Latest photo of Gigi

Latest photo of Gigi

Sitting? Yes.
Standing? Yes.
Walking? "Yes, if she is holding onto something." Or posing for a photo.
Speaking? No.

China's Lost Girls

If you're feeling the need to better understand the social landscape of the economic juggernaut that China has become, or just want to know how a girl like Gigi and thousands like her end up getting adopted by families in the West every year, we strongly recommend you add this recent National Georgaphic documentary to your Netflix queue:

http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=70020565&trkid=181026.

In 43 minutes, reporter Lisa Ling--also of Chinese descent--takes the viewer along with several American families as they meet the girls they're adopting, then try to better understand the conditions that lead to so many Chinese girls ending up in orphanages.

The prospective adoptive family

The prospective adoptive family

One aspect of the arduous "paper chase" associated with adopting a child from China is preparing a dossier for adoption authorities that documents the adoptive family's ability to provide for the child and general physical and mental well being. That dossier must include a variety of photos that, of course, portray the family in the best possible light. We didn't use this photo from our most recent holiday greeting, but we did strike a bunch of similar poses. Turning yourself into a sort of infomercial for the ideal family can be a bit dehumanizing. At times, we were tempted to just insert a photo depicting our true selves--and the hairstyles we wish were still in fashion--like the one below.

Gigi's actual new family

Gigi's actual new family

Why Gigi?

Ginger Nixon Needham is the name we've given our wild goose. How did we choose it? Like Cleo, our first daughter's name, Ginger is a popular name for cats. We really like the idea of giving the mistaken impression that we have a couple of cats. We do, of course, have a cat--a voluptuous and temperamental tabby named Jezebel. So, when you think of our girls, think three cat names, but just one cat (who will actually be residing in Park City, Utah, while we're in France).

Why Nixon? There is logic to that notorious name, too. It is to honor Gigi’'s late maternal great-grandparents, Rulon and Helen Nixon, whom Amy really admires. Ginger is also a name in the Shulthess family line. Cleo Schulthess Needham was named for her paternal great-grandmother, Cleo Christensen Smith of North Logan, Utah, and, of course, given her Gramps Schulthess's family name.

It is common for adopted girls from China to be given names referencing their birth culture (the town or region where they'’re from as middle name is common). However, we'’ve decided that, because we’re going to raise Gigi as an American and citizen of the world, as well as a member of the Needham and Schulthess families, she should have a name that reflects her adoptive culture and heritage. However, should she choose to also identify herself with the culture into which she was born, we will certainly encourage it.

Depending on whether you ask me or Amy, there are other meanings to Gigi's name. Ginger is, of course, a perennial plant whose roots are used to spice up food across southeast Asia--and everywhere else you find Asian cuisine. So, you could say that we foresee Ginger spicing up our family life and, we hope, others’'.

Although the presidency of Richard Nixon was marked by scandal, among his accomplishments was a daring and ultimately successful effort to re-establish normal relations with then "“Red China."” As many now survey the ever-strengthening economic and political ties between the US and China--and as we consider the life of this girl who will be crossing that cultural divide--some credit for setting it all in motion should go to the 37th US President.

A Few Facts about Gigi

So how about a few facts about Gigi. Here's what we've learned from the documents provided by her caregivers and physicians in the orphanage, prepared when she was a year old:

The data everyone wants to know about a baby: she's 67 cm tall (two feet, two inches) and weighs 6.7 kg (about 15 pounds). That puts her at the very bottom end of the respective development percentiles--just like her sister Cleo.

She's reported to be normal developmentally, with no known medical condition. However, it's common for girls in her circumstances to be somewhat delayed and occasionally to have undetected but treatable conditions.

"Fu Yan is a gentle and quiet girl." She is said to have learned very early on to observe others in the nursery, as if thinking "It is really a shame of you to cry all day long."

Favorite food: rice porridge.

One of her preferred games, at one point, was pulling off her socks, then smiling devilishly when scolded. She's said to be stubborn sometimes.

Not that her father's reading too deeply here, but here are some facts about Gigi's mother:

At just less than five feet, she's on the small side, even by Asian standards.

Amy's gentle spirited, except when not. Quiet and devilish, indeed.

By choice, she ate nothing but rice in college--still prefers a one-course meal.

Amy stubborn? Not at all.

Where's Gigi from?

Gigi was born in Rongcheng Town, Rongxian County, in the Guǎngxī or "Guanghi" province of the People's Republic of China--the world's most populous and one of its biggest countries. Which is to say that our little girl is from the far southwestern coast of China, not far from Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin. The Guangxi province is marked by some of the most picturesque landscapes and greatest ethnic and linguistic diversity in China. It's in the Cantonese region--that segment of southern China where most speak the other version of Chinese.

Gigi and her parents have one thing in common: We were both born and, in our case, grew up in mountainous regions. Gigi's is surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides, right down to the coast. To imagine Giangxi's coast, think of the Fjords of Norway, but more pointy and verdant--with bands of terraced rice fields, rather than grazing sheep. A couple photos:

http://www.goldenbridge.net/Guangxi-LijiangatSunset.htm

https://mmm02.rapidsite.net/adamp1/gallery/228-01.htm

As explained in a Wikipedia entry on Guangxi, it "has a subtropical climate. Summers are generally long and hot." In other words, we'll be cooking at an even temperature during our two weeks in southern China. We should be well done and tender when upon returning.

As the home to China's Zhuang ethnic minority, Guangxi is known as the "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region." Even in the capital of Nanning, four languages are spoken: Southwestern Mandarin, Cantonese, Pinghua, and Zhuang. John Lewis's Dad, Eugene Needham, is coming along for the trip. A polyglot who has studied a dozen languages and achieved proficiency in more than a few, we think we can dissuade him from taking up Pinghua while there, but no promises on Cantonese.

Our Wild Goose

We've been humored to learn that the name given to Gigi when she reached the orphanage where she has lived all 13 months of her life is "Fu Yan," which means "good fortune" and "wild goose," respectively, in Chinese. Whether the "wild goose" element of the name was chosen to describe Gigi's nascent personality, or just the condition of China's many "lost girls" in orphanages, we don't know. But we like it. You can count on Amy turning it into an affectionate nickname.

As in most Asian societies, Gigi's current name is actually rendered "Rong Fu Yan," with the last name first. However, this "last name" was also assigned to Gigi at the orphanage and is actually just the name of the town where she was recovered.

First photo of Gigi

First photo of Gigi

This is the first photo of Gigi we received--circa 12 months.

Meet Gigi

Here is a retrospective post containing the message we sent to members of the Needham family upon learning Gigi's identity and receiving her photo:

Dear family,

By now you've probably heard that we have been "matched" with our daughter-to-be in China. Ginger or Gigi, as we've been calling her, is named "Rong Fu Yan." As you will see in the attached photo, she is a serious-looking, plump-faced 13-month old. According to the information we've received, she is in good health and doing well developmentally. She has spent all but her first couple days in the same orphanage on the far southern coast of China. We'll offer more details on her condition, personality, and home province in the next few days.

How do we feel about all this? We're at once relieved to finally know who Gigi is and to see her pretty face, but all the more impatient to go and get her. Cleo has been very excited to see photos of the baby we've been telling her about and clearly understands that she's now a big sister, even if she doesn't yet know exactly what's in store. We're so happy to have Dad and Georgina joining us for the trip to retrieve Gigi, which will occur in June. As part of the trip, we will stop in Utah on the way out, then spend a week to introduce Gigi to you all upon our return.

So, more details to come.

With much relief and excitement,

Amy, Cleo, and John Lewis