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June 24, 2006
We’ve lifted off from Cleveland and we’re on our way to Detroit. After that we’ll head to Japan, and then fly to China.
Early in the morning on Thursday, at least three storms came though the area. We woke up to no electricity. Around 8 a.m. I called Uncle Mark. Dad and the guys are on their motorcycle trip in Canada. Mark said he could bring the generator. Delight came around 9 a.m. to do strawberry jam. We worked till almost 12:30 p.m. and had lunch. After we cleaned up lunch, Delight left and we rested a bit before we went over to Lois and Larry Ramer’s place to help with weeding. We worked for a few hours and decided it looked like time for more rain. We washed up at their hose (in the rain and thunder) knowing we had no electricity at home. On the way home it was pouring; waves of water on the road, branches and trees littering the roads. We got as far as Berry’s on Arnold Road and couldn’t go any farther due to a large branch in the road. We tried to move it but immediately realized it wasn’t going to happen. Kidron was hit pretty hard and electric is now out for most of Kidron, a lot of folks in Wooster and other counties. We continued to be without power today. We likely won’t have it till Monday. Mark has to change the generator from our house to theirs to keep the freezers working. After we got home Thursday, we cleaned up as best as we could in the dark with wet ones and headed up to Wooster for dinner and picked up some last minute items. Came home with supplies to finish our freezer jam and cleaned up dishes, etc.
Friday, we had to do laundry so that we could finish our packing. We had packed last week, but had to wear some of the items that we packed. We ran errands; saw Grandma, planted flowers at the shop, and came home. We had to return to Buehlers for Rx that were finally ready to be picked up, and ate at the restaurant there. Mark had the generator for the night.
We are finally on our way! I’m looking forward to the trip and for Jia to see her birth land. Our biggest concern/disappointment is that we may not be able to go to the orphanage. I so was hoping we can go and continue to pray it works out. We hope to learn more about Jia’s past. We know nothing at this point. – Rhoda
June 26, 2006
Last night we got to China at 10:00 p.m. and to our hotel at 10:30. We are exactly 12 hour difference from Ohio time. The hotel we are staying at right now is called the Best Western Premier Beijing. We went to bed around 11:00-11:30.
This morning mom got up at 5:30 and I got up at 7:30. We got dressed and then headed down to eat breakfast. They had lots of food to choose from. While eating we met one family from our group. (George and Kathleen and their daughter, Evelyn) We also met Lynn and her daughter Riamae.
After breakfast we went to the “silk market” with George, Kathleen, and Evelyn. There was lots of things there you could buy, but to buy things you had to bargain. 8 yuans equals one U.S. dollar. After the market we looked for a place to eat. We stopped at a little restaurant and had sweet and sour pork, (I think) and sticky rice with chicken and noodles. After eating we came back to the hotel. Evelyn and I went swimming with her dad. After swimming Evelyn and I went to stay at Riamae’s room for a while. They were down the hall from us. At 6:00 p.m., we had a celebration dinner thing, where our whole group met and ate. Chen, our tour guide was there. During the dinner, our host person, (Ross from OCDF- Our Chinese Daughters Foundation,) gave each of us girls a small box for us to put stuff we want to remember inside it. After dinner, mom and I went to use the computer to check up on dad and the guys and write some e-mails. We then headed up to our room, and now we are getting ready for bed. Good night. – Jia
June 27, 2006
Ok, so today we were really busy for our first day.
This morning we got up and got ready and headed down to eat breakfast. After that we all loaded the bus and headed to Tiananmen Square. Chen (our guide) gave us a little background on the place and then we had a little time to look around/walk around. After Tiananmen Square we walked over to the Forbidden City. We had a tour of the whole city. The city was built in 1406 and took 14 years to build. When we finished looking around we headed back to the bus and went to a restaurant for lunch. After lunch we took rickshaw rides (which are riding in a cart while someone is peddling) to a kindergarten/day care school. After that we took a ride to see a person’s house. The guy who lived there did beautiful painting. We bought one of them. After visiting his house, we headed over to the bell tower and drum tower. They rang the bell in the morning when the city gate was open and the drums in the evening. In the bell tower they had a tea house. There we learned how to drink tea. First they have two cups on a small plate. One is taller looking and the other is rounder shaped. The tall one was where you poured the tea in so that you can “smell” the tea. After smelling, the round bowl shaped cup is put on top of the tall glass with tea. You then use both hands to flip the cups over. Then you pull the tall cup out slowly and then take it around the round bowl three times. After that you drink the tea in three sips, meaning #1 for happiness, #2 for long life, and #3 for good fortune. After the tea we headed to the bus and back to the hotel. Supper was on our own and Mom and I went and ate at the place where we ate breakfast in the hotel. We ordered wonton soup and ham pizza. After eating we came back to our rooms and got cleaned up and now we are just “chillin,” ready to go to bed! - Jia
June 28, 2006
Went to the Temple of Heaven Park and enjoyed watching people exercise and play. Lots of retired people doing all kinds of things on exercise machines, singing ,playing instruments, ballroom dancing, “hacky-sac” with feathers, etc. The kids tried to kick the “rooster hacky-sac.” We bought two “banners” on sticks for playing with. Then we went to the Temple of Heaven. It was beautifully restored and now open to the public. It was interesting that the tiles on the Forbidden City roofs were glazed gold to represent the color yellow for the emperor. At the Temple of Heaven the tiles were all blue on the roofs to represent the heavens. We saw the gold lettering on blue that Daisy Martin had told us about “to the God in Heaven” where the Emperor used to go to pray. After that we went to the “pearl market”: shopping center where Jia got a t-shirt with beaded flowers and I got her a “Gap” tank. I bought myself a chop; we got a blue knobby ball and 3 “rooster” hackey-sacs. We then had lunch at a noodle shop. We thought we’d get to see them making the noodles, but that didn’t happen. It was very LOUD! Afterwards we went to a ‘day care’ for mentally handicapped teens. They were almost all boys. Our girls made cards and then practiced calligraphy, enjoyed yu-yu and other toys, a pet crow and we bought some jewelry. They gave each of the girls a bracelet. We then went for supper and then to an acrobatics show. Very good! Very tired! Came home and tried getting chargers to work for the camera and video. The toilet quit flushing. We opted to not call the front desk because we’d rather sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Later we learned the whole hotel was without flushing toilets. Interesting since the water worked in the showers and sinks. - Rhoda
6/29/06
Today we got up and took the bus to the Summer Palace. This is the place where the Emperor came for a little bit during the summer. After that we went to eat lunch at a little restaurant. I didn’t care for their food much though. But, they had FRENCH FRIES! They were good. Oh, and I forgot where we ate lunch was at a place that carved jade. I got a ring that wasn’t jade, but crystal. After eating we rode to the Great Wall, or part of it. Mom and I climbed only a part of the whole thing. We went shopping afterwards. Anyway, we got t-shirts for the guys and a head thing (turned out to be a replica of a concubine headpiece), along with chopsticks. After that we went to a restaurant and ate peking duck. It was good. Later we came back to the hotel. We are now packing up cause we’re leaving for a new place. - Jia
6/30/06
We got up early, readied and ate early breakfast in order to leave for the airport at 6:40 a.m. Last night Jia and I didn’t feel the best. She slept well, but I was waking almost every hour much of the night. Neither of us have had diarrhea, but just not right. I had night sweats and aching joints but felt better in a.m. We keep eating yogurt daily for breakfast. We departed Beijing airport for Xian around 8:45 a.m. and the flight took about 1 ½ hours. Our new guide is a bit choppy in her English and presentation, and we don’t always know what she wants. It was 100.5* and we knew it! We went from the airport for 1 hour ride to Xian and then to the Tang Museum where the kids did calligraphy in the art section. We went tot the Flying Goose Pagoda afterwards and we were all dragging. We were given 15 minutes to see it and then we went to the city wall. We could have skipped the museum and pagoda. The wall was interesting- 60 steps up and then you could walk or bike it. Biking would have been a death sentence for gringos. Too HOT! We then went to the Mosque in the Moslem section of town and Jackie the guide told us we’d be able to shop afterwards. Jia and I went early to do so and the next thing we knew she was saying “everybody waiting on the bus!” what a way to operate! We were glad to finally get to our hotel, the Jianguo Hotel. We showered and did laundry… lots of it! Not so sure how fast it will dry. Our new bathroom doesn’t have a fan in it like the other. We got behind because you can’t’ wash the day before flying out because it won’t dry. We then went to the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show. It was excellent. Lynn had arranged a b-day cake for Riamei and they’d given the girls each a pearl necklace. The food and show were both worthwhile! Came home exhausted, headache, eyes not looking good. - Rhoda
7/1/06
Today we spent most of the day looking at Terra Cotta soldiers. It was ok, but really hot. At lunch we got to see a guy make noodles. It was cool. When we got back all of us kids went swimming. It was fun. Afterwards Mom and I ate at KFC. Then we went shopping and got some food, junk food and candy. When we got back we went on the internet. Then we packed everything up for tomorrow. We were to put our bags outside our rooms or take them downstairs before we go to sleep in order for the guys to take it to the airport tonight for us. We went on and took ours downstairs. -Jia
7/2/06
I got a call from Jackie at 12:30 am asking where my bags were. I had taken them down just as she had instructed. I went back to bed and we got up very early for our flight to Guilin. The security at the airport was interesting. I had to leave my blue knobby ball behind. Boo hoo! They didn’t open our water and smell it like they had on the other flight. There is for sure no uniform way they do security for the flights. On our flight from Xian to Guilin we had all of our seats mixed up. Until I helped the kids in my row collect their things and get off the plane, I’d forgotten my painting. Fortunately, Jia asked me about it and Autumn, our new guide, called and we were able to retrieve it after sighing my name and giving my passport number.
Autumn told us about the Guangxi Autonomous Region. Liu San Jie (the Image of the Third Sister) is a play by the same director as the Red Lantern. Guilin has 4 million people. We took a bus to our hotel (Guilin Bravo Hotel) and had lunch as a group. We then went to the Reed Flute Cave. It was nice and cool after a hot ride. We then went to the pearl shop, buying a ring for Jia and blue earrings for Rhoda from the cheapest items! Jia also guessed how many pearls and what color they would be in the oyster shell, so she got to keep the pearl. She guessed one white pearl.
Afterwards we went to Fubo Hill. Most of the group climbed the Hill but Jia, I and others went to the 1000 Buddha Cave which was decidedly cooler. We saw a fisherman with his flat bamboo boat and fishing bird. Afterwards we went back to the Hotel. The girls swam and then showered for supper. We are beginning to discuss as parents what we want/think the trip to the orphanage will be like. Kathleen, Cindy, Marissa, Bethany and I went to a restaurant recommended by Autumn. We had trouble figuring out what to order. There were actually pictures on the menu, but they were too small and blurry to make out what we were looking out. Between Kathleen’s translation book and her wondering around and pointing to other people’s food, we finally got ½ chicken (with 1 foot and the head), potatoes shredded, a tofu dish, bok choy, rice and spicy green beans. We had been told it was okay to look at what others were eating before ordering. We walked back to the hotel stopping at a ‘supermarket’ with a friendly lady helping us pick out candy, tea, etc. and giving us samples of some unknown sweet. Back at the hotel we needed to repack, taking only backpacks tomorrow for the mountain retreat trip.
Now for a “Break” to explain Chinese potty breaks! You must remember that out of the group of 16, there are 4 fellows and the rest are women, so needless to say we gals can easily form an automatic line if we always go at the same time. The low end potty is a squat potty that is not always flushable with no paper and only water for washing hands. The top end we saw had beautiful marble floors, walls etc. with sit toilets. The top half of the door had a window and you could sit and watch t.v.’s above the sinks- set into the wall near the ceiling. Of course there was t.p. and hooks for purses, etc. The sinks had raised bowls and of course lots of soap and paper towels. At one restaurant, the sinks were in a common area for men and women. The attendant squirted soap on your hands turned on the water for you and handed you the paper towels. (And here my mom spent so many years teaching me to go to the potty and clean up myself!) All the other potties fall between these two extremes, both visually and olfactorally! - Rhoda
7/3/06
Ok, so today we were on a boat ride for like 4 hours. It was kind of boring. We are at a resort place. (Yangshuo Mountain Resort- room 101A) Once we got here we went to a big market and shopped for about an hour. We bought some stuff too. For dinner mom and I shared a hamburger with fries. Yum! And we also had spring rolls. They were BIG!!!! Afterwards we took a little walk around where we are staying. It’s hot, like humid or something. Then we came back to the room and hung out. Getting ready for bed. - Jia
7/4/06
We had to get up for breakfast at 7 am so we could ride bike before the heat hit. The bikes said “ Alice” as a brand and were blue with baskets in the back. They were “girl style” and one of the guys remarked they were easier to ride than the “guy style,” less pain involved! We took off in a light drizzle and enjoyed passing homes, bike riders, and tricycle drivers with back “wagons.” Eventually we ended up at a person’s home that we stopped and visited with.The entry room was 2 stories high, open to the ceiling. The top floor is used for storage and there were bedrooms off the main floor. Grandma and 2 year old boy were with us. We visited the back kitchen building, passing a thrasher. There was a room in the center for eating and to the left was a cooking room with 3 places for burning to cook; one for cooking animal food. A lady sold us shoes for 6 yuan that was made from woven rice grass; very crude. We started off and Peter was very excited because he saw 2 boys. He’s the only boy on our trip! Very soon both whipped off shorts and squatted and did a.m. business. We started off and found a midsize water buffalo in a deep wide pool. A lady was also washing clothes. On we went with the sun coming out and the ride getting hotter. We took some photos as a group and a lady ran over to sell some very beautiful flower garlands for 1 yuan each (12.5 cents). We walked along a rice patty and started back. Before lunch we then took a bamboo boat/raft ride on the Yu Long River. ( Meet Dragon River) Very relaxing. We had lunch and started back to Guilin on a bus, to the Guilin Bravo Hotel again. Our travel plans were changed because the orphanage director would not be in, so we opted to cancel a day in Nanning and spend the rest of the today in Guilin before going on to Liuzhou tomorrow via train. - Rhoda
7/5/06
Today we rode on a train to Liuzhou. Before that we went to a mountain where we rode cable cars up to the top. Then on the way down we rode a shoot ride. It was fun. Then afterward we went to a tea place where they grow tea. We also got to sample different teas. After that we went on the train ride about 4:00 pm. We got to Liuzhou safely. We ate dinner and the parents had a meeting. We came back to the room and got ready for bed. Took showers and washed some clothes. Now we are getting to bed soon. - Jia
7/6/06
Today we went to the orphanage that I am from. It was big and pink on the outside. We visited a lot of the disability kids there. Then we got to see some babies, but we couldn’t hold them. Then afterward we got to see our files. We found out that I was found at the Yu Feng Park. ( Fish Mountain) After everyone read their files, we all were able to go to the place we were abandoned. The park that I was found was big. We decided to go there later because the bus driver had to go somewhere. Once everyone was able to see where they were abandoned, we ate lunch at a restaurant. After eating we walked back to our hotel. We were there for about an hour and then Mom and I left to go to the park. Hannah, our tour guide, came with us. We took our time and walked around the whole park. Then afterward we went to a bakery and got some food. We also got directions to the police station that came and got me. It took along time. The guy who gave us directions came with us. When we got there we took a few pictures and headed back. We got ready for bed. - Jia
7/7/06
We had our breakfast later and found the buffet wasn’t as good later; cold coffee, not all dishes available, etc. Around 9:30 a.m. we all met in the lobby for the bus ride to the train station. This time we didn’t have to go way up the stairs and over the tracks with mobs of people, like the last time. “Soft sleepers” are just soft seats with seat covers facing sections of four seats on a double-decker train. The best advantage is the waiting room and avoidance of the crowd. We got on the train and were to have seats 1-17, but people were in the seats so we had to spread out. George and Kathleen opted with Jeff and some others to sit downstairs with all the luggage. We’d learned that it was a royal pain to lug luggage up stairs and to over head shelves and then to repeat the process, so the luggage all stayed in a group on the bottom decker floor. I ended up sitting across from two ladies. One offered me peanuts in the shell and I declined. I later offered her mints and she declined. She later offered lichi, which I decided would be bad manners to decline again. She tried talking to me and we resorted to hand motions and a few words. The lichi was good, drippy and sticky. I used hand sanitizer to get rid of the stickiness and offered some to her. She used it and was puzzled because it worked so nicely. Showing her the bottle she could only shrug as it was all in English. It was evident she was trying to explain it to her friend, so I also gave her friend some sanitizer on her hands and they both enjoyed how it freshened their hands. She shared lichi with Jia, Evelyn, and Peter, enjoying the kid’s enjoyment of lichi. We got to Nanning, and our Liuzhou guide, Hannah, was with us. She’s from Nanning.
We were able to go to the Mingyuan Hotel were we’d stayed in ’95. In 1995 we were in room 409. Now we are in room 904! Afterwards we went to a large restaurant and ate lunch around 2:15 pm. It was closing but Hannah had called ahead. We then had to get money. Most of the group went back to the hotel and Kathleen, Lynn, Jeff, I and Hannah went to the Bank of China. Lynn had no problem getting funds, although latter they came to the hotel because they’d over paid her. Kathleen and Jeff had a big delay because their traveler’s checks had both spouse’s signatures, but both weren’t there. In every other town they never had a problem with it. Finally they allowed it since it was written on Jeff’s checks, “either” person may sign. I was having a worse problem because the ATM machine was down. We went to he Majestic and it wouldn’t take my card. Hannah used hers and got me 3,500 yuan. It was very hot and humid and we all just wanted to get to our air conditioned rooms. This was not to be. We had to walk to the Civil Registry Offices. They had new offices and wanted us to see those but we requested to visit the old office, as that was where we’d gotten the kids. We went there instead and the parents enjoyed the nostalgia, while the kids tried to understand the point of it all. We were to visit the offices and then go back to the hotel and be visited there by the Civil Registry person for our $150 “donation” to the orphanages. What happened though, due to all the time it took for getting the money from the bank, is that we were able to just pay at the civil registry because it was close to 5:00 pm and people wanted to go home for the end of the work day. The man who collected the money was the same man who’d gone from Nanning to Liuzhou when we visited the orphanage. They had allowed this trip with out the knowledge of CCAA in Beijing and contra what Beijing was now requesting that people not be allowed to visit. It was all puzzling because with the now required donations, they stand to gain by allowing visitors to the orphanages. Hannah was very puzzled also. She works in adoption with Minnesota Children’s Home Society. After this visit, we got ice cream and walked back. The children went swimming, while I tried to call Jenny to figure our how to get Hannah paid back. Till I got it sorted out, everyone was done swimming. Jia and I opted to walk out and shop and find supper. We bought some shirts for the guys and found a nice restaurant with two girls who spoke English. Good thing. Nanning doesn’t get many tourists, and the menu was all in Chinese. We managed to get fried rice and shrimp with “fragrant blossoms,” some kind of greens. It was good! Back home. Packing and bed! Showers never felt so good! – Rhoda
July 8, 2006
Ok, so today we flew to Guangzhou, where we’re staying at the White Swan Hotel in room 1101. It is a nice view looking out our windows from our room. You can see the river and boats that pass by. Once we got here, Kathleen, Mom and I went shopping while the other people went swimming. We stopped at shops and got some things. Later for dinner, our whole group ate together because it was our “last” dinner together on this trip. We had a little token of appreciation for Cynthia who planned this all for us. After dinner we all said our good byes to each other in case we didn’t see everyone again in the morning. Mom and I headed up to our room to pack for our long trip home. We would leave early in the morning to the airport. – Jia
July 9, 2006
This morning we get to go home! We got up early this morning and headed down to the bus to go to the air port. Our first flight was to Narita, Tokyo. After that we would take a flight all the way to Detroit and that took about 11-12 hours. After that we took a small plane to Cleveland, Ohio. Boy was the last plane bad. We had to sit in the very last row in the back, near the bathroom! Thank goodness it was only a short flight. We ended up getting there around 6:00 pm and stopped to eat on our way back home. We unpacked half way, gave some of our presents away to the guys and settled down to go to sleep. Home sweet home! – Jia