We left Beijing yesterday morning - after being there for less than 12 hours - and flew to Zhengzhou ("jeng-joe"), capital of Henan province. We spent the afternoon checking in, exchanging currency, doing a little shopping at the local Walmart, and catching up on sleep. (I have some interesting pictures, but we've had some computer glitches so I'm not going to try to upload any right now. I'll include some in the next post.)
We have a large group - 14 families - and it's been fun getting to know everyone. All of the couples already have children, but this is the first adoption for many of them, just like us. One couple is adopting two little boys, one from Henan and the other from another province. Both boys are deaf, as is the adoptive father. They brought their three older children with them - a lovely, amazing family.
Our guides are fantastic. George, our guide in Beijing, hustled everyone through the check-in process at the Beijing airport yesterday when it became clear that our large group wasn't going to make our flight if the security staff continued to hand-search every single checked bag (after X-raying it) and confiscate every bottle of lotion, hairspray and deodorant. On our own, we would never have made it in time. George was awesome. Yisha ("ee-sha"), our guide in Zhengzhou, distributed question and answer sheets yesterday that had been submitted by our agency to our children's respective orphanages. The questions had to do with each child's diet, daily routine, sleep habits, likes and dislikes. So now we know more about our children and how to make them feel as comfortable as possible during this huge transition. Ellie's information sheet states that she is "active and lively"... Hmmm... reminds me of a couple other children I know and love... :)
We meet Ellie in three hours - 10 AM local time. It almost seems impossible, but soon she will be on her way to Zhengzhou with an official from her orphanage to meet us at the Civil Affairs office here in the city. I'm praying that things will go smoothly, that all the children will arrive safely, and that they won't be too frightened. I hope we can find a way to make Ellie smile and know that she is safe. I wish I could say that I've mastered a little Mandarin. (So far, I've said "hello" and "thank you", to which the reaction of the local Chinese has been cool to say the least. But I am trying.) I do know how to say, "I love you", though, and what could be more important than that? I have no doubt that Ellie's comprehension of English will surpass my understanding of Chinese in about 3 days. How comfortable she'll feel with us remains to be seen. But we cannot wait to have her in our arms at last.
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