Pearl River Cruise

Tonight we took ZhuZhu on a cruise of the Pearl River. It is the third longest in China and I also heard it was at one time one of the most polluted rivers in the world. There has been lots of green vegetation floating in the river and there are boats that go up and down the river picking this stuff out of the water with nets on long poles. The water is very muddy. I was told that the vegetation is from landslides that end up in the river, but who knows.

Our cruise was a dinner cruise and there were four families from our group that went. The weather was wonderful after having rained earlier in the day. We were able to stand out on the deck and look at all the lights on the buildings. The Chinese really go all out with the lights! Many of the buildings have animated displays that can only be done justice by video, but the photos give you a taste.

The hotel in the background is where we are staying, the White Swan.

ZhuZhu was in a good mood and really liked the feel of the wind in her face. She was all lovey tonight, so it feels like we are making good progress. She did a "magic" trick for us with her fingers that is really cute. I'll try to catch it on video soon. She continues to open up to us each day. We are just beginning to see her personality and it will be even more fun when we understand all that she is jabbering about.

We are close to wrapping up our visit to China. Very soon we will be on the way home to start the next leg of this adventure. We are sure that Keegan and Oliver will welcome ZhuZhu into our family with open and loving arms. We can hardly wait for them to meet her.

To those of you who have been following on this journey, we hope you have gotten a feel for how special this has been for us. We have really felt the love pouring out of the other adoptive families as they proudly shared their experiences with us over this past week or so. We hope we have done a sufficient job of providing you a window into this experience

I know that I came into this not sure what to expect. My emotions were all over the map. Now, only a week or so into this journey, I can tell you this for sure, when you see that sad face that you looked at in the pictures turn into a happy, giggling child who wraps their arms around you and plants a kiss on your cheek, there can be no doubt that this is right and good

You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6:18

Touring Guangzhou

ZhuZhu seems to be accepting that she is stuck with us. She is waking up happier and was ready to get out of her pajamas and into her clothes this morning so we could get going. She seems to like to be on the run and thus should fit in nice with the schedule that is normally maintained around our house.

We have been working on winking and other "tricks". She does high fives, knucks, and peek-a-boo. She also likes to "clink" the glasses before we take a drink. Oliver and Keegan should love all of these tricks and I am sure they will teach her additional things. Below is an example of her winking.

Marcy has been trying to organize a dinner cruise for us and some of the other families tonight. While she was talking to various families at breakfast ZhuZhu and I went looking for photo opts. Below you will see a few shots that were taken inside the hotel.
Today our group activity was to tour a few sites in Guangzhou. We went to Liurong Temple (six Banyon tree Temple) and the Guangdong Museum of Folk Arts (Chen Clan Temple), a museum that houses relics and artwork including famous embroidery.

At the temple, several families participated in a baby blessing ceremony. Marcy, ZhuZhu and I climbed to the top of the pagoda for a nice view of the city. The safety standards in China are quite different from what we are use to. There was only a small railing keeping us from falling 9 stories (actually 17 stories, there were 9 outside levels with an interior level between each). It was a hard climb as the head clearance was very low in many spots. It was also quite hot, imagine that in the sub-tropics.

Next was the museum with its many detailed carvings, embroidery pieces, and other fine works. We enjoyed seeing this fine work and cannot imagine how long some of this takes. some of the artists may have spent a lifetime working on these items.

The dinner cruise is still on for tonight with several families. Hopefully we will have some more good stories and photos to post after that.

Nice to see, nice to hold...

Nice to see, nice to hold.

Once broke, consider sold.

This sign was at one of the shops we stopped at today and I thought it was cute. The message was also very clear!

Today our travel group activity was "shopping". ZhuZhu was very patient and quite well behaved throughout the adventure. More details on the shopping later.

This morning had the least amount of tears of any morning so far. We barely used one tissue! ZhuZhu seems to be getting into the routine (if you can call it that). She really did good today and only cried a little at bed time. She wanted to go back out on the town, but at 10:00, it is time for bed. It has been pretty much regular parenting battles lately, such as not picking up toys, putting away dirty clothes, or brushing her teeth. We are picking our battles at this point, but will have to make sure we get more consistent once we get home.

ZhuZhu continues to get lots of compliments about how beautiful she is when we are out and about. Part of it is a ploy by the shop owners to make you feel good and want to come into their shop. I think all of the children here are cute in their own way, but ZhuZhu has to be the cutest (I might be somewhat biased . . . ).

The shopping was pretty incredible. First, we went to a store where all the merchandise is guaranteed genuine. I think it may have been state-owned. They had several grades of jade, beautiful porcelain, and other treasures. You can purchase many things on the street, but when purchasing fine articles and works of art, it is best to purchase at a place like this. Jade is particularly valued in China - and a red string necklace with a jade pendant is usually given to children at 1 year by the eldest member of the family. It will bring safety to the child and of course, happiness. We did make a few purchases here. We are trying to find items for ZhuZhu that are particularly valued in her birth country for future gifts to her.

Next was the pearl market. Imagine looking up 6 stories and seeing shops of jewelry all around you on each floor! That is what this was like. All of the shops house different types of polished rock or gems. They are all on 16" or 18" strands. You have your necklaces, bracelets and earrings made there. There are also pieces already made using the stones of the particular shop. We spent all our time in the pearl shop. They were lovely, as you can see below. A few purchases were made here as well. How could I resist!

There are some beautiful, ornate pieces here at the hotel. Here is one of them. All are for sale, although I don't know that I would want to put this in my carry-on bag.
Tonight, we were talking with our boys, Keegan and Oliver. ZhuZhu said "Ni hao, Keegan" and "Ni hao, Oliwer". Then she said "Hi, Keegan" and "Hi, Oliwer". And "bye -bye". We were showing her their pictures when she was talking. It was very cute! She has such a little voice. I know they are in love with her already, aren't you boys? They have been so good while we have been away. We are very proud of them!

It's difficult to believe we only have two days left in China and then we are on our way home with our daughter. We have been meeting new families every day, either in the hotel toy room, at breakfast (which, by the way, is fabulous at the White Swan), or while we are out and about. Every family has its own story - most of them are spine-tingling. Here, we hear the word "destiny" a lot. It is truly God's plan for each of these precious children to become part of a loving and caring family. I am trying to link some websites of other travel families to this blog - it may not work tonight, but stay tuned. Caution: these sites are addictive! The children are true blessings of God's grace! Please continue to keep us and all these families in your prayers. Good night.

5 star room service

Greetings from Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. ZhuZhu has her wings! We had a successful flight after roughly a 1/2 hour delay. Several of the other families we met while in Nanning were on the same flight with us to Guangzhou, and many are staying here at the White Swan. ZhuZhu did great for the first half of the the flight. It was only about an hour long, so not much time to get antsy. She wanted to get out of the seat belt about 45 minutes into the flight, but we were able to convince here this was not a good idea by showing her the "fasten seat belt sign". She did have a hard time with the decent, or maybe she was just tired. We gave here a sucker for the departure, but with the short flight length didn't give her another for the decent. Anyway, we ended up waiting to be last off the plane to give her some time to settle down. Nothing major, just some tears.

ZhuZhu ended up falling asleep on the way to the hotel, so maybe her mood was more related to being tired and hungry than issues with the plane ride. We will see when we fly next week if planes are the problem! We rode to the hotel with one of the travel group families, Steve and Christine. It was like hooking up with life long friends when we saw them. We had so much to talk about, sharing our experiences. I also ran into a few others from the travel group as I snooped around the hotel looking for something to eat.

Now to explain the title of this post. When we arrived, we were very hungry. It had been about 9 hours since we had eaten. Our plan was to eat at the airport in Nanning, but there wasn't really anything to eat once you got through security. We said, "why not get room service?" I'll tell you why, a hamburger and a coke would have cost 188 RMB plus a 15% service charge. For those unfamiliar with the exchange rate, this equals about $31.80. Yes, I did the math right and that is only for one. If we both wanted to eat our own, it would have been over $60. Getting hot dogs would have saved us about $3.00! Needless to say I went on a snack mission but it was too late and all the shops in the hotel were closed. We had crackers, granola bars, and water; nice Chinese meal.

This morning was great fun getting to see most all of the travel group again with their new additions. Each child is so darling. I think awesome is an over used word, but I have to admit it is truly awesome to see how much love all of these families have to share with their newest members. There are MANY adoptive families here, most with infants (11-15 months) from all parts of the world. The entire area we are in (Shamian Island) caters to the adoptive community.

ZhuZhu had to test us a few times today to see where the boundaries are. She did not want to put on her dress - the dress we had been trying to get her into all week. We did finally manage and she went to breakfast pouting. She perked up when she saw all the babies. We met the group at 10am and walked a few blocks to have ZhuZhu's photo taken for her visa application and then around the corner for the medical exam. It cracked us up to see the signs in the medical clinic "Quiet, Please". There were probably 20-25 children plus parents and other family member in this quite small office. Plus, there was a lot of crying. ZhuZhu was great in all the exam rooms.

Had lunch at Lucy's - a small restaurant with Western style food. ZhuZhu wanted french fries - again. We'll start the nutritional program at home and make sure we have the waitress tell her next time that they are out of french fries (we did that in Nanning). Vince took care of paperwork this afternoon and the girls went shopping. ZhuZhu needed shoes! Really, she did! Found a pair of squeaky sandals that fit her (most of the items here are for the infants - there is not very much for toddlers or older children unless you are looking for the traditional dress). Some time since then, she has removed the squeakers and tossed them somewhere - the little stinker! The squeakers are actually cute at first, but get to be quite annoying.

After dinner, we went to the toy room here at the White Swan. It has just been renovated and is a great room for the kids to blow off some steam. ZhuZhu went right for the Duplos! Keegan, better put your Legos on a higher shelf or just get used to some new designs created by your sister!

Played with Bao Bao, also. His parents, Janet and Kevin, were our "neighbors" in Beijing and are right down the hall here. I don't know if dinner ever got on the table - too many cooks in the kitchen!

ZhuZhu got her first dose of neon tonight, as we ventured out of the hotel to check out the night scenery. The White Swan sits right on the Pearl river. The photo shows one of the hotels on the other side of the river.

Yiling then off to Guangzhou.

Today we will travel to Guangzhou, the last leg of our trip before the big return home on July 2nd. We will be staying at the infamous White Swan Hotel. Apparently this is a very nice hotel that caters to adoptive families.

Before leaving Guangxi, we added a tour to Yiling village. This area has a very unique landscape that may have inspired Dr Seuss.

We were taken by our guide to a farming village where we were able to walk out in the fields. We saw corn, rice, tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, and many other vegetables. We talked with one man who was harvesting his corn. It actually looked quite nice with large, long ears. He told us he has 1 acre of corn and 1 acre of soybeans. The corn is used to feed his pigs. We told him we also raised corn and beans, but he probably thought, "Yeah right, you really look like a farmer."

ZhuZhu LOVED the animals. This was in her report, and they were not lying when they told us this. She wanted to pet everything. She seemed especially fond of the sow that had 10 piglets. She also liked the baby calf. I think she will like the farm.

ZhuZhu still has occasional moments, but they are getting fewer and further between. We are very much enjoying that wonderful personality that you all will likely fall in love with very soon. This afternoon as we are packing she has been making necklaces, playing with puzzles, and trying on her new sunglasses. I think she likes them!

Last night in Guangxi

We had another roller coaster day. The waves of grief just hit ZhuZhu from out of the blue. I can totally understand how she feels to lose a loved one.

We went to the Nanning SWI (Social Welfare Institute) today. This is the grounds that are comprised of the orphanage where ZhuZhu was admitted initially and two buildings for the mature Chinese. It is common for both the children and adults to be housed within the same complex. They have a very beautiful park and Vince and ZhuZhu went there to play while Mary and I went into the office building to meet with the foster mother, director of the orphanage and pediatrician.

The park at Nanning SWI

The visit was difficult as you can imagine. The foster mother really loved ZhuZhu like her own (she has a bio son). It was difficult to part with ZhuZhu because she brought so much happiness into the foster family. I told her that ZhuZhu was truly a lucky little girl because she has three mothers who love her very much - her birth mother, her foster mother and myself. We also talked with the institute pediatrician who told me that ZhuZhu is very healthy now and told me to keep her away from biscuits and fried food because it will cause her tonsillitis - well, I will take it under advisement. They are all very happy that ZhuZhu has a forever family that will care for her and meet her needs.

Back at the hotel, we ran into the Brown's, a family from Montreal who has adopted a little 3 year-old girl the same size as ZhuZhu. We all went for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Their Kylie is very rambunctious and smiles ALL the time. She is a delight and I believe ZhuZhu enjoyed watching her. She will enjoy seeing Keegan and Oliver and having children to play with all the time.

Mommy had this great idea to go to the zoo this afternoon. Probably not such a great idea (a nap would have been a better one) but I'm glad we went anyway. The zoo is huge! Their exhibits are loaded with animals. They don't just house one or two animals but have several in every exhibit. ZhuZhu loved it! She was talking away about all the animals and kept saying "this is good" in Chinese. She was sooo lively at the zoo. I know this is her true personality. The sky was rumbling with thunder so we went very quickly and didn't see but maybe 1/3 of the zoo. Some of the area was under construction, as well.

ZhuZhu with the penguins

One of many tortoises

ZhuZhu is opening up more every day. Today, she was very talkative and giggling more. Her little voice is so cute! She will hold both our hands and skip in the hallway. She brings us much joy.

This evening, we went to Pizza Hut for dinner with our guide, Mary, and her boyfriend. Mary enjoys it and it was her choice. We had nice conversation with them and ZhuZhu was hot/cold throughout dinner. She was seriously tired after such a long day. I also dragged her into a nearby department store to purchase some "real" China.

Tomorrow, after visiting a village in the country, we will fly to Guangzhou, the final leg of our China journey. So, we may not be posting for a couple of days. Thanks for all your wishes, comments and prayers. Who would have ever thought we would have such great technology?!

Boys, have a great time at the lake. I hope you are having good weather. We love you very much and hope you are documenting your vacation through pictures. ZhuZhu loves the camera as much as you boys.

Duck, anyone?

Today it rained off and on in Nanning and that makes for some interesting sights. It is not rare at all to see people riding scooters while holding umbrellas, or ladies dressed nicely (with heels and all) riding a scooter or bike while covered with a rain poncho. Too bad the photos didn't turn out so you all could see this too. Umbrellas are common here even on a sunny day as many Chinese like to keep their skin as light as possible (it is beautiful they believe). Half the world away, many people in the U.S. go to tanning beds to get darker . . . go figure.

Not related to the rain necessarily, but still quite interesting is the photo below of the guy on the motorcycle.

Yes, those are freshly killed ducks on the way to some restaurant to be served for lunch or dinner today. You will often see food being transported like this around the city.

Another interesting sight is the bamboo scaffolding. (Sorry, again no photos turned out due to the rain) some of the bigger construction jobs use steel, but most of the smaller jobs use bamboo that is tied together with what looks like some type of grass. OSHA would have a field day here . . .

Today was a day for touring and learning more about the Chinese culture, especially about this area. We went to Qingxiu Mountain and saw a temple that housed several Buddha (photos of the Buddha are not allowed), a really neat Pagoda (Longxiang Pagoda), and we fed the Koi fish in the lake. After returning to the hotel for lunch we ventured out to the Guangxi Provincial Museum that contains many relics from the various ethnic groups that live in this area. A quite educational day indeed.

ZhuZhu feeding the Koi.

Longxiang Pagoda

We climbed to the top of this Pagoda for some interesting views of Nanning and the surrounding area. The misty rain made for less than perfect pictures, but the memories will stay with us forever.

Mom and ZhuZhu in the Pagoda

In addition to our education on the local culture, we continue to learn more about ZhuZhu each day. Today was a roller coaster ride ranging from giggles and smiles, to flashbacks with sobbing and tears. She has also started to test the boundaries with us. She is learning just how far Ma Ma and Ba Ba will let her go (not too far by the way . . .and if you don't believe it ask Keegan and Oliver).

The photo below is at one of the peaks of the roller coaster ride. Sieferts, here we come! Today we saw more of ZhuZhu's fun side. She was jumping up and down and giggling when she found out we were going swimming. She can be so fun and cute. We can hardly wait until that is the norm, rather than the occasional moment between periods of sadness caused by flashback memories of those who loved her so much before we got her.