Blogs from Zhengzhou, Henan, China, Asia

As some of you know, I applied to the HCC Nursing Program back in December and knew that I would be getting a response from them sometime this month. Well the letter finally came in the mail. I originally wasn’t going have them open it for me because I wanted to do it myself when I got home. Then I was informed that the letter might include some time-sensitive material. I was warned by a current nursing student that if for some reason my application was declined, I would only have a certain amount of time to appeal. Slightly worried about this possibility on March 26th, I had them open the letter for me…. I was ACCEPTED into the program!! As we read thru the letter, we found out that they require a confirmation letter to ... read more

Knowing how much of a Dunkin' Donuts coffee addict I am, most of you will not be surprised at the first part of this entry. I first heard that there was a DD here in Zhengzhou a few weeks ago. It is in a part of town I was unfamiliar with so I knew it would be an adventure to find. I’m sure I could have had another one of the foreigners send me the address in Chinese and just taken a cab to it but where’s the fun in that? Anyway, walking there would allow me to justify eating the donuts.  On a free afternoon this week, I decided I would set out to find this elusive DD. I got the basic directions (“go to this intersection and it’s like right there”) from another ... read more

I had gotten here at roughly 6:00 am. the train ride was rather uneventful. Although it was at night. i had left the train station and proceeded to my hotel. The Ramada Inn, although, a little expensive but worth it. When i stayed at the Ramada Inn ZhengZhou the cost of a single night was about 450 rmb per night. The rooms were well prepared, and most of the people that worked here spoke relatively good English. They were very polite, and knowledgeable about the area. Also they have a Western style restaurant in the hotel. Which was very good and reasonably priced. The information you would need at the Ramada Inn, Weisan Road and Jingliu Road ZhengZhou, Henan, China tel (86 371) 69170666 email: sales@ramadaplaza-zhengzhou.com In Zhengzhou and surrounding area, there are many things to ... read more

As some of you know, Alicia and I share a birthday- down the day and year. Apart from the 12 hours between our births and 4 state lines between us, we could be twins! (okay, maybe having different sets of parents affects that in some way too). By the Chinese zodiac, we are Rabbits. We both came to China for our own reasons; I will leave her to tell hers but mine is personal growth. I needed a change of pace. Something to get me out of my element, away from distractions and influences. My goal for this trip is to find out who I am. I want to make decisions that are my own. I want to do the things that make me happy. I want to learn about other cultures and people and what ... read more

Went to the registration and notary office this morning. Everything is now official. Well, we still need to wait for the final document from the notary office, but the documents have been signed and she is officially ours. She slept for ten hours last night. Awoke at 6:00am and drank a bottle for Mommy and her brothers to see. I later took her down stairs and gave her two and a half bowls of congee. I started with half a bowl to see how she ate it. She cried when I stopped giving it to her. This was the first time I saw crying with tears. She fussed a few times in the middle of the night. But that was just a fuss and back to sleep. This was a "you took away my happiness" cry. ... read more

Today is Gotcha Day!!! We loaded the bus at 9:30am as we were to be matched with our children "some" time after 10am. To our huge surprise and excitement we had not even had an opportunity to take our jackets off and the van arrived. 3 boys - an 8 year old, a 3 year old and our little man. While he wasn't too sure of us at first, he really liked the trucks we brought for him and loved the cheerios!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His house-mother brought him and gave us a journal with his daily schedule, likes and dislikes and most importantly...pictures!!!!! He had been in the foster home for the last year and they took pictures throughout and passed the pictures onto us. His nanny knitted him a pair of slippers to take with him and ... read more

Gotcha day was yesterday. It is amazing how it has transformed the trip. It was almost surreal prior to yesterday. Now I am looking at a small wonder sleeping in a crib next to me and having a hard time remembering two days ago. The day started early, as they often do. We all woke up at 4am wide-eyed with anticipation. Years of paperwork, waiting, more paperwork, more waiting, reading newsgroups, more waiting, fretting, more waiting...well you get the picture. All of that final reached the goal. It seems that this would be the culmination of the journey and yet the journey seemed to reset itself at a new beginning. Yet another leg in the Great Multi-Cathlon of life. But this leg started with more awe and joyful tears than any other leg. Our group was ... read more

Hi Everyone, This is a replacement blog that we've started up because we couldn't get to the original one from where we are. Tomorrow is the big day. Paperwork all set and the orphanage gifts are wrapped and ready to go. Tomorrow we meet our son!... read more