Tu Sekine

Or: Waiting for Paperwork, Buying More of China's Treasures In case any of you are wondering why we are languishing in Nanjing rather than moving on to the next step in Guangzhou, we are waiting for the Chinese end of the paperwork to be completed. While we have the certificate attesting to Luke's adoption there apparently are a lot more documents that need to be created and/or prepared. So we wait and while the time away doing touristy stuff. Due to the loss of both of the Tu-Sekine's cameras (more on that in a separate blog by Becky and Pam). there are less pictures available. Fortunately, Pam still has her camera and has jumped into the breach. To make sure their charges don't get too stir crazy, the adoption people have scheduled a tour for today--the ... read more

Or: None of this writing stuff, here are some pictures While Becky is in the shower crumpling and bubbling (see our post March 29 on signage), I am posting a few pictures for all of you who want to see pictures of your new grandchild/nephew/son or brother of a friend. I just hope Becky's hair will not be too dry--Becky and Pam have decided that unfortunately they are not eligible to use the conditioner based on its instructions: "Include and protect the wet factor inside. Many kinds of nutritional labeling, such as purpose-built silk softener, etc., with after can make by hair it is the pitch-black the beautiful. Slip softly and suitably. Easy to comb make hair moist fully Fetch the right amount Wipe for a moment. If not careful and pleasing to the eye, Wash ... read more

Or: We think there is a pattern here, but can’t quite put our finger on it (or, if you would like a more classical theme, On Shopping). After the Great Wall, we went on our scheduled tour of the government-owned cloisonné factory and lunch. Becky, Pam and I had already begun to suspect that there was some kind of arrangement between the tour company and the government. Our first bit of evidence was that our van would always drop us off beyond the barriers that held out the plebs—a few words from our driver and guards would let us through. Then, our guide Michelle would tell us to wait, go to the ticket booth, come back with big, official-looking tickets and we would be waived in through a separate entrance. The last piece of evidence was ... read more

Or: Sleeping is for the weak - we're climbing the Great Wall of China! Just a note about the sleeping: Ian is not doing it at the right time. Yesterday’s 3 p.m. nap and 7 p.m. bedtime led to a 3:36 a.m. wakeup call for mom, and a 4:00 am trip to the lobby for dominoes and hot chocolate for Ian and dad. We decided Auntie Pam should join the fun, and Ian started delivering coffee packets and sugar packets to her door at 5:00 am, with a gentle ring on the doorbell (they really have them at each room door) to make sure she didn’t overlook them. Well, at least we were ready for our 8:30 pickup by Michelle and the irrepressible driver, Mr. Wu. (We did manage to make him laugh once on the ... read more

Or: Without doubt, things are big here Today, we sightsaw. Our ambitious schedule included Tian'Anmen Square in the morning, then the Forbidden City, then the City Planning Museum, then the Temple of Heaven. Lunch at the Wahaha restaurant and a Peking Duck (err, Beijing Duck) dinner. We killed the visit to the freshwater pearl factory (?). If you think that sounds ambitious, you should try it with a five year old whose body clock is off by 12 hours. I would say that I would never do something like this again, but tomorrow we are going to see the Great Wall, then Olympic venues, then a cloissone factory and a banquest dinner. If you think this is insane, yes. But after the 14 hour flight, everything seems possible. Tian'Anmen Square is huge. It is the "largest ... read more