May 2005

Teviah's Trip Report                                                                                       

Teviah travelled with her mother, Cindy Pimlatt in May. She acquired many friends on the trip – see the stories by the Stroobosscher and Edlington kids on the following pages.

My name is Teviah Pimlatt. I am 7 years old. I travelled to China on May 13 to get my baby sister, Ani. Something that was really weird that happened in China was that there was a great big spider in the corner of the wall right beside the door of the room we were in to get the babies. Something I liked in China was seeing the acrobat show. My favourite act was when some boys were climbing poles. My other favourite act was when some people were juggling hats and doing tricks with hats. I think China is a really cool place because there are always neat things going on like celebrations. My favourite that that I did was go walking on the Great Wall. It was fun sitting on the camel. When we went to KFC they had really, really spicy chicken. It was so spicy every time I took a bite I needed to have a drink. I like my sister a lot! (Except when she pulls my hair and pinches me.) Almost every time she gets in trouble she hurts herself like when my mom tells her to stop opening and closing the cupboards she pinches her fingers. My trip to China was very fun. I hope to go back there soon!

Bright’s Grove Times

 Friday, May 27 2005                                                                                                Special Edition

Edlington Kids Return from China

Brights Grove, May 26, 05

The Edlington family has just returned from a trip to China with 12 other families from across Canada. The purpose of the trip: to bring home daughter Mattea who was waiting in Hunan province, China. According to the Edlington children, Jay (13), Selah (10), and Ben (12) who having anticipated that the trip would be difficult for their parents, Brad and Julie, sacrificed two weeks of school in order to help out. On their return, they emphatically exclaimed that “it couldn’t have been done without us”.

Selah's Story

It was very exiting and fun to visit China. The culture was very different but interesting to see.

It was touching when we saw my little sister. When we went to all the different places it was very interesting to see the people and how they lived.

On one of the shopping days we went to a pearl market. I was able to pick out some pearls and watch the ladies make me a double strand necklace and earrings. My new baby sister also got a pearl necklace and earrings for her future wedding day.

The strangest thing was the food. It didn't taste like Canadian food. It was spicy in Changsha then sweet in Beijing.

Going to China was a good experience and one I will remember for a long time.

Ben's Story

I went to China to adopt a little sister.

When we got our new baby sister it was cool, because we've seen pictures of her but not her in real life. I was really happy.

Some ladies brought the babies to a building to meet us. The lights went out and it was dark in some places.

There was a big spider right over the door which kept us occupied while waiting for our babies to come. As the ladies went by us with our group I did not recognize Mattea at first. They called our name and we ran in and got our picture taken with Mattea. I was happy but she was crying. We took her down to the bus and I held her and she stopped crying.

Back at the hotel room we played hockey with mini-sticks and she loved it. Now she is a true Canadian.

Jay's Story

First of all my favourite part of the trip was shopping! But I enjoyed getting my sister too.

We visited places such as the Great Wall, it was bigger than I had thought and I did not expect to see camels there. (To get your photo taken with) We walked up to the fourth tower before turning around and walking back. It was a hot, windy day and there were lots of people there.

The most interesting thing that I saw would have to be a restaurant offering cooked cat. The scariest thing I saw was a giant spider on Gotcha Day.

Most of all I had fun making new friends. So hi to Liam and Kristen!

Signin' out,

The Conestogo Journal

Special Edition                                                                                                       Friday, May 27 2005

Stroobosscher Kids Return from China

Conestogo, May 26, 05

The Stroobosscher kids, Thalia (16), Kristin (14) and Nat (7) joined their parents, Rick and Della, to pick up their sister, Danielle, in Changsha, Hunan province. They had travelled to China with a number of other families from across Canada who were also meeting their daughters for the first time. Our correspondent, Della Stroobosscher, interviewed Thalia, Kristin and Nat in order to report on their impressions of the trip.

What are some differences between how we live in Canada, and how people live in China?

N: Chinese people eat spicier food!

K: In Canada, we have bigger families. Everything is cheaper in China. You can bargain for almost everything. In some places, like Yashow, there are no set prices. Beijing is filled with people, cars, and noises.

T: We have traffic laws! J Our food isn’t as spicy. Chinese food has flavour!

Describe some of the food that you ate.

N: There was this really spicy chicken. I’m warning you, it’s spicy! I was trying to have a contest with two other boys to see if I was brave enough to eat it. I ate the spicy chicken. Man, was it spicy. I had to have rice after the spicy chicken, because rice doesn’t make it that spicy in your mouth. I kind of like rice.

K: It seemed spicy, and there was lots of rice and meat. The chicken burger at KFC was even spicy.

T: One night we had spicy chicken at our table, and when everyone took a small bite of it, our faces turned red and our eyes started to water. The bamboo shoots and the real Chinese sweet and sour chicken were some of my favourites, but I liked everything we had there.

What was the funniest thing that happened while you were in China?

T: Crossing the street in Changsha. My mom grabbed my arm and said, “Just follow the locals.” She freaked out when two busses came towards us in the middle of the street. We had to stand in between them while they passed us by, with less than a foot of space on either side of us!

What was your favourite day trip or activity?

N: The acrobat show. I liked the tricks they did. The acrobats spun around in the hoops. It was nice and dark in the theatre, and the acrobats wore glowing colours and the hoops glowed too.

K: The Great Wall was fun. I liked the Acrobat show too. It is amazing how kids my age can do things that I didn’t think was humanly possible.

T: Shopping was good. You had to barter for everything. I got a Columbia 3-in-1 jacket for a good price! If people only could see two things in China, they should go to the Summer Palace, which was beautiful, and the Great Wall, which is an interesting experience with a great view.

On the day we received Danielle, how did you feel?

N: Teary, because she was just so cute in her little squeaky shoes.

K: Happy and excited.

T: Excited and nervous…impatient, because all kinds of other babies came in and our group’s babies were late. Then when Danielle came, I was happy.