Thursday, April 27, 2006, 11:54 p.m.
I’m still trying to find time to sort through my hundreds of photos and hours of video I took in
And then I hope to arrange them into photo galleries for my Web site and for a home video I want to make of the trip.
I simply have not had the time.
And I don’t know when I will.
So, that said, here is a look back at a few photos you never saw from our trip to
PHOTO 1
Saturday, April 1, 2006. Pam and I joined other families from Holt International Children’s Services for a tour of the Great Wall of China. This is what we call in America a “Big Ass Wall.” It’s long. Very long. Here, Pam and I share a brief, quiet moment while someone we don’t know snapped our picture. You can see the “Big Ass Wall” streaking up the mountain in the background through the arch. This wall was big. Correct that: This wall was big-ass.
PHOTO 2
Thursday, April 13, 2006. We are in Hong Kong on our last stop before flying home to Hattiesburg the next day. Here I am holding Camryn while shopping in what’s called the Ladies Market in Hong Kong. It’s sort of like the New Orleans French Quarter Flea Market multiplied by the thousands. Camryn didn’t much care for the shopping. She wanted to go out drinking instead. I, of course, told her no because we had to find a “Big Ass Suitcase” to pack her in for the return trip home. She didn’t like my joke.
PHOTO 3
Friday, April 7, 2006. Our last night in Nanchang for the 10 Holt families who adopted a child from the Jiangxi province. That night, we all ate at a Nanchang restaurant (I don’t know the name, but I didn’t like it as much as I did the East Restaurant near our hotel). After dinner, the three girls from Jiujiang City posed for this photo with their moms. Camryn, in blue on the far right, is from the orphanage in Jiujiang City and shared this final moment with fellow orphans.
PHOTO 4
Tuesday, April 11, 2006. Here we are in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou for a photo session with all the children in our group from Jiangxi province. Poor Camryn got there late (we fell asleep in the hotel room) and was forced to sit on the arm rest for the photo. Needless to say, the photo sucked (something the child on the sofa, third from the right, also felt).
PHOTO 5
Tuesday, April 4, 2006. Pam, Camryn and I had just finished visiting the Nanchang Wal-Mart when we stopped outside for fresh air. Pam and Camryn sat on a bench while I turned my attention to this child’s split pants. Don’t be shocked. This is a common sight in China. And it’s a perfect example of the pants that Chinese families use to potty train their children. Children walk and run all over town in split pants, which I guess makes it easier for them to take care of bidness, as they say in Mississippi (I can’t help but think they also must leave you cold when you sit on metal or concrete). They were neat in a strange kind of way. I sort of liked them. I looked for a pair of split pants for myself; I thought I’d wear them to work or out to eat with my wife. I bet they are great when you are in a hurry. But, alas, I couldn’t find any in my size.
PHOTO 6
Sunday, April 2, 2006. Out last night in Beijing before we flew to Nanchang to get Camryn. Pam and I met another Holt couple for dinner and walked to this Korean restaurant. When we arrived and found a long line waiting for a table - and everyone talking in thick Mandarin - we skipped it and went back to the hotel to eat. We thought we’d rather eat Chinese food than Korean. I love the neon sign, though. And it is interesting that we were able to walk to the restaurant in safety despite it being about 10 minutes from the hotel.
PHOTO 7
Friday, March 30, 2006. Beijing. Bikes. Bikes. And more bikes. They are everywhere in China. You can even rent one to ride. Appparently, they are faster than driving in a car and getting snagged in Beijing’s nightmare traffic jams.
PHOTO 8
Tuesday, April 25, 2006. Camryn is adjusting just fine to her new parents, her new home, her new city and her new life. She is a different child than she was when we first got her. She is growing fast. And putting on a little weight. She’s even almost as big as that lady bug behind her - a reject from one of those Japanese nuclear-bomb-causes-mutant-insects movies.
Text and photos copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.
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