Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Interesting Country...



China is so different from our expectations. We have traveled all over the world and never experienced anything like this... It's interesting to learn about a country so few people really know. The population of the US is currently about 300 million. The population of China is 1.3 billion.
At the same time, the land mass of China is almost identical in size to the US. However, close to 50% of the land is not livable due to mountains and deserts. As a result, you have over 4 times the popultion of America, living in an area half the size of the US. Talk about crowding...
The population of Beijing is currently 30.5 million. New York City, the largest city in the US, is only about 8 million. And Beijing is only the third largest city in China!
Very few Chinese people speak English. Yet they are warm & friendly to foreigners. There is a very strong sense of community and respect of elders. I think the most striking difference about China is that there does not appear to be any jealously or animosity towards Americans. They are very proud of their country and heritage. They are not trying to become the United States of America, and therefore don't share the same obstinence that most Europeans do. It's actually quite refreshing... However, it's still a Communist country. While it feels just like any bustling American city, there are tight controls in place that go unnoticed by the locals. It is impossible to access many Western websites, including Youtube and our own damn blog! While we were watching CNN the other night a segment came on about the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. As the segment moved into a somewhat critical phase, the TV screen went blank for about 3 minutes. The Chinese government had simply pushed a button and cut the signal. A few minutes later it came back on without warning. Hearing that you would think this is a very oppressive society. But the locals truly don't know the difference and look to their government as a source of pride and continued economic success. I guess what you don't know can't hurt you...
Mike & Stacy

Lights Out!

The end of another wonderful but long & hot day... We started our day with a wonderful breakfast at the hotel. We are staying at the White Swan, which was the first 5 star hotel in China. We had heard great things about this hotel, but were blown away at how great it is. It's an amazing hotel with great food, shopping, and impeccable service. Heavy emphasis on the shopping for Mommy & Mia... That should help our two weeks go by a little quicker...

After breakfast we headed over to the Civil Affairs office to take our government family photo, followed by two interviews to confirm our intentions and formally commit to love, nurture and never abandon our child.

After the second interview the adoption was formalized and Mia is truly now Mia Sara Jia Lovell. Sara is in honor of Stacy's late Grandmother, Sara Grossman, who was a very special person in our lives. Jia was Mia's given Chines name. Actually it was Song Jia Feng. Song is the family name given to all children from her orphange, with Jia Feng being her unique name. We maintained Jia as a tie to her homeland. Unfortunately, the trip home from the Civil Affairs office wasn't so smooth. The bus driver decided to leave for a more lucrative job while we were in the office. So six couples carrying seven babies (twins in our group!) were stuck standing on a crowded street in 95 degree weather with about 100% humidity, and it just happened to be nap time for all the kids!! Thankfully our interpreter was able to negotiate for another bus to take us back after a slight delay.

After a busy morning we all decided to forgo exploring the neighborhoods today, and instead spent time in our rooms with our babies. We're still pretty exhausted and in fact skipped dinner tonight and I put Stacy & Mia to bed about 15 minutes ago... I'm sure it won't surprise any of you to hear that Stacy has not taken a moment to herself. With very little sleep or food, Stacy is the absolute picture of sunshine to little Mia. I'm pretty sure Mia has received more love, attention and stimulation in the past 36 hours than she did in the past 7 months in the orphanage. Even more amazing is that her caring and nurturing for Dad has not dwindled a bit. We're both very lucky to have such an incredible Mom & wife...

Good night!

Play time with Momma!


As expected, Mom has quickly figured out what Mia likes most... All these smiles while she's sick! The pediatrician in our group today confirmed our suspicions. We noticed Mia tugging at her ear, and it turns out she has a double ear infection. Thankfully the antibiotics she's already on should cure this within a few days... Poor little girl.