June 2006

Our Trip to China

Jenni Thompson  accompanied her parents, Sue &  Tom Thompson on the trip to China to adopt her sister, Amanda

We went to China to pick up my baby sister, Amanda. Only me and my mom went with my grandma. My baby brother and my dad stayed behind, because my dad had work and Christopher isn’t that good on buses and planes. I missed them a lot, but we phoned them every night, or every morning for us because there is a 12 hour time difference between China and Canada. When we phoned them in the morning, they were always getting ready to go to bed, so we always got to say goodnight. I had a good time in China. It felt a lot like Toronto except it was a lot harder to order food!! Here is what we did.

June 19 was our first full day in China. I was so excited!! We were going to pick up Amanda! We got into the bus with our guide Vicky. There were three other families with us. There was Val and Ron, who brought along Cathy, Val’s sister, to pick up their daughter Olivia, Rose and John who were picking up Jai-Li, and Cathy and Dennis, who also brought Kelly, Cathy’s brother, to take Ana-Lin home. When the bus stopped, I was the first out of the bus. We took the elevator up to a small room where the babies were with their caregivers. I recognized Amanda right away. After they gave Amanda to my mom she cried for a long time. I was really happy to finally have my little sister! All the babies were really cute and everyone seemed really happy.

My favorite things in China were climbing the Great Wall (Kelly and John and I went up to the 6th tower!!), visiting the factories (Embroidery, Silk and Jade), and shopping in the markets (I was really good at bartering and we got lots of souvenirs to take home!). When we went to the Beijing Zoo to see the Panda’s they all looked really sad. I wanted to take them all home with me.

Jenni Thompson

John & Rose Harvey of  Prince Albert, Saskatchewan travelled in June with three other families to meet their daughter, Jai-Li.  John offered to write this trip report

May 11, 2006, the dream now was becoming a reality. Our social worker Tammy had called and was so excited as she had just received our referral and the most adorable little girl was waiting for us. We were thrilled, we found we were a small group of 4 families which included Val and Ron from Victoria, Val’s Sister Kathy, Kathy, Dennis and Kathy’s brother Kelly from Saskatoon, Sue, her daughter Jenni and mother Marg-Ann from Toronto, and us, Rose and John from Prince Albert. The 3 western families decided to leave a couple days early to help settle in with the time change and acquaint ourselves with China.

The day, June 19, the four families thought would never arrive is now here. We arrived at Changsha from a early side trip to Xi’an and have time to settle in at the hotel. The rest of the group arrived in from Beijing and once at the hotel they have 15 minutes to get ready as we are off to the government building to meet our daughters. On the way over our guide Vicky explained to us what the procedure would be and what reaction we might receive from our new babies.

As we entered the waiting room there were families who had just received their girls. To the left of the room were our little girls, all very quiet and I am sure quite confused. Little did they know — or did we — how this union would change us all. The process was very relaxed as the families quickly found their new daughter and immediately the room filled with tears of happiness.

We had to present our passports and the Notice of Coming. Then, the magical moment as each mother took her daughter into her arms and each knew this was the most beautiful baby in the world.

The babies were all very healthy and they adapted so well. Our schedule was light so it allowed these new families to get to know one another. We looked like seasoned pros at parenting as we visited the embroidery factory, the oldest university in China, and some of us went to the museum to see the mummified remains of a 2000 year old woman. A Special thanks to Vicky, Yulin’s sister Yufen and her son Shuo for ensuring that everything went so smooth this first week.

On Friday we were off to Beijing. A moment we will never forget happened as we were waiting to board our plane. An elderly woman approached us and you could tell she was so happy for us and our little Jai-Li. She opened her arms to Jai-Li and held her like only a grandmother full of love would. It was like she was thanking us from all the people of Hunan for giving these precious girls a loving home and a world of opportunities that they most likely would not have had in China.

In Beijing we were greeted by Fay and our driver Mr. Gong. Like Vicky in Changsha, Fay was the perfect guide. She was so patient with this new group of parents and was always ready for what ever we threw her way. We had a full week ahead as we visited all the sites (The Great Wall, Tiananmen, Forbidden and Summer Palace, Zoo and of course loads of shopping). We went to some wonderful local restaurants, however the favorite had to be the minority restaurant with the live show. We were greeted at the door by drums and music and then led downstairs to our table. The food was awesome, the staff friendly and the dancing very enjoyable and entertaining.

Our driver Mr. Gong was a special man as he had a true love for the girls. He took a real shining to Kathy and Dennis’s daughter, Ana, and took on baby sitting duties whenever we stopped to shop. This truly was China. The sincere love for the children was so evident from Fay and Mr. Gong to the people we met each day in the street. Everywhere we went we were greeted with smiles, questions, and true happiness for the girls and us. It was so amazing how so many of them want to hold the girls, something I was comfortable with in China but would never allow at home.

A trip to China is an amazing experience, to travel there and adopt your daughter is a once in a life time event. Words will never explain the happiness and love we feel for this little girl who in such a short time has stolen our hearts. Our thoughts and prayers will always be with her birth mother who had to make the most difficult decision of her life.

A big thank you to Vicky, Fay, Mr. Gong, Yufin, Yupen, and Shuo for their help in China. A special thanks To Yulin, who was unable to travel with us but like the proverbial mother hen, called us almost daily to make sure all was OK. In closing I would like to share a poem Rose had framed for Jai-Li’s room.

LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD

Once there were two women who never knew each other.
One you do not remember; the other you call “Mother. ”
Two different lives shaped to make your one.
One became your guiding star; the other became your sun.
The first gave you life, and the second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality; the other gave you a name.
One gave you the seed of talent; the other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions; the other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile; the other dried your tears.
One gave you up; it was all she could do.
The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you.
And now you ask me through your tears
The age old question of the years
Heredity or environment – which are you the product of?
Neither, my darling, neither
Just two different kinds of love.

John Harvey