Counting Down to Davi

We leave for China in a little more than a week. A few hours more than a week. By the time I stop typing, it will be even closer. We expect to meet Davi on Sept. 16 or 17 in Nanning after a few fleeting nights in Beijing. It will be hard to get in the basic sightseeing, and most importantly, shopping, during that tiny window in Beijing, especially with the jet lag. It would be great to be rested for the baby, as we were last time, but last time we arrived before the rest of the group and explored on our own. This time our trip is nearly as long, but we won't have the easing in and easing out we managed last time.

We will fly from Beijing to Nanning, capital of the Guangxi/Zhuang Autonomous region. When we traveled there to adopt JieJie three years ago, we were amazed at Nanning. That such a big city was unknown to so many people in the West was a surprise, as was the fact that almost no one spoke English at all. In Nanning, more than anywhere else we have traveled in Asia, we were the subject of the most finger-pointing and guffaws and hellos, even before we were carrying JieJie around. (Of course, now that Wal-Mart has arrived, who knows what else has been imported).

When people saw us with JieJie, they told us she was surely a member of the Zhuang ethnic group, although the children's papers all say they are Han. We were told the ethnic minority groups were excepted from the one-child policy and could legally have two registered children. On this journey to Davi, we will try to find out more about JieJie's roots as well and take her to the minorities museum. If that is indeed her heritage, it would be good to expose her to as much as possible while we are in Guangxi.

I can't find much written in English about the Zhuang. Almost all the literature is by missionaries, and nearly every article mentions the Zhuang love for music. JieJie, Zhuang or not, has a pure, sweet singing voice and incredibly accurate pitch, but will she agree to those piano lessons Auntie Yoyo has said it's time to start?