A Visit to Dianjiang

Today was a special day.  We travelled outside of central Chongqing into the rural area of Dianjiang.  Dianjiang is roughly two hours from from the outskirts of the main city of Chongqing.  We whirled down the 'carriageway' and occasionally into the 'overtaking' lane at about 140 km/hr with no seatbelts or carseats.  Thank heavens for toll booths or I'm sure the driver would never have slowed down!!  We went to visit the SWI where Ethan was adopted from.  We were able to meet the director, Mr. Gao (sic) and have a brief look around.  As we were driving into the neighborhood of the SWI, Ethan recognized where he was and started 'talking'.  He definitely knew the place and the people and they knew him too.  One of my favorite pictures is the sub-director (momentarily forget her name right now) who is in charge of the children saying good-bye to Ethan.  She was very sad to see him go.  She told us he was quite popular as he is so handsome.  Well, it's hard to argue with that.  They gave us back the camera we sent and I'm hoping that there are actually pictures on it. 

Ethan slept in the van both ways. He was quite comfortable, all stretched out.  I, on the other hand, will need some physio to regain the ability to straighten out my arm again.  As he slept, Alan and I took in the beauty of the area.  The climate is sub-tropical and everything was lush and green.  The terraced rice fields were amazing.  We saw a few farmers using oxen to help work the land as modern machinery doesn't stand much of a chance against the Chongqing hills.

It was a wonderful day and we really value the opportunity to take this side trip and see where Ethan lived for part of his life. 

 

It's Official...

...Ethan is stuck with us for life!  Today was his official adoption day after passing the 24 hour harmonious period.  It was actually more like 22.5 hours of harmony but what the heck, he agreed to stick around! 

 

As you can see from the pictures, Ethan didn't necesarily agree with the seating arrangement of the family photo and decided to voice his opinion.  Ahh, treasured memories! 

 

Ethan had his first bath (as a Binne) tonight and he loved it.  He tries to copy everything you do like putting the card in the door to the room to open it - he tried to stick the do not disturb sign in and tonight he tried to help me fill the tub. He is a total copycat!  He slept for 10 hours last night and went to bed right at bedtime again.  He was sitting beside me on the bed (okay, we were propped up on pillows watching CNN) when I looked over and he was out.  Alan said 'He's done.'  Hopefully he stays asleep until 6 am again.  That would be great.

 

Tomorrow we are going to visit Ethan's hometown.  It is about a two hour drive through beautiful countryside.  We are going to visit the SWI, have lunch and then head back to the hotel.  I better charge the camera batteries tonight.

Gotcha!

  After an early morning wake-up call in Beijing, we headed to the airport to fly to Chongqing.  the flight was pretty good...okay, I'll stop now...here are the pictures.  We have the boy!  Today was completely opposite of when we received Halle.  For instance, we went to the civil affairs office to meet Ethan,  Halle met us at the hotel.  Halle was happy and Ethan screamed for about an hour and a half.  I'll give it to him, he is one strong kid.  He is HUGE!  bigger than he looks in his pictures and he is ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY PERCENT BOY!  If it's in his hand, he throws it. If it's on a table, it goes on the floor.  If it's a Cheerio, well, he eats it.  He packed back an ENORmous supper and had his eye on my hotpot too.  His 12 month clothes that we brought just fit.  He is quite handsome and very well looked after and healthy.  I must go to bed now because I will have to pick-up that big boy in a few hours again and I need my rest. 

 

We are totally in love and awe at just how much he can pack away at a meal.  I mean really!!

Beijing Day 3

Today was a busy day!! It's only 3 pm and I've been on the go since about 6:30.  After breakfast, a group of us met with our guide/translator at 9 to walk to the East Drum Tower and to explore the hutongs nearby.  We had a pretty good sized group though I'm sure some came along just for the promised (and much needed) Starbucks as you can see in the pictures.  Yes, I have been here for three days and have been to Starbucks twice.  The grande latte cost three times as much as my lunch today which was steamed pork dumplings and 'jo' - a kind of soup. After lunch we seemed to have lost most of the group from the morning leaving just Angi and I looking for an adventure.  After the hitting the baby store across the street where we got Mandarin flashcard books and the best, and I quote, 'Joyful Feeding Set' for kids.  Why is it the best and why is it so bloody joyful?  It comes with scissors.  Why would you need scissors you may ask?  Noodles.  Chinese believe long noodles lead to a long life.  Well, they definitely lead to a lot of frustration so I'm willing to start cutting my life short by cutting the noodles so more end up in my bowl than on the table!!  After that we went to the Antiques Market with our guide Fay.  It was great!  The bartering was a lot of fun.  No one looked happy after I bought things so I think I got a good price.  I would tell you what I got but I was Christmas shopping so you will just have to wait.   I would recommend the Antiques market.  It was neat to see that part of Beijing.  It has been really cold here.  The windchill is something else and that is coming from someone who lives in the coldest city in the world. (That may be a made up fact but Minsk is warmer.  I know, I use to tell Alan everyday.)  I also took a picture of the now complete CCTV building.  It was still under construction in 2007.

 

Alan arrives tonight but I heard his flight is 2 hours late.  I think we have to be in the hotel lobby at 5 tomorrow morning for the flight to Chongqing.  I cannot believe that we meet Ethan tomorrow!! Our lives are changing again!!  There are four boys in total being adopted this trip plus 11 girls.  Ethan is the youngest I believe however one family already tried some match making.  His is a pretty cute 'huang di'.

 

 

Beijing Day 2

I forced myself to stay up until 9 pm last night (the Starbucks I bought at the airport probably helped!!) and managed to sleep through the night to 5:30.  I had a leisurely breakfast from 6 - 8, chatting, drinking 'coffee'. We went to a nearby park, the Temple of Earth, after breakfast.  We walked back to the hotel past the Lama Temple which I will visit tomorrow.  I took three other families shopping at YaShow market this afternoon.  I got a pair of baby 'Uggs' for Ethan and two pairs of leather boots for Halle.  I also got Ethan a winter coat because it is cold here!! My bartering skills are still up to snuff I think and I got a good deal. 

 

Is this going to work?

I cannot access anything blogger tonight but I am running on two hours sleep and my bags haven't shown up at my room so I can't even go to bed yet.  I forgot my adapter plug to charge the laptop so I'm hoping the battery last long enough so I can at least call the family via Skype.  I may call them early and feign time change issues.  Oh, my bags just showed up.  gotta get to sleep because there is some fair or vendors or something at a park nearby tomorrow.  Yulin can dance her heart out.  I will be shopping.

Last Post before Leaving

Well, if all the i's are not dotted and t's not crossed by now, Alan is going to have a busy day on Friday before he leaves! 

I am going to miss my girl more than I can say.  I've taught her to say 'I want to Skype Mommy'.  Her daycare is also set-up for Skype so we can chat every morning if I miss her at home before she leaves. 

I can still hardly believe I am getting on a plane tomorrow. Alison, you will be pleased to hear that I am all packed and I have less than 60 lbs of luggage in two bags including mine and Ethan's stuff.  And my stuff includes a Winter coat.  The airplane looks somewhat modern this time and has in-seat audio etc and electric outlets for my laptop.  That is almost as exciting as seeing the Great Wall again.  You should have seen the tub we were on back in 2007.  No in-seat entertainment and all the bulbs except green were not working so it was like watching a terrible movie with night vision goggles.

Can't wait to meet Ethan on Monday!  Can't wait to see those cheeks in person!