We left Hong Kong by train. When I was planning this trip this was the part that concerned me a little - getting on and off a train in China. Airports I can handle - I fly so much with work that I am at home in any airport. But we don't do trains much, and I remember getting a little confused boarding a train in Montreal once - and I can figure out a lot more French than Mandarin characters! But I shouldn't have worried. It was all very easy.
We got to the train stations and had time for Starbucks. The waiting area was clearly marked and we hopped on our train for a two hour ride through the Chinese countryside. The mountains are beuatiful and by train you can see the diversity in China. Major cities and rural area, rich communities with landscaping and tiny shacks. Kinda like home. The only difference was we weren't entirely sure what the food items were for sale as the train salespeople walked down the aisles, so we passed.
We got to Guangzhou and were met by Raymond, from CCAI, our adoption agency. He had been our guide in 1999 when we first visited. We hopped in the van and we were off to Foshan. Guangzhou is a city of 9 million people and Foshan is about 40 minutes away and a city of more than 4 million. The drive there was interesting - we kept thinking we were in South Florida! The highway looks the same - the same palm trees and landscaping, the same highway signs etc. Other than the words in Chinese, we could have been anywhere in Florida.
We checked into the hotel then went off to the Foshan Social Welfare Institute, where Veronica lived before she became part of our family. It is a complex of buildings downtown. There is a little playground area in between the buildings. Right now the there are several hundred non children living there, including elderly people with no support and some others who cannot live on there own. There are activity rooms for them, including Mah Jong tables. We could hear singing groups.
Then there were the babies. There are about 200 children living there right now. About 120 babies and the rest are special needs children. The girls loved playing with the babies. Chinese culture and tradition includes keeping babies swaddled and well-covered. The babies have so many clothes on they can barely pull down their arms. Several were in walkers and scooting about (mostly backwards). A few had disabilities, but most appeared healthy and alert. The girls wanted us to take them all home.
We had a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the staff that worked with Veronica when she was there, including the Director that we met in 1999, the chief nanny, Veronica's personal nanny and even Veronica's godmother. They were all very glad to see her and to see how healthy and happy she was. They kept encouraging her to come back to China when she gets older, and perhaps adopt a baby. They all called her by her Chinese name, Xiaobing, and kept picking her up and commenting on how tall she was. When we left they gave her some gifts, a pokeman stuffed animal and a huge bag of locally made candy.
Mackenzie was a great through all this. The Chinese all thought she was 14 or so because she was so tall. She really enjoyed plaing with the babies.
After we left we walked around town near our hotel. This was interesting. Foshan is not a big tourism city and I only saw one or two westerners while we were there. My little family was the subject of some interest. First, David and I are much bigger than everyone, Mackenzie clearly stands out in the crowd then there was Veronica,zipping down the sidewalk in her heelys. Not your average Foshan family. We got a lot of interest. Mackenzie loved the stores there because the clothes were cool and inexpensive. She would have been happy to shop all night.
Next raymond took us to Food Street, where there are a zillion restaurants. We picked one and went in. After we ordered tea we went back up front to order. There were pictures on the wall of the offerings, but you could also pick out your own food. Raymond picked out a fish and they immediately scooped it out of the tank. We also had some tofu and shrimp and chicken and dumplings and rice and I don't remember what else. We did not select out chicken, although I suppose we sould have. There were also live duck and chickens and rabbits and eels and even a cute little goat out front. The girls were a little horrified by this, but were great sports through the meal. I was very pleased when they gamely tried most foods or at least politely moved around on the plate those items they weren't thrilled with.
The next day we visited the Foshan Ancestral Temple. Like the Temple of Heaven this is not a religious place, but a connection between people and their ancestors. If you've seen Mulan think about when Mulan went to the temple and woke the stone carvings (including Mushu) to help her. There were similar carvings here. The temple was built in 1078. Most temples from that time were destroyed during the cultural revolution, but this one remains. The carvings in the roofs were amazing. There is also a taoist temple on the grounds. Visiting this center of community life for more than a thousand years was quite special.
We drove back to Guangzhou and visited a beautiful garden. We'll attach some pictures. There is a huge rock carving at which you can make wishes for the New Year. You make your wish than circle three times. We did. Veronica wished for warmer weather, since this was about the coldest day in Guangzhou in years. It must have worked because the sun came out and it warmed up!
We visited a pearl market then went lunch near the White Swan hotel. This is where many adopting families stay. As we shopped around you could see families with their new babies. We dropped in one shop and watched an artist do Chinese finger painting. It is amazing. Using only his hands, including his fingerprints, fingernails, and the sides of his palms he makes gorgeous ink paintings. We bought the one we watched him paint - it is amazing.
The girls each bought a little abacus and we practiced using them on a the train. It is a great way to learn place value!
After a little more touring around Hong Kong today we leave tonight for Sydney. It will be nice to be back in an English speaking country and Veronica is hopeful for some chocolate milk. The milk products here just don't cut it. I can't wait to do laundry somewhere!
abacus
