home at last

we left hong kong on tuesday at 745 pm and after 16 hours of traveling arrived home the same night at about 930. weary, we were greeted by aunty b at the airport armed with fresh water, snacks for the kids and a big salad which i consumed almost immediately.

our adventure was amazing, challenging, heartwarming, wonderful, difficult, and sweaty. the kids were incredible travelers and both came away with experiences that will stay with them forever. i am thankful for the group of families we traveled with - a really nice group of folks without any drama! plenty of adventures and laughs. i am also so glad i didn't wait until the kids were older to take them back. they were able to fully embrace the experiences we had there. even the difficulty of visiting changsha number one is an important part of the journey, and i hope that with time the sharp edges will blur for ruby and k.

jet lag is brutal. sleep on anything resembling a north american time line is not happening and we have had hours of awake time in the middle of the night. i'm not sure how long the adjustment period will last but i am hoping not too long.

most of the laundry is done, the dog is home and now we settle in for summer in oregon. adventures of the domestic nature await.

hong kong photos

i'm not a city girl

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i am not a city girl, but i love hong kong.
i admit, i vaguely remembered that hong kong belonged to someone before it was returned to the chinese in 1997. but until i got in the cab and saw the driver seat on the other side, i'd forgotten it was the british. this amazingly cosmopolitan city has won me over in a mere day.

we started out at the bird market- a very interesting place. men walking songbirds in delicate bamboo cages. lovely multicolored birds singing and making a huge racket, mesh bags of crickets for sale along with tiny delicate pottery bowls for food and water. the girls all bought faux birds who have now been named and are assuming great importance as they carry them around as if they were real. we moved on to the street of pet stores where oo's and ah's were heard at every store front lined with kittens, puppies and all sorts of rodents. we capped our morning with bubble tea and a yummy dim sum lunch.

later we decided to venture up to victoria peak in the late afternoon to watch the lights come up in the city. a wild double decker bus ride deposited us at the ferry terminal. we sat on top and enjoyed the breeze and the view. the star ferry did not disappoint. it's very victorian appearance along with the strong smell of diesel made me wish i were more up on hong kong history. the 45 degree angle ride up the hill was spectacular but nothing compared to the downhill ride with all the city and harbor lights visible. a chinese junk lit up in red lights added a surreal element to the view.

there is something completely charming about a chinese man with a british accent.
yes, i think i like this city very much.

onto hong kong

we left steaming gulanyu yesterday and arrived in hong kong. off to the bird and flower market today.

gulangyu island

gulangyu island is located a quick ferry ride from mainland china and xiamen. it is an amazing place of colonial architecture - restored and unrestored. huge trees tower over some of the homes which line the small narrow pathways. there are no cars here, just carts to haul things along with the occasional small battery powered vehicle- think golf cart. gulangyu has changed a lot since i was here 5 years ago. always a tourist destination, it now boasts lots of coffee shops, and small guest houses. we're staying at the yangtao guest house which is a small place tucked away on a narrow alley. the shaded courtyard makes a nice place for sitting.

hot yoga has nothing on gulangyu this trip. yesterday the heat index was 116 degrees, today it is supposed to be even hotter. we arrived on the island in the late morning. after a stop to see the chinese version of seaworld here on the island we were able to check into our room. we had a little rest time to await the cooler part of the day before exploring. we had read about a "great vegetarian" place that was located on a hill top and was "a bit hard to find". we needed a change of food choices so decided that we are hearty souls and can read a map so off we went. we were all gleaming with sweat and our clothing was soaked within minutes of leaving the cool interior of our room. both the kids have parasols so off we marched. after about 30 minutes it appeared that we were lost, yes, lost on an island. ruby was our translator and we asked for directions several times each time taking us a bit closer to our desitnation. finally a policeman gave us the essential info and we were able to locate our "great vegetarian resturant".

we arrived red faced and sweaty to the 7th day adventist retreat center, we created quite a stir since there were no other westerners there. the very gracious hostess was a bit flustered but soon led us to our "feast". prison fare would have been more appetizing! i think we managed to eat enough to appear polite before we left. everyone was very sweet and it was a lovely view and an interesting walk home- as we say in our family, it was an adventure. despite the heat, the sweat , the bugs , and the late hour the kids were troopers . they dove right in to the plates of fries and chicken nuggets we ordered at the hotel.

with the heat its been a bit challenging to keep everyone happy so mrs fu lee made an appearance. she's always good for a laugh or two.

zhangzhou driving rules

1- why stay in one lane when there are several to choose from
2- if your wheels roll, it is good for driving on
3- the more people the better on your bike or motorcycle
4- driving should be fun so mix it up
5- no matter your direction as long as you are moving, don't worry about others . swimming upstream is good
6- umbrellas and arm warmers are important if your vehicle has only 2 or three wheels.

amazing yunxiao

yunxiao is about 2 hours from zhangzhou. as we drove first through the city and then into the verdant countryside i wondered what we we would find there. i was trying not to hope for too much, not knowing how the day would unfold. i should not have worried, it was simply amazing.

on our visit in 2006 we were warmly welcomed- really treated like royalty. it was pouring rain so the drive was an adventure but our driver mr shen made it all good. when we arrived we were treated to tea followed by a fancy lunch. the director, miss chen was so sweet as "york" the local policeman who came along as her translator ( even though we had our own. i think he was sweet on her) i remember looking at hazel clinging to her like a little monkey hoping that one day she would cling to me like that.

hazel was the first child adopted to the usa from the orphanage, although they had done some adoptions to spain. at the time they had only ten children. yunxiao is privately funded by some hong kong businessmen and houses only kids with medical needs.

she is also the first to return for a visit. just like last time, when we arrived on the outskirts of yunxiao ( which is a county but to us it would be a small city of 20,000 people) we were met by a car sent to guide us through the maze of streets to the building. we were led into the same small room for tea and immediately all the ladies came in- miss chen was first and the rest of the nannies followed along with the new director and the representative of the hong kong businessmen. they were all oo-ing and awe-ing over hazel and the pure affection was obvious.

she went straight to miss chen and stayed there for most of our visit- sitting on her lap or holding her hand. the nannies took turns admiring hazel- looking into her eyes, talking to her and just drinking her in. it was incredible to watch. they obviously loved her and were so happy to see her, a couple of them were very teary, as was i. they brought out bowls of fruit and made tea for us. yunxiao is an agricultural area know for both fruit and tea. hazel ate about 4 peaches while we were talking. kevin, our guide, was good at helping the conversation stay moving and i filled them in on the life of miss hazel.

they wanted us to remember our visit o yunxiao so they took us to a lovely local temple high on a hill overlooking yunxiao called general mountain. hazel was surrounded by the ladies who loved her and cared for her the entire time. they took turns holding her hand, showing her the things in the temple and i was speechless with gratitude for the opportunity to reunite them.

we returned the orphanage for lunch which was a feast prepared by one of the ladies. we had dumplings, noodles, seafood soup, shrimp,beef sausage,green beans ,fish and of course congee. all of the staff , along with our guide and driver ate with us which is unusual. after lunch we were given a tour of the building . only one child was there, the other two were staying "in the country" due to the heatwave. right now they only have three children. the rooms were spotless and i recognized the balcony that i have in several of the photos they took for me prior to adoption. hazel marched around, very comfortable with all of it. to be allowed into that space was a gift for me- i feel like i have a complete picture of her time there.

after more fruit and exchanging gifts we said our goodbyes. she may not have any clear memories of her time there as a baby but she surely remembers the love. as we drove back to zhangzhou. my mind was spinning trying to remember all the detals of the visit and so very greatful for the gift of yunxiao .