Thinking of Pandas

Here's an Olivia Carlson Original.

Domestic Bliss

We've been home for a week now. Jet lag is only a recent memory, Libby is back in school. And we are beginning the day to day realities of life in our expanded family. This past week has been rather easy. Being on family leave, and remaining in the family bubble makes it quite easy to cope.

Owen is a real champ and is adjusting well to his new life so far. Libby was so excited to take him as her show and tell item at school and he seemed to really enjoy all the attention. I suppose with a big sister as social as Libby, he better get used to it.

Thanks to those of you who joined us on our trip blog. We really appreciated reading all the comments of love and support. Being so far away from friends and family on this trip, and during our "nesting" period at home is not easy, but it is comforting to know that even in our absence, we still have our friends and family with us. We look forward to reconnecting with you over the coming weeks and months.

Thank you and good night.

Matt, Kris, Libby and Owen.

Home at Last!

It's been a long and exhausting journey, both physically and emotionally. On our last adoption trip, Kris and I both cried as the plane took off in Guangzhou toward home. Bringing our child from the land of her birth to her new home was a bittersweet occasion. Over the past few years, and especially on this most recent adoption trip, we have grown to love China even more and feel a deep abiding connection to the country that has provided both of our children. I wasn't as sad to leave this time. Partly because I have some experience with sharing our children's Heritage with their birth country, and partly because I have little doubt that we will return as often as possible to continue to explore our adopted country. Our twelve hour flight across the Pacific Ocean was uneventful. We left China at 9PM on February 12th, we flew for 12 hours and both Children slept most of the flight, and we arrived in Portland at 11PM, the same day. It was still February 12th. February 12th was a very very very long day indeed. The good part about the night flight is that if you are lucky, and we were, the children sleep most of the flight which makes wrangling children on an airplane for 12 hours a pretty easy task. The downside is that after sleeping for about 10 hours or so, the children wake up and, lo and behold, it's still night time!?

We were met at the airport by a skeleton crew. Grampa Ken and Grandma Pam picked us up and Amanda came to meet Owen and help cart our luggage. Owen has taken to his car seat with no fuss at all. It seems to be the way he is approaching just about all the new experiences he is having. He is a very mellow little guy.

We arrived home shortly after midnight to find our house decorated (thanks to Grampa Ken and Grandma Pam and Aunt Amanda) and our beds were all turned down (including the little chocolates!). It seems that Aunt Amanda really heard my concerns about being unable to continue to receive turn down service after leaving the 5 star hotels in China. Thanks Aunt Amanda!

Libby was very excited to show Owen around his new home. She immediately wanted to take him upstairs to show him his new bedroom and toys. What a great jie jie (big sister)! After letting the children play with toys for about an hour at 2AM (It's just what you do when you encounter a 16 hour time change). We decided it was bath time.

Turns out Owen REALLY LOVES taking a bath. When we put him in the tub he laughs with delight and begins frantically kicking and splashing in the water until the whole bathroom is wet. We're going to have to invest in more bath towels for the bathroom floor.

This shot was taken about 3:45 or so, when Owen had finally fallen back asleep. What a sweet child!

Owen Becomes an American

Before coming home to America. Every adoptive family must come to the American Consulate in Guangzhou to pick up their child's Visa which is stamped into their Chinese passport. Since cameras are not allowed in the consulate, we have no pictures of this happy event. Upon clearing the security checkpoint, you are shuttled into a large room with about 50 or so other families. Everyone sits in chairs arranged in rows facing the service windows. when your name is called you go to the window and receive your child's visa, and VERY IMPORTANT immigration paperwork in a sealed brown envelope which can't be opened before you present it at immigration upon arriving in the US. We were told that if the envelope was opened before being presented to the immigration officer in the US, we would have to immediately return to China and have all the paperwork redone before we could return. This is a scary thought. After all the families receive their paperwork, everyone stands up, raises their right hands, and swears to uphold the constitution of the United States. It's a wonderful feeling to be a part of a swearing in ceremony, and can make even far-left liberal like myself feel very patriotic.

The Infamous Red Couch at the White Swan Hotel

Although we were sad to be leaving China to be sure, we were all definitely ready to be home. As I said in an earlier post, we were tiring of living in Hotel rooms, even the five star hotel rooms. No one leaves the white swan without an adoption group photo on the famous red couch. We have several pictures of Libby's adoption group on the couches from our trip on 2006.

It seems, however, that the days of large group shots on the couch are over, and instead more intimate family moments are the couch fare upon departure from the White Swan.

The Chimelong Safari

After an amazing and exhausting night of the circus, we back down to the Chimelong resort to see the safari. Part zoo, part drive through safari, this very large zoo is an amazing place. Where else can you feed and pet the elephants, the giraffes, and the highlight was definitely when Libby got to hold the baby White Tiger.

Here's a tip when feeding the baby elephant. You may be tempted to step back when this baby monster comes at you with its trunk. But don't, baby elephants get VERY MAD when you tease it by withdrawing the banana. Your best bet is to endure the ticklish trunk and give it the tasty treat so it doesn't growl at you. Libby got a lot of tickles and giggled madly when the elephant tickled her with its trunk. Then she made me buy about a dozen more bananas before she was done feeding the elephant.

When feeding the giraffe, be sure not to hold onto the branch too hard, when the giraffe pulls, it pulls hard, and can easily lift a small child right into the corral. We found this out the hard way. After an initial attempt at feeding, the giraffe pulled the branch right out of Libby's hand. Disappointed, she was determined to hold on the next branch a little harder. She finally let go after being lifted out of my arms.

Libby absolutely beamed when she gets to hold the baby White tiger.

If you are ever in Guangzhou with kids, this safari park is not to be missed, but make sure you have plenty of time, it takes at least 4 hours just to do the highlights.

Bears on Wheels

After a few days of resting up in Guangzhou, the whole family boarded the tour bus for the cross-town trip to the The Chimelong Circus. This circus is truly something to behold. It is a cross between the Cirque du Soleil, an old school Barnum and Bailey Circus complete with bears, lions, tigers, elephants, and a Mardi Gras with outlandish costumes a plenty of scantily clad women. Fun for Mom, Dad, and the kids! The pictures below show each of the extravagant acts. If you have never seen bears riding bicycles, it just might be worth the plane tickets to see it. Libby absolutely loved it, but it was a bit much, and a bit loud for Owen, who had to outside the show with Mommy for a little respite.

Pearl River Night Cruise

I highly recommend to anyone staying in Guangzhou to take the night cruise on the Pearl River. First of all, the food was terrific, even if there are no high chairs so you have to do the Acrobat feeding of the baby on your lap. Second, I LOVE the Chinese approach to Neon. It is EVERYWHERE and it is FABULOUS. Every bridge and building is covered in lights and it is a beautiful sight to behold. The big lights on the White Swan, as seen from the river cruise are seasonal lights that say Happy Chinese New Year in Chinese.

I don't know about the magic show, we all had to leave and go up on deck when it started after dinner. We had to leave because during the magic show, they turned up the music so loud we had to go up on deck. The song was sadness, by Enigma. What a bizarre song to play during a magic show. Apparently they do like that song in China. It worked out fine. We all went upstairs and took these pictures.

Earlier in the day we went shopping at a large outdoor market in Guangzhou. There was a large "educational" sculpture showing what happens to the "naughty kids" who try to sneak through the gates.

Some serious religion

For many families, including ours, the adoption trip can't be completed without a stop by the Six Banyan temple in Guangzhou to have the Buddhist Monks bless your child. The Six Banyan temple is quite beautiful, and rather grand for a temple in the middle of urban Guangzhou. It is named for the Banyan trees that adorn the grounds.

As most of you know, Kris and I are not particularly religious, but it is quite easy to become very religious when standing at the foot of a 30 foot tall Golden Buddha, smelling the incense that permeates the temple, and watching the locals come and pray. There is also a strong sense of duty that comes with taking a child away from his country of birth. We felt the same way with Libby who was similarly blessed at the Six Banyan Temple.

The pictures below show the monk giving us a blessing and anointing us with oil. Libby and I lit some incense (she REALLY enjoyed carrying the lighted incense to the large censer in front of the temple) and placed it in the pot. The Buddhists believe that the smoke carries your prayers to the god. I don't believe prayers are like birthday wishes, where they must remain secret to come true. I prayed for love and happiness for dear Owen and his big sister Libby. I prayed that in America they would blossom and reach their full potential. Heavy, I know, but Buddhist temples are like that.

On the mend and enjoying domestic bliss at the White Swan

There's just something you got to love about the White Swan Hotel. The sound of babies crying permeates the halls along with the persistent squeak of Chinese squeaky shoes. It sounds like a sad circus here at the White Swan Hotel. The breakfast buffet is terrific, but I can assure you that after 7 days it loses a bit of it's charm.

As we begin our recovery, fevers gone and subsided to simple sniffles and coughing, not enough to slow us down any more, we just travel with tissues. Lots and lots of tissues. The last day or two we spent laying low White Swan Style, which means playing in the Mattel playroom, and eating ice cream in bed. The main reason we eat the ice cream in bed isn't because we are bedridden, it's because there is really no place else in the smallish hotel room to eat teh ice cream. Plus, it's fun. The picture series below describes a typical middle class American Family enjoying domestic bliss in a major 5 star hotel.

Another MUST have in China. Neil Med sinus rinse bottles and enough salt mix for a couple rinses a day. Some of you may have heard that China is a bit polluted, plus the air travel. I believe I would have been much sicker much longer without my trusty NeilMed.

Criminal Justice Researchers use the term "reintegration" to describe the adjustment problems that prisoners have readjusting to society after long periods in prison. I'm afraid we'll have to borrow this term for adoptive families. The problem, you see, is that after 3 weeks staying in 5 star hotels, I am becoming terrified of returning home where there is no staff to attend to my needs 24 hours a day. Who will come and change my sheets for me everytime someone spits up in my bed? Who will clean the bathrooms and do my laundry every day. Who will come to my house every night at 5 PM, fluff my pillow, straighten up my bed, and give me a small piece of chocolate? Honestly, I don't think I can cope with reintegration into normal middle class life and I'm just not sure what to do.

First Morning in Guangzhou. Owen’s Doctor’s Appt.

Every child adopted in China must receive a medical check from the doctor’s clinic on Shamian Island a couple blocks from the White Swan. It’s impossible to describe the mob scene at this medical clinic where literally every child adopted from China must pass through. This is a perfunctory exam, to be honest I don’t even know what exactly they are looking for. They weigh and measure, look in the eyes, ears, and throat, and take their temperature. Of course since Owen had a fever they offered us some Chinese antibiotics which we graciously refused. We got to the hotel and had an international conference call with our stateside pediatrician with Grandpa Ken hosting from Oregon (Thanks Dad!) and started Owen on the children’s Zithromax that we brought with us….Thanks Big Pharma! He passed his exam fever and all, and we finished up all our adoption paperwork in the medical clinic. We spent the rest of the day canceling sightseeing tours, taking ibuprofen for the fever, forcing liquids for the mild dehydration, and mixing up powdered antibiotics for the kids.

Good times at the White Swan.

Goodbye Chongqing. Hello Guangzhou.

The day after the orphanage we visited Dazu, the site of a mountainside in Chongqing that is covered with Buddhist carvings. It was stunningly beautiful and not to be missed, unless of course you are traveling to China to adopt a baby and you are already doing too much, sleeping too little, and getting used to a whole new family configuration. If that’s the case, the long trip more than 2 and ½ hours, the cold and wet and pollution just might be the straw that breaks your immune system’s back. Just maybe. Here are a few picks. The next day, we cancelled our tours, stayed in bed most of the day with the fevers and the sickness, and then at 3PM we dressed our sick children, grabbed our luggage, and headed out the door for a quick lunch of Chinese Teppanaki (the Benihana style of restaurant where the food is cooked in front of you and served hot off the grill). This was the only non-traditional Chinese food that matt ate so far and let me tell you the Chinese twist on Japanese teppanaki is absolutely delicious and in China eating food off the grill is always a good idea. The big lantern in the picture is part of the CNY decorations that were featured in earlier blog posts about the Chongqing decorations. It is right in front of the hotel and we took this shot on our way to the airport. Immediately following this photo was the terrifying high fever jaunt through the Chongqing airport, the Guangzhou airport, and into the White swan hotel were we dumped a violently shivering and feverish Libby into the hotel bed at about 11:00PM. We awoke the next morning to sick children and Daddy, fortunately Kris was well enough to take care of us all, which she did.

For 40 RMB, we got to write the kids names on a slip of paper that was placed in a lighted slot on the blessing cone, and then the monk banged the gong a couple of times. You can never have too many blessings.