Guangzhou

We have arrived at the final stop on our trip. We are now in Guangzhou. We are staying at a very nice hotel. Our breakfast every morning is on the 45th floor revolving restaurant to give you some idea of the posh nature of this place.

Yesterday in Nanning Shawn and I ventured out to Wal-Mart alone to buy some gifts for our daughter's orphanage. I can't tell you how much fun it was knowing that everything we purchased was greatly appreciated and will be used. I bought lots of pink clothes and shoes. In Selah's referral pictures she had on a blue shirt and pants outfit with the words "For my little boy". Some of the other girls were wearing blue too--nothing wrong with blue, but pink just seems more fitting. The cab fare to Wal-Mart was less than $1.00. So cheap.

We ate lunch at a really good Chinese restaurant (the menu had soups with shark guts, shark fin, baby seahorse --the whole thing, head and all, and turtle to name a few items) and had scallops and chicken. The three of us were the only westerners there. Hmm....

Then we headed to the airport to fly to Guangzhou. We checked in and as we were getting on a shuttle to head to our propeller plane, the airline stopped one of the families in our group and said that there was one baby too many for our plane. Apparently they only had enough extra air masks for nine babies and not ten. Our guide Maggie stood arguing with the airline for 1&1/2 hours as we stood on the shuttle. In the end, the extra family had to stay behind and take a later flight but Maggie was able to get them a nice dinner and some cash for their trouble. Then once we got to the actual airplane the stewardesses had us switch up our seats and took us one by one on the plane. Meanwhile all the moms had to stand out on the runway in the sprinkling rain with our babies as they seated us. It was a bit of a mess but I hope our patience was a testimony of the Lord's presence in us. You never know. Poor Maggie was in tears as she finally got on the plane. She is a very hard worker and has taken such good care of us this whole trip. As has our other guide Rosa. Please pray that God would pour out His mercy and grace to these two dear ladies. Rosa is single and Maggie is married and has a 7 year old son. They both live in Beijing.

The whole culture of this trip is very strange. Yesterday started out with Rosa announcing, "Today is a very happy day because of all the babies have now pooped!" Where else are you going to hear that on an international trip? Actually, the trauma and change are hard on our babies' digestive systems. Some babies were just miserable and unable to go to the bathroom. Interestingly, some of the 14 and 18 month olds are pretty much potty trained. Most babies don't wear diapers in China. Just split pants. Even with Selah, if we pull her legs up and say "ssshhh" in her ear she will try to go poopoo and will let out any gas. I think we're going to let her regress to diapers though.

So we got to our hotel late last night. This morning we took a bus as a group to Shaiman Island which is part of Guangzhou. We had our babies' visa pictures taken and also had their physical examinations done. Selah weighs a healthy 19lbs. The clinic was so crowded. Every Chinese baby adopted must have their exams done here, I believe. Then we shopped on the Island. Shopping here is not at all like shopping in the U.S. When you enter a store there is a saleswoman who follows you and tries to sell you items the whole time. It can be quite exhausting. If you want to purchase something you must enter into the bargaining time. It isn't a quick, "will you take...?" Many back and forths and reasons why we should pay less and they think you should pay more. It truly is tiring. And then there is the walking out of the store when they won't give you your price and their coming after you just before you step out to bargain again. At the check out time they have reasons why they gave you such a "good" price. We "were the first customer of the day". The tea broker "doesn't care about earning money, only spreading healthy Chinese tea all over the world." :) You have to take everything with a grain of salt. And of course we have "such a beautiful, happy baby from the same area I come from."

We ate at McDonalds this afternoon. Selah had her first taste of ice cream I think. She didn't know what to think of it. Now Selah is taking a nap and Shawn is filling out more paperwork.

Selah has been such a trooper. She did great on the plane and has been happy as we have taken her from place to place. I have a little hip carrier that straps her to my side. She loves it and will even take naps in it.

Going to sleep at night has taken awhile the past couple nights. I can tell Selah is used to some sort of routine with her foster mom, but we can't quite figure it out. She wants me to lay down with her on the bed, but there's something missing. She likes me to rub her back and hold her too. We'll get something figured out. In the meantime, I can't say we mind spending an hour soothingly talking and singing to her. She sucks her thumb, holds her blanket, and makes a cute, "agul, agul, agul" sound. She is very fond of Shawn's attention and will often hold out her hand for him to kiss. She loves that. She is playing peek-a-boo with us, too, by holding her blanket up over her head and then pulling it down. Her personality is coming out more and more each day. She is truly a girl and loves her shoes. She doesn't like me taking them off.

We're off to a grocery store and then Starbucks. I have to say we have savored the jasmine and green teas but brewed coffee sounds great! We'll post more pictures when we find time.