Heh, the early bird gets the worm! Michelle is still sleeping, so I'm going to send an update now, muhahaha!!!
Yesterday was a very good day. Things started off with breakfast and a little girl in a bit of a sour mood.Things started picking up late in the morning while we were out on our walk. I've found out that she knows (already) how to work the eyes. I'm in big trouble. She did it to me first at the 7-11 (yeah, they have 7-11 here) when she wanted some gum. There is no use resisting such a force, ha!
Most of the afternoon was spent hanging out and playing in the room. Nina let me have alot of her time and seems to be tempering things alot better. We looked at books, she helped me eat a couple pears (she loves pears), did a little coloring, and practiced our conversation (her primary word right now is 'aaa', but if that fails, she starts chattering in chinese).
Lee and I went to go check out the local shopping area. There is a massive shopping district that is about a mile from here. 5 minutes on the hotel transfer service and we were there. Traffic here is still...well...chinese traffic, humorous as it is. When we got out we were amazed at the density of the area. Not only population-wise, but also with respect to their storefronts. The area greatly resembled about a half-scale Times Square. If your in Guangzhou and have a hankering for American fast food, this is where to go. There were 2 McDonald's, a Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, KFC, and probably a couple others that I didn't see. Also, as Guangzhou is primarily Cantonese, there is a street that showcases different items of food from noodles to scorpions (self-professed, the Cantonese eat anything but the table). Keep in mind your shoulder-to-shoulder with about 5 other people while walking amidst the stores (or eating your scorpions for that matter).
Stepping inside one of the shopping areas, your presented with a labyrinthian maze of incredible proportions. From the entry floor, there are escalators that go down and up. The storefronts are very much akin to slots in a swap-n-shop, as they are about 5-10 feet square and are rented out to people selling their wares. This adds to the whole density confusion. And if that isn't confusing enough, each of their escalators covers two floors, they are paneled with mirrors, and have mezzanine levels between the floors, so your left with a feeling of "how did I miss that area?".
So, after we gathered our bearings, and with a great appreciation for how tight you can pack things together, Lee and I grabbed McDonald's and walked back to the hotel (about a 15 minute mile). Nina wasn't that thrilled with the hamburgers, but she was totally into the wings that I picked up. Oh yeah, she is definitely a fry girl, but is kinda finicky about ketchup.
The night ended with looking at some books some more. She then let me put a bandaid on a papercut she got from the book...ha! Small things are big and you have to make the most of what you got. All to sleep, no crying, and this morning is starting out pretty good too.
Thank you all for your support!
Bill
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Guangzhou is Beautiful
Greetings from Beautiful Guangzhou. (Gwonjoe)
We are off of the Pearl River on a tiny island called Shamien Island. From what I understand at one time the British (& French) I think once had something to do here. (Sorry, I've just had so much information poured into me I am losing details). For this reason that I cannot explain well, many of the buildings and architecture on British and French inspired, not Chinese. Speaking of the Pearl River, there are lots of celebrations due to the Asian Games and last night they had a boat parade you will see in a photo. We had a room change fortunately, so we have beautiful views of the river and the cityscape behind it.
Another of the photos is of Nina-Li curled up in her tiny bed. We decided to get her, her own bed to separate her a bit from the boys. It is a tiny little foam bed with sides and it was just her size. She loved it.
It was a lovely morning to walk around. There is a beautiful park along the Pearl river in which many people exercise and practice their Tai Chi, ladies do Chinese Line Dancing, and all ages play a version of hackey sack. There is a section of stair that go down into the Pearl River that locals use to swim in the river. The same river in which several cargo ships go up and down. This river is very similar to the Missouri River. Not sure it would be my top choice of exercise.
There are several bronze sculptures through out the island. I would love to get out one morning alone & just snap photos of them.
Today we walked through the park, Nina played at the playground, unsure of some of the playground equipment including the small tornado slide. But, she liked it. We did some shopping and got her a pretend Barbie and some sunglasses. We picked up our laundry. Yeah! Clean clothes. For 6 people we got laundry done for about $26. Not bad. It's been a good day for Nina so far. We can tell that mornings are her low point. She is very quiet. So after breakfast we quickly went outside for a change of scenery.
One of the most refreshing things for me today was breakfast at the White Swan. Several families are here adopting. And instead of the quiet tonations of the Chinese speaking, you hear the loud voices of Americans talking. I never noticed that sound before, because it has always been quite normal. Voices talking over a meal. However, we haven't heard that noise for almost two weeks and for some strange reason it was quite comforting.
Oh, and DENISE LOVELL, there is a sushi place in which you choose your flavor, from a TANK! And I never saw the sight at Wal-Mart we discussed, nor had our guide heard of such a thing.
Enjoy the photos.
Love to you all.
We are off of the Pearl River on a tiny island called Shamien Island. From what I understand at one time the British (& French) I think once had something to do here. (Sorry, I've just had so much information poured into me I am losing details). For this reason that I cannot explain well, many of the buildings and architecture on British and French inspired, not Chinese. Speaking of the Pearl River, there are lots of celebrations due to the Asian Games and last night they had a boat parade you will see in a photo. We had a room change fortunately, so we have beautiful views of the river and the cityscape behind it.
Another of the photos is of Nina-Li curled up in her tiny bed. We decided to get her, her own bed to separate her a bit from the boys. It is a tiny little foam bed with sides and it was just her size. She loved it.
It was a lovely morning to walk around. There is a beautiful park along the Pearl river in which many people exercise and practice their Tai Chi, ladies do Chinese Line Dancing, and all ages play a version of hackey sack. There is a section of stair that go down into the Pearl River that locals use to swim in the river. The same river in which several cargo ships go up and down. This river is very similar to the Missouri River. Not sure it would be my top choice of exercise.
There are several bronze sculptures through out the island. I would love to get out one morning alone & just snap photos of them.
Today we walked through the park, Nina played at the playground, unsure of some of the playground equipment including the small tornado slide. But, she liked it. We did some shopping and got her a pretend Barbie and some sunglasses. We picked up our laundry. Yeah! Clean clothes. For 6 people we got laundry done for about $26. Not bad. It's been a good day for Nina so far. We can tell that mornings are her low point. She is very quiet. So after breakfast we quickly went outside for a change of scenery.
One of the most refreshing things for me today was breakfast at the White Swan. Several families are here adopting. And instead of the quiet tonations of the Chinese speaking, you hear the loud voices of Americans talking. I never noticed that sound before, because it has always been quite normal. Voices talking over a meal. However, we haven't heard that noise for almost two weeks and for some strange reason it was quite comforting.
Oh, and DENISE LOVELL, there is a sushi place in which you choose your flavor, from a TANK! And I never saw the sight at Wal-Mart we discussed, nor had our guide heard of such a thing.
Enjoy the photos.
Love to you all.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Now in Guangzhou
Ni Hao from Guangzhou. This is a very busy place, for this is the second night of the Asian Games. We were supposed to come last night, however our hotel was overbooked. I found out earlier that the President of Pakistan was at the same hotel last night that we are staying. I'm kind of glad we weren't here for all of that. I thought I saw some secret service looking people here earlier. I told Bill they had ear pieces and everything. Now I know why.
I apologize if I miss-communicated. Some of you may have thought that we were heading home, no, just here to Guangzhou. In Fuzhou, Fujian we had to address all the legalities for Nina to leave China according to the China govt. Here in Guangzhou is where the U.S. Consulate is. Now we have to address all the legalities of her coming home according to US law. I will try to give you the cliff note version. Every hour things change, progress, two steps forward, one step back. I love sharing these things with you. I hope I am not putting anyone to sleep.
O.K., so we're in Guangzhou. Our morning in Fuzhou wasn't smooth sailing. First of all, I had to wake Nina up at 5:30 AM. Not easy for any kid. But, especially for a kid who doesn't understand why she's being woken up and by someone who is claiming to be her mom after 7 days. So, understandable. However, once she saw our guide, you know it, she cried. She cried the hour long ride to the airport, at the airport and on the plane. This difficulty was two-fold. One, I could do nothing to ease her pain and reassure her. Two, the Chinese are very loving and very concerned. The stand and watch and stare for long periods of time. While Bill and my dad were checking in at the airport I was encircled by these sweet caring people staring at us wondering what was wrong. Fortunately, at our gate, two young moms knew enough to understand the problem and helped me reassure her. Then, on the plane the helped. The flight attendants helped and the lady behind us helped. God sent many helpers my way (God is meeting our needs, thank you for the prayers). On the plane she would have been fine other than the seat belt. Didn't like it. (That's going to be a challenge in the van!) 1/3 into the flight she was fine.
Once we arrived in Guangzhou, Nina was quiet and mad but not crying. We had to go to the medical clinic first thing for a TB test. This test is where the inject something under the skin layers to see if there is a TB reaction. I was certain we were going to hear screams. The orphanage reported she cannot stand going to the doctor. However, it was smooth sailing, piece of cake.
The week in a nutshell:
Monday we go get Nina's picture taken for her travel Visa.
Go to Medical Clinic for exam (yeah! what fun!)
Tuesday is our US consulate Oath-taking Ceremony. Official family day. However, no pictures, allowed.
Thursday we pick up her Visa and we are free to go.
Which we will on Friday. We fly from here to Shanghai, then to Chicago and then home. We will finally hit our door step around 1:00 AM on Saturday. After 30 hours total of travel time. Oh begin praying for that one. I just calculated those numbers for the first time.
So, may I bore you more and tell you about my daughter. She is incredibly meticulous. She takes at least 4 minutes to brush her teeth, with a very strict routine of brushing and rinsing. Then she washes her little sweet face. She can wring every drop of water out of a wash cloth. She doesn't like anything on her, at all, and wants her socks & tights very straight and even with her toes. She giggles so adorably. And runs and skips like any other little girl. However, this little girl has had her world rocked, and she can still find moments to giggle, skip and hop. Yeah! She adores my dad and doesn't want to leave him behind when we go places.
I look forward to when she can call me mama and say a few words other than a! (short a). But, we understand that, and some of her Mandarin and have our own little charade interaction going on.
Nina is warming up to the name Nina and responding when we call her that. She also is warming up to Bill. He taught her 'give me 5'! So, thank you thank you for your prayers. They are being answered and giving me strength.
Sorry no pics right now. We will get some tomorrow.
Love to you all!
P.S. Stay tuned, Bill is going to send an update.
I apologize if I miss-communicated. Some of you may have thought that we were heading home, no, just here to Guangzhou. In Fuzhou, Fujian we had to address all the legalities for Nina to leave China according to the China govt. Here in Guangzhou is where the U.S. Consulate is. Now we have to address all the legalities of her coming home according to US law. I will try to give you the cliff note version. Every hour things change, progress, two steps forward, one step back. I love sharing these things with you. I hope I am not putting anyone to sleep.
O.K., so we're in Guangzhou. Our morning in Fuzhou wasn't smooth sailing. First of all, I had to wake Nina up at 5:30 AM. Not easy for any kid. But, especially for a kid who doesn't understand why she's being woken up and by someone who is claiming to be her mom after 7 days. So, understandable. However, once she saw our guide, you know it, she cried. She cried the hour long ride to the airport, at the airport and on the plane. This difficulty was two-fold. One, I could do nothing to ease her pain and reassure her. Two, the Chinese are very loving and very concerned. The stand and watch and stare for long periods of time. While Bill and my dad were checking in at the airport I was encircled by these sweet caring people staring at us wondering what was wrong. Fortunately, at our gate, two young moms knew enough to understand the problem and helped me reassure her. Then, on the plane the helped. The flight attendants helped and the lady behind us helped. God sent many helpers my way (God is meeting our needs, thank you for the prayers). On the plane she would have been fine other than the seat belt. Didn't like it. (That's going to be a challenge in the van!) 1/3 into the flight she was fine.
Once we arrived in Guangzhou, Nina was quiet and mad but not crying. We had to go to the medical clinic first thing for a TB test. This test is where the inject something under the skin layers to see if there is a TB reaction. I was certain we were going to hear screams. The orphanage reported she cannot stand going to the doctor. However, it was smooth sailing, piece of cake.
The week in a nutshell:
Monday we go get Nina's picture taken for her travel Visa.
Go to Medical Clinic for exam (yeah! what fun!)
Tuesday is our US consulate Oath-taking Ceremony. Official family day. However, no pictures, allowed.
Thursday we pick up her Visa and we are free to go.
Which we will on Friday. We fly from here to Shanghai, then to Chicago and then home. We will finally hit our door step around 1:00 AM on Saturday. After 30 hours total of travel time. Oh begin praying for that one. I just calculated those numbers for the first time.
So, may I bore you more and tell you about my daughter. She is incredibly meticulous. She takes at least 4 minutes to brush her teeth, with a very strict routine of brushing and rinsing. Then she washes her little sweet face. She can wring every drop of water out of a wash cloth. She doesn't like anything on her, at all, and wants her socks & tights very straight and even with her toes. She giggles so adorably. And runs and skips like any other little girl. However, this little girl has had her world rocked, and she can still find moments to giggle, skip and hop. Yeah! She adores my dad and doesn't want to leave him behind when we go places.
I look forward to when she can call me mama and say a few words other than a! (short a). But, we understand that, and some of her Mandarin and have our own little charade interaction going on.
Nina is warming up to the name Nina and responding when we call her that. She also is warming up to Bill. He taught her 'give me 5'! So, thank you thank you for your prayers. They are being answered and giving me strength.
Sorry no pics right now. We will get some tomorrow.
Love to you all!
P.S. Stay tuned, Bill is going to send an update.
Friday, November 12, 2010
One more update from Fujian
It is our last evening in Fujian and your prayers are working. We went through the entire day with no tears, at least for her Ayi. So, thank you to all of you who are praying for us. We had a wonderful day as I mentioned with the amusement park. However, we had a meeting to get Nina's passport. It was in the same room we got her from, so we were fearful she would cry. When she saw our guide Tracee, she asked if she was going to see her Ayi. I recognize the word now. I said no, and she kind of moaned, whined, wanting to cry, but didn't. Then we thought she might cry when we left, thinking that she would want to go with Tracee, but all was well.
We are packed. Which also carries good news, because Nina-Li allowed me to pack some of her things she has been cramming in her backpack into her suitcase we bought her here. Another huge accomplishment. It is common for kids to cling to their belongings when going through this. So, she showed a lot of trust. And she is seeing all of us pack our things. So, we will see how tomorrow morning goes. Our guide will explain to her we are going to the airport and going to fly where other children are that she can play with.
So, today we have had a lot of giggles and skipping and sweetness.
Love to you all
We are packed. Which also carries good news, because Nina-Li allowed me to pack some of her things she has been cramming in her backpack into her suitcase we bought her here. Another huge accomplishment. It is common for kids to cling to their belongings when going through this. So, she showed a lot of trust. And she is seeing all of us pack our things. So, we will see how tomorrow morning goes. Our guide will explain to her we are going to the airport and going to fly where other children are that she can play with.
So, today we have had a lot of giggles and skipping and sweetness.
Love to you all
Thank God it's Friday!
Thank God It's Friday! For more reasons than Friday. We have had a great day today. So far....
Nina-Li woke up and ignored us a bit, but she does that everyday. Once she is ready, she warms up to us. Fortunately, it didn't begin in tears. I allowed her to choose from two outfits to wear today and helped her get dressed, we went to breakfast, and then finished getting ready for the day. She is very meticulous. She brushes her teeth for at least 4 minutes, and has a specific routine. She then washes her face and hands. She doesn't like anything on her.
I should back up to last night. When we returned to dinner, she saw Dawson's socks, and gave them to him, telling him to put them away. He said, "Great, now I have two moms!" I went to bed early exhausted. However, I guess the three kids had a peek-a-boo event with lots of giggles.
Back to this morning. After getting ready the kids played hide-and-go-seek. Lots of fun and laughter. We then hit the boardwalk and went to the small children's amusement park. There were 100's of kids there for field trips. Many of them in uniforms for school. Many of them noticed us and tried out their English on us by saying 'hello'. One little girl came up, said hello, asked me my name, told me hers and then asked if I spoke Chinese. It was a conversation she was very proud she had in English.
We had room service lunch and Nina-Li even took food from Bill. So, although she doesn't want him to touch or by close to her, we are taking baby steps.
Our guide just visited with us and gave us a big clue to Nina's behavior. She thought that it was odd that a child from an orphanage was so angry, so she has called the orphanage daily trying to figure out what the deal is. (Tracee has been doing this for 15 years). Well, today, she found out that the caretaker that Nina was closest to attempted to adopt Nina-Li. However, it was rejected probably due to our paperwork already processed.) This caretaker called Ayi not EI like I thought, treated Nina-Li as her own daughter and wanted her very badly. And we speculate that she probably told Nina that too. Now we understand why this is harder. It is as if she was a foster child instead of an orphanage child. And it confirms that Nina-Li has the ability to love and attach to us as a new family and to future relationships. All good news. Just a painful process for her to experience.
So please enjoy these pictures, a delightful day brought to us by God. We leave early in the morning and expect tears as we head to airport, as she will want to return to the orphanage. However, your prayers are sustaining us and being answered. We will be leaving the hotel at 6:00 AM our time, 8 PM your time on Friday. Please, pray for a good drive and flight for Nina.
Thanks for the emails. And I am getting Facebook posts via the email system.
Love to you all.
Nina-Li woke up and ignored us a bit, but she does that everyday. Once she is ready, she warms up to us. Fortunately, it didn't begin in tears. I allowed her to choose from two outfits to wear today and helped her get dressed, we went to breakfast, and then finished getting ready for the day. She is very meticulous. She brushes her teeth for at least 4 minutes, and has a specific routine. She then washes her face and hands. She doesn't like anything on her.
I should back up to last night. When we returned to dinner, she saw Dawson's socks, and gave them to him, telling him to put them away. He said, "Great, now I have two moms!" I went to bed early exhausted. However, I guess the three kids had a peek-a-boo event with lots of giggles.
Back to this morning. After getting ready the kids played hide-and-go-seek. Lots of fun and laughter. We then hit the boardwalk and went to the small children's amusement park. There were 100's of kids there for field trips. Many of them in uniforms for school. Many of them noticed us and tried out their English on us by saying 'hello'. One little girl came up, said hello, asked me my name, told me hers and then asked if I spoke Chinese. It was a conversation she was very proud she had in English.
We had room service lunch and Nina-Li even took food from Bill. So, although she doesn't want him to touch or by close to her, we are taking baby steps.
Our guide just visited with us and gave us a big clue to Nina's behavior. She thought that it was odd that a child from an orphanage was so angry, so she has called the orphanage daily trying to figure out what the deal is. (Tracee has been doing this for 15 years). Well, today, she found out that the caretaker that Nina was closest to attempted to adopt Nina-Li. However, it was rejected probably due to our paperwork already processed.) This caretaker called Ayi not EI like I thought, treated Nina-Li as her own daughter and wanted her very badly. And we speculate that she probably told Nina that too. Now we understand why this is harder. It is as if she was a foster child instead of an orphanage child. And it confirms that Nina-Li has the ability to love and attach to us as a new family and to future relationships. All good news. Just a painful process for her to experience.
So please enjoy these pictures, a delightful day brought to us by God. We leave early in the morning and expect tears as we head to airport, as she will want to return to the orphanage. However, your prayers are sustaining us and being answered. We will be leaving the hotel at 6:00 AM our time, 8 PM your time on Friday. Please, pray for a good drive and flight for Nina.
Thanks for the emails. And I am getting Facebook posts via the email system.
Love to you all.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Signs of Life in China
Today is Thursday, and it is has been rough. Nina-Li (whom will are still calling Ruan Ruan, not sure when she will be ready for the name change) woke-up crying today. I wonder if she goes to bed she hoping that she will wake-up at the orphanage. It just breaks your heart. You know the pain this sweet child is going through. I cannot hold and rock her, no one can speak the right words in any language to comfort her and you just have to let her grieve. From what I have read in the past year, it is good that she is grieving right away. And it is simply good that she is grieving. This indicates that she has the ability to love, to care, to bond with us in the future. I don't mean to dwell on this. She is very sweet, soft spoken and fun when she is not thinking of the orphanage. Writing this blog is somewhat therapeutic for me I guess.
Nina stopped crying about 45 minutes later and we went to breakfast. But, once back in the hotel room, she cried, and cried, and cried. Grumpers and the boys went to ride the peddle boats at the lake in front of the hotel. While Bill and I sat here, played cards, letting Nina-Li just cry it out. For two hours. We don't know what else we can do, but provide a safe environment for her to do so. She cried so much she got a head-ache. And she allowed me to give her some Children's Advil. So, it shows me she is trusting me. She relies on me to help her in the restroom, give her baths, help brush her teeth, get dressed, and of course, put on make-up. And some of these things, she really doesn't need my help. My friend Angela who adopted a year ago, advised me to create needs. Create situations in which Nina-Li needs me. Good advice.
After Nina cried for about 2 hours, we asked her if she wanted to take a walk, and she did. So, we walked a small garden behind the hotel and then went down to the boardwalk. She held my hand almost the entire time. We eventually ran into the boys with Grumpers. We listened to the retirees singing like a church choir and then returned to the hotel. Both boys ran hand in hand with Nina down the board walk. I think Nina even smiled a tiny bit.
We've spent the afternoon hanging out and taking naps. We got Nina on pbskids.org and showed her how to play a game or two. She even let Bill help her. But, she's refusing chocolate from him, hmmm?
I think we are going to go bowling in a bit and then find dinner.
Tomorrow our plans are to go to the small amusement park by the island I described. Then we pack. We have to leave the hotel by 6 AM Saturday to leave for the airport. I am dreading the flight with Nina but looking forward to the last leg of our trip to Guangzhou (Gwanjoe).
Here are a few pictures of life in Fuzhou.
Love to you all!
Nina stopped crying about 45 minutes later and we went to breakfast. But, once back in the hotel room, she cried, and cried, and cried. Grumpers and the boys went to ride the peddle boats at the lake in front of the hotel. While Bill and I sat here, played cards, letting Nina-Li just cry it out. For two hours. We don't know what else we can do, but provide a safe environment for her to do so. She cried so much she got a head-ache. And she allowed me to give her some Children's Advil. So, it shows me she is trusting me. She relies on me to help her in the restroom, give her baths, help brush her teeth, get dressed, and of course, put on make-up. And some of these things, she really doesn't need my help. My friend Angela who adopted a year ago, advised me to create needs. Create situations in which Nina-Li needs me. Good advice.
After Nina cried for about 2 hours, we asked her if she wanted to take a walk, and she did. So, we walked a small garden behind the hotel and then went down to the boardwalk. She held my hand almost the entire time. We eventually ran into the boys with Grumpers. We listened to the retirees singing like a church choir and then returned to the hotel. Both boys ran hand in hand with Nina down the board walk. I think Nina even smiled a tiny bit.
We've spent the afternoon hanging out and taking naps. We got Nina on pbskids.org and showed her how to play a game or two. She even let Bill help her. But, she's refusing chocolate from him, hmmm?
I think we are going to go bowling in a bit and then find dinner.
Tomorrow our plans are to go to the small amusement park by the island I described. Then we pack. We have to leave the hotel by 6 AM Saturday to leave for the airport. I am dreading the flight with Nina but looking forward to the last leg of our trip to Guangzhou (Gwanjoe).
Here are a few pictures of life in Fuzhou.
Love to you all!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Buddha Belly is the Star for Today
Hi,
Well, everyone is laying down for their nap right now. Including Nina-Li with Grumpers. In the picture you'll notice she has headphones on. We purchased her a Chinese Children's CD set and she loves it! Big points for Bill. He had to help her with the MP3 and finally got the connection he was needing. Yes, now Nina-Li knows he's the techie guy. He also got to play a card matching game with her. So, he finally feels as though she doesn't completely hate him.
Today Nina-Li is most loyal to Grumpers. We walked the boardwalk the other direction today. It lead us to a beautiful park that is kind of a small island on the lake. A park like this would have cost $$$ in the states. Yet, it was so lovely. The gardens were just beautiful. There were fish ponds and waterfalls. Mums were planted and formed into sculptures such as dragons, peacocks, dolphins, even boats and canons. Many of the locals watch and stared. There was a large group that decided they all needed pictures of themselves with us, well, mostly with Grumpers and we were in the background. I think honestly, his belly is amazing them. He would tell you the same. One of the Holt staff called him Buddha Belly and since then, that has been his name. We got some ice cream which tasted more like thick whipped cream frozen. Very good. At first Nina-Li said no, but then Grumpers kept offering his and she ended up sharing his with him.
Right before we left for our walk, Nina-Li was a bit sad we could see it coming, then the soft crying (not wailing or screaming, think God!) came. She cried for about 10 minutes into our walk, and then the attractions I think distracted her from her sadness. It seems as though about 10 AM and around 4 PM are when she hits her lows.
Well, I must now warn all my neighbors: If you see a sweet little Chinese girl peeing in your yard this summer, please do not be alarmed. Nina-Li has been very good at controlling herself and using the 'western toilets' here at the hotel. But, here in China it is acceptable for children to go outside in the bushes. As we were walking she just went over in the bushes and shimmied down her little skirt and went. Surprised Bill and I. Hopefully before summer she will learn that, THAT is not an American way of life. It was funny though.
We are still calling her Ruan Ruan. Every once in awhile someone will say Nina, so hopefully we will just begin incorporating her name and she will get it some day. She has been so sad and so attached to everything from the orphanage (well, her clothes) that we just felt like we couldn't announce to her a name change too.
I hope you enjoy these pictures, I was anxious to share them with you.
Much Love
Well, everyone is laying down for their nap right now. Including Nina-Li with Grumpers. In the picture you'll notice she has headphones on. We purchased her a Chinese Children's CD set and she loves it! Big points for Bill. He had to help her with the MP3 and finally got the connection he was needing. Yes, now Nina-Li knows he's the techie guy. He also got to play a card matching game with her. So, he finally feels as though she doesn't completely hate him.
Today Nina-Li is most loyal to Grumpers. We walked the boardwalk the other direction today. It lead us to a beautiful park that is kind of a small island on the lake. A park like this would have cost $$$ in the states. Yet, it was so lovely. The gardens were just beautiful. There were fish ponds and waterfalls. Mums were planted and formed into sculptures such as dragons, peacocks, dolphins, even boats and canons. Many of the locals watch and stared. There was a large group that decided they all needed pictures of themselves with us, well, mostly with Grumpers and we were in the background. I think honestly, his belly is amazing them. He would tell you the same. One of the Holt staff called him Buddha Belly and since then, that has been his name. We got some ice cream which tasted more like thick whipped cream frozen. Very good. At first Nina-Li said no, but then Grumpers kept offering his and she ended up sharing his with him.
Right before we left for our walk, Nina-Li was a bit sad we could see it coming, then the soft crying (not wailing or screaming, think God!) came. She cried for about 10 minutes into our walk, and then the attractions I think distracted her from her sadness. It seems as though about 10 AM and around 4 PM are when she hits her lows.
Well, I must now warn all my neighbors: If you see a sweet little Chinese girl peeing in your yard this summer, please do not be alarmed. Nina-Li has been very good at controlling herself and using the 'western toilets' here at the hotel. But, here in China it is acceptable for children to go outside in the bushes. As we were walking she just went over in the bushes and shimmied down her little skirt and went. Surprised Bill and I. Hopefully before summer she will learn that, THAT is not an American way of life. It was funny though.
We are still calling her Ruan Ruan. Every once in awhile someone will say Nina, so hopefully we will just begin incorporating her name and she will get it some day. She has been so sad and so attached to everything from the orphanage (well, her clothes) that we just felt like we couldn't announce to her a name change too.
I hope you enjoy these pictures, I was anxious to share them with you.
Much Love
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
