We went to a toy market in the morning. The market was 6 floors of toys and other products. Zoe & Yihui were allowed a hair ornament and a toy or jewelry. Yihui bought a necklace and Zoe bought picture journals.
In the afternoon we boarded a large bus with many adoptive families going to the American consulate. The consulate moved from Shamian island and is a much bigger and better facility. Before the swearing in, Yihui met an almost 14 year old girl that she knew from BCWI. They spoke awhile. Yihui liked the fact she was officially an American citizen. We ate our last meal in Guangzhou and went to sleep knowing we had to get up early in July 1 to get to the airport. We fly from Guangzhou to Tokyo and then Tokyo to San Francisco. It was an incredible journey but absolutely time to go home. Thanks for following the blog and for all the encouraging comments.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
June 29, 2009
Rebecca planned a trip to the zoo. It was extremely hot and humid but Zoe & Yihui still enjoyed the animals. The panda was up and eating which was a treat. No doubt he is the emperor of the zoo when you see his enclosure.
The only other activity was the river boat diner and cruise down the Pearl River. Zoe & Yihui wore their qipaos and the sights were very pretty. Zoe wanted to take the next ride. Yihui seemed to enjoy it somewhat.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
June 28, 2009
We didn’t have any plans until the afternoon so we took a walk and went to the playground on Shamian island. Young and old were out exercising on the equipment. We then went down to the Pearl River and it was like a festival. People dancing, exercising, talking and even a swimmer in the Pearl river!
We walked over to the White Swan since Yihui had left her jacket there and luckily they had it in the lost & found. After a light lunch we let the girls relax until Yun, her husband and Anna came over. Yun is very good friends with Xin and their family is lovely. Anna, their 13 year old daughter spoke English very well. Yihui immediately bonded to her and felt comfortable. They took us in their car on a tour of the city and shopping to the oldest street of Guangzhou where the city gate is buried under glass. Bob looked at pottery and jade and other things- all too expensive to buy. Zoe crashed & fell asleep in the car going to the next mall. I stayed in the car with her at the next stop and Zoe slept 2 hours. Yihui loved shopping. Yun’s family then took us to a famous Guangzhou restaurant called the 4 Seas International house. It was quite a ways away from the downtown area. We ate an amazing meal- it reminded me of Hong Kong restaurants in the atmosphere and the food. The seafood was very fresh. On the way back we walked along the Pearl River with the beautiful lights. Yun’s family was so warm and generous. They gave each girl an outfit, and a bag full of typical Guangzhou foods. No matter how hard we tried to pay for dinner, they would not allow us. So we made them promise to visit us in CA so we can return the lovely evening.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
June 27, 2009
We still got up fairly early and went to breakfast. We met several adoption families from other agencies. One family we met had an 8 year old girl and a newly adopted 4 year old girl. When they found out we were form Davis (they are from Portland OR) they mentioned they had been to Davis for their cat’s renal transplant! We then explained we worked at the veterinary school. Their cat lived 5 years after the transplant so they were very happy.
Today was a hard day for Yihui. We first got Yihui’s photo for a visa and then went to the medical clinic for her physical examination and 2 shots. Yihui is very healthy and although taller than Zoe- she weighs the same amount! Yihui had explained she had trouble with her vision of one eye and they did several tests and she is slightly near sighted and has a “lazy” right eye. The condition is hopefully completely correctable with glasses and is something that occurs in many children as they develop. We will get that handled as soon as we get home. I suspect it made it harder for her at school since that eye really is not functioning correctly. Yihui was so brave and handled the 2 injections well. I immediately noticed they did not wear gloves at the medical clinic when injecting and the syringes were thrown into a wicker basket and not a sharps container!
We went to lunch and I spent some time with Rebecca getting paper work in order while Zoe & Yihui tried to rest and sleep. That didn’t happen so we thought we’d go swimming but the pool is outdoors and it started raining hard so instead we stayed indoors and the girls watched a movie. The weather report shows cloudy, rainy weather the entire time we are here. Rebecca has some activities planned such as a Pearl River Boat cruise Sunday night and the zoo Monday morning. We are meeting Xin’s good friend Yun Sunday afternoon to shop. Yun has an eleven year old daughter who wants to meet Yihui and Zoe. Monday afternoon is our consulate appointment and Tuesday is free and we leave early Wednesday morning for CA. We are ready to come home and have our routine back.
June 26, 2009
We didn’t do much the morning before our flight. It was 102 degrees in Beijing and we let the girls relax, watch a movie and pack. Yihui wanted to make sure all of her things were coming with us but otherwise she seemed comfortable with leaving Beijing and taking her first flight. We had lunch out and picked up Zoe’s pottery she made and met Helen at 2pm. We got Yihui’s passport and then went to the airport.
The flight was delayed slightly and after we boarded we found out it was delayed another 3 hours due to bad weather in Guangzhou! They decided to feed everyone and just as the meals came, they said we are leaving and unlike the USA……. they took off with tray tables down and food on them. We of course took the girls trays away & made sure they were safe. Seat belts and car seats are non existent in China too. Just different standards than we are use to. We were very impressed how Beijing really had an excellent no smoking law and areas but Guangzhou is more lax about that. We arrived around 10:30 at night and our guide Rebecca was waiting for us. Both girls fell asleep in the van on the way to the hotel. Zoe never really woke up and she went to bed in her clothes. Yihui barely got changed and into bed. We are staying at the Victory hotel on Shamian island. Shamian island is the old colonial area of Guangzhou. We have a suite with 2 roll away beds. It is fine for the few days we are here but we all miss the room and comfort we had at the Lee Garden in Beijing!
Friday, June 26, 2009
June 25, 2009
Today Xiaomei, Mark & Miriam came over & we made a quick Starbucks stop before heading to the Yong He Gong temple. It was VERY hot and humid today so we knew the interest level would decline quickly. After the temple we took the girls to lunch and went to Chinese Children’s favorite store for 2 hours of playtime in the sand pit. All three girls loved it and Mark, Xiaomei and I had a good time just relaxing and talking. At 5 we went our separate ways because our friends had a prior dinner date and we took quick showers and had a nice dinner in the mall.
June 24, 2009
We made plans to meet up again with our friends Xiaomei, Mark and their daughter Miriam. Xiaomei twisted her ankle so she couldn’t join us since we planned a lot of walking at the Beijing Amusement park. It is their older amusement park and although not a themed, fancy one, actually much better for smaller children since almost every ride they can go on. All 3 girls really enjoyed themselves despite the >90 degree heat. They LOVED the water ride that soaked us all. Yihui’s favorite ride is the carousal. They all took turns picking one out to do. We managed to stay until 3 and by the time we left, they were dragging (so were we). Today Yihui was smiling a lot and she allowed us to take her picture more often. It helps so much that Mark speaks Chinese and can explain things when needed.
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