love. Everybody, everybody wants to be loved.” ~ Ingrid Michaelson ASIAN ADOPTION ADVENTURE ASIAN ADOPTION ADVENTURE Japan - China - Hong Kong April - May 2012 FOLLOWINGFORTUNE.COM Our family decided to start this blog as a labor of love. The idea began as an easy way to keep our extended family and close friends up to date as we inched along this winding road of international adoption. Becoming a family, or enlarging a family, whether through biology or adoption, is a messy deal. There are so many unknowns, and the learning curve is steep. We’ve made mistakes, and we’ve had disappointments but we’ve had a lot more excitement and joy. Once begun, the blog became something more. I believe we exist on this earth as one family. We are here to support and love one another. This was one way in which I could give my love to others through the sharing of our experiences. As a family, we feel that this is one of the most important trips any of us will ever take.
love. Everybody, everybody wants to be loved.” ~ Ingrid Michaelson ASIAN ADOPTION ADVENTURE ASIAN ADOPTION ADVENTURE Japan - China - Hong Kong April - May 2012
But that is how it should be, after all, we are asking our family be joined with another precious soul. Now that we have reached the end, I am thankful (of course!), but every so often, the control freak in me has to momentarily mourn the end of the paper chase. I have spent the last year securing document after document. We have revealed the details of our lives, personal and financial; strangers have entered our home to evaluate our suitability as parents; we have been fingerprinted for FBI files; and after everything, we have been found worthy. We matched with an amazing little girl, who wants and deserves to be part of a loving family – just as much as we want and deserve to have her. We have visas to enter China, as she has to enter the U.S. So, now it is done. There is nothing left for me to do in order to secure this happening. On Tuesday, April 24, 2012 we will board a flight to Tokyo; beginning our journey to the ultimate end, where a little girl named Qu Yu from Shaoguan, China, will become one of us, and our family will be changed forever. THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE BEGINS . . .
obligations today, so Sydney and I explored the hotel and areas near by. The weather is cool and rainy, as expected. A quick trip to 7-Eleven turned out to be quite complicated as the foods were unfamiliar, all of the print in Japanese, and no int’l credit accepted! Tokyo Beer Vending Machine
Early this morning, we hopped on a bus for a tour of Mt. Fuji and Hakone. Our guide, Take (sounds like sake wine) was as entertaining as he was informative. Mt. Fuji is an active, though dormant volcano, and it’s last eruption was 280 yrs. ago. It has a history of eruption every 300 yrs.
nearby restaurant for an authentic Japanese sushi lunch. Our beautiful little bento boxes held sashimi, seaweed salad, and other elegant morsels. Yum! Sydney is getting REALLY good at eating with chopsticks.
rode around Lake Ashinoko. This cherry tree is 200 years old! Cable car ride to the top of Komagatake should have given us a great view of Fuji - but no luck! A quick 40 minute ride on the bullet train (traveling at 160 mph) had us back to Tokyo FAST! We really need to have these in the US . . .
We set out today to explore Tokyo, and like other cities, we wanted to use the metro. The time and energy we spent on the ticketing system was overwhelming, and we were thankful for the help of strangers. Everything is so different here, and now we know how it feels to be illiterate!
A peaceful green oasis in the midst of a densely populated city. We enjoyed the entire morning as we strolled around the grounds which cover the area previously home to the Edo Castle. The feeling is so peaceful here, surrounded by the sounds and aromas of nature.
the Asakusa Temple, which is a beautiful and old Buddhist Temple surrounded by rows of small shops. We stopped in for some ice cream, and were surprised by all of the exotic flavors. Chris & I shared the cherry blossom, and it was delicious!
Japan’s population lives here in Tokyo, and we believe it! Everywhere we go, there are large crowds of people. We are thankful to find the Japanese people to be courteous, helpful and kind. Senshoji Temple Gardens Saturday, April 28, 2012
than we ever thought it would be. Not because of our lack of adventure when it comes to food, but simply due to the language barrier. Restaurants with pictures on the menu are great, but even this doesn’t help when you don’t recognize the food in the picture! We have been positively humbled by the communication challenges we’ve faced here.
morning, we met Callie, a native of Xi’An (She-Ann) for a tour of the nearby Buddhist Temple. We were surprised to be such a minority here. Sydney was quite the celebrity! Lots of people wanting to take her picture, as they were all fascinated with her silky blonde hair.
We arrived early, which was wonderful, as we were able to see a majority of the place before the real crowds arrived. We bought several souvenirs in the gift shop, which made us feel good to contribute our money to such a peaceful place.
Warriors was amazing! Created to accompany Emperor Quinshihuang (China’s 1st Emperor) to the afterlife, these statues are amazing to behold. Thirty to 40,000 people visit here each day, and we had only moments to glimpse each exhibit before being pushed away by other visitors.
archers removed from Pit 1 of the excavation site. Except for the painted color, which has faded upon exposure to air, the detail of the piece is extremely well preserved. There are a few statues on solitary display in Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, which were removed from the site intact and undamaged. The statues are life-sized, and each face is unique from all of the others. There have been over 7,000 individuals excavated so far, including infantry, assorted officers, horses and chariots.
Confucius, the buildings at this site are nearly 1,000 years old. Home to many of China’s ancient artifacts that survived destruction by the Red Guard, the most impressive of which are the over 3,000 steles (pronounced stales). Steles are large stone tablets, where the disciples of Confucius transcribed his teachings from the original writings done on bamboo sheets. The steles vary in size, but most were 7-8 feet tall, 3 feet wide, and 8-10 inches thick. Steles were carved by hand, using only a primitive knife. Steles enabled permanent storage, and accurate and efficient reproduction of writings and art. To create a copy, a sheet of rice paper was placed over the stele, and then a rubbed or brushed with ink. Xi’An Beilin Museum
this historical site was one of the most fascinating of this trip. So much Chinese history here! Lisa and Callie moved slowly thru the exhibits, while Chris and Sydney did their best not to get too bored with it all . . . Xi’An Beilin Museum Wednesday, May 2, 2012
day, well before the crowds. This museum held many artifacts, with a wing devoted entirely to the Buddha. The stele featured at the entrance (upper center), was the Classic on Filial Piety; a Confucian writing which extols the virtue in caring for one’s family! Good advice for all to follow . . .
while in the pool - Chris hated this, but we all made the best of it! Xi’An is a modern city, with western stores like Wal-Mart, Subway and Pizza Hut. The traffic here was very congested, and we noticed that many of the traffic lights weren’t operating. We are very thankful to leave the driving to those who live here! Tomorrow, we move on to Beijing to meet up with our Holt group, and one step closer to the real reason we are exploring this beautiful and complex country. Our sweet little Mia!
joined 3 of Chris’s Expedia colleagues for an amazing chinese dinner. Roasted Peking duck was so delicious! Even the crispy skin, when dipped in a bit of sugar, tasted just like bacon. YUM! We all enjoyed the meal, and we were so proud of Sydney. She was polite, and well behaved, all the way through a very grown up meal.
and all of the dishes we sampled were so delicious. We never knew duck was so tasty! We tried many new things tonight, roasted seaweed and bamboo, chicken and chestnut soup, and shrimp with a creamy orange sauce. Fruit served over dry ice was our elegant and understated dessert.
Wall at Badaling, which means ‘convenience of all directions’. At approx. 10 meters tall, the wall snakes around the mountains surrounding Beijing. Climbing is a test of balance and endurance, as the steps are small, unevenly spaced, and at certain areas VERY STEEP.
was 92*F, when the average for this time of year is typically in the low 70’s (thanks a lot, global warming!). We are thankful to be Floridians, who are accustomed to heat, and for hats to shade our faces from the strong midday sun. Hiking to the summit was exhausting, and navigating the crowds at the lower portion of the wall here was tricky. We stuck together as a family, cheered each other on, and stopped many times for rest and water breaks. An hour and 30 minutes later, after climbing 1,000 vertical feet, we reached the summit! We were impressed by how well this historic landmark as been maintained at this site. We saw very little graffiti, or other defacement here. CLIMBING THE WALL
included a jade factory, a bicycle rickshaw ride thru the oldest neighborhood in Beijing, and a tour of a resident’s home. It was enlightening to see how residents of China live in comparison to ourselves. Everyone we have met on this trip so far have been very friendly and proud to be Chinese citizens.
a good one - if only the beds weren’t so HARD! We are spoiled Americans, and we are missing our soft and comfortable beds. Traveling is an adventure, and you have to take the good with the bad. Sydney made the best of her experience by constructing a ‘store’ where we could come to pretend to buy the items she had for sale. We love to see her imagination and ingenuity at work!
we joined the other families for a tour of Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. We are getting to know the other families, and Syd is thrilled to have some other kids around. Makena Gonzales is exactly the same age, and the two girls have become fast friends.
of a the Beijing Yuanlong Silk Corp. We learned all about how the cocoons are harvested and stretched, layer upon layer, to create such soft and beautiful fabrics. The kids really got into it, and even got to stretch some silk themselves! It takes A LOT of tiny cocoons to make a yard of fabric, which goes to show why silk is so expensive. We bought matching dresses here for both of the girls! Silkworms make silk! Silk Factory Tour
our children! So excited! We are off to Guangzhou to meet Mia, and the Gonzales family will be accompanying us. The other families are going elsewhere, and will meet up with us in Guangzhou in a few more days. Sunday, May 6, 2012 Our newest pic of Mia!
the awesome secret agent of travel that he is, Chris worked his magic and got us upgraded to a suite! We will be here for at least two weeks, so having the extra room to move around one another is a wonderful thing. It’s similar to a small apartment, with private bedrooms, bathrooms and a central sitting room with couches, desk and TV. This is the way to travel!
a long, crazy and stressful day! We met Mia at the Civil Affairs Office around 3 pm this afternoon. Amidst all of the chaos around us, we were overjoyed to see this beautiful little soul who would be joining our family forever. She seemed so frightened! Of course, she was! We must seem so very strange to her . . . Here she is - Mia Isabelle Lynch!
we’ve ever experienced as a family. Mia is rejecting me, but appears comfortable with both Chris and Sydney. There are so many things we will never know about her life before us, but it is obvious from her actions and the tears in her aunties eyes that she has been loved and cherished. As happy as we are to have her, they are as equally sad to see her leave. And little Mia? Well, maybe someday she will be able to tell us her side of the story.
Mia back to our hotel and pulled out some coloring books and crayons - anything for some quiet time activity to balance out the earlier stress. Sydney is so excited to have a sister, and Mia has taken to Sydney already. Tuesday, May 8, 2012 we returned to the CAO to finalize our adoption. Mia had relaxed so much with us, UNTIL we returned to that office. We can only imagine what sort of thoughts and confused feelings that trip must have brought up for her!
a kid’s spirits! The morning at the CAO left Mia subdued, stoic and withdrawn, but all of that changed with a nap and a short walk to the park and playground! Mia did her very best to keep up with her big sister Sydney, and she is still most comfortable with Babba (Daddy Chris).
the day that Mia has decided that I’ll be an alright mama after all! On our way to breakfast, she held up her arms, and wanted me to pick her up. I am the object of her attention, and she is following me everywhere, and calling me mama with a huge smile on her face! She loves all of the pretty clothes we brought for her, and getting new shoes was the icing on the cake!
Bureau for the finalization of Mia’s Chinese passport. Boring! So thankful for the company of the other families and children to make the time pass more quickly. kids love water play Wednesay, May 9, 2012
the Gonzales family for a visit to Shamian island. This is the location of the famous White Swan hotel, where adoptive families have been staying for years. Shamian is lovely, and we are a little sad to miss out on the experience of staying in the Swan. It’s closed for renovations until sometime later this year.
have brought our stroller! This thing has made the rounds with us - Greece, Europe, and now China! We debated at length about bringing it, and boy are we ever glad we did! Mia is strong, but not accustomed to all of the walking that we are doing. It’s been great to share with the Gonzales family too, as Linda has been carrying little Leah everywhere.
We had appointments at the Medical Institution of Guangdong Province to get Mia’s medical clearance to leave China. What a crazy place, like a Chinese Health Department! Mia was so brave and didn’t cry when she had her TB test administered, and some lab and paperwork errors found here gave us quite a fright!
have playfully dubbed ‘The Guange”) is hot and steamy, it still does the kids good to get outside and play. Today, we took an expedition with the Gonzales family over to our favorite park. Lots of other families this time, which gave us witness to the discrepancy between boys and girls in Chinese culture.
to know a few of the more affordable restaurants quite well. The Japanese restaurant was by far our very favorite. Other than the ice cream (pinto bean flavor = yuck), the food here was fresh, delicious and satisfying to all of us. We are so thankful that Mia is willing to eat whatever we give her, but she really loves her veggies! Japanese food was our favorite
along with the group to visit the Jade and Pearl markets here in the Guange. Very surprising to see stall after stall of vendors selling practically identical things. We took a stroll down a side street and happened upon a Buddhist temple - serene and peaceful.
day as mother of 2 and it’s been my best mother’s day EVER! Both of my girls have strong and confident personalities, which bring them into conflict from time to time. Despite the disagreements, I love it that I’m watching a budding friendship start. Mother’s Day 2012
medical clinic for TB test readings (all negative - yahoo!), and still no decision on Mia’s papers. We took an afternoon outing to Baiyun (White Cloud) Mountain which is a wild bird sanctuary with expansive views of the city. Sydney’s bright tie dyed tshirt got the unwelcome attention of a resident peacock!
ago, you made us a family, and we love you so much! Today was almost all about you, so we honored your requests for a room service breakfast, watching movies and a pizza dinner on our Pearl River cruise. I hope you will remember how we bargained for the umbrella you’re holding - and got a purple one for your sister in the process!
and get ourselves out of the hotel! We were craving snacks, so we stopped at a nearby McDonald’s and ordered Mia her first taste of western ice cream. Not our usual fare, but when you’re traveling, you really just have to roll with it! We were surprised (and pleased) that she didn’t even like it!
We brought Papa John’s pizza on board, and when everyone had finished eating we made our way to the top deck to enjoy the colorful views and cool night breezes. All of the kids are getting along well, and its wonderful to have other families sharing this life changing adventure with us.
family with Holt includes the tradition of the photos on the red couch. The Holt staff actually borrowed one of the couches from the White Swan so the tradition could be continued during the hotel’s renovation. All of our group crowded into the small room, everyone trying to get a decent photo of all of the children. Yeah, like that was going to happen!
has been such an interesting city, and as we’ve spent 2 full weeks here, we feel as if we’ve really seen it. China has been a true adventure - new and strange foods (chicken feet and pigeon), squatty potties, and lots of Arabic influence here. We are so very thankful or all of the experiences, and our lives have been enriched because of them.
on the train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong made me thankful for my years of yoga training! I have certainly reached another degree of motherhood . . . HK is very British, and the weather is hot, humid, overcast and rainy!
wanted a sunny day to frolic and relax at the hotel pool, but the weather is uncooperative. Instead, we stayed inside, and the girls played and we all got some rest. Today was exactly what we needed. Friday, May 18, 2012 Le Meridien Cyberport HK Umbrella Fort
he couldn’t resist dragging all of us to Ocean Park here in HK. A mixture of a zoo, an aquarium and a traditional theme park with rides and games. The weather was crazy hot and humid, but we did our best to enjoy the experience.
Lantau Island today, to see the giant Buddha. We tackled the metro - so much easier than Tokyo - but the machines would only accept coins! From the train station, we hopped a cable car to the island, and Chris sprung for the extra $ to get the glass bottom car. The kids loved looking thru the floor.
Village, and enjoyed a picnic around an umbrella covered table. The main attraction here is the Po Lin Monastery, HK’s largest Buddhist temple. Atop the island summit sits the Tian Tan statue of Buddha. This statue is 85 ft. tall, and made entirely of bronze. The swastika placed at the Buddha’s heart is an ancient symbol from many traditions, and in Buddhism it is one of the 65 auspicious symbols that represents good fortune, luck and well being.
in HK this week, but we are desperate to go home. Chris worked his magic (again) and we are off. Good thing too, as little Mia got sick on the way, and spiked a fever during our 30 hour trek. She wasn’t feeling well, but you’d never know it by her smiles as she became a US citizen in Detroit! US Citizen Mia!
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