Day 6

Day 6

For those of you who like to scroll through the pictures first and then come back up to read (Benjamin and Sammy), this afternoon's pictures are for you. For my wife to enjoy? Not so much…

Enough feeling sorry for myself, today marks half way through the trip and it has been a great day! Camellia is taking a long needed nap, and I’m enjoying some Daddy time with a Mt. Dew and some Kit-Kats and the opportunity to get a head start on the blog.  I brought the Kit Kats to share (wink wink) but ironically, Camellia does not like chocolate! M&M’s and Kit-Kats… she spits them both in the trash. Anyway, on to the events of the day…

Morning:

Breakfast went pretty well this morning. Because I have an orphan with me, I normally get “monorailed” to the furthest back corner of the buffet restaurant. Today, however, the waitress sat us closer to the main floor, so it was easier for me to coordinate getting drinks, food, and a child all at the same time. Camellia actually ate a waffle then she had some noodles. She still prefers the noodles over the traditional American food.

Today’s agenda required us to go to the medical center for her physical and TB test. I had talked to many parents during breakfast that were also going today. They were all scrambling to hurry at breakfast so they could leave by 9:00 and some by 9:30. Jack instructed me to meet him at 10:00, so I had a little time to take it easy. I was a little nervous that so many people were going ahead of us, but Jack is usually pretty good with these things. So we finished breakfast and took a nice stroll through the Garden part of the Garden Hotel. 

 

The place is decorated with beautifully landscaped gardens and ponds. The koi actually swim up to you as you approach. Luckily, I had a piece of bread with me, so Camellia had a wonderful time feeding the fish. 

 

Funny story about the outfit she is wearing… In one of the stores I went into on Shamian Island yesterday, the lady there actually gave me these pants and a purple pair. She wanted me to buy warm clothes for Camellia. I kept saying no, because it’s 80 degrees and very humid out. Anyway, in their culture, little ones are covered up as to not get cold. So when I was leaving with the authentic dresses I bought for the girls, she threw in the two pants outfits and insisted that I put them on her tomorrow. So lady from Shamian Island, if you are reading this, she’s wearing them (but no sweater this time… J) So they were a very good match for her top for today.

 

After our walk, we got ready and made it over to the Guangzhou medical center for Camellia's checkup and TB shot at around 10:20. Upon arrival, I noticed that all of the people I talked with at breakfast that were going for their 9:00 appointment were still there! I packed a few snacks, but not nearly enough for this wait.  

 

Jack took me away from this long line and down a separate hallway that came out in front of everybody. He then proceeded to have some words with the workers at the first station (pictures), and then they immediately took Camellia in. We got pictures and immediately went to the weigh in. Same thing, a few choice words and Camellia is in the front of the line. Back to the doctor check. This time I had to wait…. For about 45 seconds while the doctor went shoo shoo and brushed the people out of the exam room. We went in and got her examination. After this, the same thing with the TB test. I must also say that Camellia did great during all of the poking and prodding.  Of course, already having had open heart surgery, she was used to doctors and needles, so it didn’t even faze her.

 Noticing Mickey Mouse on the floor when we walked in, our treatment was kind of like having the special pass at Disney!

  

We were out of there in 20 minutes. In the elevator ride on the way down, I asked Jack how we were out of there so quickly. He said the doctor has been a friend of his for over 10 years. The nurses all know him, and he told them he had one girl to be seen with a heart condition that couldn’t wait. So they accommodated and it was such a blessing!

Since we finished up the doctor appointment so early, Jack asked if we would like to go to the park in downtown next to the river and the new modern area of the city. There you can find the tallest building in China and sight-see the city. We went, and it was a beautiful place. It was also really sunny and warm!

 

 

 

The city park was decorated in beautiful flowers. The arrangements of roses were truly amazing. It was so sunny that poor Camellia had a hard time smiling for pictures. She held onto that juice bottle, so she was happy.

 

 In addition to beautiful flowers and amazing buildings, they also had a water fountain display in the center of the plaza that rivaled the Bellagio back in Vegas. There was a huge fountain of water and waves that would dance to music that was being played. We happened to luck out and time it just perfectly to be there during the morning performance.

 

 I captured most of the event on video, so the pictures I have aren’t the best. However, while we were there, this older gentleman with his grandson was so excited to see an American at the event that he got up and brought his son right over to us and stood the little boy next to Camellia’s stroller. He was shocked when he looked and saw she was Chinese! You can see that the little boy has his hand on Camellia’s stroller. He appeared to be about 3, and the two of them carried on a small conversation for a few minutes.

 

 

Grandpa was happy to be there with us. Shortly afterward, I stood up and found myself surrounded by friendly Chinese people dancing, posing for pictures, and all just happy to be around us! Everyone was so friendly. The Chinese people on this trip have been wonderful. Everyone is very friendly, and they really stare at me with Camellia. They are very obvious about it too. They will turn around when walking past and bend down and look in the stroller, just to make sure.  The ones that speak English will ask, “You have Chinese baby?”,  “Where’s your wife?”, “Maybe your wife come next time?”, or “How many children do you have?”.  I especially like that question because they all have the same reaction when I tell them four. I think it’s more stunned than anything. One man today told me that I was a very brave man to have 4 children. He then went on to say that he understand why I have 4 because I need balance in my family, two boys and now 2 girls is good balance.

 

Guangzhou is a very nice city, and it is growing very rapidly. The company that built the giant hotel in Dubai, India, is currently working on constructing a similar structure here in Guangzhou. You can see it being built in the background of the fountain.

 

Afternoon:

After we left the city parkway, Jack invited me to lunch with his family. This was a real treat to have the opportunity to meet his wife and daughter (age 11). We had tea and a sampling of many different Chinese delicacies. I almost wore his daughter’s tea when I asked her how to use Chopsticks.  She learns English in school, so she could speak a little… enough to understand I didn’t know how to use them properly. She giggled when I motioned that I would just use them to stab stuff and drag it on my plate. Camellia was holding them properly. The waitress finally had mercy on me and handed me a fork. 

 

 

We got to try some amazing things!

 

 

 Like Chicken Feet!

 

 

So one of my daughters is gnawing on chicken feet while the other is at home dreaming of eating deer steak for dinner. Mission accomplished. Look out, Norm, that #2 Dad of the year award is mine for sure this year!

 

Joking aside, one thing I have noticed is how beautiful the food looks and is prepared in China. It is all very colorful and ornate.

Menu items going around the table here are, goose (very good with the dipping sauce to its right), congee, chicken feet and steamed noodles, boiled cabbage (Camellia and I didn’t like), spring roll, peanuts, beef and potatoes, and two types of dumplings. The rice square in the middle was sweet. I liked it, but Camellia did not.

Our guide Jack is really great. If you are looking to adopt through All God’s Children, you can rest assured Jack will provide everything you need. I was very fortunate that he welcomed Camellia and me into his Saturday family time.

 

Evening:

The evening was Legen…. wait for it…. Dary. We returned to the hotel, and I put Camellia down for a nap. I had met another couple from Boston who adopted a little 2 year old girl with the same heart condition as Camellia. They also got their daughter on Monday. However, their guide doesn’t seem to be as engaged, and as a result, the have been spending a lot of time centrally located around the hotel. As a result, Camellia and I decided to branch out into being Guangzhou tour guides. It gets us out of the hotel, and besides the girl needed more squeaky shoes.  Anyway, I called Andy and Kathryn to see if they would like to go over to Shamian Island. They were happy to get out of the hotel room, so we met and grabbed a taxi together. So their tour included a view of the now dark White Swan Hotel which is still a year away from opening due to renovation.  

   

In addition, we went to several of the shops that I had already gone to, and I told the people to give a good price since I bring back friends, which they did. I managed to get Camellia a second pair of squeaky shoes (must have for any Chinese toddler). We ate dinner at Lucy’s again and took a stroll by the Pearl River. Note the rain drops on their clothes.

 

   

I suggested that it may start to rain harder and we should probably get a cab to head back. We walked back and at about the time we made it to the road, the sky opened up and it rained REALLY hard. Camellia tried to get as far under the canopy of the stroller as she could while the rest of us attempted to hail a cab in the rain. We were completely soaked but laughing hysterically because there was little we could do. One of the shops we stopped at earlier yelled out, “You come shop more in store for umbrella!” which made us laugh even harder. It was raining sideways at this point, so Andy ran down the street looking for a cab while I decided at that moment that the tour guide business wasn’t for me, so I proceeded to cower under the overhang of a building with Camellia safe from the rain.  Ironically, after Andy got to the end of the street, a lone taxi appeared off of a side street and turned right in front of me. I heroically raised my arm out from the protection of the overhang and proceeded to stop the taxi while Andy at this point was almost 2 blocks away. I loaded Camellia inside along with the stroller and then Kathryn, the baby, and Haden joined me inside. Andy finally figured out what was going on and ran back down to join us. The taxi driver was unmistakably annoyed with the 6 of us laughing and dripping wet all over the interior of his cab. And yes, there were the 6 of us in one small VW sedan… So what happens when you pile 6 wet folks into a VW? Steam… so not only was the driver frustrated we got his car wet (he was yelling and pointing as we got in), he could no longer see out any of the windows as we had steamed everything up. He tore off into the night anyway, beeping and weaving in and out of traffic until we arrived safely at the hotel. Camellia and I know the city pretty well now, and with a new batch of parents arriving tomorrow to meet their children, I’m thinking Camellia and I could become pretty good tour guides if I could just work out a deal with the taxi driver…

God is truly blessing us through this trip. I’ve had good and bad moments and have met so many wonderful people through this process. Many people have been an encouragement to me, while I have managed to encourage a few myself. God’s presence is here.