The Dotson Family Journey

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5/9: White Cloud Mountain

We woke up and ate breakfast and got on a bus to White Cloud Mountain. We got on a tram that took us part way up. We walked around and saw a pond with lots of koi and turtles in it. We climbed and climbed and saw Buddhas. Then we walked back down and caught a tram for the next half of the ride up the mountain. We saw the place where we could see the whole city and went on a cable car back down and went to the room for the rest of the day.

5/8: Staying Near the Island

Today we just shopped for people. Sorry it's not that interesting (it would be interesting if I was shopping for you, though!) Bye!

5/6: Consulate

We got up, got ready, and ate breakfast that morning. We got family pictures on the red couch. Then we got on a bus that afternoon that took us to the consulate. The consulate is a place where people go if they want to go to America. If an American needs help in China, they can call the consulate. We had to go through security, then waited and waited. I played with Megan a little then went back to our room for the rest of the day.

5/5: Circus Safari Park

Today we’re going to the zoo! We don’t have our guide today so it’s going to be tough. Even getting our van to start and finding the zoo was an adventure! We got ready to go, ate some breakfast and got to the bus. The bus driver didn’t believe that everyone was in the bus the van so he got someone to translate. Finally we were on our way. When we got there we bought our tickets and went in. We didn't know what to think because there were clowns and people on tall sticks! We looked at the map and realized that it wasn’t a zoo, it was a circus! We got some help and changed our tickets and got on a bus that took us to the zoo.

When we got there we saw TONS of animals-I can’t name them all. We fed giraffes and elephants and I held a baby tiger! We walked and walked. Finally we got to the safari on wheels! While we were walking to it, we almost saw the whole zoo so really all we had to do was enjoy the ride. Then we went back to our room for the rest of the day.

5/3& 5/4: Academies and Temples

We woke up, got ready for the day, ate a wonderful breakfast, and got on our bus heading for the Chen Family Temple. The Chen family temple is a HUGE family home and school. All the families with the last name Chen donated money to build the Chen Family Temple. The thing that was most interesting to me was when we saw a man painting with only his fingers beautiful pictures. He was a great artist. I'll put up a picture of him holding one of his finger paintings.

Then the day after we went to the Chen Family Temple we went to Six Banyan Temple. When we got there they gave us a peanut and a piece of candy. There are six temples with statues of the Buddhas in them. We walked and walked and climbed and climbed through the six temples. Finally we got to their god of mercy.

Many people came to her to pray for someone or ask for a baby, but we were there to take part in a Buddhist blessing. There were three gods of mercy in there, one in the middle, one to the left, and one to the right. For their ceremony, we kneeled, touched our forehead to the ground three times, then someone came in holding two instruments. He played them for what felt like ten minutes, stopped, threw some water on us, then kept playing for ten more minutes. It was in interesting ceremony. After that we went to this place where we drank different kinds of tea and ate peanuts. Then we went back to our room.

5/2: Medical Exam

Uh-Oh! The medical exam is today! Colton, Meilyn, and I waited and waited. Then it was time for them to just talk with the doctors. He was kicking and screaming. Then Mom, Dad, and Long Long came out and told us he has to get six shots! They went in, two nurses had to help, and my mom and dad had to hold his arms and legs down. They came out and we went to the park, played a little and went back to the room.

5/1: Guangzhou

We got up really early to get to our flight on time. The flight took 2 hours. When we got to the airport it was like I was breathing soup! The air here is really humid and hot! Once we found our guide, Kelly, we got on a bus that took us to our hotel, The White Swan.

The White Swan is perfect! There is a waterfall in the lobby going into a pond full of Koi and a big jade sculpture of a dragon boat. There is a huge bird cage full of love birds. There are big glass windows that look out to the Pearl River.

We went up to our room - it is a suite! There are two rooms. One is a bedroom and one is a living room. We are on the 27th floor, and we have a great view of Guangzhou. Our hotel is on a small island called Shamian Island. There is a lot of construction going on here. We walked around the island and at every store we passed, there was someone outside asking if we wanted to come into their store. There were lots of adopting families. Most of them were adopting from Hunan Province.

Click picture to see more photos of the White Swan

4/30: Leaving Tomorrow

Tomorrow we’re leaving Jinan and going to Guangzhou. We went to Walmart, and yes they do have a Walmart in China. It has 3 floors. After that we went back to our room and Mom, Dad, Meilyn, and Long Long went to the market while Colton and I wrote in our journals. They were gone for a long time,

I was beginning to get worried! Finally Mom, Dad, Meilyn, and Long Long came through the door! I complained to Mom and Dad that they were gone for two whole hours! They told me that while they were at the market they saw a trail of high schoolers, so they followed them and found a high school. They took some pictures and headed back for our room. We went to bed early that night because we’re going to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning.

4/29: Daming Lake
At Daming Lake Colton bought a ball that if you pull it or kick it, it will get bigger. We was boats with duck heads on the top and ate something, and we don't know what it was. It was very sweet, and it was on a stick. We think it was a puffed wheat snack. There were lots of beautiful sights there. There was a huge boat--it was beautiful!

We went to the marketplace today. They have hens, eels, fish, pigeons, turtles, frogs, snakes, and something that looked like a cross between a centipede and a lobster, they were all to eat! There were lots of dogs. We saw a French Bulldog! There lots of bicycles going through. Sometimes you'd see cars going through, too. There were lots of people and there wasn't much space, so everybody had to go to the sides and the car kept on honking the whole way through. It was crazy! I never, ever liked the smell.

4/28: Baotu Springs

I made a little song about Baotu Springs. It goes like this: Bow-Bow-Baotu Springs! While we were trying to get into the park, Colton and I got separated from our group. Lots of people kept touching my hair and saying "Paiolaio." That means pretty in Chinese. They were just being nice and I wasn't worried. Finally we saw Jane, our guide and went into the park. Baotu Springs is where I bought a Buddha necklace. We also saw a seal pond. The seal pond is a medium size pond with seals in it. There was one bigger one and one smaller one. They swam laps around the pond, just going around and around. Meilyn really liked the seals.

Jinan is called the Spring City because it has lots of beautiful springs. A spring is where water shoots up out of the ground, creating a pond. Baotu Springs is a small pond, but we were walking around a huge park.

4/27: 1000 Buddha Mountain

1,000 Buddha Mountain actually has 1,000 Buddhas on it. Buddha is considered a prophet in China. I bought a necklace with a gold Buddha in it. The Buddha spins. It was our guide Jane's day off, so it was just my family and me. As we were eating ice cream, 12 or 14 people came up to ask us questions. Luckily, a woman that knew English came over to us and acted as the interpeter. Finally, the crowd got all their questions answered and slowly went away. We thanked the woman that interpreted for us and went on our way.

At the top of 1,000 Buddha Mountain, there is a huge golden Buddha, but we didn't get that far. I'm sure we passed Jiao Shi Er Buddhas (that means 92 in Chinese).

4/26: Adoption Paperwork

The next morning, Long Long was better. He was talking, blowing bubbles, eating M & M's, and playing with toy cars. We got ready to go to the Civil Affairs Office. When we got there, the director and his two nannies were there. You could tell the director and Long Long were close. Tai was crying, and the director had some tears. It was their last day together. When my mom and dad were done with the paperwork, it was time for us to head toward the notary's office. As we got out of the van, Tai fell. He cried and cried, even though he wasn't hurt. I think he was probably scared, but almost instantly as he went into the director's arms, he stopped crying.

As we waited, the director told us that some weekends he would take Long Long to his house to spend the weekend. The director appeared to be on the edge of tears as our van drove out of sight. Those were their last moments together.

4/25: Meeting Long Long

The next day we had to leave to Jinan. Only one family came with us. Their names are Barbara and Paul. They are adopting a little boy named Jung Jung. I had to say goodbye to Megan, then in one week we'll see each other again. So we went to the airport and met our new guide, Jane. That's her American name. I forgot her Chinese name, but she is very nice.

The plane ride wasn't very long at all. It was only about an hour. At our hotel, the other family is right next to us. We settled right in and put our clothes in the closet. Then, suddenly, we heard crying and whining--the other family just got their son. That meant Long Long was coming to the door.

Finally, ding-dong, Long Long was at the door. Whoosh went the door! In stepped Tai Long Long, his two nannies, and the director of the orphanage. Long Long looked really nervous. They brought a box with all of his stuff in it. It had two coloring books, some markers, a broken car, some clothes, and some candy. Every time we talked to him, he just ignored us. He played with his stuff and ate his candy. He used his teeth to get the wrapper off.

Soon, the director and the two nannies left. After that, we went to get my mom and dad's picture with Long Long. Then we went back to our room and didn't go anywhere for the rest of the day.

We're Here!

We're finally here! I'm sorry I haven't been writing, but we had a problem with the computer. I'm not going to go on about why and how we fixed it. What I'm going to go on and on about are the adventures we had in Beijing.

First, the plane ride was REALLY long. We had meals on the plane-breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We spend one whole day, almost 24 hours, on the planes. Finally we got to Beijing. It was so pretty and different seeing all the lights as we drove to our hotel. We all crashed that night, not waking up a bit. Then my dad woke me up.

Click photo to see my Beijing photo album

Then we got into the lobby and changed our money into Chinese money. In China, their money is called the Yuan. Our guide was Michael. That's just his American name. He also has a Chinese name, but I forgot it.

Before I get on to what we did in China, I'll tell you how lucky we are. I saw people in China who were very poor and had physical disabilities and couldn't get them fixed. For example, I saw a man whose foot was missing. He was begging for money. Then, there was another man who got around on a homemade skateboard because his legs couldn't move.

Now here are the adventures we had. We had nine families in our group. That's a lot! The Chinese people are very nice and organized. For instance, this restaurant we went to had people that help you during the meal. They stand near the table and get you anything you need, put things on your plate, and when I took off my coat, they put it on the back of my chair and put a cover over it to protect it.

First, we went to the Tiananmen Square. Then we went to the Forbidden City, or you could call it the emperor's palace. There were lots and lots of people who wanted to take pictures of me and my friend Megan. People would put their children next to me and ask to take a picture with them because they haven't seen a lot of Americans. The Forbidden City was old. Some of it was about 600 years old! Most of it was painted red because red in China means luck and happiness.

Then we went to lunch on the way to the Great Wall! We finally got to it, the Great Wall of China. The steps were HUGE! My legs would be screaming if they had mouths. I got a certificate saying I climbed the Great Wall. The Great Wall was built to ward off enemies.

We got back on the bus, and I slept the whole drive back to the hotel!

Waiting to Go...

Hello! My name is Abigael and my family and I are going to China to pick up my new little brother, Tai! His Chinese name is Wan Long Long - that means little dragon in Chinese. It's so exciting I can't wait!!!

Instead of gifts for my birthday, I decided to get donations for the orphanage. My brother and I have raised $200 so when we get to China we can buy things for the orphanage. We have also received shirts, pants, socks, underwear, toothpaste and toothbrushes. So I would like to thank these people for helping me: Emily, Emma, Makenzie, Melissa, and the dentists at Children's Choice.