Civil Affairs Office

With the orphanage director, a very nice man.


With our guide, Jenny, from Chinese Women's Travel Services. Her English is excellent and she is very knowledgeable.

The Civil Affairs Office, which was almost empty today.

Playtime

Last night around 8:00 Hua/Leslie got into a playful mood and was full of energy.

She was babbling and also said her name twice! "Chen Hua"

Still holding onto the snacks, at least in one hand.

The City, Near Our Hotel

This painter is really doing a high-wire act to get the job done. One misstep and he's in serious trouble. (Picture taken right across from our hotel.)


The usual street traffic ... all kinds of vehicles moving along together. Traffic signals are just a suggestion.

We're worried to see the lack of helmets while also secretly happy that California-style regulations do not exist here. Our guide was shocked to hear that even bicyclists wear bulbous helmets in California. Her response: "crazy."

First Smile

Yay, Hua smiled finally and is a lot more active now. We've had her for about 9 hours now. She smiled when we took her package of cookies away from her and then gave them back. She has also just started babbling a bit!! She is a bit more comfortable with us now!!

Holding on to Snack Packages

Two hours after we got her, she still holds on tightly to her snacks from the orphanage director, one in each hand. We eventually coaxed them out of her hands so she could sleep better.

Introducing.....

We took a taxi to the Civil Service office to meet with the orphanage director and his assistant, who had driven Hua Chen about three hours to Nanchang that morning. They answered many questions about her personality, schedule, what she has been eating, and how she was taken care of in general. They both seemed very nice and had a lot to share with us.

It's been a stressful day for Hua Chen, and she has been looking a little worried about things but has also interacted quite a bit with us. She managed to get in a two hour nap despite her stressful day. She loves snacks. She is very active with her hands, always trying to grab for snacks and unwrap things.

Tips II

• Your hot pot is located in the cabinet. Don't keep trying to pull the shelf out more. It only goes half way. You'll know what I mean when you try it yourself.

• There is a drinkable water spout in the bathroom of the Jin Feng Hotel. Yay!

• Instead of the 4 copies of visa/passport that I mentioned earlier for Nanchang paperwork, bring 4 copies of the visa and 5 copies of the passport. If you bring USD for fees, you will need that 5th passport copy for the bank.

• Guide handled the tip for our taxi to the civil service office. Not sure what happens if you are in a large group of families. Remember we are just one family for our guide. Taxi ride was 5-10 minutes. Office was close by.

Tips for the First Day

For those of you traveling soon for adoption:

• Bring 4 copies of your passport and visa, not 3, for the Nanchang paperwork.

• The Jin Feng hotel has a swimming pool and a play room, though we haven't seen them yet. Ask the reception desk for a clock, crib, and stroller to borrow.There isn't an alarm clock with the room so you need to ask for one.

• One of two China Construction Banks in Nanchang are across the street. If you have Bank of America, they are partners with CCB, so no fees for withdrawing money. Our guide escorted me across the street. It's not as easy walking across as you think it would be.

• Try to have some Yuan ready for the ride from the airport to the hotel. You will also need Yuan to tip the bell boy. Fortunately we had Yuan from change when we paid for a meal at the airport with USD.

• We are just one family with the guide. She said we will use taxi each day, in which case we would tip the driver each time rather than tip all at once at the end of the trip.

• Nice breakfast buffet of both American and Chinese food.

Chinese Restaurant In Our Hotel

Elise has decapitated me in this picture, focusing on the interesting meal we had last night at the hotel's Chinese restaurant. If you come here, you'll have a great time with the staff, who are wacky, giggly, super helpful and who are just a bunch of characters. I wish we had video taped them. You won't recognize anything on the menu and the staff don't speak much English, but somehow it works out!

Here we are with our "big bottle" of Sprite, which is the only option. No little cans here.

Here they are. They literally run to get your change, escort you in and out of the restaurant, and seem to enjoy themselves a lot.

Jin Feng Hotel in Nanchang

The Jin Feng Hotel is very nice, complete with Kohler bathroom fixtures and filtered drinking water. Our guide Jenny met us at the Nanchang airport, arranged for the van, and brought us to the hotel while chatting about local history, house prices, the economy, and of course our upcoming adoption! Jenny has been working with adopting parents for ten years.

Hotel arranged for a crib, stroller and a baby bathtub.


The hotel has several restaurants and a pool. We'll explore those after getting some sleep.