Saturday in Laibin

What an absolutely INCREDIBLE day we had exploring Laibin! Having Meg as our "tour guide" gave us the best experience ever - to interact with the Laibin people and to experience the "real" Laibin. We started out our day with a delicious authentic Chinese breakfast in the Laibin International Hotel (remember, no Western influence here at all!) and then we were able to talk to Steffi and Liz via webcam. It was so good to see them! They keep asking where Danielle is - it will be fun to be actually able to have them all meet! Our first stop of the day was to finding Danielle's finding spot. When Danielle was abandoned, she was left on a bridge head - and it turns out that the bridge was only about 3 blocks away from our hotel. When we found it, we were so grateful to see that it was heavily travelled. There was a city park on one corner, stores on 2 corners, and a corner with well-maintained "rest area" with a lot of ricksaw taxis parked nearby and lots of people! We don't yet know the exact spot, but maybe when we come back to Laibin later in the week, we will be able to get that information. It was a very emotional moment, where all of us shed some tears. I can't help but think about Danielle's mother...all of the emotions that she had to be feeling then and even now, wondering whatever happened to her daughter. Every time that we have crossed that bridge, I wonder about that day and I wonder if she does too? Does she work in one of those shops? Does she have to cross that bridge & pass that spot every day going to/coming from work? We will never know. I also can't help but wonder if Danielle was abandoned mainly because of the cyst on her neck. She was about 1 month old when she was found, and maybe her family knew they would not be able to pay for her medical expenses and wanted to give her a chance. There is not health insurance here...if you have a permit to live in the city, the city will pay a fraction of the cost (about 10%?), but getting treated for a simple thing like a common cold could easily cost $100 (which is a lot of money in China). If you have moved into the city illegally from the country you cannot even go for medical help because 1) you probably couldn't afford it, and 2) you run the risk of being shipped out of the city. We have been learning a lot about the socioeconomics of the Chinese people, and we can't help to wonder if this played a huge part in Danielle's abandonment. We then strolled through the city park and were followed by 3 little girls...who giggled all the way. We were able to take a lot of pictures of people in the park (with their permission) and we were the object of photo taking ourselves. We were kind of like celebrities to them! The school-age kids would say hello, and laughed at us when we would say "ni hao" (mandarin for "hello"). Many were curious to see the "foreigners" and they were even more amazed when Meg started talking to them in "excellent chinese". We think an older man, the curator of the park, may have called the police out of concern for the "foreigners" taking video, photos & causing such a stir with the people. When Meg noticed the police showed up, she told us it was time to keep moving. Steve really enjoys talking (with Meg's help) to anyone showing interest, and it was unfortunate we had to go. We caught a cab to the train station in order to plan a way back to Nanning. We went through a very poor area of the city. The train station itself was full of poor and homeless people. We even saw a man openly shooting up with heroin right in front of the bus station. Well, the train didn't pan out - only hard seats available, and Meg told us that is something we did not want to experience. Our next idea was to hire a driver, so outside we went to the rows of taxis. Once outside, people started walking toward us - very curious about us, I guess. But when Meg said, "Let's get out of here" - we did. We hopped in the first cab and we were gone! The driver drove us to the orphanage, where we were able to take a few pictures of the outside of it and the store fronts around it. It was a very non-descript building - it just looked like a regular store front. We couldn't help but wonder if our daughter was actually inside. Our driver then suggested taking us to a brand new "scenic area / tourist attraction" about 30 minutes outside of the city, and we jumped at the chance! We drove past beautiful condos in a gated community - all for government officials only - and through a few small farming villages. Quite a comparison! The countryside was beautiful (except for the haze of pollution) and very poor. It was like we were watching a PBS special - water buffalo pulling carts, people washing their clothes in the river, run-down houses, people cooking outside...was Danielle from this part of China? We will never know. We got to the park, which turned out to be a kind of outdoor musuem dedicated to Pangu. The ancestors of the people here are credited with the origin of this mythology regarding the creation of humanity. They believe in a mythical story about 2 twins (a boy and girl), who were sent down from heaven with the purpose to procreate and therefore, started the human race - like a Chinese Adam and Eve. Meg had a little bit of difficulty understanding the story, so we are going to check it out some more later. It turns out, we were the very first foreigners to visit, which was a big deal, evidenced by the following we had. The tour guide was ecstatic to be able to share with us this rich history. We took a boat ride and toured the grounds. One girl, Qin Yu Wang (a junior in high school) followed us around and liked to practice her English with us. Everyone was so nice and wonderful - we had an amazing time. On our way back into the city, we decided to stop at the city square. It was quite pretty and bustling with people. Again, 3 little girls followed us around - they asked us where we were from and after we told them "America", they said, "Oh, we are from China." How cute is that?! We grabbed another cab back to our hotel, and went to a tea house right in between our hotel and "Danielle's bridge". We spent a couple of hours tasting different teas and talking with the shop owner & his employees. It was a great experience! Steve and I bought a tea set and some tea - very yummy tea, I might add! After a little down time, we then went out for dinner at the Laibin Grand Hotel - and it was, again, very tasty! I am actually enjoying the food more than I thought I would - at least most of it! We then ventured through a night market right across from our hotel. We bought some dried fruits, candy and jewelry...we even got to see (get this Bumpa) a kung fu presentation by a group of Shaolin priests (just like Grasshopper)! At one point (while we were talking to the monks), I realized that we were totally surrounded by at least 50 curious Chinese people (mostly men). This was a little unnerving, especially since I was wearing our money belt (no safe in our hotel room). But they were all very friendly and just wanted to get a glimpse of the foreigners. Many people (most) have never actually seen or met any Americans...Laibin is just not the main place tourists visit. The city only has a population of about 40,000, but we loved it! As you can see, we had a very busy but gratifying day. I am so glad that we decided to come and explore Laibin. We are so thankful that we have had the experience that we did - to experience the real Laibin. Meg and the talents God has given her are a gift from Him. We are so grateful to God for how He put this trip together for us. It was great to experience Danielle's birthplace the ways we did. Steve would prefer to stay here the whole time. If we had a guide from the city, we would not have seen and felt all that we did!! Thank you God for giving this to us and to Danielle - it will be so amazing to be able to share this day with her when she gets older. (We promise to post pictures soon - experiencing technical difficulties)