Loving Guangzhou

We've only been in Guangzhou for a little over a day, but we are already loving it. There is so much to see and do and it's just easier to navigate as a foreigner. Last night we had a great Chinese dinner at a restaurant by the hotel, then some souvenir shopping (we're trying to remember everyone!) and then a boat tour on the Pearl River by night. We've decided that Guangzhou is a mix between Hong Kong (all the lights and signs), Las Vegas (lots of fake structures from other places), Savannah (moss draped trees and old colonial buildings), and Amsterdam (Canals, water and bikes everywhere). It's unique. Many of the skyscrapers put on elaborate light shows with music (another Las Vegas quality) at night. There is a big amusement park across the river from the hotel which plays Chinese opera music very loudly at dusk. We're on the opposite side of the building on the other side of the river and we can hear it in our room with the window closed. It took us until last night to figure out where it was coming from.

Grace continues to do well. I think she's getting a little overstimulated with all the travel and new experiences and has broken down a little more often. It probably also has to do with becoming more comfortable with us and not being afraid to let it all hang out. We did keep her up a little later for the boat tour last night and had to be up early for her physical this morning. We went at 8:00 and Jack had us in and out in 20 minutes. Later Dave told me that he thinks we cut in front of some other families who were waiting, but I didn't even notice. I just went where Jack told me and before I knew it we were done. We may be getting a few dirty looks in the hotel now. The check-up was very cursory: check the heart beat, eyes, ears, weight and height (21.8 lbs and 29 in) and we were out of there.

After the check-up we met Laura for breakfast and stayed there until 10:00. Grace polished off everything we put in front of her and then was ready for a bath. So Dave took her upstairs and Laura and I went out to do some shopping. He thought it would be good to spend some time alone with her.

Laura and I walked through some local markets on the "other side of the bridge". That's what they call anything outside of a three block radius from the White Swan. There were blocks and blocks of food vendors hawking blocks and blocks of foodstuffs, most of which Laura and I could not even identify. Other than many forms of mushrooms and some ginger root, it was all food that we will probably never cook with. Some of the buildings were like malls: three stories high with escalators to each floor and far and wide only bushels, baskets and crates of things to cook with that we had never seen before. The whole market covered about a five square block area including small back alleyways with one small stall after another. After a while we came to the greens section. Nothing but cabbage, kale and spinach-like things as far as the eye could see. Then came seafood - all of it alive. Buckets and barrels teeming with fish, turtles, eels, crabs, waterbeetles, frogs and other unidentifiables. Somewhere along the line it switched to pets, we think, but that line was kind of blurry. By the end there were crates of puppies and kittens, gerbils, chipmunks and tropical fish.

I tried to take pictures but it was the kind of place that is hard to capture on film. The sheer scale can only be appreciated in person. It's also hard to photograph people who are staring at you. You keep thinking, I'll snap a quick picture when they're not looking, but they're always looking! And it seems kind of rude to aim a camera back at someone who is staring right at you. If only we could read minds, or understand Cantonese, one of the two, I'm sure it would be very interesting. After a few blocks the market ended and was replaced with a mile-long (at least) modern shopping street with stores selling everything you could get at a western mall: clothes, shoes, bags, books, kitchenwares, appliances, electronics, jewelry and just about anything else. We got some long-sleeved pajamas for Grace at the department store since the air-conditioning at the hotel can be a little overwhelming. Everybody was very friendly and eager to help us. They always call the young workers over to help us since they inevitably speak the best English. Two set of pajamas cost $5.00 total. We also got 10 sets of nice, wooden chopsticks with porcelain rests for about the same price. On the way back to the hotel I got some souvenirs for the girls (no telling until we get home!)

When I got back to the hotel, Grace was sleeping. Dave said she did really well for the most part but got pretty crabby by the end and he had to just put her down. Three cheers for Daddy! It was the first time I'd left her for that long and she did really well with him. So now we only have one more appointment at the Consulate tomorrow afternoon and all of the adoption work is done. We'll get her visa to enter the US then and she'll become an American citizen the minute we touch down in Chicago. Hope all is going well at home. Has the heat wave broken? It's still sweltering here. Till tomorrow!

All our love