Can’t sleep 5:00 AM Saturday, January 27th

It’s 5:00 AM Saturday morning, I can’t get back to sleep so armed with room service coffee, here are some early impressions of China.

The people are warm, welcoming and ever anxious to please. They are proud of their country and their culture. We were walking through Tiantan Park towards the Temple of Heaven yesterday and there were crowds of people everywhere engaged in all manner of group exercise and socializing. And it was 20 degrees F! From practicing tai chi to ribbon and sword dancing to chess games to people leading groups in singing chinese folk songs to a man writing Mao poems in water which turned to ice on the concrete pavement…everyone was involved in some manner of creative expression. I thought this somewhat paradoxical given China’s history of oppression and repression. Many people invited us to join in and Ira and I were challenged into playing a form of badminton with a few senior citizens. We feel safe and at home. Even the street vendors selling cheap souveniers are extremely polite and respectful about it.

The second impression is how Westernized Beijing is, far more than we anticipated. I’m not so sure it is a good thing but it is interesting to see The Starbuck’s, McDonald’s and 7-11’s here and there throughout the city. With the Olympics coming next year this Westernization will only intensify. I’m glad we had this opportunity to visit before the global onslaught.

So far our experiences have only reinforced how lucky we are to have been given the opportunity to adopt from China. We look forward to giving AiLi all the freedoms and opportunities we were afforded growing up in the US and at the same time we hope she will embrace those aspects of her Asian culture which will make her feel special and proud.

Karen

We Arrive in Beijing – 25 January 2007

Despite the dreary winter colors and “smoky” weather (a recognized meteorological term here), Beijing was like a beacon of light to us. Armed with lots of advice (all helpful) from friends about how to fight jet lag and blessed with an affordable last-minute upgrade to Business Class that Ira found when confirming our flights, our travel was smooth and on time. (In the Chinese tradition, I attribute this to the watchful and benevolent spirit of our mother, the late Janice Montague, who herself travelled to Korea and Colombia to assist in international adoptions in the 1970s and ‘80s.)

We are a group of four: the parents-to-be, Ira and Karen Montague; “Auntie” Susan Montague, Ira’s sister and the narrator of this posting; and Marilyn Montague Harper, Ira and Susan’s one and only first cousin—ever cheerful, energetic and always unflappable.

We were met at the airport by our national guide, Rose (Chinese name, Yue Xia). Originally from Inner Mongolia, Rose attended university in Beijing, majoring in history and English. She is articulate and very capable—already we love her.

There is little point in describing Beijing. The guidebooks can do it much better and by the time AiLi is old enough to read and understand this, it will have changed even more than it already has in the past decade. We will spend two days sightseeing in the city, one day on our own and with the rest of our CAWLI group who
arrive tomorrow. We will visit all the major attractions: the Great Wall, Fobidden City, Tiananmen Square and more. But our sights will be set on Sunday’s trip to Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, where we will at long last be united with AiLi and she with us.

Susan

CCAA Approved V

Get Ready IV

Good Morning,

We received confirmation from the US Consulate in Guangzhou of your visa appointments. Your appointments are scheduled for February 5, so that means you are leaving on January 25, and returning on February 7. Anyone planning on booking their own travel can go ahead and do that now. We need to have ALL final changes with travel TODAY by 4:00-no later! We have tickets on hold that are a very good price that need to be booked by tonight.
The travel meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, from 1-3 pm. People who live out of state will be express mailed their travel package on that day. Please call to set up your travel meeting by phone anytime after you receive the package. Someone will need to sign for it so please let us know where it should be delivered. If you have any questions or concerns please let us know!

Get packing!
Melanie