Well it's our last full day in Guangzhou and I'll try to give you a quick update. Sorry I didn't update yesterday. It turned out to be a crazy day. We were told to wait in our room from 10:30-12 while our guides took our paperwork to the consulate. The need us to stay close to the phone in case of any problems. Out of 23 families any guess as to who might have gotten a call? Yep, that's right my horrible luck with the fingerprinting continues on. Our paperwork that was sent from the state got here OK and was what they requested but the US Consulate decided they wanted an interview with me in person. So in the afternoon I left a taxi with Amy and Linekar (who were going back any way to pay some fees) for a 2 p.m. appointment. On a slow day let me tell you about that experience, but finally I ended up signing a document in person and taking an oath in front of an official that everything I was telling them was correct. I must just have that criminal look about me. Today all the families fo back ato take a different oath, me included. Amy told me that this is the first time that the US consulate has ever requested the specific proceeding I had done. Oh well I got to our our guides a bit better and got a personal tour of the city. Hopefully all goes well today.
I've just about finished shopping. I went back to the island without Darrin and Caroline yesterday and had a great time shopping with other females who can appreciate the art of bartering and power shopping. I think I've done well. We've got quite a few little presents to give to Caroline for years to come to remind her of China : )
This morning after breakfast the families all met in the lobby for groups pictures of all the families from our province and then one of the 7 babies from Caroline's province dressed in Chinese garb on the red couch (some long-standing tradition). Caroline was so brave and didn't cry a bit when we put her on the couch. She just looked around at the other little girls who were less than thrilled to be there. It was chaos. I'll try to get Darrin to post pictures soon.
The three of us then took a stroll to a nearby shopping area (Dong Fang) where we bartered nicely for a $11.50 suitcase (down from their origial price of $47.50) to hold our many purchases and got some last-minute gifts.
We leave for our one night stay in Hong Kong tomorrow morning at 5:45. We have to have our luggage packed and picked up tonight. China has been fascinating, but I am finally ready to come home. We turn in our cell phone tonight so we won't have it in Hong Kong. We'll try to post from there, but I'll give you our flight info into Orlando now for those who are planning on meeting us at the airport when we get home. Barring any delays, we are scheduled to arrive on Friday at 7:15 p.m. EST on Continental Flight 392. Hope to see you there.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Monday, February 20, 2006
Shamian Island will never be the same. This place is the shoppng mecca of Ghuangzhou about a 15 minute ride from our hotel. It's a quaint and clean little island that caters to adoptive families with all the souvenirs and keepsakes you'll ever need to recall your China trip at dirt cheap prices. There are tons of little shops that line the streets and you can just walk around on foot. Our first and best stop of the day was Jennifer's Place. Darrin and I ended up with a huge bag full of stuff for about $65 US dollars. These business owners are happy to negotiate a price, which was fun for me, but I caught Darrin on saying to them when he found something he really liked, "That's a great price." So that pretty much sealed the full price for us : ) We both had fun and I'm headed back tomorrow to finish the shopping with some girls in my group. Darrin has had his share--he even ventured out today alone via taxi to the department store he missed going to when he was sick. He is back in full swing--whew! Today's finds included squeaky shoes, silk dresses and a chop (stamp with Caroline's name in Chinese) plus some gifts for family and friends. I'm hoping to get Caroline a small gift to give to her to celebrate every gotcha day. I've got a ways to go on that, but I really like the idea.
After Darrin's illness he's afraid to venture our much on the food so it was McDonald's again for lunch and we headed to a hotel restaurant for dinner where he had a jumbo hot dog and I got bolder with wonton soup and beef and chicken satay (a firstm, but it was good).
Caroline is such a joy to be around. We have so much fun that we actually hate to put her down for a nap. She, on the other hand has gotten livelier and instead of laying down and going to sleep right away has figured out how to stand up in her bed. She also has mastered clapping today and raising her arms above her head when we say "big girl."
Our fed-ex package that had to be sent from the states with our document requested from the US Consulate came today. Only a day to spare. Our guides take our paperwork to the US consulate for us tomorrow and so hopefully everything will check out.
Well off to bed for me...as usual I'm the last one there. I enjoy these quiet moments.
After Darrin's illness he's afraid to venture our much on the food so it was McDonald's again for lunch and we headed to a hotel restaurant for dinner where he had a jumbo hot dog and I got bolder with wonton soup and beef and chicken satay (a firstm, but it was good).
Caroline is such a joy to be around. We have so much fun that we actually hate to put her down for a nap. She, on the other hand has gotten livelier and instead of laying down and going to sleep right away has figured out how to stand up in her bed. She also has mastered clapping today and raising her arms above her head when we say "big girl."
Our fed-ex package that had to be sent from the states with our document requested from the US Consulate came today. Only a day to spare. Our guides take our paperwork to the US consulate for us tomorrow and so hopefully everything will check out.
Well off to bed for me...as usual I'm the last one there. I enjoy these quiet moments.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Second full day in Guangzhou and we are doing great. It's been pretty cold (50ish) and rainy so we have spent lots of time in the room playing and have gotten to see how playful this little girl is. Early on we thought she was going to be shy, but it appears to not be the case. She's very happy and squeals alot. She is a great imitator. Darrin has taught her how to act like a monkey (I laughed so hard) and now he's trying to teach her to say Tarheel. She's also enjoying her food. Tonight she had a bowl of rice cereal with peaches, half a cup of my potato soup, crackers and a cookie. An hour later she took her regular formula bottle. I hope we don't regret that later. When I stop feeding her she lets me know quickly that she's ready for another bite. At this rate she won't be in those 12 month clothes for long. When we're out lots of the Chinese people want to hold her. We don't mind, but she usually won't go unless it's a man offering to take her. She still has a thing for men, even the other men in our group.
We did half day of siteseeing this morning with our group. We started at the Chen Clan family temple created by the the Chen family (at one time one of he richest families in China) in memory of their ancestors. It was open air temple with a beauiful garden in the middle and different shops and art galleries around the perimeter. We got to see an artist painting using his hands and view some beautiful embroidery that covered almost an entire wall. Really talented people. Our next stop was to a tea room where they gave an example of what makes a good and bad teapot. Of course, theirs was the best in the world and we couldn't resist buying a small ceramic one. In another room we all sat on theses little chairs and had a tea tasting demonstration. There was jasmine (my favorite), oolong, rosebud and gingseng. I got to tell the group about my Papa's ginseng experiences and what a healthy and expensive root it is. Too bad is was the worst tasting tea but it was still a special moment. I took a photo of the leaves in a bag, a cup of the tea and the paper that tells about it. It says gingseng tea is good for a sore throat and bad breath. We picked up some for Christmas presents : )
We ate McDonald's again today (third time in three days) and ordered dinner from Danny's Bagels (an American man who came to China and opened a little takeout restaurant that caters to adoptive families with American food). It was pretty good and cheap. A big day of shopping tomorrow and hopefully we'll venture out with some food other than McDonalds. Darrin said no Chinese food for him for at least six months. It's supposed to be beautiful here tomorrow--with the high almost 80. After 6 days of rain we are ready for it. We miss the Florida sunshine. We also miss our big boy, but we sure made the right decision to leave him in the capable hands of family members who love him. The trip is going to be so memorable, but it is very hard. He would not do well with the rigid schedule or unusual food. It will sure be a good reunion when we get to him.
Good night from Guangzhou, China...See some of you in about four days. The countdown has begun.
We did half day of siteseeing this morning with our group. We started at the Chen Clan family temple created by the the Chen family (at one time one of he richest families in China) in memory of their ancestors. It was open air temple with a beauiful garden in the middle and different shops and art galleries around the perimeter. We got to see an artist painting using his hands and view some beautiful embroidery that covered almost an entire wall. Really talented people. Our next stop was to a tea room where they gave an example of what makes a good and bad teapot. Of course, theirs was the best in the world and we couldn't resist buying a small ceramic one. In another room we all sat on theses little chairs and had a tea tasting demonstration. There was jasmine (my favorite), oolong, rosebud and gingseng. I got to tell the group about my Papa's ginseng experiences and what a healthy and expensive root it is. Too bad is was the worst tasting tea but it was still a special moment. I took a photo of the leaves in a bag, a cup of the tea and the paper that tells about it. It says gingseng tea is good for a sore throat and bad breath. We picked up some for Christmas presents : )
We ate McDonald's again today (third time in three days) and ordered dinner from Danny's Bagels (an American man who came to China and opened a little takeout restaurant that caters to adoptive families with American food). It was pretty good and cheap. A big day of shopping tomorrow and hopefully we'll venture out with some food other than McDonalds. Darrin said no Chinese food for him for at least six months. It's supposed to be beautiful here tomorrow--with the high almost 80. After 6 days of rain we are ready for it. We miss the Florida sunshine. We also miss our big boy, but we sure made the right decision to leave him in the capable hands of family members who love him. The trip is going to be so memorable, but it is very hard. He would not do well with the rigid schedule or unusual food. It will sure be a good reunion when we get to him.
Good night from Guangzhou, China...See some of you in about four days. The countdown has begun.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
We finally have made it to Guangzhou--the third of our four-city China excursion. It's been a rough 24 hours but I'm thrilled to report that we are doing better. God has helped us so much since my last post--he is truly guiding every step of this journey or we'd still be stuck in Wuhan. Awesome news: we can now read you messages and how special and needed they are are to me tonight. Darrin and Caroline are already asleep and I've cried so hard as I read them. Thank you so much for praying for us from the other side of the world. I'm confident that it's those prayers that got us through the last day.
Darrin had been feeling green since Beijing and he woke up at 1:30 a.m. yesterday vomiting. He couldn't eat, sleep or barely move. Someone in our group gave him a Phenegran which helped the nausea, but he was still so weak that the thought of him getting on a plane looked bleak. God gave me the strength to get us packed and take care of both Darrin and Caroline. Some wonderful people volunteered to carry him if need be (I know they would have too), but ended up just helping with Caroline and carrying our luggage. He missed the first day of activities here and slept for 12 hours and is doing much better (7 on a 10-point scale up from about a 2--I can write all of this because I've discovered from his lack of writtng here that he does't know how to check the blog, hee hee). He's planning on going with us on a tour tomorrow.
So since our official photographer and videographer was down and out the pictures aren't that great today. Too many hats for me to weat today but I kept telling Caroline (mostly as reinforcement to me throughout the day) that we are strong women. Caroline had her exam today at the clinic. Lots of tears (Darrin owes me big time for this one). She checked out OK although some of the girls in our groups have scabies. She weighs 20 pounds--just where I thought she'd be. After that we stopped at a really nice six-story department store that also sells groceries. Caroline was such a trooper--not crying once while we were out. She is a very contented baby and is getting more vocal and lively. She's turned very active. She loves getting tickled, jumping and turning upside down--the rougher the better for her. But she's sweet too--she loves getting neck sugar just like Drew does.
Darrin being out of the picture has been a blessing for us to bond. She didn't really have a chance. All of my efforts to win her over have paid off. Darrin felt like going to dinner with us to a Japanese restaurant (interesting, I know) and Caroline reached for me to take her when he was holding her. Yeah! I think she still prefers him for snuggling, but she like me for a good time. She's actually wanted to walk today with me holding her hands and she got the biggest smile when we calpped for her. It won't be long know before she takes off on her own. She's eating well--three formual bottles a day plus congee thrown in when it's available. Diaper changes are easier, but bathtime is painful for us all. She's like bathing a monkey.
We're back in the land of the living : ) McDonalds is right next door to our hotel. I've already tried it out and it tasted sooo good--although as stingy as they are with ketchup you'd think it was some precious commodity. Starbucks, Gucci and some other well-known stores are on the ground floor. Tomorrow we're going to a temple and a tearoom. I'm anxious for some cheap shopping coming up. Six days until we'll be home. Caroline can't wait to see you all. Post more since we can see them!
Darrin had been feeling green since Beijing and he woke up at 1:30 a.m. yesterday vomiting. He couldn't eat, sleep or barely move. Someone in our group gave him a Phenegran which helped the nausea, but he was still so weak that the thought of him getting on a plane looked bleak. God gave me the strength to get us packed and take care of both Darrin and Caroline. Some wonderful people volunteered to carry him if need be (I know they would have too), but ended up just helping with Caroline and carrying our luggage. He missed the first day of activities here and slept for 12 hours and is doing much better (7 on a 10-point scale up from about a 2--I can write all of this because I've discovered from his lack of writtng here that he does't know how to check the blog, hee hee). He's planning on going with us on a tour tomorrow.
So since our official photographer and videographer was down and out the pictures aren't that great today. Too many hats for me to weat today but I kept telling Caroline (mostly as reinforcement to me throughout the day) that we are strong women. Caroline had her exam today at the clinic. Lots of tears (Darrin owes me big time for this one). She checked out OK although some of the girls in our groups have scabies. She weighs 20 pounds--just where I thought she'd be. After that we stopped at a really nice six-story department store that also sells groceries. Caroline was such a trooper--not crying once while we were out. She is a very contented baby and is getting more vocal and lively. She's turned very active. She loves getting tickled, jumping and turning upside down--the rougher the better for her. But she's sweet too--she loves getting neck sugar just like Drew does.
Darrin being out of the picture has been a blessing for us to bond. She didn't really have a chance. All of my efforts to win her over have paid off. Darrin felt like going to dinner with us to a Japanese restaurant (interesting, I know) and Caroline reached for me to take her when he was holding her. Yeah! I think she still prefers him for snuggling, but she like me for a good time. She's actually wanted to walk today with me holding her hands and she got the biggest smile when we calpped for her. It won't be long know before she takes off on her own. She's eating well--three formual bottles a day plus congee thrown in when it's available. Diaper changes are easier, but bathtime is painful for us all. She's like bathing a monkey.
We're back in the land of the living : ) McDonalds is right next door to our hotel. I've already tried it out and it tasted sooo good--although as stingy as they are with ketchup you'd think it was some precious commodity. Starbucks, Gucci and some other well-known stores are on the ground floor. Tomorrow we're going to a temple and a tearoom. I'm anxious for some cheap shopping coming up. Six days until we'll be home. Caroline can't wait to see you all. Post more since we can see them!
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