Green-Land to China: Guangzhou

Last night I walked room to room and said good-bye to four families, all of whom were leaving to return home early today. Four families whom, over the last week, I have gotten to know in a very special way. Four groups of people with whom I now share a very special bond. It was odd to say good-by to them. On the one hand, although we have been over here a long time, and are ready to go home, it seems like we all just met a day or two ago. There is so much about the normal lives of these people that I don’t know. On the other hand, I have spend a very concentrated amount of time with them all, and feel like I know some parts of their hearts very well. With the exception of the three families from my own December travel group with whom I keep in fairly frequent touch, I almost think I bonded more with these guys because I didn’t have the “distraction” of my own child this time around. No, I’m not saying that Asher was an inconvenient distraction who kept me from socializing on my trip; just pointing out that once again, my focus has been different with this trip. This time, I was here solely to help, and I wore many hats. I was, at times, the “seasoned pro” (still laugh to myself that one whole adoption earned me that label) who passed on advice, the photographer who was given the privilege of capturing not only the fun and the silly and the interesting, but also the intimate moments of families as they grew and bonded. I was the “pharmaceutical representative” who handed out meds and checked in on people who weren’t feeling well. I was the occasional babysitter to older kids, the food delivery person once or twice, the “cruise director” who explained things and gave directions. I was the ridiculous tourist who laughed about all the cultural differences… I saw more and absorbed more about the culture around me this time, I think, then last. I looked past the big landmarks and monuments in a way… saw past the obvious, and looked for the people. It has been a truly irreplaceable experience, and I’m not telling you all these things that I did to shiny-up my halo, but rather to give a glimpse into the time I’ve had. It has been an honor to walk alongside these families, to visit these places, and to watch this all unfold. I keep saying it, but I will say it again: I’m just thankful to be here.

Now… I suppose I should backtrack and tell you about Guangzhou, since I have pretty much skipped that whole chunk of the trip. Last Friday afternoon (Aug 19), we flew from Zhengzhou to Guangzhou. You were already filled in on all the ridiculous in-flight details there. Saturday morning, we started off by taking the kids to Shamian Island for their Physical Examinations and visa photos. I knew that this would take some time because the medical office is small and would be crammed full of families with bored & cranky new babies. So, I offered to take Dara and Delana, the two older daughters of one of the families in our group, out and about around the island with me. They are adorably sweet girls!

We had fun playing around with all the bronze statues on the island, looking in the shops, and drinking Starbucks!!!! (You will all be shocked to know that this was the first coffee I have had since leaving Florida. Pick you jaws up off the floor now.)

After all the kiddos were done getting poked and prodded by doctors in lab coats and shorts, having their hearing tested with small casio keyboards, and getting the official check of “you’ve jumped through this hoop, and may now get a visa for your child to enter the U.S.,” I put on my cruise director hat (not an actual hat) and led some of the families to a few of the shops on the island.

Deb and I got some of our shopping done for people back home before eating lunch at good old Lucy’s with Dave, Gail, and their new little cutie, Eli.

Eli, fascinated by the music

Next, we wandered the park behind Lucy’s, watched a group of older people put on a sans-creepy-makeup Peking opera show under a bridge, and stared at the Pearl River for a while before wandering over to the White Swan to investigate for ourselves what this whole “closed for renovations” business is.

Shamian Park

The Pearl River

The White Swan

We didn’t see any evidence that it was closed in any way, and made ourselves at home, taking pictures on the red couches, and watching the fish in the lobby. We took a taxi back to our hotel with little time to spare before we met up with the whole group for dinner at the Macau Street Restaurant, which specializes in Portuguese and Cantonese food.

It was delicious! Lots of options presented on a big tabletop lazy susan… just like every meal should be! We left, stuffed and smiling, and crashed in our comfy beds.

Sunday, we decided to forego the optional group tour to the Buddhist temple and folk art museum (I saw it all in December. You can read about it here), in favor of more shopping on the island, but it was really hot. We quickly decided that we lacked the will or desire to persist in haggling with the shopkeepers, and Jack wasn’t particularly thrilled to be there either. So, we came back sooner than expected and caught up on blogging and naps.

Monday morning, I enjoyed a very lazy morning of continued blogging with a lovely coffee while Deb and Jack went back to the clinic to have his TB test inspected.

All was well, and as they returned, we loaded a bus with a few other families and went to the Pearl Market. Having been there before, I knew the complete feeling of overwhelmed-ness that this place fosters.

It’s huge, and insane, and I have no clue how to figure out which places are legit and which pearls are real or not and so on, but as neither of us had any actual pearl-purchasing needs, we wandered for a while, allowing ourselves to be stared and pointed at by passers-by for as long as we could stomach before venturing out into the marketplace nearby. We wandered there for a while as well, laughing at the names of signs, and trying to figure out how to get into one of the many KFCs for food before giving up completely and resolving to eat back at the hotel, which was only granted to us after fighting for a taxi for longer than anticipated, due to the loosely interpreted definition of “the queue forms here”. We joined two other families for dinner at Macau Street again that night, because it was just that yummy!

Tuesday, which technically was only yesterday, we joined in the group pictures in the morning before heading over to the island once more to finish up shopping.

We actually managed to check everything off our lists, and resolved to avoid our loosely planned trip to point and laugh at things in the local Carrefour (French Walmart) because of the temptation to buy more “treasures” and have to pack them. We ate one more dinner at Lucy’s, and then bid adieu to Shamian Island and all its charm.

That brings us to today, which is Wednesday. Deb and Jack had to get up early and be out the door before 8 to go swear at (I mean before) people at the U.S. Consulate so that Jack can come into the country. I stayed behind at the hotel and decided that sitting alone for breakfast here is no fun at all. Since then, I haven’t left the room all day. They returned shortly before 10, and joined me in my sitting around. We ordered pizza for lunch, which we sat around and ate. I actually managed to coerce Jack to say “Hi, Mama, I want pizza, please. Thank you.” and caught it on camera! After pizza, we all napped, which never ends well for me (hate that groggy post-nap feeling), at which point I began blogging and now here we are. You are all caught up!

Tomorrow afternoon, we check out of the hotel and head to the train station. We take a train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, where we will stay for nearly 12 whole hours (in a hotel) before boarding a plane to Tokyo, then Salt Lake City. We part ways in Utah (boo for parting ways!) and Deb heads back to Maryland with what will likely be a slightly-befuddled-at-where-Katie-is-going Jack, and I go back to O-town. We will then begin counting the days until the Shipleys come to visit us (Mickey Mouse and Shamu) in November. I am very, very ready to be home, but I will definitely miss all of this! I have the “Saying Good-bye” song from “The Muppets Take Manhattan” playing sentimentally over and over in my head… sentimentally, that is, at least until the part where Miss Piggy yells “Good byyyyeeee, Kermieeeee!” That ruins the moment for me…

Here are a some more pictures, mostly of fun and pretty things from Shamian Island.

Jack protesting shopping by trying repeatedly to throw poor Stanley on the ground.