Another unique experience in China for us!
Last night, Juna woke up screaming and crying. She could barely breathe. So congested and miserable. We finally got her to sleep and we all managed about 8 hours, WOW! That is a record for our stay so far in China. THe baby slept until 7am and boy were we grateful.
I got her out of her crib and noticed her cough had gotten even more congested. She was also tugging at her ears. Oh oh! Bad sign.
We got everyone ready for breakfast. Which means heat up the hot pot. Oh, for those about to travel- do you know what a hot pot is? I didn't. It's a plastic kettle on a hot plate. You fill with water, press a button, and it heats up boiling hot within minutes. You pour about 2 oz of the hot water to 3 oz of bottled water. At least that is what Juna likes and might be a good place to start for you. Daddy feeds while I shower and get ready. Then I play with Buggie while Dad gets ready. Then we head downstairs.
At White Swan, there is a room attendant on every floor. He will rush out to push the elevator button for you, then direct you into the elevator. He or she is there for your every need. It may not happen quickly- the Chinese are not people who rush or like to be rushed. Let them lead by their pace. I often find myself acting in American mode and rushing them along- and I'm a nice person! I just forget to SLOW DOWN and let them lead.
After getting downstairs, we had another fabulous buffet breakfast. We stuff our faces because we don't know what the day will bring, food wise. SOme good, some horrible. Best to stock up while you can.
I just had a bad feeling at breakfast. I went up to the table of our travel group and asked for advice. I was told there is a medical clinic here on the 3rd floor. They will not give antibiotics, only Chinese medicine. But someone from our group offered medicine.
Now, let this be a lesson about rumors and info you read online. I was grateful for the offer for medicine, but I wanted a professional's opinion on Juna's condition. So we headed to the 3rd floor. Sure enough, there was a doctor's office right here in the White Swan. My thinking is that she could tell me what was wrong, then I could get antibiotics from my travel mates. Yeah, like I'm a doctor and know what I'm doing....
It's tiny. One waiting room, one exam room. It's clean. A bit worn down, but nothing extreme. There was a nurse/interpreter and the doctor who only spoke Cantonese. The doctor was a lovely older lady grandmotherly type.
They started with the routine questions. What was wrong and is she peeing and pooping? The doctor looked in her ears- infected. Listened to her chest- bronchitis. We were told it is a very minor infection, but will get worse without treatment. So this is when I braced myself- what kind of treatment?
Antibiotics! See! Find these things out first hand. Or just trust what I am telling you on this blog. And, after talking to another daddy, you can get antibiotics in Nanchang as well.
So then the nurse got out the ear drops and showed us how to put them in Juna's ears. She told us the doctor said she does not want Juna eating any more eggs, as eggs give the ears energy. Tee hee. I am sure that got WAY lost in translation. Then the nurse went behind a counter and we watched her mix the medicine. She took pills and crushed them and put them into little paper sleeves. Then she filled four bottles with various liquids. The crushed pills are vitamins C and B "to help absorb the antibiotics." We are to take a cup and mix the liquid antibiotics with the vitamins, then spoon feed them to Juna three times per day. The ear drops are for one week. We are to see our doctor when we get home and show her all the paper information on what Juna has been taking. We read the info- it's all stuff we've given Boo back home. THe only difference being the vitamins.
The doctor praised us for getting her in early. In a few more days, it would have turned for the worse. Well, in a few more days, we'll be on an airplane. That was my thinking- get a doctor now so our flight home isn't worse than expected.
There is another family with us who had a hospital experience. Their baby had a stomach bug and became too weak to drink her bottle. She was a baby who was weak to begin with. They went to three different hospitals- not sure why? Maybe they were sent there. They said the conditions were horrible. Kids just peeing in the hallways. Dirty gloves. Really unsanitary conditions in comparison to the US. However, their baby is now 100 percent better after two rounds of IVs and medications.
So there you go- if your little one gets sick, see a doctor. Even if you have antibiotics with you, it's nice to know just what is infected in there. If your doctor was like mine, and did not want to give you antibiotics to take over- no worries. They have them here- same kind as in the USA. My doctor just felt that it is not right to give a baby medication if you don't truly know what's wrong and don't know if the baby needs it or not.
Oh, and if the baby appears sick before coming home- go to a doctor. Don't have a sick baby on the flight home. The total cost for the visit and medicine was 40 USD.
Well worth it!
Alright, pics coming in the next post.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Sunday night in GZ
Too tired to write. Falling asleep at keyboard. Catching up on pics from the last few days. Here's Matt and Juna at a local Chinese restaurant in downtown GZ. Yes, we took a cab and went downtown. The only Americans around. We attracted a lot of attention.
Coco, Juna, and Samster. Internet friends meet.
A happy baby especially loves the song, "Shoo fly, don't bother me."
A birthday cake sent to our room courtesy of our adoption agency.More when I can focus my eyes again.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Sunday in Guangzhou
Guangzhou at night is something to be seen. I sit with the baby by our hotel window and watch the light show on the river below. The entire shoreline- buildings and walkways- are lit with neon. THere is a hotel across the way that has a light show projected on the side of the building. Cruise boats covered in neon float by. Then spotlights flash across the water. Lasers project from the tops of the highrise buildings and shoot all over the water. The suspension bridge down the river is also covered in neon and lasers. They pay obnoxious music, so I turn up the sound system in the room to classical music. I sit and feed the baby and take in the unreal display below. I have heard that tonight there might be fireworks to help honor Hong Kong's holiday. Hong Kong will have the real show tonight with 5 million dollars worth of fireworks. I wish we could be there. I sure hope Hong Kong Muse and her husband will be out, taking in the display and taking pictures!
Matt now has the cold. He is pretty miserable. Juna appears to be getting over hers. I think I am being reinfected again. Bah.
It's the lack of sleep. 1212 is/ (was hurrah!) a bad room. We watch the laser show at 930pm, then go to bed. That's when the upstairs plumbing went crazy again. We were up very late with the bang bang clang clang. This morning at breakfast, I asked our travel mates if they had the same problem. Nope, just us! Matt immediately went to the front desk. Within ten mins, a bellboy arrived to fetch our bags and take us to a new room. Two floors up, two doors down. Same stunning river view, non smoking, and a baby crib arrived five mins later. There is a hot pot here, too. This is the service people have raved about from the White Swan. The service that was lacking when we arrived several days ago. Whew, thank you White Swan. Let's hope this is a quiet room. Mama really needs to sleep.
I cannot nap. Our days are now so packed with appointments and sight seeing. I can sleep when we get home. hahahaha, yeah right!
Yesterday the group went to the pearl and jade market. Which sounds fun, right? Five stories of jewelry! Connected to a tower of shops on the other side! Mei Heaven!!
Eh, not so much fun with a baby in a poorly air conditioned building. If you come here in summer, just prepare to sweat constantly. Even tho GZ is far cooler than Nanchang, it's still pretty stifling here. An 8 month old orphanage baby has newborn like needs. THere is a need for a bottle ever few hours. Our baby cannot sleep on the fly. She is too consumed with the world around her, which is to be expected. The whole time we were there, I was worried about her.
I did manage to get a ton of outfits for my girlies for about 3 usd per outfit. My Chinese friends said I overpaid. It's funny how there are prices for Chinese retail, Chinese wholesale, and then prices for the Americans. Bargaining? I HATE IT. I have learned how to blame Matt- that really works. "Husband says too high!" They will instantly lower the price. That is, when I have had to bargain. They usually lower the price immediately. I turn to Matt. They lower some more. I still look skeptical, more lowering. Then I finally find the price in my head that seems reasonable. To me, it all seems reasonable compared to US prices. But my Chinese friends have gotten into my head. Wholesale!!
June Bug had a huge blowout diaper while we shopped. No changing tables. But would you, even if you could? The bathrooms are Chinese and in this location, not clean. We changed her outside in the square of the center. With plenty of onlookers. We stood her up to put on her pull up Chinese diaper and she peed everywhere. It's ok. The little kids just pee wherever they want. Still... not comfortable.
I wandered around the Jade market for a bit. I am not a jade or pearl girl. And the shop keepers were not willing to bargain as much. Instead of waiting for our group, we said goodbye and caught a cab to the hotel.
Later in the evening, we met Samster, our online friend. We are meeting three wonderful online friends while here from the China Daily website. It's an internet forum for the CHina Daily newspaper. There have a GZ section and years ago, I posted. I asked for local friends to give me as much GZ info as possible. Samster is one of the people who answered who I have been talking to all this time. I meet my other two friends in the coming days. He had time in his busy schedule to take us to dinner. Ok, his name is Sam, but I nick named him Samster. He is a very outgoing young graphic designer. We met in the hotel lobby and there was much happiness. We have been waiting a long time for this meeting.
We walked to Sam's favorite restaurant, which was packed. So we headed down the street to another. they had outdoor dining, so we dined by the river. This place was AUTHENTIC. Like pigeons as appetizers authentic.
uyguygkgbkjhbk
she is up. more later
Matt now has the cold. He is pretty miserable. Juna appears to be getting over hers. I think I am being reinfected again. Bah.
It's the lack of sleep. 1212 is/ (was hurrah!) a bad room. We watch the laser show at 930pm, then go to bed. That's when the upstairs plumbing went crazy again. We were up very late with the bang bang clang clang. This morning at breakfast, I asked our travel mates if they had the same problem. Nope, just us! Matt immediately went to the front desk. Within ten mins, a bellboy arrived to fetch our bags and take us to a new room. Two floors up, two doors down. Same stunning river view, non smoking, and a baby crib arrived five mins later. There is a hot pot here, too. This is the service people have raved about from the White Swan. The service that was lacking when we arrived several days ago. Whew, thank you White Swan. Let's hope this is a quiet room. Mama really needs to sleep.
I cannot nap. Our days are now so packed with appointments and sight seeing. I can sleep when we get home. hahahaha, yeah right!
Yesterday the group went to the pearl and jade market. Which sounds fun, right? Five stories of jewelry! Connected to a tower of shops on the other side! Mei Heaven!!
Eh, not so much fun with a baby in a poorly air conditioned building. If you come here in summer, just prepare to sweat constantly. Even tho GZ is far cooler than Nanchang, it's still pretty stifling here. An 8 month old orphanage baby has newborn like needs. THere is a need for a bottle ever few hours. Our baby cannot sleep on the fly. She is too consumed with the world around her, which is to be expected. The whole time we were there, I was worried about her.
I did manage to get a ton of outfits for my girlies for about 3 usd per outfit. My Chinese friends said I overpaid. It's funny how there are prices for Chinese retail, Chinese wholesale, and then prices for the Americans. Bargaining? I HATE IT. I have learned how to blame Matt- that really works. "Husband says too high!" They will instantly lower the price. That is, when I have had to bargain. They usually lower the price immediately. I turn to Matt. They lower some more. I still look skeptical, more lowering. Then I finally find the price in my head that seems reasonable. To me, it all seems reasonable compared to US prices. But my Chinese friends have gotten into my head. Wholesale!!
June Bug had a huge blowout diaper while we shopped. No changing tables. But would you, even if you could? The bathrooms are Chinese and in this location, not clean. We changed her outside in the square of the center. With plenty of onlookers. We stood her up to put on her pull up Chinese diaper and she peed everywhere. It's ok. The little kids just pee wherever they want. Still... not comfortable.
I wandered around the Jade market for a bit. I am not a jade or pearl girl. And the shop keepers were not willing to bargain as much. Instead of waiting for our group, we said goodbye and caught a cab to the hotel.
Later in the evening, we met Samster, our online friend. We are meeting three wonderful online friends while here from the China Daily website. It's an internet forum for the CHina Daily newspaper. There have a GZ section and years ago, I posted. I asked for local friends to give me as much GZ info as possible. Samster is one of the people who answered who I have been talking to all this time. I meet my other two friends in the coming days. He had time in his busy schedule to take us to dinner. Ok, his name is Sam, but I nick named him Samster. He is a very outgoing young graphic designer. We met in the hotel lobby and there was much happiness. We have been waiting a long time for this meeting.
We walked to Sam's favorite restaurant, which was packed. So we headed down the street to another. they had outdoor dining, so we dined by the river. This place was AUTHENTIC. Like pigeons as appetizers authentic.
uyguygkgbkjhbk
she is up. more later
Friday, June 29, 2007
Shopping in GZ
In the lobby of White Swan. It really is a lovely hotel, despite my complaints from last night. The 1st floor buffet is to the left of this picture.
Walk out the front door of White Swan. Cross a very small street. Cars are not insane in this area and you will be just fine. Right across the street are the "Ladies Names Shops." Lucy's, Susan's, Jennifer's. That's where you can take your laundry and do some shopping. Here is a pic of us standing on that street, looking back to the White Swan Hotel. The shop behind Matt also offers those services but we did not go there yet. The White Swan is to the left of where Matt is standing.
I have never seen pics like this is any of the adoption blogs. I hope this helps future travelers. I plan on posting much more.
A typical scenario. People stop to shake Juna's hand. When they speak to her in Mandarin, she breaks into a huge grin. She misses the tones. I think all parents should learn a little Mandarin for speaking to the babies. They really do understand. What they don't "get," is made up by the familiarity and comfort of hearing a language they've heard spoken since birth. Just a few simple phrases is all you need. I often ask Chinese women to speak to her just so I can see her reaction. And react she does!
Standing in front of Jennifer's place, looking back to the White Swan hotel (not in the picture, but to the right of this picture.)
I just got an email from my friend Sam, who lives here in Guangzhou. He asked what kind of cake to order for Matt's dinner tonight.
His birthday dinner.
I sat here and went, "Oh my god. I forgot my husband's birthday!!!"
Matt was out getting us some lunch. He came in and again, I cried. I have cried so much on this trip! Wu wu wu wu wu wu wu.
He looked shocked. Huh? It's my birthday? Wu wu wu wu turned into shew shew shew shew!
I am blogging a lot today, huh! Hey, the baby naps a lot, thanks goodness.
The baby passed her medical exam, just fine. The doctor was worried about the now disappearing boil on her arm. Matt assured him, via translator, that she had it in the orphanage. He seemed relieved to hear that, as he did not want her to give it to the other babies. And then he said she needs to drink water, as her throat is very sore. Otherwise, she got the ok, health wise, to leave China.
After the medical exam, we headed out to the shops around the hotel. Everyone talks about them on the various adoption blogs. Jennifer's Place. Lucy's Place. Susan's Place. They stand outside and hand out fliers on laundry prices and try to get you into the store. Lucy has the best location. She's first on the block. Plus, she is not pushy, which I loved. I handed her my bags of laundry and said I would wander the store. She left me alone, which is amazing. Other shop keepers are very pushy here.
She got my business just based on her friendly, no hassle attitude. I bought a gorgeous Chinese silk robe for myself in blue. Going back for a red one later. Getting one for Marge, don't tell her! Got a special something for one of you reading this, but my keyboard is sealed! haha. Most of these stores carry traditional Chinese dresses for girls. Lucy's has the Chinese silk traditional top with a tutu skirt. Guess who got several of those?
In Nanchang, I had a wedding dress made for next year, as it is our ten year anniversary and we plan to renew our vows. Not sure if I mentioned it yet or not. It's brown with silver trim, very lovely. With my recent weight loss, it's already too big. I need to find a Chinese tailor in our city! So not traditional Chinese wedding dress, as it is not red and poofy, but it works for me. Today at Lucy's, I bought matching traditional red dresses for the girls for the wedding in the appropriate sizes. Next to the brown, it will be stunning.
These little shops let you borrow strollers. So we put June Buggy in the stroller and headed down to Jennifer's, where we bought a suitcase for loading up our souvenirs. You can get a suitcase for about 7 USD.
Got back to the hotel and totally confused a Chinese man. He saw Juna and said, "She looks so Chinese, how is that?" He was looking from Matt to me and back again. A lady came up to him and explained in Mandarin that we adopted her. He started laughing and then the group that had gathered exploded in laughter. The man was embarrassed. I told him thank you for thinking I was pretty enough to be an Asian beauty, hahaha. The crowd wanted to stare and comment about Juna for about ten minutes. That is normal here. If you don't like crowds or being the center of attention, stay in your room.
The people on the streets in GZ are very friendly to the Americans. In Nanchang, we confused them. They are not used to seeing us and they were so baffled. Here, they smile and wave and speak English. It's a much different scenario.
If you are an outgoing person, you won't get anything accomplished here. If you are chatty like me, and can talk to anyone, you will spend most of your time talking on the streets to so many wonderful people. From the other adoption families to the locals. And I'm not even a tall blonde. Imagine if I had that going for me. I'd never get to my room! If I had gone with Katie, as our LID dates had originally planned- oh imagine that. Katie, if you are reading this, imagine the attention we'd attract! (Katie is blonde.) And we both talk talk talk talk talk and laugh very loudly and talk with our hands and are very expressive. Tee hee, that would have been a blast.
My western burger and fries for lunch tasted awful. I am looking forward to my traditional Chinese meal and cream birthday cake tonight.
Off to the Jade market. Five stories of pearls and jade and bargaining to be done. Oh, we got some excellent deals in the local shops. A big smile and friendly attitude goes a LONG way when it comes to bargaining, I have found.
Or maybe even the Chinese cannot resist my charms.
Hey, don't be impressed by my weight loss based on the pic I posted. The camera was held up and I was tilting my head just right. I know how to pose for a camera, people. Especially if I want to look ten pounds lighter. And yes, I will get one of me and the baby. The problem is that I'm the photographer in the family.
Someone described my hair as being very Louise Brooks. With the humidity and no round brush or styling products, I would agree.
You know I'll be back with more. I am so glad you are enjoying all these details. I am having fun sharing them with you. And of course, I will love printing these pages for Junie Bug's scrapbook. Oh- she's doing this thing now where she pats my face and goes, "Ahhhh! Ahhhhh! AHHHHHHH!" Then she tries to pull my hair or take off my glasses while screeching AHHHHHHH. If I repeat it back, she will say it again. We sing song it back and forth, back and forth. She also smiles the instant she sees me. So different from the baby who wouldn't make eye contact with me on Gotcha Day. Now she stares deeply into my eyes and pats my face. Amazing that it hasn't even been one week.
I hope someone reading this blog becomes sold on the idea of adoption. If I could convince just one random person out there to consider adoption, I will feel so proud. I will feel like I am paying it forward.
Can you love an adopted child as much as a biological? Can you look into the eyes of a baby of a completely different race and see yourself looking back? Can you your heart melt from a baby that came from someone other than you and your sig other?
I hope my experience can show that the answer to all of those questions is yes. YES YES YES oh heck yes.
I'm so glad we are doing this. I'm so glad our answer was yes.
Walk out the front door of White Swan. Cross a very small street. Cars are not insane in this area and you will be just fine. Right across the street are the "Ladies Names Shops." Lucy's, Susan's, Jennifer's. That's where you can take your laundry and do some shopping. Here is a pic of us standing on that street, looking back to the White Swan Hotel. The shop behind Matt also offers those services but we did not go there yet. The White Swan is to the left of where Matt is standing.I have never seen pics like this is any of the adoption blogs. I hope this helps future travelers. I plan on posting much more.
A typical scenario. People stop to shake Juna's hand. When they speak to her in Mandarin, she breaks into a huge grin. She misses the tones. I think all parents should learn a little Mandarin for speaking to the babies. They really do understand. What they don't "get," is made up by the familiarity and comfort of hearing a language they've heard spoken since birth. Just a few simple phrases is all you need. I often ask Chinese women to speak to her just so I can see her reaction. And react she does! 
Standing in front of Jennifer's place, looking back to the White Swan hotel (not in the picture, but to the right of this picture.)
I just got an email from my friend Sam, who lives here in Guangzhou. He asked what kind of cake to order for Matt's dinner tonight.
His birthday dinner.
I sat here and went, "Oh my god. I forgot my husband's birthday!!!"
Matt was out getting us some lunch. He came in and again, I cried. I have cried so much on this trip! Wu wu wu wu wu wu wu.
He looked shocked. Huh? It's my birthday? Wu wu wu wu turned into shew shew shew shew!
I am blogging a lot today, huh! Hey, the baby naps a lot, thanks goodness.
The baby passed her medical exam, just fine. The doctor was worried about the now disappearing boil on her arm. Matt assured him, via translator, that she had it in the orphanage. He seemed relieved to hear that, as he did not want her to give it to the other babies. And then he said she needs to drink water, as her throat is very sore. Otherwise, she got the ok, health wise, to leave China.
After the medical exam, we headed out to the shops around the hotel. Everyone talks about them on the various adoption blogs. Jennifer's Place. Lucy's Place. Susan's Place. They stand outside and hand out fliers on laundry prices and try to get you into the store. Lucy has the best location. She's first on the block. Plus, she is not pushy, which I loved. I handed her my bags of laundry and said I would wander the store. She left me alone, which is amazing. Other shop keepers are very pushy here.
She got my business just based on her friendly, no hassle attitude. I bought a gorgeous Chinese silk robe for myself in blue. Going back for a red one later. Getting one for Marge, don't tell her! Got a special something for one of you reading this, but my keyboard is sealed! haha. Most of these stores carry traditional Chinese dresses for girls. Lucy's has the Chinese silk traditional top with a tutu skirt. Guess who got several of those?
In Nanchang, I had a wedding dress made for next year, as it is our ten year anniversary and we plan to renew our vows. Not sure if I mentioned it yet or not. It's brown with silver trim, very lovely. With my recent weight loss, it's already too big. I need to find a Chinese tailor in our city! So not traditional Chinese wedding dress, as it is not red and poofy, but it works for me. Today at Lucy's, I bought matching traditional red dresses for the girls for the wedding in the appropriate sizes. Next to the brown, it will be stunning.
These little shops let you borrow strollers. So we put June Buggy in the stroller and headed down to Jennifer's, where we bought a suitcase for loading up our souvenirs. You can get a suitcase for about 7 USD.
Got back to the hotel and totally confused a Chinese man. He saw Juna and said, "She looks so Chinese, how is that?" He was looking from Matt to me and back again. A lady came up to him and explained in Mandarin that we adopted her. He started laughing and then the group that had gathered exploded in laughter. The man was embarrassed. I told him thank you for thinking I was pretty enough to be an Asian beauty, hahaha. The crowd wanted to stare and comment about Juna for about ten minutes. That is normal here. If you don't like crowds or being the center of attention, stay in your room.
The people on the streets in GZ are very friendly to the Americans. In Nanchang, we confused them. They are not used to seeing us and they were so baffled. Here, they smile and wave and speak English. It's a much different scenario.
If you are an outgoing person, you won't get anything accomplished here. If you are chatty like me, and can talk to anyone, you will spend most of your time talking on the streets to so many wonderful people. From the other adoption families to the locals. And I'm not even a tall blonde. Imagine if I had that going for me. I'd never get to my room! If I had gone with Katie, as our LID dates had originally planned- oh imagine that. Katie, if you are reading this, imagine the attention we'd attract! (Katie is blonde.) And we both talk talk talk talk talk and laugh very loudly and talk with our hands and are very expressive. Tee hee, that would have been a blast.
My western burger and fries for lunch tasted awful. I am looking forward to my traditional Chinese meal and cream birthday cake tonight.
Off to the Jade market. Five stories of pearls and jade and bargaining to be done. Oh, we got some excellent deals in the local shops. A big smile and friendly attitude goes a LONG way when it comes to bargaining, I have found.
Or maybe even the Chinese cannot resist my charms.
Hey, don't be impressed by my weight loss based on the pic I posted. The camera was held up and I was tilting my head just right. I know how to pose for a camera, people. Especially if I want to look ten pounds lighter. And yes, I will get one of me and the baby. The problem is that I'm the photographer in the family.
Someone described my hair as being very Louise Brooks. With the humidity and no round brush or styling products, I would agree.
You know I'll be back with more. I am so glad you are enjoying all these details. I am having fun sharing them with you. And of course, I will love printing these pages for Junie Bug's scrapbook. Oh- she's doing this thing now where she pats my face and goes, "Ahhhh! Ahhhhh! AHHHHHHH!" Then she tries to pull my hair or take off my glasses while screeching AHHHHHHH. If I repeat it back, she will say it again. We sing song it back and forth, back and forth. She also smiles the instant she sees me. So different from the baby who wouldn't make eye contact with me on Gotcha Day. Now she stares deeply into my eyes and pats my face. Amazing that it hasn't even been one week.
I hope someone reading this blog becomes sold on the idea of adoption. If I could convince just one random person out there to consider adoption, I will feel so proud. I will feel like I am paying it forward.
Can you love an adopted child as much as a biological? Can you look into the eyes of a baby of a completely different race and see yourself looking back? Can you your heart melt from a baby that came from someone other than you and your sig other?
I hope my experience can show that the answer to all of those questions is yes. YES YES YES oh heck yes.
I'm so glad we are doing this. I'm so glad our answer was yes.
Chinese Beauty
Airport with Daddy
On the bed in Nanchang. Wearing a sweater from Katie. So needed in the cold air conditioning. The Chinese people love her tuxedo Robeez.
Barbie Goes To China
And she adopted a Chinese baby. Maybe.
There was just a knock at the door. Our room attendant, much happier today, handed me a box with a Barbie inside. She's the typical blonde Barbie, but she's holding a baby in front of her. A Guatemalan baby? That's no Chinese baby! That looks like Scarlett, my friend's baby from Guatemala! Tee hee, this is great.
Everyone who stays at White Swan gets a Going Home Barbie. When I first heard of her, I assumed she was Asian. Of course not. She's a white girl who adopted a Chinese/Guatemalan baby. While wearing 6 inch hot pink shoes.
Sorry, sorry. I am not knocking this age old tradition.
Ok I am.
Barbie is about 20 years old, right? So she's not old enough to adopt from China. She meets the weight requirement, that's for sure. Income wise? Oh yeah, Barbie's loaded what with the super fancy townhouse and the Malibu swim house and the clothing line. But she's single. Or did she and Ken get married at this point? She looks amazing for a woman who's spent 2 weeks in China. Shiny, styled hair. The locals must hover around her and take pictures, which Barbie loves. SHe's a fashion model, remember?
Barbie is wearing a multi colored satin wraparound skirt that shows plenty of thigh. 6 inch high heels, as I mentioned. The dress is topped off with a bolero jacket made of woven tweed with gold threads. Matching belt. The Guatemalan/Chinese baby is wearing a ... hmm.... hoochie baby outfit. Purple hot pants with skimpy tank top that ties in the back. Bare feet, which would never go over well in China. Chinese women think babies need covered feet! And she needs a sweater. Chinese women think babies need sweaters inside in the air conditioning.
Barbie and the baby have the same skin color. Barbie needs to stay out of the sun. Skin Cancer and all.
The baby has a head full of plastic black hair. And pink lipstick. Her lipstick matches Barbie's! And yes, that baby is wearing eye liner.
Mattel, Mattel, Mattel. You could have at least made the baby Asian.
But thanks! Miss Boo is going to LOVE her.
There was just a knock at the door. Our room attendant, much happier today, handed me a box with a Barbie inside. She's the typical blonde Barbie, but she's holding a baby in front of her. A Guatemalan baby? That's no Chinese baby! That looks like Scarlett, my friend's baby from Guatemala! Tee hee, this is great.
Everyone who stays at White Swan gets a Going Home Barbie. When I first heard of her, I assumed she was Asian. Of course not. She's a white girl who adopted a Chinese/Guatemalan baby. While wearing 6 inch hot pink shoes.
Sorry, sorry. I am not knocking this age old tradition.
Ok I am.
Barbie is about 20 years old, right? So she's not old enough to adopt from China. She meets the weight requirement, that's for sure. Income wise? Oh yeah, Barbie's loaded what with the super fancy townhouse and the Malibu swim house and the clothing line. But she's single. Or did she and Ken get married at this point? She looks amazing for a woman who's spent 2 weeks in China. Shiny, styled hair. The locals must hover around her and take pictures, which Barbie loves. SHe's a fashion model, remember?
Barbie is wearing a multi colored satin wraparound skirt that shows plenty of thigh. 6 inch high heels, as I mentioned. The dress is topped off with a bolero jacket made of woven tweed with gold threads. Matching belt. The Guatemalan/Chinese baby is wearing a ... hmm.... hoochie baby outfit. Purple hot pants with skimpy tank top that ties in the back. Bare feet, which would never go over well in China. Chinese women think babies need covered feet! And she needs a sweater. Chinese women think babies need sweaters inside in the air conditioning.
Barbie and the baby have the same skin color. Barbie needs to stay out of the sun. Skin Cancer and all.
The baby has a head full of plastic black hair. And pink lipstick. Her lipstick matches Barbie's! And yes, that baby is wearing eye liner.
Mattel, Mattel, Mattel. You could have at least made the baby Asian.
But thanks! Miss Boo is going to LOVE her.
Saturday in GZ
7 hours of sleep has given me an attitude adjustment. I told you I'm an adventurous person. If I get enough sleep. And I'm not sick. And I am not worried sick about a sick baby. And my basic needs are met. Well, hers, more importantly. I am still sick with whatever got me yesterday. All intestinal. I am going to assume it was the plane food. Chinese plane food is even worse than US plane food.
Could anyone question how I have bonded with this baby? I was like an angry lioness in this room last night. My baby needed food and sleep and getting both was this impossible task. Oh- orphanage babies like their cribs. They do not want to go to sleep on a bed. Well the ones in our travel group don't.
I was so upset about the disorganization because it meant she would suffer. I don't care about my needs as much. But hers? Her have to be met. . I finally slept through an Ativan haze last night even tho the plumbing problems upstairs continued into the wee hours of the morning. Hence, the need for Ativan and lots of it. So funny because other travel group members did the same thing. The construction and plumbing noises here are pretty irritating. I am so grateful for the DR for prescribing that drug. He swore I would need it in China and he was right!
Our view IS stunning. It's like Vegas here. Everyone says that but they don't explain why. The buildings along the river are lit up with neon and flashing lights. Laser lights project off the tops of the highrises onto the river. They play music along with the lasers. Cruise boats float by, also covered in neon and flashing lights. We are no longer in Nanchang, that is for sure! I am totally going to enjoy that tonight. last night, it was like a bad acid trip. "Make it stop, maaaaan. Make the noises go away, maaaaaaan!"
WOW are the beds hard here. Harder than Nanchang. I mean, like sleeping right on the floor. I doubled up the extra blankets on the so called mattress and was able to get comfortable. If you are staying at White Swan in the future, do the same. Even hard mattress lovers think the beds here are ridiculous. About three blankets underneath and you will feel like you are on a normal mattress again. I realize I am in China, but I think about the new Westin opening up here soon. They will feature the Heavenly Beds and Heavenly cribs. They will also give each family a stroller and a baby bath. I think they will steal away the White Swan's business. To me, it seems White Swan wants less adoption families, more business travelers. I think that is the direction they are headed, anyway. I will be curious to see how this trend plays out in the future.
At this point, I want anyone reading this to know that if you cannot stay at White Swan due to construction this summer, don't even worry. With the construction going on here and all the plumbing problems, this place is unorganized and chaotic. And the rooms are tiny. I think people are impressed if they have never stayed five star before. There are interesting touches here and there. The lighting plan in unique. You can light up pretty much any surface in this room. There is marble everywhere. But the carpets are filthy, the furniture is dinged up, and our bathroom was not clean. I think this floor may be next to go under construction, hence why it has been let go a bit.
There is also a floor attendant at the elevator to take care of your every need. Ours is less than thrilled to do so. She is probably sick of all the chaos as well. NOt sure who dropped the ball on the crib situation last night. But it made for a tense situation on this floor. Half the families had cribs. Half did not. The staff had to assemble cribs, then find mattresses and blankets. Totally not prepared. But they were apologetic to us, which we appreciated. We were perfectly nice to them and kept our cool, but we were not pleased.
There are some very unhappy families in our group due to that situation. Also due to putting smoking families in the non smoking rooms. Since they smoke in those rooms and the smoke gets into the non smoking rooms. Some of the travel mates are asthmatic, so it's a health hazard. The smoke I smelled getting into our room in Nanchang? It was from a non smoking room of a travel mate. My clothes reek of smoke from that hotel room. We pondered asking to change rooms here but were advised against it. We have a lot of smokers on this trip and if we get moved next to them, we get smoke and not banging noises from the plumbing above. I'd rather have the noise than the smoke, seriously. Blehhhh. Another travel mate picked up her bags in Guangzhou to find someone had thrown up on them!! So it could be a whole heck of a lost worse. I hung up a lucky Chinese symbol in our room to keep all the bad mojo away. Then I counted my blessings. THen I chased all the bad stuff away.
Speaking of smoking, one Chinese person told me that he is amused by the ladies from a particular country who travels to China to adopt babies. Won't list the country, but they are known for being heavy smokers. He says the ladies smoke with one hand, eat with another, and blow smoke in the direction of the babies. He says the Chinese people get very angry when they see that happen. He said at least the Americans keep the smoke from the babies. I told him not all do! But some do try.
This morning was rushed due to our 8am appointment and baby who slept in! We had to wake her up. Give a quick bottle, while one of us gets ready, then switch off, and head down to the buffet. She seems more congested today, but less snotty. Good. Maybe this will be a quick cold.
The restaurant is gorgeous. One wall is all glass that overlooks the river. The other view is of the waterfall in the lobby. The food is set up at several stations. There is just one tiny Chinese breakfast station. The rest is all Western. I was a bit sad by that. I do love my breakfast dim sum! But I cannot find any as good as in Hong Kong. The chef at the Chinese breakfast area was thrilled that I wanted a plate. He filled mine with various goodies. "Here, here, try this. Very good, you like this!"
Sorry about lack of pics in this post. We had headed downstairs for the 8am medical exam and that's when.. I got sick again. ARG! I was so mad! I wanted to be there for Juna. But I could not. I was dizzy, sweating, and so so sick. Don't blame the chicken feet! Yeah, I swore no heads and no feet, but I had to give them a try. Seriously, blame that plane food. SO SO SO spicy. And food in Nanchang is spicy in general. Our lunch was spicy and so was dinner. I am reacting the way I do when I have spicy food in the US. I will not blame this on food poisoning. Just a hungry woman who ate food that is not on her ok list.
So Matt took the baby to the medical exam and now here I am, typing to you crazy people. I took several Pepto tabs and am much better, thank you.
I wanted to mention some of the sweet things that happened in Nanchang yesterday. It was hard to say goodbye to Rose and Jason. They were so kind to us and we will miss them. We exchanged email addresses and hope to stay in touch.
Yesterday, Tiffani's of Nanchang came through. They delivered our daughter's finding ad to the hotel. It was hard to find, as she was in Suichuan, not Sichuan. Sichuan is well known. Suichuan is confusing, even to the Chinese. It is a very tiny area in the Jiangxi province. It is often hard to get a hold of their local paper.
When a baby is found, an ad is taken out in the local paper. A finding ad is a heartbreaking sight. It's rows and rows of newborn faces- ok, not only newborns but children as well! ROWS of them and this is from a tiny little area of China. All abandoned. Some in her finding ad, which took up two whole newspaper pages, had obvious deformities. Others looked "normal." And there was sweet Juna. Wrapped in a blanket, fast asleep. I cried. I mean I sobbed and sobbed. I'm crying as I type this because those babies... so many babies. And the little girls in those photos! Three to five years old. Abandoned? Parents are dead? Who knows. No mommies and daddies to love them. Oh it is just unreal how that touches your heart. I sat and stared at those faces and sobbed until I shook. It was so real then, seeing her in that photo. Seeing those little faces who just need so much love. And knowing how many out there want them right now, if they could have them.
My crying woke her up. She was sleeping on her tummy, and she popped up her head and smiled at me. More tears. I mean, I was a basket case. I held her and held her and sobbed onto her little head. She let me. As if she knew. As if she understood.
Tiffani's gave us a copy of the pages, and the front page of the paper that day. Our baby was found on the steps of the local tax bureau by a citizen of Suichuan, who took her to the police. The police wrote her report and took her to the Suichuan Social Welfare Institute. They guessed her age based on her umbilical cord condition. Tiffani's also gave us her actual ad cut out and put into a red Chinese envelope.
I will look at it again once I get home. I can't do it now. Too painful to see.
Other things of note- when at the Nanchang airport, Juna and I chose to sit down with a group of Chinese people who were waiting for their plane. There was immediate interest in her. An old man started chatting to me in Chinese. I understood baby and how old? I said "Sorry, English only. Bao bao 8 months. " A lady leaned over and translated it for him. That's when many more people came to ask questions and she translated. "They want you to know you have a Chinese Beauty. Her eyes are round. She has perfect earlobes. Women in China want to have earlobes that look like that. They say she will grow up to be very beautiful." I said thank you and asked what she meant by the earlobes. The woman traced Juna's ears with her fingers, showing me how Chinese women like their ears to be shaped. "She has that perfect shape. Such lucky baby."
She then asked Juna's age. No one could believe her age. "Such big baby, such strong baby for 8 months. Baby will be tall." She translated that the people said thank you for caring for China's forgotten children. She actually said it that way, which was really neat to hear. "We in China are so grateful you care so much about our children. We cannot afford to care for them. We all want to adopt them, but we cannot afford to send them to school if we do. Thank you so much for giving her a better life."
She then gave me a message to everyone out there. "Tell the Americans who are coming how grateful we are and how we feel they are such good people, such kind people to care for our children."
Then she gave me some Chinese medicine and tissues from her purse. "Baby is sick. Give her half this packet, she will get better."
As I said before, your baby in China is everyone's baby in China. We have not encountered the Clothing Police, who want to cover her up in layers in this heat. Instead, we have encountered the face wiping police. Everywhere we go, Chinese women want to wipe Juna's nose. And they are rough with it. This is why the babies hate having their noses wiped. Our travel mates keep asking what the nannies did to these babies. I think they wiped their noses too hard, if it's anything like how the strangers wipe Juna's nose. Try stopping a Chinese lady from wiping your baby's nose. It's amazing how hands on they are with the babies here. Or they want to stroke her cheek or play with her hands. Men and women! No one has taken her from me yet. But they do crowd around. The thing I hear over and over again, by men and women, young and old, "Chinese beauty. So beautiful." Even on the plane, the flight attendants could not stop fussing over her. "Big eyes! So lucky!"
Which proves the age old theory. The Beautiful People are very lucky people indeed. If a baby can attract this much attention, imagine what it's like to be a beautiful woman.
Eh, I'm glad I'm a funny woman. This is why I make friends everywhere I go. People like me. Awww, you like me.... you really really... ok I'll stop.
OH! We got video of this! The plane in Nanchang? When we boarded, it was so hot, that the air conditioner vents on the plane were blowing out steam. Condensation? Whatever. Cool air met hot air. It looked like the inside of the plane was smoking. We walked into a cold steam bath on the plane. It was unreal looking.
One last note. Since I've been in China, I've lost ten pounds. Between the walking in the extreme temps, the healthy food, and the occasional bouts of stomach troubles, I've haven't been this "thin" har har, in YEARS. I am at my lowest weight in five years. Man, I need to stay in China for a few months. I'd come back a size 6.
If anyone talks to my mom, please tell her that a good night's sleep made the world a better place. We'll be fine. We're just getting through each day until we can get home. We'll have fun in the next few days, but it is wearing on us. Travel is stressful! Traveling half way around the world to meet your new baby? I can't believe I haven't had a nervous breakdown yet.
More later, with pics!
Could anyone question how I have bonded with this baby? I was like an angry lioness in this room last night. My baby needed food and sleep and getting both was this impossible task. Oh- orphanage babies like their cribs. They do not want to go to sleep on a bed. Well the ones in our travel group don't.
I was so upset about the disorganization because it meant she would suffer. I don't care about my needs as much. But hers? Her have to be met. . I finally slept through an Ativan haze last night even tho the plumbing problems upstairs continued into the wee hours of the morning. Hence, the need for Ativan and lots of it. So funny because other travel group members did the same thing. The construction and plumbing noises here are pretty irritating. I am so grateful for the DR for prescribing that drug. He swore I would need it in China and he was right!
Our view IS stunning. It's like Vegas here. Everyone says that but they don't explain why. The buildings along the river are lit up with neon and flashing lights. Laser lights project off the tops of the highrises onto the river. They play music along with the lasers. Cruise boats float by, also covered in neon and flashing lights. We are no longer in Nanchang, that is for sure! I am totally going to enjoy that tonight. last night, it was like a bad acid trip. "Make it stop, maaaaan. Make the noises go away, maaaaaaan!"
WOW are the beds hard here. Harder than Nanchang. I mean, like sleeping right on the floor. I doubled up the extra blankets on the so called mattress and was able to get comfortable. If you are staying at White Swan in the future, do the same. Even hard mattress lovers think the beds here are ridiculous. About three blankets underneath and you will feel like you are on a normal mattress again. I realize I am in China, but I think about the new Westin opening up here soon. They will feature the Heavenly Beds and Heavenly cribs. They will also give each family a stroller and a baby bath. I think they will steal away the White Swan's business. To me, it seems White Swan wants less adoption families, more business travelers. I think that is the direction they are headed, anyway. I will be curious to see how this trend plays out in the future.
At this point, I want anyone reading this to know that if you cannot stay at White Swan due to construction this summer, don't even worry. With the construction going on here and all the plumbing problems, this place is unorganized and chaotic. And the rooms are tiny. I think people are impressed if they have never stayed five star before. There are interesting touches here and there. The lighting plan in unique. You can light up pretty much any surface in this room. There is marble everywhere. But the carpets are filthy, the furniture is dinged up, and our bathroom was not clean. I think this floor may be next to go under construction, hence why it has been let go a bit.
There is also a floor attendant at the elevator to take care of your every need. Ours is less than thrilled to do so. She is probably sick of all the chaos as well. NOt sure who dropped the ball on the crib situation last night. But it made for a tense situation on this floor. Half the families had cribs. Half did not. The staff had to assemble cribs, then find mattresses and blankets. Totally not prepared. But they were apologetic to us, which we appreciated. We were perfectly nice to them and kept our cool, but we were not pleased.
There are some very unhappy families in our group due to that situation. Also due to putting smoking families in the non smoking rooms. Since they smoke in those rooms and the smoke gets into the non smoking rooms. Some of the travel mates are asthmatic, so it's a health hazard. The smoke I smelled getting into our room in Nanchang? It was from a non smoking room of a travel mate. My clothes reek of smoke from that hotel room. We pondered asking to change rooms here but were advised against it. We have a lot of smokers on this trip and if we get moved next to them, we get smoke and not banging noises from the plumbing above. I'd rather have the noise than the smoke, seriously. Blehhhh. Another travel mate picked up her bags in Guangzhou to find someone had thrown up on them!! So it could be a whole heck of a lost worse. I hung up a lucky Chinese symbol in our room to keep all the bad mojo away. Then I counted my blessings. THen I chased all the bad stuff away.
Speaking of smoking, one Chinese person told me that he is amused by the ladies from a particular country who travels to China to adopt babies. Won't list the country, but they are known for being heavy smokers. He says the ladies smoke with one hand, eat with another, and blow smoke in the direction of the babies. He says the Chinese people get very angry when they see that happen. He said at least the Americans keep the smoke from the babies. I told him not all do! But some do try.
This morning was rushed due to our 8am appointment and baby who slept in! We had to wake her up. Give a quick bottle, while one of us gets ready, then switch off, and head down to the buffet. She seems more congested today, but less snotty. Good. Maybe this will be a quick cold.
The restaurant is gorgeous. One wall is all glass that overlooks the river. The other view is of the waterfall in the lobby. The food is set up at several stations. There is just one tiny Chinese breakfast station. The rest is all Western. I was a bit sad by that. I do love my breakfast dim sum! But I cannot find any as good as in Hong Kong. The chef at the Chinese breakfast area was thrilled that I wanted a plate. He filled mine with various goodies. "Here, here, try this. Very good, you like this!"
Sorry about lack of pics in this post. We had headed downstairs for the 8am medical exam and that's when.. I got sick again. ARG! I was so mad! I wanted to be there for Juna. But I could not. I was dizzy, sweating, and so so sick. Don't blame the chicken feet! Yeah, I swore no heads and no feet, but I had to give them a try. Seriously, blame that plane food. SO SO SO spicy. And food in Nanchang is spicy in general. Our lunch was spicy and so was dinner. I am reacting the way I do when I have spicy food in the US. I will not blame this on food poisoning. Just a hungry woman who ate food that is not on her ok list.
So Matt took the baby to the medical exam and now here I am, typing to you crazy people. I took several Pepto tabs and am much better, thank you.
I wanted to mention some of the sweet things that happened in Nanchang yesterday. It was hard to say goodbye to Rose and Jason. They were so kind to us and we will miss them. We exchanged email addresses and hope to stay in touch.
Yesterday, Tiffani's of Nanchang came through. They delivered our daughter's finding ad to the hotel. It was hard to find, as she was in Suichuan, not Sichuan. Sichuan is well known. Suichuan is confusing, even to the Chinese. It is a very tiny area in the Jiangxi province. It is often hard to get a hold of their local paper.
When a baby is found, an ad is taken out in the local paper. A finding ad is a heartbreaking sight. It's rows and rows of newborn faces- ok, not only newborns but children as well! ROWS of them and this is from a tiny little area of China. All abandoned. Some in her finding ad, which took up two whole newspaper pages, had obvious deformities. Others looked "normal." And there was sweet Juna. Wrapped in a blanket, fast asleep. I cried. I mean I sobbed and sobbed. I'm crying as I type this because those babies... so many babies. And the little girls in those photos! Three to five years old. Abandoned? Parents are dead? Who knows. No mommies and daddies to love them. Oh it is just unreal how that touches your heart. I sat and stared at those faces and sobbed until I shook. It was so real then, seeing her in that photo. Seeing those little faces who just need so much love. And knowing how many out there want them right now, if they could have them.
My crying woke her up. She was sleeping on her tummy, and she popped up her head and smiled at me. More tears. I mean, I was a basket case. I held her and held her and sobbed onto her little head. She let me. As if she knew. As if she understood.
Tiffani's gave us a copy of the pages, and the front page of the paper that day. Our baby was found on the steps of the local tax bureau by a citizen of Suichuan, who took her to the police. The police wrote her report and took her to the Suichuan Social Welfare Institute. They guessed her age based on her umbilical cord condition. Tiffani's also gave us her actual ad cut out and put into a red Chinese envelope.
I will look at it again once I get home. I can't do it now. Too painful to see.
Other things of note- when at the Nanchang airport, Juna and I chose to sit down with a group of Chinese people who were waiting for their plane. There was immediate interest in her. An old man started chatting to me in Chinese. I understood baby and how old? I said "Sorry, English only. Bao bao 8 months. " A lady leaned over and translated it for him. That's when many more people came to ask questions and she translated. "They want you to know you have a Chinese Beauty. Her eyes are round. She has perfect earlobes. Women in China want to have earlobes that look like that. They say she will grow up to be very beautiful." I said thank you and asked what she meant by the earlobes. The woman traced Juna's ears with her fingers, showing me how Chinese women like their ears to be shaped. "She has that perfect shape. Such lucky baby."
She then asked Juna's age. No one could believe her age. "Such big baby, such strong baby for 8 months. Baby will be tall." She translated that the people said thank you for caring for China's forgotten children. She actually said it that way, which was really neat to hear. "We in China are so grateful you care so much about our children. We cannot afford to care for them. We all want to adopt them, but we cannot afford to send them to school if we do. Thank you so much for giving her a better life."
She then gave me a message to everyone out there. "Tell the Americans who are coming how grateful we are and how we feel they are such good people, such kind people to care for our children."
Then she gave me some Chinese medicine and tissues from her purse. "Baby is sick. Give her half this packet, she will get better."
As I said before, your baby in China is everyone's baby in China. We have not encountered the Clothing Police, who want to cover her up in layers in this heat. Instead, we have encountered the face wiping police. Everywhere we go, Chinese women want to wipe Juna's nose. And they are rough with it. This is why the babies hate having their noses wiped. Our travel mates keep asking what the nannies did to these babies. I think they wiped their noses too hard, if it's anything like how the strangers wipe Juna's nose. Try stopping a Chinese lady from wiping your baby's nose. It's amazing how hands on they are with the babies here. Or they want to stroke her cheek or play with her hands. Men and women! No one has taken her from me yet. But they do crowd around. The thing I hear over and over again, by men and women, young and old, "Chinese beauty. So beautiful." Even on the plane, the flight attendants could not stop fussing over her. "Big eyes! So lucky!"
Which proves the age old theory. The Beautiful People are very lucky people indeed. If a baby can attract this much attention, imagine what it's like to be a beautiful woman.
Eh, I'm glad I'm a funny woman. This is why I make friends everywhere I go. People like me. Awww, you like me.... you really really... ok I'll stop.
OH! We got video of this! The plane in Nanchang? When we boarded, it was so hot, that the air conditioner vents on the plane were blowing out steam. Condensation? Whatever. Cool air met hot air. It looked like the inside of the plane was smoking. We walked into a cold steam bath on the plane. It was unreal looking.
One last note. Since I've been in China, I've lost ten pounds. Between the walking in the extreme temps, the healthy food, and the occasional bouts of stomach troubles, I've haven't been this "thin" har har, in YEARS. I am at my lowest weight in five years. Man, I need to stay in China for a few months. I'd come back a size 6.
If anyone talks to my mom, please tell her that a good night's sleep made the world a better place. We'll be fine. We're just getting through each day until we can get home. We'll have fun in the next few days, but it is wearing on us. Travel is stressful! Traveling half way around the world to meet your new baby? I can't believe I haven't had a nervous breakdown yet.
More later, with pics!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)