Monday

I'm a little behind on my blogging. The internet in the hotel is painfully slow, and it takes forever to download photos. As soon as Zoe goes down, I begin downloading one picture at a time, then walk away from the computer to wash a bottle, tidy up the room, etc. then come back to the computer to download another. It is laborious, but I will be glad I did it someday. I am definitely not a scrapbooker so this is the best record Zoe will have of the last two weeks in her homeland.

So, here is what I can recall from Monday. Zoe woke up happy as usual, played on the bed as usual, chugged her bottle as usual, and did her business as usual, (have I mentioned what an easy baby she is??) then we went downstairs to the breakfast buffet and pigged out as usual. (When you type "usual" that many times it starts to look wrong!)


Amy and Linneker went to the consulate to do something with our paperwork. One of us (me) had to wait in the room from 10-12 in case they called with questions. Meanwhile, Kevin went out with Meredith to ride the subway and try to find some baby formula at a grocery store. By the way, the grocery stores here are very similar to ours except for the shopgirls hovering everywhere...these nice girls are very eager to help you find what you need (although when Kevin tried to find jelly they directed him to some sort of gelatin snacks). Before they left I warned them to be careful, "and if you wake up in a bathtub full of ice, make sure you still have both kidneys." Meredith laughed but said this was not that kind of subway...it is very clean and safe. This is his family's second trip to China to adopt, so he knows his way around Guangzhou a little better than the rest of us. Can you spot the American in this picture?


When Kevin returned from his shopping trip, we met the group for another excursion on Shamian Island. The older kids in our group also had to have their TB tests read at the notorious clinic I told you about (the tests were all negative...we cheered each time one of the kids got back on the bus). As you can see from most of our photos, it has been raining nearly every day here. Many areas of China are flooded. In fact, this year's floods are the worst since 1998, when over 3,600 people were killed and 20 million displaced. We have not seen much evidence of the flooding here, but we see video of it on the news. They say several hundred have died this year from the flooding and landslides. The water surrounding Shamian Island was very high.

We could see people filling sandbags on the streets that were closest to the water.


Shamian Island has many little shops that cater to the international adoption crowd. One of our favorites was Jordon's, where the owner did every child's name in calligraphy for free. We bought some more squeaky shoes, cheap Croc's, a doll, a panda backpack, and some cars for the boys. I don't think that Kevin really enjoys haggling, but he did get the owner to shave several yuans off the price.

Kevin and I got a bit weary of shopping so we settled in at the local Starbucks and waited for the group to finish. Zoe enjoyed jumping up and down and leaning backwards.

She also posed for us wearing her new hair bow (which must have been meant for a newborn 'cause it left divots in her skull!) One of the shopkeepers also gave us a sweet little pearl bracelet which we put on her ankle.



Finally, the group gathered together on the bus and we headed back to the hotel. I can't remember what we did for dinner so it must have been uneventful! I will blog about Tuesday right away so I don't forget everything.

Hugs and kisses? Maybe not!

Love,
Karen

Lost in Translation

Sign seen at park today:

Delicacies

I think I have already mentioned the freeze-dried caterpillars. I would like to share a few more of the delicacies we encountered. Some we have sampled, some we haven't.

Sunday in the Park

Sunday morning Zoe was a bit under the weather, probably due to her vaccinations the previous day. Our usually cheeky monkey practically fell asleep at breakfast. She had a slight fever too, so we decided to take it easy all morning. In the afternoon we ventured out to explore Liuhua Lake Park. Liuhua means "Flowing Flowers", a name said to date back to the Han period when palace maids tossed petals into a nearby stream while dressing their hair. The park is very beautiful, and despite the rain, we managed to get a few good photos.

To get there we had to go through a tunnel beneath the street.

Just outside the park gate we saw this cat. I wondered if they mark feral cats with purple ink for some reason, or if this kitty had a fight with a squid.

We saw many beautiful old banyan trees...

lush landscaped walkways...

scenic bridges...

a funny sign near the lake:


an area where people did funny exercises on machines and played ping pong and badminton:

and then we came upon a quaint little amusement park, where we heard "Auld Lang Syne" and "Oh Christmas Tree" playing on loudspeakers:

Zoe liked the balloons:

Many Chinese couples go to the park to get wedding photos done in Western-style attire.

In modern Chinese weddings, Sherry told us, the bride changes clothes at least three times. She might start out wearing a western style white dress for a church or civil ceremony. We saw a store on Shamian Island that sold very expensive-looking wedding gowns.

The bride would then change to a traditional red cheongsam for the tea ceremony and reception. Red is considered good luck and can help drive away evil spirits. Before the end of the reception, she would change into a cocktail dress to greet the guests and then see them off at the door. The brides we met were very happy to have their picture taken!


One bride insisted on taking a picture of her groom with Kevin and Zoe too!


One thing we find amusing is the reaction we get from Chinese people. Often we catch people staring at the three of us. We wonder what they are thinking. Usually, when they see Zoe in her little carrier they smile, laugh, and sometimes even touch her cheeks. I asked Lucia what people are saying when they see Zoe, and she said they are commenting that she is "funny" and "nice." And evidently, her hair is pretty wild even by Chinese baby standards. I am OK with a funny, nice baby!



After a while, we were drenched in sweat and Zoe started getting a little tired and hungry so we headed back to the hotel.

The China Hotel Marriott

Crystal chandelier in lobby

When we got back, we chilled out in front of the TV for awhile. We have discovered that Zoe loves to watch T.V....soon Sam will have someone to watch it with!


Mostly, we play with Zoe on the bed. That is her favorite pastime!

She loves to be propped up with all of her toys in front of her. She also likes to roll around on the bed, babbling and giggling. Sometimes we sing "My Zoe Lies Over the Ocean" while rocking her back and forth on our legs...that makes her smile too.

We stayed in for dinner (I had noodles and Kevin had PBJ), watched a little more TV, blogged, and then went to bed. Life is pretty easy here! No work, no chores, no laundry, no cooking. I still CAN'T WAIT to get home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I finally wore out Mom and Dad!

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.