Some Observations on Adoption and Adoption Travel

Here are a few random observations from when we were in China

• A year spent doing paperwork is an incredibly long time.
• It seems like only yesterday that we first received Abigail's referral over a year ago.
• Mixed race families are something to be stared at. We've been stared at from a distance of two feet, we've had numerous cell phone cameras stuck in our faces and I think Abigail got sick of all the questions that were directed at her.
• Personal space isn't.
• Chinese people talk too fast. Everything sounds jumbled together.
• Pavement lines and traffic lights are only a suggestion.
• There's always room for one more on the city bus.
• Life in China is a continual game of Chicken. The first person who flinches loses the right-of-way. And one person in our travel group who has adopted five times said it is now much better than when he first was here six years ago.
• Gotcha Day is hell. There really is no other way to describe it. The days following are much, much better.
• Little girls look much better with longer hair than they do with a buzz cut.
• You haven't experienced the REAL China, up close and personal, until you have had to throw up into a squatty potty.
• Hong Kong currency is prettier than US Currency.
• Chinese currency is a pain in the neck. I ended up with a whole pile of paper bills, many of them worth less than 1 Yuan. The money exchanges wouldn't take anything less than 10 Yuan, so I have lots of souvenirs. In addition, the Chinese appear to use their paper currency until it is completely worn out. Some of those souvenirs I have look like torn rags.
• It's a lot easier for a young person to learn English than it is for an older person to learn Chinese.
• Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza tastes exactly the same in Xi'an as it does in Grand Rapids.
• Chinese pepper is white, looks exactly like flour, and makes you sneeze violently, even in small amounts.