Sept. 18 Saturday

We are all anxious to check out the buffet breakfast at The Garden Hotel.  This hotel is so beautiful and the breakfast was amazing.  Met our guide at 8:30 am went to Shamian Island for Chloe’s Chinese physical.  She came through it with no problems but she had to have six vaccine shots.  The island had many shops and is out by the ocean. Sophie, Lucy & Jeanne went on a walking excursion of the hotel.  We saw a wedding, the Chinese warrior that guards heaven, the amazing swimming pool & spa, beautiful statues, went up a 3 story escalator, went to the 28^th top floor, saw a work crew building a garden and a pond.  We went out every door and rode the elevator lots because you have to use a card to work the elevator.  We all had to have a turn.  Guangzhou has no honking horns and very few bicycles.  We asked our guide about this and she said it against the law to honk your horn.  This city has many factories and is very metropolitan lots of businessmen around.  It just has a different feel.  Nanchang is more down to earth and lots of everyday people.  It is so great to see it all.  We will not be able to go to Beijing because it is far away.  Went to Pizza Hut for lunch – a pizza menu and a Chinese menu.  We had pizza – it was great.

Sept. 17 Friday

We have to pack because we are going to Guangzhou (pronounced: Juan Jo) tonight and guess what, the zipper on my luggage broke.  We can’t fix it; sad days.   We started out this day, going to the Flea Market in Nanchang.  It is amazing shopping – never enough time.  Echo is a master barterer.  We had a great time but are so very tired.  We had to wait awhile in the Nanchang Airport.  The flight was only one hour and twenty minutes.  We arrived in Guangzhou and were met by our new guide Aron (a girl) and a bus took us to our hotel.  Everyone go to the website of The Garden Hotel in Guangzhou.  It is nothing like you’ve ever seen.  Very contemporary, very elaborate, unbelievable.  

Sept. 16  Thursday

Another great adventure today.  We are heading off to Chloe’s orphanage, a one and half hour drive.  With our guide Echo directing we head off through the crazy traffic of the city.  We saw groups of bicycles with red flags and a yellow box hooked to the back of the bicycle.  They are advertising a new business.  We finally leave the city and travel through the beautiful, lush, green countryside.    Al slides his window open so he can take photos of the pheasants working in the fields, riding carts with big loads, laundry hanging, beautiful kept farms.  We arrived at the city of FengCheng, the city of Chloe’s orphanage.  We were met at the gate of this beautiful place by the director.  We were all taken to a special room where Jody & Erik were shown Chloe’s paperwork and the photo of her when they found her.  She was found on a step of the local hospital.  She was immediately put into foster care.  Her whole life she has only had this one foster mother.  She was there to see Chloe for the last time and say goodbye.  She is a tiny, gray-haired, sweet loving woman.  When Chloe saw her she immediately buried her head into her shoulder.  This dear woman took great care of Chloe.  Chloe responds so well to love and is adjusting so amazing.  She sleeps through the night and Jody has found the foods she likes to eat.  She is happy, gabbers and goos, crawls on the floor, pulls herself up to the bed and furniture.  Erik & Jody are planning to get her surgery done as soon as they can when they get home.

The directors of the orphanage took us all to lunch at a restaurant.   This restaurant had a courtyard in the center – all the rooms were had a door facing the courtyard.  The food was exceptional.  It was a variety of dishes – eggplant sauted with hot peppers & corn, celery & red pepper sauted with hot peppers, steamed buns with honey butter, mutton & mushroom soup, taro root balls, sticky rice spirals coated with sugar, sliced beef, sliced pork, lotus root, cooked spinach, noodles with broth.  Some of the dishes were spicy hot and Samuel took a bite of something and went beet red – you knew he was burning up.  It was a very delicious meal.  After lunch we went to the hospital where Chloe was left to be found by a red pillar.  Now we are back at the hotel resting.  That evening the men went to McDonalds – so we all ate hamburgers.  It was great.

Sept. 15 Wednesday

Today excursion was to the Chinese Teng Wang Pavilion which originally was built in 652 AD.  It has been remodeled 28 times since.  It is where the Governor of this province used to live.  It is a very beautiful amazing preserved Chinese structure.   The walls have beautiful murals, carved woodwork, tiled floors.  It has about 7 floors with balconies.  It is now open to the public to tour and has become a museum for old documents photos through the ages of the pavilion.  We found great shopping in little shops and on the grounds of this pavilion.  We also took pictures of the door threshold that keeps the evil spirits out.

Yesterday at breakfast Sophie said, “When we go back to America we’ll have to get use to American food again.”

Samuel said, “This banana bread is not as good as Catie’s banana bread.”  Al & Samuel have become “bacon buddies”.

Echo took us to the People’s Park and shopping today.  The People’s Park is a large park with beautiful gardens, huge trees, a lake with paddle boats, an area for Tai Chi and dancing groups.  Their playground is the ancient ancestors of our American made exercise equipment – the Health Rider, Nordic Trac, twist board, abdomenizer, etc.  Check out the photos.  The kids (Erik is the big kid) had a great time at the Amusement Park.  Sam said, “This is the sweaty part of China.”  It was so hot and humid.

We then went shopping to the RT-Mart.  It is a very large grocery variety store.  When you see the photos on the internet of Wal-mart in China.  They are all true – raw unwrapped fish and meat just dumped in the coolers, hanging cooked quail and doves, dried strange food in baskets.  This store was very clean, well staffed, nice workers, great variety of food, fast check-out, 2 floors with an escalator that locks the cart wheels so they don’t roll.  Very modern and nice.  We bought a variety of Chinese food for our dinner.  Echo said it was like a scavenger hunt.

September 13 Monday

Our dear guide, Echo, had everything perfectly planned – everything went off like clock work. 

We met at 10:45 am and walked across the street and got in the elevator and went to the 26^th floor.  We all heard Jody excitedly saying, “It’s my baby, it’s my Chloe.”  A couple was in the elevator at the same time with dear little Chloe.  We walked out into a room with lots of other families and Chloe was brought to Erik & Jody.   The rest of the day was doing paper work and it ended up that the adoption was finalized in one day. 

It was one of the most divinely inspired orchestrated events I’ve ever witnessed.  Tung Tung (her Chinese name) is a tiny extra sweet calm loving spirit.   She attached immediately to her new mom.  She delighted in the attention she received from her brother & sisters.  She divinely was really meant to be a Hansen.  She is loving her new world.  When we got back to the room she snuggled up to papa Al and she turned her head and gave him a kiss on his cheek. 

Sept. 12, 2010 Sunday

 Nice lazy day.  Another scrumptious breakfast buffet – the same food every day, but we love it.  In the afternoon we went swimming – nice that the hotel has a big screen TV at the end of the pool – we watched Rush Hour.  After swimming we went out for ice cream and Al got a green melon popsicle – surprise! It had red bean in the middle.  Erik had laundry done and it came back folded and in a lovely basket.  The view out our hotel window is of a track and field course for a middle school.  Behind it is a great view of the city.  For dinner we went to a restaurant across the street from the hotel.  There was a golden pot on everything so we will call it the “Golden Pot”.  There was a waitress that spoke a little bit of English and her and Erik worked out the food.  It took so long for her to understand that we wanted noodles.  The children love noodles & broth.  He ended up ordering some cooked Bok Choy, rice with egg in it, beef with peanuts, dumplings, noodles and broth and the memorable “dung soup”.   (Tofu & pork parts in broth in a large black pot – which smelled so disgusting).  We decided that maybe we could give this one to the homeless or the neighboring table.  We all laughed so hard we decided this was one for the Thelin Cookbook.  We waited so long for a 2^nd bowl of noodles that Sam fell asleep in his chair.  And all the rest of those who wanted them were too tired to eat them.  Then when that was over Al looked at Erik & said,  “[British accent] Pardon me, but I didn’t want to bother you while eating, however, a fly entered your armpit area through your sleeve, pardon the expression, but it did not exit.  You may want to investigate the matter later.”

Tomorrow – New Day – New Baby Chloe!!

Sept. 11 Saturday

We all so enjoy the great breakfast buffet which comes with our room.  It consists of noodles with broth, meat- bacon, sausage, ham etc. – potstickers, dumplings, eggs, rice breakfast dishes and plain rice, fresh fruit, yogurt, great juices, a great mix of Chinese and American food.  We stuff ourselves every morning. 

Today is rainy but warm.  Echo is escorting us to Sophie’s orphanage.  She arrived with a mini bus for our travel.   It is a three hour drive.  The first stop is to buy a case of bottled water.  Driving through Nanchang is a crazy scary experience.  The driver has one hand on the wheel and the other hand on the horn.  The horn never stops, everyone just drives and doesn’t consider any laws or rules.  It’s so crowded with cars, buses, bicycles, motorized motopeds, bikes, scooters, lots of bikes with trailers for stuff.  The main transportation is by moto bike and small scooters.  The people walking almost all have a umbrella so the sight is a sea of umbrellas.  To cross the street you just start as a group across the street and pray for safety.    It was so nice to finally leave the city and travel on the freeway into the country and rural area where there are small towns and beautiful countryside.   The freeway is lined with trees it started with Canphor Trees and went to a spindley pine trees and pink floral bushes.  Very lush and green rolling hills with ponds and rivers & here and there a brick or wood farm home.  We saw lots rice patty farms and a man working with a water buffalo in the rice patties.  The rice patties harvest two crops per year and it is all done by hand.     Large trucks passing are carrying chickens and hogs. 

Sophie’s orphanage is in the city of Guixi.  The orphanage is called the SWI (Social Welfare Institute).  Visiting the orphanage was a very emotional experience.  We were welcomed with firecrackers and a giant red banner across the front of the building which said “Welcome back Guo Hui Ju.”  (In Chinese of course)  The directors took us into a lovely room where we sat around an oval table and were served watermelon and green skinned oranges.  Echo introduced all of us to everyone.  Jody lovingly told about the joy Sophie had brought to our life.  She presented them with a book of photos of Sophie growing up and told about all the things she was doing and her talents.  The director gave Sophie a gift of a jade Buddha necklace.  Sophie drew a picture for them and presented it to them.  They all loved hearing about the family and especially revered Al as the elderly father.  The director looked at him and said, “You must be a martial arts [expert].”  And Al nodded yes and the director said, “You look like a very famous martial arts.”   

We toured the orphanage (the older children were in foster care).  We visited the nursery where Sophie lived.  We only saw 3 very tiny babies in cribs and 2 toddlers in walkers.   The babies seemed to be well cared for.  The view from the nursery window was a beautiful natural stone bridge – that was breathtaking.  The directors took us all to lunch at a restaurant near by.  It was real authentic Chinese food.  We started out with peanuts in the shell and sunflowers seeds and orange juice and sprite.  One by one another dish would come in.  They were placed on a giant glass circle in the center of the table that rotated round and round.  The menu included spicy carrots, pickled eggs, rice with chicken, dates with chopped veg., crunchy little fish and hot peppers, whole quail, radish & pork soup, fish & veg. soup, cooked pumpkin in sauce, cabbage with veg., fried rice, sliced beef with veg. 

Al totally misses his cold milk and bread.  Leave it to Tim every night when they Skype the kids Tim sits there drinking milk with the gallon jug off to the side.