March 2004

Cindy Mintz travelled with John Krupa to Nanchang adopt their daughter Alison, Cindy volunteered to write the following trip report.

On the evening of March 21, 2004, twelve very excited expectant families met up in Shanghai. Some had just rolled off the long flight from Vancouver, others had already been in China for a few days, but the energy was tangible – just one short sleep and we would finally be meeting our long-awaited new children!

The next morning, hearts racing, we arrived in Nanchang, and our busses – one for the luggage, and one for us – were already in the parking lot. On hopped our Nanchang guide, Mary, and off we went!

Suddenly, we stopped at a highway tollbooth. Bang! pssssst . . . the car next to us blew a tire, causing quite a commotion amongst its occupants. Glad it wasn’t us, we sped away . . . and then we pulled over. Realization struck – it WAS us!!  Stranded, we waited for another bus to be dispatched. Our concern grew as the appointed hour for meeting the children approached, our stomachs rumbled and several bladders threatened to imitate the tire. Finally, the new bus appeared, and we made it to the hotel with a few minutes to find our luggage, cram a granola bar or two into our mouths and scramble down to the lobby for the short drive to the government office.

At last, in a blur of emotion, we rushed up the cold staircase of the office, and into a large empty waiting room. We could hear the muffled sound of babies crying nearby. After what might have been an eternity, or only a couple of minutes, we heard names being called, and the babies were brought to us one by one.

If there’s a moment that every expectant parent dreams of, and tries to imagine, it’s the moment that your child is placed into your arms. Imagining it a thousand times, however, can’t prepare you for the real thing. Especially for those of us who became first-time parents, our lives fundamentally changed in that one instant.

Unfortunately for Yulin, this profound internal change also has outward manifestations. Formerly competent adults become suddenly unable to follow simple instructions, adhere to any semblance of a schedule, or notice bits of food stuck to their clothing. Avid travelers instantly start to ignore famous landscapes in favour of gazing into their babies’ beautiful faces, and conversation centers almost exclusively around bodily emissions. As sagely observed by the youngest member of our group, Daniel (age 7), “Babies are a lot of work!”

It is likely that, without Yulin, we’d all still be bumbling around in China, but amazingly, she tirelessly and efficiently handled all of the administrative and logistical matters behind the scenes, and, together with such invaluable assistants as her husband “Uncle” Bob and guide Faye in Beijing, kept us nourished with delicious meals, pointed us to the best shopping, and ensured that we experienced a little of the wonderful country that our children were born in.

Cindy Mintz