Guangzhou pictures, Banyan trees

In Guangzhou

Nihao!  We had some problems connecting to the internet, but we're back online now.  We arrived in Guangzhou yesterday evening and it is HOT here (around 90).  What amazes me is that the locals are all wearing pants and long sleeves. The White Swan hotel has an impressive lobby and a good breakfast buffet with a view of the Pearl River.  Our room is a little smaller than the one in Nanjing, but nice.  They say not to drink the water in China and I can certainly see why here in Guangzhou - the water literally smells and looks like the river.  The streets of the Shamian Island area of Guangzhou are much easier to navigate and there's not much traffic, so we don't feel like we're risking our lives crossing the street here. This morning we met up with our travel group and it was great to meet everyone's kids.  Then we all brought the kids to their medical exam.  Because Allison is over 2 years old she had to get poked for the TB test, so she was not a happy camper for most of the day.  She clearly has seen enough doctors in her lifetime to know that she doesn't like them.  She's much happier now, playing with the obnoxiously loud piano we bought her! Tomorrow we'll be sightseeing in the morning and then we might try to take Alli to the pool.

Observations

The traffic here is insane!  Every intersection is like 28th St & the Beltline, but add people on mopeds and bikes.  And the people on the mopeds & bikes are carrying babies!  Crossing the street is very scary.  We've decided it's best to just follow the crowd.  You have to be aware of your surroundings at all times.  People do not have the right-of-way.  For my coworkers:  Road construction here is interesting!  There are no warning signs and rarely any cones.  We were driving along and then all of a sudden they were pouring concrete right there in front of us.  Luckily we have a skilled driver!  I also saw a huge, gaping hole in the road and it only had one cone around it! The beds here are hard.  Very hard.  I might as well be sleeping on a stone tablet. Allison has the cutest giggle.  She loves to walk and read books. Well, I need to go pack because we are leaving for Guangzhou this afternoon.  So long for now.

Nanjing sightseeing Day 4

more Nanjing sightseeing

I don't have a lot of time to post because we are meeting another family for a playdate.  Our daughters are from the same orphanage and they are staying in the same hotel.  This morning we went to a beautiful garden that is more than 600 years old and was home to an emperor.  Then we went to the Confucius Temple and market.  Then we went to a silk factory and watched them weaving on the huge looms - truly fascinating and amazing!  I'll have Chris post some pics later. Gotta go!

More Nanjing pics

We saw the Purple Mountain park and went to the zoo and saw Pandas.

Sightseeing in Nanjing

Nihao.  Allison is starting to really open up to us.  We've seen many smiles from her today and even a few giggles.  She's very quiet and patient, so unlike her brothers!  Chris still hasn't heard her speak any words, but I've heard a few when he wasn't around.  We're slowly figuring out what she likes to eat - rice, egg, noodles, Cheerios and french fries (yes, we had Mcdonald's the other night, definitely needed a cheeseburger).  Oh and we tried eel last night at our hotel's dinner buffet and it was really good! Today we saw a little more of Nanjing.  It's a beautiful city with many trees and Sycamore lined streets.  Nanjing used to be the capital of China hundreds of years ago.  "Nan" means south, and "jing" means capital, hence "Bei" means north for Beijing.  Nanjing also had a wall surrounding the city and a moat, but only part of the wall remains today - it's impressive - very tall.    We also went to a city park called Purple Mountain that is home to some Ming tombs.  It's called Purple Mountain because there is literally a mountain that looks purple through the haze.  It was very pretty there, but the park is very large and there's no way we could have seen all of it.  Then we went to the zoo.  We didn't spend much time there because it was getting close to nap & lunch time, but we did see some Pandas!    There were three of them and they were doing what you usually see pandas doing, just sitting around lazily and eating.  Our guide told us that Sichuan province has the largest Panda Bear preserve and there you can sit next to them and have your picture taken (I saw this on the travel channel once)! Tomorrow we will do some more sightseeing and then our guide will gather up all of the paperwork we're waiting for, and then on Friday we will fly to Guangzhou.

Adoption Day!

Today was adoption day!  In the eyes of the Chinese government, Allison is now officially our daughter.  We are still trying to figure each other out.  She is very small for her age and I would guess she is at least a year behind developmentally, especially with gross motor skills.  Her fine motor skills are pretty good though, but were not too sure about speech yet.  She's only muttered two words so far, and of course I didn't know what she was saying!  She is certainly smart and a quick learner. Today we were able to visit the orphanage, but we could not go inside due to H1N1, so we took some pictures outside.  We were also able to meet her primary caretaker and learn more about Alli's personality.  She's very shy and she was obviously very attached to her caretaker.  She cried quite a bit when we left her nanny and it took everything in me to not break down myself, but I just didn't want her to see me cry, that would have only made things worse. We've also seen some orphanage-like behaviors today.  She has been hoarding food and toys.  It's sad really, but on the other hand she is clearly enjoying her new found freedom.  She's smiles a lot when we put her down and let her walk.  Well, time to go get in the bath!

Allison

Allison is a little sad and a little sick, but so far she tolerates us.  She likes french fries.

We met Allison!

Just a few hours ago we received Allison!  It was a whirlwind affair.  She cried for about 2 hours - it was really heartbreaking.  She's really quite small, she's wearing 12 month clothing.  She is so cute!  After a few tries, we found some food that she liked and then the crying stopped and then she went down for a nap.  She is awake now, so I'll post more later.

Day 3 Sightseeing in Beijing

Sunday was another busy day!  First we went to see the Bird's Nest.  Next we went a jade factory and saw how they make jade into beautiful sculptures and jewelry.  We wanted to buy so many things there, but most of it is very expensive, so we bought a couple of really small sculptures instead. Next we went to the great wall.  It is truly amazing and the pictures will do it no justice (too hazy here).  Chris & I climbed three times higher than anyone else in our group.  Major jello legs!  We definitely worked up an appetite, so we then had lunch nearby at a restaurant that was above a Cloisonne Factory, where they make beautiful vases and such. In the evening we flew to Nanjing.  We've decided the asian airlines are much nicer than any american airlines we've flown.  Our guide, Jin, picked us up from the airport and then we went to the hotel and crashed (long day).

Beijing Day 1 pics

Sightseeing in Beijing

Whew!  We've been out and about in Beijing since 9:00am.  We saw Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  Then we had a great authentic Chinese meal for lunch.  Our guide, Yoshi, helped our group order, and then he left us for awhile and the language barrier became quite comical!  After lunch we went to the Pearl Market Museum, where I bought a teardrop pearl necklace and matching earrings (CHEAP). Then we went to the Temple of Heaven and an acrobat show.  We'll try to post some pictures later.

My favorite part of the day was at Temple of Heaven.  There were tons of people in the park doing leisurely things.  Some were dancing to loud music, some were singing or playing instruments, others were playing a hacky sack sort of game, and some were playing checkers or cards.  I could have stayed there all day and watched everyone.

Tomorrow we are going to the Great Wall and also the Bird's Nest & Watercube.  Then we fly to Nanjing in the evening!

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We're here!

We finally made it to Beijing!  It is 11:30pm on Friday.  The flights went smoothly, but WOW were they long!  I believe "brutal" is the word Chris used to describe the 13 hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo.  I watched 3 movies, two TV shows, and read half of a James Patterson book, in addition to the 3 meals that were served, plus a short nap. Tomorrow we will be sightseeing with 3 other families from our agency, one of whom we met in Tokyo.  The plan is to see the Forbidden Palace, Tiananmen Square, and an acrobat show. Now it's time to go to bed!

Itinerary

October 22 - Depart at 9:35am, GRR to Chicago to Tokyo to Beijing.

October 23 - Arrive in Beijing.

October 24, 25 - Sightseeing in Beijing.

October 25 - Flight to Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

October 26 - Meet Allison!

October 26-30 - Sightseeing and processing paperwork in Nanjing, also possible visit to orphanage.

October 30 - Flight to Guangzhou.

October 31 - Medical exam.

November 1-3 - Sightseeing and shopping on Shamian Island.

November 4 - US Embassy appointment.

November 5 - Sightseeing and shopping.

November 6 - US Embassy ceremony.

November 7 - Fly home!

Travel dates confirmed!

We're leaving next Thursday! Departing Oct 22nd and returning Nov 7th. I'll post more about our itinerary when I know more. We're coming Alli Bing Bing!

FINALLY!

Finally our I171H renewal/update came in the mail today! Tonight our agency will work on getting us an embassy appointment, then we can book our trip. Stay tuned for travel details.

A step in the right direction

I got a call from congressman Ehlers office today. They said our update is DONE and we should receive it in the mail tomorrow or Tuesday! Vern rocks!!! As soon as we get it in the mail, our agency will make us an embassy appointment and then we can book our trip. We're hoping to leave October 22 or 23.

One good thing to report

All kids over age two are tested for TB at the US embassy before coming home. The protocol used to be that if a child had a positive chest x-ray they had to remain in China to be treated for up to 6 months. A couple of weeks ago the CDC finally changed the protocol: If a child tests positive they can now travel home to the US to be treated. This is huge! One less thing to worry about.

Getting antsy

Well it has been over 30 days and we still don't have our amended I171H. So I called a congressman's office today and gave them authorization to inquire on our behalf. It seems other families have had a good outcome by going this route, hopefully we will too. It just doesn't seem fair that children have to sit in an orphanage for 60 to 90 days just because our government can't process paperwork in a timely manner.

On another note, I was hoping to receive some updated info on Allison since we sent that care package last week, but I haven't heard anything on that front either.

I'm so frustrated!!!