Journey to Carly - Day 9 - April 7, 2005
We visited the city of Guiping today. What an emotional day this was. (It was a very long day, too ... we left the hotel at 8:30 this morning and didn't get back until 6:30 this evening.) Guiping is a 3 hour drive (one way) from Nanning, so we all boarded a big bus and set off on our journey. I guess the long day we had today was good practice for that long plane ride home! Ha. Words can't do justice to what we saw and experienced today. I don't have photos uploaded yet, but will do that in the morning - so check back on Thursday night or Friday (your time) for the latest pics! The countryside of Guangxi is fascinating to see. There is alot of very beautiful land, very green and lush, with jutting hills/mountains that rise out of nowhere. It was very warm and humid today, which made it difficult to take good pictures - there is a constant haze in the air here due to all the moisture. Amidst the tropical type landscape we also saw numerous villages, farms, fields, and the like. We saw not one tractor, but instead we saw oxen or water buffalo pulling plows through fields. We saw many Chinese people out working in the fields wearing their little pointed hats, just like you see in history books. The villages we passed were very sobering to see. Some of the dwellings almost looked like they were abandoned -- but just when we would think there was no one living there, we would look again and see laundry hanging out to dry. These people live in conditions many of us have never seen or even imagined.
As we entered the city of Guiping, Echo called out that Carly's finding spot would be the first one we would visit. I didn't expect the emotions I felt as we got off the bus to stand on the very ground where her birth mother placed her a few hours after she was born. It was very powerful and moving. Carly was placed outside the management office of a local sugar factory - I found some peace and comfort in the fact that the street was well traveled, so I know her birth parents wanted her to be found. As we drove away, I couldn't help but look at some of the homes/shacks and people walking along the street and wonder if any of them might be Carly's biological parents. Needless to say, this was another kleenex day for me.
In addition to visiting the other 9 finding spots for the babies in our group, we also went to the Guiping Social Welfare Institute, which was Carly's home for the first 13 1/2 months of her life. Talk about sad. We didn't get to go in, unfortunately, but the bus parked and we were able to walk up to the front of the institute to take pictures. The SWI is located on an alley type street - the bus couldn't even drive on the street, it was so small. The entire city of Guiping is very depressing, and the location of the SWI was no different. Guiping is dirty, congested and poor. I felt like we had stepped back in time a hundred years or so as we walked up to the front of the institute. Once again, the emotions associated with our visit to the SWI were unexpected and very strong. I am so very grateful to all of the people who took care of Carly during her first year, but I am equally as grateful to the Chinese government for letting me take her home to the United States. This trip has certainly made me appreciate the life we live in America. We take so much for granted each and every day. There are people in places like Guiping who will never know or experience half of the things we could care less about. These people live their lives in a very simple way ... a way that is so different from the life I lead at home. I had so hoped we would be able to see the inside of the SWI ... but after the emotions I felt just standing on the outside, I'm not sure I could have handled it if we had been invited in. As we walked away to head back to the bus, I looked up to the second floor windows, which is where the babies are kept, and I saw a line of clean baby laundry hanging out to dry. My heart aches for all the little ones that are still inside those walls. I pray that God will keep them in his care and that they are loved.
After we returned to the hotel, we ordered Pizza Hut and had a party with the other families. The babies were able to play while we ate. Carly chowed down on cheese pizza ... she definitely belongs in our family! She was an angel on the long drive to and from Guiping today. She's coming out of her shell more and more each day. Today, we witnessed her crawling and she also stood and took a few steps. She's really recognizing both me and my Dad (her Pappy), which makes our hearts so happy. She's doing very well from a bonding standpoint. I'm so grateful that we haven't had anything but good luck in that department.
She had a much better night last night than she did the night before. She was only up once and that was because she had filled her pants (yay -- another milestone!). I'm hoping for another good night tonight. She's fast asleep in her crib right now - she looks so sweet in her little pink pj's.
Tomorrow is our last day in Nanning before we head to Guangzhou to complete the last phase of our journey. I'm very excited to get to Guangzhou, but I will leave a little piece of my heart here in the Guangxi province. As I told Carly today on our way out of Guiping ... "This is where your heritage is, sweetheart -- these are your people. One day, we will come back here so you can see and experience all of this for yourself."
And, as always, thanks for following our journey!
And here we are standing in front of the sugar factory, near Carly's 'finding spot'. Her paperwork indicated that an employee from the sugar factory was the one who found her and notified the police . . .
As best we can tell, from the information given to us, this is Carly's exact 'finding spot'. Her paperwork says she was found "at the crossing of Tang Chang Road", which is where this intersection is located.
Standing outside the Guiping Social Welfare Institute, which is where Carly spent the first year of her life . . .
A view of the street/alley the orphanage was on:
A couple shots of downtown Guiping City:
An emotionally and physically exhausting day:
We visited the city of Guiping today. What an emotional day this was. (It was a very long day, too ... we left the hotel at 8:30 this morning and didn't get back until 6:30 this evening.) Guiping is a 3 hour drive (one way) from Nanning, so we all boarded a big bus and set off on our journey. I guess the long day we had today was good practice for that long plane ride home! Ha. Words can't do justice to what we saw and experienced today. I don't have photos uploaded yet, but will do that in the morning - so check back on Thursday night or Friday (your time) for the latest pics! The countryside of Guangxi is fascinating to see. There is alot of very beautiful land, very green and lush, with jutting hills/mountains that rise out of nowhere. It was very warm and humid today, which made it difficult to take good pictures - there is a constant haze in the air here due to all the moisture. Amidst the tropical type landscape we also saw numerous villages, farms, fields, and the like. We saw not one tractor, but instead we saw oxen or water buffalo pulling plows through fields. We saw many Chinese people out working in the fields wearing their little pointed hats, just like you see in history books. The villages we passed were very sobering to see. Some of the dwellings almost looked like they were abandoned -- but just when we would think there was no one living there, we would look again and see laundry hanging out to dry. These people live in conditions many of us have never seen or even imagined.
As we entered the city of Guiping, Echo called out that Carly's finding spot would be the first one we would visit. I didn't expect the emotions I felt as we got off the bus to stand on the very ground where her birth mother placed her a few hours after she was born. It was very powerful and moving. Carly was placed outside the management office of a local sugar factory - I found some peace and comfort in the fact that the street was well traveled, so I know her birth parents wanted her to be found. As we drove away, I couldn't help but look at some of the homes/shacks and people walking along the street and wonder if any of them might be Carly's biological parents. Needless to say, this was another kleenex day for me.
In addition to visiting the other 9 finding spots for the babies in our group, we also went to the Guiping Social Welfare Institute, which was Carly's home for the first 13 1/2 months of her life. Talk about sad. We didn't get to go in, unfortunately, but the bus parked and we were able to walk up to the front of the institute to take pictures. The SWI is located on an alley type street - the bus couldn't even drive on the street, it was so small. The entire city of Guiping is very depressing, and the location of the SWI was no different. Guiping is dirty, congested and poor. I felt like we had stepped back in time a hundred years or so as we walked up to the front of the institute. Once again, the emotions associated with our visit to the SWI were unexpected and very strong. I am so very grateful to all of the people who took care of Carly during her first year, but I am equally as grateful to the Chinese government for letting me take her home to the United States. This trip has certainly made me appreciate the life we live in America. We take so much for granted each and every day. There are people in places like Guiping who will never know or experience half of the things we could care less about. These people live their lives in a very simple way ... a way that is so different from the life I lead at home. I had so hoped we would be able to see the inside of the SWI ... but after the emotions I felt just standing on the outside, I'm not sure I could have handled it if we had been invited in. As we walked away to head back to the bus, I looked up to the second floor windows, which is where the babies are kept, and I saw a line of clean baby laundry hanging out to dry. My heart aches for all the little ones that are still inside those walls. I pray that God will keep them in his care and that they are loved.
After we returned to the hotel, we ordered Pizza Hut and had a party with the other families. The babies were able to play while we ate. Carly chowed down on cheese pizza ... she definitely belongs in our family! She was an angel on the long drive to and from Guiping today. She's coming out of her shell more and more each day. Today, we witnessed her crawling and she also stood and took a few steps. She's really recognizing both me and my Dad (her Pappy), which makes our hearts so happy. She's doing very well from a bonding standpoint. I'm so grateful that we haven't had anything but good luck in that department.
She had a much better night last night than she did the night before. She was only up once and that was because she had filled her pants (yay -- another milestone!). I'm hoping for another good night tonight. She's fast asleep in her crib right now - she looks so sweet in her little pink pj's.
Tomorrow is our last day in Nanning before we head to Guangzhou to complete the last phase of our journey. I'm very excited to get to Guangzhou, but I will leave a little piece of my heart here in the Guangxi province. As I told Carly today on our way out of Guiping ... "This is where your heritage is, sweetheart -- these are your people. One day, we will come back here so you can see and experience all of this for yourself."
And, as always, thanks for following our journey!
Some of what we saw on the way to Guiping City:
And here we are standing in front of the sugar factory, near Carly's 'finding spot'. Her paperwork indicated that an employee from the sugar factory was the one who found her and notified the police . . .
As best we can tell, from the information given to us, this is Carly's exact 'finding spot'. Her paperwork says she was found "at the crossing of Tang Chang Road", which is where this intersection is located.
Standing outside the Guiping Social Welfare Institute, which is where Carly spent the first year of her life . . .
A view of the street/alley the orphanage was on:
A couple shots of downtown Guiping City:
An emotionally and physically exhausting day:
Back at the hotel in Nanning -- a pizza party in the elevator area (aka our playroom):
2 comments:
Hi, I just deleted my comment regarding the new Guiping SWI; reading more of your blog, I realized your posting was a repeat from 2005!!
If you are not already a member of the GuipingGirls yahoo group, please join - we have a lot of info and photos to share!!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/guipinggirls/
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