Day 8: Long travel day and a couple of funnies - Guiyang & Guangzhou

This is Ginny.

Yesterday was spent packing up our hotel room and saying goodbye to Guiyang City.  Mia's birth city.  As we were driving to the airport the sun finally came out for the first time since we had arrived.  Oh well.

We had to check out by 2:00 but then had time to stop by the adoption office one more time to leave some gifts.  We had Mia help pick out a few toys for the foster brother's and sister and some chocolates for her foster mother.  We also were able to get some diapers and formula for the orphanage.  We are so thankful for everything the foster family and orphanage have done. 

Mia was so excited to ride on an airplane... again!  Apparently, this was not her first plane ride.  She got to take an airplane with her kindergarten class to go and do a dance performance.

The only problem was we got to the airport very early.  After getting through security it was only about 4:00 and our flight wasn't until 6:40.  Mia was beside herself with excitement but of course it was impossible to explain to her that we had to wait.  Every time she saw an airplane take off she would point at the airplane and speak rapidly in Chinese....obviously very disappointed that we were not on it.  When it was finally our turn to board the plane she turned into a little girl in a candy shop.  She was excited and happily took a seat by the window.    

I was glad she had the experience of flying already for a couple of reasons.  The main one being that in China kids don't have to buckle up or sit in their seats. 

During our time in Guiyang, Mia was all over the van in the car trips.... standing up, wanting to sit on our laps, definitely not buckled up.  And when we tried to encourage her to sit down.... let's just say it didn't ever happen! 

So, needless to say, I was pretty concerned with how she would do on an airplane and if she would actually sit and buckle up and then of course coming to America where she would need to sit buckled in a booster seat.

But fortuantely, she knew the airplane rules!  She sat in her seat and let me buckle her up and did great!  When she saw the dinner and beverage cart go up the aisle (domestic Chinese flights are awesome btw... great service and meals and this was a short little over an hour flight), she knew what that was!  She loved eating the rice, chicken, and vegetable dinner and was even licking it clean it was so good to her:)  

When we arrived in Guangzhou, our guide Wensi was there to meet us.  We got in the van and Mia being slightly tired didn't put up a fuss when I buckled up her seat belt.  It seemed like a good time to make that transition and what's great is that she didn't even question it.

We were driven to the Garden hotel and let me just say, oh my gosh!  Mia even said (translator interpreted this of course), "Wow!  Is this my home for this week?"  When got to our room we realized it only had 1 bed and that wasn't going to work for us.  The staff showed Adam a suite that was probably 4 times as big and when we found out that we could change to that for only an extra $20/day, it was a no brainer.   This is by far the nicest hotel either Adam or I have ever stayed at and the breakfast buffet... oh my goodness!!!   

So I thought I would try to include some "Mia funnies" from along the way.  

1. On her second day with us, Adam showed Mia his coffee and told her what it was.  A little while later, Adam was in the shower and Mia pointed to his coffee and said, "coffee" to me.  It was the first English word I had heard out of her (she knew no English when we got her) and I knew Adam would be thrilled to find out that Mia's first English word was "coffee."  Only later when we were relaying this story to our guide was our bubble bursted when we found out that coffee is you guessed it "coffee" in Chinese as well.  Oh well:)  

2. On our last morning in Guiyang City we were having breakfast in the hotel.  Keep in mind up until this point we hadn't seen any other American families in the hotel or even in the city itself.  But on this last morning there was an American family (very easy to spot of course) with a Chinese adopted daughter (this little girl was 5 and she had been adopted 4 years ago.  Her parents were traveling around China with her).  It was obvious Mia picked up on the fact that this little girl and herself had something in common.  They were both Chinese kids with American parents.  As the family was leaving to get on the elevator Mia put on her friendliest smile and waving to the little girl, yelled out, "bye bye."  Also, keep in mind we had never heard her say "bye bye" before or really very many English words.  I wish I could have caught that on video.  

3. Each morning Mia has been so happy to have her hair done.  She loved it when I put a ponytail in her hair and has loved choosing a headband each day.  So I was confused when she took out her ponytail and headband right before we arrived at the airport.  I asked the guide to ask her why she didn't want it.  Apparently, she didn't wear anything in her hair the first time she flew (the time with her kindergarten class) so she didn't think she should wear anything in her hair this time.  She is definitely a creature of habit! 
         

 Excited to finally be on her way!!

Mia is still happy but some of the sparkle has left her eyes as she has had to watch airplane after airplane take off without her.

Days 6 & 7: Guizhou Countryside and Guiyang City Tours

Ok... sorry for the doubled up post... I'm realizing that time is really flying over here, and if I don't write down things now, some of the details will be lost... and I don't want to forget the experiences we've had over here in the last couple of days with our new daughter.

On Wednesday, we decided to head out to the Guizhou countryside to go visit the Huangguoshu waterfalls. These are the most famous, and largest waterfalls in all of east Asia, and their beauty is unsurpassed!! It was a rather long drive out there (about 2 hours) from Guiyang, and the weather was dreary (low clouds, misty rain), but behind the weather, you can sense that the countryside is gorgeous. We drove past field upon fields that were used for rice production... and you could occasionally see a few workers out there with the more typical Chinese straw hats working with an ox. The girls were having fun playing in the back of the van, even after Mia got sick from eating too much watermellon.

When we got there, we got to walk through a large garden that was filled with all sorts of natural rock formations, as well as lots of bonzai trees. We then continued around towards the waterfalls - and even got to walk behind them through a natural cave formation that allowed visitors to walk around them.

After we had climbed back up, our guide asked if we wanted to have lunch there, or somewhere else. We chose there, and were treated to an incredible meal that was about as geninue Chinese food as one could ask. Sticky rice, egg with veggies, spicy (wow!) pork, and stir fry chicken with chilis. It was all fantastic!

The next day (today) we had a later start, so we were able to relax and enjoy a slow start... which includes going down to breakfast and generally making a scene :) I mean, an American family with a very chatty Chinese adopted daughter, all running around getting food and having a great time... I'm sure we turned a few Chinese businessmen's heads while we've been here.

Once we met our guide Vickie... we went over to the Provisional Museum here in the city that showcased the minority people of Guizhou province. That was pretty cool to see all the customs, outfits, and activities that the various groups have. After a quick tour of the museum... it was time to go shopping in the official state-run gift shop. We've been told by others who have adopted from Guiyang to buy our souvenirs here instead of waiting for Guangzhou... so we did :) After all that, we went over to the city pavilion for a few photos and a quick tour. During our time there, we came across a couple more families that asked to have their pictures taken with Ashlyn... which we gladly allowed. We were told by our guide that all Chinese people strive for fair skin and blond hair - or that they consider that to be beauty... and since Ashlyn is all that, they all want to have their photo with her.

After all that, we went to Pizza Hut again for a late lunch, and are now back to the hotel for the day... so overall, a very full week here in Guiyang. We're looking forward to tomorrow with the late flight out to Guangzhou - 1.) for the weather - it'll be much warmer, and 2.) it'll mean we're half way home!!

Sisters watching the Huangguoshu Falls

Family photo :)

She definitely gets the giggles! :)

Ashlyn and the Chinese paparazzi --- AGAIN

The 600 year old pavilion in the center of Guiyang

Passing time in an Apple store in China - I impressed them with my new iPhone 5 when the store only carried the iPhone 4S.

More about Mia

This is Ginny.  I wanted to share everything we have learned so far about Mia.

It has been so fun getting to know our new daughter these last few days.  She has quite the personality! 

She loves to take care of everyone.  She helps me lay out the clothes for her and Ashlyn in the morning.  If you haven't noticed both girls love to be matching.  Speaking of matching clothes, our waitress at lunch asked if they were twins.  Now that is funny!  Unfortunately, I think we have run out of matching clothes:)  She has a definite opinion on which headband she is going to wear and which headband Ashlyn will wear.  I was told that she likes to be in charge.  Fortunately, Ashlyn goes with the flow.  She also will pick out the socks and underwear for both her and Ashlyn and lay everything out on the bed very neatly.  Then she will get both of their shoes and lay those out as well.

Going along with taking care of everyone she loves to get everyone their orange juice at breakfast time.  If she sees your cup is empty she will go and get you more.  This morning she really wasn't eating but rather trying to keep everyone's glass of juice filled.  I had to remind her to sit and eat.

In the morning, she will hurry us along because she wants to get to breakfast.  Did I mention she loves to eat?  She will gather everyones shoes and bring them to us.  We get the hint:)

Also, as far as eating she will pretty much eat anything.  She has been loving the watermelon at the breakfast buffet.  The only problem is that her body is not use to so much variety and she ended up getting sick on the car ride and throwing up.  She told our translator that it was because of all of the different foods she has been eating lately. 

She is sharing.  The first night we went to a Chinese buffet and filled her plate with lots of yummy food for her.  Ashlyn skipped the buffet and opted to wait for a hot dog.  Mia saw her empty plate and wanted to share her food.

She can be stubborn and determined.  Most of the time she does everything you ask but every now and then she has another idea.  This is when the language barrier becomes even more difficult.  

Mia does not like to ride on people's shoulders especially if you are 6'4".  Adam pulled her onto her shoulders and afterwards she didn't want anything to do with him.  Fortuantely we had our translator with us who was able to help get it sorted out.  It will be interesting once we get home and don't have a translator to fall back on.     

She is very neat and tidy.  She likes to have things picked up and put away.  And when she puts things away she does it very meticulously.  It will be interesting having her and Ashlyn share a room (maybe Mia will rub off on Ashlyn?). 

She is a quick learner.  Before getting her she had never used a Western toilet.  Only squattie potties.  If you are wondering what a squattie potty is.... it is a potty on the floor and you have to squat down to use it.  Our guide told us that people here actually prefer squattie potties because that is what they are use to.  In some public restrooms there will be one Western toilet and the rest will be squattie potties.  She said no one will use the Western toilet and people will actually wait in line for a squattie potty while the Western toilet sits empty.  In our hotel we have a Western toilet (thank goodness!) and Mia has now learned how to use it.  Today when we were out and about we made a stop at a public restroom.  Mia passed up the row of squattie potties to use the Western toilet.  Smart girl!

She entertains herself.  Each afternoon Ashlyn has taken a LONG nap and Mia has been able to keep herself busy.  She will take paper and practice cutting it into small pieces (and of course she always cleans up those pieces).  She will take her doll and completely undress it only to redress it and she will do this over and over.  She also loves to play with play doh. 

She likes to watch Chinese soap operas.  Adam turned on a cartoon (which she loves cartoons too) but she wanted to change the channel and watch this soap opera.  Adam told me that the foster mother had mentioned that she loves to watch dramas on tv and can follow the story line and will laugh and cry at appropriate times. 

She has an amazing belly laugh.  I don't think I have ever heard someone laugh as hard or as long as Mia.  It is very easy to get her going.  Ashlyn loves this and will have her in stitches pretty much all day.  The only time Mia is quiet and not laughing is when Ashlyn is taking a nap. 

 She likes to sing.  It is fun to hear her sing along to Chinese commercials and cartoon theme songs.  We heard her sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in Chinese today.  That was so cool!  Also, she found the abc song on her leap pad and was playing it over and over trying to learn it. 

The best thing we have learned about her is that she loves having a mama and a baba.  It is the best feeling hearing mama come from her sweet voice.  Now if I could only know the rest of what she is saying.....

Day 5 - Qianling Park in Guiyang

Today found us touring one of the famed sites in Guiyang - Qianling Park - also known as the Monkey park, and for good reason. In most major cities in China, you are unlikely to see a monkey walking about unless you go to a zoo. Here... there were easily 500+ monkeys roaming around. At one point, we got out of the car and started walking up the road where all of the monkeys were. One thing I noticed were the workers in the park who were feeding the monkeys. They wore dark blue coats with a shoulder bag full of food... at several points during the feedings, the workers would get "mobbed" by the monkeys - and then once the food had left the bag - generally a fight would ensue with other monkeys for the food.

All that said, we were standing in the midst of all the chaos... which led me to put Ashlyn on my shoulders so that she would be up away from them. Mia, on the other hand, was probably more afraid of being on my shoulders than being in the middle of a monkey fight. Oh well... I still have some work with this girl ;)

Afterwards, we continued up the road to the top of the mountain where a 300 year old Buddhist temple was built. Now, THAT was impressive!! Even though we're Christians and obviously do not believe in the same way - it was just so cool to actually experience being in a Buddhist temple where people were burning incense... at one point, even one of the monks there offered our girls 2 apples they had sitting nearby. Mia ate both! :)

Then, once we had gotten our experience fill - we went back into the city for lunch at an American owned coffeehouse. Now, we didn't get to speak with the Americans there, but there was nice British guy from Reading there. I mentioned to him that I know exactly where Reading was since my professor back in college was from there. Anyways - just a note to anyone following in our footsteps in adopting from Guizhou - this place is great! We got a few panini sandwiches with soup and a slice of cheesecake for the girls. Even the coffee was good too! :)

Lastly today, we walked over and experienced a Chinese Wal-Mart. Let me just say that it's just.... slightly... different.



Ashlyn and Mia JinGuo




Running around having fun at the park





Worker getting mobbed by the monkeys in the park





Entrance to the Buddhist temple at the top of the mountain





A minority group wanted to have their photos taken with an American family

 


So... apparently, this was the most frightening part of Mia's day - not the mad monkeys - but being on the tall BaBa's shoulders




Walmart rice bins




Skinned rabbits and some sort of dark chicken (I think?)



Piecing Mia's story together

This is Ginny writing...

There are so many unknowns when it comes to adoption.  So many questions that we don't know the answer to.  One of our jobs as Mia's parents is to piece together her story the best way we can.  

Parents in China can't legally give up their child so instead that must "abandon" them.  When you hear the word "abandonment" it is hard not to think of how awful that is and wonder how any loving parent could do this. 

When you adopt a child from a chinese orphanage you are given information as to where and when your child was found.  In our case, our Mia was found at a first aid station in Guiyang City. 

I will admit that when I first learned about Mia's abandonment I had a hard time thinking about what her birth parents did to her.  It is no secret that Mia was involved in some sort of train accident that caused her to lose her left forearm.  I had visions of her being abandoned because she was no longer "perfect".  In my mind I was picturing a very healthy child (minus a forearm) being left at age 5 and being so scared.  What must she had been thinking as she saw her parents drive away?  It was hard to wrap my mind around this and also how to explain this to her when she was older. 

But this week, through clues we have been given, we are realizing her story is so much different then we first thought.  We found out that Mia didn't go to the orphanage immediately after she was found.  Instead, she spent the first 2-3 months in the hospital. 

According to her foster mother, Mia really doesn't remember her time in the hospital.  We noticed she has a scar on her neck and think she may have been on some sort of respirator or breathing machine.  We think she must have been sedated for a very long time which would make perfect sense considering her traumatic experience and injuries. 

 That also means that her birth parents did not take a perfectly healthy child minus a forearm to a first aid station.  I think about the injuries Mia must of had (obviously to her arm and there is also a scar on her cheek) and can only imagine the sort of condition she was in.  My guess is that Mia wasn't even conscious. 

Her parents did the only thing they could do.  They saved her life.  I am quite certain they did not have the money to pay for hospital care.  There are many very poor people in Guiyang City. 

When kids in China are abandoned they are found in different places... parks, in the market place (places where the parents know the child will be found).  Mia's parents didn't abandon her in a park or in a marketplace.  They left her on the doorstep of a first aid station.  Mia's parents left her in the perfect place where they knew she would get the care she needed.  Her birth parents loved her so much.   

It is evident that Mia has been well cared for and loved not only by her birth parents but her foster parents as well.  I love that her foster family had the identical family make up that we have.  She had an older brother, a younger baby brother, and sister about her age.  I think that is so cool.

Someday I hope Mia can find her birth parents and tell them she is okay.  She made it!  I would love to thank them for the awesome job they have done in raising such a sweet and wonderful little girl.  Mia's parents loved her so much and that is evident in the loving person that Mia is today. 

Day 4 - Making it official!

I think it's still too surreal to think that this little girl is now my daughter... but it's really the case now! :) Today, we woke up for the first time with our new daughter, went and had breakfast, came back to the hotel room to get ready, then went downtown to the Guizhou Civil Affairs office for adoptions. Once we were there, we made everything official in the eyes of China... she's ours!!! (*cue the happy dance!*)

The office where all this takes place is in an older side of town up on the 14th floor. I was thankful that the office had two rooms - one where I had to go count the money for the notarization, orphanage donation, and other various adoption fees - and one where Ginny and the girls could sit and relax and play. It was not what I was expecting...  

But, after all the money was counted and the official receipts were issued, we were presented with a couple of gifts as well as a few documents that will be near and dear to our hearts (adoption decrees, etc.). We had a small ceramony where we had our pictures taken with the orphanage director and the adoption office director... and then we were off to head back to the hotel for the day... 

Fortunately, our guide Vicki is off running a few errands for us with our Chinese passport application for our daughter... so that allows us to stay back in the hotel and relax and be a family together :) We decided to spend the day back in the hotel just napping and relaxing - then we went out across the street to a 4-star restaurant here - Pizza Hut!! What was funny was that this was not like any Pizza Hut in the US - it was classy! The pizza was fantastic and the service was great... I think we'll be back again before we leave Guiyang...

Anyways... it's off to bed for now... tomorrow promises to have more adventures (city tour - Monkey park - museums, etc.), and the day after we will be headed off to the Guizhou countryside to visit some amazing sites. We are trying to cherish each moment here while fighting the urge to just want to head home now...



Sisters!!!




This is where we first saw our daughter... she was standing in front of the adoption office with her foster mother waiting for us.




This is the signs for the Guizhou adoption offices




This was the view of the city from the window in the adoption offices




And now it's official!! Jin Guo is now Mia JinGuo Schrader in the eyes of China!! This was the ceramony photo with the adoption office and orphanage director




This was the side room where Ginny and the girls played while I settled things with the adoption officials in the other room




Classy Pizza Huts -- who knew???




The official adoption decree from China :)



Mia trying on a new outfit - she loved showing off her new clothes to us! :)



Day 3 - GOTCHA DAY!!! Guiyang, Guizhou

I told Adam that once we had Gotcha Day I would try to do some posting too.  This is Ginny BTW. 

We have been anticipating Gotcha Day for so long and trying to imagine how the day would go.  We prepared ourselves for all of the worse case scenarios... tears, confusion, etc.  While we hoped it would go well we never imagined in a million years just how well it would go. 

While we were in Beijing we were told that Mia would be brought to our hotel at 3:00.  But after arriving in Guiyang our guide told us that we would be meeting Mia at the civil affairs office at 5:00.  Our flight arrived at 12:15 so it gave us time to unpack, buy some drinks and snacks at a local store, and rest a bit (Ashlyn took a nap) before meeting Mia.

At 4:30, we met our guide and drove to the civil affairs office.  As the car was parking I saw a little girl in a red sweater standing outside with a woman.  I immediately recognized our little girl!  Adam and our guide were confused for a minute why I was getting so excited.  Standing there outside with perfectly groomed hair in an adorable pixie cut she seemed smaller than I was expecting although the clothes we brought for her will fit her perfectly (she is at 5T). 

As soon as we stepped out of the car the woman was pointing at us and telling Mia who we were.  Mia was looked so happy!  We are still in disbelief about just how excited she was.  She immediately came over to us and called us "Mama" and "Baba".  She was all smiles and I realized she has two big dimples. 

After we went inside Ashlyn pulled out the LeapPad that we had brought for her and she was captivated.  She played on the leappad, giggled a lot, as well as continued to engage us and smile for pictures.  She loved calling Adam and I, Baba and Mama and did so over and over.  We were told that she is thrilled to have a family.

There was lots of paperwork to be signed and filled out and Adam took care of that.  Right before it was time to leave I pulled out ring pops that I had brought for the girls.  Before long the girls were sharing their ring pops (fortuantely no one is sick) and then Mia wanted to share her ring pop with Adam and I as well.  

We left the civil affairs office and got in the car.  Ashlyn and Mia sat in the back of the minivan and Adam and I in the middle row.  Mia and Ashlyn continued to share their ring pops with us and there was many giggles.  Even the driver who has driven many newly adopted kids around couldn't believe it how well she was doing (most kids are crying at this point). 

We got back to the hotel and anyone that knows Ashlyn knows that she loves her pajamas and will put them on the second we are in the door no matter what time of the day it is.  As soon as Mia saw Ashlyn in her pajamas she pointed to herself and said she had no pajamas.  So we took care of that!  I brought her into the bathroom (since the hotel room was full of people) and helped her change into feetie pajamas.  She was thrilled! 

After that we took the girls to dinner in the hotel and Mia had a Chinese feast (see #9 below).  All in all I feel like this a dream.  I can't believe we have our little girl and I can't believe how well she did today.  I know she will go through a time of grieving but today is not that day.    

Some things we learned about our Mia today:

1. She was not living in an orpahnage but rather with a foster family.  After she was abandoned she spent 2-3 months in the hospital (related to the train accident that caused her to lose her left-forearm) and then spent 2-3 months in the orphange and the rest of the time was with a foster mother.  The foster mother had 4 foster kids total (2 boys and 2 girls including Mia).
2. Mia has a barely noticeable scar on her right cheek. I believe this too was from the train accident.
3. She was attending kindergarten at a public school.  She was about to be promoted to the next grade (they called it the primary grades).
4. She is a very happy kid. 
5. She is a chatter box!
6. She likes to go places.  Her paper work had mentioned, "She likes to go many places of which there are many places to go."  That definitely sounds like our girl.  Today she kept asking about when we would go sight seeing.
7. She is fearless.  We asked her foster mom what she is afraid of and she said, "nothing."
8. She likes the water.  The foster mom added some pictures of her to the photo album we sent and some of the pictures show a very happy Mia in the pool.
9. She loves puppies.... and kitties and bunnies. 
10. She loves to eat.  We went to a buffet at our hotel for dinner and I just filled her plate with an assortment of Chinese food (I had no idea what I was feeding her).  She was very happy with everything.  She likes orange juice and oranges and I think strawberries (she kept pointing to strawberries on the dinner menu but I didn't see any at the buffet). 
11. I think today was her first day eating ice cream.  For dessert Adam brought her a bowl of ice cream and she made the funniest face at first.  It reminded me of the face Austin made when he first had ice cream.  After she got over the inital shock she ate it all!
12. She is a solid and sturdy child.  She is short in stature and looks to be about an early 5 year old but when you pick her up she feels solid. 
13. She loves to kiss and to blow kisses (anyone who knows Ashlyn knows that she also loves to kiss so I love that they have this in common). 
14. Her little arm might be little but do not underestimate everything it can do.  I am surprised at all of the ways she has learned to use it and she asks for me or Baba to hold her little arm when we are walking somewhere. 

Leaving Beijing there was snow on the ground.  It was the first snow of the year we were told.

Our flight to Guiyang City left at 9:05 and arrived at 12:15.  Going through security was slightly unnerving with additonal screenings and everyone including Ashlyn got quite the pat down.  Ashlyn was asked to pose for more pictures while waiting in the terminal.  We had to go from the terminal to a bus and then walk outside to board the plane.  It was raining pretty hard and everyone was given a poncho.  One thing we have learned about people in China is that there is no such thing as personal space or a single file line and that includes driving as well.  So standing on the bus and crowding to get on the plane was slightly claustophobic to say the least.  We had several experiences with that yesterday as we were sight seeing as well so I knew what to expect.  This is probably the hardest thing about coming to China for me.  I can't tell you how great it was to finally board the plane and have room to spread out which I know sounds funny.  We were fed a delicious Chinese meal of Rice and Chicken and vegetables, a roll, more vegetables, and apricots on the flight.

 On the bus in my pancho.  This picture was taken before the bus really filled up.

 Looking out our hotel window in Guiyang City.

Local street vendors in Guiyang City. 

View of the beautiful mountains of Guiyang City from our airplane window.

 Mia enjoying her big day.

Mia feeding Bapa her snack. 

 I love this picture.

 Mia gives her stamp of approval.

 What a kid!

 Sisters have the same germs so I am told.

 Almost as soon as we got to the hotel these two were in pj's.

 An expert with chopsticks.

Enjoying her ice cream.