We're home!

The last 24-48 hours have been a blur! The weirdest thing is we left Hong Kong at 11:40am 3/20/2009 and returned to the States on 3/20/09 at 12:50 pm- if only the ride was only 1 hour and 10 minutes!
We left Guangzhou by train again. Shelly, Madeline, and Eli were with this. This is quite an ordeal. You have to go through customs and everything...in my experience, China is very thorough compared to the US. We probably stand in line so long partly because they are smiling at my kids so much and want to talk with them, at least try to get them to say Hello. The train was packed this time. The diversity of the drive was interesting. We saw big cities to small villages with what seemed to be the equivalent of squatter houses. The gardens are meticulous compared to mine- they have nice irrigation systems. And finally back to Hong Kong. This is a very eclectic city. I haven't yet done my research but Todd said it was run by the British until maybe the early 90s. Many people here speak English. We got interviewed in the park by some school kids. We saw nursing students and Shelly asked them some questions. We ate at Mc Donalds again...sorry to those who are disappointed by this. I have been reminded on this trip several times that this is not about me...if it were today I would have spent the day in the humid sun and intermittently shopped for shoes (OMG- I will be writing about this on my other blog!). The boys each managed to get themselves some tennis shoes and Eli even got some, which are perfect for him- (they say "welcome to Wisconsin", not literally but are cow print with a purple Nike swoosh on the side-awesome taste, Eli!) then went back to watch Madagascar II. Everyone (except for me) wanted to get out of the sun. OK, so whoever does the translation for these movies is awful. I got a headache trying to read the subtitles. The language choice was Russian or Chinese...and subtitles were to be in English. Needless to say, I think they literally translate word for word. They could have easily copied the script but apparently needed a bigger challenge. Then it was back out to the streets of HK. Crowded. At all times of day. It is shoulder to shoulder and never ends, and mind you, this is everywhere. We are not necessarily in a "busy" part of town like would be seen in downtown West Bend (and, of course, that is never busy). The streets are packed with buses, trucks, cars, people, and bikes- and, as could be seen, this is true for the highways as well. I have never seen bikes and cars competing for the same spot on the road. They drive on the right side of the car. Mass transit. We ate at....hold your breathe...Pizza Hut. Now, I have to say, this is the fanciest Pizza Hut I have ever been to. Eli ordered the squid/noodle combo- we stuck with traditional pizza. Eli tried a piece (which may have made him sick later). We ventured back home after a quick stop at a perfume store. Our last sleep then off to the airport.
Our plane flight home was fantastic- I couldn't have asked for anything better- the boys slept a long time. We went through a very quick customs at home and it was off to home, home, home! And let's just say it was a memorable one. Thank you Don Goeden for your generous nature. Thank you Lemlers for your beautiful decorations. And thank you Todd, for being you! We loved our trip. We adore Mr. Eli Russell Waala. We were lucky to have precious time with my sister Shelly and niece Madeline. But we are so happy to be home!
We are adjusting to home just fine. Jordan is already off to archery this morning then a birthday party and Andrew is asking to have a friend come over later. We slept though are adjusting. Andrew awoke at 2 am asking for food. We went out to the couch and had some cereal, attempting to sleep but didn't fall back to sleep until about 4 then were woken by Dad at 7:35 so head off for the day. I have unpacked and keep staring at my ring finger! Andrew and Jordan have come up with their top 10-20 list about the things they loved followed by a shorter list about the things they did not love about China...we will post them tomorrow!
Love,
Paula

The People of China

Nightime along the River Walk

Madeline loves chopsticks!

The boys with somoe Hacky Sack buddies...

Our good friend Judy

Mr. Le became an Attorney at Law in 1991. He has a practice in Family law 50% of the time and the other half helps families out with adoptions. He says he much better likes the adoption part because it is always a "win-win" situation. He says everyone is always happy. He has helped over 1,000 families with adoption since he began. He has been a huge help with Shelly on this trip. He has interacted with Eli in a kind way and even helped during troubled times. Today, he helped Shelly and another family at the US Consulate where they had to swear in there intentions with adoption. They now both have adopted to children from China and were specially recognized for that today. There were 32 other families adopting today at the same time. Over 70,000 children from China have been adopted by US families since this started. And, I think over 110,000 worldwide. We were very lucky to be able to witness this. Eli now has a visa to the States.

Judy did our laundry today. When it was returned to us, it was all steam pressed and in sealed bags...now I wish I would have had her do it all! She does much better than I. "Judy's Place" ( not original in title as all stores in this area are a ____ Place- Sharon, Sherry, Jordon, etc ) is a small, I would say, 12 by 20 ft shop. She was very happy to see we stopped by and gave us "good price" on all that we bought. She was so thankful that she gave Shelly and I bracelets and a "good luck charm" knitted item that we were to place on our bags (Shelly and I are somewhat convinced this "good luck charm" is a flag for other shop owners to let them know who likes to buy things!). She also gave the boys another freestyle hacky sack as the boys had been playing in the front of the store with some other boys while we shopped. Judy markets herself well. We told her when we see her again, she will probably have a huge store! She was very happy to hear that!

And today at the park, I had another person come up to want to "practice his English". Now this is a guy who Todd would have loved to talk to. I tried to get the kids to but they were a little shy. You see, this guy loves football and basketball. He said he would love to come to America to play (not quite tall enough!) He has learned all of his English from watching sports and he is great! He is attending the local university with an English major. College is 3 years here. His name is "James"...after Lebron James! That is so awesome! I do not remember his Chinese name. I certainly will never forget his American name. He named a ton of players, what teams they played for, who was traded. Unfortunately he doesn't know a lot about the Packers and never heard of Brett Favre so he has some work to do but his favorite is Tom Brady. He asked who I thought was cuter, Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise and after I answered I asked who he thought...Jennifer Aniston or Angelina... Jen, hands down.

And our new favorite Chinese person, hands down, is Eli. He has such spirit. He has so much fun with everyone and everything. Everyone comments (if they speak English) on what a nice boy he is. And he is so friendly to people. We have a lot to learn about Eli but I have a great feeling, we have a lot to learn from Eli. He loves his new sword and shows off his martial arts. Tonight in the park, he was doing some moves, push ups, somersaults. And, again, this seems to be what many people we see doing. Even at this kid park with play equipment, the adults are using the equipment to work out and surrounding the park is a running track. Eli plays with the kids and talks to the adults. There is not one place we have gone were he hasn't carried a long conversation with someone.

My boys are so proud of the fact they went to China. Andrew bought a hat with the Chinese Flag on it and told Shelly he was going to wear it at home and when people ask what it is, he will tell them it is a Chinese flag and that he went to China to get it. Jordan has made a great connection with Madeline. It has been so nice for me to just, in this relaxed state, sit back and enjoy my children have this amazing experience. I am so glad I set for the intention of this trip to be about this grand experience with Eli and spending time with my kids.

I took everyone out for dinner tonight in honor of Eli (it cost a whole 300 yen= 40 bucks- we could develop even more of a food addiction with these prices!) We went to a Thai place. We all toasted each other. We had noodles, chicken on a stick, sweet beans with carrots, and fries ( I don't think there is a day we haven't had these!) But we used our chopsticks and everyone did great...funny how Eli stuck with a spoon. And for desert...yeah! ice cream...when it came the bottom part of the glass was filled with kidney beans with a layer of ice cream over it. Eli mixed it all up to eat it while Andrew carefully ate only the ice cream. Madeline and Jordan had ice cream as well with a jello under theirs...Madeline said the jello reminder her of soap. Take a peek at Shelly's blog to see Jordan's reaction!

And then it was off to the river walk to see the lights at night. We were going to do a boat tour but these kids are too stinking tired. So we enjoyed the lights, headed home, and packed up. In the am, it is off to Hong Kong by train for one last night! There are so nay things I have learned here...one I will treasure is that from what I have seen, the people i have met and seen seem to do things that make them happy...I sometimes think in America, we expect happiness to come to us. And to end, I would love to say something sweet in Mandarin but all I remember right now is how to say "excuse me"

...low-jee-ah.

Good night,

Paula

Freestyle Chinese...

Buddhist temple gifts

Jordan learns some freestyle chinese hacky sack

Me and my boys

A man doing Tai Chi with a sword

Andrew and Eli

The day ended with walking wounded. Andrew was playing at the park and ran around a corner, falling. He scraped his knee and elbow but we needed to leave the park because of his distress. He settled nicely after a few cool washcloths and finally a shower. We ordered dinner in...baked sole fillet and chicken curry. Andrew fell asleep before it got to the room and Jordan gobbled down the sticky rice and then snoozed himself. It is 7:50 pm and both are already out.

We started the day with our typical breakfast. Andrew has enjoyed hard eggs and fruit while Jordan sticks with cereal and yogurt. We went for a walk after breakfast and ended at a walkway along the river. Hundreds of people had gathered for Tai Chi, a Chinese form of martial arts that generally requires slow movements which move energy. A man with a sword was showing off the same moves. I took some quick lessons from a group of women. There are many different types of Tai Chi. Every now and then Eli shows off some moves.

The area is beautiful. In the park was a pond with fish and many tadpoles. The Waalas, thanks to Eli, are now proud owners of a Gatorade bottle full of them. As the day went on, people showed off their hacky sack skills. This is incredible! They gather in groups of 4-5 and have an almost dart like looking thing to be used as a hacky sack. They all seemed expert. We all tried a little. Jordan did a great job! We will be bringing some home as gifts! It is a great exercise!

I wanted to visit a Buddhist Temple while here. We went to the Temple of the Six Bay non Trees. There are several temples in Guangzhou. We all stuffed into one taxi. The temple was located in the middle of, guess what, a very busy area! Shelly wonders if Eli was brought up Buddhist since he seems very comfortable here. OK, so comfortable that he wanted to burn some incense badly so simply crossed a closed off section in one of the temples...actually the one with 3 large Buddhas and marched right up to the candles lite on the table when suddenly one of the monks chased him out. It was innocent...memorable. I am not sure why I thought doing this was a good idea with kids. My boys were found laying down on the pads that are placed in front of each temple meant for bowing to Buddha...oops. At each temple and throughout the complex, there were flowers, incense (sometimes intense to the point of my children gagging as they left the building), water, oranges, apples, peanuts, and candy...all I know have meaning to Buddha (I need to learn more). We heard a chanting service in one of the temples and were able to watch (once the boys thought this may be similar to a church service, they wanted out).

We ventured out and walked the streets in the area for a little bit, hit the 7/11 for some ice cream, and hailed a taxi back...ok- there goes a taxi, ok "No, not to Shaiman"...something about time, after about a block of walking and 10 taxis turning us down, I called the hotel. Again, I hate not knowing this language, just rude of me. Well, luckily my smart older sister is along. She held out a 50 yen and hailed a taxi...slight hesitation but we were off. Thank you!

Back to the hotel for some down time and Nim's Island (subtitles in Chinese)- Shelly got 10 DVDs for 10 bucks. Good deal of course.

I am inspired by Eli. Although this boy has been told from day 1 that this day would someday come, he is handling himself with such grace and brilliance. Tomorrow is our last full day in Guangzhou. We will follow Shelly to a court for her to take an oath promising to care for Eli. We will see what the rest of the day brings...this feeling of peace is glorious.

"Xie Xie" (pronounced See See) (meaning Thank you) China

My buddy, his cousin, Shelly, and Madeline

Eli is so brave!

The boys are doing so great!

Andrew, the movie star! Do I have to?

It was a pleasant day. The weather was beautiful- sunny and 75 degrees. Kathy, Brad, and Matt- we love our hotel and our favorite thing to see so far has been, according to the kids, the people! Thanks for your questions, it got us thinking. I agree with them as well. This trip is not a sight seeing trip, though we love those as well. It is the most culture driven trip we all have ever had. We have been making attempts learning the language. Andrew liked saying "Hello" pronounced "Nee- HaOW" here. The language is complicated yet I am surprised when I hear a Chinese person say he/she is speaking bad English...at least they are attempting, and very good at that. I have had some very wonderful conversations. This seems to be a younger part of the Providence- Saiman Island. It is an island surrounded by the Pearl River (again, looks like the Milwaukee River). Leo was a person who introduced himself 2 days ago at the park wondering how he could speak better English. He bumped into me again yesterday and asked a lot of "how do you say..." He would like to be in international trade and is currently attending school at a local university. He would love to travel and live in America though states "that takes a lot of money and I don't have it." He asked me what I thought of Chinese parents. I have no idea, I honestly never thought of that. I asked him his thoughts..."Chinese parents have little time for their children...foreigners make lots of time." He was born before the "One child Only Law" came into effect in 1979. He has 3 other brothers. He wishes to learn more of the language and likes Skype!
Today I spoke with Judy. Judy (changed her name since she works in a tourist area) is a store owner here in Shaiman with her husband. They have run the store for 5 years. She graduated from middle school. Her parents could not afford HS or college. She has a child who her parents care for in the providence she grew up in but she needs to stay here 1. for the money in the store, and 2. because she likes the language of English so much she wishes to continue with it. She has met several American families who have come to this area who have adopted. She reports over 7,000 children this past year came through this area. She commented on me and Shelly's small size as "most American women who come here are bigger. I don't eat American food." She was very beautiful. I really liked hearing about her. She stated Chinese people are very kind and happy. She feels Americans are better at being parents. She worries she is not a good parent- she only sees her daughter 1-2 times per year. Chinese New Year seems like the only time they get "vacation" and according to what I have read, there is no vacation law here so i am not sure it is paid PLUS so many people own their own businesses- they open their doors at 9 am and close at 9:30 pm.
We were at the park again today- the gathering spot for most people in town. We are very lucky. Judy says this is the most beautiful area around, hence all of the photographers. Our kids played with a lot of kids today. I even got a new little boy friend- 2 and 1/2 years old- His mom (thanks to Judy's translation) said he loves to learn English so she lets him watch English TV programs. He was very comfortable with saying "Hello, how are you?" while holding out his hand to shake mine. He counted to 10. He even got an apple out of his home bag and presented it to me to eat with him at snack time. Shelly made sure Judy informed his mother how smart he is and how she should be proud! How true! I do have to make a quick comment on their clothes- I am telling you, these kids are dressed in layers- 3! It was 75 degrees out! The parents kept wiping the kids brows while I kept thinking the obvious. But it is thought they may catch cold. Dehydration may be worse...oh well. Judy was very insistant I come back to adopt a baby girl so I could "play with her hair". No, I certainly admire Dave and Shelly for their bravery and passion. I will remain the Aunt though.
As usual, Jordan and Andrew loved interacting with these kids. The tennis ball and gloves are a big hit! An older gentleman stopped for a good 10 minutes today just to watch Andrew catch. It looks like the big thing these people like to do here for exercise is 1. badminton, 2. hacky sack, 3. put a tennis ball tied to an elastic string attached to a rock and hit it with a tennis racket- it looks like so much fun!
Eli had 3 shots and oral polio today. The physical exam was a hoot. The offices looked ancient. And the thing I observed the most was how curious people are. When Eli was getting his shots, Shelly was literally pushed to the side so they could see why he was crying. And outside after the shots, 10 people stood around Eli talking to him about it. Certainly, not that this is bad, it just reminds me things can be different and not necessarily bad. This was great- They had Kung Fu Panda playing in the waiting room!
So because of the shots, we were low key which again, helped us connect with eachother and the people of China which is what this trip is all about. After 3 movies, some table tennis, and a nice walk, it is off to bed. Good night, good day to you! Nee/Hey Pee/Yeah Lee/Un (You are beautiful!)
Peace- J, AJ, and Mom

More pics!

right by me!

one of Dad's favorites- the horned owl!

the koala just had twins!

OMG! He ripped that out of my hands!

Zoo Day!

Today has been amazing so far and we aren't even done! There are so many pictures I would like to put on the blog from our zoo trip! This zoo...a safari zoo is like no other we have ever been to. The animals were within breathing distance of us. They do not believe in motes or fences. The monkeys were crawling above us. And one of the pics shows Jordan a little upset that the giraffes just yanked the 10yen piece of tree branch he was feeding him- I swear Jordan got lifted up off the ground! Again, the kids were quite the hit with the fellow Chinese people. Lots of pics of them - we made about 10 stops on the tour for pics...I was ready to get out the pens and start signing autographs (it's kind of a weird thing how much we are stared at and (I assume) talked about. I really feel bad I know none of this language but the people like Vikki and Billy, our hotel staff. The minibus that took us to the zoo was nice but the traffic is insane. They have marked lanes but apparently do not need to use them. And on the highways there are bikes loaded with whatever they need to lug. There are motorcycles, but I will tell you one thing Grandma and Grandpa Poch, these are not Harleys. Is a matter of fact, they look like they are the most ancient bikes out there. And every single person here seems like they are entrepreneurs-billions of small shops are lined up everywhere.

3/14 pictures

It's 2:35 am...we'll go back to bed in a bit but our bellies have been waking us up wanting to eat...we eat great for breakfast but then have a hard time for the rest of the day...here are some pics. Just an fyi- the exchange right now on american money to chinese (they have a couple different types) in Hong Kong $1 = $7.10 hong kong dollars and in Guangzhou $1 = 6 yuan. At McD's, pretty much the same menu except for greentea and a seaweed flavored spice added to fries instead of sat and pepper if you wish. We passed.