Friday,
May 14, 2010
A STEP BACK IN TIME...CREATING MEMORIES
PIECING TOGETHER THE PAST
I don’t even know how to begin to describe
today…visiting the orphanage where Emma Lynn resided for the
first 9 months of her life and then driving into the northern
countryside of Guilin City to Quanzhou County to the location
where Emma was found…where her journey really to us began. I
have to admit as tired as I was last night I did lay awake
wondering if we might have a chance encounter with someone who
might know someone who might know something we don’t know. I
also wondered would it be possible that Emma is at the SWI and
could we possibly see her accidentally…so many things ran across
my mind…
We woke up quite early rested and ready for our day. We had
breakfast here at the western buffet that also included many
Asian breakfast items…such as noodles and dumplings. We knew we
were in for a long day so we needed to fill our tummies…as the
route we were taking was not one with places to stop for lunch
or even a bathroom break. So fill our tummies we did…we met Lily
our guide at 8:30 and we shopped at a local bakery for lunch
supplies and a local grocery for drinks and chips. We then
departed for the Guilin City SWI.
Back in the winter we purchased a DVD on the Guilin City SWI and
I was curious if I would recognize where we were and I did. As
we drove along there are neighborhoods surrounding the SW that
many of the foster families reside in…we took it all in and then
we drove thru the gates…it was early around 9:15 am and a little
lady was sweeping the streets and cleaning up, a few others were
just walking from point to point. I could hear children’s voices
faintly in the distance. There were many flowers in pots and
lots of lush greenery and then I saw it…the playground where
many of the photos we have of Emma Lynn were taken and the tears
came. How many times had I looked at those photos and wondered
what was around them…where was this playground and seeing it
made me feel connected…we saw the airplane the slide and the
teeter totter and I was so happy to be able to see a place that
I knew she had been. Very quickly people became curious of us
and wanted to know why we were there and our guide handled
everything…we took photos in front of the gate and the
surrounding entrance and then we left for Quanzhou.
The drive to Quanzhou in distance was maybe 40 miles but it took
quite awhile as the road is very bumpy with potholes and the
road was very busy and difficult to drive…it took us 2 hours one
way to get there. The scenery was picturesque and we saw water
buffalo, and other curiosities to pass the time. Just around
lunch time we entered Quanzhou country and I could tell the
driver and our guide were trying to find someone to ask where
the high school was and w literally were right in front of
it…Lily got out and spoke to the guard and explained why we were
there and he questioned her about the time of Emma’s finding and
he knew of her finding and pointed us to the back gate. It was
very emotional as it appeared there had never been any Americans
to this town before and everyone was very curious why we where
there, but children waved at us and adults to and everyone
seemed very warm and welcoming. It was raining most of the day
so the rain added to the emotional visit this was.
We took pictures at the front but drove around the corner to the
back gate and other people gathered and asked our guide, 2 nice
ladies explained that teachers enter that gate and that also
this was a very nice high school. Again it was very emotional to
be in the very spot where Emma’s life changed…once she was found
her journey to a family began and we are so lucky to be the
family chosen for her.
Next we had a bite of lunch in the car while our driver and
guide took in some local cuisine…we had plain wheat bread,
Pringles and a cookie…we really weren’t hungry after the great
breakfast we had. We then went to the Xiangshan Temple which was
right next to the high school. When I began to plan our visit to
Quanzhou I wanted to do something special and found the
Temple…to find it adjoining the property of the high school was
very heartening and little did we know how special our visit to
the temple would be. We entered the gates and bought incense to
light and the driver and our guide did too. Then we drove to the
back of the property to enter the Temple grounds. As we exited
the car we could hear the children next door…I was able to make
a wish for Emma and to light 9 sticks of incense in pairs of
3…symbolizing longevity and life. Very moving and touching to be
able to be in “her town” and have this opportunity. Then we went
to the upper building where we could see a lot of people
gathered…most all of them were women. We again got everyone’s
attention and I said to the guide we could leave as we didn’t
want to disturb anyone. So we were very low key again lighting 9
sticks of incense in pairs of 3 and making a wish. Then one of
the women came running from the Temple to ask our guide to
deliver a message to us thanking us for liberating the area from
the Japanese…it was touching. Then another lady came up to me
speaking English asking us to join them for lunch…it turns out
that this very day is a special day and most people come on the
first and 15th of the calendar based on the Chinese Lunar
calendar and today was April 1st for them and all of them wanted
to know why we came to Quanzhou, when our guide told them, they
all were very touched. One lady wanted to wash our hands in holy
water and she did and they just kept thanking us for taking care
of Emma…needless to say the tears were flowing, what a moving
and special visit it was all I had hoped for and more than I
could even imagine. We will return one day and show Emma where
we visited and where we believe our journey to each other began.
Now for the long ride back to Guilin City…I slept a little Mel
took in all the sites even other curiosities as we drove thru
the villages and cities on our way back. We arrived back at our
hotel around 4 pm and napped until 7 pm when we met our guide
for the Night River Cruise…wow is all I can say and the day got
even better…beautiful scenery with the river as our road to
beauty. Ironically I asked about a building and turns out it was
the hospital where Emma had her cleft surgery and then we saw
the other hospital where she spent time during an illness. To
top the day off we ended it watching the waterfall at our
hotel….what an amazing day…we have been so blessed and we are so
anxious for all that is to come…only about 72 more hours until
Emma is in our arms. |
In front of the playground
Guilin SWI Entrance
Quanzhou County High School front gate
Quanzhou County High School back gate
The Xiangshan Temple
The Sun and Moon Pagoda
The Glass Bridge
Beautiful Night View |
