Grassstains.net » 2009 China Trip

Shenzhen City

gchastain — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:30:59 +0000

Received some pictures from one of the families who journeyed to China at the same time as us. Like us, their daughter was from Shenzhen, and they sent some pictures of this city as we drove through it on our way to the Hong Kong airport and home. In some ways, that day seems like such a long time ago, even though it has only been about four months. While we feel Emily is quickly integrating herself into our hearts and home, the pictures of Shenzhen were a reminder of how far she has come.

I don’t know if she will remember the day we all drove this route together. I don’t know if she will remember throwing up on the bus minutes after these pictures were snapped. I don’t know if she will remember anything from China, but I know these will help a little. I hope she remembers much, and comes to praise God mightily for all He has done in her life.

Adjusting to Home

gchastain — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:11:11 +0000

We arrived home yesterday afternoon, after traveling for just over 24 hours. Our trip home started with a 5:30 am bus ride from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. The ride was three hours long, and took us through Shenzhen which is the city where Emily was abandoned and were she grew up in the orphanage. Shenzhen was the first Chinese city to be designated a Special Economic Zone, and has been the fastest growing city in China for the past 30 years. It’s official population is listed as 14 million, but it is probably higher as there is a regular influx of migrant workers seeking employment. There are strong business ties between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the population is polarized between highly educated individuals and poorly educated migrant workers. Twenty percent of China’s PhD’s live in Shenzhen.

We don’t know much obviously about Emily’s early life, other than she was abandoned at the Hospital in the Baoan District of the city, and subsequently raised at the orphanage and in foster care. Her parents may have been migrant workers faced with the expenses of a second child who needed a cleft lip repair and heart surgery, and subsequently did what was ultimately a very loving thing by leaving her at the hospital where she could be cared for. Regardless, it was nice to lay eyes on this city. The drive too was interesting. Guangzhou is very modern, but the homes and countryside outside of the city reminded me in some ways of Mexico. Abandoned buildings next to shanties next to brand new buildings, surrounded by orchards and orchards of banana trees. It was a very stark contrast to all we had experienced in Guangzhou. Emily actually threw up on the bus (the driver had Formula 1 aspirations) as we were driving through the city just before the border with Hong Kong. I did wonder what was going through her head as we made the drive from Guangzhou as I realized just a week earlier she had traveled this same route on the way to her meeting with us. Did she wonder if she was returning to the orphanage? Did she recognize the town she was from?

I would have loved to stay a day or two in Hong Kong. It looked like an amazing place. Someday, I hope to take Emily and the family back so she can see her birth place, and Hong Kong will probably be our base of operations. But we headed straight from the border (Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China and maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, even though it is now a territory of China), to the airport where we boarded our flight to San Francisco. Eleven hours later we landed on American soil, and after passing through immigration and customs, Emily officially became a US citizen.

We had a short lay over, and after the quick flight to Portland we were greeted at the airport by Marvin and Diane, Darin & Liz, Zoee and Lillie. We arrived in Portland “two hours” after taking off from Hong Kong. It was nice to get home, and the rest of the day was spent slowly unpacking, resting, sleeping, and saying hello to the occasional visitor. Today we watched the Giants get shellacked by the Dodgers, and ran interference between Emily and the animals. She is terrified by our dog and cat, and we hope that this fear will soon give way to the realization that at least our animals pose her no harm. Pepper has actually kept her distance from Emily, and I think with time our girl will begin to calm down. By the end of the day, she had actually petted the cat once, and could sit and play in the same room as the dog. It’s only when the dog moves now that she freaks out.

I haven’t gone through the camera to look at any pictures I might have taken over the last few days in China, but I include here a few pictures that were given to us by the orphanage director when we first met Emily. Finally, I noticed this in the news today, and thought it was interesting to read.

The Orphanage Emily was from

Squeals and Friends

Karen — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:26:50 +0000

Eleven days ago, 3 couples arrived at the China Marriott Hotel. During this time we have bonded in ways I never would have understood or fathomed. One couple adopted a 14 month old adorable girl and we and another couple adopted energetic girls who are ages 3 and 4. During this time we have shared breakfast together, sat next to each other on tour bus rides to various places, and met at the pool, asking each other various questions like “Is your child doing this?”, or “Is this normal?”, or “How many tantrums have you worked through today?” Occasionally, we even shared dinners at a local restaurant. Today I (Karen) was invited to go with 3 ladies shopping. I recharge when I hang with girlfriends and believe me I was needing it. Our wonderful husbands stayed “home” with the kidos. We took the underground metro, that one girlfriend had already figured out the night before where to get off, and we visited a 5 story mall crowded with people, smells and stuff to buy. It was there we ooohhhed and aaaahhhhhed at pretty clothes, shoes and trinkets. They were the very same trinkets you would find at home but it was the fact we were together without the kidos. We each needed girl time. I will miss these new friends I have made. Just like going away to college when you share the same time for meals, and everyday problems…we have shared the same commoness in this intense ordeal called adoption. So with that said I am sad about leaving them tomorrow.

Some have asked me how do you know what your daughter is saying? Its all in the squeals!!

We have squeals of laughter, and squeals that remind me of tantrums,

Squeals of anger-always involving brother of course- to sheer elations of joy,

Squeals of panic and meltdown -when Gregg leaves without her- to I want food now!

Its all in the squeals. “MAMA – Chinese jibber – squeallllll!” “BABA – chinese jibber – squeallll!” As crazy as it sounds Gregg and I are getting really good at discerning these squeals.

Final Hurdles Cleared

gchastain — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:50:00 +0000

For all intents and purposes we are now done. Today, we had our consulate appointment, and the concerns I mentioned a few posts back didn’t materialize. When it was all said and done, we received Emily’s travel visa. At three this afternoon, we headed over to the consulate, and with about 50 other families had our swearing in ceremony, where we basically affirmed that all the information we had submitted to the US Government was true to the best of abilities and knowledge. As we stood there with our right arms raised, reciting the oath, Emily who was secure in my left arm, raised her left arm, and tried to mimic the words we were saying. Over 70,000 Chinese children have been adopted by Americans, and a bunch more are on their way home.

Emily will actually travel to the States as a Chinese citizen with a Chinese passport, and a US Visa. She will officially become a US Citizen when we go through customs in San Francisco on Friday. That will more or less be the legal finish line, leaving us only with post placement visits by the social worker, and applying for an Oregon birth certificate, and a US passport for Emily.

Thank you all for the comments, emails, and prayers. It has been an encouragement. Tomorrow is a free day, and then we leave Guangzhou on Friday morning at 5:30. We will take a three hour bus ride to Hong Kong, board our 11:45 am flight, and head home. Please be in prayer for this travel day. Pray for strength for Karen and I, and pray that Emily and Andy will sleep lots while on the plane. Continue to pray for Karen and Emily to bond. All the parents are generally experiencing the reality of their new child clinging to one parent over the other. While it’s usually the moms who deal with this, there are a few of the older children including our own who have attached strongly to the dads. It’s cool on the one hand, but stressful too. Emily literally becomes a crying, screaming mess anytime I leave the room to run an errand.

In the end, we know it will all work out, and being at home will help as we get back to a normal routine.

Oh, yesterday we realized that Andy mania has reached new heights. Now the Superstar! has his own store.

Some More Video

gchastain — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:56:11 +0000

So here is some more video in no particular order:

[See post to watch Flash video]

Karate Fighting Princesses (aka The Long Wait)

gchastain — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:59:52 +0000

There’s really not much new to share which is why I didn’t post anything yesterday. Emily and all the other kids who had to have a TB test went back today to have the test looked at. All went well for the kids in our group, even though Emily and one other girl had to have chest x-rays to prove that they were tuberculosis free. Seven of the families in our group had their consulate appointment today, and many of them will be heading home by Wednesday. They will head to the consulate for the swearing in ceremony tomorrow. A couple families have an appointment tomorrow, and then the rest of us have our appointments on Wednesday. If there are no problems we will wake up bright and early on Friday morning, and travel by bus to the Hong Kong airport three hours to the south. Another long day of travel, but one that will have us heading home.

We are ready to be home. ESPN is singularly unhelpful here, as it is internationally inclined, and so Sportscenter is all about soccer and cricket. I did watch parts of the Packer/Bears game today, but the play by play was in Japanese or Chinese. I also tried watching a cricket game, and was absolutely confused. The only English news channel is CNN, or the BBC. So one could hardly be called news, while the other is more oriented to Asian issues. Those problems aside, there is a really cool channel with crazy karate movies. B grade movies are on this channel all the time. Everything’s subtitled, but it’s absolutely hilarious. I video taped a bunch of one show I watched about karate princesses fighting Mongol invaders. All you would hope for out of such a plot summary. There’s also a Japanese music video channel that’s good for a few laughs as well.

We did some sight seeing yesterday, and got to visit a folk art museum, and a tea house. The museum was amazing, and the works of art were beautiful. The tea house was pretty cool too. They take their tea pretty seriously here, and it was cool to try a bunch of different teas. Beyond this, we picked up a few souvenirs and gifts, and have striven to keep the kids occupied. Tomorrow is a day to ourselves, and I think we may try to grab a taxi, and find some other tourist place to visit – even the pool is becoming a bit boring.

Our AWAA Travel Group – there’s actually one family from New Jersey that stayed at the Hotel.

Tomorrow some video – including karate fighting Chinese princesses, and a Japanese boy band! Emily too!

Medical Exams & Paperwork

gchastain — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:33:22 +0000

This morning we were up bright and early to get to our appointment for Emily’s medical exam. Like much of the trip, it seemed like more formality than anything. The exam was rather straightforward, and finished off with a shot for the TB test. We have to go back on Monday to have the test site on Emily’s arm read. Until then we have been instructed to keep the site dry, free of band-aids and lotions, and by all means not scratched. Try getting a four year old to do that anywhere, and then try to do the same with a language barrier and you understand our world. We had barely finished taking the picture above when Gregg noticed Emily digging away at the shot site. Ah well, with greater resolve we look forward to Monday.

After the medical exam, Gregg and Andy went swimming in the pool while Karen tried to get Emily to take a nap. After the swim time, Gregg spent two hours in a hotel room with the other AWAA parents filling out paperwork for the upcoming appointments with the US Consulate. We basically have this appointment, and we await Emily’s Chinese passport, and that should be the end of it. We learned today, that our guide here in Guangzhou (Amy) will be submitting all the paperwork on our behalf, and we we will only have to go to the consulate for the swearing in ceremony on Wednesday. Thankfully, we are close to being done!

This image of Dory sort of captures the state of my mind this morning. Imagine being cooped up in a room with a bunch of active or frightened kids, and you get the picture.

We are learning more as we observe Emily, and notice that in large group situations, there is almost a switch that gets turned on. In these moments she becomes a whirling dervish that struggles to focus, and is easily distracted. We’re not sure if this is a result of being raised in an institution or if this is just how she is. We know she can focus, and she generally listens and complies well when it is just us. I’ve also noticed that she is not to certain what to think about animals. This evening we had some Japanese food, and as we walked into the restaurant I pointed out the koi in the pond. Emily got a very concerned look on her face, shook her head no, and clung a bit tighter to my neck. They are a vicious fish if you are not careful. I think that this is mostly a reflection of seeing these animals for the first time. I hope that she will adjust, as we have a big hairy dog at home who will be very excited to see us. The cat won’t care much that we are home, but the dog . . . will look a bit like Dory above.

Baba’s Little Girl

gchastain — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:53:57 +0000

As we continue to get to know our new little girl, a lot of the time spent with her is falling to me (Gregg). She has definitely attached to me, and I regularly hear the call of “Baba!!” from Emily’s lips. When we are walking down the street she wants to hold my hand. When we go to the pool she wants nothing to do with Karen. And when we sit down to eat she is vying for me to sit near her. It’s been fun, but tiresome. In all of these things we are beginning to see and appreciate much of Emily’s personality. She is most definitely energetic. She bounds and skips and runs everywhere. Like Andy she is a kid on the go, and we are definitely ok with that. We’ve always been a family on the go, and it can’t hurt to add one more energetic person to the mix.

Emily also has no difficulty making herself heard. She is a talkative little thing, and she will loudly express her wants. She also has no problem telling Andy what she thinks of his teasing, which hasn’t helped Andy much at all, as he is constantly being caught harassing his sister. For many, she might sound like another Andy, but there is one crucial difference, she is pretty compliant. She’s easy to focus and direct, and while there is a language barrier we aren’t struggling with melt downs or feeling as if she is completely ignoring us. She seems to function well on her own when we are all in the room, and by and large she and Andy can play well together too.

Besides being energetic, she is also playful and seems mostly willing to try new things. Emily and I giggle a lot, and she is always looking for ways to get a laugh or a smile. She’s trying new foods, and what we think are new things like swimming in a pool. This evening, I let her have a sip of my Pepsi at dinner, and one swig caused her to pucker up, and shake her head in what seemed to be shock at the carbonation. She then got a very serious look on her face and shook her head no on the Pepsi front. She is starting to say a few English words – mostly in a mimic sense, and we no doubt have a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s been fun so far.

We took a cab ride to Papa Johns for pizza tonight, and were (get this) treated to a sit down dinner with menus and waitresses. Not so much like Papa Johns at home. It was good to have pizza though. We continue to strike quite the sight anytime we head out with our little China girl, and our son of long flowing locks. We were stopped a lot today for extended conversations in Chinese that we didn’t understand, and which Emily totally failed to translate for us. Or we were stopped so that once again the Superstar! could satisfy the curiosity of his admiring fans.

Anyway, we have had a lot of free time to get to know each other the last few days, but we are also beginning to long for home. Tomorrow we have Emily’s medical appointment for the US Consulate followed by some shopping with the other families that are beginning to make their way back to Guangzhou from other parts of China. The evening will be a time of filling out paperwork in preparation for our Visa appointment next week. Please be praying for these two appointments. As some of you know we have been working behind the scenes with some questions regarding our paperwork. We’ve been assured by America World that everything should be fine, but at the same time our guides here are concerned with some issues related to “special needs” because of prior experiences they have had with other families. We trust that God will see us through.

Anyway, here’s some pics from the last few days. Stuff from a trip to the zoo, and walks in the park, plus a few other random shots.

A wild animal at the zoo. It was actually a pretty cool zoo, but we had to laugh at this exhibit.

Mama was not thrilled. Emily wanted nothing to do with it. Andy and Dad – way cool.

They have little elephants in China.

Emily and Sophia Faith (Fu Chen). These two girls shared the same room in the orphanage, and are close. Besides hearing “Babaaa!!!” at the top of her lungs, we hear “Fu Chen!!!!” with the same energy anytime the two are in the same room.

Emily is actually trying to get out, after Andy had run her into the bushes there. We’ve had a crash course in sibling rivalry all week.

This statue is quite honestly a little disturbing. It’s in the park across from our hotel, and is supposed to commemorate the five gods who saved or established Guangzhou in the past.

Passports and Parks

gchastain — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:02:25 +0000

We had much of the morning to ourselves today before our afternoon appointment to get Emily’s passport. I took some time to take Andy and Emily down to the park across the street from our hotel. We got lots of stares, and in spite of the hot, humid temperatures enjoyed our time out. Guangzhou is a city of 10.5 million people, and is one of the more prosperous cities in China being a major trade hub. The hotel we are staying at is a beautiful 5 star hotel, and there is a little bit of home with a Starbucks downstairs, a McDonald’s across the street, and a 7-11 around the corner.

I’m not sure what it is, but I’m enjoying our time here more than I did in Beijing. Beijing felt sterile in some ways, but that may be more to do with our busy tourist schedule there. We have a lot more free time here, and though the excursions have been small, the interaction with the people and the culture directly – away from touristy areas – helps to make this city feel alive. Regardless, we continue to love how warm the people are, how gracious and polite they are, and can’t help but admire the cleanliness and beauty of the cities. Anyway, here’s some pics and videos.

The view from our room. The Park is just across the street.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Some Video

gchastain — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:28:36 +0000

The one thing I forgot to do before leaving was load all my video editing software onto the laptop. So, here is some very raw footage from Monday (Gotcha Day).

Gotcha Day – Video 1
[See post to watch Flash video]

Gotcha Day – Video 2
[See post to watch Flash video]

Gotcha Day – Video 3
[See post to watch Flash video]

Gotcha Day – Video 4
The crib was placed in our room by the hotel. Andy and Emily were using it as a fort to play in. We actually put it in the hallway before heading off to bed.
[See post to watch Flash video]