Gotcha… forever!

We woke up this morning to a cold and smoky Harbin. If you have been to Fairbanks at t he height of the summer fire season, and I mean the height, you’ll have some idea what Harbin looks like right now. The smoke is so thick it is hard to make out buildings just a block or so away. We asked our guide and she said this is typical for the cold times during the winter. Apparently residents here use a lot of wood for heating and so the smoke builds up in the city. Harbin is a city of 4 million; however, it seems to still be a rural city at its roots. It is not uncommon at all to see donkeys and small dogs around the streets. Sara has also commented (and we agree) that the people up here in the North look different than the Chinese in Beijing.

Our driver picked us up this morning at 9am, we stopped by to pick up our guide, and we were off to the Civil Affairs office to meet our daughter. We were all nervous. Amanda and I talked about Chris and Tanya Bourque and the fears they shared when being alone in adopting their third girl. It was comforting to have Sara and Megan along, but I did miss having other adopted families along to share our nervousness with.

We were guided to a nice conference room with bottled water, candy, bananas, and probably the sweetest most perfect little oranges I’ve ever had. We met the director of adoption affairs in Harbin and talked to her a bit – a very nice and warm woman. A very short time later in walked to other young woman with our Yuan, who of course was bundled up completely from head to toe. It was very un-ceremonial, which was actually kind of nice. They held her for a while and introduced us to her – ma-ma and ba-ba. She looked a bit confused but not frightened at all. One of the young woman was another Harbin office worker, and the other was an office worker from the Mudanjiang orphanage that traveled with Yuan.

She got down and got her coat off and we introduced her to Jenna. Jenna was of course excited but also studied her a bit. We then got to hold her and talk to her a bit. Both her and Jenna sat on our laps and ate some food… they share that in common! They both ate bananas and oranges and candy for a while… a bonding experience. We got some books out and Jenna and Carli played with those, we took pictures, ate some more delicious oranges. Amanda and I spent some time talking to the Mudanjiang worker asking her about Carli – sleep patterns, personality, food, etc. All in all it was a very relaxed, enjoyable, and comfortable environment. Carli is obviously fairly low key and the mood was just right.

After leaving there – now officially with “the girls” – we went to the Harbin Wal-Mart! Yes, that is the first place we took our new daughter. It actually was a lot of fun and we were able to walk around the store and buy a lot of snacks, milk, and things we needed while staying here. Living in a hotel room is hard enough without relying on a restaurant for every bit of food you eat. Carli started really enjoying herself there, talking loud, yelling, and play acting like she was eating the food from the shopping cart basket.

Now both her and Jenna are taking a little nap before we head out for the evening. Some of my initial impressions are:
  - Carli is an incredibly easy-going girl. (And no, I don’t think this is grieving.) She put her hands out for us easily and likes to be held, but is also comfortable playing by herself. She has given us plenty of smiles already, and even some laughs. Although, her giggle is pretty soft.
  - I think she was well cared for in the orphanage. She doesn’t mind being kissed and touched at all (which is good since we’re doing a lot of it). The office worker that came with her was warm both toward us and toward Yuan (or Carli – we use them interchangeably right now). I think she probably spends some time with the kids. Even the director in Harbin had seen Yuan when she was a baby… she talked about her in a very personable way, not a clinical way. I feel very reassured about the “system” taking care of these orphans in the Heilongjiang Province.
  - Although we knew she would, Jenna is doing a great job of being a sister. She invites Carli to play with her and draws her hand on the magna-doodle. I’m sure the first good fight is right around the corner.

Most of Carli’s friends in the orphanage were boys… those were the children there that were her age. We knew some of them and we got some more names from the pictures we had of them. We were also able to give them some updated pictures from the O’Malley family (in Florida) who adopted one of the boys. All the women were very excited to see the updated pictures and they encouraged us to send pictures of Carli as she continues to grow. And, even though we can’t see the orphanage this trip, they said we would be able to when we come back for a visit.

One other observation I have made while walking around Harbin… there seem to be a lot of young girls. I’m not sure if it is accurate, but I just can’t help but get a sense that this province is somewhat progressive. The transition time with Carli was very drawn out and natural, as it should be, and Carli was allowed to come to us progressively, not abruptly. Tomorrow we’ll have another appointment and she’ll be able to see the office worker again (who she obviously knows). I sense they are aware that the transition is important for the child and the family and they are doing what they can to make it healthy. I am even more enthusiastic now about the Chinese adoption experience by what I see here.

And now some more pictures...