I just got a phone call from Gwenn, from China. She asked me to listen, write up something, and email it to Denise Schaefermeyer, so it can be posted on their blog. They have had unanticipated problems with posting themselves while in China. They have managed to get on a Chinese computer (which Nate mastered), but access is limited. The CCAA (the Chinese government) has rules (i.e., expressly forbidding the internet posting of any pictures of Jessa prior to the finalization of the adoption), but apparently even more fundamental than this is that access to US social networking sites like their blog is blocked. They can’t tell if this is just from the hotel where they stay, or if it is more general. It doesn’t seem wise to push this envelope, as they were with a couple yesterday who was notified while on the flight to China, that their adoption had fallen through – they were informed that the natural parents had shown up at the orphanage that very day to claim their daughter. There can be no substitutions, as Immigration requirements (alone) take a minimum of 3 months. It gives one a sense of fragility about the process. Gwenn was making the call to me at 4AM (2PM our time, the previous day), and at 8AM they are off to catch a flight leaving around 11:20AM which will take them from Bejing to the city where Jessa waits for them. Once at the new location they will have to reinvent the wheel with a new phone card, new internet access attempt, etc.. At any rate, Gwenn had emailed Denise earlier with a short message for the blog, but then learned how amazingly expensive it was. Turns out just making a call is much cheaper, so what follows is in my words, based on what I got from her call. Here goes the hearsay.
Yesterday their itinerary called for them to tour the Great Wall in the morning, lunch at McDonalds, and Hu Tong (“the Narrows”) in the afternoon. While on the Wall, Spencer made up his own song about being on the Wall, and was skipping along, repeatedly singing it. Gwenn gave Brandon the camera at one point to take a picture (so she could be in the photo), and after everyone got positioned, he loudly said, “Say ‘Noodles’”. Everyone within earshot cracked up, and there were a lot of Chinese people there taking pictures of Spencer and Brandon.
One segment of their trip took them past “The Birdsnest”, part of the 2008 Olympic Village, which is said to be the largest steel construction in the world. Everything, it seems, is “the biggest”, but this is believable since Bejing has a population of 18 million. The lunch at McDonalds was like at home, except they had no drinks. They couldn’t figure out how to say “no ice” in Chinese. The family had adjusted to being in a mass of people who spoke a language totally incomprehensible to them, but they had been seeing (and eating) a lot of unfamiliar things, so a Big Mac became comfort food.
The Hu Tong tour was entirely by rickshaw, with the same driver, as no cars are permitted in the Narrows. He was an older gentleman who pulled them many miles, and Gwenn said she surely over-tipped him, as his effort touched her. The main feature of the Narrows was the tour of a “living home”. This was one of the many more-than-300- year-old homes of the area that had continuously been occupied as residences. The construction of all are the same – a one-story square of rooms surrounding a square garden in the middle. The northernmost room is reserved for the most honored family member (normally the oldest), since it is coolest in summer and the warmest in winter. The room to the east of this (symbolic of where the sun comes up) is reserved for the oldest son, and so forth until the least desirable room is for the youngest daughter. The room are quite small, and the houses share a public bathroom. They rarely go up for sale, though one did recently and sold for about $1million. The younger generation does not favor them so much, apparently not only due to the size and water closet issues, but there is no internet access. Part of their tour was an interview with the father there, who carefully arranged the fathers in the visiting families in chairs before him, before beginning his narration. There was no mistaking who mattered most in that home, resident or visitor.
An unprogrammed event in the afternoon was “The Dragon Lady”, as Gwenn has termed her. Gwenn had wondered before their arrival if there would be any problems finding souvenirs. It turns out that wherever they stopped there was (apparently) a flashing sign that said “Foreigners with MONEY”, which attracted vendors, many in attack mode. This one particular vendor, a lady of uncertain age and with good English (and an unstoppable amount of it), immediately focused on Gwenn, urging her wares as soon as Gwenn stepped off the rickshaw at the living home. Gwenn said “no” to her, perhaps 20 times before she could enter the home. The Dragon Lady was waiting for her when she emerged, and got “no” another 20 times before Gwenn caved and bought the half-dozen purses. Then the Lady produced something else, and the cycle restarted. Gwenn says she doesn’t regret buying the purses, likes them, but at that point enough was too much. Gwenn boarded the rickshaw and the Lady, still talking, began piling her stuff into it. After catching the driver’s eye, and giving up on “no”, Gwenn returned her focus to the Dragon Lady and spoke those universally recognized words, “bye-bye”, which did the trick. The goods were quickly removed and they were off, back to the hotel.
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