Home in Twinsburg

We are Home!

How ironic (or maybe it's not ironic; maybe it's inevitable) that our first day in Twinsburg was a cold, grey day with a touch of snow, after two weeks of excellent weather in three different parts of China. Just perhaps, if you'll permit me the heresy, a Communist system is more capable at arranging The People's Weather than a constitutional republic?

Of course it's always possible that we were merely made to think that the weather in China was excellent....

As a matter of fact, it was excellent only by the standards of Cleveland; our fellow travellers from Denver and San Diego were less impressed.

Followers will notice greater length to this post, because I am no longer paying so much per minute for Internet use, and I am using my own computer!!! to write it. I have just added two more sets of pictures to the April 10 post, along with a bit of editing, and a third set below -- in all, slightly more than sixty new pictures. I do hope that Tori is not going to be jealous, later, that Ellie's site has many times more pictures than Tori's site. There are three reasons, Torianna: better digital cameras, better website services, and faster computers in Ellie's day than in Tori's.

Ellie has now completed four airplane flights, two taxi rides, an uncounted number of bus rides, and one trip home in the car -- all of which she enjoyed; she's a good traveller. She enjoyed the taxi rides because in China car seats for children are not required, and we avoided calamity during the trip home from the airport by -- but perhaps I'd better not make that public.

During the short flight from Guangzhou to Hongkong she fiddled with this and that but mostly played quietly. During the short flight from Chicago to Cleveland she slept. During the long flight -- fourteen hours from Hongkong to Chicago -- she was what Karen calls "a whirling dervish" or, if you prefer, what Tom calls "a little Ellion." She flipped and flopped, twisted and tangled, pulled things, poked things, threw things, butted things (like Karen's face, a couple of times) and laughed, because she thought Karen was playing, whenever Karen tried imposing a little force to make her sit still. She fussed when Tom tried to take over management. Karen had to pick Ellie up and walk around the plane a few times just to get her to stop thrashing around in the seat. It was, in short, a long trip. On top of that, due to electrical problems in our section of the airliner, the seat controls didn't work, which meant that seat lights could not be turned off, the sound system channels could not be used, and the cabin attendants could not be summoned. To be fair to the cabin attendants, they were more attentive with to because of this: we received excellent service, although the food was very poor. ...And to be fair to the little Ellion, she did fall asleep for about an hour in the middle of the trip, and for two or three hours towards the end.

Things were mildly interesting between flights, too. For no reason clear to us, Karen, Ellie and I were in the second group to leave the hotel for the Guangzhou airport (the other families boarding the plane with us left the hotel an hour earlier) and although we arrived in what was theoretically plenty of time, we ended up in a slow line with a slow service rep. Check-in took so long that our CCAI rep had to leave us. We got to our designated gate about twenty minutes before boarding began, and then, about three minutes after boarding began, someone came from another gate to tell us that the gate for our flight had changed and if we wanted to get to Hongkong we had better hustle four gates down that-a-way. (This information had been on display on the marquee at our gate, but none of us waiting had seen it; and probably there had been an announcement, too, that none of us were able to understand.)

Upon landing in Hongkong and collecting our bags we had to get in a l-o-o-n-g line to check in for Chicago and Cleveland; this took about an hour and a half, and after security, transit, elevators and this-and-that we again made it to our gate for Chicago with only a little time to spare.

In Chicago we went through baggage claim, Immigrations, and Customs, after which we had to recheck already-checked baggage and pass again through security, transit, elevators and this-and-that to find our gate for Cleveland. Going through Customs made Ellie an American citizen. When I congratulated her on that while awaiting the transit train, a gentleman on the platform overhead and he congratulated her, too.

Fairly typical airport experience, all of it. In fact I have to say that except for a couple of check-in clerks who were very slow, the service at the airports and on the planes was first quality. Security is security, but the guards and immigration officers were polite, efficient, diligent and reasonable, in the U.S. and in China. I did get held up by customs officers when entering Guangzhou, over something someone didn't like on my passport -- I never did find out what it was -- but even that small delay was handled with courtesy. Karen had to open her backpack to be searched at one point. It was full of Ellie's toys, which probably weren't recognizable on the scanner.

Carol, Mark and Tori came to meet us at Hopkins. They weren't permitted a gate pass; they had to wait for us at baggage claim. Ellie took to the kids almost immediately. We had an uneventful if slightly daring ride home, and after helping us get into the house, Mark and Tori went back to Nana and Doh's place so that Ellie could sleep her first night home with just Ma-ma and Ba-ba. Ellie and Ma-ma went to bed almost as soon as we got home. Ba-ba went to the grocery store to pick up some basics for next morning, our fridge being empty; but couldn't buy wine for Karen (yes, that is one of the basics) because it was Sunday morning, just after midnight, when he got to Giant Eagle.

We began the day, Saturday the 12th, at 5:00 AM in China, and ended it around 12:00 AM on Sunday the 13th--which sounds like 19 hours except for China being twelve hours ahead, so it was actually 31.

By mid-morning next day Ellie and Tori were playing as if they had been friends together all their lives. Probably in a day or so they'll be playing as if they've been sisters all their lives (any experienced parent will understand the difference immediately.)

Mark didn't get that much chance to play with Ellie because he was scheduled to take a certification test for his hunting license, which turned out to be a three-hour course as well as a test. He passed, with a 99%, being the second person to finish the test; and was immediately equipped by Doh with his own hunting license. Tom, having gone along, decided to take the certification test, too, and also passed (with only a 96%, but there it is.) After getting home from that, Mark did play with Ellie for a short while, and also tried a couple of games of chess, Chinese version, with Tom; and then Tom decided that Ellie had better have a nap. Ellie was lulled to sleep with more recorder music.

The little whirling dervish Ellion is already very comfortable in her new "orphanage." She stayed home all day and went outdoors for a few moments only, to admire the deck. She is getting along just fine with the kids, Nana and Doh -- but she can't stand poor Arpeggio, so the cat is banished for the time being to the basement. She needs the barest minimum of help to get up and down the stairs. She loves the windows. She loved trying to fiddle with the presents her older siblings were brought from China (the older siblings put most of them away with commendable and prudent expedition.) She seems comfortable in her new bedroom, although of course she is not sleeping alone in it, yet--both Tori and Karen are with her at the moment. All in all, the whole family is adjusting very well.

Thanks once more to everybody for following this blog, for helping Carol and Roger look out for Mark and Tori, for covering for Karen and myself in our absence, for prayers, hopeful thoughts, good wishes, and all other kindnesses. Tomorrow I will work a bit on getting some video posted here, so stay tuned....