tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77846219445984624342024-03-14T10:42:13.175-07:00Travel with the GreenwoodsWhere in the World are The Greenwoods?Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-90756591546522843372020-01-04T07:07:00.001-08:002020-01-04T07:07:31.627-08:002020 Round The World Trip Countdown! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiffquMejKNC40O6H6_zkCZnP7b-GXLQnaAaFA8a5gnuCXyTRjf9ijqJqKiwF2WZ6jsCXshAw2nGqT3M4Xv38w7LqPA_9_GPRb4F5YXBLroITG5kzUN_Y2XsdL96EU4YrSKoeCbHvjxzCQ/s1600/IMG_3420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1600" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiffquMejKNC40O6H6_zkCZnP7b-GXLQnaAaFA8a5gnuCXyTRjf9ijqJqKiwF2WZ6jsCXshAw2nGqT3M4Xv38w7LqPA_9_GPRb4F5YXBLroITG5kzUN_Y2XsdL96EU4YrSKoeCbHvjxzCQ/s320/IMG_3420.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
5 months to go until we start our great adventure! I’m hoping to use this site to capture all of our photos and keep the old travel blog alive!<br />
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We’re celebrating many things during this trip.....Diana’s graduation from UCLA, Mark’s big 60th bday and our 35th wedding anniversary. We have a two part trip. Part one is Deb, Mark and Diana in South America. Then part 2, just Deb and Diana as we cross off a huge bucket list item for me....traveling completely around the world. At the end of this trip, I’ll qualify for the “provisional status” in the Century club-traveling to 100 countries (you can join provisional status once you reach 75)<br />
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We’ve spent the past 2 years saving up miles and points (with help of a great Facebook group) and almost all of the trip (flights and hotels, not local tours) has been booked with minimal cost.....but definitely a lot of planning time!<br />
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If you have any “must do’s” drop me a line!<br />
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Our trip:<br />
California<br />
Peru (Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley)<br />
Chile (this is up in the air-unrest and elections in April over a new constitution may change these plans)<br />
Argentina (mostly Buenos Aires with day trips)<br />
Uruguay<br />
Very quick change of planes in Brazil<br />
Ethiopia-long layover<br />
Cape Town, SA<br />
Kruger National Park Safari<br />
Perth, AU<br />
Melbourne, AU (hoping to see diabetes friends)<br />
San Francisco<br />
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Happy Travels!Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-49510021817488492062017-01-04T20:51:00.001-08:002017-01-04T21:00:14.943-08:00Phuket, Thailand January 1, 2017-January 5, 2017<div class="MsoNormal">
Wow! The JW Marriott Phuket Beach Club is amazing. The location is right on Mai Khao Beach, most
of it protected, so no high-rise buildings or over crowded busy streets, just
pure bliss. The property is huge and lush
with 3 unique pools with lots of water falls and multiple level decks for beach
views. Many restaurants on site and most
of the area is open air, so we had outdoor seating most of the time. We spent most of our time relaxing, reading
(my first non-diabetes book since my trip to New Zealand almost 3 years ago),
swimming and sampling the pool bar beverages….yes there was a swim up bar! Sea
turtles nest here during the winter but we didn’t see any. Lots of tiny crabs on the beach. Our one big
excursion was to “James Bond Island” a unique limestone island with rock
formations and caves/overhangs from the water.
The man with the Golden Gun filmed a scene there and the name is now so
popular that all the locals call it by the nick name. We hired a boat for our family and spent a
full day on the beautiful Phang Nga Bay. The boat had a 3-person crew-father
was boat captain, wife was chef and son was deck hand) they were very attentive
and we enjoyed the amazing scenery-we thought we were in Avatar or in Jurassic
Park. Stunning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Today we are heading back to Singapore to overnight before
our flight home. We leave Singapore at
9:45 am Friday 1/6/17 and arrive home at 8:35 am Friday 1/6/17-Time Travelers!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been a great trip, but we are all ready to get back
home, see the cats, and start our new year!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks for reading along with us!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Greenwoods<o:p></o:p></div>
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Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-26055099542961631402017-01-04T20:49:00.001-08:002017-01-04T20:49:07.615-08:00Phuket, Thailand January 1, 2017-January 5, 2017<div class="MsoNormal">
Wow! The JW Marriott Phuket Beach Club is amazing. The location is right on Mai Khao Beach, most
of it protected, so no high-rise buildings or over crowded busy streets, just
pure bliss. The property is huge and lush
with 3 unique pools with lots of water falls and multiple level decks for beach
views. Many restaurants on site and most
of the area is open air, so we had outdoor seating most of the time. We spent most of our time relaxing, reading
(my first non-diabetes book since my trip to New Zealand almost 3 years ago),
swimming and sampling the pool bar beverages….yes there was a swim up bar! Sea
turtles nest here during the winter but we didn’t see any. Lots of tiny crabs on the beach. Our one big
excursion was to “James Bond Island” a unique limestone island with rock
formations and caves/overhangs from the water.
The man with the Golden Gun filmed a scene there and the name is now so
popular that all the locals call it by the nick name. We hired a boat for our family and spent a
full day on the beautiful Phang Nga Bay. The boat had a 3-person crew-father
was boat captain, wife was chef and son was deck hand) they were very attentive
and we enjoyed the amazing scenery-we thought we were in Avatar or in Jurassic
Park. Stunning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today we are heading back to Singapore to overnight before
our flight home. We leave Singapore at
9:45 am Friday 1/6/17 and arrive home at 8:35 am Friday 1/6/17-Time Travelers!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been a great trip, but we are all ready to get back
home, see the cats, and start our new year!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks for reading along with us!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Greenwoods<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-81734615133284916942016-12-31T19:55:00.000-08:002016-12-31T19:55:36.703-08:00Bangkok, December 27, 2016-January 1, 2017<div class="MsoNormal">
We arrived at our JW Marriott hotel pleased with our accommodations
and the large executive lounge (a long Greenwood tradition of the holidays in
the executive lounges <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>)
We had dinner in an Italian Restaurant (typical travel day comfort food) that
we all really enjoyed. Our first full day in Bangkok was an all-day tour of the
main temples in the city. We started in
China town with the Golden Buddha. Quite remarkable. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We then explored the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (with
the Emerald Buddha) and on the way learned about the passing of Thailand’s King
2 months ago. The country is in mourning
and have black banners everywhere, people wearing black and shrines to the King
all over the country. Typically, when someone dies in Thailand they mourn for
100 days, but since they are building a shrine for the King (of 70 years and
much beloved) the country will most likely stay in mourning until the shrine is
completed and the King’s ashes can be moved there, probably one year. There
were thousands of people, dressed in black, making the pilgrimage to the Grand
Palace to wait hours upon hours, to view the coffin and pay their respects to
the King. For tourists, that meant no
New Year’s Eve celebrations, no dancing, no fireworks etc. Good thing we are not big NYE people! The palace was exquisite and we really
enjoyed the history we learned from our fantastic guide UThai. He was so
insistent we take many family photos in all the right spots as he kindly asked
other people to move for us, “Thank you very much” the boys especially got a
kick out of him. We were really pleased
we decided on the guided private day tour because the added thousand or so
mourners made the grounds a little chaotic and very crowded. No photos were
allowed of the Emerald Buddha (made of jade) but incredibly ornate and
impressive.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We then got on a Long Boat to take a tour through the canals,
spotted a few “crocodiles” and Chao Phraya river and ended up at Wat Arun. Unfortunately,
the temple is under repair with scaffolding surrounding the main part of the
temple. Usually it is lit up at night
but not during renovation. The grounds
were still very beautiful and UThai took a few more photos. Then we had Pad Thai at a local restaurant
for lunch, it was the best I have tasted and most of us enjoyed it!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wat Pho-with the Temple of the reclining Buddha, quite a
massive golden Buddha and interesting temple. As well as the Standing
Buddha. One interesting thing we noticed
everywhere were signs that said “Buddha is not a decoration, no tattoos no
decorations” declaring it was against the law.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We were exhausted by the end of the 16,000 step day but
really were impressed by the beauty and the opulence and felt like we learned a
lot about Thai culture and history. From
the movie “The King and I” the young Prince, taught by the English Tutor, who
became King Rama V and really opened up Thailand to become a modern
country. The King who just passed away
was Rama IX.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Diana, Mark and I finished off the day with dinner on the 62<sup>nd</sup>
floor of the Banyan Tree Hotel at Vertigo, an amazing rooftop restaurant with
360 degree views across the city. Food
was great, but American style pricing, not like our $10 Pad Thai for 5 people
total!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our big adventure was our trip to Cambodia to see Angkor
Wat. What a day! It was a little
ambitious, but we survived. We were
picked up at 2:45 AM-yes AM, and had about a 3.5 hour drive to the Cambodian
border where we met an English speaking guide who helped us go through
immigration, get our Visas and cross the border where a new guide and van met
us to drive us to Angkor. The border town was poor with limited services and
many beggars, using their small babies to ask for money. The Guide told us not to give anyone money or
we would be immediately surrounded by everyone wanting more. It was hard to
walk past those babies. We drove another 2.5 hours to get to the town
surrounding Angkor Wat where the landscape changed dramatically including
having a convention center, 5 star hotels and Duty Free shopping. The tour was
interesting and the ruins were spectacular. This was the highlight for the boys
for certain. They are big Civilization
players so they were really interested in thie opportunity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We also toured Angkor Thom and another temple ruins called Bayon.
Also impressive. We saw where a scene
from Tomb Rader was filmed, with Angelina Jolie. </div>
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We only had from 10-4pm to tour the area
because of our long drive, but we felt like we had good feeling for the place
and were happy we decided to go on the adventure. Our return trip was similar, about 6-7 hours
back home including the border crossing.
We were exhausted by the time we got home!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We knew we would be tired so we planned a casual day the
following day. Mark, Diana and I got
Thai foot massages at Health World, which were amazing, and cheap, $30 for the
three of us for one hour each. Then we went to the Shangri-La hotel for happy
hour by the river. Beautiful hotel and
lovely spot to relax. We had dinner in
the Teppanyaki restaurant at the hotel and I had the best “Boston Lobster”
ever, amazing the way she cooked it, first used ice to steam it, then she
grilled the tail. Yum!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our final day was a half day tour to see some elephants
(very touristy) and then the Floating Market, again touristy but we enjoyed it
anyway. Mark, Diana and I ended our day with 2 hour Thai massages (again for a
whopping $45 for the 3 of us)<o:p></o:p></div>
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New Year’s Eve dinner was in the New York Steakhouse <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> in our hotel. We all had Filet Mignon and we ate every
bite! We watched fireworks in Beijing on the TV, and said Happy New Year!! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Off to Phuket today for some beach and relaxation!<o:p></o:p></div>
Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-40011611608881314992016-12-26T17:38:00.000-08:002016-12-26T17:38:25.671-08:00December 23-27 2016 Singapore<div class="MsoNormal">
We have really enjoyed Singapore. The National museum was very interesting and
we learned a lot about the history of the country. We love the mix of old colonial British
architecture along with modern sky scrapers.
We became expert subway masters and found it very easy to maneuver
around the city. Some of our favorite
things….the Bar at the top of the Marina Sands building-even in the pouring
rain, the amazing Garden’s by the Bay including the Tree line walk, and the
Italian dinner along the Singapore River. </div>
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We are amazed by the underground city and how many people are shopping,
eating, and walking below ground at all hours of the day and night. It certainly is humid here and I guess you
need that escape, fascinating. Christmas is a huge shopping day in Singapore,
and our hotel is in the middle of the shopping district, just next to Tang’s,
an old Singapore department store. I can’t
believe how many high end stores we have seen between Hong Kong and
Singapore. We have tried with no luck to
buy Will a bathing suit…..none to be found! However, thousand dollar dresses
are on every corner! We feasted on a Christmas Buffet in our hotel, and enjoyed
Free Flowing Champagne! Nice!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our best dinner was last night at the Lantern rooftop
restaurant, on the Marina with amazing views in all directions. We thoroughly enjoyed everything. After Dinner Mark and I headed back up to the
roof of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel to have one final view of the city from the
57<sup>th</sup> floor at night.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all loved Singapore and are glad we have one final night
here before we fly home!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We are off to Thailand, first to Bangkok, then Cambodia, and
finally Phuket Island!<o:p></o:p></div>
Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-68638667939098472042016-12-21T01:30:00.001-08:002016-12-21T01:30:59.307-08:00December 21, 2016 Hong Kong<div class="MsoNormal">
We are starting to get used to the time change, slept until
6:30 and only woke up once before that. We woke up to clouds with 50% chance of
showers most of the day. Oh well. We
started the morning with our photo remake, with Diana and I on the grand
staircase at the hotel. The lobby is so
beautiful, right on the harbor with views from every angle. The holiday decorations are very festive as
well. We learned how to use the subway
system and took the train over to the Hong Kong side of, well Hong Kong to do a
little shopping. We have never seen so many stores, ever, and so many expensive
stores. The craziest mall was the one
with all high end children’s clothing….Dior, Dolce & Gabana, Gucci, it was
surreal. </div>
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We went up in two towers to see the skyline views, one on the 50<sup>th</sup>
floor on the ICF building on the Hong Kong side and then took the Star Ferry
across the harbor to the 100<sup>th</sup> floor of the ICC on the Kowloon side,
the 7<sup>th</sup> tallest building in the world. The two towers face each other across the
harbor. The best part of the day was the yummy Italian lunch, Risotto with
mushrooms, Pizza and Lobster Ravioli, with a gorgeous view of the harbor. After
walking about 15,000 steps we decided to call it a day and head back to enjoy
the views from our hotel room. I am told that my suitcase is on a plane to Hong
Kong and will arrive late tonight.
Crossing my fingers, it arrives at the hotel before we fly out to
Singapore tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></div>
Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-32712021807594610562016-12-20T06:07:00.001-08:002016-12-20T06:07:18.730-08:00December 20, 2016 Nanjing and Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum <div class="MsoNormal">
Time change is getting me, up at 4:30 am. Today we visited the Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum,
one of the places we took Diana in 1997, before flying to Hong Kong. Although overcast, we enjoyed walking up the
296 steps to the top of the mausoleum.
Back in 1997 we could walk into the area where the tomb was, but you can
no longer enter that area. We took our “remake”
photo and headed to the airport. (see on Facebook)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We flew to Hong Kong, where we are staying in the same hotel
we stayed in almost 20 years ago, The Harbor Grand Kowloon. We have a lovely room on the 19<sup>th</sup>
floor with amazing harbor views. We
walked up to the roof top pool to enjoy the city lights before having dinner.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a refresher, our whole adoption group was flying home,
but it was our anniversary, and we had never been to Hong Kong, so we decided
to spend 2 days there before flying home.
It was June 29<sup>th</sup>, and on July 1 Hong Kong was being handed
back over to China. The adoption agency
wanted us all out of the country on July 1 given the uncertainty of the
situation. All the hotels were full because EVERYONE was coming to Hong Kong
for the celebrations. A friend who was a
travel agent found a room for us, it was a little expensive but we didn’t care. Well it turned out that we were on the
concierge floor in the same hotel the leader of China and the Chinese
delegation were staying. We think they
blocked too many rooms and let them go at the last minute. Everything was decorated with red flowers,
banners, walkways etc. The hotel is
right on the water with amazing views and a rooftop pool. We had such fond
memories of that hotel that we really wanted Diana to return there with
us. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since it is almost Christmas, the hotel is also decorated in
red with Poinsettias, banners, and other Holiday decorations. We were exhausted so had room service and are
heading to bed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Still no luggage for me…….<o:p></o:p></div>
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Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-5546677223399927322016-12-19T14:28:00.000-08:002016-12-19T14:28:05.517-08:00Our Chinese Adoption 20-year Reunion Trip: December 19, 2016 Yangzhou Social Welfare Institute<div class="MsoNormal">
Warning-This is long....but it is for remembering in the future, not a typical blog post.</div>
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Diana, Mark and I flew from SFO to Shanghai to start our adventures. </div>
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After an easy flight, we arrived to find out
my bag never made the plane and was still sitting in SFO. To make matters
worse, for some reason the bag tag never was placed on our ticket and the tag
was “deactivated” so they don’t know where it is. They had some mechanical problems, the bag
conveyor was not working, so they were loading bags onto carts and then taking
them to the dock. I had a bad feeling.
Trying to deal with lost baggage in China is, well, not easy to say the
least. So mark got on the phone with
United and was able to submit a claim. I
NEVER carry-on luggage, I always check everything, mainly because I have a torn
rotator cuff in my shoulder and can’t lift it.
And the only reason why I did carry-on was because I had too much stuff
and needed an extra suitcase. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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But let’s forget about that and go on to the good stuff!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We spent a very quick night in a Shanghai hotel, then took
an early train in the morning to meet our driver and our Guide Samantha. They drove us to the orphanage and worked as
a translator for us. When we arrived at the orphanage we were met by Gill, (pronounced
Jill) who I had been emailing for the past 6 months. You can read about our
experiences in China 8 years ago on an earlier blog post but the short version
is when looking through Diana’s medical file we found, tucked in the folds, a
red note with Chinese writing. We had heard that some babies were left with Red
Notes attached so when they were found people would know their birth date and
time they were born, since this is important in the Chinese Zodiac. However,
the people in charge at that time would not give us the note. After much pleading and crying, they still
did not give it to us. They finally said
she could come back when she was 18 and pick up her files.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When Diana turned 18 I emailed the orphanage and asked for
the note….they said no.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When Diana turned 19 I emailed the orphanage and asked for
he note…..they said no.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, I thought I would try one more time when she turned
20. I explained to them that she had
overcome so may obstacles in her life, had worked so hard, was going to the
college of her dreams, but all she really wanted was the Red Note, the only tie
to her past and her birth family. Gill
opened Diana’s file and put all items on the floor and photographed them all
and emailed back saying they didn’t have the note. Then I told her to open the medical record
and she sent us a photo of the note.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A short time later Gill emailed back and said that the
medical director would like to invite us to come back to the orphanage and give
us the note personally. The orphanage
director is newer, she used to be a physician at the orphanage who did the
medical evaluations of the babies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When we arrived at the orphanage they took us into the new
building (they were building it when we were there 8 years ago) and we went
into a conference room. Gill brought out the file and showed us the note, still
in the medical record. Then the
orphanage director came down and met us.
Gill removed the note and handed it to Diana and we all took many
photos. We were very, very happy. They
let Diana look through the rest of the files and she could see some of the
photos we sent the orphanage over time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglAvIXkVy8AXCMe33LXXP6-uwkjuhcRPAEnsZW9uVhkqKZuo_oJPhAqdFTbUCOwKad1tzJQZjj6FGmUgffBmrLgHuwIGKOt2mYcqxRpDZhAVoKNQ8tVuRs16_izzJqMIskMdfoSbg8yI/s1600/IMG_3043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglAvIXkVy8AXCMe33LXXP6-uwkjuhcRPAEnsZW9uVhkqKZuo_oJPhAqdFTbUCOwKad1tzJQZjj6FGmUgffBmrLgHuwIGKOt2mYcqxRpDZhAVoKNQ8tVuRs16_izzJqMIskMdfoSbg8yI/s320/IMG_3043.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjE9aOEjoEQlyZwRDIS4eL33E8AnVpg1ecXNAYial1gpYRLwM_eKYk3bngBDTGXg8MFIFazd_1wEzh3Ojvpu4AHUg_FnNPj31ZAj8-SubAW2hWZWZjyTch-FuhuBfAJGCu1xX484om4w/s1600/IMG_3036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjE9aOEjoEQlyZwRDIS4eL33E8AnVpg1ecXNAYial1gpYRLwM_eKYk3bngBDTGXg8MFIFazd_1wEzh3Ojvpu4AHUg_FnNPj31ZAj8-SubAW2hWZWZjyTch-FuhuBfAJGCu1xX484om4w/s320/IMG_3036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Diana gave the director the gifts she brought for the
children. Being a percussionist, we purchased several Xylophones and a mixed
percussion instrument bag and some small UCLA teddy bears. We brought the staff Sees candy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We then had lunch in the cafeteria, with Yangzhou Fried
Rice, yum! And several vege options for me and had an opportunity to learn
about how the orphanage has changed over the years. There were only 60 children in the building,
and all of them were special needs, mainly cerebral palsy or Downs
syndrome. The rest of the buildings were
for seniors. We took a tour of the
children’s rooms, but it was nap time so we couldn’t go inside, but a few of
the kids were awake and waving at us and smiling. The facility was very clean
and the cribs looked new, much different than when we were there in 2009. It
felt very sad to see these children without homes. </div>
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On the first floor they have an orphanage
museum. Diana wrote in a book they have for children to sign when they
return. There were photos on the wall
from previous reunions and we found our group photo on the stage with the girls
holding the huge Teddy Bears. We also
saw the wall of baby photos, that was so special! But what was exciting was to
see the newspaper clippings from our 2009 reunion. There were photographers everywhere during
that trip. We found our friends Mindy,
Hannah and Lilly’s photograph in some newspaper, and saw our groups photo on
the cover of the China Daily (Like the USA Today) and several other
stories. Sadly, the light had faded them
and they were very hard to read.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We then headed outside and toured the grounds, took some
photos recreating our pagoda photo from June 19, 1997. We also saw the wall with the hand-prints of
the children who have returned to visit.
We found Diana’s and several other girls who joined us on our trip
(Marissa, Hannah, Lilly, Emi, Chay). They took a new hand-print of Diana and
will be hanging that as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our final photos were in front of the new orphanage
gate. We said good bye and thanked them
so much for a great day. Couldn't have
asked for anything more.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before heading back to Nanjing, we stopped at the lake in Yangzhou for a couple of photos.</div>
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We drove to Nanjing, crossing the river by car ferry, and
headed to our hotel. Thank goodness to
mark’s Marriott status, we were upgraded to a lovely suite and used the concierge
lounge for dinner. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sadly still no bag….so will do some shopping when to land in
Hong Kong tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></div>
Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China32.394213 119.4129470000000330.686253 116.83116000000003 34.102173 121.99473400000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-88565337219699862282014-12-21T16:08:00.000-08:002014-12-21T16:08:38.256-08:00Memories of New Zealand and Australia July 2014<object data="https://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/slideshow/slideshow-ui.swf" height="425" width="425"><param name="flashvars" value="configXMLURL=https://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/slideshow/config/config-share.xml&slideshowModuleURL=https://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/slideshow/slideshow-module.swf&projectGUID=0AYsWbVw2ZtGMsN4&swfName=slideshowFlashContent&showReplay=true"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="quality" value="best"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/></object><div style="margin-top: 0; text-align: center; width: 425px;">
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Shutterfly <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books" style="color: #6666cc;">photo books</a> are the new way to preserve your memories. Create your own today.</div>
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Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-25667877936038956932014-12-21T16:02:00.001-08:002014-12-21T16:02:41.067-08:00Holiday Card 2014<div class="sflyProductPreviewWidget" style="height: 494px; width: 425px;">
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<br />Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-44539094011101187472010-12-21T22:33:00.000-08:002010-12-21T22:33:35.968-08:00Happy Holidays 2010!<div class="sflyProductPreviewWidget" style="height: 494px; width: 425px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetTop" style="background-image: url("http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/top.gif"); height: 6px;"></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetCenter" style="background-image: url("http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bg.gif"); background-repeat: repeat-y; height: 482px; padding: 0pt 6px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewLogo" style="height: 34px; padding: 14px 0pt 0pt 14px; width: 105px;"><img src="http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/logo.gif" /></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewContainer" style="height: 350px; padding: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery"><img src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/prs/v1/0AYsWbVw2ZtGMg/0AYsWbVw2ZtGMv8A/p/67b0de21b3127d902548/JPEG/1292999304000/0/" /></a></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewMessageContainer" style="background-color: #f4f4e9; height: 55px; line-height: 19px; padding: 15px 0pt; text-align: center;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewTitle" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial,sans-seris; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;"><span>Snowflake Band Black Christmas</span></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewSEOText" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial,sans-seris; font-size: 13px;"><span>Shutterfly has classic, elegant <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations" style="color: #6666cc;">Christmas invitations</a> for your party.</span></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewViewCollection" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial,sans-seris; font-size: 13px;"><span>View the entire <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery" style="color: #6666cc;">collection</a> of cards.</span></div></div></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetBottom" style="background-image: url("http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bottom.gif"); height: 6px;"></div></div>Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-23529687116724119582010-05-26T17:54:00.000-07:002010-05-26T17:54:55.277-07:00World Diabetes Day 2009<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenwoodfamily6/WorldDiabetesDay2009?feat=blogger" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kHVTemYKoe4/S_2mIvQYhpE/AAAAAAAABEY/Jw4iAWI_58U/s160-c/WorldDiabetesDay2009.jpg" border="0" /></a>Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-67854780387464952162010-01-04T02:25:00.000-08:002010-01-04T02:25:28.543-08:00Link to travel blogThis site was blocked in China so we created our blog on our old travel blog site.<br />
<a href="http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Greenwoods/">http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Greenwoods/</a><br />
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We also have a photo album at Shutterfly<br />
<a href="http://greenwoodvoyages.shutterfly.com/">http://greenwoodvoyages.shutterfly.com/</a><br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div>Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-23211804490034398392010-01-04T02:13:00.001-08:002010-01-04T02:13:39.543-08:00China Trip 2009<object width="425" height="425" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="movie" value="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/flashslideshowphotobook/slideshow_pb.swf"/><param name="flashvars" value="xmlURL=http%3A%2F%2Fws.shutterfly.com%2Fpsdata%3FprojectGUID%3D0AYsWbVw2ZtGMuwg%26uid%3D001043685311%26size%3D0%26ts%3D1262599939000%26height%3D425%26width%3D425&size=0&ob=0&fc=0&ss=0&sb=0&ft=0"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="quality" value="best"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><embed width="425" height="425" align="middle" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" name="wrapper" quality="best" menu="false" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashvars="xmlURL=http%3A%2F%2Fws.shutterfly.com%2Fpsdata%3FprojectGUID%3D0AYsWbVw2ZtGMuwg%26uid%3D001043685311%26size%3D0%26ts%3D1262599939000%26height%3D425%26width%3D425&size=0&ob=0&fc=0&ss=0&sb=0&ft=0" src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/flashslideshowphotobook/slideshow_pb.swf"></embed></object><p style="width:425px;margin-top:0;text-align:center;"><a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYsWbVw2ZtGLEkg&eid=115">Click here to view this photo book larger</a><img width="1" height="1" border="0" src="https://os.shutterfly.com/b/ss/sflyshareprod/1/H.15/111?pageName=sharekey&c1=photobook&c2=blogger" /></p>Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-7533969214376721092009-12-02T18:53:00.000-08:002009-12-02T18:56:57.925-08:00We're going to China!Our whole family is traveling this time over the holidays. We leave Saturday December 19th for Beijing and will spend a week there. Then we spend 5 days in Shanghai before heading home. We will post photos and some travel notes as we go!<br />We hope everyone has a great holiday season!<br /> Sheng Dan Kuai Le!<br />The GreenwoodsDeborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-84906907622930165752009-03-22T16:18:00.000-07:002009-03-22T16:21:25.456-07:00We're Home!We are so happy to be home! We are exhausted and are just trying to keep busy so we don't fall asleep. We opened our bags and found gifts we had forgotten about! It was fun to look through them again. I want to show the boys the DVD of the trip, but am afraid I will fall asleep. We had pizza for dinner, yea! Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.<br />Deb and DianaDeborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-77369756903771813542009-03-21T07:37:00.000-07:002009-03-21T08:17:08.892-07:00Back in Beijing!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhni3zVrM2X7gqQKi6qgfPp2RGQssS1ZK8Sl4Ya-nmrcuCoahvOEc21nHEsA0wYIuFoI0Hz_hJ3o5nKGMcke5m86QzdwWYBsVFe6NFD294IKSIm2fZeBKUZQpFuh9asZvYE4C430u_OoMQ/s1600-h/IMG_3310.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhni3zVrM2X7gqQKi6qgfPp2RGQssS1ZK8Sl4Ya-nmrcuCoahvOEc21nHEsA0wYIuFoI0Hz_hJ3o5nKGMcke5m86QzdwWYBsVFe6NFD294IKSIm2fZeBKUZQpFuh9asZvYE4C430u_OoMQ/s200/IMG_3310.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315652897266397730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP8EsuefJo8LS2gUxNQYlaoNbHVKaLXzSjUPo5e821cT5OMUCobr3nFm_9xS-XiBocO1ftpVhHCmnjLYkLexc2Y3iXIXMaQy3sUlB5zPxuNTyjeIDfeci07DMo4KksRBJuZ1ephYw0QlA/s1600-h/IMG_3306.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-I3Dm2GDV8W8SxzWZHHkeXgFiPW53Lg_TmR9VR4SKTUcj2PFsegdqFxZ081REq4R19KjlaBM8sgPPw1GAOFJf8hOl0p3OFUC0dSa9nQdVcQ9M8ayOXGib2X1nBYz6aMl4dHWsLnBqL4/s200/IMG_3241.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315650763889025090" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlrnR-7VQxj8nCLWPm50WKsEvfX1tGtDxemC9I6dHtNAoVT_chhePIHAR-nZjVCyZ-v5YKn_gxfOJ4L4_D-XvqgZiWnWmDNPPRGKZ8biC-BfVrTyAYs0EcycgNf9AHgVSNVl3Y8m_eTY/s1600-h/IMG_3240.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlrnR-7VQxj8nCLWPm50WKsEvfX1tGtDxemC9I6dHtNAoVT_chhePIHAR-nZjVCyZ-v5YKn_gxfOJ4L4_D-XvqgZiWnWmDNPPRGKZ8biC-BfVrTyAYs0EcycgNf9AHgVSNVl3Y8m_eTY/s200/IMG_3240.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315650535565256258" border="0" /></a><br />We left Yangzhou early today via bus to the Nanjing airport. We really did not leave early enough and Karen, Emi, Diana and I were afraid we were going to miss our flight. As we left security they were already boarding our flight. We had to walk quite a bit to reach the gate, but we arrived on time, and the first people from our group. They actually held the plane for the rest of the group. A couple of families had to go to "late baggage check" because they were at the end of our line and were checking their bags with less than 30 minutes. Everyone made the flight, but we will be interested to see if everyone's bags arrived. Karen and I had arranged for a minivan to pick us up, it was quite a bit more than a taxi, but we were hoping the conveneince would be worth it. We were thrilled when the driver was waiting for us with a sign and had a car across the steet. We were on our way to the center of Beijing in five minutes. We think it was the best money we spent on the trip! We decided to arrange for the same transportation tomorrow back to the airport. After we dropped our bags off in our room we decided to walk to The Temple of Heaven, since it was just about a mile or so from the hotel. We made a brief stop along the way for Starbucks and McDonalds. I asked for decaf and they said I was getting decaf, but decaf in China must have a kick because it is 11 PM and this is the first night I have not been exhausted. Hopefully I will get some sleep :). We got a lot of exercise walking there and back and all around the grounds. We saw some interesting sights on the grounds of the Temple of Heaven including hundreds of people in various groups playing cards, rehearsing music, singing, and other activities. We were told that this takes place every Saturday. Of course we also saw the ballroom dancing, but this time it appeared to be square dancing! Since we wil be returning to Beijing in December, I located our JW Marriot hotel on the map and got my bearings. I am little worried about walking these streets for a full week. Even when the "green person" is lighted for pedestrians to cross the street, no one really follows the rules. Crossing the street is a dangerous task. Karen almost lost her mind when we walked to the Temple of Heaven and she saw that the Pearl Market, where we were shopping and being attacked by clerks, was directly across the street from the Temple of Heaven. We really were "wasting" time in the Pearl Market because we did not want to shop any longer, if we had only known we were so close we might have tried to escape. <br />After a quick dinner, we took a taxi to the Night Market. This is like a "food court" Chinese style with vendors displaying their uncooked food items, many on a stick, but also dumplings, pineapples filled with rice, soup and some unidentifiable offerings. We thought Karen was going to eat a scorpion on a stick, but instead Emi ate strawberries dipped in melted sugar on a stick! We had fun trying to guess what the food items were...hearts, kidneys, testicles, as well as octopus, scorpions, sea horses etc. The final vendor we saw had scorpions that were still alive on the sticks! We ended up at a pedestrian mall with many US shops like Nike and Adidas so we strolled for a few minutes until we found a taxi to take us back to the hotel. Karen and I had sore feet from our long walk today so we decided to try a foot massage at the "health center." For $8 US dollars we had twenty minutes of bliss! So now we are getting organized for the long trip home. We will look forward to our "extra day" since we leave here at 12:40 PM Sunday and arrive home at 9:00 AM Sunday! I told Mark that we were getting Pizza for dinner Sunday night :)<br />We are all planning to put our whole picture files up on Shutterfly, so if anyone is interested in seeing more photos just let me know!<br />Thanks for following our journey!<br />We are ready to come home and see the boys and Dad and the cats!Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-14596435735619404012009-03-20T08:22:00.000-07:002009-03-20T09:08:17.757-07:00Farewell Yangzhou!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IMwdDeILrQPUlCheAKizVX4fF4Q6bnhVK9Tm1fxbQKiKw25ZgLOpYynWaCZgDgz9tn66h2O0VKbKU2xmVoQDEw7gD66Hbrpw4vwQsegV3mDSIxlr2jotk8SToy6Q-2Ueoj3x1c9WJnk/s1600-h/IMG_3234.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IMwdDeILrQPUlCheAKizVX4fF4Q6bnhVK9Tm1fxbQKiKw25ZgLOpYynWaCZgDgz9tn66h2O0VKbKU2xmVoQDEw7gD66Hbrpw4vwQsegV3mDSIxlr2jotk8SToy6Q-2Ueoj3x1c9WJnk/s200/IMG_3234.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315294050129310514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cO8LKK9UqEvxsN5F1sBjD9U7u5wZZHpygx4Xjf1eqkKef7H8cwp1RohP6xm5fI57PsPcE5BCTKUeN2Thz09Irea_8aErmg8yNVqE2I6Ig_SXvOKxiO966hkZyETDghu8_iiu8RWob-k/s1600-h/IMG_3209.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cO8LKK9UqEvxsN5F1sBjD9U7u5wZZHpygx4Xjf1eqkKef7H8cwp1RohP6xm5fI57PsPcE5BCTKUeN2Thz09Irea_8aErmg8yNVqE2I6Ig_SXvOKxiO966hkZyETDghu8_iiu8RWob-k/s200/IMG_3209.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315293845966993234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7PZnMtCvTLLqBzhinlvH-WsldRv1U0WqVX_3ZG_WBCcx6PiMjswo3CRYuM3FWQjsloAUHIykxNgiZL-_KgO0MWsWRFPGjKEcW-DM2NiCYMYbNxpUqyhtC2qPiox4_NXPPW5TAjR-FbRc/s1600-h/IMG_3203.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7PZnMtCvTLLqBzhinlvH-WsldRv1U0WqVX_3ZG_WBCcx6PiMjswo3CRYuM3FWQjsloAUHIykxNgiZL-_KgO0MWsWRFPGjKEcW-DM2NiCYMYbNxpUqyhtC2qPiox4_NXPPW5TAjR-FbRc/s200/IMG_3203.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315293670059842850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdXTMi_Z3eaMWwXAh0Cfaz7WRkicdLCq8k_NXL3tD8D4w1DYxqvvuTmUvZcaIOqXe9NrkdADye4GH01pjO4j1WX2FDyH9TUFJE-yk3F1vviv7MU54kTSX9-2e4NAGz733CrjPWgwJLA0/s1600-h/IMG_3182.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdXTMi_Z3eaMWwXAh0Cfaz7WRkicdLCq8k_NXL3tD8D4w1DYxqvvuTmUvZcaIOqXe9NrkdADye4GH01pjO4j1WX2FDyH9TUFJE-yk3F1vviv7MU54kTSX9-2e4NAGz733CrjPWgwJLA0/s200/IMG_3182.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315293398073473730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFRi3boqW2ib526b0W6626Uq3kzPpQI4S-bDt1cHNBBzyZmnkZFTkGlEdhRss5evyBxcpwJKXaoIrAmrVXjO4l0p4yvhT-_X6kHuzGoMuFWw9oSI3LNkc1B-bzeSa2MSZdxsYlljdTkY/s1600-h/IMG_3156.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFRi3boqW2ib526b0W6626Uq3kzPpQI4S-bDt1cHNBBzyZmnkZFTkGlEdhRss5evyBxcpwJKXaoIrAmrVXjO4l0p4yvhT-_X6kHuzGoMuFWw9oSI3LNkc1B-bzeSa2MSZdxsYlljdTkY/s200/IMG_3156.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315293122829059410" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtHvHnd3z8_3uDLUdwy7qBeKIDTiDaeWbQEX6Fp0vEEsJRjlPx47Lr67WkWG58FrMMDwxDWVn7Z-U7KRJQwptyR53HLYGhsIDPIWrTGlPkOq83E_q1gPyD85wqLcY_4Wxcyt56tQZ04Y/s1600-h/IMG_3143.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtHvHnd3z8_3uDLUdwy7qBeKIDTiDaeWbQEX6Fp0vEEsJRjlPx47Lr67WkWG58FrMMDwxDWVn7Z-U7KRJQwptyR53HLYGhsIDPIWrTGlPkOq83E_q1gPyD85wqLcY_4Wxcyt56tQZ04Y/s200/IMG_3143.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315292889827327298" border="0" /></a><br />I can not believe that today was our last day in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Yangzhou</span>. The trip has gone by so quickly. I wanted to write our final evening entry tonight, but I am fading fast. I will have to come back and fill in some of the details later. We enjoyed some of the beautiful scenery of the city today. We started off by taking a boat ride on the Slender West Lake. We had a beautiful clear day and really enjoyed the lake, garden and scenic views. We took many photos! The morning was relaxing and enjoyable and just what we needed. After we left the lake, we made a brief stop on the way to lunch to a "display" building. This building displayed everything that was made in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Yangzhou</span> and shows visitors the plan for the future. We all left with gifts, the children received another stuffed animal and the parents <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">received</span> a "prospectus."<br />We enjoyed a nice lunch with a variety of steamed dumplings that are specific to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Yangzhou</span>.<br />After lunch we made a brief stop at another garden to meet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Yangzhou's</span> highest official in the communist party. Cindy knows his name, but I can't remember! After the meeting we were heading out to do some shopping. Since <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Yangzhou</span> is famous for <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">lacquerware</span>, my plan was to buy a piece of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">lacquerware</span> with the Pagoda from Slender West Lake in Mother of Pearl inlay. I had a specific piece in mind after speaking with Mindy and Cindy. Well, of course anytime we meet people here we <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">receive</span> a gift, and guess what we received? Yes, the exact piece I was planning to purchase! Since our suitcases are completely full, we did not purchase anything during our shopping adventure. We were in an area that was undergoing construction, but was more traditional. The streets were very narrow and decorated with red lanterns with a variety of arts and crafts shops including <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">papercutting</span>, knitting, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">lacquerware</span>, jewelry, etc. However, there were also many bikes, scooters, cars and people all attempting to use this same small lane. Not your typical day at the mall! We headed back to the hotel to meet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Guangjie</span> and prepare for our final banquet.<br />We enjoyed catching up with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Guangjie</span> for a little while before dinner. She brought all of the girls Chinese silk purses with a bracelet and statue inside. We were all so happy she came and made our final evening so special. At the banquet the video of our trip was playing on two very large screens. It was great fun to re-live the past week. It actually seems impossible that we really had this experience. We received our final gifts and we were very pleased. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">BLAS</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">YCWI</span> made us a photo album scrap book, and two group photos that were on wood with stands (unframed but finished) and a copy of the DVD of the trip. One member of each country made a short speech along with officials and all of the guides. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Everyone</span> was very emotional when the time came to say good bye. We exchanged emails and hugs and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">pro misses</span> of meeting again. I hope our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Yangzhou</span> Yahoo list will be active with our new friendships. Robin and Patty helped to organize a donation site through OCDF for Yangzhou families to donate to a tax deductable fund for the children at the orphanage. We think this will be a great opportunity to give back to YCWI. We are hoping we will have a site where we can share our videos from the trip. Diana does not want the trip to be over. Several times today she was calling <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Yangzhou</span> her "home town." She is so happy that we came and has learned so much about the people in China and how they live differently here compared to the U.S. We are preparing a power point for Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Washburn's</span> class back in Granite Bay to share some of the things she learned.<br />We have an early bus ride tomorrow, so need to be all ready to go by 7:30 for our trip back to Beijing. We will have one night on our own with the Karen and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Emi</span> before we fly home on Sunday. We will not have a lot of time, but our hotel is in a central location and we can walk to several places. We are hoping to visit the "night market" to look at <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">scorpions</span> on a stick and other interesting food choices. Note that I said to "look" but <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Emi</span> and Karen may be daring since it is our last night of the trip.<br />I will up load a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">photo</span> album of today soon. <br />Can't wait to see all of you soon.<br />Love to all,<br />Deb and a sleeping DianaDeborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-41202037358691439462009-03-19T07:19:00.001-07:002009-03-19T08:31:14.368-07:00Another great day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-nomkFla8BxgKRa0z-bB_XN2NGxTAl3Z-MEXJPGiMqVwhzf7qEZw8350FFg1cO5v9EUmVsHgUIJ2p3vsAoRR0i8GUYdIdw6lHWYtZ6SwjoR1oomRzyEhr0rwar5wEtmvnQeFOIyTMx8/s1600-h/IMG_3103.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-nomkFla8BxgKRa0z-bB_XN2NGxTAl3Z-MEXJPGiMqVwhzf7qEZw8350FFg1cO5v9EUmVsHgUIJ2p3vsAoRR0i8GUYdIdw6lHWYtZ6SwjoR1oomRzyEhr0rwar5wEtmvnQeFOIyTMx8/s200/IMG_3103.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314920106220274114" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIII2Ozhu1fos3ma_hpEiIJgSw4qSHa-ARRBBPtdiKfeMBQ7UnRMQrUwCNXKYDXjTS1goiwsyEFGxX-J4EkjtPlLka8_pnMcCPfApk0QBI_COmgLzgw80le-ItD4bvNsQYEflOLWy8-UA/s1600-h/IMG_3100.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoF3I3ATGtmskay-isOWBnRjOu9WEX5enYgVxvtTfNJ_Fq1WzrlI6feD0MUsV9kfy88k8Bykvrgy8PmzCtWL4LCs8uD-YNEmUqNEgtR_IGjFtCcV_KSX8dlwzq8AE9902bcdhLjj7qTFg/s200/IMG_3001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314915610582133634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7oGabcZbis3y1Ly3lN50iGJdRTR0MDGs3pzP3MdV5X93HaNBbATlcdti8H6l5vLH3CwfqedTVw0MFjnTSzNwsqvY04XifE3_LQ4XEuAU4o7X2enxY7BpxQ8Mhfm8Jv3qzNJ6n1yQLoE/s1600-h/IMG_2992.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7oGabcZbis3y1Ly3lN50iGJdRTR0MDGs3pzP3MdV5X93HaNBbATlcdti8H6l5vLH3CwfqedTVw0MFjnTSzNwsqvY04XifE3_LQ4XEuAU4o7X2enxY7BpxQ8Mhfm8Jv3qzNJ6n1yQLoE/s200/IMG_2992.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314915424100748194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_1Qw16rqXt4rnkOgetnRig_d1mQI9s_jSVDNkyOatp-Z3Sj_s5DTGDXD-UThYLjUaZhUMmh0TB0VQzuUzsiOMwCo6yWqhEba3gmYUTKemE2vWgl1BOQcjjsWGwKcbo4O9ofkmfFqPgE/s1600-h/IMG_2976.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_1Qw16rqXt4rnkOgetnRig_d1mQI9s_jSVDNkyOatp-Z3Sj_s5DTGDXD-UThYLjUaZhUMmh0TB0VQzuUzsiOMwCo6yWqhEba3gmYUTKemE2vWgl1BOQcjjsWGwKcbo4O9ofkmfFqPgE/s200/IMG_2976.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314915194742676450" border="0" /></a><br />We had been told last night that we would be going to a park today to see "plants and animals." I think we were all a bit "punchy" as we all thought it seemed hilarious. So we were expecting a quieter day with some sightseeing and then a visit to a school. Well, nothing about this trip has been quiet, so I do not know why we thought it would be. We arrived at the Yangzhou zoo and walked the beautiful grounds and made our first stop at the Panda! There was one large adorable panda relaxing and enjoying a tasty snack while we all watched. There were also two Red Panda's next door. We noticed while we were walking that some of the older children from the orphanage were walking with us. (I had not realized that this park was directly behind the YCWI.) We continued walking and arrived at a large open area and were greeted by women in costumes, orphanage officials, the news media...you understand by now. There was a stage with a large banner that read "Spring Roots Emotional." We were asked to sit in the chairs in front of the stage and our day began. We had lion dancers, puppet shows, yoyo demonstrations, more puppets, people spinning sugar into intricate animal shapes, paper cutting, kite flying etc. The event was presented as a cultural event for the children to have an opportunity to learn some traditional Chinese arts and crafts. At one point during one of the lion dances, children were brought into the group and danced with the women, wore their costumes, waved their scarves, etc. Our girls tended to be in the shy group, not wanting the focus of attention on them, but of course we made them dance for a few photo opportunities. The park was set up with stations surrounding the outside, so the children were free to choose the activities they were interested in. At one station the children put their handprint into some sort of clay and then wrote their name. These were going to be fired and then used to build a wall at the new orphanage. We were thrilled that our girls names will forever be part of the new building complex. Another station was demonstrating how to make Yangzhou Fried Rice. We then had our lunch at the park and ate all of the fried rice! After lunch we toured the New Oriental school, a very large boarding school with 3500 children in the first through 12Th grade. When we arrived we were greeted by student volunteers and led into their performance auditorium. We were treated to a music and a dance performance. Then the children went on stage to learn some Chinese and receive welcome gifts from the school and children. Each child received a hand made art poster or drawing along with a traditional Yangzhou papercut. The principal of the school came on stage in an athletic short set carrying a torch. He told us that he ran the Yangzhou leg of the torch relay in China and that the torch he had was the actual torch that lit the Beijing Olympic flame. Each of the girls took pictures carrying the torch. We then met our volunteer student for a tour of the buildings. Our volunteer was Penny, a 13 year old girl from Yangzhou in the 7Th grade. She spoke English very well, but was very quiet. She told us that she went to school from 7 Am until 9 PM every day and only went home every two weeks for a weekend. She does not study music or art in school because there is not enough time. Her favorite subject was English and she hoped to study English in America some day. Diana and Penny exchanged email addresses, so hopefully they will become pen pals. We saw the gymnasium at the school, the room with about 20 ping pong tables (The only sport Penny participates in) the basketball gym that my Will would scream for, and some science classes. We also saw the "canteen" that seated the students all at once and the dormitory where the girls lived four to a room. They have to hand wash their laundry and they hang it dry on their balcony. They have no television and are allowed no free time except for two days per week. It was a very interesting learning experience. After the tour we met Penny's parents and they drove us to their apartment. Although I had been nervous about the food, the 30 minute drive to their house was much more frightening. I do not think they use the lines on the road here. The swerving and the changing lanes, and the scooters, bikes and people all seem to intertwine. I can not believe we were not in some sort of a minor accident along the way. We sat down and there were not enough seat belts. Luckily Penny offered to change seats with Diana so she did wear one! Her father is a senior manager for manufacturing for a company similar to Amway. They just moved to Yangzhou in August from Guangdong Province. Their home was a fifth floor walk up with two bedrooms, an office, a kitchenette, dining area and living area. They also have a five year old son who speaks English very well and was quite entertaining. While Penny's parents made dinner I played with dinosaurs and read Dr. Seuss to Stanley. We had a very simple meal of vegetables, rice and soup (they were cooking "vegetarian" for me....if you recall from my earlier post I am a vegetarian this week.) Then I was offered some homemade prune wine! Of course I accepted and thought it was very good, it was sweet and fruity and had a kick! We took several photos and made some small talk while the girls played some games together. After dinner they drove us back to the hotel. We were happy to have this experience with a family from Yangzhou. Unfortunately my cell phone does not seem to be working when trying to call numbers here in China and I missed the opportunity to visit with Emmy Mignano's son, Andy. Andy is teaching at the New Oriental school, we knew he was teaching English in Yangzhou, but did not know which school he was working in until after we got home from dinner. It would have been fun to see him at work! Backc at the hotel we were all sharing stories and our experiences were all very different. Karen and Emi sang Karaoke, one family had fireworks, and Lilly ate some sort of "bird feet." I am sure I will hear more tomorrow. Ours was much more quiet and reserved which was perfect for Diana.<br />We are all once again so amazed at the time and effort that has gone into planning our events to make everything special and meaningful for the girls.<br />I can not believe tomorrow is our last day here in Yangzhou. We will do some sightseeing and then have a Farewell Banquet. We are also supposed to meet Guangjie!<br />I stayed up way too late last night working on the blog, hoping to get to bed a little earlier tonight!Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-18508041891342327872009-03-18T10:21:00.000-07:002009-03-18T10:24:22.025-07:00China Daily Article<a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-03/18/content_7588666.htm">http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-03/18/content_7588666.htm</a><br /><br />There are seven pages in the China Daily about our trip. My lower body and red carry on bag are in one picture :) The picture with the girl kissing her mom, both from the Netherlands. You can also see Lilly and Chey in the background, I am behind the girls. We were photographed a few times, but when they didn't ask for our names we knew we would not be in the paper.Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-41060911083972668602009-03-18T09:54:00.000-07:002009-03-18T10:00:21.527-07:00Yangzhou Children's Welfare Institute<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4CxvRkLHqSe4Le2H_D0dBU9lVwoEtxtmHSjEuzbDEVe0H1qmE2mhGCQUeWbCSK8UKdg0eg4RybV2vgQ2_2xOZYCHu3SheYd0KHkSP93lujXOb01vIonoANbs1wNDWBm39i3ztFj-OoY/s1600-h/IMG_2868.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4CxvRkLHqSe4Le2H_D0dBU9lVwoEtxtmHSjEuzbDEVe0H1qmE2mhGCQUeWbCSK8UKdg0eg4RybV2vgQ2_2xOZYCHu3SheYd0KHkSP93lujXOb01vIonoANbs1wNDWBm39i3ztFj-OoY/s200/IMG_2868.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314573656950573154" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnhaNQyFfjCoHoMJk24m_pPtLqLfu1y1TBpSdI31t6U3Q5-6FbnWUIlQXNPiIdGGdFP1dd0rLR3SppShUAKDyI-3TRTTbESU7WiGYzfxflibGWsM3BxX2iUvVbJ7Z1g3OUrxdHBl3TXQ/s1600-h/IMG_2838.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnhaNQyFfjCoHoMJk24m_pPtLqLfu1y1TBpSdI31t6U3Q5-6FbnWUIlQXNPiIdGGdFP1dd0rLR3SppShUAKDyI-3TRTTbESU7WiGYzfxflibGWsM3BxX2iUvVbJ7Z1g3OUrxdHBl3TXQ/s200/IMG_2838.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314573411303024178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWpqQqU6nGI1kTL2HVufTi7nUVc7qetDttRS5cebud-DyMiHtc_MvF6Nlqjh-avI03rHl_QhIig6rZ6GFUZuYeil8Hk5qRrh0awOVJwomdfb3wm4eFvuSENkozHOK2Sh8o92d_DoltIg/s1600-h/IMG_2829.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWpqQqU6nGI1kTL2HVufTi7nUVc7qetDttRS5cebud-DyMiHtc_MvF6Nlqjh-avI03rHl_QhIig6rZ6GFUZuYeil8Hk5qRrh0awOVJwomdfb3wm4eFvuSENkozHOK2Sh8o92d_DoltIg/s200/IMG_2829.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314573176804767922" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3TgvrADyIVdnZ9hAs_VvWFfzLl-OSzH9WvnghBM4B3jcFMoJdlALY6bx0gDtZ-UOgZp79blex9ZDgD4ilbABC2IC2BZIobpGAloJbs46uVPKv9OnTi9hhq2NHz7_oYYRRvKESrzTpxU/s1600-h/IMG_2745.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3TgvrADyIVdnZ9hAs_VvWFfzLl-OSzH9WvnghBM4B3jcFMoJdlALY6bx0gDtZ-UOgZp79blex9ZDgD4ilbABC2IC2BZIobpGAloJbs46uVPKv9OnTi9hhq2NHz7_oYYRRvKESrzTpxU/s200/IMG_2745.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314572875617575170" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaLe5c4wTxZhCR2CYwUpGhMC_5429ejJtoVlacN1JQY-vAfsEQhRXZ-58c0K2EUQEh-0l6zw_dNyH8mabH_aYfwyZl7ql6CPQBO3mrlf6J3Q8WQA5amvhs2RKLc9oxl0SFsZz8rY4HNI/s1600-h/IMG_2924.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaLe5c4wTxZhCR2CYwUpGhMC_5429ejJtoVlacN1JQY-vAfsEQhRXZ-58c0K2EUQEh-0l6zw_dNyH8mabH_aYfwyZl7ql6CPQBO3mrlf6J3Q8WQA5amvhs2RKLc9oxl0SFsZz8rY4HNI/s200/IMG_2924.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314572527936044002" border="0" /></a>Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-61099547778646593792009-03-18T09:51:00.001-07:002009-03-18T09:54:20.418-07:00November 27, 1996 7:10 AMToday was a day made for Lifetime TV! I am sure I will leave something out but I will try to capture a little of everything. I have placed many photos in an album since I think the photos show the emotion and excitement of everything. We arrived at the Yangzhou Children’s Welfare Institute to a crowd of local people and the sound of drums. As we approached the gate I had visions of the Beijing Olympics as we saw the line of girls in costume playing drums in unison. The emotions overtook us and most of us were crying before we even left the bus. We walked through the gate and were in awe at the size of this event and preparation and planning that obviously occurred to arrange everything. Along with the drums, costumed figures greeted us as we walked down the road. As we walked farther we could see a stage with a huge red banner welcoming the children home to Yangzhou. There were nannies, staff, children, media, and guests all waiting for us. It was very difficult to sit down for their special ceremony! The ceremony started with a Lion Dance followed by welcome speeches by YCWI officials and spokespeople. They showed photographs of how the orphanage has changed in the past 20 years. During the ceremony both Diana and I were very emotional and started to cry and hug each other. Some photographers saw us and began snapping photos and filming with the TV camera. A reporter came to interview us, ask our names, why we were crying and what we thought about the event. I honestly have no idea what I said to her, it is all a blur! We may be in the Yangzhou paper tomorrow, but we may never know! We both actually felt much better and were ready for the next event. We then exchanged gifts (we gave the orphanage a photo album of our 1997 group) and the YCWI gave the girls VERY large Teddy Bears (Diana traded Marissa for a pink bear!) a Yangzhou book and a Yangzhou framed traditional paper cut. The girls then sang “Jingle Bells” (yes Jingle Bells) and other groups sang other songs. They took a wonderful group photo of all the girls with their Teddy Bears on the stage. We then were directed to another large “wall” banner and our next surprise. They had 5X7 copies of the girl’s referral or passport photos copied for each girl and these photos were also on the wall, mingled in with the word “LOVE.” They gave the girls pens and had them sign their names under their picture. WOW! You have to see the photos to understand! Our next event was experiencing Chinese culture. The girls were given aprons to wear and keep and then taught how to make dumplings. They made several and then we proceeded to eat them together in the cafeteria for our group lunch. They tasted great! After lunch we had free time to explore the grounds and take photographs. We were happy to see that the garden was still there and we found the statue, that used to be in front, “placed” in a corner of the garden. We recreated our group shot, of course minus Shae, in the same order the photo had been taken 12 years ago, in front of the Yangzhou gate. After lunch we toured the new building, still under construction, and saw artists sketches of what the finished product will look like. Then we watched a film made about YCWI with the staff and children. It was similar to a documentary, telling of life in YCWI and the process of being adopted, from the first time a baby is found, until adoption day. Many of the older children we saw in the orphanage were in the film. The film was very emotional and I can’t even do it justice to describe it here. Finally the moment Diana had been waiting for, visiting and holding the babies. As we were lead through several of the rooms, she enjoyed playing with the babies and toddlers and held a few of the babies. She was happy to see that they were being taken care of but sad that they did not have a family of their own to love them. The older children performed some songs and poems for us. They were all dressed in new pink clothes, even the boys. One of the exciting things we witnessed was Lilly, Shu Ru, meeting her foster family again. The foster father was so emotional and so happy to see Lilly. He went home and brought back a photo album with many pictures of Lilly and the family together. His emotion made all of us cry again. We also took some photographs of the girls with the “auntie” that placed them into the arms of their parents 12 years ago. When we first heard about this trip, one agenda item that really made us excited was being able to view Diana’s files. However, early into the trip, we heard that YCWI was not prepared to show us files. Several families discussed how important this was to them, and someone must have done some magic because we were told that “files were coming.” They would only let people look at them and photograph them sitting at a table with the orphanage officials watching. We had to do this two or three at a time, so this took quite a while. When it was our turn, and they brought our files, at first they told us everything that we already knew. Then I saw a medical report that we had not seen before. The report discussed that she had been ill and been receiving medication. There was a graph of her temperature as well. The doctor note stated that she needed to be given “special care” so that she would get better. I was photographing all of the pages, when I turned the page and saw it….A RED NOTE WITH CHINESE CHARACTERS! I quickly called for someone to read it to us and she said, “November 27, 1996, 7:10 AM.” Unless you have adopted a baby from China, and especially if you adopted a long time ago like we did, you probably don’t realize how significant this is. This was a note left with Diana when she was left at the orphanage that listed her birthday and the time she was born. We had been told this was her birthday from the beginning, and we were so happy that this was her birthday since it was also her Grandfather DeMore’s birthday, but we were not told she had a note or a time of birth. Diana has asked several times over the past few years, what time she was born, but unfortunately we did not know. On her last birthday, we decided to “choose” a time. This was probably the most important information that we could have found out and it has made Diana incredibly happy. She immediately texted Mark to tell him that she was born at 7:10 AM. I asked if we could have the note, but was told the original had to stay in her files. After much pleading they made a copy for us and of course we took photos of the original. A few others found out exciting information that they did not know, but many files were the documents that families already had. The files also had photos that had been sent by families over the years. We were completely and thoroughly thrilled, ecstatic, elated, and exhausted by the time we needed to leave. We spent the entire day, from 8:30 AM until 4:00 PM participating in this wonderful day. I hope through my photos and videos we can remember this for ever. We ended the day with a buffet dinner and a night boat cruse along the Grand Canal. Diana fell right into bed and is sound asleep. I decided I had to write this tonight so I would not forget anything, although I am sure I have. I hope I have written this well enough so that you can imagine what today was like. It still feels surreal. I wish Mark and the boys were here to be part of this with us. I will have sweet dreams tonight!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenwoodfamily6/YangzhouOrphanage#">http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenwoodfamily6/YangzhouOrphanage# </a><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenwoodfamily6/TheRedNote#">http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenwoodfamily6/TheRedNote#</a>Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-62143593532155676652009-03-17T07:48:00.000-07:002009-03-17T08:19:44.582-07:00Yangzhou!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzHsnOYfEl6dBM6IXlyPLpn7IgeyqjP1RCtQiwAtCrQR_S5Phu3T1JFDc-MQ5JXvMAaZnT9AEJZlS2rCZHEtY-D8DL64EnjakhY8cCdgGmybp97qceOLkKqfikYndYvWTRHy9v9Td1S6U/s1600-h/IMG_2664.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzHsnOYfEl6dBM6IXlyPLpn7IgeyqjP1RCtQiwAtCrQR_S5Phu3T1JFDc-MQ5JXvMAaZnT9AEJZlS2rCZHEtY-D8DL64EnjakhY8cCdgGmybp97qceOLkKqfikYndYvWTRHy9v9Td1S6U/s200/IMG_2664.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314176161073644258" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUy3kthoMYZQl3F-AXsMGl8QxZp5QLBFn9QsEuleZ9nELob2oTlwIruODylMyOYPeliSvW1mOQ7VtbXLR4oV_LVhETOsr8qh-_uCROhVO562CUy_2O-yt5KH18Uz_2IBnRi3T8yl1I_U/s1600-h/IMG_2662.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUy3kthoMYZQl3F-AXsMGl8QxZp5QLBFn9QsEuleZ9nELob2oTlwIruODylMyOYPeliSvW1mOQ7VtbXLR4oV_LVhETOsr8qh-_uCROhVO562CUy_2O-yt5KH18Uz_2IBnRi3T8yl1I_U/s200/IMG_2662.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314175805158019026" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSbjDSQGLUKPHuMC06aaAsX_x24Z18cqNgJyZohZaOQf-YOIMqoEWMmErS0fXzZhCrj2xbMsp8DbCS-JCR9u9YLJZJmRKVQ8Ua4-EzSwO_2bVril5ueW4ZP2uq5Ft77Q3un6jdWo3XiQ/s1600-h/IMG_2667.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSbjDSQGLUKPHuMC06aaAsX_x24Z18cqNgJyZohZaOQf-YOIMqoEWMmErS0fXzZhCrj2xbMsp8DbCS-JCR9u9YLJZJmRKVQ8Ua4-EzSwO_2bVril5ueW4ZP2uq5Ft77Q3un6jdWo3XiQ/s200/IMG_2667.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314175378074986402" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZ12WBvYAiRfrd5-Gw8coMWq72aZvB0rJjUiplStnaFpsGgBCm91zFf1AGF4s5MLlTkPO9uGtvHHHxB0xAZRMG_GUXKMW3epbkp2yEaJAMHMBHqZaExZCG5YtkSzlU5u-isRwiap-m00/s1600-h/IMG_2651.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZ12WBvYAiRfrd5-Gw8coMWq72aZvB0rJjUiplStnaFpsGgBCm91zFf1AGF4s5MLlTkPO9uGtvHHHxB0xAZRMG_GUXKMW3epbkp2yEaJAMHMBHqZaExZCG5YtkSzlU5u-isRwiap-m00/s200/IMG_2651.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314174920774466482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglC7v40SG_b_gM_t5NwmsupE3gey3dkpokfXABXX_IEPVMBFqKuLSbuN_jyRrcElnE1UZS7IiU_CgMH5Xb9_RPPt_zUlEsWeMD8_YkKE9uqzGYmfdbMjWLEmyht0vwTVLBk6Y_7aNG9oc/s1600-h/IMG_2649.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglC7v40SG_b_gM_t5NwmsupE3gey3dkpokfXABXX_IEPVMBFqKuLSbuN_jyRrcElnE1UZS7IiU_CgMH5Xb9_RPPt_zUlEsWeMD8_YkKE9uqzGYmfdbMjWLEmyht0vwTVLBk6Y_7aNG9oc/s200/IMG_2649.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314174750565434802" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lnHilg-x1D4vAlb2NB0Q14y5CVmMha48lAGuiywdIUCb7m-DyHab0m-M968KexGiPhEJNnIdycxSauHt0iVCt9i8tbK9Mo1bAopcEksnn85iQ7hZYraYFHtg7sw2VkjgeSdZvVqyd90/s1600-h/IMG_2648.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lnHilg-x1D4vAlb2NB0Q14y5CVmMha48lAGuiywdIUCb7m-DyHab0m-M968KexGiPhEJNnIdycxSauHt0iVCt9i8tbK9Mo1bAopcEksnn85iQ7hZYraYFHtg7sw2VkjgeSdZvVqyd90/s200/IMG_2648.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314174576111837106" border="0" /></a><br />We had a long travel day today and it is late right now! At the Beijing airport our group was followed and photographed by "reporters" from The China Daily newspaper. We were told that there was going to be a full page article in the paper tomorrow regarding our group and visit. We are anxious to see the paper in the morning! We flew from Beijing to Nanjing, then had a three hour bus ride to Yangzhou. When we arrived at the airport we finally reunited with Donna and Marissa who have been living here in China. They had traveled by train to meet the group at the airport. The girls were so excited to see Marissa again. We all boarded the bus, now with two new "volunteer student helpers" from Yangzhou. We were told that we would be stopping on the way to the hotel for dinner. We did not realize until we arrived in Nanjing that we were stopping for a special dinner event. We pulled up to a hotel in Yangzhou and a red banner was waiting for us, welcoming home children from Yangzhou! We were greeted by the Mayor, the orphanage officials, and the BLAS representatives. We then went inside to a large banquet room all decorated with a wall size red banner, red bows tied on the chairs, flowers, etc. The evening was hosted by a local television personality and was being filmed by Yangzhou television. There were welcome messages by the Mayor and entertainment for the audience consisting of music, magic, a puppet show with caligraphy and singing. We were served too many dishes to count, they just kept arriving! We met a new family that just joined our "Green group" tonight, the Krafts from Indiana. Their daughter, Claire, recognized Lilly (Shu Ru) right away from living together in Yangzhou. We enjoyed our evening and meeting new friends. We didn't actually get to our room until almost 10 PM! Only a few photos taken tonight, mostly video. When I get home and figure out how to post these videos, I will!Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-42057570531415196592009-03-16T19:47:00.000-07:002009-03-16T19:57:41.571-07:00Civil Affairs Ceremony<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V34WpLoGehYZHJFkqljcUIV-oJtZ9RfEXyiMm5GCaeVRSaNc7owxEcU_lVeJJ0NkFptPVivdvYIry_1Cm9g6_jlKFbavs-vT4PJnzms4mk7DRcnN4I7VudR-OmsBJ_uInKCYsxbSYYA/s1600-h/IMG_2626.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V34WpLoGehYZHJFkqljcUIV-oJtZ9RfEXyiMm5GCaeVRSaNc7owxEcU_lVeJJ0NkFptPVivdvYIry_1Cm9g6_jlKFbavs-vT4PJnzms4mk7DRcnN4I7VudR-OmsBJ_uInKCYsxbSYYA/s200/IMG_2626.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313985231284981218" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEYwe9P1Cck0nD6_UccKSFbL_3rbZponmXFra5lZWFi51gMkud2lJ0dFQAv5TRJyby5y0W8-q0rHWxiK-KwujvE_pxMTNIrMlolOTKOwEjyIJgB_LokOKsGd8F9uV3nsAzbJAiwLt7MM/s1600-h/IMG_2621.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEYwe9P1Cck0nD6_UccKSFbL_3rbZponmXFra5lZWFi51gMkud2lJ0dFQAv5TRJyby5y0W8-q0rHWxiK-KwujvE_pxMTNIrMlolOTKOwEjyIJgB_LokOKsGd8F9uV3nsAzbJAiwLt7MM/s200/IMG_2621.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313985023765022930" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9FtJqVcSnm8_-vJsnLm8dAa3u5wUO5mUlTDkGGZZnsEYu3p0e9nnrs9hF_MNtEATEZ0igURKNiKdDDFrO5Da8hYGj9DQqtoyqbZxVW71NPdoFuvArn9A_8890ppmHHTCvN8g1eExKWw/s1600-h/IMG_2609.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9FtJqVcSnm8_-vJsnLm8dAa3u5wUO5mUlTDkGGZZnsEYu3p0e9nnrs9hF_MNtEATEZ0igURKNiKdDDFrO5Da8hYGj9DQqtoyqbZxVW71NPdoFuvArn9A_8890ppmHHTCvN8g1eExKWw/s200/IMG_2609.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313984761384254402" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenwoodfamily6/CivilAffairsCeremony#">http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenwoodfamily6/CivilAffairsCeremony#</a><br /><br />This morning we attended a very special event. We all met at the Civil Affairs office in Beijing. The head of the department and several other officials, along with the CCAA director and director of BLAS welcomed us with a slide show of photographs we sent prior to our trip and arrival photos at the airport. The room was decorated in red with a huge banner. We listened to special speeches about our daughters and how happy they were that the girls were happy, and thriving in their countries and with their families. There were families from Denmark, Norway, Canada, The Netherlands, England and the US. We all had individual family photos taken with the directors and they presented us with special gifts. Diana received a red "ox" since it is the year of the ox. We also received a glass etched Great Wall statue and a welcome letter. We then took a group photo. The television station was also there and they interviewed several families including Mindy, Hannah and Lilly. We were overwhelmed with emotion at the end of the ceremony and were so happy and thankful we were able to bring the girls back to attend this event. The link has more photos of our event. We are back at the room packing up and getting ready for our flight to Nanjing. Next post will be from Yangzhou!Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7784621944598462434.post-89743986748600148842009-03-16T15:57:00.000-07:002009-03-16T19:16:10.701-07:00Photos from Forbidden City<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenwoodfamily6/ForbiddenCity#"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenwoodfamily6/ForbiddenCity#</span></a>Deborah Greenwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06165221686069633436noreply@blogger.com0