NWA/Delta merger: One thing you won't see for much longer

With the Spring 2009 schedule, Delta has announced it will stop the Saturday-only "extra" flight between Minneapolis and Tokyo-Narita, leaving the route with just one daily nonstop. This will mean MSP will no longer see two 747-400 aircraft simultaneously at its gates.

Over the next few weeks I'll explore how much more difficult it is becoming for adoptive families to make their China trip. 2009 was supposed to have been a year that saw unprecedented expansion of flights between the USA and PRC; instead carriers have cut back existing services and deferred - indefinitely - serving the new authorities they so fiercely sought just a year ago.

They're out there, waiting for you...

Take a deep breath and pull it together before walking through those doors. Yes, your family is hiding behind one of the banks of arrival monitors, with balloons and stuffed animals and cameras. They're happy and proud and excited, and they have no conception of how exhausted you are. (And of course, your new child has no idea who these loud strangers are.)

One last dose of patience and composure is what you have to leave for yourselves, to use at this moment. These are people you love. And you don't have the strength or the mental wherewithal to tell them to leave you alone for a few days while you figure out where your bathroom is and how to cook for yourselves and get over the China Colon Syndrome.

Be kind. You're almost home.

40 articles and counting!

Like a bowl of Shanghai-style beef noodle soup, weninchina.com aims to be filling, nutritious, and something you want to have available every day.

We've just published our 40th article about the China travel experience for families. Unlike the traditional travel guidebooks, which are organized around the various regions of China, we realize each family's timeline and itinerary is different. So we've set up our website more like a Dim Sum cart - pick what you're interested in and swing back for more when you're ready.

We've organized information into categories that apply wherever you land:

Lodging - including links to many of the most commonly-used hotels for adoptive families. Most of you will not be staying in well-known Western chains. There are important differences between a Chinese "5-star" hotel and what we would call "5 stars."

• Space - what you should expect about the layout of your hotel room
• Bathrooms
• the Beds - they aren't like hotel beds back home
• Cribs
• Electrical Outlets and Converters - not every region in China uses the same kind of plug, and the outlets are difficult to find in your hotel room
• Light Switches - quite possibly the first minor annoyance you'll encounter in the country. Yes, the switch in your hotel room does not work like you'd expect it to...
• the Breakfast Buffet - the only meal you know will be coming at a consistent time. Here's how to make the most of it.
• your hotel room's mini refrigerator - it's the same appliance, but there's something you don't know...
• your Room Safe - a must-use tool

Food - it's good, and for the most part, inexpensive.

• Chopsticks - yes, you need to learn how to use them
• KFC / Pizza Hut - these Western chains have made interesting adaptations for Chinese tastes, and should be on your list of things to try. There's no need to be afraid of ordering at the counter for yourself!
• Starbucks - because we can't live without good coffee, and you won't find any at your hotel
• Congee - it's what your child is eating; you should know what it's about

Travel and Tourism - advice about getting there, getting around, and getting home.

• Planning your Transpacific flights - more difficult since you have to leave from Guangzhou. We list and discuss several options
• Tokyo Narita Airport - a quick overview of where many of you will connect through
• Chinese Domestic Flights - what to expect as you move around the country
• Departing China - baggage strategy, getting through Guangzhou Baiyun airport, and what to expect for security
• Preparation for coming home - dealing with jetlag, relatives, and re-integrating into your 'normal' life. Includes a checklist of things you'll need to have done or arranged for before you leave for China.
• Shamian Island - the adoptive parents' refuge in Guangzhou. Includes a downloadable map to use when walking around.
• Traffic in China - amazing and hair-raising
• Passport & Money Holders

Money and Shopping - never enough of the former, never enough time for the latter...

• Money Basics - what the bills and coins look like, what to call them. China is very much a cash-based society, and you'll be using this knowledge every day.
• How to Exchange Currency - you'll be carrying a lot of it; here's where to go and how the process works
• Shopping for Groceries - a great and inexpensive way to get to know the Real China, not just the touristy stuff. It's something you can do on your own - and endlessly entertaining.
• Olympic Souvenirs - while a little outdated, still a good read concerning knockoff goods and how to determine what is authentic merchandise

Safety and Health - to supplement what your doctor or travel clinic has prepared you for

• Baby Formula Advisory - current information and government links regarding the tainted milk scandal of 2008
• Problems with Time Zones - jetlag when arriving in China isn't as much of a problem as that the local time zone doesn't fit the day/night cycle well
• "China Colon Syndrome" - will happen to you. Here's some help on how to deal with it.
• Spraying for Bugs - be aware, be prepared
• Physical Preparation for your trip - ideas on how to get ready for your two weeks away from the normal routine
• Crossing the Street - if you think the traffic is crazy when you're in a vehicle, then consider what it means for you as you walk around!
• Dealing with the Smog - when you encounter it, you'll remember it always. Here are some ideas on how to get through it until your next city.
• Email and Internet Monitoring - you may encounter some frustration, but it's not personal.

People and Culture - explaining some of the things you'll see on your trip, and ideas for back home

• Karaoke - is a huge industry in China. You might or might not get roped into it...
• Umbrellas - are used for more than rainshowers. If you want to fit in quickly, here's a good idea.
• Boats on the Pearl River - Guangzhou is a busy port with lots of traffic, and Shamian Island is a perfect spot to watch it from.
• Lucky Fish - why do Chinese have pictures and hangings of fish everywhere?
• the China Daily newspaper - your nightly reading assignment
• Chinese TV stations - in this case, watching TV can be considered to be 'good for you', and we do heartily recommend it!
• Chinese Learning Resources - for you and your children to use "back home". We profile and recommend several publishers and book distributors.

We hope to see you soon, and invite your comments, questions, and suggestions at weninchinainfo@mac.com. 

Love of Groceries

We enjoy shopping at our excellent local Asian Market (United Noodles in Minneapolis) and usually go at least once a month. Not only is it a great way to stay connected to Chinese culture, but prices and selection for vegetables, spices, rice, noodles, and frozen foods are amazingly good, even better than the warehouse stores!

When we walk in the door, the scents immediately remind us of China. Our daughter gets to see many more faces that look like her own. It feels like "home."

And we get to explore the great variety of familiar and unfamiliar foodstuffs on the shelves. The labels remind us of what American food used to look like twenty or thirty years ago.  (How I miss the old Red Owl chain...) Love the artwork - check out that mackerel in the bottom photo!

Look at this.

I work in the educational publishing business, which shares many of the same suppliers with the much bigger toy industry. Among the many trade magazines that find their way into my mailbox, each quarter one arrives from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, chock full of feature stories and advertisements from the many design firms and factories in the Pearl River Delta.

It's fun to read through the magazine to see what new characters I can recognize. And I'm always on the lookout for that one advertisement to totally blow the minds of my coworkers. Last quarter it was for a factory that specialized in extremely - disturbingly - accurate reproductions of assault firearms ... placed next to an ad for baby toys. How sweet.

This quarter, well, see for yourself:

Yes, an entire factory devoted to producing nothing but eyeballs. Could you see working for a company like this? At some gut level I realize that *someone* has to make all the eyes for dolls, plushies, robots, what have you, but somehow this seems a bit TOO specialized.

Wonder what kind of vision insurance they offer?  

New postings at weninchina.com

We continue to add features to help families plan for their trips to China. Our new postings in the past month include:

• Connecting through Tokyo's Narita Airport
• Suggestions for physical training before your journey
• Practical advice about crossing the street in China
• A brief history / photo essay about Guangzhou's Shamian Island, plus a printable map to use during your visit.

weninchina.com now offers 35 entries about the family travel experience, in the areas of lodging, food, travel / tourism, money / shopping, safety / health, and people / culture. Our site also presents helpful tools including weather forecasts, currency calculators, and a wealth of links to travel and cultural resources.

Formula

On September 11, 2008, Chinese parents were hit out of the blue with an announcement saying their baby formula was potentially contaminated, and their children might be at risk of kidney failure.

In the days since, we have learned that hospitals were reporting unusual renal health problems among infants as early as March 2008, and that Sanlu, one of the leading producers of formula, had known about the problem in early August - before the Olympics started - but did not reveal it to the public nor the government until one of their foreign partners alerted the New Zealand government. We have also learned that 20% of the formula manufacturers in China have similarly contaminated product, and that even some brands of ice cream, yogurt, and liquid milk have been compromised.

It has been determined that some farms have been watering-down the milk they provide to dairies in an effort to cheat the system, and that they have added the industrial chemical melamine to skew test results to make it appear as if the diluted milk has adequate protein. Melamine is the same chemical that killed hundreds of animals in the 2007 scandal around Chinese-manufactured pet food. It affects kidney function, eventually causing large stones and ultimately failure with continued exposure.

Traditionally, the advice given to parents traveling to China to unite with their adopted child was to buy extra Chinese formula, and use it when back home to transition over to Western-produced product. (That's what we did with our daughter - even using the Sanlu brand.)

However, on September 12, the US FDA issued a health advisory explicitly stating that Chinese-manufactured infant formula should not be used. The brands the FDA lists as inspected and approved are:

Abbott Labs PBM Nutritionals

Mead Johnson Solus

Nestle SHS/Nutricia

The Canadian government, and the Australia-New Zealand Food Standards authority, have also issued similar communications.

What this means is that traveling parents must now purchase and pack their own formula for the entire trip. It's extra bulk in your luggage - something else will need to stay home - but essential for your piece of mind, and your child's health.

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An expanded version of this article will be published on our main site at weninchina.com, along with additional links to government sources and news articles.