By Jim and Holly Ingram

(Editor's Note: Jim and Holly Ingram adopted twin girls, BaoBao and BeiBei (now Hope and Joy), from Nanchang, China, as babies. Following is their series of notes written to family and friends on their journey.)

Part 1: Greetings from China
Part 2: Greetings from Nanchang
Part 3: Update from Nanchang
Part 4: Back in Guangzhou
Part 5: Arriving on Time

Part 1: Greetings from China

Hello,

Greetings from China. (Jim here -- Holly is upstairs trying to stay awake for one more hour!)

The trip went like clockwork -- we arrived on time in Guangzhou with all luggage intact. The White Swan shuttle wasn't operating for another hour, so we negotiated cab fare with one of a about 50 trying to get our business and we were at the hotel in less than 30 minutes.

The city is everything you might imagine a Chinese city of 6 million to be. It is a constant see of people, advertising, construction, barges, bikes, motorbikes, cars, and trucks in every direction for miles. Severely crippled beggars every 30 feet, odd meat being fried on open coals, no working red lights, etc.... Only one surprise so far - the air pollution is much worse than I expected, can almost cut it with a knife and can see it hanging in the air within ten feet of you -- constant burning eyes and throat. Fortunately, the Hotel air seems filtered so there is an escape here.

We spent today wandering the hotel complex and spent about 3 hours walking within about 10 city blocks of the hotel. The hotel is fantastic -- a genuine 5-star joint if there ever was one. (For those of you not lucky enough to stay at one yet, that means there is literally a 22 year old Cornell Hotel Management grad every 20 feet waiting to serve you in every conceivable manner!) And walking through the markets near the Hotel is like stepping into a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" bazaar scene. Everything you can imagine and a million scenes you never would. Holly is all wide-eyed and excited. Before I left to come type this, she made me wait to demonstrate that, yes, she really could lay sideways on the bed with more than a foot to spare on either side!

At any rate, we're having fun, the trip was uneventful, and all goes well as planned. Tomorrow is our only full free day in China - then we're off to Nanchang the evening of the 9th. I'm not certain our Nanchang hotel will have e-mail so this may be the last communication you receive until the 16th, but we'll try. We met two other couples adopting on this trip -- one will be in Nanchang at our Hotel and they're being joined by a Seattle pediatrician on the 10th -- they generously offered his services for Hope & Joy when the time arrives.

Tomorrow we're off to see the Guangzhou Municipal Museum, Cultural park, and Farmer's Market. Don't forget to be thankful for the everyday luxuries we all take for granted back in the U.S.! (i.e. clean air, potable water, etc...)

Jim & Holly

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Part 2: Greetings from Nanchang

Hello again,

As I type this, BaoBao & BeiBei are sound asleep for their afternoon nap in our room upstairs. All is well.

We arrived in Nanchang about 30 minutes late on the afternoon of 9 Jan only to discover our Chinese contact had switched our hotel and we were to receive the girls 30 minutes after check-in that same night! Apparently due to the long Y2K closure of the US consulate, there are 30 families waiting to adopt in Nanchang -- unusually high, and our guide wanted us to be the first through the process on Monday morning.

Sure enough, we had just enough time to unpack the suitcases (though nothing was put away) when they knocked on our door and brought in our two beautiful girls. Holly was about to cry, but there is no time for that when an orphanage director places two 9 month old girls in your arms. We were overwhelmed in every sense of the word. We only had about 20 minutes of Q&A when they abruptly left and we found ourselves alone with two terrified, but beautiful babies. Both cried for 2-3 hours. The director assured us that they sleep separately, but only after I suggested we try to let them sleep together did they quiet down. BaoBao cried hardest and within 20 seconds of lying next to her sister, she was sound asleep. BeiBei then finally quieted down and got up once more only to finish the night asleep next to Holly.

This morning, we had to figure out how to get twins up, changed, fed, and dressed by our 8:00 a.m. departure. Somehow we made it, but it's not the same as my 20 min shower/dress for work in the morning!

The process was very interesting. The adoption official who granted our approval took his job quite seriously and asked a number of questions while attending clerks took notes and translated. He asked about our commitment to providing higher education, personal financial questions, how we might teach the girls about Chinese culture, why we had decided on Chinese adoption, why we had asked for twins, Esc, etc. Footprints were taken of the girls, we signed paperwork for about 10 minutes and then he congratulated us on adopting the two girls and presented each with a ceramic sculpture to celebrate the occasion.

Then we were quickly driven to the notary office to finalize the paperwork and it was a done deal. We now simply wait till Thur to get final passport stamps, etc... and fly back to Guangzhou and the White Swan hotel on the afternoon of 15 Jan.

Despite the tough time the girls had getting to sleep last night, this morning they were up on time, ate well, and didn't cry all day throughout the process. For the last 3 hours we have enjoyed our first private time with them and they are delightful. They are very responsive, full of giggles and squeals, and quick to learn my attempts at babycize! (BaoBao wanted to continue my arm exercises to the counts of "1-and-2," etc....) They have eaten our (American) formula and Gerber food without a second thought. BeiBei seems slightly ahead of BaoBao physically, but not by much.

And they are truly identical -- the only distinguishing mark is a fine pinpoint-like impression near the top of BeiBei's ear. All day, Holly and I have to ask, "Which one do I have?" They love the Panda hand puppets and stacking cup toys.

It's hard to believe these two little girls will soon be ours back home. The Chinese officials have been quite polite and encouraging throughout -- no "odd moments" at all -- everything is going as planned/briefed. Several women have stopped to play with the babies and they are always all smiles.

The hotel we're in now in Nanchang is the Jin Feng Hotel...

A few other interesting things I've learned and noticed:

• "The Nanny" is much funnier when dubbed in Chinese.
• The only place you can see communist books, badges, banners, etc.. is in the antiques bazaars, this place is more capitalistic than Wall Street!
• The air pollution is much better on a windy day (only about like LA used to be at it's worst).
• Chinese food is much better in the US! Even I'm having a tough time finding enough palatable food here in Nanchang especially. My favorite appetizers so far include, "Braised Sea Slug" and "Cold Spicy Duck Gizzard!"

Enough for now -- wish us luck as we try to finish up here and then process through the US consulate in Guangzhou next Mon/Tue. I expect no problems, but you never know. The expertise of our guide provides much confidence for us.

Jim & Holly

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Part 3: Update from Nanchang

Hello,

All remains well. The girls are down for their afternoon nap, so I thought I'd provide a quick update....

BaoBao & BeiBei continue to delight us at every turn. They both slept 12 hours each of the last 3 nights and take 2 one-hour naps each morning and afternoon. We've figured out what food works and what doesn't and they have appetites worthy of NFL linemen, so feeding time is no problem. Both eat together and are quite patient as we prepare bottles or the meal.

We got through our first minor problem just fine. BeiBei was experiencing serious constipation (most likely from the change in diet). After much concern (and failing to contact the American pediatrician at the Lake View Hotel), Holly courageously dispatched the offending stool with the grace only a mother could have under such trying circumstances! BeiBei has since been operating like a champ!

Both want about 20 minutes of play in the morning before breakfast, then a quick nap - usually followed by about 3 hours of morning work here on the adoption process. Lunch and another nap precede about 5 or 6 hours of solid play time before bed. Both are all smiles when I return from being out. There is also some of that weird twin stuff going on. Both got a little red mark on their abdomens (since gone) yesterday and both frequently wake up at exactly the same time for no reason (noise, etc.).

On Tue we were off - Kari, our guide's assistant took us shopping where we were mobbed by interested Chinese women a few times. When I acknowledge the girls' twin status by my attempts at the word "twin" (Shong Bao Tie), the ladies invariably die laughing and clearly are thrilled at our attempts to help their baby girls. Kari also provides tremendous help with the girls and we feel very fortunate to have a third set of hands for much of each day (whenever we have to go out).

On Wed, our guide notified us the Chinese Adoption center made a typo on one of the forms and we have to go back and redo it. All officials were again quite helpful and eager to ensure us there was no problem. Bruce Yui was overly concerned we might be upset, but it was really nothing -- a minor glitch on a long road.

Today (Thur), we returned to the provincial notary office where we got the final adoption certificate, health certificate, birth certificates, and letter of abandonment (confirming these two precious girls were left at a local village government center the day they were born).

Afterwards, our guide set up a meeting with the Nanchang Municipal Orphanage Director, staff, and the girls foster mother. Needless to say, it was quite emotional to do this. We took may photos we will share later. About 500 girls are processed through there each year with only about 100 getting adopted. The director took us to see a room full of about 25 newborns. Very interesting. He was justifiably proud of the caregiver ratio. We saw about 6 ladies in this room alone. As a point of comparison, when Holly was in Romania, they had no more than 5 caregivers for each 200 children. We then saw the 1-2 year old room. I took pictures there that will surely make you all cry, but again, it was clear that as much was being done as was possible. You need to realize that no municipal buildings here are heated and with the high's around 45 this week, we could see our breath in all these rooms. Certainly not great by our standards, but also much better than almost anything else we see for the common Nanchang families all around our Hotel area.

The foster mom (and her 19 year old daughter) met us with tears and a picture they took during their first week. They cared for the girls for over 7 months and were thrilled to meet us. For reasons still unclear, we only had around 25 minutes, but there were many hugs and kisses and picture-taking. We thanked them and provided gifts for taking care of them and they told us how glad they were that they would be getting a good family. Translating here was more difficult than normal, but few words really needed to be exchanged. The foster mom was emphatic that we send follow-up pictures and of course, we promised we would do so.

Holly's has been a real champ throughout the week -- she shows a natural ease with the girls and they are quick to respond. It was interesting that BeiBei started crying after about 10 minutes with the foster mom and was quieted only upon return to Holly -- a point not lost on anyone in the room.

Otherwise, we're preparing paperwork for the US consulate visit. We're told this is the toughest portion of the visit, but many have gone before us and we have tremendous confidence in our guides here.

And a few other random observations -- Nanchang is clearly not as involved with the economic development zones in the south (like Guangzhou). It appears not to have the same level of prosperity. Also, there are more signs of communism here - including a tremendous roughly carved monument in a central "People's Square." If any of you ever have the need to watch TV in Nanchang with no volume (to avoid waking children), I highly recommend channel 12. It is nonstop Sumo matches. After having seen hundreds of bouts, I can honestly say I still have no clue what's going on, but it's like a great 3 stooges skit every time one of the giants gets pancaked out of the ring by a smaller guy!

Enough banter -- more paperwork checking this afternoon. Off to get the girls' passports from the police station tomorrow, then back to Guangzhou on Sat morning.

Jim & Holly

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Part 4: Back in Guangzhou

Hello,

- just a quick note to let you know we've made it back to Guangzhou. All remains well.

On Friday, we got the girls' Chinese passports from the Nanchang Municipal Police Station -- no problems, though a Scottish couple we've gotten to know well did have problems with getting their child's passport from the provincial police department -- some fast phone work with help from Beijing contacts resolved the issue, allowing them to make their flight out later that same day.

On Saturday, Bruce and Kari saw us off to the Nanchang airport -- no surprises. These two were at our disposal all day, each day we were in Nanchang and we are very grateful for their help. We were met at Guangzhou about 90 minutes late by "Shulan" (sp?) -- our Guangzhou guide and overall trip coordinator. By the way, Chinese air travel is great. New 737s domestically and new 777s on the transpacific legs -- very comfortable. The only glitch is that they board the 737s from the front and rear simultaneously, causing a mad scramble for seats in the middle of the jet!

I finished about an hour of paperwork Saturday night and spent about 2 hours reviewing papers and getting things in order with Shulan on Sunday. She says all is well, but as usual, having twins have caused a bit more work and a few unusual paperwork circumstances, but she's confident it is normal and we are well prepared for the Consulate visit on Tuesday.

Today (Mon), we went with the two other families (from our agency) to the local Shamian Island clinic to get final medical approvals. We had about 4 stations to go through. They did a fairly thorough job and all doctors reported the girls were in excellent health. Since our girls are from Nanchang, they had much more extensive vaccination records than the other two families with us, so we were pleased with that. We decided to forego a planned 4 hour tour this afternoon because of the stormy weather -- no need to risk colds, etc.. at this late date.

We have one final paperwork review this evening followed by our Embassy appointment at 0900 tomorrow. Shulan has strongly advised us to not say a word with the US folks. She said we should smile, answer any questions they might ask, and say thanks -- nothing more. If all goes well, the total visit will be less than 5 minutes -- then we'll pick up the immigration visas the next afternoon and head for the airport.

Nothing new to report with the girls. Both are still sleeping 11-12 hours a night. BaoBao sleeps like a rock and BeiBei flops around like Holly does! Being twins, they cause quite a stir as we go through the process. Many of the locals have expressed great surprise that anyone would give up twins -- they all use an expression I can't express accurately here, but Bruce told us it means "Gift from God" (to describe twins and their shock that they were abandoned).

All for now.

Jim & Holly

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Part 5: Arriving on Time

Final note from Guangzhou:

Our Embassy appointment went well yesterday. One or two minor concerns resulting from the confusion associated with paperwork for two, but the Embassy staff was courteous and professional and we were done with all requirements within 15 minutes. The final interviewing official was an ex-Air Force officer who had been assigned as an East German Intell analyst at the same time Holly & I were at Metro Tango in Germany, so we shared some stories about our time over there.

We finished up shopping last night and are almost packed for the trip back. We will depart on time this afternoon and should arrive at LAX and Wash Nat on time. I went over to the People's Cultural Park to get pictures of all the folks doing Tai Chi this morning, so Holly had her first morning getting the girls ready by herself. They were giggling up a storm when I returned.

*     *     *     *     *

Hope & Joy are still doing quite well.

Regards,

Jim (& Holly)

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