Waiting For Junie - Our Trip To China

Back To Posting

2007-11-06T07:29:00.000-05:00

I'm finally organized and back to posting. Take a look at our Home Page link to follow our family.

To Sleep Or Not To Sleep

2007-09-29T18:30:00.000-04:00

The plane trip home went pretty quickly. None of us except for Junie slept. It's amazing that you can go 26 hours without sleep and still be able to drive home from the airport.

We spent the next four hours unpacking, checking messages, checking mail, and making phone calls. Even after we went to bed, John and I didn't get much sleep because June was up on and off throughout the night. Friday morning we were tired, but got going anyway. We didn't accomplish much. June had a doctor's appointment then we went to Gabby's old school to pick up the guinea pigs who were staying there while we were in China. Everyone wanted to see June so we said quick hellos to most then went to see Gabby's fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Seymour. We stayed awhile and talked to the class about China and June's adoption.

We were home by 4:00pm and all asleep in the livingroom by 5:00pm. Gabby fell asleep in my chair. John and June slept in John's chair. They both slept until 10:00pm in the livingroom and then went to bed. I slept in the livingroom until around 8:30pm and then got up to take care of June. After John and Gabby went to bed, I couldn't sleep so I stayed up and puttered around the house. Gabby woke up about this morning around 2:00am and she helped me clean. By 3:00am John and June were up, but stayed in the bedroom until 5:00am. Isn't jet lag a wonderful thing.

So, this morning we decided that we would stay awake until 7:00 tonight. The only way to do that is to keep moving. We started off good. We did some visiting, some shopping, did lunch. John didn't feel good, so we dropped him off at home, then Gabby, Junie, and I continued on our quest to get June some cool weather clothes and get some real food in the house. Gabby was having trouble keeping her eyes open in the car, so we stopped to get some ice cream. I don't know if it was the sugar or the fact that the ice cream was cold, but we both had a little more energy. It didn't last long. By the time we made our final stop at the grocery store, we were all a little cranky and ready to go home.

Gabby was the first to go. She fell asleep despite June's crying. She was about 20 minutes shy of the 7:00pm goal. June fell asleep about 10 minutes later. John napped while the rest of us were shopping, so he will probably outlast me. I'll be asleep as soon as I post this, brush my teeth, then put my head on the pillow. Sweet dreams everyone.

We're Coming Home

2007-09-26T10:06:00.000-04:00

We're all packed and ready to go. We have a 4:30am wakeup call so that we can leave the hotel by 5:30. Amazingly, we were able to fit everything we brought plus everything we bought into the suitcases we already had.

Our plane leaves Guangzhou at 8:15 am. We arrive at the Elmira airport Thursday evening around 6:00. It will be so good to be back on American soil.

The Gardens

2007-09-26T08:40:00.000-04:00

The hotel had a beautiful outdoor area with a stone path and ponds full of koi fish. We did not discover how to access the garden area until today.

Points Of Interest

2007-09-26T08:14:00.000-04:00

We ate at Madison's Steakhouse four times during our stay. The food was pretty good although the hamburgers still tasted like meatloaf. Most of the time Junie was in a kiddie chair. This once, we sat her next to John in the booth. She looks so tiny.

We had the same waitress every visit. The last time we went, June was fussy so our waitress and another waitress took June and walked around with her.

This guy was delivering soda. He wasn't very loaded down this day, but we've seen bikes with more drinks stacked up.

This was another one of the delivery bikes. These bikes were set up nicely for delivering stuff. We've seen them loaded down with water bottles too. Today, while we were in a taxi we saw a regular bicycle with three square feet of cardboard attached to his seat with rope. The guy couldn't ride the bike with all of the cardboard on the seat, so he was walking the bike.

This was one of the nice squatty potties. This one was clean and had toilet paper. We were lucky that there were also regular toilets at the local Ikea store.

Ni Hao. Wo jiao Kim.

2007-09-25T02:29:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of words in English then Chinese (spelled phonetically):

Hello - Nee How
Goodbye - Zie Jen
Good Morning - Zow
Please - Cheeng
Thank You - Shay Shay
You're Welcome - Buke A Chee
Not Good - Boo How
So So - Mama Who Who
Excuse Me - Dwee Boo Chee

Hot Potato

2007-09-24T23:23:00.000-04:00

One of my last posts was about what to expect from food while you're in Guangzhou. Even knowing all that we do, mistakes still happen.

Gabby saw a baked potato with butter and sour cream on the menu of one of the restaurants we went to. It wouldn't seem like you would have to explain exactly what you wanted since the menu was this specific.

Gabby got her potato and everything looked great. The potato was on the small side, but there was butter and sour cream in little dishes on the plate. Gabby was so excited to get something that she would like. So, she doctored up her potato with lots of butter and sour cream. It was looking good. Then she took a bite. It wasn't quite right. It tasted kind of sweet.

John said, "Do you think that it isn't sour cream?" So, I dipped my finger in the white stuff and immediately knew that it wasn't sour cream. It was light and fluffy to the touch. I was pretty sure what it was, but I took a taste anyway. Yep, it was whipped cream. Gabby had just made up her baked potato with butter and whipped cream. It could have been worse. At least whipped cream tastes good. We're lucky that it wasn't shaving cream.

The Congee Restaurant

2007-09-24T09:59:00.001-04:00

This is the closest Congee restaurant to the hotel. It is only a 5 minute walk. With the traffic it is about a 10 minute or longer drive during rush hour.

The first time we went into the congee shop, the only menu we saw was the one above the counter. We were fortunate that they handed us an English menu. There are too many choices of Congee to try to choose without having a menu to point at.

There are many choices of food on this side of the menu,

but the choices of congee are as follows:

beef

pork

pork liver

fish

meatballs

ji di (all of the previous meats)

fish stomach & bone

lean pork & preserved egg

tin zai (fish, squid, bbq pork, dry pork skin, peanuts)

pork kidney

pork stomach

frog

chicken leg meat

plain

We were able to get a close-up of another part of the menu that speaks for itself. I thought that the pig trotters and local frog were especially interesting. We didn't order either.

Edicate For Eating Out

2007-09-24T09:22:00.000-04:00

I know I've talked about eating out before, so there may be some repeat information here. We have only been in Guangzhou, so I don't know what other areas would be like. Here's what we've learned.

1. Ask for exactly what you want. Be specific. If you want you pizza with tomato sauce and cheese, say exactly that.

2. Expect to get something different from what you asked for. If it isn't what you want, either eat what you get or order something else. Usually if the waiter doesn't get it right the first time, he won't get it right the second time. I asked if we could order and the waiter thought we wanted water. Understandable. Order and water does sound similar. We drank the water.

3. Ask for a picture menu or English menu. This doesn't mean that you will get what you want, but you'll get closer. Both pictures and words can be deceiving. Pictures don't tell you what kind of meat. Words are just translations, so they may not match what we think we're getting. That's how we got chocolate ice cream once. The menu said chocolate milk shake.

4. You have to flag someone down if you want service. The waiter will seat you and offer you menus, but will not take your order unless you flag him down. After you receive your food, your waiter will not come back to your table to check on you or bring you the bill until you flag him down. Don't worry, there will always be a waiter or waitress watching you while you eat so they can be ready when you raise your hand.

5. Pointing and hand signals are very effective. We have pointed to food on the table next to us. Also, John has pretended to sign his hand to signal for the bill. Smiles go a long way.

6. Never take big bites. This is John's rule. So far, we haven't had any problems with bones in the food that shouldn't be there or food not being anything like you expected. John has experienced this in other parts of Asia and I think it is still good advice. I am allergic to all fish, so I'm particularly careful. John is generally my food taster.

7. If you are very fussy, fast food restaurants can be your friend. There are tons of McDonalds and KFCs in Guangzhou. The food is pretty much like it is at home with a few Chinese additions. At most non-chain restaurants a hamburger will taste like meatloaf. It's not bad, but not what you're expecting. Fortunately, McDonalds actually has regular hamburgers. They taste a little bit different, but are close enough.

8. Drinks are rarely very cold. Unless you specifically ask for ice, you won't get it. Gabby and I really like our drinks cold. Asking for ice water gets you water without ice. So now we ask for a glass of water and a glass of ice. This usually works.

9. Go with the flow. You're in Kansas anymore. Don't expect things to be like they are at home and you'll be perfectly happy.

Nature At Its Best

2007-09-24T02:34:00.000-04:00

Today we encountered all kinds of nature. Our first stop was the zoo.

Guangzhou zoo is supposed to be the largest zoo in China. We saw a lot of animals that we've seen before, but a couple of new ones too.

This orangatan was the largest one I've ever seen. He was at least 500 lbs.

June was impressed too.

This Asian black bear was looking for someone to throw him food.

This is the closest I've been to a Bengal tiger.

We've seen the hippos before, but Gabby didn't remember, so we had to get a picture.

This miniature deer couldn't have weighed more than 5 lbs. We don't have a picture, but one looked like a chihuahua to Gabby. She was right.

This was the highlight of our trip to the zoo. Gabby and I and four other people from our group fed the monkies. They were incredibly gentle as they grabbed the food from your hand.

One of the zoo keepers motioned for Gabby to hold the food up high.

I took a turn at it too. It was amazing at how gently they landed. Both Gabby and I agree that their landing on our shoulders was much softer than a cat's landing.

We were also fortunate to see the giant panda, but our pictures were too blurry to post.

During our visit at the zoo, all of our families experienced a little extra nature in the form of rain. It rained cats and dogs. It felt really good until it stopped. Then the humidity kicked in. If we weren't already wet from the rain by then, we'd certainly be soaked from sweat...think more humid then Florida. We actually have a couple of Florida residents in our group who complained about the humidity if that tells you anything.

After the zoo, we went back to Shaiman Island for a little Dim Sum for lunch. It was very good and the first Chinese food that I actually have enjoyed during our stay. Many of our group who didn't go to the zoo met us on the island. We weren't the only group at the restaurant. In all there were probably 20 families with 20 babies, not all of whom were happy. It is certainly loud, but I think we're all used to it after more than 2 weeks together. In our 8 bus trips we haven't had a single trip without at least one screaming baby. After lunch we were going to stay to do some shopping, but a drenching rain curbed everyones shopping appetite.

Yesterday, I was sick with a fever and tummy trouble, so Gabby and John went to the local Mexican restaurant. Gabby really liked it, so we went back tonight. The food was good, very greasy, but flavorful. We had nachos con carne (beef) and quesadillas con pollo y queso (chicken and cheese).

It's amazing how nature pops up everywhere you look. Between getting the nachos and the quesadillas, I saw a medium sized rat scurry out of the kitchen and under one of the buffet tables. Gabby commented, "The only good places you can find to eat have rats." She's referring to a story that John told us about one of his favorite places for dumplings in Korea or Taiwan, I can't remember now, that had rat issues. Gabby also said, "That's okay, I'll still come back." That's just how it is when you can't find food that you like to eat. You take what you can get under whatever conditions.

Potato Chips Anyone

2007-09-22T05:40:00.001-04:00

You can get all kinds of snacks at the 7-Eleven. Gabby and I really enjoy the chocolate ice cream Nutty Buddy cones. There is also candy and chips. You can find chip that have just salt and we have also seen sour cream and onion flavor. Here are a couple of other flavors that I'm sure you won't find states side.

Green Cucumber and Refreshing Lime

Tomato and Spicy Seafood

Finger Licking Braised Pork, Sizzled Barbecue, and Tomato

Korean Kimchi and Black Pepper Rib Eye Steak

Ice Cream Pictures

2007-09-21T04:05:00.001-04:00

We didn't get pictures of June's first ice cream,

but we did get pictures of her second one.

Jeopardy China

2007-09-21T03:59:00.000-04:00

The answer is Chocolate Milkshake.

1. What is chocolate ice cream covered in apples and watermelon?

2. What is frothy milk with chocolate flavoring?

3. What is hot chocolate?

All of these answers are correct. We've ordered chocolate milkshakes from three different restaurants in China and each time received a different beverage. I think we'll keep trying just for fun.

The Toy Market

2007-09-21T02:15:00.000-04:00

We were going to go to see the country side today, but so many babies were sick with respiratory infections and stomach problems that we had to cancel the trip. John, Gabby, Junie, and I went to the toy market instead.

It was a short cab ride there, but we went on so many side streets that we could never find our way back. The toy market was in a large building that was like a maze. The aisles between the shops were only about three feet wide. Each shop was a small cubby filled with toys, jewelry, or other items. Many of the shops were only three to six feet wide and only six feet deep. In any aisle there could be as many as fourty shops and there were about ten aisles an each floor. We spent about three hours at the market and stopped at about fifty shops.

The prices were really good. We haggled a bit, but didn't need to. We left the building with some really neat stuff. Getting back to the hotel was challenging because getting a cab as almost impossible. It took us more than a half an hour to flag one down. We were so glad to get off our feet.

Cute Junie Pictures

2007-09-20T21:58:00.000-04:00

Gabby and June looking at videos.

Dead to the world.

Bath time.

June had a hard night.

Guangzhou Pictures

2007-09-20T21:33:00.001-04:00

Instead of cutting this tree down,

they just paved around it. Cars

drive on either side of it to park

in the parking garage.

This is the area where we would

exchange money at the hotel.

This is the check in counter.

Most of the apartment have clothing

hanging outside from the railings,

electrical wires, or rope. This was one

of the nicer apartments in the area.

This is the sign at the front of the hotel.

This is the view from our room.

Butter incident threatens US & Chinese relations

2007-09-20T21:31:00.000-04:00

John was under the weather tonight, so Gabby, Junie, and I went down to the restaurant in the hotel to eat dinner. Things went pretty well. Gabby and I were both able to find something we liked. We discovered that a milk shake was probably literally shaken milk. I ordered a chocolate one. It tasted and was the consistency of chocolate milk with a layer of foam a couple inches of thick foam on the top. It worked for me.

June slept through most of dinner. When she woke up, she grabbed for everything on the table. I let her play with one of the little individual butters. As we were leaving the restaurant, I realized that June still had the butter pat in her hand. Both Gabby and I laughed and forgot about it until we both heard a popping sound and I felt something under my foot. June had dropped the butter and I had managed to step on it. It made an amazingly loud pop and squirted out onto the marble floor in the hotel lobby.

I said, "Gabby, quick get something!" She started laughing and said, "Get what?" I said, "I don't know" and started laughing too. By that time, we had a couple of onlookers including one of the hotel staff. Not having the diaper bag with me or even a tissue in my pocket I wasn't sure what to do. So, with June strapped to my belly, I bent down to the floor and started scooping up the butter with my fingers. The more I scooped the harder both Gabby and I laughed. Within seconds, I had all of the butter off the floor and spread over all of my fingers.

On the way to the elevator, I discarded the butter container and most of the butter into the nearest trash can. Still having very buttery fingers, I pointed to my purse and told Gabby to get the key card for the elevator and room. The other people must have thought we were crazy because I was standing there with my hands in the air, far away from June's reach, and Gabby and I were both laughing as she reached between the other passengers to punch in our floor number.

We giggled all the way to the room. What a fun experience.

Negotiation

2007-09-20T19:56:00.000-04:00

Shopping is all about negotiation or bartering here. When we went to Shaiman Island on our own yesterday, various shop keepers, tried to lure us into their shops with various offers of good prices and good quality.

Round One:
One shop had hand painted pictures, and I mean literally painted with the artist's hand. He used black ink on his fingers and parts of his hand to make various drawings. I really liked them, but we decided to do other shopping and come back. The shop keeper asked my name then told me her name was Maddy. She said, "Buy now. I'll give you a good price." I said that we'd come back. She said, "For you Kim, I'll make a good price." This was step one of the price negotiation. with the shop keeper named Maddy.

We came back about an hour later and picked out three pictures that we liked. Maddy wanted to deal with me, but I pointed to John and said he's the boss, which was a first. So, John stepped up to start the negotiation. Unfortunately, Maddy was distracted because Gabby and I were looking at stamps that could be customized with the chinese charaters of our names.

Round Two:
John tried to start negotiations, but they were kind of called off because of Gabby and I looking at the stamps. Maddy got our names and Chinese zodiac signs and had everything translated and ready to go in case we decided to buy the stamps. The stamps would have our name in English and Chinese.

Round Three:
With nothing left to try to sell us, Maddy started to deal with John. She offered all three pictures to us for 200 yuan and said that was a good deal because one of the pictures was more expensive. It actually looked less intricate than the others to me. She also quoted us 680 yuan for the four stamps.

Round Four:
Gabby and I left with a lame excuse that we were going to buy ice cream and sodas at the 7-Eleven. John countered Maddy's price of 880 yuan for everything with, "Too much" So, Maddy immediately dropped the price to 800. John countered with, "Too much" Then with a calculator she proceeded to show John how much that was in US currency. It was about $120. She was trying to switch it up by quoting US money, but John was ready with, "Too much." She dropped it down first to $115 US then $110 US.

Round Five:
Maddy tried a different avenue. She said, "Oh, your daughters are so beautiful, your wife is so pretty, you are handsome." John said, "Nice try" and did the universal sign for Pinochio, pulling his fingers out from his nose and making a whoop sound. John said, "You should have left it with the kids are beautiful. You went too far with the you're handsome line." Maddy laughed. She knew she had been caught. Now we were down to $100 US.

Round Six:
It was John's turn to switch it up. Maddy asked repeatedly for John to put in a number on the calculator. John said, "No, I'll put in a number too low and you'll get mad at me. You'll hit me or something." then he grinned really big. She said, "No, no, put in a number." Again John said, "It'll be too low. You'll be mad at me." About this time, Gabby and I came out from the store with ice cream and a soda for John.

Round Seven: The Stall
John breaks off the price negotiations to sit with me and Gabby and enjoy our snack. Maddy protests, "Don't leave. Buy now." John says, "Don't worry. I can't run away. I need a break. You're too tough of a negotiator, too good a salesperson." About then, another family from our group showed up. John, Gabby and I chatted with them for a few minutes.

Round Eight:
John walks back to Maddy with his soda and says, "You're too tough. I needed a break." Maddy replied, "No you're too tough. I needed a break." John offers to buy her a soda. She laughs. We were down to $100 US. Maddy switches back to yuan. Her new price is 700 yuan. John says, "Getting better, but too much." There's lots of talking back and forth. Maddy offers 600 yuan. John says, "This is good, but it still needs to be better."

Round Nine:
Maddy switches tactics. She gets a little bit whiny like a five year old begging for a toy. She says, "Please, please buy something from me today. Business has been so slow." John says, "You are very good. The t-shirt lady cracked by now." Maddy begs more and offers John the calculator saying, "Please, how much?" She finally types in 550 and goes through a detailed calculation showing how she is giving us a good deal.

End game. John points to our friends from the group and says, "They only paid 100 yuan per stamp at the other store." Maddy says, "Mine are much better quality. Have an artist that does it with very good detail. Chinese characters are very difficult to do." John counters, "You'd think the English characters would be more difficult because you've had more practice with Chinese." At this point Maddy gives in. She and John agree on 500 yuan, about $60 US, for everything. She will have one of the pictures repainted because I didn't like the paper it was on. Maddy asks for all the money immediately, but we couldn't get the paintings and stamps until the next day.

Of course, John couldn't let her off that easily. First he talks about the stamps. He says, "I want you to make sure that the translations on the stamps are good. I don't want them to say bad American, cheap skate, or something like that. She assured John it would be a good translation and showed John the characters on her pocket translator. Then John said, "300 yuan now, 200 when we pick everything up, and you have to call me handsome again."

Shopping

2007-09-20T19:38:00.000-04:00

We did a bit of shopping yesterday. We were mostly looking for souveniers for other people, but I ended up finding a couple of t-shirts for me. We still have a bit of shopping to do, but we made a good dent in our list. Take a look at the pictures.

This is a hand painted feather.

It is customary for the shop keepers to give

you something for free because you're such

good customers. This was one of the freebees

that we were given for our "beautiful baby".

Wai gong means grandfather on the mother's side.

Ye ye (yeah yah) means grandfather on the father's side.

The symbols on this shirt mean good fortune.

These are the official olympic characters.

Internet Issues

2007-09-19T20:37:00.000-04:00

We've been fighting with the internet in our room. We couldn't get any access yesterday, but today it has been good. That's why there are so many posts today. I'll have a bunch more to post tonight (your morning) as we are going to do a little sight seeing and shopping with our group.

Mom & Dad M - No we didn't feel any affect from the typhoon. The weather here has been warm and sunny.

This Is Your Brain On Leeche

2007-09-19T19:44:00.000-04:00

Everything is a new experience for June. Today John brought a leeche nut back from the hotel buffet. June wasn't too sure what to do with it.

This is a toy

This is a leeche nut

This is June with a leeche nut

It's Not New York City

2007-09-19T19:43:00.000-04:00

I have never seen anything like the traffic here. It makes New York City look tame.

First, crosswalks mean nothing. Cars always have the right of way. If for some reason they have to stop because you are in the way, they will wait until the last minute to do so. Then, you will hear them beep repeatedly at you. So, you cross wherever and whenever you can. If you can only get half way across the road do it. You may not have another chance. One day, must be that it was during rush hour, John, Gabby and I, were able to make it to the double yellow lines in the middle of the road, but had to wait awhile while tens of cars passed in front of us and behind us until we could get the rest of the way.

Second, if you need a taxi, get what you can. Our guide, Simon, told us to use the blue and yellow taxis if we could because they were new vehicles. That was easier said than done. There are hundreds of taxis here, but most of them are occupied. Leaving from the hotel is easy because they have a steady stream of taxis, but if you are anywhere else, the first one that stops you take. It may not be the nicest one, but it'll get you there. Our second taxi had no air conditioning, no handles on the inside of the doors, and no seat belts. Also, I could see the road through the bottom of the door when it was closed. It reminded me of some of the cars we had when I was growing up.

As far as riding in taxis here, it is best not to look where you are going. Taxi drivers as well as all other drivers, don't stop until the last possible minute no matter what the obstacle. There are other cars, scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians everywhere. We were within inches of other vehicles constantly. There are no manners when driving. You cut in wherever you can. No apologies are necessary. It's the norm here. No one seems to get upset.

There's Safety In Numbers

2007-09-19T19:42:00.001-04:00

We have a safe in our room. This is great because most everything has to be paid in cash, but you don't want to carry all your cash with you all the time. We also kept our adoption documents and passports in it. It is programable with any four digit code that you want. John and I decided to use our anniversary for the number. We never said the number out loud, we just said let's use our anniversary. John programmed it in.

I didn't use the safe the first couple of days, but one day John is busy, so I try to open it. I put in our anniversary date, but the digital readout says, "ERROR". I try again. Again I get, "ERROR". I read the instructions then call to John whose in the other room. He says, "It's not that hard." So, I try again and get an error message. He says, "I'll come and help you in a minute."

He comes and watches me put the code in. All of a sudden he backs away, smiles, and says, "Oh". I said, "What? You didn't put in our anniversary?" He says, "No" and smiles. He ended up using the wrong month. Just the day before he had to tell the government officials what our date of marriage was and he got it right. What's funny is the number he used is Joe and Gail's, John's brother and sister-in-law's, anniversary.

Hey June

2007-09-19T19:41:00.001-04:00

June now has an offical song, "Hey June" It's to the tune, "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. John just started singing it to her one day and it's stuck. Even Gabby hums it to her. I don't know how John's head works, but it is cool that he's always coming up with this stuff.

Firsts

2007-09-18T22:12:00.001-04:00

Gabby and June have experienced a couple of firsts. Today Gabby did her first diaper change. No poop, just number one, but it was still impressive. She put it on the right was the first time.

June had her first ice cream yesterday. Up until then, she would not eat anything other than congee or her bottle. She saw me eating it and opened her mouth, so I let her have a taste and she loved it.

For the last couple of days, June has been doing high five with us. It only took one day for her to learn it. At first she would only put her hand up, now she is trying to slap our hands. She's definitely smart.

Pancakes, Hot Fudge Sundaes, and Toothpaste

2007-09-18T21:59:00.000-04:00

We're finally getting the food thing down. We know exactly where to get what. We've eaten at McDonalds a couple of times. We've found that it's the only place that you can get real pancakes and real hamburgers. It's also the only place around here that you can get real ice cream for under $4 per scoop. Gabby had a strawberry sundae and I had a hot fudge sundae. There is also a choice of a green gelatin like topping. We haven't figured out what it is yet.

There are some alternative choices also. I'm not sure if this golden arches had apple pie, but they did have green bean pie, yum. Also, the happy meal toys are a little different. Gabby's toy was bamboo salt toothpaste.

Thank For All The Comments

2007-09-17T12:13:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments. It means so much to hear from you all, especially as we, mostly me and Gabby, are a bit homesick already. We cannot see our blog site from the hotel room, but it must be working because your wonderful comments are forwarded to our email account. Since we cannot respond directly to the comments on the blog, we wanted everyone to know that they are greatly appreciated and to keep them coming.

Stares & Photos

2007-09-17T11:57:00.000-04:00

When we first arrived, Gabby, John and I got a few strange looks from people. Now that we have June, we're getting more than stares. At one of the grocery stores, a young girl went to get her coworkers and pointed at us. We just waved and smiled. They smiled back. We've found that especially elderly women will smile and sometimes wave. Many of them will also come up and touch Junie's face and head gently while talking to her in chinese. Then they will smile at us. We always smile and wave back.

A couple of days ago when we were at the mountain, a young woman, her sister and a friend came up and asked us if they could get their picture with us. We said sure. A couple of other people joined us, then the young woman put her arm around me as another person took the picture. They all seemed so excited to have us there and to get a picture with us. It was fun for us too.

What Is Congee?

2007-09-17T11:33:00.000-04:00

Before we met Junie, our guide informed us that most of the babies would be on a diet of very thick formula mixed with rice cereal a couple of times a day and congee once or twice a day. Okay, I've heard of formula and rice cereal. I wasn't sure how to mix it, but I figured that John or I could figure it out. It had to be mixed to a milkshake consistency. Weird, but doable. But, congee? What was that?

Congee is basically a salty rice soup. You can get it with different kinds of meat, eggs, or veggies mixed in. It tastes pretty good to adults and the babies love it. If you get the meat congee, the meat is too large for the babies to eat, so you have to scoop it out. With the egg and veggie congee, there are small pieces of egg yolk that can be broken apart so that the babies can eat it. Our guide told us to get pork or beef congee, but June's orphanage reported feeding her egg congee. We tried them all, but decided to get the egg as we figured that June would get more protien that way.

We've been able to get take out congee every day from a local rice and noodle restaurant for only 4 yuan (50 cents). The first time we went to the restaurant to get congee, it must have been rush hour. Every table was full and there was a long line at the order counter. We didn't realize that no one spoke english until it was our turn to order. We knew to order congee, but didn't know that there were more than ten choices of what kind. Fortunately, one of the other waitresses brought over a menu that had both chinese and english on it and we were able to order. Now that we've been over there every day, it is much easier.

A Starbucks On Every Corner

2007-09-17T11:09:00.000-04:00

There may be a Starbucks on every corner in NYC, but there's a 7-Eleven on every corner here. Don't get me wrong, Starbucks is definitely here, but I've only seen two immediately around our hotel. I've seen at least five 7-Elevens and boy are they tiny. They are each in a small rectangular space that can only fit maybe ten people in at a time. Oh, and those ten people would all have to be touching each other to fit.

Food

2007-09-17T10:13:00.000-04:00

There are so many restaurants here. There is one on every corner, around the corner, and on the first, second, and third floors of all the corners. There is Chinese food, Italian food, Thai food, Mexican food, and fast food. So far we've seen McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Starbucks, and Subway and have eaten at them all. The thing to remember is that nothing is as it seems. When ordering, be very specific otherwise you may not get what you want.

We have been pretty lucky as we knew going into the restaurants to be specific. Most restaurants have special menus with pictures and english wording. Even with all of this, we've had some surprises, most of them because we weren't specific enough.

Subway

We ate at Subway two days in a row. The first day, I ordered a hot meatball sandwich. Gabby and John got turkey sandwiches with veggies, dressing, salt and pepper. My meatballs were actually some kind of dry sausage and were the side of very large marbles. They weren't very visually appealing or tasty. John's sandwich ended up being good, but when they were preparing Gabby's sandwich, they didn't have a small pepper shaker, so they used the jumbo sized one that you would usually use for refilling a pepper shaker. It dumped out on her sandwich in a big black lump. We didn't know the extent of how much pepper was on it until she tried to eat the sandwich. Whoa!

We went back the next day with confidence that we knew what to say. The Subway staff recognized us at once and waived and smiled. We were just there for Gabby this time. This time we saw the same large pepper shaker. So, we said and motioned for a very small amount of pepper, but didn't comment on how much salt. The staff carefully added the pepper, but shook the salt shaker repeatedly and quickly over Gabby's sandwich. It didn't look like much salt, but salt isn't that visible. When Gabby bit into the sandwich it seemed okay until she got to the salty part. She only ate half of the sandwich, but couldn't go any further. She said it was the first time she had ever tasted salty lettuce. We'll probably go back again, but ask for a little salt and a little pepper next time.

Pizza Hut

I have made out the best at Pizza Hut. The pizza is pretty much like at home except for the raisins. All of the advertisements for Pizza Hut show raisins on the pizza and one of the other families that we traveled with ordered some kind of Supreme pizza that came with raisins. We didn't do that. We pointed at pictures and explained what we wanted two or three times until we thought that the waitress understood. So far, so good, we have gotten what we've ordered.

Kentucky Fried Chicken

We just ate at KFC tonight. We ordered the special which was a large bucket of chicken (five pieces) five extra crispy, spicy chicken wings and a liter of Pepsi. What was odd about the order was that the side dishes that came with the special were very small. They gave you two bread sticks and a little ear of corn. We didn't eat the bread sticks, but Gabby and I shared the little ear of corn. We also ordered a side of mashed potatoes thinking it would be similar to the US. The potatoes tasted the same, but the serving was a little smaller. It was about two tablespoons worth. The dish was so tiny that until I took off the lid I thought it was a sauce of some kind. Overall the meal was very good. The chicken is just like home.

McDonalds

The only thing we've purchased at McDonalds is the fries and a chocolate milkshake. Those were both good. We may try to stop by there tomorrow morning to see what they have for breakfast. Gabby is dying for pancakes. The ones at the hotel taste like eggs mixed with a little bit of flour. On top of that, the syrup says it's maple syrup, but tastes like a cross between honey and syrup. Who knows, maybe McDonalds will have the real thing.

Our Hotel

We have been eating at the hotel restaurant on the 30th floor each morning. They have a wonderful breakfast buffet. The fruit is so ripe and sweet. I cannot believe how good the bananas are. Even Gabby, who isn't a fan, liked them.

One evening we went to the downstairs restaurant for dessert. All I can say is, it was not quite what we expected. Gabby ordered a black forest cake. It wasn't too bad, but neither she nor I will get it again. The cake part isn't like cake. It is kind of like a compressed powder with a lot less sugar than we're used to. Many cake products are like that here. I ordered and apple tart with ice cream. The apple tart tasted like the apples were marinated in some kind of alcohol. I ate about half of the tart and all of the ice cream. I asked John to take a bite so that I didn't leave so much behind. Even he didn't like it. Oh well, I know where to get Snickers bars if I need a sugar fix.

Communication & Miscommunication

2007-09-17T09:13:00.000-04:00

It is incredible how many people speak english here in Guangzhou. Most people under the age of 30 will understand a bit of what you say if you talk slowly, which isn't my strong suit.

We found the equivalent of a Walmart here. It is called the Trust Market. When we first walked in it looked like a very small grocery store. What we didn't realize is that the store was narrow, but kept going and going. The further back we went, the wider the store got and the more merchandise it had.

We were looking for a stroller and found six nice ones for between 150 and 200 yuan. That's less than $28 US. We were looking for a very compact stroller, like an umbrella one, so that we could bring it on the plane home. Most of them were a little bigger, but we saw this really cute green umbrella stroller with Piglet on it way up high on a shelf in another aisle. Gabby said, "Let's get that one!", so I went over to the aisle to get it down and see if it would work.

As I pulled down the Piglet stroller, some of the surrounding small decorations and small cans of formula fell off the shelf. I tried to grab them and put them back up but the person waiting on us waved me away. The stroller did not have a price, so I asked how much and pointed to my hand showing different amounts of fingers.

The woman helping us did not show us how much, she just kept pointing at the formula that was on the shelves below where the Piglet stroller used to be before I pulled it down. She was also pointing to the stroller at the same time. It only took me about five times of the woman pointing to the formula, then the stroller to realize that you had to purchase the formula to get the stroller. Then I felt like, "Duh" I asked how many and showed two, three, then four fingers. She showed five. That would be too many for us. As I was the only tall person there, I helped the woman put the stroller back up on the high shelf as well as the decorations while repeating duibuqui (dwee boo chee) over and over. Duibuqui means sorry. The woman motioned that it was okay. We ended up purchasing one of the other strollers.

Shaiman Island

2007-09-17T08:54:00.000-04:00

After the medical exam we had an hour and a half to shop on Shaiman Island. The first stop we made was at the grocery store. The formula that June is used to isn't available near our hotel, but is available on Shaiman Island, so we bought a bunch. We also found the equivalent of a Nutty Buddy ice cream cone there. Gabby and I were in heaven. We sat outside and chowed them down.

We also did some clothes shopping for June while we were there. We were able to get dresses and two piece outfits for between 38 yuan ($5) and 75 yuan ($10). We probably purchased around 15 outfits.

What is amazing at all of the shops everywhere here is the service. We didn't have to pick out anything. The shop keepers just kept bringing us outfit after outfit until we said we were done. They did it with a sense of urgency like if they weren't quick enough, you'd leave. If you asked for something like shoes, the shop keeper would rush over to the shoe area and pull out pair after pair. It is also like this by the hotel. I commented to John that when the Chinese travel to the US, we must seem rude to them.

Passport Pictures and Medical Exams

2007-09-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

We went to Shaiman Island today to get June's passport pictures taken and to have her medical exam done. The passport picture only took ten seconds. We spent about a half an hour waiting in line for the medical exams. There were other adoption groups there ahead of us and quite a few crying babies. Looking around at our group, we all looked pretty worn out.

Once we went in for the exams, there were three different areas that we had to visit. All of our group went in at once and lined up in the different areas, then moved on when we were done. The first area we went to was for weighing and measuring our daughters. Two nurses worked together to get our babies on the scales, take their temperatures, and measure their length. June came in at a healthy 30 inches long and 18 pounds.

In the second area a nurse made sure that June could hear by squeaking a little plastic frog first on her left side and then on her right. Junie quickly turned to grab the frog which got a big smile from the nurse. The nurse also looked in June's throat and ears. The only comment she made was, "Ear wax."

The third and last area that we visited was to see the doctor. She asked us a couple of questions, measured June's head, poked June's belly, then signed off on the paperwork saying that June is healthy. I don't think we were in there more than five minutes.

During this entire process, we didn't hear even a peep out of Junie. Some of the other babies were quiet, others were screaming. So far, unless June is tired, she doesn't cry.

Baiyun Mountain

2007-09-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we went to Baiyun Mountain. It is a beautiful park with gardens, sculptures, and statues. We rode the cable cars to the top as walking to the top of the mountain would have been too much with the babies.

At the top, there was a bird show with a variety of parrots. The highlight of the show is when two of the parrots flew into the audience to collect money/tips. John held up a 1 yuan bill. One of the parrots did land on his hand, but looked at the bill and flew away without it. Thinking that maybe the bird wanted something larger, John held up a 10 yuan bill. This time when the parrot landed on John's hand, the bird immediately took the money. With the current exchange rate 10 yuan is only worth about $1.33 US, so maybe the bird wasn't impressed with the 1 yuan bill.

Lazy Day

2007-09-15T20:13:00.000-04:00

We had a totally lazy day yesterday. June and I slept in until 9am. We went for some breakfast then hung out in the room most of the day. It felt good not to be on the go in the extreme humidity and air polution.

Gabby and John went to an electronics market. They had a good time.

Shopping and Swimming

2007-09-14T07:41:00.000-04:00

After getting all of the official business out of the way, we spent a little time shopping. We were given the right formula and cereal by our travel guide. John had a fool proof way to make sure that we got the right stuff at the store. Just take a picture and take the camera with you. It would have worked like a charm except the local store doesn't carry the formula. We had to buy another one and are slowly adding it to June's current formula to switch her over.

When I was a kid, my mother used to get tired of everyone, especially my dad, eating goodies that she had specially purchased for herself. So she started labeling her things with a marker, "Mine". My mother's name is Darla. A couple of years ago, when John was in Japan, he found this chocolate bar called Dars. So, for fun he started bringing my mother these candy bars. Well, at our trip to the grocery store here we found a candy bar just for me.
The night we got Junie, John made a rush trip to the grocery store to pick up last minute things that we needed. I had mentioned that it would be easier to carry June with a carrier and he found this one. It is very comfortable. We had thought of getting a stroller and still might, but with stairs everywhere, sometimes using a stroller is difficult. Also, the guide recommended that we not use a stroller for at least three to four days so that the babies could get as much holding time, to bond, as possible.
One of the other things that we purchased today was a swimsuit for Junie. This hotel has the most wonderful pool area.

It's Official

2007-09-14T05:35:00.000-04:00

Today we went to do the final adoption paperwork for China. We answered a couple of questions, signed a couple of papers, gave the officials gifts and they said, "Congratulations, she's yours forever." Now we have to apply for a passport for Junie and do the US paperwork at the Consulate.

On our way to the government offices, our guide gave us a quick Chinese lesson on how to say hello, thank you and a couple of other words. We already knew a bit from John, but it is good to get lessons from someone who speaks Chinese. They guide also gave us a piece of paper that has a couple of phrases in English and Chinese that explain to people that our baby is adopted.

She's The Cutest, Smartest Baby

2007-09-13T06:07:00.000-04:00

Gabby has quickly discovered some of June's hidden talents. We discovered that June learned to kiss from Miss Piggie. Every kiss sounds like "Mwah" and June really likes to kiss. She and Gabby have been practicing for at least a half an hour. June also knows what to do with a comb. Gabby gave her a comb to play with and June tried to comb her own hair. According to Gabby, she's not only the cutest baby, but also the smartest.

She absolutely loves the mirror in our room. She waves to herself and kisses herself.

Back At The Hotel

2007-09-13T05:58:00.000-04:00

The first thing that we did when we arrived at the hotel is change June's diaper. She was a little stinky, but not outwardly wet. We had heard from the person who did our homestudy that it might not be polite to change the babies when the nannies are still there. I couldn't remember if this meant the diaper or just the clothes, so we didn't take a chance of offending anyone. Some of the other families did change their babies, but John and I waited to be safe.

Our guide told us that we should make sure that the babies looked healthy when we gave them a bath, so Gabby and I gave June a bath while John got the paperwork around that needed to be done tonight. With the exception of a few bug bites she looked good. Her head is slightly misshapen, but I've heard that it is quite common with orphanage babies.

The Nannies Weigh In

2007-09-13T05:41:00.000-04:00

We were lucky that June was the only baby in our group from the Zhanjiang orphanage. It meant that we had her nanny and orphanage director all to ourselves during the time to ask questions. We found out that June was not a big napper, but sleeps good at night. She did not sleep during the entire five and a half hour ride from the orphanage to Guangzhou, but she did finally konk out just before we left the offices to head back to the hotel. She only slept during the half hour ride and then promtly woke up when we got off the bus.

The nannies told us that June is almost always a happy, easy going baby. She doesn't cry often and is easily soothed. We were also told by the nannies that June had been quite naughty while all the babies were waiting for us. Apparently, she was taking away the toys from the other babies and making them cry. The nannies thought that it was very important for us to know this. Not only did they tell us, but they told our guide too. Go figure that we would have a take charge kind of kid.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

2007-09-13T04:42:00.000-04:00

This is the first time we saw Junie.

She didn't cry at all but didn't make a lot of eye contact.

John and I both held her a bit before we left the government offices.

Finally a smile.

Gabby took the first chance that she could to hold June. Gabby thinks that June is the prettiest baby from the group.

Today We Get Junie

2007-09-12T21:29:00.000-04:00

We have a ten o'clock meeting with Simon this morning to explain what is going to happen today. Gabby is so excited that she can't wait. One of the other families said that we are supposed to get the babies at 2:30pm. I think we are all going to travel over to the offices together on a bus. I don't know how far we will have to travel, but not as far as the babies. They are coming from three to five hours away.

Thank God For Ambien

2007-09-12T21:22:00.001-04:00

I probably haven't mentioned it yet, but we are staying at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou. It is very, very nice, but the beds are hard as a rock. According to John, that's very common in Asia.

Knowing that we were going to get Junie today and having jet lag, I figured that I would have difficulty sleeping. So, I took some Ambien with me on the trip. All I can say is it really works. One minute I was awake, the next I was asleep. There was no dozing off, just immediately going to sleep. It was wonderful. I woke up totally rested.

John and Gabby did pretty well too. Gabby insisted during our swim that she wasn't going to sleep, but she took some Benedryl and was out like a light. It was funny because I came out to turn of her TV, but couldn't find the remote. While I was rummaging around her bed, she sat up and said, "I'm not sleepy, my eyes are just bugging me." She didn't remember me looking for the remote at all this morning.

Bill Please

2007-09-12T21:10:00.000-04:00

John and I still have not figured out how to get your bill when you eat at the hotel. Everything is so service oriented here. There is a person to seat you, a person to put the silverwear on the table, a person to remove used dishes as soon as you finish, a person to fill your water, and another person to bring you your meal, but we never seem to be able to get anyone to bring us the bill.

Last night we sat for half and hour after we finished eating dessert, waiting to get someone's attention. We did all the tricks that are telltale signs that we were finished. We all put our forks down. When that didn't work, we pushed our plates away from us. No luck. I tried to made eye contact with a couple of people and smiled. That didn't work because they didn't look at me. Finally, I loudly said excuse me to a girl who was setting the tables and asked for our bill. I'm not sure if she understood us, but she had someone else come to see what we wanted. I'm beginning to wonder if you have to flag someone down when you are finished.

A Little Gymnastics

2007-09-12T20:58:00.000-04:00

We went for a late night swim after dinner. The pool is beautiful and at that time of night, around 9:00pm it was empty. There were a couple of people doing laps, but other than that it was just me, John, and Gabby. After our swim, we sat back and relaxed next to the pool and had an interesting sight. An Asian man who appeared to be around 50 to 60 years old put his hands down on the edge of a fountain next to the pool and did a press to a handstand. He held it for at least 30 seconds, came down, and did a few laps in the pool. I think both Gabby and I were sitting with our mouths open when he finished the handstand.

Wanting to tell him how amazing he was, both Gabby and I approched him. As we got closer, I knew that he was definitely around retirement age. So, I asked, "Do you speak English?" I think he said, "Huh." in chinese, but he smiled. So, I told Gabby to do a handstand. Seeing this, he smiled bigger, and said, "Ah." He seemed to understand what we were getting at. We waved goodbye and smiled also. Body language says a lot.

Authentic Chinese Food

2007-09-12T20:29:00.000-04:00

The families who had traveled to Beijing first to sight see joined us at 6:00pm in the lobby of the hotel. Simon met us there and explained that we would walk to an authentic Chinese restaurant. The walk was nice. We were able to talk to the other families along the way and Simon pointed out areas to shop. Along with the adults, there were three boys with us. One family brought their two teenage sons, another their five year old.

The restaurant was off the main street. If you can imagine walking down a dark ally, that's how it felt. Fortunately, there were a lot of us, so it wasn't so bad. Our group was divided up among three large round tables. We sat with two families at our table who had spent the day before touring Beijing. They were a lot of fun. They told us of their adventures at the Great Wall and how the climb seemed never ending and strait up. Apparently, us Americans are really out of shape because these families were passed by eighty year old women and people in high heels.

The food was not bad. It was served in stages. Each dish was placed on a glass lazy susan in the middle of the table. We would just rotate the lazy susan and serve ourselves. Minutes later, the servers would add another dish. Eventually the lazy susan was full of different dishes. All of the food was definitely edible, but there were some things, mostly veggies, that I couldn't identify.

There were only three drink offered to us; coke, sprite, and beer. Somehow, after all the glasses were passed out, Gabby didn't get one. John got beer, so she couldn't share with him and I had Coke, so she didn't want to share with me. We motioned to one of the servers and asked for a Sprite. She cocked her head side to side and finally said, We do not have any." At that point we pointed to a glass full of sprite and again asked for sprite. She got another server who offered beer to Gabby. We said, "No, Sprite." This server said, "No Sprite, beer?" Fortunately Simon was with us. He talked to another server. A couple of minutes later, a server appeared with a large bottle of 7-Up. It was then that we realized our communication error. They didn't have any Sprite. They had 7-Up.

We're Not Tired

2007-09-12T20:19:00.000-04:00

After our big outing, we decided to head back to the hotel to rest. John and I knew that we should get some rest. We had only had about four hours of sleep and needed to sit back. Gabby on the other hand was not tired at all. We were sure of it because she kept telling us so. Yeah right. I was the first to take the plunge into dreamlike bliss. Gabby and John decided to try to find some food, but nothing sounded good to Gabby, so they came back to the hotel after a half and hour. I was either already asleep or they were very quiet because I didn't hear them. About an hour later I woke up to find John asleep on the couch and Gabby passed out on the roll away bed. We slept a total of four hours each. I had five failed attempt to wake Gabby up. Finally when Simon, our guide, came by to let us know that it was time for dinner, Gabby did get up. The naps did wonders for all of us.

Water Please

2007-09-12T20:01:00.000-04:00

After our morning outing yesterday, John went to the hotel bank to exchange our dollars into yuan. I would recommend that if you are traveling to China that you get a little bit of yuan when you arrive at the airport. We arrived so late that the banks were closed for the day. Gabby was hungry and we didn't have any money to go over to the 7 Eleven. I suppose we could have gotten something from the hotel, but for some reason we didn't.

So, anyway while John waited in line at the bank, Gabby and I sat down in a beautiful sitting area that had a waterfall that you could see from our seats. A waitress from the bar came over to give us a menu, but she never returned. Gabby and I were both thirsty, so I got up and walked directly over to the bar to order something which got us the strangest look from the bar tenders. I ignored the strange looks and ordered a pepsi for me and and ice water for Gabby. The pepsi was easy. The bar tender pulled one out of the fridge and set it in an area for a waitress to pick it up. I'm quickly learning about water though. Asking for ice water won't always get you plain water with ice. First, you will only get ice about half the time. Secondly, you only get plain water half the time. The other half you get club soda which isn't for Gabby.

I noticed that instead of a bottled water, the bartender had set out a club soda. This was the second time this had happened, so I waved at the bartender and tried to explain that we wanted a bottled water. She wasn't getting it. Finally I said Evian or Perrier? She understood that and switched the waters and then ushered me and Gabby back to our seats.

Our First Trip Outside The Hotel

2007-09-11T22:36:00.000-04:00

We went for a walk this morning. It is extremely humid. We had a few interesting things already happen. We almost got run over by a taxi, we saw a little boy using a bush as a bathroom, and we got to see a cross dresser stop suddenly, throw down his keys on the ground, and appear to put on some kind of performance...or he could have been praying (not sure).

The busses are jam packed with people. It reminds me of the busses at Disney World. So far the traffic doesn't seem too bad compared to NYC when we were there. It is a little scary to see people on bicycles and mopeds weave in and out of traffic. I'm suprised that they don't get run over.

We stopped at the local 7 Eleven to pick up some drinks and snacks while we were out. It is a lot cheaper to get snacks there than at the hotel. We passed a Disney store, but it was not open when we were out. We may stop by there later.

Our tour guide's name is Simon. He gave us a bit of information on half hour ride from the airport last night about Guangzhou. It's an international business center. I think I read somewhere that the population is about two million.

Most of our travel group is not here yet. They arrive this afternoon. Simon has arranged for all of us to go out tonight to dinner. Tomorrow we will have a group meeting so that we know what to expect then it is off to meet our babies.

We're At The Hotel

2007-09-11T20:05:00.000-04:00

We finally settled into the hotel at about 1:30am. The first thing we did was shower. Gabby thought the bathroom was so cool. The toilet had it's own glassed in area. The shower and tub shared another area. Take a look at the pictures.

This shows the tile mosiac on the bathroom wall.

The glass door on the left is the tub and shower. The right glass door is the toilet.

Toilet area.

Shower and tub area.

Gabby thinks we should remodel our bathroom like this.

We're in Tokyo

2007-09-11T04:00:00.000-04:00

It's a good thing that I can remember what links to click on to sign in because everything is in Japanese. We have had an amazing trip so far. We started out on a little puddle jumper out of Elmira, but once we got to Detroit things started looking up. Even though we had a six hour layover, because we flew first class, we were able to hang out at Northwest's club area. They had great seating, free food, and drinks. We were also able to connect to wireless internet.

The plane ride was also wonderful. Gabby was amazed at the electric seats that were only one step down from a nice recliner. The food was very good and the service was excellent. The attendents waited on us hand and foot. The only downside was that the movies didn't work until the last four hours, but the time still went fast and we were all able to get a couple of hours of sleep. Northwest gave each of us vouchers worth 25,000 frequent flyer miles to make up for the lack of movies.

Gabby and John sat next to each other. Gabby of course wanted the window seat. Somehow our tickets were messed up and I would have had to sit on the upper deck alone, but we found someone to switch seats and I only had to sit across the aisle from John and Gabby. I was lucky that my neighbor was extremely friendly. He was a Harley enthusiast who owns five bikes. We ended up chatting for a couple of hours about our families, etc. It turns out that he has biked all over the US, Europe and Africa.

Right now we're hanging out in the Northwest lounge in Tokyo. They have free food here too, but it is all Japanese which didn't look good to Gabby, so John took her across the airport to get McDonalds while I blogged. We only have another hour here before we board our final flight to Guangzhou.

Done Packing?

2007-09-09T20:22:00.000-04:00

I think we're bringing way too much stuff with us, but now that it is all in the suitcases, I'm not taking it out. We're all exhausted from packing, cleaning, and shopping. Tomorrow we begin our big adventure. It starts with lots and lots of travel. Not too exciting, but it's a start.

One Last Trip To Walmart

2007-09-08T23:01:00.000-04:00

Well, we had to do it. We had to make one last trip to Walmart before we left. We needed food for the guinea pigs before we dropped them off at the sitter's and a few other things. The pigs are going to spend the next three weeks in one of our friend's classrooms. Her classroom has children from kindergarten through second grade so the pigs won't be bored.

We also did some gift shopping today for our trip. It is customary to give gifts in Asia to show respect and to build relationships. The gifts do not need to be expensive. It is truly the thought that counts. Since we live in a touristy area, we were able to find some really unique, yet inexpensive gifts for the nannies and government officials.

We haven't actually packed anything yet, but we have everything laid out and ready to go. All we need to do is divide everything up between the bags and stuff it in.

Only Two Days To Pack

2007-09-07T20:41:00.000-04:00

I just realized that we only have two days to pack. I did a thorough cleaning of the house today, but haven't made any progress on the packing. John has some great lists of what we need to do and what we need to pack, but it seems so overwhelming. It's funny that John has been stressing all week, but I've been perfectly calm. Now, we've switched places. He's cool as a cucumber and I'm the worry wart. I think only one of us can relax at a time.

Gabby came home today with a backpack full of books that seemed to weigh twenty pounds. She wants to take them all with us, but if we can, we'll xerox the pages that she needs and leave the books at home.

Today was a nice day at work for me. All of the gymnasts, parents and coaches wished us well. It's going to be hard to stay away from the gym for a week after we return, but it is what is best for Junie.

It's Time For Chocolate

2007-09-06T18:55:00.000-04:00

I've been craving sweets for the last few days and have been giving in to the cravings. I must be anxious about our trip. I can't believe that it is finally going to happen after waiting so long. Our dining room table is completely covered with all sorts of things that we need to take with us to China. As I began to purchase baby stuff, new clothes for all of us, and other various items, I decided that it didn't make sense to put it away with only a week until travel. So, I just started piling stuff up on the table. It's a bit messy, but at least everything is in one place. Trying to fit it all into three suitcases is going to be the real trick.

Paperwork is done

2007-09-05T20:13:00.000-04:00

I finally finished compiling all the paperwork for our trip to China. It feels good to have it all ready to go. It feels like there is so much to do before we leave, but most of what we have to do, packing and cleaning, has to wait until Sunday.

Gymnastics was crazy today. It was the first day back after the summer break and since we got our referral. All of the parents and kids were wishing me and Gabby well and asking us questions about the trip. I'm going to miss being there during my maternity leave, but I know the kids are in good hands.

Back to School

2007-09-04T08:29:00.000-04:00

Gabby started middle school today. Each morning I watch two of Gabby's friends and their siblings, so Gabby had two friends to ride over to school with her this morning. The two siblings are in two different elementary schools, so they start an hour later than the big kids. In a few minutes, I'll drop them off.

Gabby has a big task ahead of her this week. She needs to get her homework for the next three weeks so she won't fall behind when we're in China.

One Week To Go

2007-09-03T19:05:00.000-04:00

One week from today we'll begin our trip to China. With the 7 hour layover in Detroit, it'll take us about 31 hours to get there. I don't think any of us are looking forward to the travel, but we're very excited about meeting June.

Gabby starts middle school tomorrow. We did a little bit of last minute clothes shopping. It's hard to be believe that summer is over already.

It's A Crib

2007-09-02T17:46:00.000-04:00

Today we put together our Junie's crib. It was first used by our niece who is now 22, then our daugher, Gabby, who is 11 and now by Junie, who is 14 months old. The problem with second hand cribs is that there are no instructions. We had a couple of parts that we weren't sure of, but in less than an hour we got it together. What we quickly realized is that we have no crib sheets or blankets. So, it's off to Walmart again.

Only eight days till we leave.

Lists, Lists, Lists

2007-09-01T18:47:00.000-04:00

It's just a little over a week until we leave for China, so we've been making lots of lists. We have lists of medicines to pack, lists of clothes to pack, lists of things to buy and lists of things to do.

Still have to do some clothes shopping and a little bit of shopping for baby supplies, bottles and such. Gabby and I will tackle that today. I can't believe that in just nind days we'll be leaving on a plane to China.

Frequent Flyer Miles

2007-08-29T16:47:00.000-04:00

It is possible to use frequent flyer miles if you have a lot of them and you're willing to make a lot of calls. It took John about five calls over a period of five days to get what we wanted which was first class tickets both to and from China. He had to call day after day until things opened up, but it was worth it.

On the way to China we have a seven hour layover in Detroit. I'm not sure if the layover is because we are using frequent flyer miles or if those are the only tickets available even if you pay full fare. Either way, it doesn't matter because we are finally going to China.

Final Travel Itinerary

2007-08-24T14:33:00.000-04:00

Sept 10 Leave US
Sept 11 Arrive in Guangzhou late
Sept 13 Gotcha Day - We meet Junie
Sept 14 Adoption Paperwork
Sept 21 Babies' Medical Exams
Sept 25 Consulate Appointment
Sept 27 Return Home

Because of the short notice for travel, we decided to skip the sightseeing in Beijing.

Our TAs are here!

2007-08-23T14:53:00.000-04:00

Our travel approvals arrived today!!!! This mean that our agency can make our consulate appointment and our final travel dates. Because we cannot get June on the original scheduled date, our tentative dates have changed. We leave Monday, September 10 and return Wednesday, September 26...tentatively. That only gives us a little over two weeks to get ready. Yikes!

Our TAs are on the way!

2007-08-22T13:23:00.000-04:00

Our agency just sent us a message that our travel approvals have been mailed from China. That means that we will probably travel in September instead of waiting until November. Woohoo! Our tentative travel dates are leaving September 13 and returning September 29.

We've already booked our tickets with frequent flyer milage. We had to book them early or we wouldn't be able to use them. If we have to change them, no biggie. The penalty will be small compared to paying for the tickets.

Open Arms

2007-08-09T20:35:00.000-04:00

I just found out wonderful news. Junie is part of the Open Arms program at the Zhanjiang CWI. This program raises money to hire extra nannies to provide one on one attention to the children in the orphanage. I do not know if other orphanages have access to this type of program, but we are lucky that Junie's does.

Travel???

2007-08-08T19:40:00.000-04:00

Our agency is hoping for us to travel around September 13. I am hoping to travel that early, but there are many factors beyond our control, so nobody really knows yet.

UPS

2007-08-03T14:19:00.000-04:00

The UPS man came!!! Take a look at our referral page for more information.

Our Referral Is Here

2007-08-03T11:32:00.000-04:00

Our referral came! We're currently waiting for the UPS man to deliver Junie's picture and all her information. What we do know is that she is 13 months old, 18 pounds, has lots of hair and no teeth...yet. She is from the Guangdong province. I'll post more when we know more.

Rumors, rumors, rumors

2007-07-31T23:37:00.000-04:00

Well folks, it's that time of the month and the rumors are flying. Referrals are on the way, then they're not, now they are. November 21st is the cutoff? Quite a few agencies are saying this, but how do they know until the referrals are in hand. It is rumored that some agencies have contacts in China who give them inside information. I believe that other agencies make educated guesses. Our agency gives out no information until they know for sure.

I'm taking this all in stride. My original belief is that we'd see referrals on Monday, August 6. I'm still thinking that the 6th is a good date based on prior referral times. As far as the cutoff being November 21st, which would mean that we would finally see our baby's picture, I'm not going to get my hopes up. I'd rather be happily surprised then let down. Until I know for sure, I'm expecting a September referral.

If you're wondering where I'm getting all of the information from, I am part of a forum called China Adopt Talk or as the rest of us call it, the Rumor Queen site. The Rumor Queen site is a site for adoptive parents to share ideas and rumors. Most of the people on the RQ site are adopting from China, but there is a forum for people adopting from other countries. There are over 3,700 members from all over the world.

The pigs get leashes

2007-07-24T21:52:00.000-04:00

Gabby and I thought it would be fun to let our guinea pigs have a little more room to run in the backyard. After thinking about how this would work, we decided to get them harnesses and leashes. The first time we put the harnesses on Gabby and I laughed so hard. Now we take them outside and can let them roam a bit without worrying that they can escape. If you want to see pics, take a look on the pet link under Gabby's Stuff.

Adoption thoughts

2007-07-24T21:44:00.000-04:00

We've now logged in 20 months of waiting since we sent our paperwork to China. It has been a pretty good month, but where the adoption is concerned it has gone by slowly. We are about two weeks away from finding out if we will get our referral this month. I'd say we have a 50/50 chance of receiving and August referral and a 95% chance of receiving a September referral. Either way, we'll be to China and back before the year is over.

July Referrals

2007-07-09T19:50:00.000-04:00

Our agency received referrals for 14 children on July 6. Referrals were for LID dates through 11/14/05. With our LID of 11/21 we could get our referral the first week of August, but I think it's more likely that we'll get it the first week of September.

Nineteen months and counting

2007-06-27T10:22:00.000-04:00

We've officially made it to nineteen months since our LID. Wow! Things are moving at a snails pace in the world of China adoptions right now.

The CCAA, China Center of Adoption Affairs, has stated that they expect the wait to grow to three years. I feel for those people behind us in line because it looks like the line is going to be moving slower and slower as time goes on.

Right now, I'm pretty confident in thinking that our referral will come in September, but sure that we'll be referred by October. There are only 13 days before us so an average of five days per month gets us a referral in September. An average of four days get us there in October.

Five Days per month

July 8 - refer through Nov 12
Aug 9 - refer through Nov 17
Sept 10 - refer through Nov 22
Oct 12 - refer through Nov 27

Four Days per month

July 8 - refer through Nov 11
Aug 9 - refer through Nov 15
Sept 10 - refer through Nov 19
Oct 12 - refer through Nov 23

Family Updates

2007-06-16T16:11:00.000-04:00

We have good news and bad. The good news is that my brother and sister-in-law are pregnant. After years of trying, they are beginning their second trimester. How exciting.

The bad news is that my other brother had been called up to go to Afghanistan. He's already done a year in Iraq now he's going back to the middle east. We're not sure when he's going, but hopefully not too soon.

Predictions

2007-06-14T13:35:00.000-04:00

A very mathematically inclined person on the rumors site made these predictions looking at the last two years and using mathematical software. It would be wonderful if his predictions turn out to be accurate, but I'm not getting too excited. A lot would depend on the volume of dossiers that China has to deal with this year compared to in past years. I still thought that it would be fun to add this to the site to look back on in case it ends up being accurate.

Here's his predictions:

For those of you who like curve fits, here is what I have (x-axis is referral date and y-axis is LID, the numerical values are numerical conversions of dates that is done in my graphing software, KaleidaGraph):

Before Sep 05: y = 6.69e+7 + 0.974x, R= 0.999 (original rate, this one is ignored)Sep 05 to Mar 06: y = 1.60e+9 + 0.496x, R= 0.998 (curve 1)Jun 06 to Mar 07: y = 1.66e+9 + 0.476x, R= 0.999 (curve 2)

Calculated

Referral date - - LID - - Referral Month
5/16/2007 - 11/01/2005 - May (Actual)
5/20/2007 - 11/01/2005 - May (Actual)
5/24/2007 - 11/02/2005 - June (Actual)
5/28/2007 - 11/03/2005 - June (Actual)
5/31/2007 - 11/03/2005 - June (Actual)
6/10/2007 - 11/07/2005 - June (Actual)
6/20/2007 - 11/12/2005 - July
6/30/2007 - 11/16/2005 - July
7/10/2007 - 11/21/2005 - August
7/20/2007 - 11/25/2005 - August
7/30/2007 - 11/30/2005 - August
8/09/2007 - 12/04/2005 - September
8/19/2007 - 12/09/2005 - September
9/03/2007 - 12/16/2005 - September
9/13/2007 - 12/20/2005 - October
9/23/2007 - 12/25/2005 - October
10/3/2007 - 12/29/2005 - October

Grooming Day

2007-06-07T21:34:00.000-04:00

Daisy got a fur cut today. Take a look under Gabby's Links.

Referrals Are Here

2007-06-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

The referrals are in and the babies are beautiful. Congratulations to all the new parents and thanks for posting the pictures.

Well, the referrals only went through November 7. They only referred six days again...UGH! So, assuming that we continue on this trend and it takes approximately 32 days, hopefully no longer, for referrals to come out:

July 8 - Refer through Nov 13
Aug 9 - Refer through Nov 19
Sept 10 - Refer through Nov 25
Oct 12 - Refer through Dec 1

With an LID of Nov 21, it looks like September is probable even if July and August are referred less than six. After referral we wait about eight weeks to travel which means that we might celebrate Thanksgiving in China. Do they serve turkey there?

Post Format Change

2007-06-07T09:58:00.000-04:00

I've decided to change the format of our blog a bit. I did have a separate updates page, but I thought it would be easier to see the updates on the home page. So, no more updates page. Just take a look here from now on.