The Train to Hohhot 7.31.11

I sit across from the Asian version of my mother-in-law. Her warm red-brown skin and easy smile remind both Mark and me of another Grandma waiting across the world for her newest grand daughter to arrive from China. She sits knee-to-knee across from me in a three-seat, padded, blue chair that mimics our own seats and watches intently, if briefly, the foreign lady writing in such oddly shaped scratches in her notebook.

The girls with whom she is traveling seem as comfortable with her silence as they do with her occasional instruction. The round-cheeked younger girl plays a game on her phone and eats spring onion-flavored Bugles. She doesn't put them on her fingertips as fake nails, like my kids back home would have done.

I'm crossing land I've never seen before, yet it seems so like all the other rural areas I've seen. Corn, millet, squalor, newly-planted trees wired into military rows to divide the land from the rails taking me to my new  daughter.

I'm oddly passive. Maybe it's the fatigue from our busy week as volunteer teachers in the English Program. Maybe it's protective detachment. Whatever the reason, unnamed emotion sometimes creeps up on me and spills quietly from the corner of my eyes.

My heads rests against the white cloth covering the headrest, declaring in 2 languages: For Your Satisfaction. How many heads will rest here before they change the currently clean looking cloth? How many heads will look through this window as they travel to the unknown in the next city? Has there ever been another foreign woman travel in this seat to her unknown daughter in an unknown city?

Tickets and ID's are checked and money collected from the passengers who saved time by not purchasing a ticket earlier. The passengers are all compliant, and noisy, and shuffling.

Everything, including me, smells of bad cigarettes, and I'd like to eat something to get the feel of smoke out of my throat. But my stomach is finally settled and adding anything to it seems counterproductive.

Mark and I had eaten this morning at the nearly-deserted hotel breakfast area. I was pleased.to have a cup of very English tea available. It's one of my comfort foods and I took it as a token of His affection for me this morning. He, too, is working a Plan for His daughters.

The diminutive, but well-proportioned, dark-skinned man who has stood throughout our 1 hour and and 45 minutes of travel watches other passengers through dark eyes with interest--neither obtrusively staring, nor passively disinterested. This morning, as we moved through the paces of getting ourselves onto the train with it's required jostling and maneuvering, the people around us were all citizens of this foreign culture we were attempting to enter--just human forms with generic Asian faces. Now as we sit, and ride together to the next chapter in each of our stories, they have become unique persons with physical characteristics clearly distinguishable from the next. I wonder if I too am a Caucasian-caricature of some face in their memories.

The sway and bump of our transportation remind me that the rhythm of life is going on and on and on around me--inside this train, in the fields, and living areas we pass. That rhythm is so different for each of us, and it seems to change at different times. 

We're off to find our New Rhythm.

Our Hohhot Morning

We began with a very sleepy girl, dragged down to breakfast because
the clock told us 

it was time to eat.

(And yes, that was the mother. But Maylin didn't eat much, either...)

We are finding so many things that we have in common with our little China doll:
She has nosebleeds like one of her brothers.
She sticks one big toe into the space beside the big toe on the other foot like Daddy does.
She sucks her thumb occasionally like her sister, Beth.
Her smile is Matthew's.
She loves taking photos, like photographer sister, Anne.
She loves food, but not-so-much before 10am (that's her momma's girl!)
...and I'm sure we'll find more as we learn her better.


The agenda this morning was our visit to the PSB (Public Safety Bureau) which is similar to our police department in the USA. The guide and driver picked us up at the hotel doors in a black minivan, and drove us about 10 minutes to our destination. We sat in the warm stuffy room at the end of the seventh floor for about 40 minutes while copies were made, red circle and star stamps were slammed onto triplicate copies of who-knows-what official docs, and nine document booklets were bound, and handed to us.

Our guide, Hao Shu Fang, seems completely competent...and doesn't especially like to have us interfere with questions about the process. She's very friendly and talkative while official business is not being conducted.

Shopping together the first day. She loves the street vendor drinkable "yogurts."

After the PSB paper collection, we were driven to a stern, well-regulated entrance to another official building. Miss Hao showed her ID, a phone call was made, and we were allowed to pass through the (huge puddle guarding the) gate. We took the elevators on the right side, since they opened at the odd numbered floors...and exited into a lobby where we were "buzzed through" to the hall. It felt very "Get Smart" to me.

We made our trip down the dimly lit hall past a few creepy, closet-sized rooms that were tiled for easy clean up after the interrogation (okay, Mark and I make some of this stuff up to keep ourselves entertained...it's kind of a hobby we've acquired during official stuff)

It only took a matter of minutes to be given Maylin's official Chinese passport. 

And we were done for the day. 

All of the documents needed from Inner Mongolia are in our possession.

After putting the official docs in the hotel room safe, we ventured to the local street-store for drinks, and "ramen." Back in the hotel, we had a little in-room picnic with some of the other groceries we had collected, and indulged in MSG-laden noodle bowls. Mark is currently "sleeping his off..." 

(the MSG-seasoned bowls, not the beverages...which were tea and water...we bought!)

Two of our Chinese friends, Gloria (on left) and Pink (on right) at the banquet we were treated to by the schools in which we were volunteer teaching in Baotou. 


Queen Bee sits in the center, of course.


Now, we have a full day of relaxation, exploration, and bonding. Will you ask for the very specific Flowers to be sent that Maylin bond with Mark? She enjoys his company and silliness from afar, but refuses taking his hand (at times) and assumes I will be her caregiver. It's not a big deal, but it would be nice to have that bond established (or begun!) before we get home and he has busy busy days at the office.

Time for our siesta!

Our first day photos

(This post was begun two days ago...but we had internet issues) from Tuesday, August 2nd:

Maylin is supposed to be sleeping for her afternoon rest. 

But I guess the short visits with siblings is actually a better use of her time for now.

......................................................

I interrupt this post to grin and laugh out loud...Jon just said "water" as 

Maylin took her drink bottle into her hand. 

She twinkled back at him and said, 

"water"

in the clearest, loudest (sassiest) voice she's used since we met. 

What a hoot.

She is certainly full of spunk...She's now being very silly with him, chattering away in Chinese,
cackling at his antics (offering him yogurt...which he despises)

.......................................................

The four sibs that are here in China will begin their trip back home late tonight.
They're so glad they were able to meet her early, but

....................................................

I interrupt again to say she just said, "gege Jon," 

(sounds like guh-guh Jon) so we already have two English words!)
.....................................................
I think I'll just post some photos, and save you the ramblings of
the sleep-deprived person on the other side of the world. 

first meeting in the hotel lobby

our first glimpse of Maylin

 After our day together, Daddy danced with Maylin in our hotel room. Peter caught her giggles on camera and we'll cherish those first cackles that she gave Daddy! She loved it.


We spent much of that first day, hand-in-sweaty-hand as we walked to and from the mall area. She never spoke and she didn't smile until supper when I was tickling her gently. She'd answered Peter in Chinese a little later, and gave us a few smiles by the time we were back in our room...but this dance had Daddy's heart wrapped around her little finger more than she knows.

There are just so many stairs for her little legs to travel!

On the train to Baotou, we were in the open sleeper cars. Very interesting transportation system they have in China.


On the right is our good friend, Peter, who went with us to Hohhot the first time and made Maylin's first days sooo much better than they might have been. We now considered him her Uncle. What a gift his gentle spirit is!

The first photo of most of our gang. We're anxious to have a picture with the other three still at home!

(Posting photos of my newest girlie may be my one weakness...)

I'm just dyin' on the blog stuff here.

This is just to notify you that the photos and post I just worked on...are somewhere floating around in cyber space. I have all sorts of Flowers from the first hour of our day, until tonight to report...but we have a 5:45 am meeting with the train going back to Hohhot tomorrow, and I simply can't get all that computer stuff back where I thought I had it. Or maybe I did have it...who knows? All I can say is that I will have lots more time with mostly unscheduled days for the next week and I'll get some info to you.

I'll just say, it's all good. So good. He is so good to our family, and whatever challenges lay ahead, this girlie of ours is a blessing. She's smart and sweet and sassy and gorgeous.

I will attempt one photo upload (which tends to be very slow here) but only if it works fast tonight. More later!

Peter captured the first smile Maylin gave us

New Beginnings

It was on the first day of the eighth month of 2011

that our daughter, 

Maylin Li,

had a new beginning.

The people on the return trip on the train were curious, and 

expressed gratitude that we would care for one of their children.

It is hard to accept that thanks, when we are the ones that are thankful.

We're thankful for the care Maylin must have received, 

because she is bonding easily and is relaxed with us once she's acclimated to a new place. 

We're thankful for the process not dragging on eternally.

We're thankful for the guidance of our agency in making things go (mostly) smoothly.

We're thankful that she has a 

sparkle 

that accidentally escapes every once in a while from under that quiet exterior.

(I believe that's the spunk I prayed for , and I may eventually "pay for" in discipline!)

I know, I know. Photos!

I'll get some posted soon.

A quick run-down on the events on Sunday and Monday:

Train from Baotou to Hohhot, then a taxi to the hotel that was 

within walking distance, but we didn't know it.

Our Chinese friend, Peter, was with us, and he made it all a breeze 

(even though we were slightly nervous about it all, anyway)

We settled into our lovely room and knew we had about 2 hours. 

We headed out for lunch (at the place I'm sure my friend, Shelly, had described to me)

We met Maylin in the lobby of the hotel around 2 pm. She had been on a train from Tongliao for 

18-22 hours

(accounts varied....but with that amount of time, what's a 4 hour difference?!)

She was somber, and wide-eyed (I am so going to avoid the 

comment about an Asian being wide-eyed, okay?)

We had to take a family photo...and she cried quietly when she was
expected to actually touch these strangers.

We went to our room, signed multiple copies of who-knows-what 

(possibly even a petition for the head of the agency to become the next Chairman...)

and she was ours to keep. That threw us off, since somewhere we'd been told we'd only meet on Sunday, then actually receive her on Monday. Not so.

Because of Peter, our day was quite sweet. We walked to a nearby shopping mall, and walked around looking for an appropriate gift for the officials (we had been told to bring  fewer gifts than we actually needed)

Maylin's feet look in good condition with the tendon-release scars very visible on her upper ankle and top of her foot. She has a slight foot-drop that gets worse when she's tired and she has a slight toeing-in.

You know there is more to the story, but I have to get us all downstairs for the transportation to the schools for our last day of the Program. I hope to get more posted at lunch time.

I'm not sure if I'm one year or six years pregnant, but I'm due tomorrow

Alright. Let's be honest. I'm nervous like a first-time mom here. 

I know our "due date" and I've even seen a general likeness of our daughter (kind of like the 3D sonograms I had with a couple pregnancies) but it's a little unnerving to think...the day is almost here.

Maylin is on a train already heading to Hohhot. She'll travel about 23 hours with a companion from her orphanage. She'll arrive in Hohhot as dazed as we will tomorrow, but we know things that she doesn't..

We'll know Who arranged her life so that we will meet tomorrow.

We'll know what it sounds like and smells like and tastes like in her new home.

We know we are going to be fine, regardless of the struggles we each may need to overcome.

We know she'll be loved unconditionally.

She'll learn it all soon enough.

We will leave our hotel in Baotou at 7:30am with our Chinese friend, Peter. We'll have about 2 hours on the train (do not visualize the Orient Express with rubbed wood and velvet curtains.) Peter will assist us with his near-perfect English and quite perfect Chinese to locate the Sheraton Hotel in Hohhot. 

And then, I guess,

We meet each other.

While our three youngest kids at home in Florida sleep, we will be meeting their newest sister.

We'll have about 15-20 minutes with her, and then we part for the night.

Kind of a weird arrangement, but if you'd just traveled 23 hours on a train and were being adopted into a family from America, it might be good to have one more night with people with whom you are familiar.

Monday at 10am, we'll meet again, and when we leave that meeting, she'll be officially our daughter.

We'll head back to Baotou by train and hopefully be back in time to introduce 4 of the new siblings to Maylin. They too are excited!

Before I head to bed for whatever rest I may be able to get, I have had a few amazing blessings this week. Some involve former students, and some involve just little gifts He left in the cool weather, my health, friends who are near and far, new friends and old. One that just blessed my heart today was when Peter asked if we were going to change her Chinese name, Maylin, to an American name.

 I grinned as I told him that Maylin was her new American name.

Oh, he said. It is also a Chinese name and so beautiful.

Yes, it is. Indeed it is.

And tomorrow, we'll meet our beautiful Chinese daughter named

Maylin Li.

Another great day in China

There is just too much to say in such a small space. 

The sights, 

smells,
sounds,

people,

tea,

smiles,
foods,

new students,

visits from former students,

the teaching teams,

that blend together each year to make our unique

CH*NA EXPERIENCE 2011

is too complicated for print.

But I'll give one small example of Inner Mongolian hospitality that our family experienced Thursday:

Hot Pot

One of my former students that has become a friend over the past 5 years asked if she and her mother could host our family for a meal. Because I had already told Duxin that my favorite meal was Mongolian Hot Pot, they booked a table at the world head quarters for the famous 

 Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot

(google search it...there may be one in a large American city near you!)

A bowl of a delicious smelling soup for which the Little Sheep restaurant is famous was place in front of each of us. You could choose mild or spicy...so I picked both. My pot had a
divider with the different soups on each side.

And then the food parade began...

a plate of sesame seed coated rolls

at least six plates of various types of raw meats, thinly sliced and rolled into delicate tubes
at least six plates of various vegetables, mushrooms, lettuces to cook
a plate of fish balls, shrimp balls, and crab
a plate of dumplings
two or three "cold dishes"

We each put the food we wanted cooked into our own pot, and after it was sufficiently cooked, had a gastronomic feast. Fishing for slippery sweet potatoes at the bottom of the pot is quite a feat with chopsticks!

It could have been the beginning of a Tums commercial.

Although the location and the meal were a somewhat exotic adventure,
we felt the same warm hospitality of Duxin and her mom were priceless.
It was less about the food and more about
the process of sharing it with
friends.

How can a heart be knit to mine while we are in a classroom for only 8 days?
How can the sporadic contact throughout the year turn into such a friendship?
How can I feel such kinship with Duxin's mom when we can barely communicate beyond our translator's help?

It's part of the mystery of these trips, and the mystery of the One who does all things well and with purpose.
Some amazing "flowers" that were planted 5 years ago are in full bloom, and I'm so grateful.