Greetings from Guangzhou

We arrived in Guangzhou late last night. It was one heck of a trip, let me tell you. Our flight had to be delayed because of bad weather. Max and Lucy were great travelers, so no problem there. But, it was an interesting trip. First of all there were around 1,000 babies on the flight. Okay, that's an exaggeration, there were about 22. Apparently it's not safe to take a flight with so many babies on board, I think it has to do with oxygen masks, if needed. Marc and I prefer to believe that the flight attendants would go nuts with more than 20 screaming babies on board, so that's why they have the limit. Regardless, the airport shared that 2 babies had to de-plane, but their parents got to go with them. Then after the 2 babies and parents de-planed, the flight attendants had to rearrange everyone's seats. That's when it got ugly. The Chinese are very passionate people so many of them started arguing. Then they began arguing with the flight attendants. It was very interesting, to say the least. After an hour or so, the plane pulled away from the loading dock, then just sat. Bad weather again, so we had to sit for another hour. The flight attendants passed our food and beverages, so it was alright. At 8:30 our flight finally departed for Guangzhou. Max and Lucy promptly fell asleep. We arrived in Guangzhou at 10:00 and Michael was there to pick us up. Awesome guy! He told us it is not uncommon for the Chinese to argue during a flight and do so often with flight attendants and pilots.

We are now staying at the Victory Hotel on Shamian Island in Guangzhou. After Nanchang, the island feels like a tranquil oasis. It has a feel of European Colonialism with old buildings and wonderful parks, and trees. We don't fear getting run over by cars or buses like in Nanchang. It is simply beautiful. Most of the people on the island speak English and there is plenty of shopping to do. Hurray! Some retail therapy!

Last Day in Nanchang

Today is our last day in Nanchang. We will leave our friends at the Gloria Plaza Hotel today at 3:00 p.m. and will fly to Guangzhou. I believe there will be many families on our flight, and I expect it will be a loud flight with alot of rowdy babies!

Yesterday our wonderful guide, Linda, had a special day planned for Max. She took us all to the Nanchang Zoo. It wasn't very croweded, so we got to spend alot of time looking at all the animals. Max and I rode on a couple of rides, and because the zoo wasn't very busy, the ride attendants kept the rides going and going and going. At one point on the Merry Go 'Round, Max looked at me and said, "I'm getting dizzy." Whew! No kidding!

Lucy enjoyed her first zoo experience. We all received alot of curious stares from the zoo patrons. They were undoubtedly trying to figure out the family dynamics! Max made another friend. He and another little boy were chosen to participate in the baby elephant show. He had to be carried across a moat by a zoo employee (the employee seemed pretty shocked by Max's weight!)and then he had to stand perfectly still while the baby elephant tried to put a hat on Max's head. The elephant tried, unsuccessfully, to put the hat on Max's head, but you know, Max has always had a large noggin, so it really wasn't the elephant's fault that it wouldn't stay on!




After the elephant show. Max and his new friend went to feed the koi. That was a lot of fun, and we decided that boys will be boys, not matter where they are from!



We went back to our hotel after the zoo and planned to get ready for another dinner, at what we affectionately refer to as the Stomach and Guts Restaurant. Linda came up with the gentleman from the tailor shop with our clothing. Max loved his new suit of clothes and was very disappointed when he found he could not wear it to the restaurant. We gave in a bit and allowed him to wear his beautiful Chinese dragon hat. Here is a sneak preview of what we will be wearing in this year's Christmas card!



Dinner was exciting as usual. Linda had brought some extra fish food from the zoo and took Max up to the fish tanks at the restaurant. Nope, those fish in the tanks aren't for looking at, they are for eating! Max and Linda came back to the table with an eight inch catfish! The manager of the restaurant had presented Max with a gift of a live fish. We all had a good long laugh, but then we had to decide what to do with this fish. We couldn't return the fish to the manager, because that would not have been polite. Linda suggested buying a seat on the plane for it! We thought about taking him to the Yangtze River, but decided that would be too dangerous. Linda decided we should take it back to the hotel and put it in one of the koi ponds, and that is just what we did! Sleepy Head the catfish has had his life extended and is now enjoying a peaceful and pleasant life in the lobby of the Gloria Plaza Hotel.

Tengwang Pavillion

I haven't mastered placing photos on the blog yet, so I apologize. Max is holding a gas mask in this photo. It is one of two that is in our closet right now. Ah, what a feeling of security we have, knowing we have them in our room.







Yesterday we visited the Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang. This picture is of the male lion just outside the pavilion. It was just a short walk from our hotel and well worth the walk in the rain to get to it. The Pavilion was originally built as a place where learned men gathered. It is 6 stories tall and sits on the bank of the Yangtze river. The Yangtze, by the way, is the longest river in China and flows from Tibet to Shanghai.

The original pavilion was built in 654 during the Tang Dynasty. It has been rebuilt many times because of fire, wars, etc. While we were there, we watched a traditional music and dance performance. It was beautiful. Max was so enthralled with the beautiful dancers.

After our tour we walked down to a shop and were measured for traditional Chinese clothing. Lucy is having a traditional hat, dress and shoes made for her, Max is getting a traditional shirt, pants, boots, and hat made out of a beautiful silk of blue dragons. I'm getting a black silk dress and Marc is getting 2 silk ties. We also bought 2 traditional silver baby bracelets for Lucy, a seal with her Chinese name, a pair of shoes for me, what am I missing? Oh yes, the best part is all of this cost about $150 and is being hand made. Yes, hand made. The owner of the shop told us to come back today to pick up the garments. Amazing!



Today Marc, Max, Lucy and I took a walk around the neighborhood. We walked to a grocery where no one spoke English. We were able to communicate fairly well with the ladies in the shop. They wanted to know if Lucy was mine. Oh yes, I nodded. They wanted to know if Max was mine, nodded again. They wanted to know if Marc was mine, well I hesitated, hmmmm, but then nodded. They wanted to know if Max was a boy or girl (the hair keeps them guessing!) and I said boy, then I told them he was four. They gave us samples of yummy dried fruits and they all fussed over Lucy. That was nice. She deserves some fussing. The above picture is of a woman who came out of her shop to see Lucy. She couldn't believe the size of her eyes and pantomimed how large they were. We smiled and agreed with her.

Later today we will do some sightseeing and then relax. We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow evening. I can't believe we've been in China for a week.

First Smiles

Here is the first Lucy smile captured on camera. After a traumatic bath, Lucy relaxed on the floor and played with big bro, Max. She really loves him and he is a super big brother. You can tell se is getting more relaxed around us. She isn't as somber as the first day we received her.

She's a fairly good sleeper. She likes to be rocked to sleep, then sleeps in her crib the whole night. She ate a huge breakfast this morning. She ate congee, steamed eggs, and rice. She also had a piece of toast. She's already taken 3 bottles and it isn't even noon.

The above picture is a view outside our hotel window. Nanchang is a busy city and it's been raining the last day and a half. Last night we received some very heavy rains but we braved the elements, and went to a traditional Jiangxi Province restaurant last evening. It was a huge restaurant with an even bigger menu. Some of the meals we could have ordered were fish lips, goose stomach and guts, and duck stomach. There were even more entrees to choose from, but we played it safe and ordered green beans in garlic, dumplings, fried rice noodles and pork. Again, it was really yummy, but I am really looking forward to ordering a Big Wally from Penguin Point back home!

Noticings

I love being in China. It is the most awesome place I have ever been. These are some of the noticings we've made in the short time we've been here

• The local food is fantastic. Today for lunch I ate sauteed water lily root. It was awesome!
• Southeast China is very hot and humid this time of year. Miss Lucy has a horribly case of prickly heat that we are trying to cure, but it's a tough thing to do at this time of year. Our guide shared that the orphanages typically do not have air conditioning, and the Chinese believe that a warm baby makes for a healthy baby.
• The outpouring of support by the Chinese for the quake victims is awe inspiring. The T.V. stations have constant telethons to raise money for the quake victims.
• Chinese children learn English in primary school. Yesterday we went to a supermarket to` pick up diapers. We met many children in the store who absolutely loved practicing their English on us. Their English was impeccable and their manners were astonishing. I have never met such polite young children before.
• Chinese school children start their school day at 8:00 a.m. then go home for lunch at 11:30. They return to school after lunch and continue their studies until 4:00 or 4:30.
• Max is enjoying his role as big brother. He loves making Lucy laugh and takes very good care of her.

Superstar!

Apparently we have a celebrity in the family. Max is making his debut in China. The Chinese love foreign kids and Max is no exception. He has been kissed by Chinese women in elevators, he has received gifts from shop keepers, his cheeks have been pinched and squeezed a dozen times. He had many photo ops with the Chinese at the Great Wall. It was a scream to watch! At the great wall women flocked to him to have their pictures taken with him, then kiss him. It is pretty funny. He has his own personal wait staff at the restaurant at the Gloria Hotel here in Nanchang. The girls try to take turns feeding him and they bring him treats. It is truly amazing to watch. Marc is feeling fairly jealous that he is not getting the attention, but he'll get over it! I spoke to a Chinese women yesterday and told her that most Americans find Chinese children adorable. We're all the same, aren't we?

It's Official! She's Ours

Yesterday we became a forever family. It was an exciting and crazy day! At 8:30 we left the hotel with our guide Linda and traveled to the Governmental Adoption Office and finalized the adoption. We met with many officials and they all asked the same question, is this the child you wish to have? Well, yeah! Of course we said yes. We had to promise not to abandon her, not to abuse her, and treat her like our own child. Again, not a difficult decision. After that, we had two more govermental offices to visit. We had an opportunity to meet with the director of her orphanage.

Last night we went out to celebrate and bought her some girly girl clothes. How fun was that! Max didn't complain, but you could tell he wanted to do other things.

Nanchang is an amazing city. There are between 4-5 million people here, and no traffic signals or stop signs. The streets are filled with cars, buses, motor scooter, bikes, and pedestrians, and not a sing fender bender. The four of us walked around town last night with our guide and it was amazing. We all made it back to the hotel last night in one piece.

The food here is amazing! Our hotel has a breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet and it is awesome. The local food is is spicy and flavorful and unlike anything I've ever tasted. Really yummy!

Today was the first day we saw our little girl laugh and smile spontaneously. Pretty incredible and lots of fun!