The Latest from China

Adoption 2008 LATEST NEWS
December 24 - Today we are in Wenzhou: a five hour ride south through the “countryside”, covered with farm communities working the soil and growing all kinds of fruit and vegetables. Mandarin trees abound as well as tea plantations. Many hillsides are terraced. Rice fields presently lie fallow though some are flooded with water. Water buffalos graze peacefully in the untilled patches of land. Farmers utilize an intensive strategy for cultivating their produce. Most fertile areas are used, even the medians on the highway.
However in Wenzhou there is a contrast of businesses and poverty. People drive their Buicks and Hondas while the elderly and small children panhandle at stoplights. (Not everywhere of course, for the people seem to be very industrious).
God was gracious to us as we made our way from the hotel to the Security bureau of the municipal police station. Here all passports are processed for the city residents. In the past our guide told us how difficult the process is to have passports expedited. Unless you know someone in the bureau it may take days longer to go through the red tape. Thankfully a policewoman heard our story and chose to intervene. So we received our note and can finish the rest of the paperwork in Hangzhou. We are 450 yuan lighter but the process went very smoothly and we will not need to wait for days to have the process completed. Our passports will be competed and expedited back in Hangzhou
This evening we are invited by the orphanage director for dinner. She seems to be a very caring and conscientious woman and we will enjoy the opportunity to know her better. The food is scrumptious: delicious fish, pudding, rice mixes and an assortment of other delicacies that I cannot describe. We conclude with a shaved ice mounded like a volcano and topped with caramel and other toppings. Very good!
Our Wenzhou hotel is definitely not as classy as the ones we have been staying at. This room smells of smoke. The furniture is dated; some fixtures do not work well and other wall fixtures come off at the touch of the finger. The bed is quite firm. But we’ll manage. We’re grateful to have a safe place to sleep.
On Christmas day we return to the Lakeside Hotel in Hangzhou, and on Friday we may do some sightseeing before we take an evening flight to Guangzhou to meet up with the other adoptive families and hear of their stories.
Wendy has been a wonderful guide and host and our driver has been tops.
The countryside between Hangzhou and Wenzhou is diverse with multiple farming communities. Every square hectare is utilized for growing vegetables. We passed by tea plantations, cotton fields, rice patties, and a wide assortment of cabbages and other local vegetables. Mandarin trees abound farther in the south. Mountains and hillsides are meticulously terraced. Shrines and burial places for departed ancestors dot many hillsides.
Christmas Day
Merry Christmas everyone. After a very traditional Chinese breakfast we left for our 5 ½ hour return to Hangzhou where we checked back into the Lakeview Hotel. Holly and I have struggled with sickness though Samuel continues to show improvement since we put him on Amoxicillin. So last night we went to a pharmacy and purchased Tylenol and adult Amoxicillin for us. We’ll lay low today - perhaps visit a local McDonalds or Pizza Hut near the hotel and watch a movie. Tomorrow we may or may not take a boat ride on the lake or so a little shopping before we take an evening flight for Guangzhou
This evening Amy and I went out for a walk to bring home to our room some McDonalds. Cost of a meal for five? 79 yuan (less than 14 dollars). We were in the Hangzhou business district among the most fashionable upscale shops and businesses. Even here (like all of the other world-class cities on our globe, there are the beggars: An old destitute man crumbled in a heap of humanity, a little child practically no more than three years old, a woman asking for a few coins. We walk by, knowing that many of these folks have subsidies from the government. The child does not appear to be hungry. The police arrive. The woman suddenly disappears into the crowd. The child looks a bit more frantic.
Back to our hotel we enjoy the western style meal. Yufei seems to like chicken mcnuggets and fries and doesn’t seem to disagree with his system. Though the trip from Wenzhou to Hangzhou didn’t agree with him. As soon as we entered the hotel lobby, he deposited the contents of his stomach on the floor.
We are most like God when we begin to adopt his characteristics and attributes: compassion, kindness, love, gentleness, mercy, grace, justice, peace.
Friday, December 26
Our sleeping schedule continues to be a bit messed up, partly because we are fighting sickness. Only Amy shows a measure of good health. Steven has a little cold but nothing serious. The rest of us are coughing and blowing our noses and taking medicine. Today will be a light day, with breakfast at the hotel, a stroll around town, and lunch at a nearby pizza hut. Amy likes the breakfast here: rice, dumplings, steamed bread, bacon, watermelon. A chef is on hand to make eggs the way you like it. And the eggs are very fresh, not like store bought eggs at home. The breads and rolls remind me European cuisine. There is always congee available: a steamed rice made into a soupy substance that is very popular all over China.
Jealousy has officially set in. Samuel does not like sharing mom and dad. Feeling sick does not make anything better. He tends to be very clinging when he’s not feeling well.
Pizza Hut for lunch
This afternoon at check-out we traveled with Wendy to pick up Steven’s Chinese passport. Now he is able to fly within the country or overseas. We then went to Hangzhou’s Cultural Center. Wendy says it’s like Hangzhou’s Chinatown. Here we visited a tea store and purchased some gifts. Then we found special tea infusers for ourselves. I learned something about black tea vs. green tea. Since Black tea goes through a fermentation process, the leaves need to first be washed with 100 degree water. That water is thrown away and now the leaves are ready to be used for drinking. Green tea is different. It does not need to be washed first. Simply take two or three pinches and place it in warm water. Let stand for about 15 minutes and it’s ready. Flower tea is different yet. Take about 7 or so pods, place them in hot water and when the leaves open the tea is ready to drink.
We then went to the airport, ate at McD’s and took the plane for Guangzhou where “Amy” met us with another AWAA couple and brought us to the China Hotel. Tomorrow the children get their medical exams and then it’s off for some necessary shopping.