Recovery Day

We are in Guangzhou and very glad to be here...all five of us together...at the same time. A little situation at the Nanning airport yesterday: no ticket for Lily! I assumed our agency intended for her to be on my lap for the hour long flight, but apparently that's not allowed (and one does not break rules in China).  With minutes to board, we were told the plane was full.  Mark would have to catch a later flight out.

Things could always be worse, I know, but thoughts of navigating a new Chinese airport at the end of a very tiring day with the kids and too much luggage had our stomach in knots.  All except Lily, that is.  For some reason, she chose that moment to be more relaxed and happy than she had been all week.

Much fast talking across the counter by Hannah and we found out there was one seat left! Our spirits soared.  Five minutes later--"Sorry, plane is full". Three minutes later-- "You now have a seat".  We ran for the gate and didn't breathe deeply until we were tightly buckled in our seats.

Our hotel is beautiful, we found a Starbucks, Lily and I had a good nap and all is well today.  Except for her medical exam this morning, we are taking it easy today and learning our way around.

Let me back up...Yesterday we finished paperwork in Nanning.  Mark took the kids out to lunch while Moi Moi snoozed right on schedule, after her lunch of oranges, bread, and warm milk.  Our quiet, shy, tiny girl has bonded to me.  Xiu Mei follows me like a shadow, never more than two feet away.  I am delighted that she loves to be held and cuddled.  I worried that the visit to the orphanage Thursday might upset her, but she was quite happy to stay in my arms.  Insisted on it, in fact.  She is warming up to Mark and Nathan, but it's hard for her.  There were no male caregivers in the orphanage.  She is very content with Faya!  The big sister has been so patient and loving.

I've been mooching off kids' plates of noodles and fried rice most evenings.  I finally had a chance to order a grown up meal last night.  Wouldn't you know it was so hot and spicy.  I couldn't eat it! I think I breathed fire, Chinese dragon style...I realize we talk about food a lot.  It's just fascinating in this country.  No part of the animal is wasted (and you can get it all at the neighborhood Walmart).  In local restaurants, there's dog and cat on the menu (no, not for us).  Cat is supposedly good cooked with snake.  Fried bees. Fried worms.  Fried anything.

Note to my Aquarium friends: it is sad to see shark fin soup everywhere.  I'm looking forward to bringing Lily to the Aquarium!  She will really enjoy the snack tank--I mean, touch tank.....

It is quite a sight to see my tall, 14-year-old son, down on his knees, softly whispering "brother loves you" in Chinese.  His patience and gentleness has paid off.  Today, Lily marched all around the huge hotel, holding tightly to his hand.  I don't know which one was happier!

Faya just lost a tooth! The Chinese tooth fairy will leave a few yuan tonight, perhaps.  Or maybe a crispy bug--haha!

Guangzhou is the final stopping place for all Americans adopting from China.  At breakfast, we saw many families with their new children.  Babies, toddlers, older children.  Many with special needs.  A lot of families are traveling with older, biological children, like us.  The parents are older, like us.  We can do this!  And having the older children along is great when we can't see without our reading glasses to get the key card in the door, or read the fancy floor numbers in the elevator.

The medical exam was brief, chaotic, and carried off in assembly line style.  Kids (many we had seen at breakfast) carried in and out of various exam rooms.  Once again, we saw Chinese efficiency in action. Lily did fine, except they didn't let the mama in when they drew some blood.  I watched through a filmy curtain and had a hug and a lollipop waiting when they brought her back to me.

Below is a post from Nathan (from Thursday):
Today was a great day.  It started with us going to Xiu Mei's finding spot. It was a chilly and rainy place.

Next, our guide arranged for us to visit a middle school.  Faya, my Dad, and I waited outside the gate while we were waiting for the school to open.  Tons of kids from around 6th to 8th grade were waiting with us.  As we headed in, I noticed more and more kids looking at Faya and me! Not many kids were used to seeing blond-haired Americans.  I saw them laughing and smiling and pointing.  I just smiled and waved back as I continued not knowing what I was doing.  The classrooms were really small and crowded, and the desks were old style wood.  Our guide told us that Chinese teachers are very strict and tend to throw chalk at the students if they talk.  We came out of the school a bit later and there were kids lined up all along the edges of the balcony on the five story school.  Over 2000 students were waving goodbye to us.  (Certainly felt different from Pinewood.)

Our next spot was at Lily's school where she stayed for the past year.  The caretakers there were very nice and kind to their kids.  They had shows like Tom and Jerry playing as we walked by.  We got to see her classroom and the bed where she slept.  It also happened to be a child's birthday, so I got to have a huge piece of cake with little clementines.  Now I am back at the hotel relaxed in my bed.  And just a tip: If you're planning to go to China, learn how to say NO (to photos).

Hundreds of middle school children watching us leave:

Middle school girls:

 The most popular boy in China:

 Holding hands...

Angel Child

Late dinner in Guangzhou.  Instant noodles again in hotel: