I think it's March 20

It's hard to get to a computer because I can't get connected in our hotel room so this will be brief. We went to the Orphanage on Wednesday and have a very emotionally charged day. It was good, but parts were just very difficult. I have written a long version and saved it in word so I will try to post those from Beijing when we arrive tommorrow. The longer we are in Yangzhou the more I realize just how big and important this reunion trip is to so many in Yangzhou. There must be hundreds of people who are behind the scene making sure every last detail is taken care of.
Yesterday we spent our morning at the zoo and park and Josi got to see a panda and Cadi got to see a tiger so the day was complete. We were entertained with puppets and lion dancing and kite flying all morning long. Cadi also made a hand print along with the other Yangzhou girls and those will stay at the orphanage. During the afternoon we toured a school and then went home with a host family to have time at their house and dinner. I think this could be the highlight of the trip! It was great to see their apartment and learn how to make dumplings with the grandma! I will add the details later, but just wanted you to know we are fine and having great fun. Later...Marleen

A very emotional day...

I can't get connected in my room so there will be no photos today. We went to the orpphanage today and it was a very emotional day. It started the moment we got off the bus and were greeted by the pounding of drums. There were people lined up to greet us as we walked off the bus and it almost felt like we were celebreties! I guess in fact we were. There was quite the celebration with dignitaries and speeches and fireworks and lion dances. Cadi got a lot of it on video. I was just taken over by the emotion of finally being able to bring her back to the place of her roots.

After the opening ceremony we split into groups. The girls made dumplings which we ate for lunch along with a few soups and fruit. After lunch we were able to tour the new building which will open in September. Then we went into the rooms where the children were. There were several that just tugged at my heart. There were very few dry eyes. I will try to write more about my feeling later, but I just wanted to post and let you know that we are fine, but we have very limited access to the internet. I guess it is only a problem for Mac users. I knew I hated Macs!

Later if I can get back on. Until then I will try to keep a journal and then transfer all to this blog. Tomorrow will be a less emotional day. Marleen

A little bit more before we go...

Didn't really get any time to blog last night so I have a few minutes now before we leave the hotel to say a little bit about yesterday. We went to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in the morning. Seems like there were many more people there than 10 years ago. The weather was beautiful and warm enough we were without coats for most of the day. The girls seemed to be impressed with the splendor, but Josi got excited when we related it to the scene in Mulan.

After a lunch we were honored with the privileged to go to CCAA China Center for Adoption Affairs. We were able to see the document review rooms as well as the magical place called the matching room. They told us that they actually look at the applicant's picture and then the babies pictures and match them that way. That explains why I got such beautiful daughters!

After that the girls got to go to the BLAS office for a lesson in calligraphy and to learn a song. Then we went shopping in a 4 story lesson in bargaining At one point the girls were laughing so hard I thought we were going to have to find a Chinese toilet (which by the way they both experienced at the BLAS office!

Cadi and I skipped dinner and sat in the front of the restaurant while the others ate because she just wasn't feeling well. She's still a little punky today so hopefully we will make it to Yangzhou today!

The picture are all from our time at CCAA and BLAS including the toilet. We still need some education with this chinese culture...

Smilebox slideshow

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4f4449784e4445334e6e77354d5445324e6a51350d0a&sb=1

I can't get this to post any other way. Delleen made a slideshow of our trip to the Forbidden City sow hopefully if you copy and paste you can see it. We didn't get home last night until 8:00 and I was too exhausted to update the blog. We have a ceremony this morning with the Minister of Civil Affairs and then we have a short break before we fly to Nanjing and bus to Yangzhou. I'll see if I get time to blog during that break. Later

More photos

The answer to the question...

is no. Adding Crystal Light immunity to Pocari Sweat really doesn't make it taste any better, but I figure it's got to be good for me. The alcohol on the table at lunch however probably is not. The glasses they provided were no bigger than a thimble and there is a reason for that. We poured some smelled it, touched it to our lips, and decided that was plenty!

We had a day of great contrast yesterday and by the end of the day I was so tired I couldn't possibly blog so I am instead writing this at 5:00 am. We left the hotel at 8:00 and drove for a little over an hour to get to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. I was so excited when I saw this was the location we would be visiting because this was the same section that Delleen and I visited in 1998. Such a different experience than Badaling in 2001. It was very quiet and uncrowded. Cadi at first was disappointed to hear that we would take the cable car up and thought that meant we would not be walking on the Great wall, but once she saw that we would still do a lot of hiking she was okay with it.

We spent almost a hour hiking around, exploring the watch towers and just soaking up China. It was incredible to finally be standing with my two daughters on the Great Wall of China! I was able to share about the first time I went to the Great Wall and how our guide told us to close our eyes and hear and smell and feel the Great Wall. Then he sang Silent Night to us. At the time I thought that was a bit strange, but every year at Christmas time, when I hear that song I am transported back to China and the Great Wall. I tearfully sang Silent Night to them and I pray that it does the same thing for them each year a Christmas.

Once we were finished and heading down to the bus the bartering began! I probably spent too much and bought too much, but it is so much fun to play the bartering game! The kids were amazed at the way things are done in China. At one point a tiny little woman had big old me trapped. I could not physically push my way past her. I finally had to duck under her arm to escape!

After we said goodbye to the Great Wall we headed back to Beijing. Most of the villages we passed by seemed very tired and sad. Deserted buildings, people standing by the side of the road, an occasional mule or person pulling a cart. I think this is the China Cadi had pictured in her mind so I was glad she got to see the contrast between the two Chinas. We stopped for a tour of a factory that makes that enameled filled brass that I can't spell! Cloisenne closinee, how do you spell that word! Anyway we had a huge lunch and then had time to spend more money in the friendship store. I got some pearls for the girls, those painted glass globes with their names painted inside, and a lot of other things to bring home. I'm afraid my suitcase is already too full!

After driving for about a hour more we were at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Venue. We saw the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest. We paid the extra money to go inside thinking the price of admission would be worth it if we could use a western toilet and it was! Once insdie and down on the floor of the Stadium, Cadi asked if she could run all around the Bird's nest. She and Josi took off and Cadi filmed a video on the Flip of them running then walking then running again around the stadium. Its pretty funny!

When we were finished we headed back to the hotel for a short break. We all got showers and I washed out the clothes we had on. Cadi definitely wins the prize for carrying home more of the Great Wall than anyone else! We walked to a nearby restaurant and had a interesting dinner. I loved the fact that Cadi loved the spinach soup and Josi didn't let the head on the fish slow her down one little bit! We should have taken our camera! So totally exhausted we came back to the hotel and collapsed. Today is another day. We will start out in just about an hour with a walk through the park to observe morning exercises, but that is another story...

Early Morning musings...

It's 4:00 am and I can't sleep. I feel much more coherent than I did last night at 9:30! The girls are still asleep which is a good thing. They were both pretty exhausted last night. For the most part they are being really good explorer even though Josi thought her legs were going to fall off during the Temple of Heaven tour. Neither were terribly impressed with my attempt to order dinner last night. We found a KFC without biscuits which in Cadi's mind is no less than criminal! The other thing I realized is that hot milk and whole milk sound identical when spoken by a chinese woman and heard by an American woman! We did bring the hot milk home, poured hot chocolate mix into it and had very creamy cocoa.

It is so wonderful to see the bond that has formed between Cadi and Katie who were both adopted on the same day. They seemed to instantly like each other and they are truly delighting in each other's company. I dearly love Katie's mom, Jeri. She was the veteran back in 1998 who had already made the trip and took me under her wing and showed me the ropes back then. It was very sweet to see her again and give her a hug yesterday morning. We spent the entire day together renewing old friendships and for the girls forming new ones. Our group yesterday also included Susan and her daughter Avery who seem like old friend. Josi and Avery hit it off too so that was great that Josi has a friend close to her age. Unfortunately we are not in the same group as either of those families. We have been divided by the age of the "Yangster" so our three families are in three different groups. I'm sure this will help us branch out and meet new people. There are families here from 6 different countries. I think they are Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, England, the U.S. and I can't right now think of the final country. So far the oldest girl we have met is 17.

We are met by many bold stares as we walk through the streets of Beijing. We are definitely a rare sight. Starting in the airport in SeaTac both of my girls have commented on how they have never "seen this many Asian people" and yesterday while we were in the store one of the other girls said, "HereI look like all the people and you are the one who looks different." There is a lot to process here and I am so glad that we are starting on some of the processing.

P.S.-One thing I forgot to say was how beautiful the weather was here yesterday. Probably in the 50s and today it's supposed to be get up to 60 degrees! We are not going to freeze on the Great Wall!