Sunday, May 1, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Homeward Bound
Bob, Caden and Tillie have started their long journey home. Yesterday (today for us) they left Guangzhou for Hong Kong. They stayed the night and will be leaving there at 8pm our time. They make a quick stop in Tokoyo, a long stop in San Fransisco and then will finally be home in San Antonio 6:30 Saturday night. I think they are all tired and so ready to be home. We of course are overjoyed at finally being able to meet Caden. He looks like he is a ball of fire and will certainly keep things entertaining around here. Look for Welcome home pics tomorrow.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
It's Official....sort of.....again
We had our appointment at the US Consulate today. So no pictures. No cameras are allowed in. No electronic devices of any sort. I learned, much to the annoyance of those in the group behind me, that I had several squirreled away in my backpack that I had forgotten about. Good thing they just put them in a bin and gave me a check number to retrieve them after we finished.
The Consulate appointment was really sort of anti-climactic, in a way. It was great that it was the final step for us, but it was really just sitting in a room with all the other families (again), taking an oath (this was new), and going up to a window to sign some forms (again). Then it was done. That's it. No big production. We all cheered and clapped for each family when they turned away from the window as they finished, but that was it (and Caden started clapping along, as well; he is so smart and cute--and I'm totally not at all biased).
After we got back, it was lunch at Lucy's. The food was pretty good, but the service was terrible. Don't know if it was just us what. Everyone raves about the place, but if we were staying here longer, I probably wouldn't go back. Following lunch, we entered a whirlwind of shopping, trying to get things found off of Adreanna's list and go to a certain store (Susan's Place) where the shop owners are from Wu Chuan City, where Addie came from. Mom and I spent about an hour or so there, shopping, talking, drinking tea, and just having a good time with the proprietors. They didn't remember Addie or Adreanna specifically, but they were very happy that we were back there specifically because of the Wu Chuan City tie. Very nice people...who took quite a few yuan from us today.
Mom and I decided to punt the Pearl Market shopping trip in the afternoon. I think we're both just too worn out at this point, and neither of us planned to buy any pearls, anyway. Caden is out. Mom is out. I would like to be out for a bit, but doubt I'll be able to sleep with the noisemaker in the other bed...:)
We have a meeting tonight with Jason to go over departure procedures, then we're free to do our thing the rest of the night. Then I guess it's packing time again, in preparation for our departure tomorrow evening. Hopefully, I'll have a chance for one more post before we go.
Sooo looking forward to being back in the States, but I wish we had more time in Guangzou.
The Consulate appointment was really sort of anti-climactic, in a way. It was great that it was the final step for us, but it was really just sitting in a room with all the other families (again), taking an oath (this was new), and going up to a window to sign some forms (again). Then it was done. That's it. No big production. We all cheered and clapped for each family when they turned away from the window as they finished, but that was it (and Caden started clapping along, as well; he is so smart and cute--and I'm totally not at all biased).
After we got back, it was lunch at Lucy's. The food was pretty good, but the service was terrible. Don't know if it was just us what. Everyone raves about the place, but if we were staying here longer, I probably wouldn't go back. Following lunch, we entered a whirlwind of shopping, trying to get things found off of Adreanna's list and go to a certain store (Susan's Place) where the shop owners are from Wu Chuan City, where Addie came from. Mom and I spent about an hour or so there, shopping, talking, drinking tea, and just having a good time with the proprietors. They didn't remember Addie or Adreanna specifically, but they were very happy that we were back there specifically because of the Wu Chuan City tie. Very nice people...who took quite a few yuan from us today.
Mom and I decided to punt the Pearl Market shopping trip in the afternoon. I think we're both just too worn out at this point, and neither of us planned to buy any pearls, anyway. Caden is out. Mom is out. I would like to be out for a bit, but doubt I'll be able to sleep with the noisemaker in the other bed...:)
We have a meeting tonight with Jason to go over departure procedures, then we're free to do our thing the rest of the night. Then I guess it's packing time again, in preparation for our departure tomorrow evening. Hopefully, I'll have a chance for one more post before we go.
Sooo looking forward to being back in the States, but I wish we had more time in Guangzou.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Squeeky shoes, red couches and starting the countdown to come home
We arrived in Guangzhou last night. Sorry I didn't post then, but I was too tired.
After arriving here, I was fairly upset that we had to spend so much time in Zhengzhou--because it meant that much less time in Guangzhou. This place is absolutely beautiful! I don't know about the rest of the city, but Shamian Island is georgeous. Even with the annoying vendors, constantly trying to sell you North Face knock-offs, it's still unbelievable.
This place caters to the adoption crowd. Which is good, since that's what we are now, officially--a crowd of adoptive families. Three different groups from three different provinces have come together here for our "final outprocessing" (to copy a military phrase) in Guangzhou at the US Consulate. There is one family that has adopted a little girl they are naming Addison--small world.
Let me rewind a bit to the flight from Zhengzhou to Guangzhou. We were all a bit concerned about how our kids would handle the flight. One or two didn't care for it one bit. I didn't have much to worry about, once the plane got moving. I'm pretty sure the poor lady sitting next to me was thinking (in Chinese, of course), "Dear God, I have to sit next to the big guy AND the baby at the same time?!" Turns out, Caden hit the snooze button right after take-off and didn't twitch until something startled him about 45 minutes before landing. That's when things got interesting. Thank the good Lord for Kurt and Angie and their loaner cement truck. It kept Caden occupied until we were safely on terra firma. I'm sure the Chinese lady next to me was even happier about that truck than I was.
Once we got to Guangzhou, we were greeted by our friendly CCAI guides, Jason and Maggie.
They are awesome. Daily detailed itineraries, all the gouge on all the places on Shamian Island...they've got this thing down cold.
Once again, I violated my gastronomic travel rule to keep Mom happy: we ordered Papa John's and had it delivered. Note: if you ever have pizza delivered on Shamian Island, show up to accept it WITH EXACT CHANGE. Otherwise, the delivery boy gets a larger-than-deserved tip. Some may wonder, "What does Papa John's taste like in China?" The answer is: "Just like Papa John's in the US." (no snide comments, Jefty). It was nice to get a taste of home, but it was also the first indication that Caden's eating habits are changing: he's not eating nearly as much of the things he normally likes (noodles). Breakfast the next morning was the same: less congee, fewer eggs, less juice. I'm not sure if he's realizing that he's going to get regular meals from now on, or if there's something else going on. I'm not a child psychologist and this isn't the Holiday Inn Express.
Our first day in Guangzhou consisted of visa pictures, a medical exam, and filling out paperwork for our consulate appointment. That was the morning, anyway.
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An interesting development from the medical exam (after much incoherent babbling between the doctor and Maggie), it turns out that the examining doctor thinks Caden never had a cleft palate, but rather a cleft lip and gum. That means either just that, or the palate repair was so good, you can't tell on cursory examination. I suspect the latter, since he's missing his uvula--a common byproduct of palate repair. But then again, I'm not a doctor (or a child psychologist).
After the medical exam, it was time to shop. I had to buy an outfit for Caden's "Red Couch" photo--later on, after the photos, one of the shopkeepers asked me why it's called that; I told her, "because it's a photo that's taken on a red couch". I think she thought I was jerking her chain at first, so I had to break out the camera and show her the pics.
During the shopping, We snapped a few photos that I thought some of you might like:
I don't think these guys are Chinese...
Caden was having none of that standing in line crap.
Then it was time to get dressed up and head down to the Red Couch...
Following all that happy fun togetherness, we did a quick costume change and headed out to a group dinner at the Cow & Bridge Thai Restaurant. Incredible. Too bad Caden didn't agree, but I think he was VERY tired at that point. I got what food I could down his throat before I threw in the towel and headed back to the room.
A quick bath, in the jammies (I'm talking about Caden here), and he only argued for about 15 minutes before he was out like a light. Which is good, because we've all got a very early day tomorrow. Since he was asleep and Mom was back in the room, I was able to do some walking around. I had to pick up a few things from earlier in the day, anyway (some artwork I ordered, laundry, etc). I was able to snap a few photos.
Just a couple more days and we're home!
A final pic of Zhengzhou, our home for a year one week:
Monday, April 25, 2011
I went to the Shaolin Temple and all I got was peed on....
Today was our last full day in Zhengzhou. I think we're all ready for that plane ride tomorrow afternoon. Guangzhou for three days, then overnight in Hong Kong, then home! Of course, there's that God-awful long trans-Pacific flight somewhere in all of that, but we just won't think about that right now...
Yisha had a Gotcha Day for another group of families--I'm guessing those who started travel on the 20th of April--so she couldn't go with us to the Shoalin Temple. So she hired an English-speaking tour guide, "Cindy," to show us around in her stead. We were all a bit nervous about how the kids would handle the two-hour bus ride from Zhengzhou to the Shaolin Temple, but surprisingly enough, it went quite well. I think that Caden is fascinated with the sense of movement he gets when he can look out a bus window. I'm afraid he won't get that sense of movement at 39,000 feet over the north Pacific...and that may very well suck. For many people. But back to the Shaolin Temple...
The first thing we saw was a food vendor. Based on the name alone, I don't think they're getting many English-speaking customers.
As you can see, Caden was ecstatic to be at the world-famous Shaolin Temple with his excessively handsome father:-)
First on the docket was a Kung Fu show. Just as a reminder, the Shaolin Temple is the home of Zen Buddhism and the birthplace of Kung Fu. With it being a holy site and all, I almost expected it to be not blighted by the hand of commercialism. But Zen Buddhist monks are not dummies...they know a cash cow when they see one, I suppose. Between the tourists and the Kung Fu academy(ies) on site, they've managed to do quite well here. But back to the Kung Fu show. It was put on mostly by younger acolytes, I believe. Quite impressive. I missed getting photos of the more famous acts (needle through the pane of glass, leaning on the spear point, breaking the metal bar with the head) because someone (I won't mention any names, but it rhymes with Caden) kept throwing water bottles and other things on the ground during that part of the show. Sorry.
After the Kung Fu show, we walked through the Pagoda Forest, which is where all the past Grand Masters/abbots are buried. Very beautiful and awe-inspiring, when you think about how old the pagodas are.
Later, we toured the temple itself. That was quite impressive. If anyone is a fan of "An Idiot Abroad," here is a picture of the tree the star of the show was beating on for a couple of hours:
That is such a great show.
Lots of pictures to show from the temple grounds, but I'll pick a few that I thought were really interesting.
In the original practice grounds, there are 48 footsteps embedded in the stones, where the monks practiced their Kung Fu. You should just be able to make out the indentations. The mural on the wall is over 500 years old, from the Ming dynasty.
We followed the tour with a nice traditional Chinese meal, which I did not get to enjoy much of, due to the 16-month-old Hoover I had on my lap. Most meals have been that way. The silver lining is, I think I've lost weight while I've been here.
On the way back from the restaurant, we saw this beautiful little park with these interesting statues of men in various Kung Fu poses.
It was shortly after this that my loving, cute, adorable son peed all over me. I repaid him by having him chase bubbles all over the hotel room.
Here are some more random Shaolin Temple photos. Enjoy.
I understand some of you have had questions about what happened to the dogs in the article from the Beijing paper in one of my previous posts. The article talked about a truckload of dogs that had been rescued while on their way either to or from Zhengzhou/Beijing. It was stopped in Beijing, either coming from or going to Zhengzhou...can't remember which. But the important thing is that the dogs were rescued, rather than kebobed.
Yisha had a Gotcha Day for another group of families--I'm guessing those who started travel on the 20th of April--so she couldn't go with us to the Shoalin Temple. So she hired an English-speaking tour guide, "Cindy," to show us around in her stead. We were all a bit nervous about how the kids would handle the two-hour bus ride from Zhengzhou to the Shaolin Temple, but surprisingly enough, it went quite well. I think that Caden is fascinated with the sense of movement he gets when he can look out a bus window. I'm afraid he won't get that sense of movement at 39,000 feet over the north Pacific...and that may very well suck. For many people. But back to the Shaolin Temple...
The first thing we saw was a food vendor. Based on the name alone, I don't think they're getting many English-speaking customers.
As you can see, Caden was ecstatic to be at the world-famous Shaolin Temple with his excessively handsome father:-)
First on the docket was a Kung Fu show. Just as a reminder, the Shaolin Temple is the home of Zen Buddhism and the birthplace of Kung Fu. With it being a holy site and all, I almost expected it to be not blighted by the hand of commercialism. But Zen Buddhist monks are not dummies...they know a cash cow when they see one, I suppose. Between the tourists and the Kung Fu academy(ies) on site, they've managed to do quite well here. But back to the Kung Fu show. It was put on mostly by younger acolytes, I believe. Quite impressive. I missed getting photos of the more famous acts (needle through the pane of glass, leaning on the spear point, breaking the metal bar with the head) because someone (I won't mention any names, but it rhymes with Caden) kept throwing water bottles and other things on the ground during that part of the show. Sorry.
After the Kung Fu show, we walked through the Pagoda Forest, which is where all the past Grand Masters/abbots are buried. Very beautiful and awe-inspiring, when you think about how old the pagodas are.
Later, we toured the temple itself. That was quite impressive. If anyone is a fan of "An Idiot Abroad," here is a picture of the tree the star of the show was beating on for a couple of hours:
That is such a great show.
Lots of pictures to show from the temple grounds, but I'll pick a few that I thought were really interesting.
In the original practice grounds, there are 48 footsteps embedded in the stones, where the monks practiced their Kung Fu. You should just be able to make out the indentations. The mural on the wall is over 500 years old, from the Ming dynasty.
We followed the tour with a nice traditional Chinese meal, which I did not get to enjoy much of, due to the 16-month-old Hoover I had on my lap. Most meals have been that way. The silver lining is, I think I've lost weight while I've been here.
On the way back from the restaurant, we saw this beautiful little park with these interesting statues of men in various Kung Fu poses.
It was shortly after this that my loving, cute, adorable son peed all over me. I repaid him by having him chase bubbles all over the hotel room.
Here are some more random Shaolin Temple photos. Enjoy.
I understand some of you have had questions about what happened to the dogs in the article from the Beijing paper in one of my previous posts. The article talked about a truckload of dogs that had been rescued while on their way either to or from Zhengzhou/Beijing. It was stopped in Beijing, either coming from or going to Zhengzhou...can't remember which. But the important thing is that the dogs were rescued, rather than kebobed.
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