MEETING ALICE

On one of my Yahoo groups they're discussing MMM at the moment.

MMM? Magical Meeting Moment.

I think back to that day in Kunming quite often, but when I went back to check the blog I realised that I've never blogged about it. So here's how I remember it 4 months on, I might review the DVD of it soon so I may edit this again later.

We met in the lobby of the hotel. The Americans were also massing to get on a large coach, they left before us. We travelled in a minibus. The journey was shorter than expected but every moment was terrifying yet exhilarating - wondering what was about to happen, how she would be, how I would cope, etc. Most of the journey was on large roads 6 lanes wide, then we turned off into a local area, small roads, small shops and then a turn into what seemed to be a development of blocks of flat with turquoise paint (not sure if they were doors or balconies). We passed a couple of blocks and then turned left and stopped at the end of the cul-de-sac - I recognised the entrance to the block on the right - we were there.

Moments later we'd be ushered through the large metal door (that clanged shut very often through our time at this office - a sound I will always remember), we were in a concrete stairwell. We walked up half a flight of stairs and into a room on the right. The room was a fair size with a black leather sofa and some wooden chairs on one side and a large table with more chairs on the other. We were met by an official who welcomed us and checked our ITTs and passports - we were told us these babies were the first from the province to be adopted into the UK in her memory (actually we think that there might be a 9 or 10 year old who lived in Yorkshire after her adoption - but we've never found them so we're not sure). We signed some paperwork and filled in some basic details, including the baby's new name (I didn't complete that part until after I met her!) We were told the babies would be with us in 5 minutes.

Meanwhile the metal front door continued to clang. We could hear a large group of Americans who already had their babies in a room across the landing - they were loud and some of the babies were crying. We were joined by an American lady who was going to be a single mum, she was travelling with her sister, her guide was loud. She came into the room while we were waiting but her baby came in before ours - we got to see her handed over, literally a name check and passed across, I think it helped us prepare. N said every time a baby cried or the door shut we looked like rabbits in the headlights, it was terrifying waiting for them. We could hear movement outside our room, footsteps on the stairs, babies crying, Chinese voices - there was a lot going on that afternoon.

Then, suddenly, 2 nannies were there, each holding a baby. An Hao Ming was in the arms of the second nanny - I remember recognising her and thinking that M and C would be first, but then they said 'An Hao Ming' - I don't know if they were addressing me or speaking between themselves, but I stood up, held out my arms and said, 'Yes, that's my baby!' and they handed her to me. I sat down again with her facing me on my lap, she put her hands on my cheeks, I said 'Hello, I'm your Mummy.' Then I whispered in her ear that I loved her and would she like to be called Alice? I felt incredibly turbulent - worried about how she would be, how she would react whilst trying to stay calm and keep the tears from flowing. Not crying was hard - it was so emotional but I really felt I had to be calm to keep Alice calm. I wasn't calm but I didn't really cry - Alice remained wide eyed and observant. She played with the keys and other toy that I took.

Several minutes later the officials asked if it was the right baby, it was - but by then she was mine whether or not she was the baby I'd been expecting this one was mine! We got to meet the orphanage director, except she wasn't, she was actually responsible for the babies being adopted internationally or paperwork - we never did meet the actual CWI director. She was a tall, thin woman in her late 20s or early 30s, she had buck teeth, glasses and long hair with a long fringe. She was informative about 'the baby' but wouldn't answer my specific questions about her - referring to the information sheet I'd been given or excusing herself as there were 9 babies being adopted that day. She also passed comment to the guide that she thought that the CCAA had matched the right baby to the right family - she also told him not to translate that!

During this time several more people had entered the room and it had become quite crowded - I think most of them were Canadian and several received older children. Many families were created in that building that afternoon, but Alice and I were mostly in our own little bubble despite the noise and emotion.

Over 30 minutes after we received the babies we were free to go. We loaded up the minibus and as we were driving off we spotted 2 nannies from the orphanage, I held up Alice and we could see one say her Chinese name, quickly we asked for the bus to be stopped while we took a photo.

I'd been told by the 'director' that Alice was an easy baby - I was sceptical about that, thinking that might just be a rouse to get me to accept her, but actually I think she was right!

We returned to the same apartment block the following day to complete the adoptions - that time we were in the other room and had a lot of paperwork to do - I wore Alice in a hip carrier that day whilst trying to complete the papers on the other side (away from Alice).