What a Long Strange Trip It's Been, pt 6
2005-09-08,

Destination: Baby

H said she didn't sleep well that night, in anticipation. I think I did, mainly because of our long days in Hong Kong and knowing that I'd need as much energy for this day as I could muster. We made a quick breakfast and I flooded my system with as much tea as I could manage to get in me, mainly because it would be (or at least feel like) a long trip to Jiangxi and needed the boost. We were about to enter into Real China, and become true foreigners, not just tourists in a major metropolis.

It was sad to see KH dwindle away as we rumbled in a bus down the highway and toward the airport. That was feeling counterpointed by the occasional "Oh crap, we're getting a baby today!" that washed over me. Otherwise it was an easy trip, mainly due to the help of our guides 'Joanne' and 'Matthew' - though those might be their actual names, since HK has such a strong British influence still.

Getting through HK airport was a breeze, and all there was to do was wait for our flight. I spent some time worrying about my wrist, which by this point wrapped up and hurting twice as much as it had the day before, though I was not at the point of admitting it yet to H. Yes, it's true, men are stubborn about injuries, and I'm no exception. I mean, sure, it was swollen and induced sharp pains whenever I moved it in a certain direction. I just didn't want anything interfering with our day.

The flight safety video for China Eastern airline (which we'd see at least once more before all was said and done) was pretty humorous. It was done in cheap anime-style, including their bird mascot, which flitted about the cartoon jet and stole your sickness bag. Also, there was a indicator about throwing trash in the bathroom into the proper receptacle, and I was pretty sure that the example item was a tampon (the string was a giveaway). They must have had a problem with women trying to flush them, which is a nice thing to share in their instructional video. I wish that, since they chose to animate the information, they'd gone ahead and thrown in some superheroes or aliens or something into the show - though the mascot-symbol bird was two-dimensional and had no eyes, so the fact that it could hone in on your sick bag and make off with it I guess is pretty super. But does it use its powers for good, or for awesome? Is it a supervillain? After all, it steals things, perhaps more than just vomit receptacles (I understand that the market for those on an individual basis is not very lucrative). Look out - it's Flat Eyeless Sick Bag Stealing Bird! Contact your anime flight attendant immediately!

Anyway, It was a pretty clear day, though a bit hazy (as it was pretty much every day), and I got a window seat for a change, so I was glued to the view for most of the flight. Ninety percent of the terrain we flew over - after we got past the South China Sea - was agrarian. Even as we approached the Nanchang region, I was hard-pressed to point a finger at the city itself, even if things started to get a little suburbish, or at least saw a smattering of small factories and warehouses and whatnot. We then landed at Nanchang's airport, and, after scooting through some rudimentary immigration, entered into what must be one of the most uninteresting arrivals areas in any airport known to man. Mostly it was white wall, some escalators and a few ticker signs giving us the time and day. I guess it was strange to me not to be inundated with stores and advertising, as one might expect in a more capitalist region. Now that I think about it, I don't mind the blandness at all.

We hopped on a bus and trucked along to central Nanchang. Things got more citylike until we reached downtown and our hotel, the Jiangxi (which was one of three Jiangxi Hotels right there in the downtown area - strange). The place seemed nice enough, and would have seemed nicer if it weren't being directly compared to the Shangri-La from which we just came. Soon after getting our room, we met 'Larry', the Magic Bellhop. Larry was fast, efficient, humble and courteous almost to a fault. And it seemed like he was everywhere at all times of the day. I'm not sure that he slept for the six days we were there. I don't feel like I tipped the boy enough - though I can't even be sure that he got to keep his tips, if it works anything like waiters/waitresses in Chinese restaurants. Thank you, Larry.

After getting settled into our room - and giggling/getting teary/freaking out over the baby-oriented items in the room (little plastic bathtub, crib, bag of formula, etc.), the families got together in a meeting room to talk about how the evening would go and what needed to be done that day. We also all ordered pizza, because there wasn't enough time before the babies would arrive to have dinner. We met 'James' and 'Evelyn', our guides for the Jiangxi leg of the trip. Both of them seemed sharp and experienced, and definitely an assuring presence for what was to come. After discussing paperwork and the week ahead, we split up back to our rooms to wait for our food and for the babies' arrival.

45 minutes later, it was time to meet back up, but no dinner got there. Oh well, who cares about dinner when you're about to adopt a baby, really? Everyone gathered up toting cameras, toys and whatnot. We all tried to pretend that we were waiting patiently, but really - possible? I think not. Then one of the to-be-moms comes in saying, "The babies are here!" In reality, half of the babies arrived, and they were out in the hallway waiting for the other half of the orphanage caravan to get there.

Then the pizza arrived.

Thankfully, James and Evelyn took care of the pizza guy because there was no way in hell we were going to spend two seconds thinking about paying for, let alone eating, pizza at that moment. Then suddenly, one by one, the babies were brought in.

We were sure that we'd recognize Lu Tong when we saw her. Thy called out the family's last name as each baby came in. Ours wasn't first. Or second. I think she was eighth (I wasn't counting). We as a group tried to make some last-minute arrangements for who would take pictures for whom as trade-offs, so everyone would get some shots without having to miss out on the reception. I'm pretty sure that fell into chaos, judging by the quality of the stills we got (we have yet to check the video, believe it or not). But in came our baby, wide-eyed and definitely confounded by the situation - not surprising considering that this was probably the first time any of them had ventured away from Yi Feng orphanage since they were left there. She didn't seem afraid, exactly, but curious and unsure at the same time. And tiny! She was, I think, the second smallest of the group (officially 12.3 pounds when she had her check-up a few days later - not big when you consider that she was one day away from turning 8 months old), and felt feather-light when she was handed over to me by her caretaker, who hurried out both to make a clean break and to fetch another of her charges.

It was all so surreal; first we were standing around in a room with a bunch of people we barely knew, then suddenly we were in charge of a baby. Lu Tong - about to become Laurana - looked at us in a 'Can you tell me what the heck is going on, because the nanny ain't talking' kind of way, then, getting scared, let out this strangely quiet cry that was so mournful that it hurt. Her cry of "ai ya" (which, coincidentally, sounds just like the Chinese equivalent of the French merde) was both endearing and heartbreaking. And a small part of me was glad she was upset-- after all, a dubious baby is a healthy baby.

When she wasn't up to crying, she was deeply curious about the both of us. She immediately gravitated to my beard, as well as H's and my glasses. She also had an almost immediate tendency to stick her hand in our mouths and check out our teeth, leading me to believe that she has a future in dentistry.

So yes, it felt surreal, but it also felt very right. Maybe it's because we were already experienced parents. Maybe it was because we were in something akin to shock. But I think it was just right. She was - and continues to be - our wish, manifest.

We made our way out of the chaos of the meeting area and headed up to our hotel room, where we played a little get-to-know-you. She seemed to calm down after a while, maybe out of resignation, but she also seemed interested in us and everything new around her. She was, from the get go, intensely curious about everything. She had to get her hands on whatever she could. We had a little puffy picture book with pictures of the two of us, the kids and a couple of the pets (we sent an identical one along in a care package earlier, but we're doubtful that it ever got to her), and I was showing it to her and, when she got to my picture, got this look of surprise and started looking back from the picture to me to the picture. She immediately recognized me, even though she'd just met me an hour or so ago. She even tried reaching for my beard in the picture. It was then that we realized that we had adopted a genius.

More to come.

-- End Transmission --