One of the things that I have found to be really cool is breakfast here... not because it is about the best breakfast buffet ever, but because of the company we have whenever we go downstairs to the restaurant.
Today, we were seated back in the "adoption family" corner of the restaurant, where about 10-15 different families are seated - all adopting a child from China. I think there was a Spanish family, and the rest were Americans (or maybe an English family as well ... I couldn't tell). Most, if not all, of the children are special needs (including ours)... which makes being near these adoptive families at this moment in their life... so so special.
Since we are going on Day 13 here, my selection of "clean" garments is limited... so today, I chose to wear my Ohio State t-shirt. That shirt opened up 2 conversations with families today because they either live in Ohio, or have in the not-so-distant past. If you are interested in seeing these families at the same point in their adoption processes as us, you can check out their blogs in the "Blogs I follow" section...
After a quick Facetime call home to my parents to say "Hi" to our boys at home, we met our guide to go out to the lake park over by the China Hotel (the hotel we were supposed to be at, but got bumped to the Garden Hotel instead). It was quite beautiful with all the palm trees and such - this area reminds me so much of Houston, TX - except for all the Chinese everywhere. We walked around the park/lake - and one thing that I really think is cool here is watching all the older folks here exercise. Many of them will dance and do Tai Chi to music here in groups... which is just fascinating. Another thing we came across here was a public gym - including outdoor cardio / weight training equipment. There were also badminton courts, as well as table tennis games going on.
Towards the end of the park, we came to the playground for the kids... except that it's closed for renovations. There were several amusement park-like rides available for the kids to ride... so we bought tickets for the girls to go on 3 different rides. It was fun, but kinda sad in a way seeing all this stuff available for the adults, but almost nothing for kids. It made us homesick for our parks back home.
Anyways, after we were done there, we went back over to Shamian Island to get a few more souvenirs... but while we were over there, we came across 8-9 bride/groom couples getting their wedding photos taken. It was Wednesday lunch time... we were just amazed at how many were running around having photos taken there.
So tomorrow is our big day - our US consulate appointment... 10 AM sharp. Hopefully, we'll be in and out in no time... then Friday we check out, get our US visa for Mia, head to Hong Kong for the night, then fly home the next morning.... so our time here is quickly coming to a close. In so many ways, it seems like our trip has just started... but also feels like we've been here for so long. We can't wait to see our other kids again... and have them meet their new sister :)
Today, we were seated back in the "adoption family" corner of the restaurant, where about 10-15 different families are seated - all adopting a child from China. I think there was a Spanish family, and the rest were Americans (or maybe an English family as well ... I couldn't tell). Most, if not all, of the children are special needs (including ours)... which makes being near these adoptive families at this moment in their life... so so special.
Since we are going on Day 13 here, my selection of "clean" garments is limited... so today, I chose to wear my Ohio State t-shirt. That shirt opened up 2 conversations with families today because they either live in Ohio, or have in the not-so-distant past. If you are interested in seeing these families at the same point in their adoption processes as us, you can check out their blogs in the "Blogs I follow" section...
After a quick Facetime call home to my parents to say "Hi" to our boys at home, we met our guide to go out to the lake park over by the China Hotel (the hotel we were supposed to be at, but got bumped to the Garden Hotel instead). It was quite beautiful with all the palm trees and such - this area reminds me so much of Houston, TX - except for all the Chinese everywhere. We walked around the park/lake - and one thing that I really think is cool here is watching all the older folks here exercise. Many of them will dance and do Tai Chi to music here in groups... which is just fascinating. Another thing we came across here was a public gym - including outdoor cardio / weight training equipment. There were also badminton courts, as well as table tennis games going on.
Towards the end of the park, we came to the playground for the kids... except that it's closed for renovations. There were several amusement park-like rides available for the kids to ride... so we bought tickets for the girls to go on 3 different rides. It was fun, but kinda sad in a way seeing all this stuff available for the adults, but almost nothing for kids. It made us homesick for our parks back home.
Anyways, after we were done there, we went back over to Shamian Island to get a few more souvenirs... but while we were over there, we came across 8-9 bride/groom couples getting their wedding photos taken. It was Wednesday lunch time... we were just amazed at how many were running around having photos taken there.
So tomorrow is our big day - our US consulate appointment... 10 AM sharp. Hopefully, we'll be in and out in no time... then Friday we check out, get our US visa for Mia, head to Hong Kong for the night, then fly home the next morning.... so our time here is quickly coming to a close. In so many ways, it seems like our trip has just started... but also feels like we've been here for so long. We can't wait to see our other kids again... and have them meet their new sister :)
Our girls by the lake in Guangzhou
Mia and Ashlyn on one of the amusement rides
The girls found a parrot and wanted to feed it
Three brides trying to share the street for pictures... glad Bridzilla wasn't there
One of my favorite stops... Starbucks :)
Looks like Starbucks, but it's alittle different
Here I am sporting my OSU t-shirt that helped us meet two new families today :)
Have you tried the white cranberry mocha?
ReplyDeleteOur guide did take ours to a laundry there, but you can probably do it cheaper on the island
Hey guys!!
ReplyDeleteNo, we haven't tried the cranberry mocha... if we stop by one before we leave, I'll definitely try it.
Our guide told us that she could find someone to do our laundry for 1/3rd of the price - but we were told items cost $3 US to wash (including press/folded)... so we opted to do sink washes and just hang items in the bathroom to dry. Just be prepared if you come see us on Saturday that we might not smell the greatest ;) We're SOOO looking forward to our laundry machines...