Tuesday in Nanchang

A few more pictures today, of Tuesday in Nanchang, with a blog report from Teresa:

We did not have any where to go or anything to do, a totally free day.  We decided to walk along one of the side streets up to Bayi Square and then to Starbucks for lunch.  There are a few pictures of the street.  We had to cross the street by ourselves (no guide) and we lived to tell the story.  The key is to find a local and move when they move and watch out for the electric scooters because you can’t hear them coming.   

We went to a local mall and the grocery store.  The bakery all looked yummy but the meat department was an adventure.  Lots that could not be identified and then there are the tanks of live frogs to chose from.  That is when we exited the store!  We made our way to Bayi Square (August 1^st Square).  It is the second largest square in China (Tiannamen is the largest).  The monument commemorates the revolution that started in Nanchang on August 1st.  

After crossing over the over pass that takes you over 10 lanes of traffic we stopped at Starbucks.  Now Nanchang is a city of 5 million people and who do we meet in Starbucks but a family from our travel group, I guess great minds think alike! We had lunch with them and as they are getting ready to leave another family from our group arrives.  Just as we are ready to leave 2 more from our group arrive.  I guess we were all desperate for a good cup of coffee!  Yes, the coffee tastes like home and the price is the same as home so by Chinese standards very expensive.  

Back at the hotel, Mia went for a swim with the other big girls.  There were 2 birthday boys in our travel group yesterday so we met up and had some wine/beer to celebrate.  Yes, the wine/beer tastes the same but it is very cheap! 

Wednesday we pack up and fly back to Beijing.  It will be good to change the scenery and have new places to explore.

Free Day in Nanchang

Today was a free day for us.  We slept in until 6:00 (yeah for us!).  The big girls (and one big boy) went for a swim in the pool and then we got ready to go to the giant ferris wheel.  It is called the Star of Nanchang and it is the largest working ferris wheel in China.  It is located in “New Nanchang” across the river from Nanchang.  

When we arrived after a very interesting taxi ride...there is no way to describe how they drive here...it was closed so the girls went on a few smaller amusement rides!  Beautiful views of the new city but too much fog/smog today for good views of the old city.  We then taxied back to Walmart.  Chinese Walmart is again something to be experienced not described.  Sensory over load, the noise level is very high! Items are not always cheap but they are all in one place so it makes it a good destination for us. 

Yesterday we visited Mia’s orphanage.  We went with a driver  and our translator Lily.  We were able to have a great discussion with Lily about China and learned a lot along the way. They welcomed Mia with fire crackers which she said was her favorite part of the visit.  They had signs welcoming us and presented us with a snack of tea, oranges and dragon eye fruit.  The best oranges we have ever had!  They loved seeing the new photos of Mia and looked at the group photos of all the girls in the travel group. They have all the photos we have sent over the years.  Fran and Mary, we delivered your photo album and the Vice Director was very happy to see it. The Director presented Mia with a jade necklace of a sheep because that is the year she was born.  They kept hugging her and holding her hand.  We were able to visit the old and the new orphanage buildings.  There are not babies at Shanggao now, they are all in foster care. The old building is a senior home.  They tried to talk Chinese to Mia and smiled at her alot.  They were concerned with Nina’s fingers in her mouth (a no-no in China).  We then went to the street where Mia lived with her Foster Mother.  We were able to meet the nurse from the orphanage there.  She remembered the girls that lived on the street.  We also met a man and women who remembered the 3 baby girls from Shanggao that lived there. 

Nina is doing well.  She learned to reach and grab her toys...the photo of her and Peter in the car is the first time she reached for a toy.  She is sitting up more and more.  She is saying “mama”, “dada” and “nannan”.  She laughs, smiles and “talks”.

Trip to Shanggao

Here's another set of photos from Teresa. These are from Sunday the 14th and show their trip to Shanggao, which is where Mia's orphanage is located. From the photos, it's clear that they received a nice welcome at Shanggao!

Here's a few great ones of Mia:

 A great one of the family, but you have to love the pink scooter in the foreground as well.

Days in Nanchang

Teresa has sent some news about what they've been up to in Nanchang along with some photos:

Yesterday we went to the Tengweng Pavillion.  It was built by an Emperor's son in the Teng dynasty and was then destroyed. When it was rebuilt it also became a tribute to the Revolution (just like many places in Nanchang).  One photo is taken from the top of the Pavillion which is 6 stories tall.  The other shows the beautiful design of the building.  We then went to lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant.  No deep fried wontons here for Mia!  She ate mostly sticky rice and her favorite the dessert which was banana pancakes.

 

Today was the visit to Nina's orphanage.  It was a 2 hour drive. The express way was closed because of fog so we had to take a secondary road.  Secondary roads in China are bumpy!  There are 5 babies left at the orphanage all with homes waiting for them in the US.  The photos show the orphanage building, the road to the orphanage and a few pictures of us there.  We were not allowed to take pictures in the baby room. 

Gotcha Day!!

Gotcha Day!!

We meet Nina yesterday (January 9^th)! 

It was an adventure to get to Nanchang.  We met our guide, Lucy, at 9:00 and made our way to the airport.  When we arrived we were told that the airplane was still in Nanchang with mechanical difficulties.  Not exactly what you want to hear especially the mechanical difficulty part.  It was unsure if we could even make it to Nanchang that day.  After much discussion and about 1 hour later we learned that luckily they brought a new plane into service and it was on it’s way from Nanchang. 

When we arrived our Nanchang guide Evelyn met us.  She has been helping with international adoptions for 10 years and is very knowledgeable about the whole process.  We heard that the babies are on there way to the hotel, we will meet them at 5:30. In 1 ½ hours! 

 

We all meet in a large conference room in the Galactic Peace Hotel.  A family from BC met their son first when he arrived from the local Nanchang  Orphanage.  Then the Jianxin babies arrived.  We were to be third to meet our baby.  Mia and I are standing in line with the door and we see her as the door swings open.  Mia just kept saying, “she is so cute!” She was wearing a blue “Pleasant Goat “(Chinese cartoon) outfit and underneath a  shirt and pair of split pants.  Nina did not cry and just kept looking at us.  She really focused on Mia and I think Mia really helped with the transition.  We were able to go to our room and get to know her in a more quiet spot.  

Back at the room we were able to get her to giggle and smile.  She is ticklish under her arms.  She is fascinated with her feet and hands.  She makes a fish sound when she is happy.  She says “dada” and “nan nan”.  She chews on her fingers.

She did not want to eat but we were able to get about 2 oz into her. She went to sleep while I rocked her but it took 2 tries to get her in the crib.  Nina slept until 2:00 then woke up for a bottle and a diaper change.  Then slept until 6:30 this morning.

Today (January 10^th) we went to the Civil Affairs Office and completed all the Chinese paperwork for the adoption.  Nina is forever ours!  Now we wait for the Chinese passport to be complete and then next week we fly back to Beijing.

Mia would like to say hello to all her friends in Mr. Roscoe/Mr. MacKay’s class.  She loved your comment on the blog Mr. MacKay and she said, the food is “ different”, the temperature is “cold”, the sports are “tai chi and ping pong”.

As you can tell...we are not able to post on Facebook or onto the blog at this point.  I have not had much time to work with it but one of our travel group members who is quite tech savvy says his Facebook is off and on.  I am getting the comments from Facebook and the blog sent to my email so we do get to see those. 

China - Day 2

Teresa doesn't currently have access to Blogger or Facebook, but she was able to send me some photos, which I will post below. They arrived in Beijing about an hour behind schedule on Monday, made it to their hotel and managed to get some sleep. They were up early on Tuesday and ready to go to the Beijing Zoo, the Beijing Aquarium, and to see an acrobatic show. There were no photos allowed at the acrobatic show, but there are some great ones from the Zoo and the Aquarium.

First: pandas!

 And here's one of Mia with a panda playing in the backgound:

 And here's one of the whole family outside the panda compound:

There are also tigers at the zoo. There's no zoom on this photo! Teresa is actually taking this picture just feet away from this tiger:

Here's a close-up from the aquarium. Mia liked the aquarium as much as the zoo!

And here's a few of Mia to end: one of her hanging out  at the Zoo and couple of her with the other big girls who are part of the group. They are already great friends!

There's a twelve hour time difference between Nova Scotia and Beijing, so if it's morning where you are, it's evening there. That means that Peter, Teresa, and Mia are wrapping up day two right now and getting ready to depart for Nanchang tomorrow (which is later today for us).