I appreciate all of the prayers. They are coming through, so please keep praying.
Today was an interesting day. I got up early, even though I didn't sleep the night. Getting up early is a big feat for me, so GO ME. :) If you understand how I am NOT a morning person, you will understand.
The breakfast bar at the Longmen Hotel(Best Western) in Shanghai was awesome. They had the best croissants, and breads. The coffee was good. I also ate steamed cauliflower and dumplings for breakfast. I would have filled up more, but I wanted to meet my contact in the lobby at 7:30 sharp, so I quickly ate and left. I am used to American continental breakfasts, where you get a piece of toast and juice if you are lucky. I walked in and LiPing met me. He asked if I had eaten and I said yes. Then, he said that he didn't eat, and that he was going to go eat, because we didn't need to leave until 8:00.
In the meantime, I was trying to check out and pay for my hotel. I asked for my luggage to be brought down before I went to breakfast, but they didn't understand me. After about 10 minutes of trying to check out and get my baggage, a Chinese lady asked to translate for me. She was so helpful. She gave me her business card and asked to get an update about my daughter via email and told me not to take the train, because it was very hard with luggage.
LiPing met up with me and we headed to the bus station. He also told me that they use buses as the transportation in this scenario, and also mentioned how luggage is a major inconvenience, as you must carry it a long ways and he would not be able to guide me. We talked about some interesting China facts. He said that diversity in Shanghai has come a long ways. In the 1990's, when Americans came to adopt, a group of people would gawk at them and follow them. When they would turn around, they would follow them the other way. He also told me that it has been a long time since he has taken a family to Gaoyou to adopt. Half the Sky foundation is at her orphanage, which is a wonderful asset to her child development and care, so I feel very blessed that I am a recipient of a Gaoyou girl. We talked about how the numbers of American families coming to adopt in 2009 has dropped 80% since 2003. He also told me that many domestic families were adopting the non-special needs babies. China is altering their mindset about adoption and some people are choosing to adopt over bearing children. The Chinese have an advantage over international adoptive parents of not having to go through the CCAA.
LiPing took me directly to my bus. He escorted me to the back seat, where it is customary for female to sit. We rushed the entire way after he ate breakfast. I thought it was hilarious that he waited and then we rushed. Driving here is more hectic than Chicago. People make their own lanes and drive down the center. At one point, LiPing stopped in the center of the road, and got out to ask where to park for the bus station, since the front side of the bus gate was locked. He helped me get my luggage and we had to run up two flights of steps to get there. I could never have found it without him. He escorted onto the bus, and bid me farewell, stating, "I thank you for adopting a Special Needs Child from China."
On the bus, we watched two movies in Chinese. The first one was an old Jackie Chan movie from the 80's. I not only knew by Jackie's youth, but from the clothing styles and the Chinese man in the movie with the curly mullet. The people on the bus were laughing and enjoying it. It was a funny movie, and it made the time fly.
Midway through the trip, we breaked at a rest stop. I tried to ask the driver if I could stay on the bus. He didn't understand any English, so after several gestures from me, he gestured a letter "t" with his hands, telling me it was a time-out break. He was very kind and patient though. I tried to ask how long we had, and he had no idea what I was asking. Another man told me we could eat and gestured to eat. He pointed me in the right direction. I kept scoping out the bus, to make sure it wouldn't take off without me. I tried to order food, but no one spoke English. There were no pictures or menus to gesture what I wanted. When I talked, they giggled like school girls and walked away. One girl had no non-verbal gestures to express that she didn't speak English, and just kept repeating herself in Chinese. I nodded, said thanks, and walked away to get some munchies next door.
I saw my first toilet that was a porcelain hole. I actually thought it was pretty cool, because who wants to sit on dirty toilet seats anyways? I am thankful that it did have doors on it. However, not everyone uses the doors.
The bus driver came and got me...Thank God! The other man that had been sitting next to me told him where I was. I thanked him all the way back. If he had left me, I would have never made it to Nanjing. The ride was nice and the seats were very comfortable. It was about a 3 1/2 hour ride, and I even took a small catnap.
Fred met me at the bus stop. (He is actually in the picture of the painting with the children holding hands - he's in the bottom left corner.) We walked several blocks before we found a cab. Fred stopped a cab in the middle of the street when no one was stopping. We were holding up traffic. Fred and the cabby talked loudly back and forth, with much animation, about where to put my luggage. It didn't fit in the trunk, and Fred wanted to put one in the back seat with me. Finally, the cabby got out and made the luggage lie down in the trunk. The trunk wouldn't close, so he just left the trunk door wide open, flapping back and forth. I was praying that my luggage would not fall out.
I enjoyed seeing many lanterns and decor for the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New ends on Feb. 28th. Nanjing was very festive.
We arrived at my 5 star hotel. Fred told me he would meet me in a hour to fax documents to Jiliang's orphanage. I realized that I did not have the Travel Approval document, which I distinctly remember packing!! Fred told me that he didn't know if the adoption process would continue without it. It just happens to be the most important paper of all. It turned out that when I rearranged some things in my luggage, it didn't make it back into the bag. Therefore, Scott is going to fax it to my hotel AND Fedex it morning with a rush put on it. That was such a scary feeling, but I believe that everything is going to be okay. I just have to trust that people are praying for me and that I have come too far to let something like that keep me from getting Jiliang. However, I still bring leave with her tomorrow.
I checked out the hotel. I was interested in getting a hair trim for myself. While looking, I found the spa. The sweetest young man was behind the desk, and he giggled himself silly when I started to speak. The pedicures and massages are really cheap! I asked about bringing Jiliang in for a pedicure, but he had no idea what I was saying. I was practically pantomiming it out, and he just started laughing, and I did too. Then, I just said, "I'll come back later." At least now I know how frustrating and scary it is to not know how to verbally communicate. I thought that I understand from working with ESL students, but it is definitely paralyzying and isolating. That will certainly give me some insight into Jiliang's perspective.
I am currently getting ready to catch some zzs. It was warm all day and I actually had to turn off the heat and open a window to cool off. It's still only in the 50's, but it feels great to me. I have been watching a fireworks show all night from my window. I can see and hear fireworks all over the cityscape.
It is 2024 hours as I write this. I will be meeting my daughter at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning at the Civil Affairs office in Nanjing. That is only 12 hours and 36 minutes until I hold my little girl. I am so excited.
Please pray that my document comes through and doesn't delay our homecoming. I also pray that tomorrow will not be too scary for Jiliang, now "Gee Leanne".
My Aunt Barb pointed out one for cool thing about Jiliang's name. It sounds like Jill or Jillian. It also sounds like Le (for Leah) and Anne (which is my mom's middle name). Therefore, my daughter will have a piece of all of the Harvey girls' names. How sweet is that?
Thanks for the love and prayers!!!
God Bless you all,
Jill :)
