Hold On For the Ride: Second Day in Hong Kong

Another Day in Hong Kong

May 26, 2012

We spent our second of two days in Hong Kong today. While it wasn’t the day we expected at the outset, it’s been a full day of walking around this lively city.

We headed out from our hotel with a plan to get to Hong Kong Island (our hotel is on Kowloon Island) and ride the tram up to the top of Victoria Peak, the classic view in Hong Kong. We rode the MTR (subway) to the bottom of the island, rode the enchanting Star Ferry across the bay, and arrived on Hong Kong Island just in time to experience our first real monsoon.

I can’t tell you how hard it rained. Sheets of water and heavy winds pounded us. We ran for cover and were fortunately able to stay indoors or under walkways for most of the time it was raining.

While inside, we experienced three different Hong Kong malls—a very different side of this culture. Everything was so high end, and expensive, and there were items for sale everywhere we looked. I was reminded of why I detest malls so much—whether in Hong Kong or in Washington. It was interesting to note that most of the advertisements in the malls featured Caucasian people, even though almost every person we see here is Asian. Part of the western influence on Hong Kong, I suppose.

After surviving a bombardment of capitalist consumerism, we escaped to the Hong Kong History Museum, where we walked through a huge exhibit on the history of Hong Kong. Both Aaron and I learned so much about this area, and there were many connections to Guangdong Provence and its history as well, which is where Matthew lives. It was so nice to be out of the rain and also be learning about this region’s rich past.

We’re back at our hotel resting before dinner and another walk around the city. We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow at 12:15 p.m. We’ll travel on the regional railway, arriving in Guangzhou around 2:00 p.m. Our guide, Sarah, will meet us at the train station and transport us to our hotel, and she’ll also get us situated with anything we need.

We have enjoyed our days in Hong Kong, but we’re really most excited for the real reason behind this trip: meeting Matthew. Monday is the day, although we don’t know exactly when. Matthew’s orphanage is seven hours south of Guangzhou, and we hear that he will likely travel by van along with his orphanage director. We still don’t know if they’ll come on Sunday night and spend the night somewhere in Guangzhou or if they will come on Monday morning. It’s possible that we’ll get to meet him either Monday morning OR Monday late afternoon, depending on the travel plans.

Either way, he has two more nights when he’s in the care of the Xuwen County Social Welfare Institute, and after that, he will be our boy forever. We are SO excited to meet him—to be with him and get to know him. I’m sure for him, he will experience a whole mix of emotions, some of them traumatic and anxiety producing. We are praying for his peace in this transition, as he leaves the only home he has ever known to become part of his family.

We know the good that’s about to happen for him, but even amidst good there is deep loss, and for him there will also be anxiety and sadness. He’ll be put into the arms of two strange-looking white people, people he has never seen or met before, and the only people who are familiar to him will leave him behind. I am grateful that at 18 months, a child doesn’t carry detailed memory for long. But I also know that trauma and loss remain with young children, even though they can’t put a concrete memory or a description with what happened.

We are so grateful for all your warm thoughts and prayers during this time. I have no idea what to expect once Matthew is with us. I hope I can still regularly blog and post photos—but I’m not sure. Also, we will be leaving Hong Kong and entering into Mainland China, where Internet is strictly controlled. I hear it’s likely that I won’t be able to access this blog myself, which is why I have asked my friend Kaitlin to take over posting notes and photos for us. We have been Skyping with Maya and Sam for the past couple of days, and I’ve also been using Facetime to talk with both my brother and my sister, but starting tomorrow that might not be possible either. Mainland China feels somewhat like an unknown, but I will be able to tell you more tomorrow evening at this time, once we are there.

We are staying the Guangdong Victory Hotel—click on the name and it will link you to some photos of it. It’s a 100-year-old hotel originally built as a bank during the British occupation of China. The hotel is located on Shamian Island, which is a peaceful oasis away from the bustle of Guangzhou. The U.S. Consulate used to be housed on Shamian Island, and down the street from our hotel is the famous White Swan Hotel, where most all the adoptive families used to stay. But now the Consulate has moved to downtown Guangzhou, and the White Swan is under construction, so we decided to stay away from the noisy city on an island lined with trees and parks. It’s sure to be lovely.

That’s it from Hong Kong. Aaron says hello to everyone also. I’ve asked him if wants to write some posts, and he might as the trip goes on, but for now he’s content to let me be the family journalist.

Many adventures and much joy still await us. We continue to appreciate all the email messages of love, support and kindness as we are far from home. The kids miss us, but they report that they’re having a really good time with my parents, which is a blessing to us. We don’t like being away from them, but we’re counting the days (12, to be exact!) until we will be home and can settle in as a family of five.