True to the title of my blog, I am now officially a China traveller.
I left my two-month home in Beijing on the 11th of August, backpack strapped on and ready to go. Along with our good friend and my roommate Xizi, John Speed and I boarded a bus to downtown Beijing, beginning the first leg of our journey south to Shanghai.
After a week of finding anything we could to occupy our time at Yuxiang Gardens, yet still under China Care's contract, I was ready to say goodbye to the children and staff I'd spent my seven weeks with and move along. Thus, leaving wasn't as hard on my heart as I thought it would be. Especially since I'll be on my way back to China Care to pick up a suitcase and say a final goodbye to my dear Beijing on August 26th.
Shanghai welcomed us in a wave of unbelievable heavy heat and crowds like I've never seen before. After our first real experience on a Chinese train with three lovely women as cabinmates, we arrived at the Shanghai station late the next morning. Starving, we managed to push our way onto a subway car (with our massive packs) amidst anxious travellers convinced they could all fit on the harder they shoved. I think I saw a little boy get stepped on. What an introduction to a city so teeming with people! We made it to our hostel right on the Bund, Shanghai's famous old port and checked in. Our roommates from England gave us a warm hello and we became fast friends, exchanging travel stories over dinner that night. Shanghai is so huge and overwhelming that 4 days is barely enough time to scratch the surface. On that note, I feel like my opinion of it is far from well-rounded, and would love to give it another chance one day. We took a night cruise on the Bund to see the buildings across the river light up the sky, toured Sun Yat-Sen's former residence, and visited the French Concession (all that remains with any hint of French is the architecture and a few French-named restaurants).
John Speed and I parted ways on Friday when he headed to the airport to meet his study-away group. I spent an extra night and followed him to Hangzhou on Saturday, in hopes of meeting him at his dorm 2 hours after my train pulled in. Luckily I'd made a friend in Shanghai who was also heading to Hangzhou. A really nice guy named Yone, from Tokyo, Japan. After a two-hour epic search (a story in itself), I found John Speed in the foreign students' dorm at Zhejiang University and gladly joined him for dinner.
My hopes for getting out of the city were pretty high before arriving further south to Hangzhou, which I pictured to be quaint and closer to the countryside. Just south-west of West Lake (Hangzhou's main attraction and the lake whose beauty inspired many a Chinese poet) are rolling hills and tea plantations. Not like the limestone cliffs of South China but close enough for this time around. West Lake is quite stunning and absolutely vast. An entire day of walking or cycling can't get you around the whole thing. I took a boat cruise out onto the lake, visited one of the pavilions, then landed on another shore before walking back to my hostel. The following day I took a trip south-west to Lingyin temple which houses an impressive 20-foot high golden statue of Buddha. It was nice to get away from buildings for a little bit.
I arrived in Xi'an just a couple hours ago with a friend I met at the hostel in Hangzhou after the longest, most cramped train ride I've taken so far. Following about 21 hours of sleeping on the top bunk in a tiny compartment I was glad to step outside. Arriving at train stations is usually the most hectic part of the journey because hawkers will come up offering taxi rides, taxi drivers don't always regard your hail, and most of the time, you just want to take off your bag and hop in the shower. haha. That's how it's been for me anyway. I'm checked into my hostel, thanks to a recommendation from my friends Anna and Joan who spent a weekend here back when they were in Baoji. It's fabulous. Tucked away on a side street with very clean rooms. Tomorrow and the day after, I plan on visiting the Terracotta Warriors and climbing Mt. Huashan.
After 2 nights and 3 days here I'll head to Pingyao for 2-3 days, my last destination before heading back to Beijing.
I'm nice and tanned, excited for home-cooked food (STILL) and will be very excited to land in Montreal and sleep in my own bed.
Until then, I'm drinking it all in. Love you all very much, and hope you continue to have wonderful sun-filled summers.
much love,
lb.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Picture yourself in China (And a few digressions).
I think the official countdown began when we saw our two first interns off this week. Joan left China Care at the crack of dawn on Monday after a 3-month stay. My dear Ysabelle left later in the afternoon, allowing us to come to the airport with her to say our farewells. I could very easily be fooled that we arrived only yesterday.
The Olympics start tomorrow and all of China is in a frenzy. Despite the tireless preparations that are happening in the city, Shunyi district hasn't be getting nearly as much attention, besides flower arrangements magically popping up on the sidewalk outside our complex, and lanterns and Christmas lights being hung from the trees. I miss having access to the news back home, since all we see on our television in the dining hall are torch relays (over and over and over again) and ads for things like orange juice that of course all the athletes drink to stay healthy. Ha ha.
Last night, we had dinner with perhaps one of the most successful 24 year-olds I've met who defines the meaning of you guanxi. Because of our native English speaking skillz, our group was asked to help one of our boss's friends participate in a city-wide "English-check" study at several branches of China's Ming Sheng bank. We split up into two groups and spent 4 days in total driving around Beijing with this woman named Vera Cui, Queen of Connections (re: you guanxi), asking scripted questions to bank tellers in English and seeing if they were able to help us without using Chinese. It made for some interesting encounters, and frazzled, nervewracked banking staff.
I digress! Vera grew up with a father involved in some foreign business so since childhood she's had plenty an opportunity to brush up on her English. As a result, she is the most renown English teacher (no foolin') in all of Shunyi! We saw her magic at work yesterday at this amazing Korean barbecue restaurant where she took us to dinner, when a group of non Chinese-speaking guests stared helplessly at the non-English menu. Vera saved the day and was offered a drink by her new British friends, but refused due to work obligations, of which involved greeting the Canadian Olympic team (YEE-AAAH!) when they arrived at the airport that night!
As this entry doesn't seem to have much flow to it, I will mess up the order even more by adding a wide array of PICTURES! The magic about those is that a couple sentences' description do the trick... Then the rest is up to you. So here I go with a few more depictions of my adventures here thusfar. The theme is: ... China. ha HA! Now anything goes.
I will begin with a portrait of Yuxiang Gardens, my China abode. We live in building 15 (not the one featured in the picture, but they all look exactly the same). The buildings look like they could be featured on some kind of artsy postcard with such a bright blue sky in the background ... But, don't be fooled! These perfect weather days are few and far between in Beijing. Next, a contrast...
EW WHAT IS THAT NASTY CLOUD OF GREY?!? ... s-m-o-g. That's right. Blanketing the entire city. Breathing in Beijing air is like smoking 70 packs of cigarettes a day. An example of how deeply I have come to appreciate non government-enduced blue sky and real undeadly clouds.
p.s. The building you can barely see in the background was errected in honour of the BJ Olympics. Ah, yes, the Beijing Olympic something-something building. Note the flame-esque tip...
I'm fooling you with these blue sky pictures... I swear it's not usually like this. A picturesque view of the Summer Palace from our motor boat ride.
This man was flying a kite made of garbage bags and sticks, that he painted an attempted menacing looking face on. I thought it was cute. The marble bridge he's standing on in the middle of the Palace grounds is a popular place to fly kites from. The winds are strong and the weather's fine.
The Olympics start tomorrow and all of China is in a frenzy. Despite the tireless preparations that are happening in the city, Shunyi district hasn't be getting nearly as much attention, besides flower arrangements magically popping up on the sidewalk outside our complex, and lanterns and Christmas lights being hung from the trees. I miss having access to the news back home, since all we see on our television in the dining hall are torch relays (over and over and over again) and ads for things like orange juice that of course all the athletes drink to stay healthy. Ha ha.
Last night, we had dinner with perhaps one of the most successful 24 year-olds I've met who defines the meaning of you guanxi. Because of our native English speaking skillz, our group was asked to help one of our boss's friends participate in a city-wide "English-check" study at several branches of China's Ming Sheng bank. We split up into two groups and spent 4 days in total driving around Beijing with this woman named Vera Cui, Queen of Connections (re: you guanxi), asking scripted questions to bank tellers in English and seeing if they were able to help us without using Chinese. It made for some interesting encounters, and frazzled, nervewracked banking staff.
I digress! Vera grew up with a father involved in some foreign business so since childhood she's had plenty an opportunity to brush up on her English. As a result, she is the most renown English teacher (no foolin') in all of Shunyi! We saw her magic at work yesterday at this amazing Korean barbecue restaurant where she took us to dinner, when a group of non Chinese-speaking guests stared helplessly at the non-English menu. Vera saved the day and was offered a drink by her new British friends, but refused due to work obligations, of which involved greeting the Canadian Olympic team (YEE-AAAH!) when they arrived at the airport that night!
As this entry doesn't seem to have much flow to it, I will mess up the order even more by adding a wide array of PICTURES! The magic about those is that a couple sentences' description do the trick... Then the rest is up to you. So here I go with a few more depictions of my adventures here thusfar. The theme is: ... China. ha HA! Now anything goes.
I will begin with a portrait of Yuxiang Gardens, my China abode. We live in building 15 (not the one featured in the picture, but they all look exactly the same). The buildings look like they could be featured on some kind of artsy postcard with such a bright blue sky in the background ... But, don't be fooled! These perfect weather days are few and far between in Beijing. Next, a contrast...
EW WHAT IS THAT NASTY CLOUD OF GREY?!? ... s-m-o-g. That's right. Blanketing the entire city. Breathing in Beijing air is like smoking 70 packs of cigarettes a day. An example of how deeply I have come to appreciate non government-enduced blue sky and real undeadly clouds.p.s. The building you can barely see in the background was errected in honour of the BJ Olympics. Ah, yes, the Beijing Olympic something-something building. Note the flame-esque tip...
On a lighter note! Making friends with the fruit sellers at Wangfujing Night market. A HUGE hit for tourists, and a place I didn't get to visit last year. Professional hawkers such as the ones featured above were yelling things like, "I love you! For Free!" I'm not sure what that can translate into. Who knows if they were selling love, but their candy-coated fruit skewers certainly weren't free. 10 big kuai apiece! A delicous 10 kuai at that.
I'm fooling you with these blue sky pictures... I swear it's not usually like this. A picturesque view of the Summer Palace from our motor boat ride.
This man was flying a kite made of garbage bags and sticks, that he painted an attempted menacing looking face on. I thought it was cute. The marble bridge he's standing on in the middle of the Palace grounds is a popular place to fly kites from. The winds are strong and the weather's fine.
Me getting friendly with a lion at the Temple of Heaven.
CHINA CARE INTERNS 2008! After many failed attempts, I'm not actually jumping in this one, to the dismay of my fellow interns. The story behind this is that early on, we decided that we would create a series of jumping pictures, taken in famous locations all around the city. Like, the Summer Palace for example. The best part is attracting loads of attention from passers-by...
Possibly the best picture ever taken in China. Ever.
Thank you John Speed.
Also, thanks to our subject who we found outside the Olympic Bird's Nest, shouting out the Olympic slogan and representing all the pride a Chinese citizen could have surrounding the starting of tomorrow's 08-08-2008 event.
Flowing with the masses into the Forbidden City with Mao's portrait looming.
So these are the hooligans I've been hangin' with these past 2 months! (Minus our dear Joan who decided to hang back that weekend). From left to right: Anna, Tim, Ysabelle, Callie, and John Speed.
A bit more of a close-up... Callie, John Speed, Ysabelle, me, and Tim. Missing our two to make seven on Wangfujing street.
CHINA CARE INTERNS 2008! After many failed attempts, I'm not actually jumping in this one, to the dismay of my fellow interns. The story behind this is that early on, we decided that we would create a series of jumping pictures, taken in famous locations all around the city. Like, the Summer Palace for example. The best part is attracting loads of attention from passers-by...
Possibly the best picture ever taken in China. Ever.Thank you John Speed.
Also, thanks to our subject who we found outside the Olympic Bird's Nest, shouting out the Olympic slogan and representing all the pride a Chinese citizen could have surrounding the starting of tomorrow's 08-08-2008 event.
Flowing with the masses into the Forbidden City with Mao's portrait looming.
So these are the hooligans I've been hangin' with these past 2 months! (Minus our dear Joan who decided to hang back that weekend). From left to right: Anna, Tim, Ysabelle, Callie, and John Speed.
A bit more of a close-up... Callie, John Speed, Ysabelle, me, and Tim. Missing our two to make seven on Wangfujing street.There we have my great mish-mash of pictures! We took a trip to the breathtaking Great Wall this past weekend, so hopefully I'll get a couple of those up before I take off to Shanghai. My travel plans for the last 2 weeks are shaping up. Brief itinerary: Head to Shanghai on Monday with John Speed by hard-sleeper train, spend a couple nights in a hostel in the center of the city. Then head south to beautiful Hangzhou where John Speed will stay to begin his fall semester at Zhejiang University. From there I have 10 days to explore Xi'an, Pingyao, and another city that I haven't yet decided on before I head back to Beijing on the 26th or 27th. Homebound on the 28th, and so long China... aaahhh my heart will ache...
The next time I post will probably be from a different city. Before I begin my travels on Monday and say farewell to China Care, I still need to finish a mural I've been working on for the children's home and write a few newswires. T'will be a busy weekend. Tomorrow I see my good friend Olivia who's in Beijing after a month-long Chinese program in Taiwan. It'll be AMAZING to see a familiar face. I spoke to her on the phone to make plans and holey moley was it ever crazy to think how I'll be meeting a friend on the complete opposite side of the world. On the starting day of the Olympic Games! phew, hard to get my head around.
The next time I post will probably be from a different city. Before I begin my travels on Monday and say farewell to China Care, I still need to finish a mural I've been working on for the children's home and write a few newswires. T'will be a busy weekend. Tomorrow I see my good friend Olivia who's in Beijing after a month-long Chinese program in Taiwan. It'll be AMAZING to see a familiar face. I spoke to her on the phone to make plans and holey moley was it ever crazy to think how I'll be meeting a friend on the complete opposite side of the world. On the starting day of the Olympic Games! phew, hard to get my head around.
Sorry if I've rendered some of you partially blind if you've stuck with my novel-length entry... kudos! Stay in touch and I continue to wish you all a glorious summer.
love, hugs, and kisses,
lauren.
love, hugs, and kisses,
lauren.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Ping Pong in the Park
That there are only 12 days left of my China Care internship boggles my mind. I have much to share since my last entry ... Meaning I could probably write a 10-page paper and still have lots to say. But instead, I'll try my best to focus on the highlights.
One thing that's weighing pretty heavy on my heart right now are the farewells I gave the toddlers in the children's home this morning. In a two-hour meeting with our boss yesterday, we learned that we can no longer visit the home as of August 1st. I unfortunately can't go into as much detail as I'd like about the reasons why because when under the watchful eye of a certain government you can never be too careful about what you say or don't. In a nutshell, there've been disputes between our boss and officials about letting China Care remain in the new building, and in the light of these exchanges it's best not to have foreigners walking in and out of somewhere they don't want the organization to be in the first place.
Brent had briefly mentioned we could no longer visit after a certain time but I guess we'd forgotten because the seven of us were in shock yesterday. I needed to go back this morning knowing that it was the last time I'd see them. It was a very good last hour, too. The babies were awake and lively, and my four favourites were all around. I haven't yet posted pictures of all of them (one of my favourites just recently made it to my list of Top 5 Toddlers) but I took some nice ones today that I'll share soon. When it was time to leave, I couldn't extend my farewell as long as I would normally do because I would've risked taking them all with me. Unfortunately babies are too squirmy and bulky to fit in a carry-on...
That's certainly the biggest up-to-date news... but moving on before my emotions get the best of me.
You might ask why the title of my entry is what it is. Babies playing ping pong in the park?! If that ever happens I'd like to be there to take a picture. hahaa... The other day 6 of us went exploring in the small market area down our street. I'd been inside one of the grocers' before but hadn't seen much beyond it. OH was I ever missing out! I discovered the biggest fruit and vegetable markets I've seen in China yet that had me floored. Raw veggies and abundance of fresh fruit are two of the things I miss most here. I bought 2 oranges (the first I've eaten in a month and a half), bananas, a mangostene, plums, and a monster apple. HEAVENLY. But! I digress. Back to the ping pong. While I was rolling in fruit, Tim and John Speed went and bought ping pong rackets and six bright orange ping pong balls. We decided to put them to use right away and walked over to the park where they have three tables. They were all taken - ping pong being China's national sport, of course! - so we waited our turn. When we realized no one was going to leave anytime soon, John Speed approached one of the tables and asked the kids if we could play the winner. They agreed! And so our round robin match began. Even I played, and got absolutely destroyed! When the ping pong table in our basement started being used for a Second Cup Christmas basket production line, I quickly lost the chance to prepare myself for this day. These 10 year-old boys (and their grandpa who was quick on his feet and a pretty good ping pong player) reminded me of Forrest Gump. Maybe not quite as good but they had skill, oh yes. John Speed held his own against the kids but also got beaten in a flash by an older boy. We attracted some attention and promised to come back.
We spent the past weekend visiting Olympic sites, quizzing Olympic volunteers on their spoken English just for kicks, exploring hutongs, discovering the infamous Houhai (a hip destination raved about in guide books) and not being too impressed, haha!, getting foolishly ripped off by a toothless man selling kites, and climbing up to the Pagoda of a beautiful park. The gatherings that happen in parks around the city are one of the things that I deem characteristically Chinese. The opera is held dear in the hearts of many elders here, and in honour of this tradition, park gatherings often consist of a large group Chinese people assembled around a man or woman with a microphone, singing along to tinny clasical music blaring from an amp. This park, called Jingshan gongyuan was host to countless of these mini festivals, allowing voices and song to be heard for miles around if it weren't for its surrounding fortifying red walls. Tim, John Speed and I then journeyed to the top of the hill that sits in the middle of the gongyuan til we reached the pagoda at the summit. If not for the smog the view would've been spectacular. We looked out past the balustrade and could see the entire Forbidden City spread out before us, with its golden roofs blanketed in eerie clouds only caused by pollution. Sad, yet hauntingly beautiful. Tim put his new kite together and we tried to catch the wind until a security guard came and told us "kite flying wasn't allowed". He must've been about 16, which I found hysterical, but we'd like to avoid messy run-ins with Chinese authorities as much as possible. As Tim tried to catch the breeze, a woman came up and started chatting with me, explaining that we weren't standing in a good enough location. I told her the story of the man getting far too much from us for what these kites are worth and she laughed - Oh the fate of foreigners comes to play once again!
Our night ended with a second trip to Wangfujing night market where we shared a plate of delicious jiaozi (fried dumplings), then walked over the bookstore to buy maps of the city. We made it back home and hit the hay, absolutely exhausted from all the walking and intense heat of the day.
I'm actually running late for our movie. On Thursdays we screen an film for the kids to give them a break from their summer classes. My little buddy Tian Tian said it's his favourite class. Tonight our roommates and I are hosting a little party for Ysabelle and Joan's goodbye (they both leave on Monday, a week before the rest of us d0), and tomorrow we'll host a goodbye party for the kids we've taught classes to, as most of them are taking off on vacation before they plan to start school in September. There'll be watermelon, mangos, and lots of merriment.
Take good care family & friends, much love to you all!
a bientot,
-lb.
One thing that's weighing pretty heavy on my heart right now are the farewells I gave the toddlers in the children's home this morning. In a two-hour meeting with our boss yesterday, we learned that we can no longer visit the home as of August 1st. I unfortunately can't go into as much detail as I'd like about the reasons why because when under the watchful eye of a certain government you can never be too careful about what you say or don't. In a nutshell, there've been disputes between our boss and officials about letting China Care remain in the new building, and in the light of these exchanges it's best not to have foreigners walking in and out of somewhere they don't want the organization to be in the first place.
Brent had briefly mentioned we could no longer visit after a certain time but I guess we'd forgotten because the seven of us were in shock yesterday. I needed to go back this morning knowing that it was the last time I'd see them. It was a very good last hour, too. The babies were awake and lively, and my four favourites were all around. I haven't yet posted pictures of all of them (one of my favourites just recently made it to my list of Top 5 Toddlers) but I took some nice ones today that I'll share soon. When it was time to leave, I couldn't extend my farewell as long as I would normally do because I would've risked taking them all with me. Unfortunately babies are too squirmy and bulky to fit in a carry-on...
That's certainly the biggest up-to-date news... but moving on before my emotions get the best of me.
You might ask why the title of my entry is what it is. Babies playing ping pong in the park?! If that ever happens I'd like to be there to take a picture. hahaa... The other day 6 of us went exploring in the small market area down our street. I'd been inside one of the grocers' before but hadn't seen much beyond it. OH was I ever missing out! I discovered the biggest fruit and vegetable markets I've seen in China yet that had me floored. Raw veggies and abundance of fresh fruit are two of the things I miss most here. I bought 2 oranges (the first I've eaten in a month and a half), bananas, a mangostene, plums, and a monster apple. HEAVENLY. But! I digress. Back to the ping pong. While I was rolling in fruit, Tim and John Speed went and bought ping pong rackets and six bright orange ping pong balls. We decided to put them to use right away and walked over to the park where they have three tables. They were all taken - ping pong being China's national sport, of course! - so we waited our turn. When we realized no one was going to leave anytime soon, John Speed approached one of the tables and asked the kids if we could play the winner. They agreed! And so our round robin match began. Even I played, and got absolutely destroyed! When the ping pong table in our basement started being used for a Second Cup Christmas basket production line, I quickly lost the chance to prepare myself for this day. These 10 year-old boys (and their grandpa who was quick on his feet and a pretty good ping pong player) reminded me of Forrest Gump. Maybe not quite as good but they had skill, oh yes. John Speed held his own against the kids but also got beaten in a flash by an older boy. We attracted some attention and promised to come back.
We spent the past weekend visiting Olympic sites, quizzing Olympic volunteers on their spoken English just for kicks, exploring hutongs, discovering the infamous Houhai (a hip destination raved about in guide books) and not being too impressed, haha!, getting foolishly ripped off by a toothless man selling kites, and climbing up to the Pagoda of a beautiful park. The gatherings that happen in parks around the city are one of the things that I deem characteristically Chinese. The opera is held dear in the hearts of many elders here, and in honour of this tradition, park gatherings often consist of a large group Chinese people assembled around a man or woman with a microphone, singing along to tinny clasical music blaring from an amp. This park, called Jingshan gongyuan was host to countless of these mini festivals, allowing voices and song to be heard for miles around if it weren't for its surrounding fortifying red walls. Tim, John Speed and I then journeyed to the top of the hill that sits in the middle of the gongyuan til we reached the pagoda at the summit. If not for the smog the view would've been spectacular. We looked out past the balustrade and could see the entire Forbidden City spread out before us, with its golden roofs blanketed in eerie clouds only caused by pollution. Sad, yet hauntingly beautiful. Tim put his new kite together and we tried to catch the wind until a security guard came and told us "kite flying wasn't allowed". He must've been about 16, which I found hysterical, but we'd like to avoid messy run-ins with Chinese authorities as much as possible. As Tim tried to catch the breeze, a woman came up and started chatting with me, explaining that we weren't standing in a good enough location. I told her the story of the man getting far too much from us for what these kites are worth and she laughed - Oh the fate of foreigners comes to play once again!
Our night ended with a second trip to Wangfujing night market where we shared a plate of delicious jiaozi (fried dumplings), then walked over the bookstore to buy maps of the city. We made it back home and hit the hay, absolutely exhausted from all the walking and intense heat of the day.
I'm actually running late for our movie. On Thursdays we screen an film for the kids to give them a break from their summer classes. My little buddy Tian Tian said it's his favourite class. Tonight our roommates and I are hosting a little party for Ysabelle and Joan's goodbye (they both leave on Monday, a week before the rest of us d0), and tomorrow we'll host a goodbye party for the kids we've taught classes to, as most of them are taking off on vacation before they plan to start school in September. There'll be watermelon, mangos, and lots of merriment.
Take good care family & friends, much love to you all!
a bientot,
-lb.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Introducing: The China Care Babies!
Tai hao le! Merci pour tous les commentaires! Oh it's so nice to hear from home and abroad.
For those who sympathize with the intestinal difficulties I've been suffering, thank you! I fell asleep last night in hopes of dreaming of my dad's barbecued chicken or a good hearty salad ... but somehow ended up dreaming that my California native friend Tim, was Francophone and intimidated me with his strong Quebecois accent. He speaks not a word of French.
I will keep this entry short in terms of words, and will fill the rest up with... photos! Oh yes, finally. I tried starting a Photobucket account a couple nights ago but the internet here likes to play tricks on us and that night, decided not to cooperate. I will post the 3 photos I managed to get up (in 45 minutes GROAN) in this entry, so no need to go searching on Photobucket. I don't know why posting them on my blog didn't occur to me earlier...
(I'm sitting here in the office watching Tim play hide-and-seek with one of the toddlers, Jiang Tao. He was brought here from the children's home because he's developed some sort of infection that may or may not be contagious. Poor little guy is missing his playmates...)
So, let the photos begin!
For those who sympathize with the intestinal difficulties I've been suffering, thank you! I fell asleep last night in hopes of dreaming of my dad's barbecued chicken or a good hearty salad ... but somehow ended up dreaming that my California native friend Tim, was Francophone and intimidated me with his strong Quebecois accent. He speaks not a word of French.
I will keep this entry short in terms of words, and will fill the rest up with... photos! Oh yes, finally. I tried starting a Photobucket account a couple nights ago but the internet here likes to play tricks on us and that night, decided not to cooperate. I will post the 3 photos I managed to get up (in 45 minutes GROAN) in this entry, so no need to go searching on Photobucket. I don't know why posting them on my blog didn't occur to me earlier...
(I'm sitting here in the office watching Tim play hide-and-seek with one of the toddlers, Jiang Tao. He was brought here from the children's home because he's developed some sort of infection that may or may not be contagious. Poor little guy is missing his playmates...)
So, let the photos begin!
Playing in the toddler's home (BCH 3 - Beijing Children's home 3) before the move. I'm not sure of the name of little baby in stripes.
Introducing, the one and only... Liu Fang!! Yes, the star of my first entry herself.
Introducing Xiao Lan, the Belle of the Ball. This little one was born with clubbed feet and is currently going through the process of fixing them up, which involves casting for periods of 5-10 days, followed by wearing a brace on each leg, then more casting, etc., until her feet are flattened out. She is a ball of smiles and giggles and is thus a favourite of the Aiyis, China Care staff, and of course us interns. Ysabelle has vowed to take her home.
Aahh, Tian Duo Duo, possibly the cutest toddler known to man. Duo in Chinese means many, because unfortunately he was born with many physical abnormalities. He currently wears a prosthetic from his left knee down, but is quick as a jackrabbit. He often wore the look of a skeptic when we first came and began running the pre-school class, but now that he's gotten used to seeing us nearly every day, his face lights up in the most mischievous little smile... I want to take him home. Mom and Dad, how about welcoming 2 new babies? Liu Fang included ... please.
This is Guishu. He and his foster family have been away on vacation in Dongbei, a city north of here. He gets around in a wheelchair because of his Spinal bifida. He was also part of our pre-school class... Since he and his family have left on vacation, the classroom's been much quieter!
C'est moi with my little buddy Tian Cheng. ADORABLE. A giggly ball of energy who we also miss dearly since he left on vacation with his foster brother Guishu and family.
And finally, foster siblings Guishu, Tian Hui, and Tian Cheng, going for a ride in Xubin's bicycle cart (Xubin works in the China Care office and is roommates with Tim and John Speed). We played with them for what felt like hours that day. Oh, are they ever precious... (ohh careful mom and dad, maybe make that 5 kids...)
Introducing, the one and only... Liu Fang!! Yes, the star of my first entry herself.
Introducing Xiao Lan, the Belle of the Ball. This little one was born with clubbed feet and is currently going through the process of fixing them up, which involves casting for periods of 5-10 days, followed by wearing a brace on each leg, then more casting, etc., until her feet are flattened out. She is a ball of smiles and giggles and is thus a favourite of the Aiyis, China Care staff, and of course us interns. Ysabelle has vowed to take her home.
Aahh, Tian Duo Duo, possibly the cutest toddler known to man. Duo in Chinese means many, because unfortunately he was born with many physical abnormalities. He currently wears a prosthetic from his left knee down, but is quick as a jackrabbit. He often wore the look of a skeptic when we first came and began running the pre-school class, but now that he's gotten used to seeing us nearly every day, his face lights up in the most mischievous little smile... I want to take him home. Mom and Dad, how about welcoming 2 new babies? Liu Fang included ... please.
This is Guishu. He and his foster family have been away on vacation in Dongbei, a city north of here. He gets around in a wheelchair because of his Spinal bifida. He was also part of our pre-school class... Since he and his family have left on vacation, the classroom's been much quieter! 
C'est moi with my little buddy Tian Cheng. ADORABLE. A giggly ball of energy who we also miss dearly since he left on vacation with his foster brother Guishu and family. 
And finally, foster siblings Guishu, Tian Hui, and Tian Cheng, going for a ride in Xubin's bicycle cart (Xubin works in the China Care office and is roommates with Tim and John Speed). We played with them for what felt like hours that day. Oh, are they ever precious... (ohh careful mom and dad, maybe make that 5 kids...)Ok, enough scaring the parents! Time to go eat dinner before the food's all gone.
Much love to all and will write again soon. The pictures'll keep coming, too! hugs and kisses, lb.
Much love to all and will write again soon. The pictures'll keep coming, too! hugs and kisses, lb.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Home-cooked food, I miss you dearly.
I've come to the conclusion that when you're away, you miss home the most when you're feeling sick. Despite their enticing odour and delicious taste, I seem to have formed a love-hate relationship with Chinese dishes, and the other night, we had a fight.
... Chinese food: 10, Lauren: 0.
I'm feeling quite a bit better now, after receiving a mix of Chinese and North American "medical" advice ("Eat a banana and burned toast" ... "No, red sugar water is best, he doesn't know what he's talking about!" etc etc). In the end, spending most of yesterday in bed and sticking to a diet consisting mostly of bread, water, and yes, a banana, my tummy seems to be slowly recovering.
The good news is I've made a friend as a result of these couple days of feeling rather awful. I don't know her Chinese name, but the respectful term I'm to give her is Ai yi, which means aunt. The woman that we're living with, Zhang Ai Ling, expressed her concern to me many times yesterday, offering to cook me food, and letting me borrow her hot water bottle to soothe my tummy in the evening. She called one of the foster parents here on the compound and asked if she would cook for me, since Zhang laoshi (laoshi = teacher) works at the office and teaches class during the day. She arranged for me to go over this morning for breakfast, and so I did, only to find that Aiyi is the friendliest, warmest person I've met so far. She welcomed me with open arms and began jabbering away in Chinese, telling me how the Chinese treat stomach aches, and offering to cook whatever it is I liked. I was fed eggs and this delicious soup, whose contents I'm still not entirely sure of, along with a cup of steaming red sugar water (similar to brown sugar, but tastes a little more like molasses). We chatted about past China Care volunteers that had stayed with her in previous years, about my family, where I'm from, and what kind of projects we're working on for the summer. Our conversation remained rather limited but I could tell that she enjoys a good chat. She was patient with my somewhat broken Chinese and helped me express what I wanted to say when the words wouldn't come.
I went back later this afternoon to tell her thank you, but that I wouldn't be joining them for lunch, just to make sure I don't overdo it as I recover. She, her husband, and her mother care for several foster children. Their dining table was surrounded by 4 growing boys who I recognized from the classes that Tim, Callie and Ysabelle are teaching. I think I wrote about the newswires we're expected to write in my last entry. Incase not, we've each been asked to write 10 short articles that may be used as promotional material for China Care back in North America regarding pretty much anything we experience here. I decided this morning that I would see if Aiyi was willing to be interviewed for one of them. Fostering children, not to mention ones with disabilities, and treating them as your own, must take so much love and courage. I don't know what the chances are for these children to be adopted or if they'll be under China Care's watch until they're 18 and ready to get out on their own ... Which is also something I'm curious to know more about. Eighteen is still so young, yet China Care can only afford to keep children in foster care til they reach that age, if they aren't adopted that is. The oldest one here at the moment is 14; his name is Max. As they grow up, China Care offers a protected environment where the kids' disabilities are not stigmatized within their homes, unlike the real world. What'll happen in 4 years when Max has to go?
We've been spending less time going over the home and volunteering with the kids, mainly because it's much less convenient to get to. John Speed and I will be going there more often though, I to work on my mural and John Speed to work on his landscaping project outside in the courtyard. We've got a lot of work ahead of us but the outcome should be nice. I'd like to spend more time at the home this week, but perhaps we're all spending less time there because of the new lack of comfort. The new home feels far more institutionalized (sorry if I'm being redundant - did I already write about this?) and the last time we were there, the one room we stayed in was full to capacity with Aiyis and babies, making our presence feel unnecessary. I certainly miss the proximity and flow of the old set up.
Will write more later about our weekend spent at the Summer Palace. It is stunning.
Sending you love!
lb.
p.s. If it's of interest to anyone, my friend John Speed's been putting together fun, short video clips and picture reels of our experience here in China so far. It'll give you an idea of the friends I've made here and some of the places we've seen. My pictures aren't included but we're also thinking of starting an online photo album with a culmination of all our pictures... Anyway, check it out: www.youtube.com/user/jospeed1988 ... Enjoy!
... Chinese food: 10, Lauren: 0.
I'm feeling quite a bit better now, after receiving a mix of Chinese and North American "medical" advice ("Eat a banana and burned toast" ... "No, red sugar water is best, he doesn't know what he's talking about!" etc etc). In the end, spending most of yesterday in bed and sticking to a diet consisting mostly of bread, water, and yes, a banana, my tummy seems to be slowly recovering.
The good news is I've made a friend as a result of these couple days of feeling rather awful. I don't know her Chinese name, but the respectful term I'm to give her is Ai yi, which means aunt. The woman that we're living with, Zhang Ai Ling, expressed her concern to me many times yesterday, offering to cook me food, and letting me borrow her hot water bottle to soothe my tummy in the evening. She called one of the foster parents here on the compound and asked if she would cook for me, since Zhang laoshi (laoshi = teacher) works at the office and teaches class during the day. She arranged for me to go over this morning for breakfast, and so I did, only to find that Aiyi is the friendliest, warmest person I've met so far. She welcomed me with open arms and began jabbering away in Chinese, telling me how the Chinese treat stomach aches, and offering to cook whatever it is I liked. I was fed eggs and this delicious soup, whose contents I'm still not entirely sure of, along with a cup of steaming red sugar water (similar to brown sugar, but tastes a little more like molasses). We chatted about past China Care volunteers that had stayed with her in previous years, about my family, where I'm from, and what kind of projects we're working on for the summer. Our conversation remained rather limited but I could tell that she enjoys a good chat. She was patient with my somewhat broken Chinese and helped me express what I wanted to say when the words wouldn't come.
I went back later this afternoon to tell her thank you, but that I wouldn't be joining them for lunch, just to make sure I don't overdo it as I recover. She, her husband, and her mother care for several foster children. Their dining table was surrounded by 4 growing boys who I recognized from the classes that Tim, Callie and Ysabelle are teaching. I think I wrote about the newswires we're expected to write in my last entry. Incase not, we've each been asked to write 10 short articles that may be used as promotional material for China Care back in North America regarding pretty much anything we experience here. I decided this morning that I would see if Aiyi was willing to be interviewed for one of them. Fostering children, not to mention ones with disabilities, and treating them as your own, must take so much love and courage. I don't know what the chances are for these children to be adopted or if they'll be under China Care's watch until they're 18 and ready to get out on their own ... Which is also something I'm curious to know more about. Eighteen is still so young, yet China Care can only afford to keep children in foster care til they reach that age, if they aren't adopted that is. The oldest one here at the moment is 14; his name is Max. As they grow up, China Care offers a protected environment where the kids' disabilities are not stigmatized within their homes, unlike the real world. What'll happen in 4 years when Max has to go?
We've been spending less time going over the home and volunteering with the kids, mainly because it's much less convenient to get to. John Speed and I will be going there more often though, I to work on my mural and John Speed to work on his landscaping project outside in the courtyard. We've got a lot of work ahead of us but the outcome should be nice. I'd like to spend more time at the home this week, but perhaps we're all spending less time there because of the new lack of comfort. The new home feels far more institutionalized (sorry if I'm being redundant - did I already write about this?) and the last time we were there, the one room we stayed in was full to capacity with Aiyis and babies, making our presence feel unnecessary. I certainly miss the proximity and flow of the old set up.
Will write more later about our weekend spent at the Summer Palace. It is stunning.
Sending you love!
lb.
p.s. If it's of interest to anyone, my friend John Speed's been putting together fun, short video clips and picture reels of our experience here in China so far. It'll give you an idea of the friends I've made here and some of the places we've seen. My pictures aren't included but we're also thinking of starting an online photo album with a culmination of all our pictures... Anyway, check it out: www.youtube.com/user/jospeed1988 ... Enjoy!
Monday, July 7, 2008
spicy fish / la douzi
"La douzi" literally means spicy stomach. (ooop-sies did I say too much?) Truth be told, thus is the fate of a foreigner in a country of Sichuan cooking and no mango lassi/lasey to wash away the burn. Even our Northern Chinese used-to-spicy driver for the day was buckets of sweat and teary-eyed, sucking in short breaths of air to cool the heat.
I was treated to a dinner of this glorious fish dish by a friend of our boss's who we're helping conduct a study at 43 branches of the China Mingsheng Bank, testing the English proficiency of their staff in preparation for the Olympics and the many foreigners they will likely be serving. Three of us interns went today and were treated to lunch and dinner as a thank you for our native English skills - sweet deal huh? We were required to go into each bank and ask a few scripted questions to the tellers and assistant manager to see if they were able to understand and come up with a comprehensible answer, only using English. There were some awkward encounters and without meaning, we certainly left many a teller flustered and more nervous than any bank teller should be. Interesting how we got involved in this whole study. Vera, the girl in charge of her foreign participants, is friend of our boss, Brent. She got in touch with him and found out he had few english-speaking volunteers on board at China Care and thought to take advantage. It was a relaxing way for us to see many parts of Beijing. We're finding out more about Vera's connections to numerous social circles in the city. Turns out she wrote about Josh's old band last summer for The Beijinger, partly a music review magazine... small world, non?
A lot is changing here at China Care, and we've only been here 2 weeks. It's odd finally getting settled into a place and then having everything switch around so suddenly. The move to the new house that we'd been fixing up happened this weekend so the babies and toddlers are now a 10-minute drive away rather than a 2-minute walk away. Since we were out doing the banking study today, we've yet to figure out how our new schedule is going to work itself out. John Speed and I are thinking of getting bikes to get to the new place on our own rather than waiting for a ride each time. Biking in Beijing is one of the most wonderful things because you get that much closer to being authentically Chinese... haha. Maybe so.
Callie, Ysabelle, our 4th roommate and I must also move 2 floors down to a new apartment. The reason why escapes me now but it's a valid one and I know it's gotta hppen within about 2 days time.
I'm exhausted but need to write more about the weekend. Now's bed time though so a la prochaine.
much love,
lb.
I was treated to a dinner of this glorious fish dish by a friend of our boss's who we're helping conduct a study at 43 branches of the China Mingsheng Bank, testing the English proficiency of their staff in preparation for the Olympics and the many foreigners they will likely be serving. Three of us interns went today and were treated to lunch and dinner as a thank you for our native English skills - sweet deal huh? We were required to go into each bank and ask a few scripted questions to the tellers and assistant manager to see if they were able to understand and come up with a comprehensible answer, only using English. There were some awkward encounters and without meaning, we certainly left many a teller flustered and more nervous than any bank teller should be. Interesting how we got involved in this whole study. Vera, the girl in charge of her foreign participants, is friend of our boss, Brent. She got in touch with him and found out he had few english-speaking volunteers on board at China Care and thought to take advantage. It was a relaxing way for us to see many parts of Beijing. We're finding out more about Vera's connections to numerous social circles in the city. Turns out she wrote about Josh's old band last summer for The Beijinger, partly a music review magazine... small world, non?
A lot is changing here at China Care, and we've only been here 2 weeks. It's odd finally getting settled into a place and then having everything switch around so suddenly. The move to the new house that we'd been fixing up happened this weekend so the babies and toddlers are now a 10-minute drive away rather than a 2-minute walk away. Since we were out doing the banking study today, we've yet to figure out how our new schedule is going to work itself out. John Speed and I are thinking of getting bikes to get to the new place on our own rather than waiting for a ride each time. Biking in Beijing is one of the most wonderful things because you get that much closer to being authentically Chinese... haha. Maybe so.
Callie, Ysabelle, our 4th roommate and I must also move 2 floors down to a new apartment. The reason why escapes me now but it's a valid one and I know it's gotta hppen within about 2 days time.
I'm exhausted but need to write more about the weekend. Now's bed time though so a la prochaine.
much love,
lb.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Blue sky in Beijing whaaa-t!
I'm sitting in the living room of my apartment, enjoying the company of five other girls, three of whom are leaving for Baoji, in Shaanxi province, a 15-hour train ride south-west of Beijing. Anna, Joan, and Erin (a volunteer here from Harvard, not an intern) are following a few of the babies back to the orphanage they originally came from. Many of the babies going back have their adoption papers ready, meaning they have the opportunity to be adopted. I'm still a bit unclear on how things work exactly in terms of foster care and adoption and what the chances are for each child once they have their papers written up, but as I find out more I'll try my best to make note of it.
In response to some of the comments that were posted! (Hey Caitlin, this one's for you) ... The children that China Care takes in are all disabled in some way. Most of the ones I've worked with have physical disabilities. Because of the one-child policy, parents will often give up a child whose disability is obvious at birth and then try for a second one, either because of financial inability to pay for the child's required surgery, or because of the social stigma attached to having a disability.
As for the gender ratios, there are surprisingly a large amount of boys here in the homes. I think it's a common Western assumption that most Chinese orphans are girls, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the children I've met so far.
So the couple days of manual labour I mentioned in my last entry as turned into an everyday project that we must get done by this Sunday as it turns out. WHAT! We have been returning to the new house almost every day to paint the walls, scrape, sweep, and mop the floors, all in time for the babies to be moved in on July 6th. Have we ever got our work cut out for us. Oh my. In addition, Jane, an English teacher/China Care staff member (not exactly sure of her position) has designated us the task of organizing the warehouse here on the compound that is used to keep all of the donations China Care receives. Two days ago we brought garbage bags and boxes full of children's clothing and bibs to one of the apartments turned classroom and spent four hours separating the clothing into separate piles ready for storage. There is still lots to be done. The warehouse is more of a shack with rather cramped shelving, but we've been given a large deadline so it'll get done.
Given these projects we've ad to take on, we haven't really been left with too much time to hang with our little ones. I'm finding that an hour to two a day in the nursery is really exhausting. Yesterday morning, I went in and went straight to Liu Fa, which seems to be the routine I've established, and she was all smiles once we started playing. I got to speak to Lily, a China Care staffer who speaks English quite well, and was able to find out a little more about Liu Fa's medical issues. I found out that her adoption papers have been written up, meaning she has a chance to get the surgery she needs if adopted and brought to a country where they can perform the necessary operation. I'm knocking on lots of wooden tables. She's a gem.
We spent the weekend exploring the city. They've revamped the metro system here, and it's air conditioned! Wow! We took the very long ride into the city (Yuxiang Gardens is in Shunyi district, quite a ways from downtown), and visited the Forbidden City and Tian'an men. It was a whole-day excursion. It was a lot of fun being back in the crowded Beijing core, though I'm excited to explore areas I haven't yet been to. On Sunday night I took a few of our friends who were leaving the next day (some volunteers from a school in Connecticut) to D-22 and we stumbed upon this AMAZING Mongolian folk band who were just starting to play as we arrived. Amazing. I bought their album to share with a couple of the other interns. D-22 for those to whom I haven't yet raved about it, is a wicked little bar near the university I studied at last year, that is the epicenter of the Beijing underground music scene as I know it. My friends really enjoyed the performance and it was a great way to see some of them off.
Callie, Ysabelle, John Speed and I have been teaching a pre-school class, which I'll write more about next time. Gotta share some deets about the kids I've met. They're so lovely.
Happy summer and thanks for the messages!! Keep sendin' 'em my way. I LOVE YOU ALL and am thinking about home lots and lots. Time for bed, another long day of warehousing/painting/baby time tomorrow. Shui jiao ba!
Much love,
lauren.
In response to some of the comments that were posted! (Hey Caitlin, this one's for you) ... The children that China Care takes in are all disabled in some way. Most of the ones I've worked with have physical disabilities. Because of the one-child policy, parents will often give up a child whose disability is obvious at birth and then try for a second one, either because of financial inability to pay for the child's required surgery, or because of the social stigma attached to having a disability.
As for the gender ratios, there are surprisingly a large amount of boys here in the homes. I think it's a common Western assumption that most Chinese orphans are girls, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the children I've met so far.
So the couple days of manual labour I mentioned in my last entry as turned into an everyday project that we must get done by this Sunday as it turns out. WHAT! We have been returning to the new house almost every day to paint the walls, scrape, sweep, and mop the floors, all in time for the babies to be moved in on July 6th. Have we ever got our work cut out for us. Oh my. In addition, Jane, an English teacher/China Care staff member (not exactly sure of her position) has designated us the task of organizing the warehouse here on the compound that is used to keep all of the donations China Care receives. Two days ago we brought garbage bags and boxes full of children's clothing and bibs to one of the apartments turned classroom and spent four hours separating the clothing into separate piles ready for storage. There is still lots to be done. The warehouse is more of a shack with rather cramped shelving, but we've been given a large deadline so it'll get done.
Given these projects we've ad to take on, we haven't really been left with too much time to hang with our little ones. I'm finding that an hour to two a day in the nursery is really exhausting. Yesterday morning, I went in and went straight to Liu Fa, which seems to be the routine I've established, and she was all smiles once we started playing. I got to speak to Lily, a China Care staffer who speaks English quite well, and was able to find out a little more about Liu Fa's medical issues. I found out that her adoption papers have been written up, meaning she has a chance to get the surgery she needs if adopted and brought to a country where they can perform the necessary operation. I'm knocking on lots of wooden tables. She's a gem.
We spent the weekend exploring the city. They've revamped the metro system here, and it's air conditioned! Wow! We took the very long ride into the city (Yuxiang Gardens is in Shunyi district, quite a ways from downtown), and visited the Forbidden City and Tian'an men. It was a whole-day excursion. It was a lot of fun being back in the crowded Beijing core, though I'm excited to explore areas I haven't yet been to. On Sunday night I took a few of our friends who were leaving the next day (some volunteers from a school in Connecticut) to D-22 and we stumbed upon this AMAZING Mongolian folk band who were just starting to play as we arrived. Amazing. I bought their album to share with a couple of the other interns. D-22 for those to whom I haven't yet raved about it, is a wicked little bar near the university I studied at last year, that is the epicenter of the Beijing underground music scene as I know it. My friends really enjoyed the performance and it was a great way to see some of them off.
Callie, Ysabelle, John Speed and I have been teaching a pre-school class, which I'll write more about next time. Gotta share some deets about the kids I've met. They're so lovely.
Happy summer and thanks for the messages!! Keep sendin' 'em my way. I LOVE YOU ALL and am thinking about home lots and lots. Time for bed, another long day of warehousing/painting/baby time tomorrow. Shui jiao ba!
Much love,
lauren.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
A long beginning
What has amazed me most since arriving is how familiar this place feels, even after only having been here once. It's so far been easy to fall into the China Care bubble as I've termed it, which makes me even more excited to take a trip back to the downtown core where I spent most of last summer. The streets surrounding the orphanage are empty compared to the constant hustle and bustle of Beijing's heart. Yet the old men riding rickshaws and tiny stray pups that dot the streets can't ever really escape your view it seems, no matter where you are in this vast city.
It has been 3 days and I'm slowly but surely learning the ins and outs of China Care. I was one of three newly arrived interns that were picked up at the airport on Monday afternoon, bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived from our 12-hour flights here. We met up with the four other interns, one of whom has been here for 3 and a half weeks already. It was strange having to settle in to our new home, still not knowing much about the upcoming seven weeks. We were given a quick tour of the apartments that China Care owns (8 or 9 scattered about a large compound appropriately named Yuxiang Gardens - there are rose bushes!) and I along with two other girls, Ysabelle and Callie, jumped straight into our volunteer duties of caring for and playing with the toddlers in BCH (Beijing Children's Home) 3.
Thanks to a long meeting we had with Brent, the China Care Coordinator based here in Beijing (he's a Nevada native who's lived in China with his wife and growing family for the past 18 years), I can finally provide more details as to how this organization is run. China Care was started by a 16 year-old boy named Matt Dalio who had come to China one year to volunteer with orphans. When he saw the adoption situation (or lack thereof) and care these children were getting, he decided to make a change. In a very small nutshell, thus began China Care, an organization that both provides care for and raises money to fund surgeries for special needs orphans. The home here in Beijing (they have another two that I know if in Taiyuan, and one in Inner Mongolia), serves as a halfway point for children moving from either government-run orphanages or foster homes, to the hospital to get whatever surgery they may need, and back again. Orphanages must be in contract with China Care who then goes in and decides which children are in most need of special medical attention, or which children can be sent to foster homes under the China Care name. The Beijing home also runs group homes with five or six children per home and two foster parents who provide care for the kids. We've met with some of the families here and the foster moms and dads seem to love the children just as their own. It's a pretty amazing thing to see.
Before I arrived, I was expecting this week-long orientation to consist of some sort of formal training, but apparently (because this is the way things work in China...), we learn as we do. As I mentioned earlier, on our first day here, Ysabelle, Callie and I jumped right in and ended up spending a couple hours getting to know the kids in one of the homes, with the Aie Yees (nannies) keeping close watch. Another example of this week's surprises has been a couple days of manual labour (!) as we've spent hours cleaning out a newly constructed building that will serve as a new home for a few of the babies here. Apparently they had a truck full of policemen visit the compound a few weeks ago and tell them they had to pick up and go (something about noise complaints... again, the Chinese way to do things it seems...). Why it was so easy for the police to come in and decide they were unhappy is that China Care is not officially recognized by the government, despite being affiliated with government-run orphanages. We explained it was basically impossible to do such a thing especially given the stress it would cause the children, so CC struck a compromise and agreed to only move some of the children. This has left 7 of us interns and a few high school volunteers who are here for 2 weeks in charge (yes, completely in charge) of cleaning up a building completely covered in thick layers of plaster dust, to make it fit for little ones. Overwhelming, to say the least. Cleaning walls and mopping floors countless times over to make sure they're in decent shape for babies and tots is hard work when you're jet-lagged.
I'm really excited for the weekend. We're going to take a trip into the city, perhaps visit Tian'an men square and Mao's mausoleum. Something I didn't get a chance to walk by last time. The other interns and I are getting along so great, and I'm making good friends with many of the kids. It's sometimes easy to forget that many of the children will probably be here for a few years before they're adopted, if at all, or that they're even orphans to begin with. Spending a few hours with them can make you both overjoyed and really quite sad. For example, I'm quickly growing attached to a little girl named Liu Fa, who is 18 months old, yet doesn't weigh more than 20-25 pounds. (Does that sound right? I may be drastically off) Regardless, she's tiny. She has a heart defect which has already required surgery and still requires more, but according to her brief "medical chart" she cannot get her follow-up surgery done in China anymore. I've no idea why. She also has a deformity in her right arm, which allows her only to use her left arm to help her get around when she's sitting down, seeing as she's unable to crawl. She was feeling pretty restless today, which made my morning really challenging. After reading her chart for the first time and getting a bit of perspective on her medical condition, my heart nearly burst. It's nice to be able to hold these children and make them smile, but difficult when you think of how much difference you're actually making in their lives. Maybe that's a bit of a pessimistic thing to say, but I think it's a lot of what I'm going to be dealing with in the next few weeks.
On that note (though i tmay not be the brightest) it seems I've stuck to the habit of writing massive monologues... so time for bed!
Love you all to pieces and please feel free to send some love from home : )
Will write again soon,
lauren.
It has been 3 days and I'm slowly but surely learning the ins and outs of China Care. I was one of three newly arrived interns that were picked up at the airport on Monday afternoon, bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived from our 12-hour flights here. We met up with the four other interns, one of whom has been here for 3 and a half weeks already. It was strange having to settle in to our new home, still not knowing much about the upcoming seven weeks. We were given a quick tour of the apartments that China Care owns (8 or 9 scattered about a large compound appropriately named Yuxiang Gardens - there are rose bushes!) and I along with two other girls, Ysabelle and Callie, jumped straight into our volunteer duties of caring for and playing with the toddlers in BCH (Beijing Children's Home) 3.
Thanks to a long meeting we had with Brent, the China Care Coordinator based here in Beijing (he's a Nevada native who's lived in China with his wife and growing family for the past 18 years), I can finally provide more details as to how this organization is run. China Care was started by a 16 year-old boy named Matt Dalio who had come to China one year to volunteer with orphans. When he saw the adoption situation (or lack thereof) and care these children were getting, he decided to make a change. In a very small nutshell, thus began China Care, an organization that both provides care for and raises money to fund surgeries for special needs orphans. The home here in Beijing (they have another two that I know if in Taiyuan, and one in Inner Mongolia), serves as a halfway point for children moving from either government-run orphanages or foster homes, to the hospital to get whatever surgery they may need, and back again. Orphanages must be in contract with China Care who then goes in and decides which children are in most need of special medical attention, or which children can be sent to foster homes under the China Care name. The Beijing home also runs group homes with five or six children per home and two foster parents who provide care for the kids. We've met with some of the families here and the foster moms and dads seem to love the children just as their own. It's a pretty amazing thing to see.
Before I arrived, I was expecting this week-long orientation to consist of some sort of formal training, but apparently (because this is the way things work in China...), we learn as we do. As I mentioned earlier, on our first day here, Ysabelle, Callie and I jumped right in and ended up spending a couple hours getting to know the kids in one of the homes, with the Aie Yees (nannies) keeping close watch. Another example of this week's surprises has been a couple days of manual labour (!) as we've spent hours cleaning out a newly constructed building that will serve as a new home for a few of the babies here. Apparently they had a truck full of policemen visit the compound a few weeks ago and tell them they had to pick up and go (something about noise complaints... again, the Chinese way to do things it seems...). Why it was so easy for the police to come in and decide they were unhappy is that China Care is not officially recognized by the government, despite being affiliated with government-run orphanages. We explained it was basically impossible to do such a thing especially given the stress it would cause the children, so CC struck a compromise and agreed to only move some of the children. This has left 7 of us interns and a few high school volunteers who are here for 2 weeks in charge (yes, completely in charge) of cleaning up a building completely covered in thick layers of plaster dust, to make it fit for little ones. Overwhelming, to say the least. Cleaning walls and mopping floors countless times over to make sure they're in decent shape for babies and tots is hard work when you're jet-lagged.
I'm really excited for the weekend. We're going to take a trip into the city, perhaps visit Tian'an men square and Mao's mausoleum. Something I didn't get a chance to walk by last time. The other interns and I are getting along so great, and I'm making good friends with many of the kids. It's sometimes easy to forget that many of the children will probably be here for a few years before they're adopted, if at all, or that they're even orphans to begin with. Spending a few hours with them can make you both overjoyed and really quite sad. For example, I'm quickly growing attached to a little girl named Liu Fa, who is 18 months old, yet doesn't weigh more than 20-25 pounds. (Does that sound right? I may be drastically off) Regardless, she's tiny. She has a heart defect which has already required surgery and still requires more, but according to her brief "medical chart" she cannot get her follow-up surgery done in China anymore. I've no idea why. She also has a deformity in her right arm, which allows her only to use her left arm to help her get around when she's sitting down, seeing as she's unable to crawl. She was feeling pretty restless today, which made my morning really challenging. After reading her chart for the first time and getting a bit of perspective on her medical condition, my heart nearly burst. It's nice to be able to hold these children and make them smile, but difficult when you think of how much difference you're actually making in their lives. Maybe that's a bit of a pessimistic thing to say, but I think it's a lot of what I'm going to be dealing with in the next few weeks.
On that note (though i tmay not be the brightest) it seems I've stuck to the habit of writing massive monologues... so time for bed!
Love you all to pieces and please feel free to send some love from home : )
Will write again soon,
lauren.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
