China Travels

US Consulate

2005-11-09T01:18:00.000-08:00

Today I went with our China staff to the US consulate. Boy was I underwhelmed. They moved the consulate to a new location in August and there is no way in the world I would have ever found it by myself. There was no flag on the outside of the building and it shares space with commercial and banking operations.

So after a 15 minute mis understanding, it was determined that I was a US citizen and could enter. There was loud discussion in Chinese between the guard and one of our guides (can you tell yet that I am not fond of Guangzhou?). Finally I was allowed in and got to see and meet a couple of the people I chat with when I schedule our families to the consulate.

I did a little shopping in on the island this afternoon too. It is a really perculiar place. The island is about 3 blocks wide by 10 blocks long and is done in European styled architechture. Most of the buildings are old, but easily put you into a European history in this area. Did I mention that Guangzhou is hot and muggy?

The families by and large are doing well. All of the children are beautiful and have started the transition to their new families. There are a lot of sick folks though. I am estimate that 60 percent of the group is dealing with some sort of sickness though most are head and chest colds. There is not as much for the families to do in Guangzhou which is giving all of them some needed rest. On the flip side our tour guides are working their tails off getting the adoption and citizenship papers processed.

Tonight we will be going out for a river cruise and tomorrow afternoon is the big citizenship oath ceremony for our families. The it is off to pack as we will be heading out at 5:00 AM for the airport.

Incredibly long day

2005-11-07T01:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was horrible.

We arrived at the ariport at 1:00 PM and we were supposed to leave Chengdu at 3:00 PM and arrive in Guangzhou at 5:00 PM. We boarded the plane at 6:00 PM, got in the air at 7:30 Pm and arrive in Guangzhou at 10:00 PM. It was not a good day. Add to this they airlines decided to not give a seat to the newly adoptive child and you can see that the day was filled will all kinds of challenges. The kids got their seats but they were not with their respective families and so on and so on. Did I mention Guangzhou is HOT and MUGGY too?

After getting checked In I crashed. Today the families from Chengdu are playing paperwork catch-up and the adoptive children will be going for their required medical exam.

We are staying at the White Swan Hotel...a landmark in Guangzhou. It is right on the Pearl river, had a 3 story waterfall in the hotel, and a kickin breakfast buffet. This morning I had french toast, apple juice, oatmeal and BACON! I will be goin gout to explore Shamian Island...i

More tomorrow....

Last Day in Chengdu

2005-11-06T00:50:00.000-08:00

Today is our last day in Chengdu. Tomorrow we will be flying to Guangzhou to meet-up with the rest of our travel group and begin the final adoptions phase and begin the naturalization for their new children.

I had a great experience hanging out wiht my new frined Bing today. He invited me in to watch the Rockets play the Hornets. The NBA is getting a HUGE foothold in China. Bing was sharing with me that there are another 3-5 NBA prospects in China but the government will not let them make the big jump because they want to make sure they will be as good, if not better, than Yao when he entered the league. They have to put on more muscle and play more international games before the government will give them the go head. The bottom line here is the government will only allow those who will be stars to have a shot...think about that...and how it might apply to other aspects to their society. I had to say good by to my new friend...

In the afternoon we went to an embroidery factory and then a brocade center. Both were amazing. The silk embroidery is so fine and intricate that most wokers cannot do it beyond the age of 40 because their eyes will go bad. Even more fascinating was the brocade arts. Brocade is a type of weaving that is very intricate and of course is done in silk. After talking the tour and have a 30 minute tutoring session on the 2 -story loom they use to create brocade, I still do not understand the machine. It is utterly too complex for my pea brain, but wow is is beautiful. One detailed piece of hand woven brocade (1' x 3' foot) can take up to 13 months to produce, and a life time of expertise to even attempt the complex patterns.

I am off to get packed...we will be in transit tomorrow. I hope everything goes well especially for the family who has adopted a six year old. She has given many indicators that she does not want to leave.

Day off

2005-11-05T01:45:00.000-08:00

Today I needed, for mental and physical health reasons, a day off. I slept-in until 9:00 am and just hung out trying to get over the cold I am experiencing. I think this is a necessary break for me and the families. I keep thinking to myself that they need to expereince a day in China without me...So today they are.

I spent the afternoon, well, just getting lost. I walked out of the hotel and just started walking, and walking and walking. I went into a very affluent shopping district and by my best count there were at any given time 50,000-75,000 people (mostly youths) in this 3x3 block area. Commercialism has taken hold in China much more than I had imagined.

I continued my walk and played a little basketball with some kids at a school...or at least I think it was their school. I thnk it made their day to play a little b-ball with an American. I will just say that the game was a little rusty and kids really enjoyed that!

Next, I experienced what every foreigner should in China - split bottom pants. Babies and infants in China generally do not wear diapers but rather these split bottom pants. Yeah, that means they go whenever they want to go. As I was walkin by, this little fella decided to pick-up his toy and showed me, well, every thing he had. Note to self: Do NOT bring home any split bottom pants for Baby T.

Just like in the States, I quickly moved from a very nice neighborhood to one that was in absolute poverty. I saw families living in burned out buildings that had been abandonded. I saw people digging through the garbage for food. This might be one of the most shocking things about China for me...the wide chasm between the commercial culture developing from those being left behind.

As of right now, if you have not already guessed...I was lost. I caught a ride home with a rickshaw bicycle driver. It turns out I was way off and that there was about a 3 mile difference from where I was to where I thought I was. It turns out I had about a 5-7 mile walk today. I was a great day though, just getting out and seeing Chi

Pandas

2005-11-03T23:33:00.000-08:00

Today we visited a panda reserve. What a beautiful place. I really enjoyed the hours we spent there today. Walking through bamboo forests was incredible and then seeing the pandas was so very cool. I wanted to jump the natural barriers to just hug these fellas.

Then to top it all off there was a baby panda that we got to see...it might be 5 weeks old. Babies rock. Just off the forest was a lake that was filled with black geese and asian cranes. Again...very peaceful.

The most surprising thing was how dense the bamoo forests can get. At one point you could not see any sunlight at noon. Bamboo comes is all shapes and colors and today I think we saw about 10 different types.

A little homesickness settled in today. I am really missing my wife and child to be. Though we have talked a few times it is not the same as being with the one you love.

Temples and Sichuan cooking

2005-11-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we visted a historic site commemorating a fascinating era in Chinese history. The Three Kingdoms history in China is celebrated at Lui Bei's temple...it is a wonderfully peaceful place. Tucked in the middle of Chengdu this place is quiet and serene while presenting a somewhat comical representation of Liu Bei's court.

Attached to this place is a temple for ancestory worship and a replica Chinese market from the 1800's. What has caught me off guard a little is the reaction by some of our families to the word "temple". We have now seen several historic places that have used the term temple to describe a building and I guess I am just a little surprised by how squeamish some of my fellow travelers can be. It does bring up an interesting question...should a christian willingly enter another's house of worship? It didn't seem to bother me but was the point of a later discussion.

Maybe one of the most peaceful parts of the trip occured after the temple visit. We spent and hour and a half at a tea house. I had apple tea while my travel group also consumed rose tea, chrysanthimum tea, and green tea. The apple tea was combination of orange juice and apple juice, tea, and fruit.

The night was capped off with a hot little number called Sichuan "HOT POT". Think fondue but rather than oil to cook the meat there is a large basin filled with all kinds of spices, oil, and peppers (all the hot kinds) mixed with a clear broth. On a scale of 1-10 were told that our hot pot spiciness was about a 3 (Thank God it was not any hotter!). Don't get me wrong...not only did it have heat but it also had great flavor. We ate like kings for 21 RMB (that's about $2.50 per person). In the boiling sauce we cooked beef, pork balls, bamboo, mushrooms, cabbage, and several things we're not exactly sure had names but could be identified as the green soft things or the thing with 8 holes.

It was a great day!

American Day

2005-11-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday revolved around things from home. In the morning, the families had to do some paperwork with the Sichuan provincial government. They are applying for passports and having the adoption paperwork processed. There was nothing really exciting to report as this is just like beaurcracy paperwork back home.

In the afternoon, we spent our time at a Chinese department store. These prices were more in line with American prices on goods. Nike, Tommy, and Jeep were all brand names in this store with prices running about 1680 for a pair of the latest Nike shoes (to calculate in US dollars divide by 8).

After the department store I walked around in the high class shopping district....nothing exciting to report except maybe the volume of people shopping in these places. My impression is that China was still relatively poor...but if my calculations are correct...there were more than 50,000 people moving through this shopping area.

I thought I would take a moment to apologize for no pictures. I cannot up load them from here. But I am trying to work things out with Amy to post some for me.

OK there is only one other thing I wanted to mention today and that was smoking. Coming from an area that has recently removed smoking from public spaces...the smoke over here is a killer. In the elevators, in the cabs, in the restaurants, in the hotel lobby, in the hallways, in the street, in the bathroom, in the shopping areas...it is everywhere and you cannot get away from it...except walking outside.

Even enjoying our McDonalds and Starbucks yesterday was tinted by the inundation of smoke coming from all directions.

Gotcha Day

2005-11-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

Tuesday is the day for the cornerstone event for adoptions; Gotcha Day. This is the day that the families are united with their adoptive child. These families had a real treat because Gotcha took place at the orphanage. This is not the case for most adoptive families. They generally have to go to a government building to meet their child. So, to see the place where their child spent most of their time was very good for these families.

One of the families adopted an older child (6 years old) and that initially did not want to leave the orphanage. It was heart breaking to see the parents and the child. The parents with so much love to give and tht child who desperately needs this attention but she was so overwhelmed by the unknown. It am happy to report that everything seems to be going great today. Both young girls appear to be bonding to their respective families.

At the orphanage, I was able to spend 10 minutes with some of the orphan girls and collected some great film of my time with them. There was one that I wanted to bring home with me. Curious, energetic and a beutiful smile and I even got a hug from her by the time I left.

For lunch the local tour guide treated me to one of the best restarants in town. The atmosphere was amazing. Of course Sichuan food is hot and spicy...but it is so much more than that. For lunch I had rabbit, black chicken, and double fried pork. The best dish by far was the rabbit. The chicken was not so good and the pork was basically uncooked bacon in hot hot sauce.

I also made a friend yesterday on the street. A guy by the name of Sun Bing. He is a coin collector and we traded American quarters for Chinese coins. For a street person, I was surprised that his English was as good as it is...we had a very detailed conversation about the history of Chinese coins. I will be going back to visit him tomorrow.

The jetlag is still kicking my tail. I was usp this morning at 3:00 am Chinese time, meaning I got about 5 hours of sleep...but I have only had one full night of sleep and it is wearing on me.

Today is a day filled with paperwork for the families. It might even be a day that I seek out some American styled food. I hear there is a Pizza hut close by...

Me and Mao

2005-11-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

On Monday we visited Tienamen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and a Pearl place. The hopped a plane to Chengdu.

It was a very long day, but incredibly stimulating. The Forbidden City and Tienamen area are incredible. The vastness of both places is what most impressed me. The Forbidden City alone sits on 72 hectares. In terms of palaces...this is not a very opulent place. Don't get me wrong. The detail of the work and the shere volume is impressive...but it is not filled with gold this and silver that. At one point in time there were 1000 chamber maids just to keep the place clean. Our guide shared with us that one meal in the palace for the royal family would feed three meals to 5,000 farmers. It was also apparent that this type of luxurious life created a life filled with constant paranoia. The Summer Palace was more of the same...just set on a beautiful lake in the middle of Beijing.

Tienamen Sqaure is what I expected in terms of cold war era buildings. Cold and drab architecture smothered in communist rhetoric. The gradios center serves a similar function to that of the Roman colliseum. It was a grand place to distract and divert the attention of the common people so as to dismiss their dismal lives and create a hollow sense of pride in their nation. The irony of all ironies is that Mao's picture (the one we all see in Tienamen) is actually on the entrance to the Forbidden City. Even the chairman has a sense of where the substance of China could be found.

The Pearl place was cool...The freshwater oysters they use to make their pearls comes in 4 colors (black, white, pink, and purple. Each oyster can hold up to 35 pearls...much different than the ocean oysters. The shop was very cool for the children in the group. Each of them got to take with them a pearl from the sample oyters they used for the demonstration.

The flight to Chengdu was long even though it was only two hours.

Faith, Jade and the Wall

2005-10-31T19:45:00.000-08:00

Today started with a rivetting worship at the Beijing church for foreign nationals. I am happy to report God is in China. The worship was very vibrant and the sermon was intellectually stimulating.

The beleivers in China face very real and tangible challenges. The body is growing here despite the many challenges. It is inspiring to see such faith and commitment in the face of danger. Of course there are state sponsored churches, but the real growth is coming out of home based-churches...very similar to small groups or family groups.

Following church we visited a jade carving and sales center. It was really cool to see how they fashion these very hard stones/minerals into the works of art. I also have to give a plug for their customer service. Each of us had a personal assistant in each shopping center. Mine followed me around the entire store, answered all of my questions, and then of course helped me through the process of paying for the items I purchased. Let's just say Lowes or Walmart has nothing on these guys.

After a good lunch of beef, chicken (hot and cold dishes) vegetables, fruit, and fish heads we moved onto the Great Wall. WOW. I know there have been many thing written and said about the wall, but WOW. It is overwhelming seeing it in person. The steepness alone boggles the mind on how it was constructed...then add the shere volume of work involved and I just stood there in awe of the WALL. The walk up the hill was more of a challenge than expected, but only because of the vertical climb involved.

The Wall is such a wonderful metaphor for China. It is a masterpiece of the will and determination of the Chinese people. There is no wonder in my mind why they will be the next global force. Yes...there are some things that make me ask "What were they thinking?" On the whole though the magnitude and dedication to such a task of building the Wall is so apropos for the coming of the Chinese rise. It was not built in a day...but it was built over several generation (just like modern China)with such magnitude and intimidation.

The families seem to be holding-up well. Only minor gliches here and there. I am off to get some dinner...get packed-up again for Chengdu...and I will hopefully get another good night of sleep!

Landed

2005-10-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

If my calculations are correct I am going on 28 hours of non-stop action...

Life was very uneventful from Lexington to Chicago...had a Cinnibun as I watched nearly every family down some good old McDonalds before hopping on the plane.

Stepping onto the plane is where things got really interesting. So you would think on a plane going to China that I would have been surrounded by a bunch of people from China. It turns out there was a group of 44 Venezuelans making the trip to China; in front, behind and on either side of me. I must have blended well because the flight attendants asked me everything in Spanish. Needless to say, I have made some new friends from Venzuela (You will get pics of this tomorrow).

I have to add to the flight over that the north pole was really cool. I just wish we could have had a little bit of the cool air in the cabin. The air broke, they ran out of food, and again I was stuck in the middle of the Spanish speaking caucus.

China, so far is great. Everything we have seen is modern and clean...though I understand from our guides this is not always the case. After getting everyone from the plane, through customs, and onto the bus...we arrived at the hotel (agian pictures tomorrow). Maybe the best thing I have heard from one of our families is; "Brian...they are having a 50% special on the buffet tonight...Brian responds... "What are they having?" Family member repsonds, "Don't care it's 50% off before 6:00 PM." Much more adventurous with his tastebuds than I.

I had a great meal with the Ladies of AHH China. What awsome people we have here! They took me for a feast...Duck, Fishheads, Corns, Twinkie-like things, Beef, Chicken, and Coke (pictures will come tomorrow). For those of you who know me well...I loved the duck and sampled the fish...though I had some bones get stuck.

This cowboy is off to bed... I need some sweet dreams before we go to church, see the jade place, and climb the Great Wall!

Packed

2005-10-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

It is less than 7 hours before I get to the airport to start this jouney. Everything is packed...one carry on, one check-on piece, and one backpack. China airlines limits the luggage to exactly what I am carrying. Even the big luggage piece is under 44 lbs.

As to be expected, I am a little nervous about the trip. Since I was a freshman in college I have been interested in China. To see the Forbidden Palace where Henry Pu Yi surrender imperial rule to the Japanese and to see the more modern places of Chinese history; Tieneman and the upcoming Olympics is very exciting. A little known fact today...Beijing was one of the two historic capitols for China. It was the capitol established by the Mongol Khans as their summer palace...

Well..it is time to hit the hay. I have a full 29 hour day in front of me, including a 12.5 hour flight. When next I write, it will be from Beijing, China.

Preparing for China

2005-10-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

As the travel services coordinator for adoptive families adopting in China, I am preparing for my first trip to China!

I will be accompanying 12 families on their trip to China to complete their adoption process. We will be traveling from Kentucky to Beijing to Chengdu to Guangzhou and then back home over the next two weeks.

For nearly 15 years now I have had the desire and interest to see China and I am really looking forward to seeing many of the places I have studied in college and in graduate school.

Besides satisfying my personal interest in China, I am really looking forward to gaining an expertise that I do not currently have when I advise families about how to prepare for their China trip. Join me on our journey as I document, in what I hope is a thoughtful and insightful presentaiton on the processes of adoption and the dynamics of an evolving China.