I must say though that this was a hard week for numerous reasons.
We arrived on Sunday, and the hotel was a Holiday Inn. It was a recommended hotel, but I would not recommend it. We did manage to get a suite and that helped ALL of us. I won’t dwell on the hotel, but lets just say that it was dirty and in a not so ideal location, and next door to our room was a revolving door all night long.
I talked in a earlier post on GOTCHA DAY. Monday August 27th. Poor sweet little one, so sad, and so scared... I don’t blame her.
The week was about surviving. It was about finding things to do, and just getting thru the week. There was a park that we went to several times and was in walking distance. It had a playground, and rides and it would have been a OK place to go more than we did, however between the SMOG and the heat/humidity it was pretty miserable. We did manage to have a few good hours there, where both girls played and ran, and got some energy out. We saw a few smiles and had some fun.
This was the week, where we were starting to get to know each other. We noticed right away, that this little one had a stubborn streak, and needed to be in control. Communication was difficult, but we managed to do OK with the translator app, and hand motions. We kept it simple. The big hit was some DVD’s a friend had given me, really last minute. The laptop is a wonderful tool to have on rainy afternoons as well. We also went swimming (inside). That was a HUGE hit, and though Little One thought she could swim... she couldn’t, and was not afraid. She watched H with intensity, as she is a fish in water. Little One started mimicking within 2 days, and we really had to watch her.
During this week, Little One started preferring "Ayi" or my best friend and travel partner. Having done this before, I knew that this could happen, and I tried very hard not to take it personally. It really was OK, as H needed a bit of extra, as we were all getting use to this.
It was really odd not to have a travel group with us. Typically you travel in a group from the same adoption agency. This group is a huge support for families and many times lifelong friendships are developed. I was sad that we did not have a group, and that we were basically on our own, except for our guide.
This week in Little One’s province is to take care of the Chinese paperwork. This means the Chinese government officially “releases” her. You as the adoptive parent are given the final approval from China, along with the paperwork and adoption papers from the Chinese side.
We had the option of visiting the Orphanage. I was told it was 2 hours away, and when I found out that the foster parents live there, and work there, and that Little One had been at the same foster family for over 5 years, I made the difficult decision not to visit. I don’t regret that decision; however I do wish H would have been able to see it.
Little One talked to her foster parents once while we were still in the province. I had been given the phone number and address, and decided to let her call. With the help of the guide we called as we were about an hour away from leaving on Friday to fly to GZ. The foster mother wanted us to stay in the province an extra day, so she could come see her one more time. My instinct to wait until the day before we were leaving to call was a good one. I don’t think it would have been a good idea for her to see her again. Though you never do know.
Our saving grace was that all of us slept pretty well. The girls slept together, and had some fun times together. The noodle shop in the hotel was our cheap food for the week. It was actually pretty good. The hotel did have a breakfast buffet that wasn’t bad. We ate as much as we could, and even got the cook to understand how we wanted our eggs cooked… no small feat.
The last night in Hefei, we did meet a mother that had a 3 or so year old son and she told us about Pizza Hut and a pedestrian area. – DUH!! We just never walked that way, wishing we had seen that before, so we made plans to go eat together that last night. The girls ate like they were starved and we enjoyed it as well. Love noodles, but………..
As we were driving to the airport, a few observations. It looked like portions of the city were being torn down and rebuilt. Almost like it was old, and needed to be rebuilt. Full city blocks were being demolished (even near the hotel) for bigger and modern buildings. The new airport was almost complete and we were told the old was going to be demolished (it needed to be). It is a huge city but no character. I was sad to go… for my daughter’s sake….. She was truly leaving everything she knew.....
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