Impressions from China

Well our trip is drawing to a close. We only have three more days here before we leave for home. This trip to China has been so much better/easier for us than our trip to get Lia. I think a big part of that is that fact that we really knew what to expect this time having already been to Chongqing once before. And we knew more of what to expect just about the adoption process having been through it all before. Plus this time in Chongqing we stayed at a hotel that was located in the pedestrian area so we could go out walking to the department shops, restaurants, etc. which really made the time pass so much more quickly!

This time as I visited my daughters' homeland, I think I came with a different perspective. I really tried to soak in the impressions of the people and the culture so I could share that with Lia (and eventually Chloe) when I got home. Tonight I took a taxi by myself to go to the local McDonalds in Guangzhou since Julie, Bill and Dan were having pizza and I can't eat that. Like I said in an earlier post, I normally don't eat McDonalds but I do here. This McDonalds was located in a very busy pedestrian area where a lot of teenagers hang out. I looked around and I was the only non-Asian person around. It helped me remember that this is how life is like for a lot of our adopted daughters here in the U.S. Luckily for us we live in a city where there are lots of children who are adopted from China so Lia doesn't feel like she's different. But that's not the case for all adopted children.

And once again my heart was moved by the sweetness of the Chinese people. They are so gracious and warm. They constantly come up to us and want to see the babies. We show them our card and they always are so happy that we are adopting one of their babies. They often give us the thumbs up sign. I compared that to how so many people are in America where they kind of keep to themselves and feel uncomfortable walking up to a stranger and asking a question. We could learn a few things from the people in China in that regard.

And then there are the hair do's (or maybe I should say hair don'ts) in China. For all of you who still have the 80's vibe in your brain and wish you could you ask your hairdresser to give you a mullet (bi-level) cut - well here in China the mullet is alive and well and many, many people are fans of that look. So if you want to fit in and you have a mullet, China is your place : ))

And of course as I looked around at all the people walking by us as we're out and about, I kept thinking about how many people in China don't know about God. And the fact that they don't have many opportunities to hear about Him. My prayer is that God will continue to move in China.

But all in all, Dan and I are so grateful to be the parents of two precious little girls who were born in China. China will always hold a special place in our hearts because of that!