In April 2005, Sue and I decided to pursue the adoption of a little girl. On October 1, 2008, we received a very powerful message that a little girl named Nan Yun Dan would soon become Elizabeth YunDan Franz. This blog details our trip to China between 11/19 and 12/4 and the wonderful changes that occurred in both our and Elizabeth's lives over that period.
Buddhist Blessings for the Girls
Dan-Dan was a bit tuckered out from the events of the last few days and got a few last winks of sleep prior to us leaving for the Buddhist Temple. The Temple we visited has been around for over 1,500 years but is much smaller in land size due to encroachment of surrounding buildings. Regardless, there is a certain serenity on the temple grounds. We toured the grounds prior to the ceremony, entered the temple, removed our shoes and proceeded to kneel at the temple while a Buddhist monk led a chant and blessed us all for a good healthy life. It was a wonderful ceremony and acknowledged Dan-Dan's connection to her birth religion. While Dan-Dan won't be raised as a Buddhist, Sue and I welcome the blessing of our little girl. You can't get enough "health wishes", I say. After the ceremony, we gathered as a group and took a group photo of the children from Guangdong Province. The White Swan has a couple gorgeous Jade sculptures — the photos don't do them justice as you just can't imagine the amount of work required to complete these out of a single block of Jade.
A Wonderful Trip to the Zoo
We started the day with a bath for Dan-Dan. As the picture illustrates, she's not a bath person. Perhaps she'll grow into it. We left at 8:30am on about a 45 minute bus ride to the south side of Guangzhou to visit the Guangzhou Safari Park. The Guangzhou Zoo is, by far, the best zoo I can remember visiting. It is well manicured, has high shade areas, dense foliage and an abundance of all types of animals. There were at least 5 Rhino, 10-15 tigers and lions, 10 bears, 10 pandas and a huge number of giraffe, wilde beasts, reebok, zebra, etc. In addition, most of the animals weren't in small enclosed areas — they were in areas reworked to mimic their home terrains. We highly advise anyone going to Guangzhou to visit this fine zoo. After our return from the Zoo, we went to the electronics market and I purchased 4GB SD cards, 1GB MP3 Players, and laptop speakers — all for less than $10 each.
Saturday: Medical Examination Day
Today was pretty uneventful. We took Dan-Dan to get her medical exam which she passed. Her weight is 7 kilos (about 15.7 lbs.). Went to lunch at Lucy's and the boys had fun with games and walking Dan-Dan. Matt, Tim and I then went to the toy mall and it was a sight to behold — 6 stories of vendors in 10x10 cubicles. Puts Mexican markets to shame, they do. That evening, we walked along the river and I took some night photos of the party boats and the other bank. Let's just say the surroundings look a lot better at night than they do by day.
We Travel Back to Guangzhou
We left the hotel early to get a good start on the 6+ hour bus ride back to Guangzhou. But first we had to head south about a half hour to visit the beach on the Sea of China. It was a very nice beach with boats that seemed more like ornaments than the working boats they were. There were a variety of vendors on the beach, including a guy who gave pony rides. Of course Matt and Tim wanted one and had a nice stroll up the beach. Our guide Cordelia told us a story about a little girl beach combing who was very selective about which shells she would pick up — she said she couldn't save them all, but realized she could save many of them one at a time. Everywhere in China, you see small family agri-farms where the locals work their crops. We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant famous for its knives. The prices were ridiculous — we bought Matt a torture tool and Tim some nunchucks, each for about $1.00. The bus ride back was long but uneventful. Dan-Dan kept her composure throughout. We arrived a bit late and ordered Papa John's pizza in. Dan-Dan immediately wanted in on it.
We Visit the Orphanage
Many of us were skeptical of making a 2 day trip to Maoming that would take us over 6 hours in a bus both ways. But after visiting the Orphanage, I know that no one believes that now. Maonan Social Welfare Institute houses about 80 orphaned children. Most of the healthy babies are readily adopted. But there is that group of babies with special needs that become society's cast offs. It's truly heartbreaking to see these children grouped together. And the tragedy is that many of these handicaps are treatable through surgery. Matt and Tim walked through the older children and gave them candy. While we were there, they also donated 6 dozen children's toothbrushes to the Orphanage. After we gave our gifts to the orphanage, the orphanage gave us a gift: a small package with the clothes that Dan-Dan was found in. Clothes is a generous term — what she was left in was a diaper and a small green sweatshirt-like jacket. Matt and Tim received a jade pendant for good luck, as did Dan-Dan. The caretakers are people that are truly selfless. Next, we visited Dan-Dan's finding place. The Wedding Photography Studio had moved about a month ago, but we visited the place where an abandonment of a little baby set in motion a series of events that brought us together. We have no doubt that this Thanksgiving will be the most memorable in our lives.
Let's See Where Dan-Dan Was Found and Raised!
Today we checked out of the White Swan to travel for 5.5 hours by bus to the city of Maoming. Elizabeth was raised in the Maonan Social Welfare Institute from the time she was found on 1/23 until we got her. Prior to leaving, we stopped by the Security Documents Office and got her Chinese Passport. To say the bus ride was bumpy was an understatement. We were soon reminded of all the things we forgot about parenting an infant. But worth all the effort — she is a joy! Just out of Guangzhou, we saw families tending their small agricultural plots. After about an hour we stopped for dinner at a Cantonese restaurant and had our first glimpse of how the Chinese use everything. We saw sandworms, water beetles, squids, insects, and even a freshly killed cayman. Our guide said the only thing with legs that the Cantonese don't eat is a table and the only thing with wings they don't eat is an airplane. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and while we won't have a big turkey dinner, we can't think of a more appropriate way of spending the day: helping the orphanage who cared for our little girl in such a selfless manner.
We Officially Adopt Elizabeth
It's Official. Elizabeth Yundan (Dan-Dan) Franz is legally our child. Today we processed the paperwork at the office and watched Dan-Dan walk around while we waited. It was a day 3.5 years in the making.
Another Girl in the Franz Family Line!
We got Elizabeth today! The day started out with a nice breakfast and a little swimming. Just like any other day. Only this day was over 3.5 years in the making. We arrived at the CAB building at 2:30 and proceeded to go to the 8th floor, where we waited about 15-20 minutes while another group in front of us received their children. They called out Dan-Dan's name and Sue went and received her. It was a powerful moment. Here are our first pictures with Dan-Dan. Here's a group shot of all the adopting families in our group. Surprisingly, all the children were very calm and comfortable with their new families. We got back to the hotel about 5:30pm and then spent 2 more hours filling out paperwork. Dan-Dan fell asleep at around 8:30 after about 15 minutes of crying. She woke up once at 1:30am for about 30 seconds of comforting and slept through to 6am.
Beijing to Guangzhou
3 hour flight to Guangzhou in Southern China. The temperature is much warmer and may hit 80 during the day. Matt, Tim and I went in the pool at 7:30pm and it was chilly to say the least. The White Swan hotel is very nice. Lots and lots of adopted children and their families here. We've got two connected rooms which gives us a lot of extra space. We went to a Thai restaurant for dinner and saw the parade of children. Up to now, this has been a vacation. Tomorrow, our lives change forever. And we can't wait!
We Climb the Great Wall
We did it. The family climbed the Great Wall to the 5th Watchtower at the top of the mountain. The magnitude of the Wall is truly astounding. Climbing it is difficult enough but I couldn't imagine building the darned thing. And there's another 3,600 miles of the stuff. Prior to the climb, we went to a Jade factory and saw how the toils of the many realize vast foreign currency for the State. After the climb we had lunch, accompanied by some Chinese liquor that tasted like jet fuel. We returned to Beijing and visited a Tea Room. We ended the day by seeing a Chinese Acrobatic Show. Very interesting, but the boys were trashed by that point and Tim fell asleep in the show.
Day 2 — Beijing Sightseeing
A wonderful day in Beijing. Low pollution. High in the low 50s. Today, we took the city tour, beginning with the Olympic Green. We did a walk through of the Water Cube. Next it was off to the Forbidden City — huge place, huge. It was finished in 1420 and remains in remarkably good shape. We then had lunch family style at a Chinese restaurant and the food was very good. After lunch, we visited Tiananmen Square — the largest public square in the world. While we were there, there was a small protest with propaganda leaflets being passed out. Matt and Tim have been the object of many stares by the locals and have actually been approached to have their pictures taken with them. Last visit of the day was to a silk factory. Silkworm lives for 60 days, feeds exclusively on mulberry leaves, and the cocoon is a single strand of silk about 1,500 meters long.
We're Here in Beijing
13 hours on a plane, 2 hours of sleep, an hour long bus ride to the Jianguo Hotel, a quick meal and it's off to bed. We're traveling with about 6 other families and some more will be arriving over the next couple of days. Our plans for sightseeing in Beijing are to see the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Olympic Venues. Some shopping, a Chinese Acrobatic show and a few other things. Should be fun. We're all beat and can't wait to wake up on local time.
How did we get here?
April 2005. A casual dinner at The Green Basil. A glass of wine. Some casual conversation. That's how this whole tale unfolds. Sue mentions to me that Tim asked if he was going to get a baby sister. And since Sue had already burned up her child rearing years with 2 wonderful boys, I ask her if she could have another child would she want a girl? The decision was pretty easy. We both figured if we had to talk ourselves into adopting, we probably shouldn't do it. At that time, Chinese adoptions were usually completed from initial application in less than 15 months. And then everything slowed down. Sue and I were becoming so concerned that we were discussing what date we would withdraw ourselves from the process. We'd decided that if we didn't have a referral by the end of 2008, that would be it. Luckily, that didn't happen and on October 1st we received notification that Nan Yun Dan had been matched with our application. While I can't imagine the feelings of a mother giving up her child, we are truly excited to have this opportunity to change the life of this little girl. So here we are, 4 days away from leaving for Beijing with Matt and Tim. Our lives will change forever in a few short days. And we can't wait.