Kina-fynd

We bought this at the Yashow clothes market yesterday.
Vera-Mei tries a Rolex watch.
My mother and I went to the Pearl Market today. The girls now have one mobile phone and one watch each. They are very pleased. Olivia's is a Spiderman phone and she is thrilled.

This is what we bought today.

I wanted to go to the zoo but the weather isn't very good. Hopefully tomorrow. Because on Wednesday our two weeks in China is over and we are going to Sweden!

Tonight we will meet Fang again and go to JO Waldner's Swedish restaurant. Olivia is looking forward to the meatballs!

Dad Lasse, I have bought you five shirts and five ties. I hope you like it.

Vi kommunicerar!

Vera-Mei skrattar massor, men doljer sitt ansike mest hela tiden. Hon ar fortfarande blyg for alla utom Ia.
Ord Vera-Mei sager:
Dje-Dje (big sister)
Mamma (said twice when asleep a couple of days ago)
Good girl (Duktig flicka, brukar vi saga till Olivia och nu aven till Vera-Mei)
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Saker hon forstar:
Tag pa/Tag av skorna/byxorna/strumporna/jackan
Vagnen
Bada
burkar (att stapla)
banan
ga till toaletten
Sitt ner
Sta upp
Ligg ner
Kom
Ga
buss
Bil
Vatten
Knacka pa dorren
Pappa
Mormor
Ia
Titta
Borsta tanderna
Tvatta handerna/munnen
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...och sakert mycket mer
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Favoritmat:
Glass, brod, pizza (suck)
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Storsta intressen just nu: Mobiltelefoner, skor och klockor. Hon har just suttit och lekt med sex rolexklockor. Hur manga barn gor det vid tva ars alder? Jag kopte dem av en dam som borjade med tva for hundra (kronor/yuan, same same but different). Efter 200 meter var det fyra for hundra. Efter 500 meter var det sex for hundra. Jag skulle inte kopa just sadana klockor och just da, men jag blev sa berord av denna kvinnas desperation att jag till slut halade upp en hundring. Kvaliteten var kanske inte den basta, men den dar kvinnan blev i alla fall valdigt lycklig. Och Vera-Mei hade hur kul som helst nar hon lekte med dem sedan.
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Nar v fick Olivia insag jag tre saker: Att ha barn ar jobbigare och roligare an man kan forestalla sig. Det innebar dessutom ett standigt daligt samvete, trots att man gor sitt yttersta att vara en bra foralder. Att fa ett syskon ar: Jobbigare och roligare an man kan forestalla sig, och det daliga samvetet blir dubbelt! Olivia vill vara bebis hela tiden och jag forsoker verkligen att uppmarksamma henne jattemycket, men nu maste ju lillasyster fa mycket tid, sa att hon lar sig svenska och borjar lita pa oss. Och jag ser hur Olivia blir ledsen emellanat.
Men att se dem busa och skoja och skratta gor mig saker pa att detta var ratt. Och nu nar vi lart kanna Vera-Mei sa ar hon oss oerhort kar. Tank vilket tur jag och Mats har haft, att ha fatt tva sa underbara flickor! Vi kanner oss sa lyckligt lottade!
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Nu har bada illbattingarna somnat och jag ska hamta Mats som sitter inne hos svarmor och dricker vin. Jojo, sa kan det ga!

Pa lekplatsen

We had a really lazy morning today, we all needed to sleep. Granny though went up early and went to Tienanmen square (Himmelska fridens torg) and the Forbidden city. We saw it last time we were here and once is enough for us!
Mats and I took the girls to a nearby park. There was a big outdoor gym and a playground and we played for an hour. Vera-Mei really enjoyed going on the slide! I tried so hard to take her picture when she smiled, but she still hides the happy face.
Kind of a smile, maybe?
Olivia did some exercise at the gym.


We had a bunch of spectators all the time. They speak very poorly English, but want to know why we have Chinese children, most people try seems to understand the word adoption. They think we look very young (thanks) and wonder why we don't have biological children. They say our girls are very beautiful, and we agree of course!

After a quick lunch (Mats and the girls had take away from Subway, I and Granny went to a local restaurant) the girls have had a nap. Olivia is still sleeping, Vera-Mei is awake, talking and playing in the bed.
We will soon go to a market to begin the serious shopping! I hope for better weather tomorrow, because I want to take the girls to the zoo. Olivia must see a panda before we leave!

In Beijing with a smile!

The weather here should be more winter like, but the sun is shining and it feels like spring! We don't miss the humidity and rain in Changsha, but the food was much more spicy there and is much more plain in Beijing. Mats says he can't have another Chinese dinner for the rest of his life and is insisting we are going to Pizza Hut this evening.
Today Vera-Mei gave me the first smile, when she woke up after her nap. It was a great feeling! She also is much more curious and determined, but still very serious and she thinks a lot. She keeps pointing to different things and wants us to tell the words. She tried drawing and coloured the bed, she constantly tries to make phone calls and fiddles with everything. What a difference a few days make! She seems to be at least partly toilet trained, when we put her at the loo she will wee and poo, but she also uses the nappy when she wants. At the moment she is snacking on dried octopus, included in the flight lunch. She is the only one who appreciate it! Vera-Mei is also stronger, she walks better, doesn't fall as often and her posture is improving every day.
It's amazing how similar this adoption is to Olivia's. We have reminded ourselves over and over again that everything will be different, but it is so much the same. They are both the weakest, shyest, quietest and prettiest (okay, I'm the mum) of the bunch. They have a great appetite and they sleep well (but Vera has nightmares from time to time - and I think she has used a dummy though the orphanage staff didn't tell).
Olivia is so happy and says she only love little sister, not mummy or daddy. She is also very jellous and has cried a few times. I guess it is hard for any child to get a younger sibling, but maybe there is another dimension in the feelings for adopted children. Anyway, most of the time Olivia is very caring and nice to Mei-Mei. Vera is also very fond of Olivia and almost starts to cry when Olivia leaves the room, for example. They have attached very well (but I think Vera could easily change parents today without missing us).
And, thanks to all of you who have written comments here on the blog. It's so nice to know you follow our journal and please comment more!!!

Sista dagen in Changsha

At a buddhist tempel today.
Vi besokte ett tempel och blev lite hapa over stallet dar rokelserna tandes - skrapgropen. Ingen i gruppen halkade pa andan pa vag ned, vilket far ses som mest tur.
Olivia fick ocksa en spadom:
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Olivias fortune was told:
Tha karp swims through the dragon gate, meaning Great success will come in the future, she will make generations proud and probably work for the government.
Vi besokte en by pa landsbygden for att fa en uppfattning om de forhallanden som flickornas biologiska foraldrar kan leva i. Det var kallt, lerigt och blott. Ingen varme, samma temperatur ute som inne.
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We visited a village on the country side to get an idea about these girls biological parents environent. It was very poor, muddy and cold - no heating, the same temperature inside the house as out. And very, very humid. Not a pleasent experience, but an important one.
Koket, vedeldat. Morsan tippade pa tidigt 1900-tal i Sverige.

In the swimming pool today.
Tomorrow we leave for Beijing!

Bilder

Vera-Mei's first try to brushing teeth. Olivia watches carefully.
They both enjoy taking baths. They have also been together in the swimming pool on the ... 6th floor. The hotel has 43 floors. We are staying on 32nd.

Street life in Changsha.


A lot of the new high scrapers are only empty "skeletons".

Local internet cafe.
Cigarette kiosk. They smoke a lot, but say the Spanish adoptive parents smoke even more.
Sports lesson in school. They are obviously provided with sports outfit.

I will have a hard time implementing the maximum two hours of telly a day. The orphanage staff said Vera's favourite hobby is watching tv. She gives the remote control to Olivia and she puts the telly on. What they watch isn't so important. Olivia is very happy when she can persuade me to let little sister wear a football t-shirt. They are actually very cute, but I don't know how much to encourage them. I am longing for a girl in a dress ... Olivia is such a tomboy.
Sleeping beauties.

Outside our hotel.

A happy family!

No crying!

Two beautiful girls in one big bed, both very tired but none of them wants to sleep. This is the first evening without crying, instead they are playing, singing, laughing and giggling. Vera-Mei has a lovely laughter! It is wonderful to listen to them, but they were extremely sleepy all day as they played in bed until half past eleven pm yesterday.
Mei-Mei is still very shy to everyone except Olivia. I still haven't seen her smile, she turns her back against me or holds it back, or waits until protected by the darkness, as now. She needs more time before opening up to Mats and me, and granny. She seems afraid to do something wrong and always goes to a corner, leans to the wall and stays there quiet and watching - strykradd in Swedish - but I am sure she will soon trust us.
I have a lot of photos but just now i don't have time to handle them. I will post more another day.
Tomorrow we re going on a half day trip to the country side, to get an idea about the environment these girls were born in. We will also visit a local temple. And on Saturday, we start our journey back to Sweden, via Beijing!

Storasyster! Big sister!

Vera-Meis forsta ord var "dje-dje", det bertyder storasyster pa kinesiska!! Hon sa det alldeles nyss! Flickorna ligger i sangen och borde ha sovit for lange sedan, men lillan har gratit precis som varje kvall och lugnat sig efter en stund. Nu lag de dar och plotsligt borjade Vera-Mei jollra, som en niomanaders bebis ungefar. Och sa gosade hon in sig hos Ia och sa dje-dje, helt tydligt! Sedan skrattade hon hogt flera ganger! Nu ligger de dar och buffar och viskar, och skiter i om klockan blir tre pa natten, detta ar underbart! Det stora genombrottet!
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She hasn't made a sound before, and suddenly she started talking like a baby, laughing out loud and she said "dje-dje", clearly! It means big sister and she said it after crying (it's bedtime and she seems to always cry at bedtime) and let her self be comforted. Now she is singing! And saying things in Chinese, obviously very happy! This is amazing! Olivia is playing peek-a-boo under the duvet and he is giggling! Oh, I almost start to cry! I said before to the others, whose babies have been laughing all day, that I can see that inside this very serious and sometimes sad looking baby is a smiling girl ready to come out. And I was right!

Storasyster! Big sister!

Vera-Meis forsta ord var "dje-dje", det bertyder storasyster pa kinesiska!! Hon sa det alldeles nyss! Flickorna ligger i sangen och borde ha sovit for lange sedan, men lillan har gratit precis som varje kvall och lugnat sig efter en stund. Nu lag de dar och plotsligt borjade Vera-Mei jollra, som en niomanaders bebis ungefar. Och sa gosade hon in sig hos Ia och sa dje-dje, helt tydligt! Sedan skrattade hon hogt flera ganger! Nu ligger de dar och buffar och viskar, och skiter i om klockan blir tre pa natten, detta ar underbart! Det stora genombrottet!
j
She hasn't made a sound before, and suddenly she started talking like a baby, laughing out loud and she said "dje-dje", clearly! It means big sister and she said it after crying (it's bedtime and she seems to always cry at bedtime) and let her self be comforted. Now she is singing! And saying things in Chinese, obviously very happy! This is amazing! Olivia is playing peek-a-boo under the duvet and he is giggling! Oh, I almost start to cry! I said before to the others, whose babies have been laughing all day, that I can see that inside this very serious and sometimes sad looking baby is a smiling girl ready to come out. And I was right!

On our way to the restaurant yesterday evening. Vera-Mei seems to have just as good apatite as big sister Olivia. Vera-Mei is very thin and under nourished, according to the doctor, but she will soon be healthy. She can hardly feed herself and she is very weak. I'm sure all this will change before we get back to Sweden.
Still very insecure and quiet - but curious. She hasn't laughed yet, but we have seen very quick smiles a couple of times.
Olivia and Vera-Mei have played together today. They used all the stickers - everything is a new experience for Vera but she is a quick learner. They also used the stacking cups (?) and shared and swapped like they had been friends forever.

Olivia took a ride and enjoyed the Chinese children's music outside the baby shop, where we bought new shoes and a buggy for Vera. She has almost as big feet and hands as Olivia! Her feet are also high and wide, so she can't wear any shoes (like Olivia).
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This morning we went back to Civil Affairs to finalize the aoptions. As lng as we are on Chinese ground we are now the legal parents of Vera-Mei! But then we have to re-adopt her in Sweden.
At the moment my husband and to daughters are taking a nap. I wish I also could sleep like a baby! The jet lag is gone, but Vera-Mei had nightmares three times tonight and wouldn't calm down until I hold her and hugged her. It's nice she lets me comfort her, but hopefully this will not turn in to a habit. I rather cuddle in daytime!
This afternoon is free and this evening we have another joint Chinese dinner. Tomorrow we will visit an "ancient university", almost 100 years old, we'll wait and see how impressed we will be. Only a few decades ago all the houses in Beijing was only one floor, so this building was for sure impressing at the time, but I don't know how we Europeans will find it!