Day 12

Morning  & Afternoon:

Our morning and afternoon blended together today. We got to spend a good deal of time on Skype with Nicki and the kids this morning. That was a wonderful change. It was a little shaky starting out, but once we got connected it worked really well. While talking with Nicki, I mentioned that I would probably spend the day around the hotel looking at the different shops and stores available here. She made the wonderful suggestion of heading back over to Shamian Island one last time to get some good pictures. I had been there a couple of times previously, but in the evening or during rain, so we didn’t get many pictures. As a result, Camellia and I packed ourselves into a VW Santana Taxi, and off we went.

We got some nice pictures while we were there. I took a few pictures of Camellia at the famous Lingering Music statue.  

 

As I was there, a Chinese couple ran up and started taking pictures of Camellia at the statue too, so I asked them to take a photo of the two of us: 

I then snapped a photo of her! I think she was embarrassed, as she tried to hide behind the statue. 

There were a lot of interesting people there today. I talked to quite a few people. Saw some things I shouldn’t and managed to pick up a few more last minute gifts at Jenny’s. If you ever go to Shamian Island, stop at Jenny’s store. It’s on the end of the main walkway by a stone gazebo. Jenny and her husband are Christians and treated me very nicely. I bought most of my Shamian Island gifts from their little store. They were excited that I came back today, as they hadn’t sold anything all day yesterday, and I was the first customer today (it was like 1:00 in the afternoon). She said, “Tell your friends, 'the American man who came alone to get his daughter sent you,' and I will give them good price.” Customarily, the first customer and ultimately the first sale of the day is considered special and lucky. The Chinese don’t want to lose out on the first sale, as it will spoil their day. So me being the first customer in 2 days was especially good for her mood. Keep this in mind when you shop the island. So I used this to my advantage. Since I’m shopping for 4 kids, 2 girls and 2 boys, I talked her into a BOGO (buy one get one free) deal. I’m sure she still made money, and I came out happy. 

Ok enough plugging for my new friend Jenny. We also saw a couple getting their wedding photos taken while on the island. You may notice the red army marching by in the background. They were very formal and commanding except for the second soldier, who bent his neck almost backward to watch the bride.

 

 

 

So I captured photos of a couple on their first day of marriage. I also captured a couple on their 12,775^th day of marriage:

 

Naptime was the theme on the island today:

  

Further down the street, we ran into a model doing a photo shoot: 

 

In America, the Mono-Brow is frowned upon, but I think she’s pulling it off quite nicely.  

 

Camellia liked her dress and kept pointing at her. We left the model while they were setting up for her next photo shoot and headed for a bite to eat. We grabbed a late lunch at Lucy’s (great place to eat while on the island). I found the one thing that Camellia likes more than noodles…

 

French fries with catsup (Nicki hates it when I spell ketchup that way, but it was spelled that way on the bottle. Honest!)!

We headed back home via taxi and shortly after getting back, Camellia was not feeling well, so she went down for a nap too. Uncle Jack showed up shortly after and handed me all of Camellia’s paperwork. She’s officially ours! And when we land in Detroit, she’s officially an American! I got her passport and all the necessary paperwork to enter back into the USA in 2 days! 

 

I bet this photo was taken immediately after she saw a picture of what her Daddy was going to look like for the first time. I say that because I see that look every time I tell her “no”.

Evening:

Tonight was one of those nights when it feels good to be a father. For two weeks I’ve been trying to help this little girl come out of her shell and turn into the adorable little girl God intended her to be. Along the way, we’ve had our ups and downs. Each day, I just love on her, and I try to play with her a little and engage her in some wrestling, tickling, and just rolling around on the floor letting her climb around and be a kid. All of this has been foreign to her. Imagine living 4 years and never having a mom or dad pick you up, hold you, care for you, kiss you, hug you, hold your hand, or anything. The only touch you would receive would be that of necessity and not comfort. As a result, Camellia is very stoic and stiff when you hug her, and she really hasn’t engaged me in play. She won’t give kisses and doesn’t really like to be rolled around or played with. From day one she always wants me to hold her and carry her but not much else. Camellia hasn’t ever initiated play time with me and seems to prefer to play on the floor on her own.  As a result, I generally just spend the evenings sitting on the floor with her constantly scooting around the room to play. She will sit with me for a while, but then gets up and moves all her stuff away. After a moment, I move over next to her again and engage her in some play time that requires help. Legos work great for this. We’ve been doing this every day for 2 weeks now.

It’s been a challenge to try and crack that shell, but tonight God showed me a glimpse of what this little girl can be. Since she was sick this afternoon, I held and cuddled her until she fell asleep. I then laid her down, and when it was time to wake up, I picked her back up. We sat on the bed for about 30 minutes and watched a little TV. Then all of a sudden, she jumped up and climbed away from me on the bed like she normally does.

After a few seconds, I got hit in the face with a pillow, and then a squealing little girl pounced on her Daddy for the first time in her life! It was a joyous occasion. We rolled around and played. She got tossed in the air and loved it! Her giggles sounded more like laughter and less like a scared, insecure laugh. Her socks flew off, her feet got tickled, and she began to feel safe and is starting to realize that she is now a little girl with a father who loves her. So it was a huge first step.

After this, we headed out for dinner and got ice cream!!! McFlurries from McDonald's and some sort of bird (assuming chicken) from a street vendor was our meal for dinner.