This pretty much sums up our first 2 days back:
Saturday, September 17, 2011
The Long Flight Home
Tiny room, but nice hotel room. Someone went WILD with the color in this hotel. Nice city. Too bad we didn't get to see any of it. We woke up groggy and tired, but hopped on the shuttle bus to the airport. Man, it was nice to get rid of 3 suitcases - a bad number to pull for us.
We had to hop a tram to the correct terminal after luggage, but we arrived with enough time to relax. It was easy passing the time, as the boys loved watching the Airplanes take off through the wall-sized glass windows. We ate some weird food for breakfast. I had some greasy noodles (I was warned it was too spicy) and Mason had smoked salmon wraps. Sounded good, but it was neither smoked nor cooked. He got most of the way through before he said he didn't like it. I tried it and agreed. He ordered "fresh apple juice" and for once we got what we asked for: apple pulp, apple froth and a straw. He did his best to drink it. The receipt was really cool. The total came to close to about 320 Hong Kong dollars, but also had 12 different denomination amounts at the bottom. For USD, it was $46. For Japan, about $3000+ yen. When I paid, the cashier had over 4 cash registers open (that I could see).
The plane seats were 3-4-3, with two aisles. Our family took all 4 in the middle, towards the back. The first couple of hours was great - all three were sleeping. I think I ended up eating everyone's supper. Or eating one, and holding two while they slept. It was very cramped.
Then that ended, and the rest of the 11 hours was a nightmare. Poor Weston kicked and screamed at least half the flight. We were surrounded by "experts" the whole way. Baby is hot. Baby is cold. Baby is hungry. Feed the baby. Give baby milk. Give the baby water. Even one lady tried to tell me something but could not hear her. She kept rubbing her face as if I was suppose to massage Weston's face. I remember at the 5 hour mark, after a particularly long bout of crying, a man in the back of the plane started shouting at us to SHUTUP, and something about trying to sleep. At about 6 hours left to go, Mason lost it and started crying that he couldn't do any more minutes, he wanted to be there NOW. After that, Mason fell asleep, but only by sleeping crosswise on two seats, basically pinning me in. I know Heather was on her own for quite a while with Weston from then on in. I slept for about 2 hours. At the 4 hour-hours-to-go mark, Heather spilled the rest of the baby formula on the floor as she tried to make another bottle. The formula was the only thing that occasionally worked on Weston, too!
I asked the stewardess for some milk, and that worked one time for Weston, buying us another hour. Then a very long bout of crying until he finally took some water. After falling asleep to that, he and Mason woke up with about 1 hour left to go, and they acted like it was 'morning'... bright and cheery.
Immigration / Customs in Chicago was interesting again. Last time it was Mason who wanted to go to the bathroom, but we couldn't get out of line to make our connecting flight. This time it was 3 bags of luggage, 4 backpacks on me, and Weston got a bloody nose. Security took a solid 40 minutes of shuffling. Some pretty peeved people, too! If they thought that was bad, they should try 14 hours on a plane with a crying baby!
Eventually we got to a tiny gate that said Madison, and we sat with some cheeseheads and Badger fans once again. The puddle jump back to Madison was a world record for speed.
Back at Madison, I walked to the Economy lot (three states away) and drove it up to the terminal to pick up 3 tired travelers. Weston took the car seat amazingly well, and I tried to keep the car on the road all the way home. We stopped at Culver's drivethru for supper, and Mason & Weston ate all my fish.
We had to hop a tram to the correct terminal after luggage, but we arrived with enough time to relax. It was easy passing the time, as the boys loved watching the Airplanes take off through the wall-sized glass windows. We ate some weird food for breakfast. I had some greasy noodles (I was warned it was too spicy) and Mason had smoked salmon wraps. Sounded good, but it was neither smoked nor cooked. He got most of the way through before he said he didn't like it. I tried it and agreed. He ordered "fresh apple juice" and for once we got what we asked for: apple pulp, apple froth and a straw. He did his best to drink it. The receipt was really cool. The total came to close to about 320 Hong Kong dollars, but also had 12 different denomination amounts at the bottom. For USD, it was $46. For Japan, about $3000+ yen. When I paid, the cashier had over 4 cash registers open (that I could see).
The plane seats were 3-4-3, with two aisles. Our family took all 4 in the middle, towards the back. The first couple of hours was great - all three were sleeping. I think I ended up eating everyone's supper. Or eating one, and holding two while they slept. It was very cramped.
Then that ended, and the rest of the 11 hours was a nightmare. Poor Weston kicked and screamed at least half the flight. We were surrounded by "experts" the whole way. Baby is hot. Baby is cold. Baby is hungry. Feed the baby. Give baby milk. Give the baby water. Even one lady tried to tell me something but could not hear her. She kept rubbing her face as if I was suppose to massage Weston's face. I remember at the 5 hour mark, after a particularly long bout of crying, a man in the back of the plane started shouting at us to SHUTUP, and something about trying to sleep. At about 6 hours left to go, Mason lost it and started crying that he couldn't do any more minutes, he wanted to be there NOW. After that, Mason fell asleep, but only by sleeping crosswise on two seats, basically pinning me in. I know Heather was on her own for quite a while with Weston from then on in. I slept for about 2 hours. At the 4 hour-hours-to-go mark, Heather spilled the rest of the baby formula on the floor as she tried to make another bottle. The formula was the only thing that occasionally worked on Weston, too!
I asked the stewardess for some milk, and that worked one time for Weston, buying us another hour. Then a very long bout of crying until he finally took some water. After falling asleep to that, he and Mason woke up with about 1 hour left to go, and they acted like it was 'morning'... bright and cheery.
Immigration / Customs in Chicago was interesting again. Last time it was Mason who wanted to go to the bathroom, but we couldn't get out of line to make our connecting flight. This time it was 3 bags of luggage, 4 backpacks on me, and Weston got a bloody nose. Security took a solid 40 minutes of shuffling. Some pretty peeved people, too! If they thought that was bad, they should try 14 hours on a plane with a crying baby!
Eventually we got to a tiny gate that said Madison, and we sat with some cheeseheads and Badger fans once again. The puddle jump back to Madison was a world record for speed.
Back at Madison, I walked to the Economy lot (three states away) and drove it up to the terminal to pick up 3 tired travelers. Weston took the car seat amazingly well, and I tried to keep the car on the road all the way home. We stopped at Culver's drivethru for supper, and Mason & Weston ate all my fish.
Goodbye Guangzhou, Hello Hong Kong
Today we went to the Six Banyan Buddhist Temple. We here also there during Mason's first visit, and definitely wanted to return.
Everything was the same as last time, except maybe it seemed a bit smaller. As usual, it was amazing to get off the narrow, busy street and step through the gate into a quiet, peaceful area. We could have been outside the city for all we knew.
We burned incense at three different areas - probably Mason's highlight this time around, as I let him light them up. We had the blessing of the baby in the main temple room where three large Buddha's looked on: one for Past, Present, and Future. We kept it short and sweet, and were back at the hotel by 11 for a leisurely final packing of everything.
A little before 2pm I ran to McDonalds to get everyone a bite to eat before we checked out at 2:30. Low and behold I saw the Comfort family grabbing some food, too! They were eating there, and I don't know how they keep all 4 kids happy at any given time. The dad was back in line to get a second round of food for some kids, the oldest one was sitting in a tiny booth with food in one hand and his laptop open for the other (He always has to be online whenever possible). And his second oldest was clarifying exactly how his order should go.
At 2:30 we were all checked out. The Comfort family had four monster bags, and we had 3 monster bags packed. Our guide took us to the train station for our 2 hour trip to Hong Kong. He warned us what to expect, but it was definitely a crazy 10 minutes. We hopped out in the middle of the street (as close as we could get to the curb) and put our three suitcases and 4 backpacks in a pile on the sidewalk, while the Comforts did the same with their bags and four kids. We were instantly harangued by the porters. Apparently they confiscate all the carts in the area, and then charge about $70 per suitcase to cart it to your departure gate. We all said No, but they kept asking, even trying to make friends with the kids. Mason wasn't having it. I had to physically get in between them and calm Mason down. It took some time to get everyone's bags from the middle of the street to our curb, attracting at least 6 porters.
Then we started wheeling everything. We were told it would take a solid 5 minutes. I think we all started with our own suitcase, but eventually Mason's arms gave out, Weston started crying and Heather had to use both arms. In the end I was wheeling 3 suitcases, 2 stacked on each other, one being pushed (doesn't steer well). There was a huge sense of urgency, 100's of people around us, cutting in front of us, multiple escalators to go up, Mason crying that his backpack was too heavy, I also ended up wearing 3 backpacks. The Comfort family was faring no better, as the dad also ended up being the pack mule by the end. We then got to a huge line at security, held everything up there while we had so much to get scanned. Then we sat for 25 minutes, and the people disappeared and the security line was non-existant. Not sure where all that urgency came from!!
We sat here because this is where our guide left us to go to the US Embassy again to pick up our child's Passport and newly issued USA VISA. Nothing like the last minute. I don't know what we would have done if there was a hiccup. But as promised (and probably done 100's of time before) our guide came back and handed us our final piece of paperwork. NO MORE GUIDE here on out!
We then walked from security to our gate and waited to board (one hour). Then walked a long ways again to the train. Just a shorter version of what happened earlier. The way people were rushing to the train and cutting in, I was beginning to wonder if we were fighting for standing room vs. riding on the roof! Comfort family was in Car 8, we were in Car 2. We finally got on the train, and everything was fine. Big seats, lots of room above for our luggage, and not crouded at all. Thankfully Heather had the final say of when we got off, because I would have gotten off way too early at Donggguan, then again at Shenzhen, and a few other stops in between. It was dark before we got there. To pass the time, Mason and I put Star War stickers in their guide magazine, trying to make it look real. I like the thought of someone seeing an ad for a hotel with a monster in the hotel swimming pool, and Yoda attacking a chef in a restaurant's ad.
A little confusion once we got there. First, I had to convert half our Chinese Yuan to US Dollars and the other half to Hong Kong Dollars. Got a horrible rate at the bus station. Then, we only had the English address to our Marriot Hotel. Two different areas to get on a taxi, both with important yet indecipherable signs showing how different they were. Luckily the Visitor area had someone who could write the address in Cantonese. I think it was a literal translation, though, because the driver had a problem understanding it. Handed the sheet to the Comfort family for them to use on the 2nd cab.
The drive was awesome. (Almost got in the driver's seat, as this was a British colony once, and the cars & roads are different here). Traffic wasn't killer, lots of city street night life. Very modern city. Quite a mix of nationalities here. This is where I'd want to do business. We eventually crossed miles of bridges, saw huge ships in the Sea, and lots of skyscrapers. Too bad it was so dark!
247 Hong Kong Dollars later we arrived at the right hotel. Comfort family showed up pretty quickly and talked nothing but the nachos at the Bar & Grill restaurant, so we met them there. This was our last chance to talk, as their flight was 9 am, and ours was 11 am. We can't believe they had one more stop & day in New York City. Even talked about maybe seeing the Statue of Liberty. I wish them luck on that - I just wanted to get home and sleep. While we waited, Mason got his 3rd wind, and got goofy, and danced to the loud music. It was about 9:30 pm. I don't think we left there til about 11pm due to slow service.
Mason said he wasn't tired, wanted a story, so I started telling him what we did that day and what we'd be doing the next....ZZZZzzzzz. He was out quick.
Everything was the same as last time, except maybe it seemed a bit smaller. As usual, it was amazing to get off the narrow, busy street and step through the gate into a quiet, peaceful area. We could have been outside the city for all we knew.
We burned incense at three different areas - probably Mason's highlight this time around, as I let him light them up. We had the blessing of the baby in the main temple room where three large Buddha's looked on: one for Past, Present, and Future. We kept it short and sweet, and were back at the hotel by 11 for a leisurely final packing of everything.
A little before 2pm I ran to McDonalds to get everyone a bite to eat before we checked out at 2:30. Low and behold I saw the Comfort family grabbing some food, too! They were eating there, and I don't know how they keep all 4 kids happy at any given time. The dad was back in line to get a second round of food for some kids, the oldest one was sitting in a tiny booth with food in one hand and his laptop open for the other (He always has to be online whenever possible). And his second oldest was clarifying exactly how his order should go.
At 2:30 we were all checked out. The Comfort family had four monster bags, and we had 3 monster bags packed. Our guide took us to the train station for our 2 hour trip to Hong Kong. He warned us what to expect, but it was definitely a crazy 10 minutes. We hopped out in the middle of the street (as close as we could get to the curb) and put our three suitcases and 4 backpacks in a pile on the sidewalk, while the Comforts did the same with their bags and four kids. We were instantly harangued by the porters. Apparently they confiscate all the carts in the area, and then charge about $70 per suitcase to cart it to your departure gate. We all said No, but they kept asking, even trying to make friends with the kids. Mason wasn't having it. I had to physically get in between them and calm Mason down. It took some time to get everyone's bags from the middle of the street to our curb, attracting at least 6 porters.
Then we started wheeling everything. We were told it would take a solid 5 minutes. I think we all started with our own suitcase, but eventually Mason's arms gave out, Weston started crying and Heather had to use both arms. In the end I was wheeling 3 suitcases, 2 stacked on each other, one being pushed (doesn't steer well). There was a huge sense of urgency, 100's of people around us, cutting in front of us, multiple escalators to go up, Mason crying that his backpack was too heavy, I also ended up wearing 3 backpacks. The Comfort family was faring no better, as the dad also ended up being the pack mule by the end. We then got to a huge line at security, held everything up there while we had so much to get scanned. Then we sat for 25 minutes, and the people disappeared and the security line was non-existant. Not sure where all that urgency came from!!
We sat here because this is where our guide left us to go to the US Embassy again to pick up our child's Passport and newly issued USA VISA. Nothing like the last minute. I don't know what we would have done if there was a hiccup. But as promised (and probably done 100's of time before) our guide came back and handed us our final piece of paperwork. NO MORE GUIDE here on out!
We then walked from security to our gate and waited to board (one hour). Then walked a long ways again to the train. Just a shorter version of what happened earlier. The way people were rushing to the train and cutting in, I was beginning to wonder if we were fighting for standing room vs. riding on the roof! Comfort family was in Car 8, we were in Car 2. We finally got on the train, and everything was fine. Big seats, lots of room above for our luggage, and not crouded at all. Thankfully Heather had the final say of when we got off, because I would have gotten off way too early at Donggguan, then again at Shenzhen, and a few other stops in between. It was dark before we got there. To pass the time, Mason and I put Star War stickers in their guide magazine, trying to make it look real. I like the thought of someone seeing an ad for a hotel with a monster in the hotel swimming pool, and Yoda attacking a chef in a restaurant's ad.
A little confusion once we got there. First, I had to convert half our Chinese Yuan to US Dollars and the other half to Hong Kong Dollars. Got a horrible rate at the bus station. Then, we only had the English address to our Marriot Hotel. Two different areas to get on a taxi, both with important yet indecipherable signs showing how different they were. Luckily the Visitor area had someone who could write the address in Cantonese. I think it was a literal translation, though, because the driver had a problem understanding it. Handed the sheet to the Comfort family for them to use on the 2nd cab.
The drive was awesome. (Almost got in the driver's seat, as this was a British colony once, and the cars & roads are different here). Traffic wasn't killer, lots of city street night life. Very modern city. Quite a mix of nationalities here. This is where I'd want to do business. We eventually crossed miles of bridges, saw huge ships in the Sea, and lots of skyscrapers. Too bad it was so dark!
247 Hong Kong Dollars later we arrived at the right hotel. Comfort family showed up pretty quickly and talked nothing but the nachos at the Bar & Grill restaurant, so we met them there. This was our last chance to talk, as their flight was 9 am, and ours was 11 am. We can't believe they had one more stop & day in New York City. Even talked about maybe seeing the Statue of Liberty. I wish them luck on that - I just wanted to get home and sleep. While we waited, Mason got his 3rd wind, and got goofy, and danced to the loud music. It was about 9:30 pm. I don't think we left there til about 11pm due to slow service.
Mason said he wasn't tired, wanted a story, so I started telling him what we did that day and what we'd be doing the next....ZZZZzzzzz. He was out quick.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Consulate Appointment
This morning we left at 7:30 to catch out 8:30 a.m. appointment with the U.S. Consulate. In this second to last step, we take an oath swearing that all the information we have submited is true and correct. The oath takes less than 2 minutes. Afterwards, each family is called up to the counter to verify their child's paperwork and sign their child's visa application.
After our appointment, we returned to the hotel for a late breakfast. We went to the Guangzhou Friendship Store, where there were lots of brand name high end retailers, then ventured around the block to find a trust-mart (wal-mart) where we scored some more diapers/wipes. After a quick return to the hotel, we hopped a taxi to Shamian Island for some souvenier shopping and an early dinner at Lucy's. Shamian Island just isn't the same without the vast numbers of adoptive families residing there at the White Swan hotel. The hotel (we heard) will be closing on 9/16 for a full year to undergo renovations. Several of the shops on the island have closed or moved. Almost all the shops we entered had their lights off to conserve energy and only turned them on after you entered the store.
We finally got Mason's dragon jade necklace. I'm pretty sure that The Great Wall, and a dragon jade necklace were the only two things on this checklist for China. And he was getting pretty nervous about getting it before we left! (Especially since we didn't get it yesterday like we thought were would)
Poor Weston was so hot, he slept in his stroller most of the time. I felt so bad for him, I would drip water on his head and slick it back while he slept, just incase a breeze would come by and cool him off. We were quite a site before the day ended, as I had Mason on my shoulders while pushing Weston in a stroller, or I had Mason on my shoulders while lugging an empty (but big) suitcase from behind. (We decided to buy a 3rd suitcase to bring home all our goodies this time)
Our very last stop was Jenny's Place, and we purchased a Calabash flute. At first I was more interested in their string instrument, but could not picture it making it home in one piece, or what to do if it broke in the future. The guy played the flute very well, matching the CD music playing in the background. Once I heard it was an instrument from Yunnan province, I knew I'd get one. I asked the guy if he was Yunnan, he said, "No, but my teacher is from Yunnan".
I got one for myself, and one for Mason. 2 cases, and even the guy's CD, which I made him sign. (Only later do I add 2 plus 2 and figure out why the guy was able to play along with the background music so easily).
We finish Shamian Island with another supper at Lucy's, and what might be our last tour of the White Swan Hotel waterfall, fish, and 1st floor shops
Back at the hotel, Mason is piping away, little brother watching on and smiling.
Looks like we could form a US Calabash Team:
http://allmysisters.blogspot.com/2010/03/calabash-flute.html
After our appointment, we returned to the hotel for a late breakfast. We went to the Guangzhou Friendship Store, where there were lots of brand name high end retailers, then ventured around the block to find a trust-mart (wal-mart) where we scored some more diapers/wipes. After a quick return to the hotel, we hopped a taxi to Shamian Island for some souvenier shopping and an early dinner at Lucy's. Shamian Island just isn't the same without the vast numbers of adoptive families residing there at the White Swan hotel. The hotel (we heard) will be closing on 9/16 for a full year to undergo renovations. Several of the shops on the island have closed or moved. Almost all the shops we entered had their lights off to conserve energy and only turned them on after you entered the store.
We finally got Mason's dragon jade necklace. I'm pretty sure that The Great Wall, and a dragon jade necklace were the only two things on this checklist for China. And he was getting pretty nervous about getting it before we left! (Especially since we didn't get it yesterday like we thought were would)
Poor Weston was so hot, he slept in his stroller most of the time. I felt so bad for him, I would drip water on his head and slick it back while he slept, just incase a breeze would come by and cool him off. We were quite a site before the day ended, as I had Mason on my shoulders while pushing Weston in a stroller, or I had Mason on my shoulders while lugging an empty (but big) suitcase from behind. (We decided to buy a 3rd suitcase to bring home all our goodies this time)
Our very last stop was Jenny's Place, and we purchased a Calabash flute. At first I was more interested in their string instrument, but could not picture it making it home in one piece, or what to do if it broke in the future. The guy played the flute very well, matching the CD music playing in the background. Once I heard it was an instrument from Yunnan province, I knew I'd get one. I asked the guy if he was Yunnan, he said, "No, but my teacher is from Yunnan".
I got one for myself, and one for Mason. 2 cases, and even the guy's CD, which I made him sign. (Only later do I add 2 plus 2 and figure out why the guy was able to play along with the background music so easily).
We finish Shamian Island with another supper at Lucy's, and what might be our last tour of the White Swan Hotel waterfall, fish, and 1st floor shops
Back at the hotel, Mason is piping away, little brother watching on and smiling.
Looks like we could form a US Calabash Team:
http://allmysisters.blogspot.com/2010/03/calabash-flute.html
Pedestrian Street Shopping Mall
Happy Mid-Autumn Moon Festival! Our hotel handed out mooncakes today and also brought some specially made cakes to our room this evening. We haven't sampled them yet, but look forward to it. Today we had Weston's TB medical check. Luckily for us he didn't have a reaction to the TB shot, but a couple others had to have chest X-rays which all turned out okay.
After the quick medical visit, our guide Elvin took us and a couple other families to the Pedestrian Street Shopping Mall for clothes, pearls, jade, and other souveniers. We picked up a cute outfit for Weston to grow into and some pearl necklace and earring sets for the boys to give to that special someone when they get older. However, try explaining that to Mason. About 5 minutes after leaving the shop he starts complaining that he wants to wear the necklace. (He really wants SOMETHING out of this one hour of boring shopping - and no dragon jade necklace yet). He's still a bit confused a couple days later -- the necklace is his, but he can't play with it or wear it?!
After returning to the hotel room with our goods, Heather headed out with the boys to the swimming pool and Dustin took to the electronics market with another spouse. Dustin scored a PSP knock-off for Mason, a cheap Pokemon game for his DS, and a pretty sweet 007 spy watch. (Dustin edits: which perhaps I should have checked to see if it worked, first! Maybe Mason can show me how to turn on.)
He didn't know how badly Heather wanted a new notebook sized laptop, so could not commit to a Sony Vaio knockoff after bargaining it down to $160. Other things he passed on: 1) USB WiFi crackers, with 4 Kilometer range, letting you get wifi anywhere: $40; 2) A Sim Card bug: A small, tiny black box, about one cubic square inch. You open it up, put a Sim card in there. The cheaper model allows you to call the number on that Sim card, it connects, and then you can hear what is going on around the box. The more expensive model is able to to call your cell phone when it detects sound, and then you can hear what is going on around the box: $33.
Not surprisingly, the guy also sold bug detectors, camera detectors, and jammers for everything. Is this the future we're creating for ourselves?
Once the dads returned from their shopping spree, we joined up with the two other families for dinner at a noodle place on the 2nd floor of our hotel. The service was sporadic, food arriving 30 minutes apart, but the conversation was fun. 14 people & kids in a big circular table! The fall festival is a time for reunions and family gathering, so it was nice to be able to hang out with some fellow adoptive families.
Every time Mason asks for something big or small, and he gets it, he pumps his fist in the air, jumps, and shouts "Booya!". He's having a great trip. The "Game Station" with 1000 games on it, got a really big BOOYA today :)
After the quick medical visit, our guide Elvin took us and a couple other families to the Pedestrian Street Shopping Mall for clothes, pearls, jade, and other souveniers. We picked up a cute outfit for Weston to grow into and some pearl necklace and earring sets for the boys to give to that special someone when they get older. However, try explaining that to Mason. About 5 minutes after leaving the shop he starts complaining that he wants to wear the necklace. (He really wants SOMETHING out of this one hour of boring shopping - and no dragon jade necklace yet). He's still a bit confused a couple days later -- the necklace is his, but he can't play with it or wear it?!
After returning to the hotel room with our goods, Heather headed out with the boys to the swimming pool and Dustin took to the electronics market with another spouse. Dustin scored a PSP knock-off for Mason, a cheap Pokemon game for his DS, and a pretty sweet 007 spy watch. (Dustin edits: which perhaps I should have checked to see if it worked, first! Maybe Mason can show me how to turn on.)
He didn't know how badly Heather wanted a new notebook sized laptop, so could not commit to a Sony Vaio knockoff after bargaining it down to $160. Other things he passed on: 1) USB WiFi crackers, with 4 Kilometer range, letting you get wifi anywhere: $40; 2) A Sim Card bug: A small, tiny black box, about one cubic square inch. You open it up, put a Sim card in there. The cheaper model allows you to call the number on that Sim card, it connects, and then you can hear what is going on around the box. The more expensive model is able to to call your cell phone when it detects sound, and then you can hear what is going on around the box: $33.
Not surprisingly, the guy also sold bug detectors, camera detectors, and jammers for everything. Is this the future we're creating for ourselves?
Once the dads returned from their shopping spree, we joined up with the two other families for dinner at a noodle place on the 2nd floor of our hotel. The service was sporadic, food arriving 30 minutes apart, but the conversation was fun. 14 people & kids in a big circular table! The fall festival is a time for reunions and family gathering, so it was nice to be able to hang out with some fellow adoptive families.
Every time Mason asks for something big or small, and he gets it, he pumps his fist in the air, jumps, and shouts "Booya!". He's having a great trip. The "Game Station" with 1000 games on it, got a really big BOOYA today :)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Safari Zoo
Today we went to the Safari zoo with the Comfort family.
This had to be the best zoo I've ever been too, and I blame it all on the trolley train ride through half of the zoo. We had ostriches sticking their heads in car windows scaring kids, lots of different deer running around, had to slow down for a wildebeast crossing the road.
I gave the video camera to Mason and told him he was in charge of it. That really made his day! Can't wait to see what he came up with.
We walked the rest of the way, although we didn't even come close to seeing it all. Both families bought ice cream and drinks whenever the kids wanted something. It was very, very hot, but fun to see Koala bears, pandas, white tigers and bears oh my.
When we were done, we were closer to the South Exit, so we tried calling the driver to meet us there, but the guide said he might have been sleeping - not picking up. Turned out there were lots of free rides there, so Mason was able to try out his first bumper car.
This afternoon I played with both boys as mom took a nap to combat an upset stomach from the last day or so. I think Weston is taking a liking to me, although later that night still only wanted momma to hold him.
We then took two taxi cabs to Shamian Island (Where the White Swan was) with the Comfort family to pick up our laundry. We ate at the infamous Lucy's restaurant there. I ordered the same Green Curry Chicken & Eggplant meal that I had ordered there 3 years ago - a meal & restaurant that had been such a relief to us then. (Long story)
We stopped at Jordan's to get some toys for the kids, look at some knick-knacks, and get the children's names done up in caligraphy by the shop owner - which he is somewhat famous for.
Tired, hot, sweaty, but now we have clean clothes again.
This had to be the best zoo I've ever been too, and I blame it all on the trolley train ride through half of the zoo. We had ostriches sticking their heads in car windows scaring kids, lots of different deer running around, had to slow down for a wildebeast crossing the road.
I gave the video camera to Mason and told him he was in charge of it. That really made his day! Can't wait to see what he came up with.
We walked the rest of the way, although we didn't even come close to seeing it all. Both families bought ice cream and drinks whenever the kids wanted something. It was very, very hot, but fun to see Koala bears, pandas, white tigers and bears oh my.
When we were done, we were closer to the South Exit, so we tried calling the driver to meet us there, but the guide said he might have been sleeping - not picking up. Turned out there were lots of free rides there, so Mason was able to try out his first bumper car.
This afternoon I played with both boys as mom took a nap to combat an upset stomach from the last day or so. I think Weston is taking a liking to me, although later that night still only wanted momma to hold him.
We then took two taxi cabs to Shamian Island (Where the White Swan was) with the Comfort family to pick up our laundry. We ate at the infamous Lucy's restaurant there. I ordered the same Green Curry Chicken & Eggplant meal that I had ordered there 3 years ago - a meal & restaurant that had been such a relief to us then. (Long story)
We stopped at Jordan's to get some toys for the kids, look at some knick-knacks, and get the children's names done up in caligraphy by the shop owner - which he is somewhat famous for.
Tired, hot, sweaty, but now we have clean clothes again.
Medical Checkup
A new city - a new breakfast buffet.
Guangzhou is hot! Hot enough that even a kid complains. 97 degrees and very humid. Weather report here looks funny. Weather reporters have it easy over here: 95-97 every day with a chance of rain every day.
Today we went to Shamian Island to do the Medical Checkup, with the Hardy family. This is the first time on this trip that I can point to the exact millimeter of where we've exactly been before with Mason. It will be interesting to compare photos when we get back. I am curious if this one old nurse has been there since the beginning of time.
Weston did a great job getting poked and prodded. He didn't cry getting his TB shot, but cried in a different room where they hardly did anything to him.
For those that have gone through this process before: it's really changed. Last trip I remember lines, lines, lines, loud screaming kids, and just jammed pack. Today there were maybe 5 families in the entire building, and our group consisted of 2 of them.
For late lunch we went to Pizza Hut. Weston had a melt down before our food got there so Heather brought him back to the hotel while Mason and I waited for the food. We ate there and brought back mom's "half" of the dish. It was hard keeping Mason from eating it all.
We checked out the hotel's "Children Rec Room". By the description of the paper I got from the lobby on the first night, with it's policy about death & dismemberment, I thought it would be an amazing room with climbing walls, trampolines, maybe a few diving boards into a sea of foam squares. Instead it was just a small room with some toys for a 2 year old. Mason did pretty good despite this, and luckily there was a ping pong table in the room next door. Mason must have laughed himself silly the first 15 minutes of his attempts to hit the ball.
We wondered the hotel, exploring what we could, trying to kill a couple of hours.
Mason was pretty much hungry all day, and after eating our room out of snacks, had a hunger emergency at 8 pm. We went to one of the restaurants on the 2nd floor and had a quick noodle stir-fry for him.
One of the things I really miss about home is walking to the fridge and getting a number of food choices for Mason when he's randomly hungry. Oh, and turning on the tap for some water to drink.
Despite not doing much today, we're all tired.
Guangzhou is hot! Hot enough that even a kid complains. 97 degrees and very humid. Weather report here looks funny. Weather reporters have it easy over here: 95-97 every day with a chance of rain every day.
Today we went to Shamian Island to do the Medical Checkup, with the Hardy family. This is the first time on this trip that I can point to the exact millimeter of where we've exactly been before with Mason. It will be interesting to compare photos when we get back. I am curious if this one old nurse has been there since the beginning of time.
Weston did a great job getting poked and prodded. He didn't cry getting his TB shot, but cried in a different room where they hardly did anything to him.
For those that have gone through this process before: it's really changed. Last trip I remember lines, lines, lines, loud screaming kids, and just jammed pack. Today there were maybe 5 families in the entire building, and our group consisted of 2 of them.
For late lunch we went to Pizza Hut. Weston had a melt down before our food got there so Heather brought him back to the hotel while Mason and I waited for the food. We ate there and brought back mom's "half" of the dish. It was hard keeping Mason from eating it all.
We checked out the hotel's "Children Rec Room". By the description of the paper I got from the lobby on the first night, with it's policy about death & dismemberment, I thought it would be an amazing room with climbing walls, trampolines, maybe a few diving boards into a sea of foam squares. Instead it was just a small room with some toys for a 2 year old. Mason did pretty good despite this, and luckily there was a ping pong table in the room next door. Mason must have laughed himself silly the first 15 minutes of his attempts to hit the ball.
We wondered the hotel, exploring what we could, trying to kill a couple of hours.
Mason was pretty much hungry all day, and after eating our room out of snacks, had a hunger emergency at 8 pm. We went to one of the restaurants on the 2nd floor and had a quick noodle stir-fry for him.
One of the things I really miss about home is walking to the fridge and getting a number of food choices for Mason when he's randomly hungry. Oh, and turning on the tap for some water to drink.
Despite not doing much today, we're all tired.
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