Our Home Away From Home

The view from our room

This is our 8th day at the China Hotel Marriott in Guangzhou. Although we are counting the days until we can come home (5, to be exact), we really have been enjoying our stay here. Saturday was by far the roughest day, because in the morning we went for Zoe's medical appointment. I use the term "appointment" loosely, because every adoptive family in Guangzhou seemed to have the same appointment. As we have come to expect, they appeared to be overcrowded and understaffed.

The clinic was also hot and smelled of cigarette smoke and, oddly enough, Chinese food. The sound of crying babies filled the air (some kids needed a half-dozen or so different vaccinations). We were told to expect an hour and a half wait, but we were there for over three hours. Once again, our Zoe was quite a trooper! The only time she cried was when she received her vaccinations, one in each thigh. I think I cried harder than she did. The rest of the process consisted of a hearing test done by a lady wearing a mask and playing a toy synthesizer, then a long wait in line, a medical exam done by another lady in a mask (a doctor?) who listened to her chest and looked in her ears and mouth, then a long wait in line, then weight and height measurements done by two ladies in masks, then the longest wait of all for the shots. Don't let the smiles fool you...we were miserable.


The rest of our day was much more pleasant. Linneker and Amy (our guides), took us on the bus to a very nice shopping mall. We noticed that almost all of the advertisements in the mall used American-looking models. We asked why, and were told that Chinese people think that means "quality product." We all stocked up on baby supplies and snacks, and I bought several containers of what appeared to be ramen noodles.
Since there was no indication (in English, anyway) of the flavor of each variety, I asked Linneker to translate the labels for me. He said I had purchased "seafood, spicy seafood, pig, and snake." I knew he was teasing about the snake, but wouldn't be surprised as I had seen other delicacies such as these crunchy-looking freeze-dried caterpillars at the mall:


After shopping, we came back to the hotel and let Zoe play with her toys:

pose for some photos:

demonstrate her famous disappearing -lips trick:

and go down for a nap:

We have another thumbsucker in the house!

After naptime, we met the whole group for dinner at the Japanese restaurant in the hotel.


We ordered a multi-course meal, which included shrimp tempura rolls, salad, miso soup, tempura beets and sweet potatoes, filet mignon with dried garlic chips, fried rice, and vanilla ice cream. The meal took a long time, but Zoe was great. She enjoyed watching the kissing fish in the tank behind our seats.

We will always remember the good times we had in Guangzhou, our home away from home.

Life is good.