Lost in translation – Zhengzhou edition

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179 days
by in Adoption Story

Happy Thursday, US. It’s been a blast here today. Here’s the afternoon update:

We got a chance to visit with our guide a little more and translate with Brendan some more things we were wanting to say to him. Have I mentioned he’s awesome? It’s been a blessing not to have too many people around because these moments we’ve had in the hotel room have been some good community and relational trust building.

This afternoon after lunch, I asked our guide to see if there’s a CD store around – I’ve heard how CD’s are made in China. The government, in an attempt to squelch piracy, sets pricing on CDs to be really cheap (I got a boxed set of Linkin Park CDs for 28 RMB – roughly 4.50 USD). It guarantees they sell and it prevents piracy. So, we started to walk around. Where we are at is roughly a mile away from City Center and there are countless (and I do mean countless) stores withing this area. The city center is a TV tower that has two stars on it as a war memorial (I got pictures). Everything here is on large scale – it’s a small by China standards with 7.5 million people. It’s very similar to a Cincinnati in feel. Consumerism is king.

I’ve still not figured out how you check out. There seems to be two levels – You pay and then you verify your receipt (I’m assuming for returns). But, on the way to check out, Theresa, our guide, asked me to write my name then said the clerk has probably not seen english before – sure enough – the clerk asked and didn’t believe that was my name..she thought I just scribbled something.

We went hunting CDs, right? So, I asked about Chinese music and she’s taking me through the list of bands and artists and I spotted Justin Beiber and asked if she’d heard of him (to which she said “No”). :)

We went back and I thanked her again for her work with us (we fly out tomorrow). I proceeded to give her a side hug which was way…way…way…not appropriate. *sigh*.

Anyway – we’re working on getting Brendan down to a schedule (which we’ll mess up). He’s going to wake up soon (It’s 2:42 p.m., Thursday, here). We’ll be playing, probably at the park, hitting dinner and doing a bath. Tomorrow is Guangzhou! Saturday our Medical appointment and Sunday/Monday shopping and sight seeing. It’ll be nice to be in a group again and we’ll work hard at building relationships of these people as we all start our stories with our children here.

Expect a number of photos to come up probably Saturday night here (Saturday a.m. in the US). I’m going to work at collapsing the few hundred I have into some pieces that make sense.

Lost in the World,

–pete

Thursday – Zhengzhou – a.m.

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179 days
by in Adoption Story

Ok -

We’re still doing well here. Several things are lining up that are making us way stable. First, Brendan is *really* warming up to us. We fed Brendan a bit too much and it shocked his system a little (we didn’t listen to our guide in Beijing(!)…silly Americans). We gave him too many choices and as a result he had a nasty stomach ache and low grade fever. Hence, our trip to the hospital yesterday.

What’s good though is that through the experience, Brendan understood that we were there to help him…he gets sick, we go see the Doctor and make him better. We got medicine for him (all written in Mandarin) – we’re not sure what it was, but *shrug*, we’re in China and he’s Chinese…I’m sure he’s fine…and sure enough, he was. :)

This morning’s been wonderful. We made it out to a very well taken care of park around 6:40 or so. If you are not on your way to work or working at this point, it seems you’re doing some sort of exercise. Among the middle class it doesn’t seem as though there are too many overweight people. We saw Tai Chi, we saw people out with swords (cool! No pictures though, Aidan…it was a bit awkward to take). But, I did sneak a couple of pictures of some older women who were doing tai chi with something…not sure what.

Brendan just loves getting his picture taken. We don’t have language yet (we know survival mandarin), but it’s humbling to see where touch and care is building trust. Today was the first time we’ve been out in a crowd that he’s really warmed up and smiled.

He’s a very *dutyful* son. Taking off his clothes for a bath last night, he folds them up and puts them neatly on the chair. Last night was a great moment too. Brendan called out “Ma” and proceeded to give MJ a hug. Very very nice.

So, it’s like 10 a.m. here and we have some final paperwork to get and we’ll probably go out exploring some more today.

Today’s prayer requests: I’m teetering on being sick – the dust (you think Ethiopia is dusty…) and smog have wreaked havoc on my lungs. I’ve pumping vitamin C, liquids and juice and it’s helping. (btw, they have Kiwi juice here that is the *bomb*).

Anywa, we got a lovely boy here who is bored. We’re going to go do something.

p.s. Sorry about the lack of pictures. It’s *hard* to do major uploads here. Expect a deluge in guangzhou on Saturday.

p.p.s. The juice is INSANE here. OJ isn’t pumped up with sugar (neither is the skittles with HFCS…they have real sugar. The juice tastes like it was freshly squeezed.

Wednesday in Zhengzhou

0
180 days
by in Adoption Story

We’re here and we’re stable. It’s been an interesting day. Brendan came down with a fever last night and so after asking around, we had Theresa, our guide, take us to the hospital to take a look at him. That, in and of itself, was one of the most interesting moments of the trip so far. The hospital is around the corner from our hotel and it is, in word, dingy and overrun with people. We waited around 1 1/2 hours to get to see the Doctor and as I sat in the waiting hall for Melissa, Theresa, and Brendan to come out I got a glimpse into what Brendan’s world is shaping up to be. It’s disorientating to sit in a space where *no one* speaks your language. Normally, I engage with people and am the first to be extroverted and I found myself not wanting to make eye contact due to someone asking me a question. It makes sense why Brendan is so shy.

While I was sitting there, a mom came by with her toddler son who pooped into the waste basket next to me. It’s just a different culture and a different sense of what personal space is. We met with the Dr. who helped 5 other families along with us at the same time.

Zhengzhou is a beautiful city that has problems, just like any other. I felt safe walking around, but because of the growth of the city, the infrastructure just often appears overrun. Between cars (the smog is *INTENSE* here – clear days are hazy, normal days the smog makes it hard to see a mile away), busses, bikes and people, roads are just crazy – I’m never looking at Bloomington Normal the same way.

I had to get a pair of sandals (mine were left at home). We got a chance to walk into the mall and it’s intense. The opening ceremony (yes, I said ceremony) involved two color guard employees opening the gate and bowing/yelling at us to come in and said something to the effect of “thank you for being here”.

This afternoon i got a chance to walk around a bookstore and navigate our neighborhood. It’s just stunning. There are spaces here where the Chinese do an excellent job with what they have. Everything is efficient and there is nothing in terms of space that is wasted.

Tomorrow’s plan (Thursday) is we get the final pieces of paperwork done, probably navigate the neighborhood a little more and then pack. We’re really looking forward to Guangzhou and seeing LIneker and Amy (the couple who are in charge of the national program in-country), the rest of our dear community we traveled with and navigating a city where there are more fluent english speakers. For what it is though, these days this week have been valuable and we’re thankful for them. We’re also thankful for the prayers and petitions God has been answering – it’s been working like this: problem, prayer, answer, problem, prayer, answer. The air here is smoggy, but heaven is present and we are thankful.

Love to you all from inland China.

Dark Nights of the Soul and Hotel rooms…

1
181 days
by in Adoption Story

Hi friends -

We are off on Day 2 in Zhengzhou (pronounced “JinJo”). THANK YOU for your thoughts. I’ve read so many stories over the years of the Father’s presence in China and it seems like although the air is smoggy, we can tangibly feel your prayers.

First, Brendan now is huge introvert. Huge. Did I say he was an Introvert? In the room he is vibrant, laughing, playful and wants hugs and out in public he turns back into the boy we met yesterday. I’m trying to grasp what it means to him to have literally nothing and then be told “Here, pick what you want to eat.” “Would you like a toy?” and being affirmed constantly by two people. He is changing and smiling and laughing.

I’m appreciating yesterday for what it was. Awful, unexpected, weary and emotional. But today we feel your thoughts, the Father’s presence and the encouragement of your notes. We’ve been listening to Andrew Peterson’s “Counting Stars” and just cried through it (“My hope lives on” is now my theme song for this trip). I feel so thin because it was only yesterday morning and we miraculously got on our plane without paying any extra fees and got to our gate. We took a bus out to the plane and it was very similar to our gotcha day for Iona. I’m not sure what if anything, I ate yesterday.

Today we finished up the majority of our paperwork including going to the Notary’s to get the stuff approved. We got a picture “with our dear leader” ;) . We got to meet some of the kinder folk at the Civil Affairs building. It was wonderful to see people who you could tell get the vision of why they are there – who care for the kids, etc.

Then, oh, then…WE WENT TO THE SUPERMARKET!!!!! We got food for lunch, some juice, pop and 5 GALLONS OF WATER. Oh the small things. Then we went to the Zhengzhou McDonald’s. It was a nice break from the Chinese fair. So thankful for the small things. I got a picture in front of the fake Apple store too :) .

So, tomorrow is shopping (Aidan, I’m going to look for some of your stuff), then thursday is finishing off paperwork and then Friday we are on to Guangzhou.

We are so thankful for the staff. Linaker is the national guide who is the Chinese version of Robel from Ethiopia (ET people will know who I’m talking about). Linaker can tweak reality and has been amazing to work with and we are so thankful for all that he’s done in getting us right. When we get to Guangzhou, I’m giving him a hug.

We miss our other two kids horribly. Now that we are stable, I feel as though that is our next front we are going to battle on.

If you want specific thoughts you can give to the father:

– Skype would be wonderful. We’ve had awful luck so far.
– our VPN is not operational here – hence the weird post
– Brendan would continue to bond with Me and Melissa

We love you all. Only 10 more sleeps till we are back on US soil.

…and this is what it means to follow…

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182 days
by in Adoption Story

As I type this, we’re settling down for an evening. Alot’s happened since I last posted. About the time I posted, we went down for dinner, ate a great western dinner (with chopsticks…I’m getting really good, if I do say so myself) and then Brendan came up for a bath, and a light switch turned.

He has been playing, laughing, giggling and chasing us around the hotel room. It’s been like an oasis in the middle of just an awful day. I know it’s prayer and the Middle Kingdom here is a place where prayer is felt acutely. He doesn’t even look the same as he did at noon. He is grafted onto me, it appears, Mom – he’s still a little unsure of.

It’s been a rough day, but we are praying with a renewed energy for tomorrow. Bedtime now, but tomorrow early is the Civil Affairs meeting where we are interviewed, the final money is taken and we are waiting for a couple of days to get things squared away before we are off to Guangzhou.

THANK you for your continued encouraging words. We got a glimpse of Brendan tonight and he will be a wonderful part our family. He has a VERY similar disposition to Aidan and he’s gifted in play with using no words.

Prayer requests now though: we are now without drinkable water.

Tomorrow our guide is going to take us in search of cheap bottled water (we think it may not exist) and we also need help with a food source. Both meals today were 140ish RMB (which could get really expensive long haul).

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