[Originally posted 08/09/10]
Ella had the ugly cry for about an hour and then just passed out cold around 5:30 p.m.
She slept the entire night… 10 hours. She woke up around 3:30-4 a.m. this morning. So her schedule is already messed up.
She is whimpering every now and again but we’ve learned she likes to be held right now.
Our guide, Shinko, went to the store for us last night and got us the Nestle formula and rice cereal she’s used to so she can have some “normalcy” right now.
She is very curious wondering what’s going on. She keeps looking around with a frown on her face, which is to be expected. She is not taking too kindly to me, however. Not surprisingly, we were told she’s not used to men at the SWI.
Her documents say she is very timid, quiet and shy. We think she is just trying to process everything before she’ll try anything. She likes for Jenn to hold her but does not like sitting by herself at this point.
Jennifer and I signed (and thumbprinted) a lot of paperwork last night “accepting” her into our lives. Today, those documents get notarized, so we will leave around 9 a.m.
That’s all we have planned for the day other than just trying to get her to bond with us.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
So amazing...
So, the trip was just amazing!
Once we arrived in Nanchang, we were unable to access Facebook, Twitter and Blogger. So, emails to our family and friends was the best we could do during that time.
As a result, I am going to post those to Blogger and update Twitter and FB at the same time.
Ella is doing great. She seems completely different from the first day we got her... but here's the beginning of our adventure...
======================================================
[Originally posted 08/08/10]
Well, we got her!
It was the strangest thing… we were called and told to come to the lobby of the hotel. So we did.
There were two women who brought her from her SWI. One was the director and the other an assistant. They were very sweet.
We stood there and looked at her and another baby from the SWI and asked if we knew which one was Xia Qing. We didn’t really. But they told us, obviously. She is much smaller than we ever thought. In fact, she’s probably in six-nine month clothes, but we’re not quite sure at this point. She was handed to Jenn and she just looked dazed and confused… I’m sure a lot of that will be forthcoming the remainder of the week.
Jenn held her for a little while until I got her. She did really well. She didn’t wince or whimper or cry or anything.
We asked a lot of questions and then said our goodbyes.
Our guide, Shinko, who will be with us the entire two weeks, said in her experience the babies that come from her province and SWI typically are the healthiest she’s seen.
We came right up to our room where Ella just started crying… loudly. It was the ugly cry. The really ugly cry. She got herself so worked up that now she’s asleep. So we haven’t had much time to spend with her… YET!
So, that’s where we are.
What an amazing day. Jenn and I are already exhausted from anticipation. But it’s just so weird to instantly have a love for her and we just really met. I’m not sure how to describe it. Odd, but wonderful at the same time.
Nanchang is nothing like Hong Kong. The traffic here is much worse. The neighborhoods don’t really seem safe. We get strange looks wherever we go, but we don’t care. We have our daughter and that’s what makes this trip worthwhile.
Attached are a couple of photos that we have so far. One includes Jennifer and the SWI director.
Once we arrived in Nanchang, we were unable to access Facebook, Twitter and Blogger. So, emails to our family and friends was the best we could do during that time.
As a result, I am going to post those to Blogger and update Twitter and FB at the same time.
Ella is doing great. She seems completely different from the first day we got her... but here's the beginning of our adventure...
======================================================
[Originally posted 08/08/10]
Well, we got her!
It was the strangest thing… we were called and told to come to the lobby of the hotel. So we did.
There were two women who brought her from her SWI. One was the director and the other an assistant. They were very sweet.
We stood there and looked at her and another baby from the SWI and asked if we knew which one was Xia Qing. We didn’t really. But they told us, obviously. She is much smaller than we ever thought. In fact, she’s probably in six-nine month clothes, but we’re not quite sure at this point. She was handed to Jenn and she just looked dazed and confused… I’m sure a lot of that will be forthcoming the remainder of the week.
Jenn held her for a little while until I got her. She did really well. She didn’t wince or whimper or cry or anything.
We asked a lot of questions and then said our goodbyes.
Our guide, Shinko, who will be with us the entire two weeks, said in her experience the babies that come from her province and SWI typically are the healthiest she’s seen.
We came right up to our room where Ella just started crying… loudly. It was the ugly cry. The really ugly cry. She got herself so worked up that now she’s asleep. So we haven’t had much time to spend with her… YET!
So, that’s where we are.
What an amazing day. Jenn and I are already exhausted from anticipation. But it’s just so weird to instantly have a love for her and we just really met. I’m not sure how to describe it. Odd, but wonderful at the same time.
Nanchang is nothing like Hong Kong. The traffic here is much worse. The neighborhoods don’t really seem safe. We get strange looks wherever we go, but we don’t care. We have our daughter and that’s what makes this trip worthwhile.
Attached are a couple of photos that we have so far. One includes Jennifer and the SWI director.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Ella, here we come!
Well, it's nearly 5 a.m. on 8/8/10... the day we get little Miss Ella.
We slept... sort of. We both woke up about 1 a.m. thinking it was close to 5 and it wasn't. So, we woke up every hour on the hour and finally just got up at 4:30 a.m.
We are [almost] packed for the day.
Our shuttle bus leaves at 6:30 a.m. for Hong Kong International. We meet our guide, Shinko, at 9 a.m. That's when the fun begins.
China Eastern Airlines takes off at 11:25 a.m. for Nanchang and we arrive at 1 p.m. A relatively short flight.
As for additional posts, we're not sure when we will as we cannot anticipate the rest of our day. But we will do our best.
Love to all!
We slept... sort of. We both woke up about 1 a.m. thinking it was close to 5 and it wasn't. So, we woke up every hour on the hour and finally just got up at 4:30 a.m.
We are [almost] packed for the day.
Our shuttle bus leaves at 6:30 a.m. for Hong Kong International. We meet our guide, Shinko, at 9 a.m. That's when the fun begins.
China Eastern Airlines takes off at 11:25 a.m. for Nanchang and we arrive at 1 p.m. A relatively short flight.
As for additional posts, we're not sure when we will as we cannot anticipate the rest of our day. But we will do our best.
Love to all!
Hong Kong... Central District and The Peak
Today was a busy and exhausting day!
We started the morning with our Starbucks... then walked to the Star Ferry to go to the Central District shopping. :)
It's amazingly different here with time... Nothing opens before 11 a.m. Let me rephrase... nothing worth shopping for opens before 11 a.m. As we were leaving the girls at our hotel told us that we were leaving way too early... but did we listen? NOPE! And, you know what? It worked out just great. Just wait...
Before I tell you what Jennifer wants me to tell you, I need to set it up. Everywhere we go in Hong Kong EVERYWHERE WE GO, we are accosted by people trying to sell us something. And, it seems to be Americans in particular. But, honestly, it gets very annoying. I mean, it's not like they just ask you a question and you say "No, thank you" that they leave you alone. They literally follow you and keep talking trying to sell you on their product or goods. Okay, so... on our way to the Star Ferry, there was an older man who was dressed in monk-like attire. And, being in Hong Kong and American, he proceeded to hand us something trying to tell us the worth of God or Buddha or whomever he believes in. So, Jennifer was behind me not saying a word and I just turned to him and said "No, thank you." He kept talking to me, touched my arm trying to give me his little card thing. I said, "NO!" And, we finally walked away. I turned, looked at Jenn and said, "well, I'm going to Hell." So we've been laughing about that all day long. I'm sure I will meet most of you there, anyway. :~)
Star Ferry:
When we got of the Star Ferry, we walked into the mall, which none of the shops were open, but we walked the IFC (International Finance Center), aka shopping mall. I felt like the senior citizens in the states that walk malls for exercise. But, it was a nice mall. Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, David Yurman, Jimmy Choo, Burberry, etc. All the stores we can't afford. But it was nice. We've been to three "malls" and they all have the EXACT SAME STORES. So, fashion is a big thing in Hong Kong.
We've noticed a lot of make-up, shoes, and jewelry stores. Clearly geared toward the female demographic.
We did eat lunch at this great little place in the IFC, but it wasn't chinese. It's amazing how westernized the food is here. Perhaps we're not going to all the local hot spots, but there has not been much option or Asian cuisine, unless it's high-end. Again, we haven't been to many of the truly local restaurants, so we could be missing a lot. Nanchang, we're sure, will be much different.
After lunch we took a bus to The Peak... or Victoria's Peak. WOW! That was probably the most amazing views I've ever seen. Check them out:
Besides the amazing views at the top of The Peak, there was ANOTHER SHOPPING MALL. But, this time there were some really unique stores. Not just the typical corporate retail. Individual, cool stores. We could've done a lot of damage, but ended up just buying a couple of things. Most notably a chop with ink that has Dong Fang Xia Qing's Chinese symbols. So, that's cool!
After spending about two hours at the Peak, we walked back to our hotel and voila...
It's been an amazing and quick two days in Hong Kong. A really good friend told me to not leave with any regrets and I don't. We've done everything I wanted to do here.
This city is so easy to get around in without a vehicle (and you wouldn't want to drive, trust me) it's just not funny. We started this adventure in a car, then a plane, a train, shuttle bus, ferry, a double-decker bus and, of course, our sore feet! But it's been well worth it.
I might have one regret... not doing the fish eating pedicure. Hey, I still have 13 days!
We started the morning with our Starbucks... then walked to the Star Ferry to go to the Central District shopping. :)
It's amazingly different here with time... Nothing opens before 11 a.m. Let me rephrase... nothing worth shopping for opens before 11 a.m. As we were leaving the girls at our hotel told us that we were leaving way too early... but did we listen? NOPE! And, you know what? It worked out just great. Just wait...
Before I tell you what Jennifer wants me to tell you, I need to set it up. Everywhere we go in Hong Kong EVERYWHERE WE GO, we are accosted by people trying to sell us something. And, it seems to be Americans in particular. But, honestly, it gets very annoying. I mean, it's not like they just ask you a question and you say "No, thank you" that they leave you alone. They literally follow you and keep talking trying to sell you on their product or goods. Okay, so... on our way to the Star Ferry, there was an older man who was dressed in monk-like attire. And, being in Hong Kong and American, he proceeded to hand us something trying to tell us the worth of God or Buddha or whomever he believes in. So, Jennifer was behind me not saying a word and I just turned to him and said "No, thank you." He kept talking to me, touched my arm trying to give me his little card thing. I said, "NO!" And, we finally walked away. I turned, looked at Jenn and said, "well, I'm going to Hell." So we've been laughing about that all day long. I'm sure I will meet most of you there, anyway. :~)
Star Ferry:
When we got of the Star Ferry, we walked into the mall, which none of the shops were open, but we walked the IFC (International Finance Center), aka shopping mall. I felt like the senior citizens in the states that walk malls for exercise. But, it was a nice mall. Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, David Yurman, Jimmy Choo, Burberry, etc. All the stores we can't afford. But it was nice. We've been to three "malls" and they all have the EXACT SAME STORES. So, fashion is a big thing in Hong Kong.
We've noticed a lot of make-up, shoes, and jewelry stores. Clearly geared toward the female demographic.
We did eat lunch at this great little place in the IFC, but it wasn't chinese. It's amazing how westernized the food is here. Perhaps we're not going to all the local hot spots, but there has not been much option or Asian cuisine, unless it's high-end. Again, we haven't been to many of the truly local restaurants, so we could be missing a lot. Nanchang, we're sure, will be much different.
After lunch we took a bus to The Peak... or Victoria's Peak. WOW! That was probably the most amazing views I've ever seen. Check them out:
Besides the amazing views at the top of The Peak, there was ANOTHER SHOPPING MALL. But, this time there were some really unique stores. Not just the typical corporate retail. Individual, cool stores. We could've done a lot of damage, but ended up just buying a couple of things. Most notably a chop with ink that has Dong Fang Xia Qing's Chinese symbols. So, that's cool!
After spending about two hours at the Peak, we walked back to our hotel and voila...
It's been an amazing and quick two days in Hong Kong. A really good friend told me to not leave with any regrets and I don't. We've done everything I wanted to do here.
This city is so easy to get around in without a vehicle (and you wouldn't want to drive, trust me) it's just not funny. We started this adventure in a car, then a plane, a train, shuttle bus, ferry, a double-decker bus and, of course, our sore feet! But it's been well worth it.
I might have one regret... not doing the fish eating pedicure. Hey, I still have 13 days!
Friday, August 06, 2010
Kowloon, continued...
After the park, we walked to the Hong Kong Museum of Art and spent quite a bit of time there. They had a wonderful exhibit by Wu Guanzhong, who is now my favorite artist. Here's just a sample of his work:
After the HKMOA, we walked along the Avenue of Stars and gazed at Victoria Harbor. The Avenue of Stars is similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame with famous Asian actors with their hand prints, etc. We saw Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Those are the only names we recognized.
But the standout for us was the Harbor and Hong Kong's skyline.
It's just beautiful.
The one down side? It's VERY HOT and HUMID!
Today, we are going to take the Star Ferry to Hong Kong and the Central District (pictured above) and walk around there.
Tomorrow, we get Ella!
After the HKMOA, we walked along the Avenue of Stars and gazed at Victoria Harbor. The Avenue of Stars is similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame with famous Asian actors with their hand prints, etc. We saw Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Those are the only names we recognized.
But the standout for us was the Harbor and Hong Kong's skyline.
It's just beautiful.
The one down side? It's VERY HOT and HUMID!
Today, we are going to take the Star Ferry to Hong Kong and the Central District (pictured above) and walk around there.
Tomorrow, we get Ella!
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