Our China Experience (2) - Going to China early for sightseeing

by Lynn Bowers


We resisted the idea. We'd have to miss more work, we'd have additional travel costs, and who could really enjoy sightseeing, especially when we were going to be parents in a few days? Our advice? GO! At this point, we already made a huge financial commitment, and the cash started to feel like Monopoly money. This journey was a leap of faith, and we can't recall hearing any tales of financial ruin because of adoption. Being able to have some "couple time" also gave us the chance to settle, breathe, get used to the time change, and get into the culture and feel of a new country. New language, new money, new food, new people- so much to take in. We are so glad we had those four days to adjust before meeting our daughter for the first time. We also had the chance to get to know our travel group- which was enormously helpful when I needed a shoulder to cry on in a hotel hallway. (Wah! I'm a first time mom, and my baby won't take a nap!)

Sure, touring the Forbidden City, shopping for Chairman Mao watches? It's not why you're really there, and we did have several zone-out moments where we wanted to yell WHERE's OUR DAUGHTER? But climbing the Great Wall of China? Priceless! (to be continued)

Celebrating the International Children's Day

These two young MC for the celebration were children of Chinese diplomats from the Chinese Consulate General in New York. They entertained hundreds of local friends with two short Chinese cartoon movies, fun games, etc. during this holiday celebration.

Gladney Parents and Children Celebrating International Children’s Day

Gladney China News (NY) - On May 21, 2006, at the invitation of the Chinese Consul General in NY, Ambassador Liu Bi Wei and his wife, nearly 30 Gladney parents and children joined more than 500 parents and children, including children of Chinese diplomats in celebrating June 1st International Children’s Day at the Chinese Consulate General in New York.

Ambassador Liu’s welcome speech kicked off the celebration. He stressed that children are the future in his warm speech. In thanking American adoptive parents for taking good care of their Chinese children, he believed those children will further develop and strengthen the friendship between the two peoples.

Our China Experience (1) - We never thought we could survived months of ......

by Lynn Bowers

When families return from China, I often request them to write about their China adoption experience, and share it with other families in the process. The following is one of them that I received most recently. Lynn and John has offered valuable advices based on their experiences with Gladney. We are going to add it to our Gladney China Blog in three posts, with each on a specific subject. - Gongzhan


May 13, 2006

Dear Gladney Families,

My husband John and I recently returned from China with Samantha Jade, from Changsha, Hunan Province, born on 5/4/05. Our journey took almost two years from our first Gladney meeting til the day we brought our daughter home. We never thought we could survive the months of paperwork, waiting for the referral, then travel dates. But of course we did, thanks to the expert care of Andrea Yonai, Gongzhan Wu and everyone in the NY Gladney office. We cannot thank them enough and add special thanks to our Chinese guides- Jennifer in Beijing, Ashley in Changsha, and Sampson in Guangzhou. (to be continued)