Photos
Here’s the link to the photos of China and other personal photos.
www.flickr.com/photos/jimmydw2006
No Comments »19. Trip Home
Sunday July 22, 2007 (written July 25, 2007)
We got up and all packed up, ate some breakfast in the hotel, and got a taxi to take us to the airport. It was about a 20 minute ride there, and an easy check in process. Hong Kong is extremely nice, a very clean place from what I saw, which was a HUGE contrast to China and the cleanliness there. The highways were clean, spotless to be more exact, no trash anywhere to be seen. The airport was also extremely clean and nice. The lines were really quick, orderly and very streamlined. We made it through the security check in a really short time, even though there were tons of people going through. They were very thourough and checked everything closely. They were much more effecient than any US airport I have been through.
Cameron was excited about the trip, which was a relief. I was so afraid that he would freak out and pout, throw a tantrum or something. But he saw the planes and was all excited and anxious to get on one.
The flight was LONG, about 15 hours, travelling about 8700 miles from Hong Kong to Chicago. The man sitting next to us was really cool about everything, and very understanding about Cameron and that he was a kid, and if he was a little noisy or restless, he understood. That was a relief.
Cameron slept only a few minutes on the flight, but he did really well considering everything. It is a tough flight for anyone, especially a 5 year old that is full of energy and could not run around or anything.
We landed in Chicago, went through customs, immigration, and then back through security to get on the next flight to Indianapolis. He was pretty good through all that too.
When we landed in Indy, there was a small group to meet us and welcome us home. My mom was there, my sister, her husband and Megan (their 4 year old), and also my brother, his wife and 16 year old daughter. It was a lot of fun, and Cameron was eating it all up.
We went to Applebees for dinner, where Cameron and Megan were out of control. Both of them were extremly tired from travelling (they just got back from a trip as well just a few minutes before we landed).
When we finally got to my house, Cameron was so funny running through the house, checking out each room, and saying “Wow” over and over again. I don’t think he realized at all that this was HIS house now. I took him into his room and showed him the toys, stuffed animals, his bed and everything. I don’t think it was sinking in at all. But he was so tired and worn out, he really didn’t know much about what was going on at all.
That night was not a good time for either of us. He cried all night long, not wanting to sleep or go “night-night”. He finally did sleep for about 2 hours, which means I only slept for maybe 1 1/2 hours tops.
I got up and got ready and came to the office for a little while. He was so worn out, as was I. At noon we went home and took a “nap”, which lasted about 8 hours. That felt SOOO good. We went back to bed at 10:00 and he fell asleep finally, crying again and not wanting to go to bed. We didn’t get a lot of sleep that night either, but it was an improvement over the previous night.
On Tuesday (July 24th) my sister and Megan came down to visit us, and we went to a park to play for a couple hours, ate pizza for lunch and had a blast. Megan and Cameron had a blast together, and ran and ran and ran all over. They were both worn out after that.
After work, I took him to get a hair cut, and then to the mall to find some shoes that fit him, and also to get some underwear, socks, shorts, shirts, etc. I also got him a little step stool so he can reach the counter to brush his teeth, wash his hands, pretend to shave like daddy does, etc. He is so cute and funny.
We stopped to get some chinese food for dinner, and while we were waiting for it to come, he passed out at the table and that was it. I ate some of the food, and then carried him to the car, then into the house, and put him in bed…his bed, and he kind of woke up, realized where he was, and had a fit. So, I carried him into my room and put him in my bed, and he was fine with that. A couple hours later I went to bed, and got a good night sleep finally. He slept from about 7:30 pm until 7:00 am. I slept from 10:00 until 7:00, until a little hand was poking me in the ear, rubbing my face, etc.
Things are going great, and the adoption was well worth every bit of the hassle and problems.
No Comments »18. Disneyland…day 2
Written July 25, 2007
Covering Saturday July 21, 2007
We slept in and decided to NOT rush around and be anywhere at any specific time. We got up, went and ate breakfast and then went to the swimming pool. The pool was really nice, with a really fun waterslide that was hidden in some hill made of rocks and trees. At first Cameron did not want anything to do with the pool, and I had to literally drag him there. But once we were there he had a blast. He had obviously never seen anything like this before, and it was so fun just watching him run around, enjoying every minute of it there.
I was finally able to get him out of the pool and up to the room. We got changed and went to the park again, rode Space Mountain again, Cameron was insisting on riding it which suprised me. We also rode the Winnie the Pooh ride a couple of times as well….again. We had a great time, but went back to the hotel to swim some more.
The day was great, and we both loved it.
No Comments »17. Disneyland
Written July 25, 2007
Covering July 20, 2007
Today was a big day for us, we got up and had to pack up again to move over to the Hollywood hotel (that was the only place there were rooms available for the next couple nights). We had the bell services come and get the bags and transfer them for us to the other hotel, which made it easy for us. We went to the Hollywood hotel to eat breakfast and also meet the Gorecki family, who are from the Chicago area and also adopted a boy from China, Caleb.
There were 9 of us all together for the day, which made it really fun and exciting. It was so funny watching Cameron and Caleb play around, yell at each other (their way of “talking” to each other) in Chinese, and also their other son who is a year older than Cameron. They were all so excited to see Mickey Mouse and all the other Characters. We had a great time, but it was SOOOO hot and humid, but it was worth the sweat and all to have this experience.
The Gorecki’s had spent all day Thursday in the park, so by the afternoon on Friday, they were all ready to end the day and go to the hotel and swim and all. We stayed in the park until closing at 9:00 and saw the fireworks and all, which was really nice….of course…it’s Disney and I have never been disappointed by any Disney production.
Cameron’s favorite ride by far was the Winnie the Pooh ride. His 2nd favorite was Space Mountain, which I was afraid would totally freak him out and scare him to death. But he loved it. We saw the Lion King show, the Golden Mickey Awards show, and basically everything in the park. We had a GREAT day there, and loved it.
On a down side though, the looks, stares, and comments got to be very annoying, to say the least. I am used to people taking a glance at my leg, or a 2nd glance, or maybe asking me a question in line at a store or something, and that has never bothered me at all. BUT, in China and Hong Kong it is totally different. People would get like 2-3 feet away, and stare at Cameron’s arm, or my leg, and stare for a long time, minutes or even longer. The Gorecki’s were having the same experience as well, and so we started taking pictures of people staring at us, putting our cameras right in their faces and taking a picture, and then laughing at it. Sometimes the people got a clue and seemed a little embarrassed by it, or even mad. But, at dinner in the park, the woman at the table next to us (like mid 30’s) and her mother (like in her 70’s probably) kept on staring at the boys, and at my leg, and it was really annoying all of us. So, I decided I would cure her interests and her problems. I took my leg off, sat it on the table, and so when she turned around to look at us again, there was my bright red leg sitting there, and I asked her if she wanted to hold it and check it out, as I tried to hand it to her. She looked like she was going to pass out, and grabbed her mother’s head and turned it away from us (so that she did not see my horrible, gross, deformity…..) and it wasn’t too long until they got up and walked out.
Another table on the other side of us was doing the same thing, and so they got a few good photos of them taken as well, and they seemed to quit staring after that too.
That culture is very cold and rude towards anyone that has any kind of difference….well, it is cold and rude according to our standards, but many of us had the experience in China of being asked why we would ever want to adopt a damaged child, or a deformed child, etc. I was asked that at one point, and told the woman that I guess I was considered a damaged, worthless person as well, but I make way more money than she could ever dream of, I have a house a lot bigger and nicer than she could ever imaging, and Cameron will have the same opportunity in MY country to have the same. I told her that I was adopting him to get him out of their mean, horrible society and take him to a place where he will be accepted, loved, respected, and have all the same opportunities as anyone else.
Unfortunately, that was a common experience in China. It was not just my experience, but everyone that I talked to had similar experiences. It was not enough to totally ruin the trip or the adoption process, but it was definitely something to be aware of.
One interesting thing that is going to happen in China next year is that the Olympics are going to be held in Bejing. Two weeks after the Olympics, the Paralympics will take place there as well. This will be very interesting in many ways. First off, the city is very non-accessible. There are very few curb cuts for wheelchair access, the sidewalks are not in great shape for the most part. The stores and buildings are not even close to being wheelchair friendly at all. The second big issue is that the people are not used to seeing “disabled” people at all, and there are going to be many stares and comments. But, on the positive side of things, maybe having the paralympics there might be a great tool to help the chinese people get some education and some exposure, which might lead to a more accepting attitude towards people with differences.
Anyway, the time in Disneyland was a great time.
No Comments »16. Guangzhou again
Written on July 25, 2007
Covering July 19, 2007
This day was the day for the swearing in ceremony and the departure from China. The swearing in ceremony was at the US Embassy/Consulate office (whichever is the correct term???). We got there right on time, got checked in, and sat and waited while everyone else got there. There must have been about 100 families there completing their adoptions at that time.
The “ceremony” was very simple and basic, they gave us the packet which gets turned in at the immigration desk at the US airport when we arrive in the US. The entire process lasted about an hour, and then Cameron and I headed to the train station (which was right next to the US Embassy) to head to Hong Kong on the 7:00 pm train. We travelled on the train with the Compton’s and their daughter to the Kowloon train station in Hong Kong.
When we arrived there, about an hour trip, we got a minivan to take all of us to the Disneyland Resort where Cameron and I were headed, and then the van took the Comptons on to the airport where they were spending the night before flying out to the US the next morning.
We stayed at the Disneyland Resort hotel on Thursday night (July 19th) in a really nice room. There are 2 resort hotels there, the Disneyland Hotel and the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel. The first one is the more expensive one, which is just like the Grand Floridian Hotel at Disneyworld (Florida). The Hollywood hotel is less expensive, but still very nice. We were both extremely tired from the travelling and everything, we crashed and had a really good night sleep.
No Comments »15. Yangshuo
Monday July 16, 2007 We had breakfast as a group at a little cafe shop, which was good. We then took golf cart tours through the country side around this village/town. We went into the home of a very poor woman, who was about 70 (she didn’t know for sure since there are no birth certificates or records, and literacy is not a strong point in these small villages). The house small, dirty, musty, and hot (go figure). There is no running water out there, and so there was a well that several families shared near their houses.
We spent a couple hours out in these golf carts touring around, which was possibly the best part of the time in this town.
We headed back to Guilin on a bus which was about 1 1/2 hours. We went to the train station and waited there until the train left at 9:40 pm.
We got in to Guangzhou at 9:00 am and got to the hotel, checked in, and had breakfast.
We cleaned up, showered, etc. and then took the dirty laundry to one of the shops here that does laundry for the tourists (mainly families that are here adopting). We met at 3:00 to go over all the paperwork and get it ready for XiXi to take to the consulate tomorrow to have it all approved by the US government.
I was informed that Cameron’s passport and visa were NOT ready at the Chinese office, and that meant that we could do nothing further with the paperwork unti we got that, which means that we cannot go to the US Consulate until we have the passport and visa in our hands. I was a little stressed about that….ok, a LOT stressed about that. That could mean having to stay here in Guangzhou another week waiting to get into the embassay once we get the passport, or it could mean that the entire process could fail…..I am legally the parent of him now, but I cannot leave China with him or take him to the USA.
But, at 4:30 Xi Xi called me and told me that they did get the passport ready, and that she had it in her hands. She was then able to get his medical check up form and evaluation from the clinic (we did that last week), and so everything was all in order now, and it is ALL completed at this point. Now, tomorrow she will take the paperwork to the consulate and it will be finalized. The only step left after that is the swearing in ceremony on Thursday.
Cameron is doing a lot better today. I am working on getting him to ask me things instead of just having the fit and pouting stuff. It is working for the most part. We are able to communicate by pointing, or body language, and so it is interesting at how that works.
He still goes around the hotel room saying “Good Job” and also Good Boy now. It is so funny. When people here him say that, they crack up. At least he isn’t running around saying “No Cameron” or “bad boy” or something like that.
This has to be such a big shock for him, and some major stress on his little life. He only had a couple of fits today, but not nearly as bad as other times. I have had to swat his little behind a couple times the past couple days. He now understands that when I call him or something, and start counting to 3 that he better come or listen to me. I told him that on thee it means that I smack his bottom. He understands that clearly. So, fortunately he understands that. It is more for his safety than anything else. He takes off on his own little ways, and doesn’t understand that there are cars zooming by and they DON’T stop for anything, not even a small pedestrian. So, that seems to be an effective trick with him to get him to listen.
No Comments »14. River trip down the Li river.
Sunday July 15, 2007 (written on Tuesday July 17)
We got up, had breakfast, and had to be on the bus by 9:00 to go on the boat trip.
It was about a 30 min drive to the river port, and we boarded the boat. It was about a 4 hour trip down the river to a town called Yangshuo. It was a beautiful trip, going right through some amazing mountain formations. There were several water buffalo in the river along the way, and farmers on the banks, fishermen in these boats that sure don’t look like they should even float.
The trip was great, but it was hot, as usual. I spent a lot of time on the 3rd floor deck taking a lot of video of the trip, and hundreds of photos. I will be posting the photos here tomorrow morning.
Once in Yangshuo, we got to the hotel which was a kind of primitive hotel in some ways. The entire town is set up for tourism, and looks just like a movie set out of an Indiana Jones movie, or a lot like the movie set that Eddie Murphy used in The Golden Child. It was really a neat place.
There was a Kentucky Fried Chicken there (of all things) and that is where Cameron wanted to eat lunch, so that’s where we ate….or at least he did, some chicken nuggets and some fries….I just had some fries and drank a Pepsi. That was all that sounded good to me at that time, and we were supposed to meet the others a little later for dinner anyway, which was at a little cafe place and had some good food there….relatively speaking of course.
We went to the show called “New Beginnings” which was an outdoor theater right no the river banks. There were a thousand or more people in the show, which was a musical production with stages set on the river, and the mountains all around were lit up, which was really neat. But, it did rain on us during the show, but we were all soaked in sweat again (or still, depending on if you took the time to shower off and put on clean clothes, which was a waste of time and clothing.)
It was a fun day, and Cameron did ok for the most part. He is still having the fits and pouting spells, but hopefully those will stop when we leave and head for home and get into a routine and kind of a set home life.
No Comments »13. Guilin
We took the 5:46 train from Guangzhou to Guilin. It was about a 13 hour trip, making a few stops along the way to pick up some people or drop some off. We had a sleeper car with 4 beds in it (bunks) which wasn’t too bad actually. I did manage to get Cameron to finally go to sleep and calm down some, he was really excited about the trip and all.
We arrived in Guilin about 7:00 am and went to the hotel to check in, but the room was not ready for us at that point. So we went to the restaurant and had breakfast, which was a very typical Chinese breakfast, which means that there was a LOT of things there I could not identify, nor did I want to know what it was.
Cameron was having a fit at that point, and cried through most of the breakfast. He got attached to XiXi on the trip (the facilitator), and had a fit when she left and went to her home, which is in Guilin. So, after he finally got over it, he did eat some food, but not a lot.
We finally got the room at about 9:30and we were able to shower and clean up. It was soooo hot there in Guilin as well, at least in the mid-90’s and very humid. We met up with the other 3 families (Savages, Clarks, and Comptons) and another guide, Anna. We went shopping for a little bit, which was a short walk from the hotel.
The hotel we stayed at was the Waterfall hotel, which was a large hotel and very nice. At night, they had a waterfall show, which I recorded. The water runs down the entire hotel, which was like 14 stories tall I think. The one side is all glass, and is sloped, which makes for a great water fall effect with the water running down the building.
During the day, we also went to the 7 Star Park, which was pretty nice. There is a small zoo in the park which also had an animal show in it, which included bears riding bicycles again, and tigers jumping through hoops, monkeys doing tricks, etc. But, again it was so hot and we were all soaked from sweat and the humidity. And, if we weren’t wet enough, it poured down on us there. It came down in buckets.
Cameron had a couple fits during the day, which was right after XiXi would leave us, he had a meltdown. He got attached to her, most likely because he could talk to her and she also always had some treats or something with her. But, like at breakfast, he was horrible and would not stop crying and having a tantrum. Then right before the waterfall show, when XiXi left us, he had another meltdown, and so I made him just sit there in the park in the grass and just have a fit…..I couldn’t do anything about it, and figured he could just cry and pout. He has to get over that sometime, and there is nothing I can do about it now anyway.
But, considering everything and all that he is going through and everything, he is doing great. He is really attached to me most of the time, and it seems to be taking less time for him to get over his fits.
No Comments »12. Last post probably until Monday
Friday July 13, 2007
Today we are checking out of the hotel about 2:00 pm and heading by train to Guilin. We will be hooking up with 3 families there from Harrah’s adoption agency. They have been been in other cities around this area picking up their children, and on their way to Guangzhou to complete the paperwork.
Guilin is supposed to be a beautiful area, mountains, rivers, farms, rice fields, terraced mountainsides, etc. I am really interested in seeing all of that area and some other parts of China. Sitting here in Guangzhou is getting old, and there is only so much that you can do here, and it is SOOOOO hot here, it is miserable.
Yesterday at the zoo was really hot, and humid. I was soaked with sweat in a matter of a couple minutes after getting there (the only reason I wasn’t soaked before getting there was because the taxi was airconditioned, although it didn’t work that great.
Another intersting thing that I wanted to post is that Cameron is learning some new words in English. One of the funny things is he goes around the room saying “Good job” all the time. When he does something good, he says “good job”. It is really funny. Also, another phrase he has down pretty good is “come on daddy” as he grabs for my hand to drag me somewhere. As soon as he is finished eating, he says, “Come on, daddy” and grabs my hand and tries to pull me wherever he wants to go. I am trying to teach him the word and meaning of “Wait”.
He is still a typical 5 year old, still testing the limits and boundaries. He will keep on doing something, even when I am saying “NO” with a stern voice, and he just keeps on pushing it. I have had to swat him gently on the behind or the hand to get the message to him that he is NOT supposed to do whatever. Mostly it is because of safety issues, like playing with a plug or electric cord. When I do that, he sure puts on the waterworks…..and will cry for a few minutes, and then we make up, give him a hug, kiss his cheek, and all is better then. Hopefully he will get the idea of what the boundaries are, and also understand the tone of my voice and what comes next after the clinched teeth, and mean voice is used. I think he is starting to get it a little bit.
But, I understand how horribly frustrating this has to be for him….he cannot get it across to me what he wants or what he needs. Last night he kept of saying something, and I kept on imitating him and he got really mad after a while. I had NO idea what he was saying. I asked someone in the lobby to translate it for me, and then he wouldn’t say it again for them. But, as soon as they were gone, he started it again with me, and so finally someone heard him and was able to tell me what he was saying. He wanted chewing gum. So, as we walked to eat dinner, we stopped at the 7-11 and got a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum. He was a happy little boy then.
So, I understand this experience is very hard for him, and very frustrating. He is incredibly smart and understands a lot. He is extremely analytical, and watches everything, and then he can do it on his own. He knows the way to the elevator and what buttons to push to go down to the lobby, or to push the #5 to come up to the room. He knows how to use the card to open the door, and everything. He has a couple jigsaw puzzles and will sit and look at the pieces, and then grab one and put it where it goes. Then he does it over and over until the puzzle is complete. I got him a really difficult wooden one of the Asia, and he got really frustrated yesterday trying to put it together, and started grunting and getting really cranky. But, the only way I could help him (the only way he would allow) was to find a piece and where it would go, and then kind of point it out to him. Heaven forbid if I would put the piece in it’s place, he had a cow when I did that for him. So, I had to only point to a piece and then to it’s spot. It is kind of funny.
OK, I really have to get packing and ready to go to Guilin.
I will write more as soon as I get back to Guangzhou on Monday or Tuesday. I am not sure when I get back.
No Comments »11. A day at the zoo
July 12, 2007 Thursday Today was a great day here in China. We took a trip to the zoo here in Guangzhou. It is a pretty nice facility, old, but nice. There was a panda bear there, but it was so hot and it was sleeping and trying to stay cool I would guess. The elephants were out, as well as a rhino, several zebras, giraffes, monkeys, etc. They had a pretty cool show there, inluding a bear that rode a moped around for a while in the cage. Also, another bear that rode a bicycle around the cage, pedalling it and all. It was amazing to see these animals perform like this, but I am sure that PETA would have some major issues with the trainers and how they probably treated these animals.
We got to go in the pen, cage, area, or whatever you want to call it, with a hundred monkeys or more. We got to feed them, and the zoo worker put a piece of food on top of Cameron’s head and the monkey climbed up on his head to get it. It was so funny…..his expression on his face was priceless.
We walked around the island (Shamian Island) a good while in the afternoon, but it is SOOOOOO hot here, it is miserable. We had dinner at Lucy’s, french fries and pizza…what a combo, but that is what sounded good to Cameron (he pointed to the photos on the menu to let me know what he wanted.) We had a good lunch, rice, noodles, etc., the typical chinese food. So, a little greasy american style food won’t kill him, and will hopefully help him get adjusted to a life in the USA.
I will post the photos of the zoo trip on the Flickr account tomorrow morning. I am tired, and Cameron has alreay passed out for the evening, in his own bed. Hopefully he will stay in it all night tonight, and not come waking me up in the middle of the night and climbing into my bed again.
Things are going so well with us, he is extremely attached to me, clings to me like crazy when we are out anywhere.
Tomorrow afternoon we are heading to Guilin on the train. I am not taking my laptop with me out there, I am leaving it in a locked storage facility here at the hotel for the next few days. So, I will not be updating this blog until I get back on Monday sometime. I am sure I will have TONS of photos from that trip. So, you can expect to see some new ones tomorrow morning (that is HERE-time, which is 12 hours ahead of you) so that means that I am going to upload the photos on Friday morning here, which is Thursday eveing for most of you.
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