Yangchun and House of Grace

Today we left early for the 3 1/2 hour drive to LaoLao's foster home.  There was an accident on the way there that had traffic at a stop and go, pace for 45 minutes.  When we finally get to the crash site we realize the crash is on the other side and our jam was just because of rubbernecking.  Yangchun is a "small" city of one million.  It seemed very clean and slow paced compared to Guangzhou or Mia's city, Hefei.  We were first taken to a nice restaurant to have lunch with the vice director of the orphanage.  Lunch started off with oolong tea at a special table in a private room.  They also brought out 2 moon cakes to share.  September the 8th is a big holiday here, mid-Autumn festival, and there are moon cake stands all over. Mia is in love with moon cakes and we had to promise to buy more.  A moon cake is a pastry filled with sweet gelatinous filling or filling with nuts.

The director ordered for us.  Dishes included: sweet potatoes that were white, fried rice, pork ribs, beef with veggies, duck soup, some type of leafy green veggie, broccoli in soy sauce, noodles-thicker ones than American chow mein, local chicken-served with the head in the plate, buns, tea, soda, and beer.  It was all good.  Cantonese food is not very spicy.  Our guide described it as being fresh with whatever ingredients are in season.  My favorite dishes were the noodles and beef.  Mia loved the broccoli.  LaoLao loved everything except the broccoli.  Our portion of the bill for 5 people was 200 yuan or about $32.  Not bad for a fancy meal in a private room.

After lunch we headed to LaoLao's foster home named House of Grace.  I talked about it in an earlier post from before we went to China if you want to look it up in the blog archives.  There are currently 16 kids in the foster home, most under the age of 2.  Yesterday there were extra volunteers from a church in Hong Kong so it was quite busy.  The kids are well loved by the directors of the home, Amy and Donald, a couple from Hong Kong who speak excellent English.  In addition they hire 6 nannies to help.   Four during the day, one at night, and one is always off.  Donald says yet is hard to get good help.  LaoLao was a bit apprehensive as we were in the parking lot and our guide, Han, explained to her that we were only going for a visit.  As soon as she saw the first nanny, she got the biggest smile.  She showed us her room, her crib, and where she goes potty.  Amy even gave Mia some clothes!  People give donations to Amy, but she doesn't have a need for 7 year old sized clothes.  So Mia got 2 shirts, one of which is just like the shirt LaoLao had on on Gotcha Day but in black.  Amy also gave us that same black shirt in a smaller size.  She says it is too fancy for their needs; they put the kids in play clothes.

We also received a CD of pictures and videos of LaoLao from her time there.  I haven't had a free moment yet to look at them.  We also got a little book filled with short letters from the various volunteers.  Some messages are in English, others Chinese.  Some even included an email.  I'll have to send them pictures.  Amy also wrote a couple entries too.  What a sweet gift!  We learned the meaning for LaoLao's name YuLao.  Yu is the director's name, so she was giving LaoLao a piece of herself.  Yu can also mean abundance or surplus or fish.  Around New Year's Day the Chinese have a saying about wishing people an abundance of fish (food) which is a play in the 2 meanings of the word.  Lao can mean mark or brand.  Together it is like the director is giving LaoLoa a piece of herself, a mark so too speak.

LaoLao seemed to have no apprehension leaving House of Grace and getting back in the car.  Amy and Donald up gave both girls a popsicle on the way out, which they both enjoyed.  We were able to stop by her finding place on the way home.  LaoLao was left at a toll plaza.  The toll plaza was taken out a couple of years ago, but we can see where it was.  We also took a picture of the newer toll plaza that took its place.  They use the toll plazas here to pay for the expressway.  You take a ticket when you get in, and then pay when you get off.  If you don't want to pay, you drive in the much slower surface streets.

The 3 1/2 hour ride back turned into almost 6 hours. Yep, more traffic.  And apparently no discount on your expressway tolls when there is traffic!  The girls did great with iPad movies, snacks, and silly songs.  We were all getting pretty loopy the last hour or so which was all driving through Guangzhou.  Lots of sights to see in this HUGE city of 15 million people.  (The 3rd biggest in China behind Shanghai and Beijing.)  By the time we got back, we sent NaiNai and Poppy on a run to the McDonalds next door.  Though it seems wrong to go to McDonalds in China, sometimes you just have to.  It tasted good.

Despite the LONG car rides, I was glad we went to LaoLao's foster home.  I was able to get videos and pics of some of the available kids to help advocate for them.  I'll put a link to a FB site on my FB page that is advocating for some of the House of Grace kids to find them a home.  We were able to see and understand what LaoLao's first years were like, and we know that she was well loved and taken care of.  I hope to take both girls back to China when they are older and can truly appreciate and learn where they come from.  I hope Amy and Dinald and House of Grace are still there!