Author Archives: janishaag

 (#10 in the Annie series) Wherever you go, go with all your heart. —Confucius (whose real name was Kong Qui) More than 30 embassies and consulates from all over the world have offices in Guangzhou, according to Wikipedia, many of … Continue reading →

(#9 in the Annie series) Moving day. And not just a small move, a large one involving getting a kid and her wheelchair and all our belongings to a train station across the city and into a crowded station, negotiating … Continue reading →

(#8 in the Annie series) As Annie napped on our third day in Changsha, I looked through her scrapbooks. She came to us with two of them in her pink Hello Kitty suitcase—one from her first home at The Butterfly … Continue reading →

(#7 in the Annie series) Here’s how China has changed, Nikki says, in the four years since she was last here: —There’s not nearly as much smoking in public as there used to be. Typically, only men smoke and fewer … Continue reading →

(#6 in the Annie series) We began our Wednesday when Wendy came to pick us up in the same clean van that took us to get Annie two days before. There was a different driver, but he drove with the … Continue reading →

(#5 in the Annie series) To be honest, when I learned that Nikki was going to adopt Annie, and I decided to accompany Nikki to retrieve this child from a place called Changsha, China, I did not automatically think of … Continue reading →

(#4a in the Annie series) This post is from the blog of Butterfly Children’s Hospices, the people in Changsha who first cared for Annie when she was found in such bad shape. It’s deeply moving and really gives the scope … Continue reading →

(#4 in the Annie series) She was up at 6, as she has been every day for the past three years at The Lighthouse, the International China Concern (ICC) orphanage in Changsha, Hunan province, in south-central China. Her ayi (Chinese … Continue reading →

(#3 in the Annie series) Climbing the highly polished marble stairs, Nikki and I could hear them before we saw them: “Ni hao!” (Hello! Welcome!), and as we rounded a corner for the second set of stairs—three ladies in white … Continue reading →

(#2 in the Annie series) So after Nikki made the statement that Hong Kong is emphatically NOT China, I got to see a bit of Hong Kong… for less than 24 hours, but we’d be back at the end of … Continue reading →