July 19, 2007 - Journey to Zhuzhou SWI - Jenna's Finding Place.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

We woke up Jenna, got her dressed and went down for the breakfast buffet just after 7 a.m. Later we met Shirley in the lobby and were surprised to find that our driver would be our usual driver. We thought we were going to have to take a cab or something. Our destination this morning (Zhuzhou City) is about 100 km (62 miles) away from Changsha.


Our Trip Map from Changsha to Zhuzhou City.

Shirley told us that the driver would take us to the orphanage and the park (Shennong Park – Jenna’s finding place) for 250 yuan ($33.11). I gave him 300 yuan. Shirley mentioned that neither she nor the driver had ever been to this orphanage before but she was going to call for the orphanage for directions once we get to the city – they were expecting us there. Before we left we asked Shirley if she could explain to Jenna that we were going back to her orphanage just to visit, and that when we left she would be coming back home with us. Shirley explained this to Jenna and I have no idea how much she understood. So off we went on this interesting journey feeling pretty good. We were expecting that we would have to ride in some crowded cab that may or may not have air conditioning, and who knows how much a trip such as this would’ve cost. Now we are riding in a familiar vehicle that is roomy and has good a/c, and the price seemed very reasonable to us. I remember once I was talking to Tim about the prices in China and he mentioned that we had to try to see the costs of goods and services in the same frame-of-reference as the Chinese, not by our own experience of the costs of goods and services back home in the U.S.A. Maybe that is easier for him because he had been here in China before, but I had a hard time doing this – I couldn’t help but use my own frame-of-reference of prices that I have from living in the U.S.A. As a result when someone would tell me how much something would cost I would think “well how much would a similar item or service cost back home”, and then I would compare the two. I simply don’t have nearly enough experience in China to see things the same way the Chinese see them. I can see where Tim is coming from though – he believes that in China you should try to negotiate lower with any price, and they will let you know if that price is negotiable or not. My view is sometimes it’s probably inappropriate to even try to negotiate the price – we sometimes should just pay the price if it’s a good or service we want or need. Speaking of Tim, they were going to be making this same trip today but they will arrive at the orphanage at a later time after we have left.  So we are riding through Changsha in the cool Toyota van in a south-easterly direction and I’m taking more pictures out the windows. This was always somewhat hampered by the fact that this van has tinted windows and is usually traveling at a high rate of speed. We only ride on the expressway out of town for a short time and then our driver takes the government roads, which are best described as “the scenic route”.

The 3 Riders.


An old abandoned Sinopec station.


Transporting windows.


The rural farmland.



So on this drive not only did we get to see more of Changsha, but we saw several villages and lots of rural area (farmland). It is clear that agriculture is important in the Hunan Province. I saw several farmers working their fields with and without machinery. I saw women washing clothes in creeks and ponds. Some of the villages looked very poor and one had a landfill right off of the main road. Overall the countryside was beautiful – often very lush and green despite the fact that the soil is a reddish color. We went through one town that had several farm implement stores and some which sold heavy equipment such as cranes, road graders, bulldozer’s etc. Another town near Zhuzhou had several shops which sold all terrain vehicles and cart-like vehicles similar to John Deere Gators.


The Gator-like vehicles.

Our driver as I mentioned earlier is a young man in his 20’s and he is a very bold and aggressive driver. He drove like he owned the road and I do believe that he did own the road. Several of his exploits caused Cheryl and me to giggle. He has amazing depth perception and could squeeze into the tightest spots, and create space where just an instant before there wasn’t any. He played chicken with vehicles and rarely was the one to back down. I was amazed that there didn’t seem to be any scratches or dents on his van. He was driving a van with a manual transmission (clutch) but it felt like he was driving one with an automatic transmission. He was without a doubt – the road warrior of Changsha.


Riding through Zhuzhou City.


A casual rider.


Near the Zhuzhou SWI Orphanage.

Soon when we reached Zhuzhou City, Shirley called the orphanage and asked for directions on how to get there. It took a couple of different calls and the orphanage person talking on the phone directly to the driver, but we made it there sometime before 10 a.m. We go through a brick and iron gate, down a curved driveway to our right and we are there. It is 2 large white buildings which sort of resemble older style hospitals. I notice that most of the windows are open & some have curtains which are flapping in the breeze. The breeze in Hunan is not cool – it is hot, and the fact that the windows are open means it’s hot inside these buildings. These 2 buildings which face each other toward the driveway are on a little over an acre of land which is surrounded by a brick wall. There are apartment buildings all around on the outside of these walls. There is a decent sized playground for the children on the orphanage property. One of the ladies who we met a few days earlier when we first received Jenna came to greet us and she guided us to the building to our right. This building seemed like it was an administrative building and we walked into a large room that was just inside the entrance. There was a young man here who introduced himself as the assistant orphanage director. He thanked us for adopting Xiao, Wen Xin and he explained that the goal of their orphanage was to find homes for all their children. We told him thank you for caring for Jenna so well, and that it was a privilege for us to adopt Jenna as our daughter. He explained to us that the Zhuzhou SWI was the largest and best orphanage in the Hunan Province for special needs children, and that there were only special needs children at this orphanage, anywhere from 200 – 300 at one time. I remember we thanked him for allowing us to tour the orphanage. He gave us a gift of some Chinese collector stamps – which are now part of a collage that I made for Jenna that is hanging in a hallway at home. He also gave us Wen Xin’s finding notes (there were 2 of them). We asked Shirley to translate them and she just said that it was her birth date.


The Zhuzhou SWI Administrative Building.


The Assistant Orphanage Director and us.


Jenna's Finding Note Cover.


Jenna's Finding Note.


Shirley going over paperwork with the directors.

Next the lady guided us to the other building across the way which was where the children live. We decided earlier that we would just let them guide us and show us what they wanted. We had already seen the indoor playroom and classrooms in pictures of the photo album they gave us at the C/A office when we first received Jenna. There was a red banner with white letters across the front above the entrance that read “Thanks every Family’s love for the kids.”


Jenna's Orphanage


Inside Jenna's Orphanage - heading toward her living area.

It was a clean place that had murals of children’s pictures everywhere that were cartoons of children playing, done by the same artist – it was like a motif or theme throughout the building. We noticed similar pictures in the background of some of the photos we received from China of Jenna. The orphanage resembled a hospital on the inside as well – lots of white tile.


Outside Jenna's "area".


Looking down on the orphanage playground.


Another view of the playground.


Jenna's Playroom


An unoccupied classroom in Jenna's orphanage.

They gave me permission to take video and pictures as long as I didn’t focus on any individual child resident of the orphanage. I was somewhat surprised but in a good way. They showed us a room where some of the children are taught how to do different crafts. It was very hot inside the orphanage and most of the children we saw were wearing shorts, light shirts and either barefoot or wearing flip-flops. None of them seemed to be doing much, for instance we never saw any children playing. They were just kind of hanging out. Jenna’s rooms where she lived were on the 4th floor. It was an average sized room which had a couple of counters and sinks. Straight back from this room was a bathroom with a squatty potty, and to either side of this room were the rooms where the children slept. They were mostly filled with wooden cribs. There were probably 10 children in these rooms when we visited ranging in ages 1 – 5. The oldest was a 5-year-old girl. There was a boy who was about 4 and the others were significantly younger (but no infants – all toddlers). Most of the younger children were sitting on stools – possibly being potty-trained the hard way (sit until you go) but I can’t verify this is true. Most of these younger children were wearing split bottom pants – which I presume were designed with squatty potties in mind. There were 4 women caregivers there but I suspect that one or two of them were just there just to see Jenna. Jenna didn’t look too happy to be there – in fact she seemed somewhat withdrawn. The older children tried to interact with Jenna and she just wasn’t giving them much in return. The caregivers were all happy to see Jenna and were also trying to get some sort of response out of her – but she just looked at them. I felt bad for them but what could I do? Who knew what was going through Jenna’s mind at this time. They showed us the wooden crib that Jenna slept in each night, and I took a picture of Cheryl holding Jenna standing behind this crib.


Cheryl with Jenna by her wooden crib where she slept each night.


The older children trying to talk to Jenna.

I took several pictures and was also taking video at the same time. At one point Cheryl let Jenna get out of the carrier and put her down, but she didn’t want to stay down for long. Later Cheryl put Jenna down again so she could go to the bathroom and one of the caregivers tried to assist Jenna and she started to get upset, so she left her alone. I wish Jenna would’ve been happier to visit her former home one last time, but I think I can understand why she wasn’t because I think it was all very confusing for her. I’m still glad that we went though. We could look out the window and see the playground where her caregivers mentioned she loved to play. I remember Shirley asked us if we had any questions for the ladies, and the only question I could think of is how Jenna got along with the other children – was she shy or outgoing. They said that she wasn’t shy and got along with the other children very well. Up to that point we just weren’t seeing any evidence that this was true (note: now that we know Jenna much better we know that it probably was true). At one point the 5-year-old girl said something to everybody and Shirley translated it as “I know I’m never going to see Wen Xin again”. That is probably the truth so what could anyone say. It is so sad that many of these children will not be adopted and will have to grow up in this orphanage. I’m sure the orphanage does everything they can but the Chinese government limits the number of children who can become available for adoption. Although this orphanage is clean and the children are cared for as well as they can – it would be a dismal place to have to grow up. The resources are low and I don’t think the children receive a good education or much individual attention at all. A loving, caring, attentive family is what all of these children really need, and many also have special needs which need extra medical attention and care. I felt good that we could remove Jenna from this fate, but also bad that there wasn’t anything we could do for the rest of the children who are left behind except to pray for them.


This was Jenna's home for over 3 years.

Soon it was time to leave and one of the caregivers, and the older girl & boy followed us to the gate by the stairway which we would go down to leave. We told them goodbye and went downstairs, and they stayed behind on the 4th floor behind the gate. When we reached the exit to the building there were a lot of older children there – mostly teenage boys. I don’t know why they were all there.


Outside of Zhuzhou SWI.



When we got outside and went to get in the van a young man with a camera asked us if he could take our picture, and we said fine. We posed for a picture, and then he asked if he could interview us. Shirley kind of shook her head “no” so we said we couldn’t answer questions. The orphanage director lady showed up to tell us goodbye, and she also told Shirley that they gave us too many notes (they also gave us Gracie’s, the other familie's new daughter’s note). So we returned that note to her. Since we have been back I’ve read on various China forums that there is some question as to whether these finding notes are real or fabricated by the orphanage. We can never really know for sure of course, but I don’t really understand what their motivation would be to fake these notes. I guess I would have to assume the finding notes are genuine unless proven to be fake.

      At around 11:30 a.m. we left the Zhuzhou SWI and headed for Shennong Park in this same city. According to the abandonment paperwork Jenna was found in this park in late June 2004, when she was 1 ½ months old. She was found by a ticket office by the lake in this park. Our driver found the park pretty easily and it had a large oriental pagoda style gate for an entrance.


Shennong Park Entrance - Wen Xin's (Jenna's) Finding Place.


The amusement rides to our left as we entered Shennong Park.

We had to pay admission to enter this park and as we entered the park there were amusement rides just to our left. Shennong Park was a pretty good sized park that was very nice with lots of trees, green grass, curving blacktop walkways, lotus ponds, and the lake. It was very clean and the predominant noise we could hear was of cicadas. It didn’t take long to find the lake – it was a small lake that had a small island out toward the middle of the lake. The ticket office was actually for boat rentals, canoes, paddleboats, etc. We took some video and pictures of Cheryl holding Jenna at her finding place. There was a family there watching us probably wondering what we were doing – they made it into some of the pictures as did Shirley.


Various pictures inside Shennong Park.




Lake in Shennong Park.


Pagoda in the Park.




The boathouse / ticket office by which Wen Xin was abandoned.


Jenna's Finding Place was by this ticket office.

As we were leaving we bought some refreshments at a small stand and we tried to buy something for Shirley but she refused as usual. Jenna’s birthmother picked a nice place to leave her daughter where she would be found for certain. We can’t even imagine how she must’ve felt, and the sorrow she almost certainly continues to feel for leaving her daughter behind. I wish she could know that Wen Xin is doing well, and her health issues have been (and will continue to be) taken care of.I was feeling bittersweet on the ride home back to Changsha. Jenna was feeling tired because she slept most of the way home. On one hand it felt good that we had more information to share with Jenna about her past, and more things to show her when the questions may come about such things in the future. We still don’t know anything about her birthmother or family, or where she is from. It probably will never be possible to find out because the birthmother had to break laws to abandon Wen Xin the way she did, so she doesn’t want to be found. China’s system is just so messed up in so many ways and there isn’t a high value placed on each human life. I thought about that 5-year-old girl with so much spunk and personality just going to waste back at that orphanage. The older she gets the less chance she has of ever being adopted. I wish we could’ve told them “we’ll bring this child home with us as well and pay whatever fees later.” With our systems (China’s and the U.S.A.’s) the way they are this is just impossible. All of those children deserve a chance to live their lives outside of that orphanage with a loving family to care for them. We made it back to the Dolton Hotel at around 3 p.m. and we were all pretty tired so we just chilled out back at room 3122. I did what I usually did which was check the e-mail and write notes about the day. I also sent updates to friends and family via e-mail. Tonight will be our last night in Changsha. Tomorrow at 4 p.m. we head to the airport to go to our last destination in China, which is Guangzhou in the Guangdong Province. There we will receive Jenna’s IR3 visa which will permit her to enter the U.S.A. With this visa Jenna will officially become a United States citizen, but we will still have to wait to receive her COC (Certificate of Citizenship) in the mail for however many months the BCIS decides it will take to send it to us. Note: we received Jenna’s COC in the mail on September 3, 2007.  For Leah, Alex, and Ben since they were adopted by us from South Korea they received IR4 visas, which means they never really officially became citizens until we paid for their COC’s and we receive them. It has been over 6 months since we paid for these COC’s and we have yet to receive them. For our last supper at this hotel we decided to order Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza once again. Later I decided to take the digital camera out to take some nighttime photos of Changsha. I was on the streets around 9 -10 p.m. and the weather was still warm and the streets were still pretty busy – as usual there is lots of noise, color, and neon all around. Some people were eating meals out on the sidewalks on card tables and folding chairs, others were playing cards and other games. I walked past an auto repair place that was still open and working. It struck us that despite how many vehicles there are on the roads in China there didn’t seem to be a lot of auto repair garages or gas stations. All the gas stations seemed to be of the same company ‘Sinopec’ so I guess they have a state-run monopoly. A couple of times I would pass small groups of young guys and as we passed each other some of them would stare me down with menacing expressions on their faces. I just smiled and nodded toward them – not expecting any sort of reply. It was an obvious contrast compared people you pass during the daytime who keep to themselves and don’t look toward me at all. I saw one guy riding a bike on a busy street and a dog was following along with him. I thought that didn’t look too safe but the dog has made it through life this long anyway. It is interesting to me some of the scenes you witness on the streets at night. Our hotel which looks pretty impressive during the daylight looks even more impressive at night.


A Changsha nightime photo.


Changsha Business Street at night.


A bowling alley?


The Dolton Hotel Lobby.


The Lobby Chandelier.


The Dolton Hotel Entrance at night.

Back at room 3122 Cheryl was getting Jenna ready for bed after taking her nightly bath and she was in good spirits as usual. It is pretty clear by now that we have a new daughter who is a happy joyful girl, but who seems to become withdrawn when strangers are around. She needs to be in her zone of comfort, but when she isn’t she doesn’t get upset or throw fits. She just becomes like a little turtle and sort of withdraws into her own shell. Well tomorrow is departure day and there are no plans to go anywhere until we leave for the Changsha Airport.