal-Mart.
July 18 Wednesday Dolton Hotel(B) Optional activities arranged by Holt. Schedule to be announced by your Holt escort (Embroidery Museum).
July 19 Thursday Dolton Hotel(B) Optional activities arranged by Holt. Schedule to be announced by your Holt escort. Visited Jenna SWI in Zhuzhou City and Shennong Park (Finding Place).
July 20 Friday (B) Airport transfer Changsha/Guangzhou CZ3387 (4:50pm 6:10pm) (local guide has the tickets). Please meet your guide at airport and transfer to hotel - White Swan Hotel.
July 21 Saturday White Swan Hotel(B)10:00am-11:00am paper work checking at the meeting room. 11:30am- 11:45am baby visa photo taken.
July 22 Sunday White Swan Hotel(B)Optional activities arranged by Holt. Schedule to be announced by your Holt escort. (Church and the Pearl Market).
July 23 Monday White Swan Hotel (B)11:00am-12:00N visa medical exam 3:30pm-4:30pm exit meeting at the meeting room.
July 24 Tuesday White Swan Hotel(B)Optional activities arranged by Holt. Schedule to be announced by your Holt escort. (Six Banyan Temple).
July 25 Wednesday White Swan Hotel(B)2:45pm-5:30pm Consulate Oath-taking and pick up visa - Guangzhou Zoo.
July 26 Thursday(B)Your guide will take you to airport. Guangzhou/Tokyo NW 10 (8:20am).
NW 10Y 26JUL TH Guangzhou/Tokyo 820A 200P
NW 20Y 26JUL TH Tokyo/Minneapolis 340P 1240P
NW 2805Y 26JUL TH Minnapolis/Cedar Rapid 450P 555P
_______________________________________
This day was a long one. It was our last day before Cheryl & I departed for Beijing, China on the first leg of our trip to receive our daughter Jenna. I made sure that our lawn was mowed so the grass wouldn’t be too high when we returned in 2 ½ weeks. Cheryl had to pack our children’s clothes and toys they would need while they were staying with their grandparents. We also had to load up 3 dog houses, 3 plastic dog kennels, one large chain link kennel, dog food, and 3 dogs for a trip to Heather & Bill’s house where they would be staying. Without any help and without being able to drive to the spot where the dogs would be to unload all this stuff – this ended up being a huge task which wore us out. We got it done just before dark and went to get something to eat. Then we dropped the kids off at the grandparents. I was having second thoughts about leaving the children behind – especially since Ben was so upset that we were leaving. It was too late however, so we finally went home to finish packing after 10 p.m. The packing lasted until pretty late and we only managed to get a few hours sleep until the next day.
Addition: This is a later addition. This blog does or has been read by some people who have made comments to me personally about it. One of the comments was I don't have many pictures of Jenna early in the blog (besides the couple right at the beginning) So the following are a few of the pictures Jenna's caretakers gave us on the night we received her...
These are pictures of Jenna taken earlier in the year at her orphanage.
July 11, 2007 - On Our Way To CHINA!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
This is departure day! We drove our 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan to the Cedar Rapids Airport and parked it in the long-term parking area. Just before 11 a.m. we and our 4 bags of luggage arrived at the computer check-in at the Northwest/KLM check-in desk. We got our boarding passes and checked the 2 large bags and went through the security checkpoint. Once we cleared we proceeded to our gate. At 12:45 p.m. we flew Northwest/KLM flight 5657Y to Minneapolis and we arrived there on time at around 1:45 p.m. We each bought a slice of Godfather’s Pizza for lunch on our way from Concourse C to G. I found out at some point here that I left our digital camera’s SD memory card in our computer at home. I think it was when I tried to take a picture and saw that there was only enough memory left for 8 pictures (instead of the 347 or so pictures you would normally have with a 1GB SD memory card). So I stopped at a little shop and bought a 512MB SD memory card for our digital camera. Then we went to our next gate to catch Northwest flight 19Y to Tokyo/Narita in Japan. We departed Minneapolis at around 3 p.m. July 11th, and we arrived in Tokyo at around 5 p.m. on July 12th. Since Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Central Standard Time this means that it was (26-14 = 12) a 12 hour flight. I let Cheryl have the window seat and I sat in the middle. It was a pretty long flight but they fed us a few times and they showed a few movies – Firehouse Dog, The Bridge to Terabithia, and some Ice Cube movie that I didn’t watch. As usual I didn’t sleep much at all - so it is now…
This is departure day! We drove our 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan to the Cedar Rapids Airport and parked it in the long-term parking area. Just before 11 a.m. we and our 4 bags of luggage arrived at the computer check-in at the Northwest/KLM check-in desk. We got our boarding passes and checked the 2 large bags and went through the security checkpoint. Once we cleared we proceeded to our gate. At 12:45 p.m. we flew Northwest/KLM flight 5657Y to Minneapolis and we arrived there on time at around 1:45 p.m. We each bought a slice of Godfather’s Pizza for lunch on our way from Concourse C to G. I found out at some point here that I left our digital camera’s SD memory card in our computer at home. I think it was when I tried to take a picture and saw that there was only enough memory left for 8 pictures (instead of the 347 or so pictures you would normally have with a 1GB SD memory card). So I stopped at a little shop and bought a 512MB SD memory card for our digital camera. Then we went to our next gate to catch Northwest flight 19Y to Tokyo/Narita in Japan. We departed Minneapolis at around 3 p.m. July 11th, and we arrived in Tokyo at around 5 p.m. on July 12th. Since Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Central Standard Time this means that it was (26-14 = 12) a 12 hour flight. I let Cheryl have the window seat and I sat in the middle. It was a pretty long flight but they fed us a few times and they showed a few movies – Firehouse Dog, The Bridge to Terabithia, and some Ice Cube movie that I didn’t watch. As usual I didn’t sleep much at all - so it is now…
July 12, 2007 - To Tokyo, then Beijing, China.
The Far East.
China Provincial Map - Beijing.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
So it is 5 p.m. and we are in the Tokyo/Narita Airport. We have a short layover so we head right to our next gate. At our gate we ran into the first family from our group who would be on the same flight. They are Rebecca & John from Wisconsin. They are going to China to receive their son Cai. We only had e-mail contact with them previously – this was the first time we met them in person. At around 6:30 p.m. we are on Northwest flight 11Y heading for Beijing, China. Beijing is roughly 13 hours ahead of Central Standard Time so we gain back one of the 14 hours that we lost on the previous flight. I remember we were on an Airbus A330 jet and each seat had its own movie screen with a computer where you could pick your own movie from many selections. I picked “Never Been Kissed” an older movie with Drew Barrymore. We were even fed a couple of times on this 4 hour flight. We arrived in Beijing at 9:20 p.m. so it was dark. Now we are in Communist China. I am an old soldier of the 80’s and we were programmed to think of China as our “foes” or enemies back then. I remember that the airport was pretty large but it wasn’t very busy. It looked like a huge aircraft hanger but it also looked somewhat modernized. We handed in our customs cards that we had filled out on the plane, cleared security – passports stamped, collected our checked luggage and zipped through customs. We were with John and Rebecca by this point and we went out into the waiting area and saw our guide Sherri holding a Holt sign with our names on them. So there were us with Sherri and 3 other families. She led us outside of the airport terminal to a parking area that was about a block away. There were some older ladies following us who kept trying to grab my luggage away from me – they were very persistent. By the time we were almost at the bus I finally gave up one of my bags. The bags were loaded into the bus luggage compartments and both the old ladies wanted a tip from me. I gave one of them a dollar and the other one got mad (she didn’t do anything but try to grab luggage from me). It was kind of bizarre but it was just a small preview of what was to come.
Part I – Beijing (China).
The Peace Novotel Hotel Lobby.
The Novotel Entrance.
So this bus drives us for about 40 minutes or so to the Novotel Peace Hotel in Beijing. This hotel looks pretty impressive to simple people like us – it has a gold revolving door at the entrance. You walk inside and the floors are all marble with marble columns, and a large marble staircase in front of us, first in the center and turning off both directions. There is someone playing a piano off to our right and lots of elegant looking furniture in the lobby. We go to the front desk to get us checked in and we find out that they switched us from a regular room to a suite. Sherri asked us if this was OK and we said sure as long as they don’t charge us the difference. The bellhop eventually led us to our room on the second floor – 2617. It was a suite that had a bedroom with a large bed and closet – the closet had a programmable lockbox. Since it was a suite it had another room that had a nice bathroom off of it. The shower in this bathroom was clear glass, very nice but we had to always turn the water on only halfway or the drain would overflow and flood the whole bathroom. The room had a couch, a love seat, and a desk with chair. It also had a large coffee table, and of course TV & fridge (wet bar). We soon learned not to use the wet bar – unless we wanted to pay $5 for a candy bar or a coke, or $4 for a bottle of water. I soon found out that a LAN cable connection was provided for computers so I would be able to have internet access with our laptop computer. It wasn’t free – it ended up costing close to $50 for the 4+ days we were there. I could hook up our power strip using only an adapter (no converter was necessary) and I could power the laptop, and recharge the digital camera and video camera’s batteries simultaneously. We did eat and drink some stuff from the wet bar, but we were hungry and didn’t know our way around yet. This was our first night in China.
Cheryl on the computer in Room 2617.
July 13, 2007 - Great Wall and Hutong Lane Tours
Friday, July 13, 2007
We woke up and went downstairs to our first breakfast buffet (we always got an excellent breakfast buffet everywhere we went). They had too much variety to mention it all but I tended to keep my breakfasts American – eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast, toast, potatoes, and orange juice – very good, and much better than we are accustomed to eating each day. One thing we did just about every day was exchange our traveler’s checks into Chinese currency – known as renminbi (RMB) or “yuan”. The typical exchange rate while we were in China was 7.55 yuan = $1 and we have found that it doesn’t deviate much from this rate. I typically exchanged between $100 - 200 at a time – sometimes this would last 1 day, and other times 2 or 3 days. Cheryl would do the same (though usually less). The currency exchanges we used were at the hotel desks.
Chinese Currency (renminbi) front side.
Chinese Currency (renminbi) back side.
So 100 yuan would = $13.25, 50 = $6.62, 20 = $2.65, 10 = $1.32, 5 = 66 cents, and 1 = 13 cents at this July 2007 current rate. The smaller 5 and 2 on the bottom right are less than one and are worth 7 cents, and 3 cents respectively. Shopkeepers don't like it when you try to lay these on them, and the same goes with the coins. They are worth so little that the shopkeepers will give them out as change, but they don't like to receive them as payment.
The Novotel Hotel - Beijing (middle of picture).
There are several differences between our trips to Korea and this trip to China. In Korea we were mostly on our own, but in China we almost always had a guide who took us around to everywhere we went. This was both good & bad. It was good because they knew about the places we went to and how to get there. They took care of the transportation, admissions & tips (paid by us up front). They all spoke good English and could do translations when necessary. It was bad because they were always in a hurry and we were always rushing from place to place when we were with them. We are the types who like to really check things out and we often felt like we were rushed (and we were). In Korea since we were on our own we felt like we could take as much time as we needed. Another difference is that in China we were with a group of 9 families who were all adopting special needs children. There were only seven families in the Beijing part of this trip and they are…
Note: It seems weird to remove these families last names (and home cities) from this story but they deserve their privacy.
Frank & Kelli from Nebraska who adopted a 2-year-old girl named Yu Jiao Jiao (McKenzie) from Jilin Province. She has spinal bifida and we considered adopting her ourselves at one time previously.
David & Karla from Oregon who adopted an 18-month-old son from Jiangsu Province. They also had a 3-year-old daughter (Alayna) with them whom they adopted previously from China.
Brandon & Linda from Washington who adopted a 7-year-old girl named Ellie from the Zhejiang Province. They had 2 children with them, Braylon and Lila.
Ladell & Michele from Iowa who adopted a young daughter (Mia) from the Shaanxi Province. They also brought their 16-year-old daughter Ashley along for the trip. Mia’s special need was a birthmark on her face.
John & Rebecca from Wisconsin who adopted a 13-month-old son (Cai) from the Yunnan Province. Cai was born with a VSD, or a hole in his heart.
Roger & Trish from Oregon who adopted a 2-year-old daughter (Zori, heart problem) from the Jiangxi Province. They also were joined by their 21-year-old daughter Cathay, who just finished service in Afghanistan.
We are the seventh family - Brett & Cheryl from near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Our 3-year-old daughter Xiao, Wen Xin (Jenna) is from the Hunan Province (Zhuzhou SWI). Jenna has a repaired cleft palate and a large birthmark on her neck and scalp.
Great Wall map near the parking lot at Mutianyu.
Getting back to Friday, July 13th - we all met Sherri in the lobby at 9 a.m. to load up the bus and head for the Great Wall at Mutianyu. This was about an hours drive north of Beijing.
The Great Wall (postcard).
The Great Wall (or Changcheng) was built starting at 500 B.C. (or roughly 2,540 years ago). At least 20 states and dynasties were involved in its construction over a period of 2,000 years. The wall was built by up to 1 million soldiers and it has 1,000 fortified passes and 10,000 beacon towers. Many of these soldiers died of exhaustion and malnutrition. It is 3,975 miles long, and it’s constructed of rammed earth, stone, and brick. The Wall was first built as barriers between states, but when China united under Qin in 221 B.C. the existing sections of the wall were linked together to protect the new China from the Mongol invaders from the north. It is a matter for debate as to whether the Wall was ever truly successful as a defense for China. Its main function was as a convenient conduit across difficult terrain and as a means for the passing of information. We arrived there at about 10:30 a.m. and Sherri told us we could go our own way, but we had to be back by noon or we would have to find a taxi back to Beijing (nice). So we walk through a gauntlet of a vendor village uphill while locals are trying to sell us crafts and t-shirts. One lady had a camel that you could get a picture with for $1.
A sign on the way to The Great Wall.
The Vendor Village.
Eventually we reached a cable car lift with orange cars that can seat up to six people. They take us up the steep hills leading to the wall. We rode a car up to the wall with Ladell, Michele, and Ashley until we reached an overlook to the wall. We took some pictures here of us with The Wall in the background, then we climbed the last few steps to The Wall. We could either go right or left and we chose left. Left was the direction that we could see the best from where we were and it looked pretty cool so we thought we would check it out. It was a hazy day (as usual around Beijing) but The Wall still looked awesome – it was just “majestic” – pictures can’t really do it justice. The view is cool every direction that you look. The wall winds up and down on the ridges of these hills. Looking over the wall on either side you are looking down into a valley. The walkway of the wall is wide – at least 12-14 feet across, and it is probably 20-25 feet up from the ground. The surface of the walkway is bumpy and often has uneven steps taking you up or down. The beacon towers are like small almost mazes and they often gave us relief with a cool breeze.
Cheryl before the big climb.
Looking toward our way back.
A small panoramic view.
It is a workout walking and climbing this wall - no doubt. We hiked until we got to a part where the wall was crumbling. There was a sign there that said “no tourist section, please do not pass.” It was a difficult climb to get to this spot – then we had to go back the same way. I took digital photos on the way there and digital video on the way back. The video is kind of funny because all you can hear is heavy breathing from myself, and every once in awhile I would bark at Cheryl telling her we have to step it up or we will have to take a taxi back. I must confess I have the distinction of barfing over the side of The Great Wall. On the way back I was starting to feel a little queasy, and at some point I stopped the video and barfed up my breakfast over the side of The Wall. Once I was done I was OK again. Maybe I should’ve handed Cheryl the camera. We made it back to the cable car lift at about 10 until noon. When we got back to the village an old lady practically tackled me to get me to buy a Great Wall t-shirt from her. We did buy some shirts (they were like $4 apiece). We made it back to the bus at the same time as some other families – so we worried needlessly.
On the way back we stopped at a Chinese restaurant. It was pretty good – different dishes placed on a large lazy-Susan type table and we just help ourselves. I remember the ceilings of the main room had plants covering the whole ceiling – I couldn’t tell if they were fake or real. If they were real how do they keep leaves from falling into the food?
The restaurant ceiling.
They had cold Cokes – I remember that because I drank one plus two extra. Before we left I was looking for the waitress to pay her for the 2 extra cokes I drank (the meal was prepaid for by each family) but I didn’t see her anywhere. When we left we visited a small cloisonné shop that was near the restaurant. We saw how these copper vases, figurines, and bowls were forged and painted. At some point while we were listening to a guide the waitress ran up to me to get the money I owed her for the extra cokes – it would’ve probably came out of her pay had she not found me. They cost 5 yuan (66 cents). Next we checked out this vast shop that had a lot of cool (and mostly expensive) cloisonné items.
Cloisonne Shop.
We bought some Chinese Zodiac figurines - one each to represent each member of our family according to the year we were born. We purchased a tiger for me, 2 dragons for Leah & Cheryl, a ram for Ben, a monkey for Jenna, and a horse for Alex. It wasn’t cheap at all I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit, but we didn’t come to China to be cheap. I remember the bill was 1,940 yuan ($257 – paid by Visa card)
Our Chinese Zodiac Figurines.
I can say we left China with no regrets – not once did we think “I wished we would’ve bought something” later. We bought whatever we wanted to buy that was within reason. If we ever return to China I’m sure we learned some lessons. Besides the salesman at this shop was a very nice personable young man with a good sense of humor so I think he deserved our business. Soon we were back on the bus heading to Hutong Lane back in Beijing.
Fangjia Hutong - Dongcheng District - Beijing (postcard).
Hutong Lane is old Beijing courtyard houses. They can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty when the Mongols built Dadu (Great Capital), which later became Beijing. Basically they are traditional residential compounds with houses around courtyards. There are 3 kinds of courtyard houses, large, medium, and small. All of them were built in accordance with a strict set of rules. There were two large buildings nearby that faced each other – The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. The Bell Tower in Beijing, located at the north end of the central axis from south to north in the ancient capital city, was built in 1272, and was burnt down in a fire. The Bell Tower was rebuilt in 1420. Again it was destroyed by fire. Construction of the present tower began in 1745 and was completed in 1747. The Bell Tower stands 47.9 meters high (136 feet), and it is characterized by double layers of upturned eaves, covered with black glazed tiles and edged with green glazed tiles. The whole building was built of brick and stone. Being the time-keeping center for the capital of Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Bell Tower has enjoyed over 700 years of history. It is a reddish-brown building with yellow designs, and other more intricate designs of green, blue, gray, black, white, and red.
The Bell Tower - Hutong Lane.
Cheryl and Brett
We toured Hutong Lane on the back of a rickshaw – a bike with a bench seat for 2 to the rear of this bike. At one point we stopped and toured an actual home. They are stone and brick houses that resemble shanties, but they are probably not as leaky. They are old and I am spoiled so it isn’t anywhere that I would want to live – but it was interesting to tour. I did notice that they had a problem with disposing of garbage in a cleanly manner.
Cruising Hutong Lane.
We visited a tea shop where we learned from a delightful young lady about different kinds of tea, and with her sense of humor she made an uninteresting subject (to me) worthwhile to listen to – I even took some video. At one point she poured tea into a Buddha -looking tea pot with a spout, and tea came out the spout and all the sudden the Buddha-like man was taking a pee. She called him “pee pee man”. Later we checked out the tea pot shop and a couple of the guys in our group were looking for pee pee men that they could buy. At some point during this tour Cheryl accidentally knocked our digital camera out of my hands with her bag and it crashed to the ground landing on one of its corners before coming to rest. It still works but the battery/SD card cover doesn’t close unless held closed by tape and/or rubber band. Back to the bus to return to the Novotel for the day, where we ate dinner and Cheryl had to get some copies made at the resource room before the orientation. It wasn’t long before I decided I wasn’t going to go this whole trip without ice. We had been warned to avoid drinking tap water or using the ice in China because it can be contaminated and make us sick. However I need my drinks cold or they will make me sick anyway so I always called housekeeping to get ice each day – sometimes twice a day. They probably always called me “the ice man” because I ordered ice so frequently – everywhere we went. I don’t think I ever got sick from using ice in my drinks in China (I’m blaming the barfing incident at the Great Wall on the orange juice I drank that morning for breakfast, and also on the fact that I’m not in good physical shape). So ends our first full day in China’s capital city. Tomorrow is a free day for us, and for most of the others it is orientation day.
We woke up and went downstairs to our first breakfast buffet (we always got an excellent breakfast buffet everywhere we went). They had too much variety to mention it all but I tended to keep my breakfasts American – eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast, toast, potatoes, and orange juice – very good, and much better than we are accustomed to eating each day. One thing we did just about every day was exchange our traveler’s checks into Chinese currency – known as renminbi (RMB) or “yuan”. The typical exchange rate while we were in China was 7.55 yuan = $1 and we have found that it doesn’t deviate much from this rate. I typically exchanged between $100 - 200 at a time – sometimes this would last 1 day, and other times 2 or 3 days. Cheryl would do the same (though usually less). The currency exchanges we used were at the hotel desks.
Chinese Currency (renminbi) front side.
Chinese Currency (renminbi) back side.
So 100 yuan would = $13.25, 50 = $6.62, 20 = $2.65, 10 = $1.32, 5 = 66 cents, and 1 = 13 cents at this July 2007 current rate. The smaller 5 and 2 on the bottom right are less than one and are worth 7 cents, and 3 cents respectively. Shopkeepers don't like it when you try to lay these on them, and the same goes with the coins. They are worth so little that the shopkeepers will give them out as change, but they don't like to receive them as payment.
The Novotel Hotel - Beijing (middle of picture).
There are several differences between our trips to Korea and this trip to China. In Korea we were mostly on our own, but in China we almost always had a guide who took us around to everywhere we went. This was both good & bad. It was good because they knew about the places we went to and how to get there. They took care of the transportation, admissions & tips (paid by us up front). They all spoke good English and could do translations when necessary. It was bad because they were always in a hurry and we were always rushing from place to place when we were with them. We are the types who like to really check things out and we often felt like we were rushed (and we were). In Korea since we were on our own we felt like we could take as much time as we needed. Another difference is that in China we were with a group of 9 families who were all adopting special needs children. There were only seven families in the Beijing part of this trip and they are…
Note: It seems weird to remove these families last names (and home cities) from this story but they deserve their privacy.
Frank & Kelli from Nebraska who adopted a 2-year-old girl named Yu Jiao Jiao (McKenzie) from Jilin Province. She has spinal bifida and we considered adopting her ourselves at one time previously.
David & Karla from Oregon who adopted an 18-month-old son from Jiangsu Province. They also had a 3-year-old daughter (Alayna) with them whom they adopted previously from China.
Brandon & Linda from Washington who adopted a 7-year-old girl named Ellie from the Zhejiang Province. They had 2 children with them, Braylon and Lila.
Ladell & Michele from Iowa who adopted a young daughter (Mia) from the Shaanxi Province. They also brought their 16-year-old daughter Ashley along for the trip. Mia’s special need was a birthmark on her face.
John & Rebecca from Wisconsin who adopted a 13-month-old son (Cai) from the Yunnan Province. Cai was born with a VSD, or a hole in his heart.
Roger & Trish from Oregon who adopted a 2-year-old daughter (Zori, heart problem) from the Jiangxi Province. They also were joined by their 21-year-old daughter Cathay, who just finished service in Afghanistan.
We are the seventh family - Brett & Cheryl from near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Our 3-year-old daughter Xiao, Wen Xin (Jenna) is from the Hunan Province (Zhuzhou SWI). Jenna has a repaired cleft palate and a large birthmark on her neck and scalp.
Great Wall map near the parking lot at Mutianyu.
Getting back to Friday, July 13th - we all met Sherri in the lobby at 9 a.m. to load up the bus and head for the Great Wall at Mutianyu. This was about an hours drive north of Beijing.
The Great Wall (postcard).
The Great Wall (or Changcheng) was built starting at 500 B.C. (or roughly 2,540 years ago). At least 20 states and dynasties were involved in its construction over a period of 2,000 years. The wall was built by up to 1 million soldiers and it has 1,000 fortified passes and 10,000 beacon towers. Many of these soldiers died of exhaustion and malnutrition. It is 3,975 miles long, and it’s constructed of rammed earth, stone, and brick. The Wall was first built as barriers between states, but when China united under Qin in 221 B.C. the existing sections of the wall were linked together to protect the new China from the Mongol invaders from the north. It is a matter for debate as to whether the Wall was ever truly successful as a defense for China. Its main function was as a convenient conduit across difficult terrain and as a means for the passing of information. We arrived there at about 10:30 a.m. and Sherri told us we could go our own way, but we had to be back by noon or we would have to find a taxi back to Beijing (nice). So we walk through a gauntlet of a vendor village uphill while locals are trying to sell us crafts and t-shirts. One lady had a camel that you could get a picture with for $1.
A sign on the way to The Great Wall.
The Vendor Village.
Eventually we reached a cable car lift with orange cars that can seat up to six people. They take us up the steep hills leading to the wall. We rode a car up to the wall with Ladell, Michele, and Ashley until we reached an overlook to the wall. We took some pictures here of us with The Wall in the background, then we climbed the last few steps to The Wall. We could either go right or left and we chose left. Left was the direction that we could see the best from where we were and it looked pretty cool so we thought we would check it out. It was a hazy day (as usual around Beijing) but The Wall still looked awesome – it was just “majestic” – pictures can’t really do it justice. The view is cool every direction that you look. The wall winds up and down on the ridges of these hills. Looking over the wall on either side you are looking down into a valley. The walkway of the wall is wide – at least 12-14 feet across, and it is probably 20-25 feet up from the ground. The surface of the walkway is bumpy and often has uneven steps taking you up or down. The beacon towers are like small almost mazes and they often gave us relief with a cool breeze.
Cheryl before the big climb.
Looking toward our way back.
A small panoramic view.
It is a workout walking and climbing this wall - no doubt. We hiked until we got to a part where the wall was crumbling. There was a sign there that said “no tourist section, please do not pass.” It was a difficult climb to get to this spot – then we had to go back the same way. I took digital photos on the way there and digital video on the way back. The video is kind of funny because all you can hear is heavy breathing from myself, and every once in awhile I would bark at Cheryl telling her we have to step it up or we will have to take a taxi back. I must confess I have the distinction of barfing over the side of The Great Wall. On the way back I was starting to feel a little queasy, and at some point I stopped the video and barfed up my breakfast over the side of The Wall. Once I was done I was OK again. Maybe I should’ve handed Cheryl the camera. We made it back to the cable car lift at about 10 until noon. When we got back to the village an old lady practically tackled me to get me to buy a Great Wall t-shirt from her. We did buy some shirts (they were like $4 apiece). We made it back to the bus at the same time as some other families – so we worried needlessly.
On the way back we stopped at a Chinese restaurant. It was pretty good – different dishes placed on a large lazy-Susan type table and we just help ourselves. I remember the ceilings of the main room had plants covering the whole ceiling – I couldn’t tell if they were fake or real. If they were real how do they keep leaves from falling into the food?
The restaurant ceiling.
They had cold Cokes – I remember that because I drank one plus two extra. Before we left I was looking for the waitress to pay her for the 2 extra cokes I drank (the meal was prepaid for by each family) but I didn’t see her anywhere. When we left we visited a small cloisonné shop that was near the restaurant. We saw how these copper vases, figurines, and bowls were forged and painted. At some point while we were listening to a guide the waitress ran up to me to get the money I owed her for the extra cokes – it would’ve probably came out of her pay had she not found me. They cost 5 yuan (66 cents). Next we checked out this vast shop that had a lot of cool (and mostly expensive) cloisonné items.
Cloisonne Shop.
We bought some Chinese Zodiac figurines - one each to represent each member of our family according to the year we were born. We purchased a tiger for me, 2 dragons for Leah & Cheryl, a ram for Ben, a monkey for Jenna, and a horse for Alex. It wasn’t cheap at all I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit, but we didn’t come to China to be cheap. I remember the bill was 1,940 yuan ($257 – paid by Visa card)
Our Chinese Zodiac Figurines.
I can say we left China with no regrets – not once did we think “I wished we would’ve bought something” later. We bought whatever we wanted to buy that was within reason. If we ever return to China I’m sure we learned some lessons. Besides the salesman at this shop was a very nice personable young man with a good sense of humor so I think he deserved our business. Soon we were back on the bus heading to Hutong Lane back in Beijing.
Fangjia Hutong - Dongcheng District - Beijing (postcard).
Hutong Lane is old Beijing courtyard houses. They can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty when the Mongols built Dadu (Great Capital), which later became Beijing. Basically they are traditional residential compounds with houses around courtyards. There are 3 kinds of courtyard houses, large, medium, and small. All of them were built in accordance with a strict set of rules. There were two large buildings nearby that faced each other – The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. The Bell Tower in Beijing, located at the north end of the central axis from south to north in the ancient capital city, was built in 1272, and was burnt down in a fire. The Bell Tower was rebuilt in 1420. Again it was destroyed by fire. Construction of the present tower began in 1745 and was completed in 1747. The Bell Tower stands 47.9 meters high (136 feet), and it is characterized by double layers of upturned eaves, covered with black glazed tiles and edged with green glazed tiles. The whole building was built of brick and stone. Being the time-keeping center for the capital of Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Bell Tower has enjoyed over 700 years of history. It is a reddish-brown building with yellow designs, and other more intricate designs of green, blue, gray, black, white, and red.
The Bell Tower - Hutong Lane.
Cheryl and Brett
We toured Hutong Lane on the back of a rickshaw – a bike with a bench seat for 2 to the rear of this bike. At one point we stopped and toured an actual home. They are stone and brick houses that resemble shanties, but they are probably not as leaky. They are old and I am spoiled so it isn’t anywhere that I would want to live – but it was interesting to tour. I did notice that they had a problem with disposing of garbage in a cleanly manner.
Cruising Hutong Lane.
We visited a tea shop where we learned from a delightful young lady about different kinds of tea, and with her sense of humor she made an uninteresting subject (to me) worthwhile to listen to – I even took some video. At one point she poured tea into a Buddha -looking tea pot with a spout, and tea came out the spout and all the sudden the Buddha-like man was taking a pee. She called him “pee pee man”. Later we checked out the tea pot shop and a couple of the guys in our group were looking for pee pee men that they could buy. At some point during this tour Cheryl accidentally knocked our digital camera out of my hands with her bag and it crashed to the ground landing on one of its corners before coming to rest. It still works but the battery/SD card cover doesn’t close unless held closed by tape and/or rubber band. Back to the bus to return to the Novotel for the day, where we ate dinner and Cheryl had to get some copies made at the resource room before the orientation. It wasn’t long before I decided I wasn’t going to go this whole trip without ice. We had been warned to avoid drinking tap water or using the ice in China because it can be contaminated and make us sick. However I need my drinks cold or they will make me sick anyway so I always called housekeeping to get ice each day – sometimes twice a day. They probably always called me “the ice man” because I ordered ice so frequently – everywhere we went. I don’t think I ever got sick from using ice in my drinks in China (I’m blaming the barfing incident at the Great Wall on the orange juice I drank that morning for breakfast, and also on the fact that I’m not in good physical shape). So ends our first full day in China’s capital city. Tomorrow is a free day for us, and for most of the others it is orientation day.
July 14, 2007 - Tian'anmen Square - Temple Of Heaven Tours.
Saturday July 14, 2007
Today was supposed to be a free day for us to do as we wished. The David and Karla and ourselves have our orientation on Sunday after which we were to have a Chinese lunch, and then go to Tian’anmen Square and The Temple of Heaven. The other families had their orientations and lunches today and afterwards go to Tian’anmen Square and The Temple of Heaven. We decided to do the lunch at noon and the tour today. It turned out to be a good thing because it rained on Sunday when David and Karla took the tours. So after eating the breakfast buffet we were free until lunch (while the others were attending their orientation with Les Whittle back at the hotel). So Cheryl and I walked down to Beijing’s shopping street, which is just a couple of blocks from the Novotel. We checked out the foreign bookstore, which had some interesting books, maps, and books for children. We bought quite a few books here. I bought another SD memory card for our digital camera – a 1GB one because the one I bought back in Minneapolis was filling up fast.
Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore.
Beijing's Shopping Street.
A couple of different times friendly young persons came up to us and started talking to us and asking us questions (speaking very good English) about where we were from, first time to China etc. The first was a male and the second was a female – both in their early 20’s. It turned out that they were both trying to bring people to an art exhibition on shopping street at a place called the “Artistic Mansion”. We told them both that we didn’t have time to go, but it was nice talking to them.
The Artistic Mansion on Shopping Street.
Toystore and the helicopter.
We checked out a really neat toy store where a lady was flying a remote control helicopter around the store. I bought my backpack here that I ended up carrying the cameras around with me everywhere else we went. Cheryl bought a belt pack to help her carry some smaller stuff around with her. We didn’t want to make any large or bulky purchases because we feared airline baggage weight limits at this point in our journey, and we knew that our bags on the way to China were already pretty full. We checked out everything that was on the street without really looking for anything in particular, and eventually we stopped at one of the open air stands for refreshments. I am as usual taking pictures. Soon it was time to head back to the hotel to meet the others for lunch. They had all just finished their orientation and were pretty excited. Most of them had just received more information about their child and received more pictures. We were joined by Les Whittle for a Chinese lunch and it was another lazy-Susan type help yourself to whatever is there. Les Whittle is a British guy who has been working with Holt in China since the early 90’s. He seemed like a nice guy who likes to live in China. He seems like he is Holt’s man in China – he kind of runs the network (so to speak). The only family of the seven of us that isn’t present is David and Karla (with little Alayna). After lunch we went with Sherri and she loaded us on the bus to go to Tian’anmen Square.
Gate to the Forbidden City - Tian'anmen Square.
Birds-eye view of Tian'anmen Square (postcard).
Tian’anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) is the south gate to the Imperial (Forbidden) City – built in the 18th year (1420) of Emperor Yongle’s reign in the Ming Dynasty. The Tian’anmen Square is a symbol of China & the capital Beijing, and it is the largest city square in the world. The building to the north (with Chairman Mao’s picture) is Tian’anmen, the entrance gate to the Forbidden City and the square is directly to the south. In the center of the square stands the Monument to the People’s Heroes, behind which is Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall. To the west is the Great Hall of the People and to the east is the National Museum of China. There are also 2 separate gates to the south of the square. The square serves as the site of grand assemblies on important and festive occasions. It was also the site of a disaster in 1989 when hundreds of students protesting for democracy were killed by Chinese soldiers representing the government.
Tian' anmen (note: you can always tell if it's a postcard by the blue sky).
National Museum of China.
A Monument to the People's Heroes.
Gate-tower over Zhengyangmen.
The Great Hall of the People.
Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall.
Sherri gave us about an hour to walk around so we walked around the outside of Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall and took some pictures. This is where I bought the couple of waving Mao watches (like 2 for 50 yuan or $6.63), and I bought a large kite and about 4 smaller kites that some people were flying in the square. It seems like the guy charged me 100 yuan ($13.24) for all 5 kites.
Waving Chairman Mao watches.
At one point a police car came racing up and all of the vendors just bailed out in whatever direction they could (it was kind of funny). I noticed like at The Great Wall taking pictures around this area really shows Beijing’s pollution problem. Because of the expansiveness of this square buildings in the distance were often lost in the haze. That is why in the picture version of this story I have supplemented our pictures with some postcard photos that are not hazy and show a more birds-eye view. The next place we went to in Beijing was the Temple Of Heaven, which isn’t far from Tian’anmen Square. Like the Tian’anmen Square it was also built during the 18th year (1420) of Emperor Yongle’s reign (Ming Dynasty). Under continual reconstruction and enlargement, The Temple of Heaven was finally completed in the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. This place was a huge landscaped compound of 273 hectares (675 acres), where the Ming and Qing emperors went to worship heaven and pray for bountiful harvests. The Temple Of Heaven is the largest and best-preserved ancient sacrificial architectural group in the world. Some of its famous architectures include the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Circular Mound Altar, Imperial Vault of Heaven, Red Stairway Bridge, Long Corridor, Fasting Palace, Divine Music Administration and more than 600 ancient architectures of the Ming & Qing Dynasties. The Imperial Vault of Heaven is known as “Echo Wall” for its magic acoustical effect and it is the representation of Chinese ancient acoustical architectures. In addition there are Nine-Dragon Cypress, Seven-Star Stones, Sweet Spring Well, Posts of Watching Lights, Firewood Stoves, and large areas of cypresses. In 1918, the Temple of Heaven was opened to the public as a park. A lot of the buildings are reddish-brown in color with blue & green designs, and roofs. Since blue and green are 2 of my favorite colors maybe that is why I liked this place so much. Inside 2 of the circular buildings – the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests & the Imperial Vault of Heaven there is very intricate and colorful artwork on the walls and ceilings.
Temple of Heaven artwork example.
The Hall of Gathered Happiness.
Birds-eye view of The Hall Of Prayer For Good Harvests (postcard).
Hall Of Prayer For Good Harvests.
Echo Wall.
Birds-eye view of The Circular Mound Altar (postcard).
The Circular Mound Altar.
I took several photos of most of these impressive architectures and actually filled up the remainder of our digital camera’s memory – so I also took some pictures with our 35mm camera. I was so impressed with this place I told Cheryl that I wanted to work here on the grounds keeping and maintenance crews. The last place we visited here was the Circular Mound Altar which was a 3 leveled circular altar with nine steps to get to each level, and at the upper terrace there were nine circular rows of marble stones to walk across to reach a raised round marble stone in the center called the “Heavenly Center Stone”. This is the place where the emperors of the Ming & Qing Dynasties worshipped heaven on winter solstice every year – the official read aloud prayers to the God of Heaven; his voice was loud and resonant as if he was communicating with the gods.
The Temple Of Heaven.
Looking back toward The Imperial Vault of Heaven.
Looking toward the main gate.
On the way back to the Novotel we stopped at a place called the Jade Market. Cheryl and I thought this place was really cool. It was a 5 floor store that had jewelry related items on the 4th & 5th floors, but on the first 3 floors it was like a large flea market where they sold just about anything you could think of – it had electronics including video games, computers, cell phones, ipods, cameras and accessories, CD players, radios, etc. There were souvenirs of all types including rugs, clothes, t-shirts, scrolls, artwork, toys, statues, vases, etc. Just about anything you could think of and we could talk them down in price quite a bit. I bought a 2GB SD memory card for about 220 yuan ($29.14). We bought some shirts and some scrolls. I bought this weird dolphin electric massager for 20 yuan ($2.64). We also bought a nice pedicure kit for some ridiculously low price.
The Dolphin Massager (with attachments).
A typical Chinese electrical socket.
If we wouldn’t have been on the first leg of our trip we would’ve bought more. When we got back to the hotel it was getting around dinner time so we decided to check out the big mall on shopping street. Later we looked around for a good convenience store to buy normal supplies such as water, pop, snacks, etc. and we found a good place about 1 ½ blocks from the Novotel. Tomorrow we have our orientation – where we will find out about what is going to happen for the rest of our trip – including the most important part which is the journey to Hunan Province to receive our new daughter Xiao, Wen Xin (Jenna). On this night I woke up at about 2:30 a.m. and decided to go out and take some night pictures of Beijing. Obviously I should’ve gone out earlier because by this time a lot of the neon lights were off – but I did get the picture of the sleeping policemen on shopping street.
Catching some zzzzzz's on Shopping Street.
A neon sign outside our hotel fire escape.
Today was supposed to be a free day for us to do as we wished. The David and Karla and ourselves have our orientation on Sunday after which we were to have a Chinese lunch, and then go to Tian’anmen Square and The Temple of Heaven. The other families had their orientations and lunches today and afterwards go to Tian’anmen Square and The Temple of Heaven. We decided to do the lunch at noon and the tour today. It turned out to be a good thing because it rained on Sunday when David and Karla took the tours. So after eating the breakfast buffet we were free until lunch (while the others were attending their orientation with Les Whittle back at the hotel). So Cheryl and I walked down to Beijing’s shopping street, which is just a couple of blocks from the Novotel. We checked out the foreign bookstore, which had some interesting books, maps, and books for children. We bought quite a few books here. I bought another SD memory card for our digital camera – a 1GB one because the one I bought back in Minneapolis was filling up fast.
Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore.
Beijing's Shopping Street.
A couple of different times friendly young persons came up to us and started talking to us and asking us questions (speaking very good English) about where we were from, first time to China etc. The first was a male and the second was a female – both in their early 20’s. It turned out that they were both trying to bring people to an art exhibition on shopping street at a place called the “Artistic Mansion”. We told them both that we didn’t have time to go, but it was nice talking to them.
The Artistic Mansion on Shopping Street.
Toystore and the helicopter.We checked out a really neat toy store where a lady was flying a remote control helicopter around the store. I bought my backpack here that I ended up carrying the cameras around with me everywhere else we went. Cheryl bought a belt pack to help her carry some smaller stuff around with her. We didn’t want to make any large or bulky purchases because we feared airline baggage weight limits at this point in our journey, and we knew that our bags on the way to China were already pretty full. We checked out everything that was on the street without really looking for anything in particular, and eventually we stopped at one of the open air stands for refreshments. I am as usual taking pictures. Soon it was time to head back to the hotel to meet the others for lunch. They had all just finished their orientation and were pretty excited. Most of them had just received more information about their child and received more pictures. We were joined by Les Whittle for a Chinese lunch and it was another lazy-Susan type help yourself to whatever is there. Les Whittle is a British guy who has been working with Holt in China since the early 90’s. He seemed like a nice guy who likes to live in China. He seems like he is Holt’s man in China – he kind of runs the network (so to speak). The only family of the seven of us that isn’t present is David and Karla (with little Alayna). After lunch we went with Sherri and she loaded us on the bus to go to Tian’anmen Square.
Gate to the Forbidden City - Tian'anmen Square.
Birds-eye view of Tian'anmen Square (postcard).Tian’anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) is the south gate to the Imperial (Forbidden) City – built in the 18th year (1420) of Emperor Yongle’s reign in the Ming Dynasty. The Tian’anmen Square is a symbol of China & the capital Beijing, and it is the largest city square in the world. The building to the north (with Chairman Mao’s picture) is Tian’anmen, the entrance gate to the Forbidden City and the square is directly to the south. In the center of the square stands the Monument to the People’s Heroes, behind which is Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall. To the west is the Great Hall of the People and to the east is the National Museum of China. There are also 2 separate gates to the south of the square. The square serves as the site of grand assemblies on important and festive occasions. It was also the site of a disaster in 1989 when hundreds of students protesting for democracy were killed by Chinese soldiers representing the government.
Tian' anmen (note: you can always tell if it's a postcard by the blue sky).
National Museum of China.
A Monument to the People's Heroes.
Gate-tower over Zhengyangmen.
The Great Hall of the People.
Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall.
Sherri gave us about an hour to walk around so we walked around the outside of Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall and took some pictures. This is where I bought the couple of waving Mao watches (like 2 for 50 yuan or $6.63), and I bought a large kite and about 4 smaller kites that some people were flying in the square. It seems like the guy charged me 100 yuan ($13.24) for all 5 kites.
Waving Chairman Mao watches.
At one point a police car came racing up and all of the vendors just bailed out in whatever direction they could (it was kind of funny). I noticed like at The Great Wall taking pictures around this area really shows Beijing’s pollution problem. Because of the expansiveness of this square buildings in the distance were often lost in the haze. That is why in the picture version of this story I have supplemented our pictures with some postcard photos that are not hazy and show a more birds-eye view. The next place we went to in Beijing was the Temple Of Heaven, which isn’t far from Tian’anmen Square. Like the Tian’anmen Square it was also built during the 18th year (1420) of Emperor Yongle’s reign (Ming Dynasty). Under continual reconstruction and enlargement, The Temple of Heaven was finally completed in the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. This place was a huge landscaped compound of 273 hectares (675 acres), where the Ming and Qing emperors went to worship heaven and pray for bountiful harvests. The Temple Of Heaven is the largest and best-preserved ancient sacrificial architectural group in the world. Some of its famous architectures include the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Circular Mound Altar, Imperial Vault of Heaven, Red Stairway Bridge, Long Corridor, Fasting Palace, Divine Music Administration and more than 600 ancient architectures of the Ming & Qing Dynasties. The Imperial Vault of Heaven is known as “Echo Wall” for its magic acoustical effect and it is the representation of Chinese ancient acoustical architectures. In addition there are Nine-Dragon Cypress, Seven-Star Stones, Sweet Spring Well, Posts of Watching Lights, Firewood Stoves, and large areas of cypresses. In 1918, the Temple of Heaven was opened to the public as a park. A lot of the buildings are reddish-brown in color with blue & green designs, and roofs. Since blue and green are 2 of my favorite colors maybe that is why I liked this place so much. Inside 2 of the circular buildings – the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests & the Imperial Vault of Heaven there is very intricate and colorful artwork on the walls and ceilings.
Temple of Heaven artwork example.
The Hall of Gathered Happiness.
Birds-eye view of The Hall Of Prayer For Good Harvests (postcard).
Hall Of Prayer For Good Harvests.
Echo Wall.
Birds-eye view of The Circular Mound Altar (postcard).
The Circular Mound Altar.
I took several photos of most of these impressive architectures and actually filled up the remainder of our digital camera’s memory – so I also took some pictures with our 35mm camera. I was so impressed with this place I told Cheryl that I wanted to work here on the grounds keeping and maintenance crews. The last place we visited here was the Circular Mound Altar which was a 3 leveled circular altar with nine steps to get to each level, and at the upper terrace there were nine circular rows of marble stones to walk across to reach a raised round marble stone in the center called the “Heavenly Center Stone”. This is the place where the emperors of the Ming & Qing Dynasties worshipped heaven on winter solstice every year – the official read aloud prayers to the God of Heaven; his voice was loud and resonant as if he was communicating with the gods.
The Temple Of Heaven.
Looking back toward The Imperial Vault of Heaven.
Looking toward the main gate.
On the way back to the Novotel we stopped at a place called the Jade Market. Cheryl and I thought this place was really cool. It was a 5 floor store that had jewelry related items on the 4th & 5th floors, but on the first 3 floors it was like a large flea market where they sold just about anything you could think of – it had electronics including video games, computers, cell phones, ipods, cameras and accessories, CD players, radios, etc. There were souvenirs of all types including rugs, clothes, t-shirts, scrolls, artwork, toys, statues, vases, etc. Just about anything you could think of and we could talk them down in price quite a bit. I bought a 2GB SD memory card for about 220 yuan ($29.14). We bought some shirts and some scrolls. I bought this weird dolphin electric massager for 20 yuan ($2.64). We also bought a nice pedicure kit for some ridiculously low price.
The Dolphin Massager (with attachments).
A typical Chinese electrical socket.
If we wouldn’t have been on the first leg of our trip we would’ve bought more. When we got back to the hotel it was getting around dinner time so we decided to check out the big mall on shopping street. Later we looked around for a good convenience store to buy normal supplies such as water, pop, snacks, etc. and we found a good place about 1 ½ blocks from the Novotel. Tomorrow we have our orientation – where we will find out about what is going to happen for the rest of our trip – including the most important part which is the journey to Hunan Province to receive our new daughter Xiao, Wen Xin (Jenna). On this night I woke up at about 2:30 a.m. and decided to go out and take some night pictures of Beijing. Obviously I should’ve gone out earlier because by this time a lot of the neon lights were off – but I did get the picture of the sleeping policemen on shopping street.
Catching some zzzzzz's on Shopping Street.
A neon sign outside our hotel fire escape.
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