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Lucy's First Trip to China

 by: Lucy Armistead - Director: Kentucky Adoption Services, Inc.

A. Lucy Armistead, Founder and Executive Director of Kentucky Adoption Services, Inc. visited The Peoples Republic of China for the first time in October 2005.  The following journal entries from this trip document her experiences, perceptions, and feelings about this country.

China is a wondrous country, filled with history and a rich culture.  I found myself surprised by many aspects of China… 

Journal Entry 1

Today I arrived at the airport around 4AM to catch an early morning flight to Chicago.  Chicago was a fiasco - the airport was crowded and the flight to Beijing was delayed.  It was impossible to get information about whether or not the flight to Beijing would actually be going or not.  Finally after about 6 hours without information they announced that our flight would indeed be making the flight to China.  I joined the mass of people boarding the airbus that would take us to the Peoples Republic of China! 

I have to admit the flight was hard.  I am small and able to curl up in my seat, but for 13 ½ hours, after an interminable wait and lots of frustration, I was miserable.  I decided then that I did not ever want fly "coach class" again!  About 7 hours into the flight I did not think I could stand it anymore and my frustration bubbled over into hot tears that streamed down my face - I covered my face with my eye covers so that no one could see the crazy American crying for no reason.

I expected to fly across the world to get to China, but instead we flew over the North Pole and Siberia.  It was a wild flight to start off before dark and then to go through a night and a day before landing.  Looking out over the desolation of Siberia brought a wave of loneliness over me. 

After arriving in Beijing I was relieved to finally be out from the cramped space of the airplane.  I was surprised that the signs were in English, as well as Chinese.  Noticing this made me feel very spoiled.  So far, every large place I have visited in this world includes English in their signs!

Immigrations and Customs appeared very strict and no nonsense.  There were guards everywhere and I felt a little nervous.  The airport was huge and a bit confusing.  On my way down an escalator toward baggage claim I saw some people with signs that indicated they were picking up certain people.  I did not see one with my name so I went on and got my bags, but I was becoming increasingly nervous that I had missed the person who was to pick me up.  In a country where Spanish was the native language I would have felt confident enough in my ability to get to my hotel on my own, but since the only thing I know how to say in Chinese is "Hello!" I was feeling very out of my element.  I followed the crowd of people to ground transportation and found a large fenced in area where many people stood with signs for people they did not know and others stood waiting to greet their loved ones.  I walked around this area without exiting the fenced part into the chaos and scanned the crowd looking for my name.  After about 5 minutes (that felt like eternity) I saw an attractive young lady waving at me with a sign with my name!!!  Yea, I was so relieved!  She drove me to my hotel and helped me get checked in. 

Tonight I have had a hot shower and tried to sort through my feelings.  Not only have I been overwhelmed, tired, and nervous, I am excited for what tomorrow brings.  I have been very lonely, but unfortunately the phone card I bought in the states will not work here!  UUUGHH!!!  This would be much easier if I were not alone…

Journal Entry 2

Today was a packed day and I have been very tired.  I could not sleep last night.  I think it was a combination of all the emotions yesterday and also being too tired to sleep… 

Today we toured Beijing. Tiananmen Square was not at all as I had expected. Our guide was awesome; I could not have been more impressed.  We were walking and saw buildings on each side of us and the next thing I know the Guide has said that we have already walked through the infamous Square.  The Forbidden Palace was interesting.  I particularly liked the areas where we could peer in through glass to see what the rooms looked like when they were used.  The architecture and grandeur of the palace was truly amazing.  I really enjoyed the time we spent at The Great Wall.  I had never imagined such a large structure.  It looks so much smaller and so easy to climb in pictures.  But in person it was very difficult.  I know that some areas are easier than others - from my perspective and my sweat as I climbed, I think we were at a difficult section.  Since I did not really want to know differently I did not ask… 

We were taken close to the top - a man had an area set up with a chair that looked like a royal type of chair and headdresses and clothing typical of the ancient Chinese royalty.  He asked us if we wanted to have our picture taken with the clothing and seated in the chair.  We thought that would be a nice souvenir and talked him down to $6 a piece.  We waited for him to take a picture after we were dressed in our royal garb, only to finally realize that we had paid merely to put the clothes on - we had to take our own pictures!!  We figured that was all right and we had already paid so we took lots of pictures in various poses and had a fun time.

Journal Entry 3

This morning we went to Silk Alley. I could have spent several days in this amazing shopping area - I love to shop!  I only made it through a small segment and had already purchased so much that I could hardly hold anymore bags.  I wanted to buy lots for my family, friends, and for our fundraiser.  I hated leaving there. 

I learned yesterday that instead of taking a plane to Jiangxi Province we are taking an overnight train - a 12-hour train ride.  I was not very pleased at this prospect, but I agreed that since occasionally our families have to utilize this option it is best that I also experience it.  I took the top bunk and was pleased that I only had to share a room with one other person, rather than take a bunk in the more public area with rows of bunk and a shared bathroom for about 20 - 40 people. 

Journal Entry 4

Last night I got more sleep than any of the other evenings.  I really enjoyed the train ride and would not hesitate to do that again!  I was able to peacefully sleep between stops and rest during the various stops.  I am still exhausted - this is a hard trip, but I am enjoying learning about the history of this magnificent country.  Today we saw a Pavilion in Jiangxi.  It was beautiful and I loved learning about the various architectural aspects of the building.  We are staying at the Lake View hotel.  It is right on a lake obviously and has beautiful views.

We also got to visit an orphanage today.  I held several babies, one with a cleft palate.  Even though I have seen many orphanages and seen many children who may or may not find families, I realized as I was holding the little one with cleft palate that tears were streaming down my face.  I know that God still allows me to hurt at the things that break His heart.  In spite of being embarrassed at my reaction I am so happy that God has not allowed my heart to be hardened.  He has truly led me to adoption.

Journal Entry 5

Today we accompanied families to the official offices as they received their children.  It was an amazing day to watch families being built.  Many of the children cried tears of fear and uncertainty during this time, while the families cried tears of joy as they held these children they have dreamed of for so long.  It was truly a touching moment.  The families will start to fill out paperwork tomorrow on their children. 

During the afternoon, the families met with the guides to go over the paperwork they would be required to fill out tomorrow.  Many of the families seemed stressed out at doing this because they were trying to keep their babies happy while also signing documents, putting their thumb prints on documents and in general trying to make sure they had everything they needed.

Journal Entry 6

Today the families started their paperwork.  The Official Process was organized chaos with families and babies everywhere and the guides directing the families into the various offices.  At this point the families were asked if the child they had received was the child they desired to adopt.  All the families confirmed this, as was expected, barring some type of health concerns.  The families gave their gifts to the officials and the officials also gave the families a small gift.  I was expecting the officials to open their gifts with the families, but because of the frantic pace of the many families who needed to be interviewed the gifts were placed to the side.

Today we went to another orphanage.  We saw some older children from a distance but we were not permitted to actually interact with them.  We did see the rooms where babies are kept, but there were no babies in the orphanage at this time.  We were told they were in foster care.  The orphanage was an interesting place and was an institution for children and for the elderly.  It seems that this is a common thing in China. 

And this is where Lucy's journal ends…  she returned home to the U.S. a few days later with many gifts and stories for all to enjoy.  She brings an educated, loving perspective as she recounts her experiences in China. It was a good trip, and she learned a lot.   Lucy's family missed her tremendously, as she missed them, but they have generously sacrificed to allow their mother to travel the world and serve God through service to children.  And her staff missed her a lot, too!!!