The new blog is up and running

As you may have noticed, content here has come to an end because we've received our referral and pictures of the kid. If you'd like to continue following our journey to Kate, please click HERE and complete the form to access to our new private blog.

Thanks for visiting and we hope to see you on our new blog.

Scott, Jen, Kate

Say hi to He Fu Qing

TADA!!!!
Say hi to our cute little daughter.
She's from Sichuan Chongqing province.
Born November 15, 2006

Sorry for the lack of information and the late posting. Today was crazy and the phone and doorbell didn't stop ringing. More information once I get the new blog up and running.

*** 10-14-7 we've remove the pics and posted them to our new blog. Check it out of you want to see the pics of Kate ***

There's more families travelling with us

We heard today that there are at least 3 more families that will be travelling with us. 2 are expedited families (Chinese families) and 1 family from out west from group 250 (I think). Does anyone know who these people are?!?! We'll find out when CB sends us information but it would be nice to know now.

Nothing worth reporting. Still no paperwork and no phone calls.

 

Cathy Murphy from Children’s Bridge is in town this weekend for an AdoptTalk seminar. She’ll have 2 unhappy people on her hands if we still don’t have our referral.

I’ve mentioned this before and it’s time to start advertising access to our new blog.

 

This blog has been fun, but all good things must come to an end. Once our referral arrives, this blog will end as we’ll need to add a layer of privacy to our lives and will be starting a new blog from time of referral to our return.

 

If you would like access to the new blog, please click HERE and let us know who you are. You’ll be advised in the next few days of the location of the new blog.

 

If the link above didn’t work, here it is again.

http://www.scottfillmore.ca/china/blog_access/index.php

Nothing yet. Jen emailed and called our social worker Genevieve to see if she’s heard anything and she emailed and called back saying that she didn’t have anything but Bill (who handles our paperwork before it gets to Genevieve) had emailed her Friday saying the paperwork should soon be coming to her. Her schedule is free for most of the week and she should be able to get us in as soon as she gets the file.

 

As I understand it, Children’s Bridge usually turns around the paperwork within 24 hours. They need to translate it and review it then it gets sent back to Bill in Fredericton. Our guestimated timeline is that Children’s Bridge would receive the paperwork Friday, should have it translated by end of day yesterday and send it back to Bill today. Bill should hopefully send it on to Genevieve today for us to review tomorrow.

 

When we get the picture, we’ll announce it here, but we’re going to share it among friends and family before posting it to the blog. If you’re in the area, feel free to stop by our house that night as we’ll have an open door for anyone who wants to stop by. After the people leave, then we’ll post the pic here.

 

That’s it for now. I really don’t expect anything today.

It’s noon here… no calls on the answering machine @ home and Jennifer has not heard from anybody yet today. We do not expect to hear anything today… tomorrow is more like when we should see our paperwork and the pictures.

WEATHER: Huge Landslide in Sichuan

I’m assuming that we’re going to Sichuan province. I know that 2 babies for others in our group are from there so this is relevant to us.

WEATHER: Huge Landslide in Sichuan  

3,000 evacuated after landslide blocks river

9:17pm, 10/08/2007

More than 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes after a huge landslide dammed a river, creating a menacing lake that threatened to burst.

The landslide occurred Friday when an estimated 500,000 cubic meters (18 million cubic feet) of mud and rock tumbled into a river near Guangyuan city, in Sichuan province.

No one was hurt in the landslide, but it created a dam 150 meters (492 feet) long, blocking the river, and creating a lake that began to expand as water flowed in. The lake has submerged about 187 hectares (462 acres) of crop land.

Local authorities began evacuating residents near the site out of fear the dam could collapse at any moment, and have begun work to drain the lake. Officials hope to have the lake drained with two days. The report did not mention the name of the river or what might have triggered the landslide.

It is official... we have been matched

Check it out... the news we've been waiting for for many many many months. OK... hurry up and get that paperwork to us. We need to get it back on its way to China so that we can get there before Christmas. Hey everyone out there.... find me someone who officially received their paperwork during the week of October 10 and travelled before Christmas. It sure is cutting it close.

YEEHAW!!!!!!!!

So, on whatever day that we receive our referral (You'll hear it here first), we'll be having an open house that night to see the pic. If you want to see the pic before it's posted here, stop by and share in our joy.

To end on a sad note, we really feel bad that they only matched to Nov 30. There's a couple of local families who are close behind and it would've been really cool to meet up in China for a quick visit. Our hearts are out to you all right now.

How we spent our Saturday

Today was our annual fall pilgrimage to the Fredericton Farmer's Market. While we were in Fredericton....

We’re 99.99% sure that our paperwork is in Canada. I’ll be optimistic and say that.

 

Quite a burden has been lifted from me by knowing that I don’t have to stop by and visit the Rumor Queen any more. Over the last 2 years, she’s been more of a thorn in my side than a help. In a lot of cases, the roller coaster we rode many months was powered by her words. She’d get us all excited with talk of someone saying something, then we’d be disappointed to find out that it was just a rumor. Yes, I must admit that she did serve a good purpose when I needed her but goodbye and good riddance, Evil Queen. HEHE

 

As the Ontario families received their pics yesterday, I’ll assume that the NB Government received our paperwork and sent it off to Children’s bridge. They turn it around quite quickly, so lets’ think that it’s been translated and sent back to the Province. If they’re efficient, it might get shipped to our social worker today, but it will most likely travel Tuesday. Our social worker should then have it Wednesday. We might have a pic in our hands as soon as Wednesday. Now I just need to find my old scanner and get it hooked up to the computer to scan the pic when I get it.

 

It’s the end of the day here and we’ll just have to make the most of this long weekend. As someone pointed out to me today at work – this is our last Thanksgiving as a family of 2.

Ontario has their files, we have to wait

Hooray hooray hooray for the Ontario families in our group. They all received their referrals late this afternoon and sent out their pics tonight.

The 3 babies range in age from 9 months to 20 months and are all from Sichuan Province. I'm assuming that "Gertrude" will be from there as well.

So, is our file back in Canada? When will we receive our information? When will we be travelling? I guess we still have many more questions to answer before we can relax.

Still nothing. Children’s Bridge told someone else in our Group that they have not received anything yet. I believe that their courier shipment arrive late in the day so there4 might still be some hope that they’ll receive something today. That really doesn’t help us other than confirming that our group received their referral. Ours must pass thru the Province’s hands first so that will cause us a delay from the Ontario people in getting our information.

 

Someone from another Canadian agency is reporting that their agency (not named, but we don’t think it was Children’s Bridge) has received their referral today so if anything was to be delivered to our agency, it should be today.

 

I’m not sure what this all means. This month’s process has been very different than most months… Usually the CCAA site is updated before the files go out. This month, files are out without the CCAA updating their site. A 3 day holiday fell near the end of the matching process which complicates dates. So, nothing for sure at this point.

 

We continue to wait mostly in the dark.

Still no news. There’s bits of information, but nothing I would bet my life on right now.

 

Still no official sign of a cutoff date but it looks like it’s probably November 30 if the rumors stand true. If that’s the case, we’re in!

 

Still no word on whether paperwork is on its way or not. Jen made a couple phone calls yesterday to make sure that all the people who will touch our paperwork will be around in the next few days as we’d hate for someone to be out while our paperwork sits on their desk collecting dust. All seems fine for that. Jen’s doctor may not be around so that could complicate things, but we’re hoping for the best on that. It all depends on when we’d have the paperwork to show her.

 

After hearing stories of people’s paperwork going to Nova Scotia instead of New Brunswick or people’s paperwork sitting on a desk somewhere in Canada, I’m still a bit reluctant to let out a sign of relief just quite yet. We still do not have any official word on anything but things are starting to get a wee bit more optimistic.

Still nothing

I thought I would check my sources before I headed out this morning to see if anybody knows anything. Nope! Still no word on what the cutoff date will be and no word on whether the files have been sent or not.

Nothing to report

The weekend didnt give us any new information.

From what I understand, the CCAA is closed for the complete week, not just the 3 days of holidays. It soudns liek they worked the weekend and took the rest of the week off to make up for their weekend work. Some agencies in Europe are reporting that referrals are on their way to their clients but no North American agencies have reported this yet. If thats the case, the files are also on their way to us here in North America as they send them out to every country at the same time. But who knows as none of this has been confirmed. A cutoff date has still not been announced by the CCAA but the rumor is that the 30th is in. Nobody knows how much further they've processed. Some talk says to December 5, but nobody can confirm it. If thats the case, we're in. But nobody knows for sure.

I am off for a business trip to Montreal until Thursday so I'll be anxiously waiting for my cellphone to ring for some good news from Jen as she'll be checking the sites and waiting for some news about our file. I'm sure she'll update things here if anything is heard.

In the meantime, the waiting continues.
Scott

22 months today

Hopefully this will be our last posting announcing our months of wait. Lets see that countup to referral turn into a countdown to a family.

Well, it’s Friday afternoon and nothing. Hardly a rumor to speak of. The CCAA is supposed to be working this weekend and then it’s a holiday in China for Monday to Wednesday inclusive so let’s hope that they finish off what they need by Monday. If the paperwork makes the courier before Monday, there’s a chance that we’ll travel before Christmas. If the referrals only get sent out after the holiday then travel might be postponed until January.

 

That’s it from here. Enjoy your weekend.

There are still no rumors or official news on when they have matched to or if the files have gone out. The waiting continues.

Still no news on the next batch of referrals

Well, we’re into the part of the month where the rumours on the next batch of referrals are flying around but there’s nothing to report this month. Not one single rumour at this point. Having no rumours is even more frustrating than having some rumor as we have nothing to grasp onto, nothing to disappoint us or bring us hope for this critical month for us. I’m not quite sure on how to interpret this lack of unofficial news. Has the CCAA clamped down on their leaks and stopped the rumours from getting out? This is unlikely – unofficial information seems to always find a way to get out. Is the CCAA running that far behind schedule that we’re not even at the stage when rumours should be coming out? All the numbers say that the 4 days we need matched at not heavy days so there should be no reason for the CCAA to not meet a month end deadline like they usually do.

I still expect that we’ll get our referral in October. The problem now is the timeline on getting that referral. Oct 1,2,3 is a holiday in China for the Autumn Moon Festival and because of this the CCAA shuts down. If they CCAA sends out the referrals this week before the holiday, we should be good to travel in December. If the CCAA doesn’t send out the referrals until after the holiday, the timelines will be too tight and I doubt that we’ll travel in December, which will bump our travel off to January.

It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces at the Autumn Moon Festival on the weekend. The presentations showcased the talent that we have in Moncton. The little kids doing their show were a crowd favourite; the martial arts demonstration was great. (I’ve never seen anyone actually use nun chucks in real life before) and the piano solos were wonderful. The taste of the Mooncakes was better than I remember from last year.

That’s it for now… keep checking back this week as this site will be updated as soon as we hear something.

Scott

Mid-Autumn Festival in Moncton this weekend

Don’t forget about the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival which will held from 7pm - 10pm at Bernice MacNaughton High School, on Saturday, September 22, 2007.

 

Here’s a link explaining the celebration. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival

 

Canada AM features international adoption

Here’s a link to a Canada AM story on international adoption. It features an Ottawa family who recently returned from China and Martha Maslin from Children’s Bridge.

 

http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/bplayer/ETalk.html

 

Upcoming events in the Fredericton area

========

Hi all,

You are cordially invited to attend the upcoming special events hosted by the Chinese Cultural Association of New Brunswick (CCANB) in celebration of its 30th Anniversary.
Get your tickets early for the best seats. Feel free to forward this message to your friends and colleagues. For more information, please visit our website at www.ccanb.ca .

 

1. Autumn Moon Benefit Dinner
   To celebrate the Chinese Autumn Moon festival and fundraise for the Chinese School, an Autumn Moon Benefit Dinner is planned on September 29th at the Jubilee Restaurant.
   The evening will feature a delicious eight-course Chinese Banquet, live entertainment, silent auction and a ceremony salutation to our founding members. Please come and spend a memorable evening with old friends and new acquaintances while offering your generous support to CCANB.
   Venue: Jubilee Restaurant (837 Prospect Street West)
   Date: September 29, 2007 starting at 6:30 pm
   Tickets: Limited seating is still available for $40/person at the Friendship Store (606 Albert Street Fredericton) or contact us via email at tickets@ccanb.ca.
   
   
2. Chinese Cultural Spectacular at the Playhouse
   The Chinese Cultural Association is proud to present the "Chinese Cultural Spectacular" on Oct. 27th, 2007 at the Fredericton Playhouse.
   This is a wonderful opportunity for the whole family to experience a gala show that will transport you to a breathtaking world on stage, infused with the vitality of colourful dancers, lavish costumes, exotic scenery and captivating music. The rich cultural heritage of China is brought to life in a dazzling and extravagant performance presented by the Chinese Cultural Association of New Brunswick in celebrating its 30th anniversary.
   Venue: Fredericton Playhouse
   Date: October 27, 2007 starting at 7:00 pm
   Tickets: $23/Adult, $20.50/Student or Senior, and $17/CCANB member (Max. of 4 per family )
   Reserved seating is available at the Fredericton Playhouse Box office, at the Friendship Store (606 Albert Street Fredericton) or contact us via email at tickets@ccanb.ca

 

Tom Ng /CCANB President

The last week in review

It appears that I've become lazy and didn't keep my blog up to date this week. Shame on me. And I really don't even have a good excuse.

We went to Lenora and David's Balloon Fiesta adoptive family party Saturday in Sussex. Jen managed to get us an AWESOME packing list and some other survival guides from a family with 5 kids from China! WOW! After being there 5 times and improving the list every time, it's a jewel of a list. She even provided us a price list of what we should expect to pay for things in China. Thanks!

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Jen talked to Children's Bridge a couple times to start making sure everything is as it should be. We're still optomistic that we'll get our referral at the beginning of October and have a picture in our hands by this time next month.

The final touches were put on the kids room this week. The dresser is done, the bed is made, and the the pictures are hung on the walls. We just need to fill the dresser with her clothes and stuff now.

Penny and David from Saint John are off to China today to get their little Lisa. Their paperwork encountered a couple hiccups getting back to China so they were delayed in travelling and are actually travelling on their own. The rest of their group has gone and returned. They have a blog but it's not public so we cant follow their journey. If you;re a Yahoogroups user, they do have a Yahoogroup that they'll be updating. Follow THIS LINK to sign up for it. I'm not sure if you'll actually get access or not as they have bigger things on their mind right now.

From checking some other blogs it seems to be a quiet week for most people. For us, I think this quietness is the calm before the storm!

TB infections among international adoptees rising: study

From the Globe and Mail. An interesting article that all adoptive parents should read..

Jen' s doctor has agreed to take on Gertrude as a patient. Once we get our referral and have our travel dates, we'll book an appt with the doctor immediately after our return from China.

TB infections among international adoptees rising: study

HELEN BRANSWELL
Canadian Press
September 4, 2007 at 6:53 AM EDT

TORONTO — Tuberculosis infection rates among international adoptees to the United States has risen dramatically over the past 20 years, according to new findings which add weight to a call for Canada to screen all incoming adoptees for the disease.

The American study followed up on 869 foreign-born children adopted into U.S. families from 1986 through 2001. Twelve per cent of the children were infected with tuberculosis and the rate of TB infections among the adoptees rose 7 per cent with each passing year through the period studied.

“These kids are getting infected very, very early in life,” said lead author Dr. Anna Mandalakas, who runs the adoption health service at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

“So during this first two years of life if they're in an orphanage, a huge number of these children are getting infected.”

The authors of the study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Paediatrics, say the findings support the current call from the American Academy of Paediatrics that all international adoptees undergo a skin test for tuberculosis immediately after adoption.

Two Canadian tuberculosis experts recently urged that TB screening policy for international adoptees be instituted in Canada, suggesting in a commentary in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that provinces and territories should follow up with adoptive parents to ensure these children get timely and thorough testing.

TB rates among the children in the American study ranged from nearly 15 per cent in adoptees from Eastern Europe, 14 per cent from Russia and 13 per cent from Korea to between 12.5 per cent and 11 per cent in India, China and South America, 8.3 per cent in Central America and the Caribbean and 2.8 per cent in Southeast Asia.

Canadians routinely adopt children from these same regions or countries, some of which have among the highest rates of tuberculosis globally. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, an average of 2,000 children a year are adopted into Canadian families from abroad.

The medical examination required of immigrants to Canada isn't geared towards detecting latent tuberculosis infection or TB disease in children under 11 years of age, Dr. Richard Long and co-author Jody Boffa of the tuberculosis program evaluation and research unit at the University of Alberta wrote in the Canadian Medical Association Journal earlier this summer.

But given the risk faced by international adoptees, this special group ought to be screened, Dr. Long and Ms. Boffa suggested. Their commentary noted that four in 10 foreign-born children under the age of five found to be infected with tuberculosis in Alberta between 2004 and 2006 were international adoptees.

Dr. Long said children infected with latent or even active TB don't pose a risk to others, because children under nine or 10 years of age rarely transmit disease. But the infection is a real threat to their own health, he said in an interview.

Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bug that causes TB, doesn't always lead to active disease. In many people the bacteria remains latent. Infected adults have about a five to 10 per cent chance of developing active tuberculosis some time in their lifetime.

With young children, however, the risk that infection will lead to disease is much higher. Infants under a year have a roughly 50 per cent chance of developing disease and children aged one to two have a 20 per cent chance. And if active TB develops, it can progress beyond the lungs, the typical site of disease.

“Little children not only have a higher risk of getting disease from infection itself, they're at higher risk of getting severe forms of disease — and by severe forms I mean central nervous system or disseminated TB,” said Dr. Long, who also serves as Alberta's medical officer of health for tuberculosis.

A TB expert at Toronto's University Health Network agreed.

“They're a relatively small population, but they're a really high risk population,” said Dr. Michael Gardam, who is head of infection control for that network of three central Toronto hospitals. Dr. Gardam was not involved in either the study or the commentary.

“Because these kids are not coming from healthy, happy homes. They're coming from environments where they're very likely to have been exposed to tuberculosis. And I think it makes perfect sense to be screening them.”

Both Dr. Mandalakas' study and Dr. Long's commentary recommend the screening begin swiftly after an international adoptee arrives in his or her new home.

And both recommended that the initial skin test be followed up three to six months later with another. That's because a test performed immediately after arrival might not detect an infection that occurred shortly before a child left an overseas orphanage.

Children who test positive should be put on a nine month course of antibiotics, Dr. Mandalakas said. She also suggested orphanages involved in international adoptions should test for tuberculosis among employees.

More signs that we'll get our referral next month

Fresh from the Rumor Queen site, here is more proof that we may actually be nearing the end of this journey. Even under her Horrid Case scenario, we are in. Now these are just her predictions based on feedback but it's a sign.

Without discussing it before, Jennifer and I both sent messages to our HR departments this morning looking for answers to questions... medical coverage while away, when is the kid on our medical plan, what forms do we need to fill out, etc...

Tonight will be more work on the the final touches on the kids room. We need another coat of paint to the dresser top, install the curtain rod ends and install the valance, and work some more on the rocking chair refinish. Then we need to hang some wall decorations and voila! It's done. Nope! You won't see a pic until it's done. I gave you guys a teaser in the early stages a few weeks ago but nothing else until it's done.

November 25

The CCAA matched to November 25. That means we'll have to wait another month until the beginning of October to see if we're in. There's only 4 days between the cutoff and us, and the 25th is a Friday, so we're almost certain to get our referral next month and travel in December. But, as you all know, nothing in this process is for certain. They could surprise us with another month of matching only 2 days worth of files.

Do we have any volunteers to put up our Christmas tree and decorate it for us?

Friday morning growl!

OK, this is the type of roller coaster we are on. Will we get our referral in September or will we not get our referral in September?

As we’re teetering on the “referral edge” this month, I’ve gotten into the habit of checking the Rumor Queen site each morning before leaving for work just to see where

The following rumor was posted to the Rumor Queen website this morning

Not good news for the 25th
August 30th, 2007

I’m told that someone with a log in date of Nov 25th has been told she is not included in this batch.

I’m not ready to consider this a done deal, but it is not looking very good right now.

So, based on that information we somewhat resigned ourselves to accepting the fact that we would not get our referral this month.

Well, stop everything!!! Within the last hour, this rumor was posted to the RQ site. It totally contradicts the earlier rumor from this morning. AARRGGHH!!!!!

A second European Agency
August 31st, 2007

A second European Agency is now saying “with almost complete certainty” that some of December will be in this batch.

This is a very reliable agency and they have my complete attention with this one.

They basically say that they are positive that the 24th is in, and can say “with almost complete certainty” that some of December will be in this batch.

This one gets an R3½

I absolutely hate it when people get their hopes up only to have them smashed on the rocks of reality. I hope that this doesn’t happen this time. But, there are two agencies saying it, and one of them has been reliable in the past.

What's a guy to do?!?!?!

Arthur Gets an "A" for Adoption

This episode of Arthur will air Friday, September 7 @ 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM Atlantic time on your local PBS station.

From http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1310

Arthur Gets an “A” for Adoption
A new, two-part story on the PBS show hits all the right notes.
by Susan Avery

Talk about adoption or watch wrestling? It’s a no-brainer for “Binky Barnes,” the lovably dim-witted character on Arthur, the long-running PBS cartoon, who finds out that his parents will be adopting a baby from China. He chooses wrestling, and his detached reaction caused concern for his parents—and this reviewer.

Much to my surprise, and delight, the concern was short-lived. The executive producer of Arthur, and his team, did everything right this time. The two episodes on adoption, airing this fall, “Big Brother Binky, Parts I and II,” get the facts right and, equally important, the words and emotions.

Once Mom and Dad explain adoption, Binky is as excited as they are. He joins them on the year-long adoption roller-coaster, and has his own moments of insecurity and jealousy. The boy’s beloved game room becomes his new sister’s bedroom; his mom sews a bai jia bei, a “quilt of 100 wishes,” which is a tradition in Northern China (and something he never had). And right before the big day, he needs the dreaded travel immunizations. “This baby better be worth it,” he mutters, expressing a common sentiment among older siblings-in-waiting.

The episodes are a must-watch. Executive producer Pierre Valette put two years of thought and research into these shows, talking to those in the PBS family who’ve adopted or who were adopted. To his credit, Valette also consulted adoption experts, to assure that the story line was both authentic and inoffensive, something that didn’t happen a few years ago. In that misstep, an Arthur episode titled “Dear Adil,” Arthur finds a box of his father’s childhood letters from a foreign pen pal. As he reads them, D.W., his four-year-old sister, walks into the room. “Are those from your real parents?” she blurts.

At the time, PBS dismissed concerns from adoptive parents, saying they saw no problem with such a remark. After several discussions with the editors of Adoptive Families, however, Valette understood, and promised to make it right by treating adoption more thoughtfully in the future.

“The conversations with Adoptive Families definitely had us looking at adoption more carefully,” he said recently, in his office at WGBH in Boston. “We did a lot of research and came up with a story line that felt true to the subject and true to the characters, as well. Binky is kind of tough on the outside but very sensitive.”

After putting up with days, and nights, of baby Mei Lin’s crying, Binky cracks in Part II. The boy announces to his parents that his sister is not happy and wants to return to her real home. Scriptwriters to the rescue: “This is her real home,” say her parents. “When we adopted her, we became her family forever.” With Binky set straight, the family goes out for Chinese food, joined by Arthur and his family. Kate, Arthur’s little sister, engages in baby talk with Mei Lin, which, when translated, is a light-hearted venting session about their older brothers.

So we became Arthur fans forever. Thanks to Valette and his team for keeping it real.

21 months today

Twenty one months ago our paperwork was logged in the system at the CCAA in China.

Twenty one months ago we expected to wait 8 months to be united with our child.

Twenty one months later, we still wait.

no update on the rumor

It’s late Friday afternoon and there’s been no update to the Rumor Queens news from yesterday that they might include our date in the next batch of referrals. We’ll keep checking over the weekend.

 

international power adapters

It seems that the deal that Dell had yesterday on the international power adapters sold out quickly.  Have no fear. If someone is looking for one, The Source (the old Radio Shack stores) seems to have a good deal on a few. You can order online, have it shipped to the closest store and pick it up there without paying a delivery fee. They even take Interact online which works exceptionally well.

 

 

TECHNICAL RAMBLING

 

Power in China is 220 volts 50 hertz. What’s that mean? In North America, 220 volts is the power provided to your clothes dryer or stove… twice as much power as we get from a normal home plug. 50 hertz means that there is 50 “pulses” of electricity every second. Here in North America, our power is 120 volts, 60 hertz.  

 

A couple things need to be considered before trying to connect your North American camera charger into a plug in China.

First, the plug is different.

You need a converter plug to connect between your device and the wall.

Second, different voltage coming from the wall.

This is a bit trickier. Take a look at your device or the “brick” that you plug into the wall.  Look for a line that says “input”. If it lists 110, 115 or 120 volts, you will need a step-down transformer to reduce the voltage from 220 volts to the required voltage.

If the device says something like 100-240 volts, you just need an adapter for the plug style. The device is smart enough to adjust itself to the different voltages.

Third, different hertz rating.

If the hertz rating does not match, it may work, but depending on the sensitivity of the device, this could cause problems. The devices in North America are designed for 60 pulses per second. If it only receives 50 pulses, it may take longer to charge, it may make a humming noise, it may not work at all or it could in a worse case, damage very sensitive electronics. Check your label on the device. This is listed here as well.

 

If not sure, ask someone before you go, or spend the extra and buy a converter that actually converts the power to North American standards.

 

Here’s some information and good pics of what the electrical outlets look like in China.

http://kropla.com/china_power.htm

 

 

WHAT YOU SHOULD BUY

 

So, based on the technical ramblings above, here are some devices which will work for you.

 

Does not convert voltage down to 110 volts. Your device must be able to handle 220 volts (read the sticker on the device)

http://www.thesourcecc.com/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&product=2738365

http://www.thesourcecc.com/estore/Product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=Travel+Adapters&product=2731445

 

Drops the voltage down to 110 volts. Simply plug in any device from home and it should work.

http://www.thesourcecc.com/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&product=2738028&category=Travel+Adapters&catalog=Online&tab=1#more

http://www.thesourcecc.com/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=Travel+Adapters&product=2738413

 

blog issues

Excuse the mess. Some of you may be looking at a mess of what used to be my blog layout that I’ve been running for months and some of you may be looking at a generic Blogger template. Things have gone weird with my template so I’m switching to a Blogger template for now. The formatting of the paragraphs seems to have gotten messed up and the 2 columns still wont line up side by side. Anybody else had this column problem and if so, what did they do to solve it?

Now things are getting interesting

Direct from the Rumor Queen site today. Strap yourself in. This is when the roller coaster ride begins to get wild! Todat on her site, it says "I’m still at an R2 stage with this, but I’m hearing 11/29." If thats the case, we're in! Ohhh, how a couple of days sure change things.

The Rumor Queen grades the rumors from a 1 (hard to believe) to a 5 (bet your life on it). This is a 2 which is still too iffy to be a sure thing. November 22 is supposed to be a very heavy day for the number of files received so I’m likely to look at this rumor with a pessimistic attitude, but it’s time for a bit of good news for us after so many months of waiting and waiting and waiting.

international power adapter on sale - today only

Today only on Dell’s site, they have an international power adapter on for half price. If you plan on taking any electronics with you to China, this is needed to have your device work with the power plugs there. (it must also be an auto-switching power supply)

Some people say they can get them from the hotel, some people take their own. For $14.00, it’s a cheap price to pay to know you have what you need when you get there. It’s also free shipping and delivered to your door by Purolator. What could be better?

The link to it is HERE.

Early rumors are not promising

We’re at that part of the month again when the rumours are beginning about the next cut-off date.

A quick refresher.
The CCAA has matched children with files dated November 21, 2005 or before.
Our files are dated November 29, 2005
In the last 3 months, the CCAA has matched just under 7 days of files per month.
If they match 8 days or more, we should get our referral package in September and travel in November. If they match less than 8 days, we wait for at least another month.

Checking that evil RumorQueen site, the early rumours are saying that the cut-off will be November 25. This is still early, and these numbers do move, but I don’t think they’ll move as far as the 29th.

So, if this is the case, we’ll be waiting at least another month until the match is done and we get our referral. This will put us up to travelling in December.

Check back. As the beginning of the month gets closer, the rumours will be more plentiful until we get the official word from the CCAA.

How to Use Chopsticks

I cannot figure out how to use chopsticks. The food flies everywhere and I really can’t master how to hold them and squeeze them. So we cheated and went to the local Paderno store and bought cheater sticks which have a spring loaded mechanism at the end of them. With this, you just need to squeeze them together.

From China Adoptive Parents News

Here are two ways to learn how to use chopsticks, one demonstrated by video, the other written instructions.

How-to Video Demonstration: (with voice commentary by teacher)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DJrz8HYaOfA

Step-by-Step Instructions: (not related to the video)

1. Place one chopstick in the crook of your thumb and index finger. The chopstick should be at the base of your thumb, and your thumb should be about 1/3rd the way down from the broad end of the chopstick.

2. Rest the chopstick on your ring finger between 1/2 and 2/3rds the way down the chopstick. The first chopstick should now be very stable, with one end securely between your thumb and index finger, and the other end resting on your ring finger.

3. Place the second chopstick in your hand the way you would hold a pen. It should rest slightly on the tip of your thumb, and be held into place with support from your middle finger.

4. Use your index and middle fingers to practice moving the tip of the top chopstick up and down. The bottom chopstick should remain relatively still. As you move the top one down, the tip should meet up with the tip of the bottom one, like a pair of tweezers, or the long beak of a bird.

5. Imagine you are pinching something. If the tips aren't meeting up, adjust one chopstick so they do, because it will be very difficult to pick anything up if the tips of the chopsticks aren't evenly aligned.