A Lotus photo album...

We've posted eight photos of Lotus -- the first was taken at the orphanage when she was six months old. It is the one that was e-mailed to her mother, Leslie, six weeks before we travelled and was our first introduction to our new little family member. Others were taken during our stay in China and the final three are back home in Canada. Enjoy, everybody!

Thank you to our readers...

In the JW newsletter that went out just before Leslie and I left for China, I asked readers for their best women-centered Beijing and Xi'an travel tips. The response was overwhelming! Not only did wonderfully helpful bits of advice come in but many JourneyWomen living in China kindly offered to meet us and show us around. Thank you, thank you everybody! We fully expected to be able to meet many more of you than we did. However, with the baby ill, we ventured out only for trips related to the adoption. After that we were confined to our hotel room for most of the time.

GirlTalk China...

Now we want to share with everybody all the wonderful China travel tips we've received from women worldwide. We've combined your new input with all of the advice and stories already listed at the JW site. Heading off to that part of the world? Check out, GirlTalk China (www.journeywoman.com/girl_talk_china.html) which we've dedicated to our youngest and dearest little JourneyWoman, Lotus Quinn who has already logged many, many air miles.

Additional notes on adoption...

For readers interested in adopting a child, here are several websites recommended to us and designed to get you started on your research. Any other sites that readers want to recommend, please let us know at: editor@journeywoman.com. Please put "adoption link" in the subject line. Thank you!

www.adopting.com -- here you will find everything prospective adoptive parents need to know about adopting including how to get started and links to hundreds of adoption agencies, facilitators and U.S. attorneys

www.adopting.com/countries.html -- International adoption information and support by country

www.ocdf.org/ocdf -- Our Chinese Daughters Foundation is a non-profit foundation that supports families with children adopted from China. Director Jane Liedtke was a great help to Journeywoman when we were in China.

www.childrensbridge.com -- International Adoption Consultants in Canada

www.fwcc.org -- Families With Children From China

www.AdoptionTravel.com -- a resource for international adoption travel planning

(Source: Journeywoman files and Susan Spano's LATimes, Her World column, "It's No Vacation, but Adopting From Abroad Can Be the Trip of a Lifetime," Jan. 9, 2000)

Are you a woman who lives/has lived or travelled for a while in China? Are you willing to act as a cyber-mentor to other women travelling to that part of the world? Can you offer packing tips, culturally correct advice via e-mail? Complete privacy is assured. Your own e-mail address need never be revealed -- all messages will come to you via our HERmail.net data base. If you are interested, please send your name and e-mail address to editor@journeywoman.com and we will forward additional information to you. Thanks everybody!