Journey with Lydia - Day 2, Part 1

I forgot to mention that when we booked the hotel we really wondered what it would be like. They had no way to make a reservation under a Western name, so we had to book under Dave’s administrative assistant’s name.  Dave put the hotel’s name (in Chinese characters) into Google translator…it translated to “Marriott”.  It was nice, but definitely NOT a Marriott. 

Anyway, Mr. Fan met us at the hotel at 9 am.  We were in the process of changing our room since that morning we discovered that our bathroom was not working.  Mr. Fan excitedly took charge, making sure that our needs were met.  We moved to a new room down the hall.

Mr. Fan took us on a short drive to his family’s home.  On the way he told us that we would eat lunch there and that we should "bie ke qi" (“not be too formal”).  No problem for us!!

They lived in an attached home in an area with many other attached home units with dirt/gravel roads serving them.  The housing in the village area was placed rather haphazardly – definitely not on a “grid” style street system and housing units ended where the land dropped off into a ditch or pond. There were gardens in front, back, and side yards.

Us with Hua Jun, Mrs. Xu, and Mr. Fan outside their home

The Fan Family home & vehicles

The "pond" across the street from the Fan's home; lots of ducks were hanging out there.

Mr. Fan said that they built their home ten years ago and were responsible for buying every bit of the construction material. No doubt it was quite an accomplishment.  The home was sparsely furnished, but it was also very clean and spacious. The living area, kitchen, and storage room were on the first floor.  The bedrooms and a small office area were on the second floor.  All surfaces were hard – tile on the floors and part-way up each of the walls.  Interestingly, the kitchen was the smallest, least finished room in the whole house. 

In the backyard they had a garden, grape vines growing, and some fruit trees.  There was a tall wall at the back of the yard, which was part of a temple.  We heard lots of fireworks going off – they explained that fireworks go off all the time, both as part of the temple rituals and for people who are celebrating any special occasion.  It seemed that there was a lot to celebrate in Qichun County!

We gave gifts to the family to show our appreciation for having us visit and for taking care of Lydia.  A couple of the gifts were intended to give them a taste of Kansas City - Russell Stover chocolates and some KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce.  Even after explaining it, we’re not entirely sure that they understood BBQ sauce or how to use it.

With gifts given, we just hung out for a while.  A funny moment came when Lydia & I sat on the floor to look inside Hua Jun’s hamster cage.  She had two pet hamsters and said we could take them out.  Soon Lydia had cedar chips all over herself and I had a hamster in my hands. The Fans laughed, saying that you would never see a Chinese child sit on the floor and a Chinese parent would never get dirty playing with a child.  Crazy Americans!!  They were amused (or bemused, I’m not sure!).

Finally, we got down to business, asking questions and sharing information about Lydia.  We learned many important things – like Lydia slept in the master bedroom in a crib and then on the floor when it was too hot in the summer.  THAT little bit of information would have saved us months of sleepless nights - Lydia hated her soft crib, in her own room, in Kansas City!  Here’s her Qichun crib:

Lydia's crib - now stored in the Fan's attic

Mr. Fan and Mrs. Xu didn’t have nearly as many questions for us, but kept saying they were pleased to see how happy Lydia is.  They shared that they would like to know what happened to 14 (!) other girls that they fostered since the 1990s.  They were particularly concerned about one girl who had a small birthmark on her forehead. They asked if we would keep sending pictures and information about Lydia so they can see her grow up.

Before lunch, which Mrs. Xu had disappeared to prepare, Mr. Fan’s father came over.  He’s a calligrapher and artist.  He signed a couple of copies of a book that was published with his work in it – he presented it to us formally, almost like an award, making sure the handing over was captured in a photograph. 

Mr. Fan, Sr  said that he remembered Lydia, especially that she liked going up and down the stairs in the house.  

Mr. Fan, Sr. telling us about Lydia as a baby.

Lunch time arrived.  Mrs. Xu had prepared a huge bowl of homemade dumplings. We had a sauce to dip them in that tasted a bit like soy sauce, but not quite.  I asked what it was and they said it was vinegar mixed with soy sauce.  It certainly didn’t taste like it had vinegar in it.  I inquired about the type of vinegar and was told it was the “regular” kind.  :)  Interestingly, Mrs. Xu and Hua Jun didn’t join us at the table – it may have been because the table was already crowded, but I suspect it was just typical for Mrs. Xu to remain more in the background than her husband.

We walked around outside a bit, took some photos, and said good-bye to Mr. Fan Sr. who was heading home.  Mr. Fan, Dave, Lydia, Florie, and I left to visit Qi Zhou village, the place where Lydia came from...

I’m realizing just how much we packed into each day – WAY more than one blog post worth!