Day 16 -- Changsha, China

We woke up at 7:30am today and went down for breakfast at 8:15am. We had a similar food selection to the last hotel, but it actually tasted decent this time. There was another American family (Mom, Dad, and son about 5 or so) eating so I said hi to them. Netta is really nervous today. This is her third adoption, but it doesn’t stop the nerves. We already know that Tai has a cleft palate (he has had a lip surgery but hasn’t had the cleft palate repaired yet), but she is worried that there could be other problems with him that they didn’t tell her about. It is a valid concern as she knows of one couple who turned down a girl after spending a ton of money and coming over to get her because she had a lot of problems that they never mentioned. She wouldn’t move on her own and didn’t react to voices or any sound. I know what I would want my response to be in this situation, but I guess no one ever really knows until they are faced with the situation themselves. Throughout the morning we got updates on the Super Bowl game. It looked decent for the Seahawks at first, but apparently there were some really bad calls. The final score was 21-10 Steelers. At least the Seahawks made it though. We met Jason, the guide assisting with the adoption, at 9:00am and drove about 30 minutes to what he called ‘a government building.’ We went up the elevator and into a waiting room where other families were meeting their kids for the first time. The American family that I saw at breakfast was there as were a couple and perhaps a single mom. They all had their new children with them. We talked briefly to the couple from our hotel. The little boy they are adopting is a couple months older than Tai. He looked very small for a three year old. The other two kids being adopted were girls, probably both under three years old. Netta sat nervously as Jason went back and forth with paperwork. Finally they brought Tai out. It took him only a minute or two to be comfortable and start munching on the Cheerios that Netta brought for him. He ate like a little bird, sticking his lips out when he was ready for her to feed him another Cheerio. He sat on her lap while she asked questions about him and I wrote down the things that they said. Tai did really well and didn’t cry until the adoption agency people left. He only cried for as long as it took us to go downstairs and get back into the van. He is pretty small for his age and the 3T size clothes are falling off of him. I think perhaps some of it is the diet he has been on and some of it could be that he can’t eat quite enough with his cleft palate. He is a handsome boy nonetheless and can make a sad face that will just melt you. Jason took us to a baby store where Netta bought some bottles, spoons, formula, and a toy for him. When we got back to the hotel, we figured out that he was wearing a diaper despite the fact that the adoption agency had said he wasn’t in diapers anymore and would go to the toilet when he needed it (he did use the toilet when he was sat upon it, but he hasn’t walked over to it himself). They also said he was on formula and drinking out of a baby bottle; he wouldn’t take the baby bottle but would drink bottled water. Even when the formula was dumped into the water bottle, he wouldn’t take it. Tai was getting a bit restless and we were hungry, so we managed to find our way back to the KFC that we had seen. We ordered from a girl (apparently the only one who spoke any English) while three others looked on and listened. Daniel went back up later to get some ice cream and she wasn’t there, so the others were fighting over who HAD to help him. That seems to be the case here thus far, few English speakers. Netta also bought some fruit at a nearby stand. Between the fruit, the orange soda, and the French fries, Tai seemed to be doing pretty good and was actually feeding himself the food that we handed to him. I gave him a napkin at one point and he quite enjoyed it. He would unfold it, fold it, unfold it, lay it neatly over the front of the high chair, etc. He did this for about 15 minutes while we were all eating. He also reached for a French fry that I had in my hand when I had my head turned away. That was a pretty good sign that he was at least getting more comfortable. We returned to the hotel and Tai finally went down for a nap for about two hours. Mom and Netta left at 2:30ish to meet Jason and go do some more paperwork. I guess Jason sort of went to bat for them, as there was some paperwork missing that would have prevented Netta from leaving the country with Thai. The notary and director of the agency wanted to send it via China Post while Netta is in Guangzhou next week. Jason was very insistent and got them to agree to bring it at their next meeting on Thursday. They returned to the hotel and let us know that we had dinner plans at 6:15pm. We all did our own thing for a bit before meeting Jason and his friend Violet in the hotel lobby. We all walked to a nearby restaurant that is supposed to have very good Hunan province traditional food. Jason and violet studied together in New Zealand. She is originally from Shanghai and has family from Suzhou, so she is familiar with my parents’ city. They ordered a variety of food and I tried everything (it was all good) except for the hundred-year-old eggs. I’ve had them before and am not very fond of them. I have heard that traditionally they were soaked in horse urine. I’m not sure if that is true or not, but that is what I hear. Violet explained briefly how they make them now. She said that they put the eggs under the house for a very long time until they smell really bad and are fermented. She emphasized that the smell was bad, but Chinese people still really like the taste. We also got Jason to pronounce Tai’s given name for us again. The accent here is a little different, but it sounds like ‘Jeiun Kwoi’ (and that isn’t pinyin, perhaps ‘Jun Kui’?). It means handsome and strong. Tai ate surprisingly well at dinner. He ate vegetables, rice, eggs, and fruit and even fed himself with a spoon, another thing that the adoption agency people said Netta would have to do for him. We are beginning to think that they don’t necessarily get the full info from the foster family and just kind of tell you what they think should be done for the child. Mom pulled out his bowl and put a bunch of leftovers in it for him so they have food that he likes for tomorrow. Went back to the hotel and saw on the news that apparently we missed the snow in Beijing by a day. Guess that’s not so bad though since I was already freezing my ass off there. Mom came and got me during the evening and had me come listen at Netta’s door. We could hear her playing with Tai and him laughing hysterically. We went in and saw him sitting on the bed and she was sneaking up on him and tickling him. He’s definitely warming up to her and becoming much more comfortable. Not bad for about 12 hours of them being together. I look forward to tomorrow to see more of his personality emerging. Heading to bed now at nearly midnight.