Last night in China

Ahhh my last post from China.

It is now 6pm. Daddy is on the bed entertaining Juna with a business card and has been doing so for a half an hour.

No pics from today. We couldn't take pics in the purse mall and the shoe mall. Yes, a shoe mall. What kind do you want? Stories and stories of just shoes, everywhere! However, very hard to find a size 8.5 They have to run to a warehouse to fetch that size and we didn't have the time. I found some brand new Nikes, real ones, for 20 bucks. Not even released in the US yet Nikes. AHHHH do you feel my frustration???

Then, we did something just for Mike Blecha, a man that Matt works with. We went to Mcdonalds. Mike, our intestines suffered for you.

Let me just say it was some of the best service we have ever received in a restaurant, period. A manager saw that we were Americans and came running. She brought a menu with pictures and a hand held order taking device. Mcdonalds in China is a bit different. Every sandwich comes with lettuce and cucumbers and a spicy sauce. The menu is much much smaller than in America (at least this one was) and they serve ice cream in many unusual flavors, like melon, green tea, and pink peach. Hello Kitty was the kid's meal toy. Hello Kitty is so very popular here.

The food was awful, of course. Mcdonalds in the US is awful and it's even worse here. That spicy sauce was a killer on our stomachs. We were racing for the bathroom as soon as we walked in the door.

HOWEVER, we did so not really for Mike, but because we were on such a tight schedule. Isn't that why people always hit up Mickey Ds? I am vowing to make China Mcdonalds my last Mcdonalds trip EVER.

We did attract a lot of attention, of course, as we were Downtown and the only Americans anywhere. Mostly the workers who came up and wanted to know more about the baby. None spoke English or limited English so I tried so hard to communicate by miming. We were with my pal Steve, who is Chinese. One woman assumed she was our baby and Steve was my husband. I pointed to Matt and said, "Ba Ba." She smiled and said, "Lucky baby."

Then we had our swearing ceremony at the US Consulate.

Ok, let me just talk to the families who are coming to GZ in the coming months. White Swan is closing for renovations. You will probably be booked in the Westin. Lucky families!! It is next door to the Consulate, which is located in a gorgeous area of GZ. It's a downtown area, very modern, very clean and appears very safe. It is across from a park area that has a HUGE waterfall. I wanted to get out and take pics, but there was no time. Again with the no time thing. AND the Westin is down the street from a huge indoor fashion shopping plaza. There are limited restaurants in the area, but I did see a pizza joint and some Chinese souvenir shops. Once White Swan closes, more will move in, if they can afford the rent. It is a pretty swanky area.

The US Consulate office is in a modern building. No cameras or electronics of any kind were allowed. You go through security and have to check your electronics if you bring them. No water, no liquids of any kind. You can bring a bottle and formula and one diaper but that is all. No big bags of any kind.

You enter a large room and take a seat. Then your coordinator gives you some paper work. You take it to a window and a nice lady looks at your child's visa page, then at your child. Ours was asleep, so we had to wake her up. They are very serious about this part and must take a close look at baby.

After that, you sit down again. Once all families go through, and it's really a fast process, a woman comes out with a mic. She reminds you of everything you've been through to this point. Then she has you stand up, raise your right hand, and take an oath to take care of baby and swear all info provided is correct. Then everyone cheers and you are handed a folder and told not to open it until you get to immigration. Done!

We got back to the hotel. The group is going to a farewell dinner. We and our travel mates from our city opted to eat peanut butter sandwiches in our rooms and go to bed super early. With the stomach distress we've had here, we cannot risk a repeat on the plane. It appears every single family has had stomach issues of one kind or another. Even with the daily Pepto tabs. Matt ran to the local grocery and got some bread and chips. We brought the peanut butter over. And we are going to have a picnic, watch the 8pm laser show and go to sleep.

We leave at 530 am for the airport. GZ to Hong Kong. Hong Kong flight at 1245pm and arrive in Chicago at 2pm the next day. Go through customs and have a FIVE HOUR freakin layover. Get into our city around 9pm. Let's hope.

Our travel mates from our city hate flying as much as we do. We're all dreading this. But we keep repeating it brings us one step closer to our families. We'll get through this. We have a laptop loaded with TV shows we never watched here in China.

And that is that.

I want to thank you for reading ALL my entries. I know there's been many and I've been all talk talk talk talk talk. I've had a lot to say! This has been the trip of a lifetime. I know the point was to get June Buggy , but it was also to experience CHina so one day we can tell her about her country. Experience China we did. I cannot believe it's been two weeks. It's FLOWN by. Seriously, we just got here!! Aside from a few stomach issues, it's been amazing.

I'll post once I catch up on sleep. And I will also let you know how the adjustment period goes at home. I hate how people abandon their adoption blogs once they get home. I promise not to do that to you. Children do nap, so there's always a few mins to blog.

Alright, time for my peanut butter picnic.

Goodnight for the last time from China.

Last day in GZ continued- bag lady

Sorry I cannot reply to your Yahoo mail. I can receive, not send, for some reason.

Purse lovers? Are you listening? Are you prepared to be green with envy. You will be so green, Kermit the frog will look at your and go, "Wow, I guess it IS easy, being green."

Today I went to .... wait for it... wait for it...

A FIVE STORY PURSE MALL.

An entire mall. Just. For. Purses.

Otherwise known as Mae Heaven.

Each floor, each store, around every single corner. Purses. Purses. PURSES!! Gucci, Chanel, LV, Coach, Dooney and more more more more more.

And we were the only ones in there.

I almost fainted.

I don't think I've ever been that happy IN MY LIFE.

We were short on time. Can you believe it? SHORT ON TIME IN A FIVE STORY PURSE MALL. Short on time in a five story purse mall!!! Oh the humanity!

I ended up with only two. Two lousy purses from the five story purse mall. Because we were short on time. SHORT ON TIME IN A FIVE STORY PURSE MALL.

No, I'm not over it yet.

I doubt I ever will be.

Ok, that's all I wanted to say. Five story purse mall. Oh how I love you, five story purse mall.

Last day in GZ

Bittersweet. While I cannot wait to get back and start our family, I am also sad to leave China. To be honest, Nanchang was my favorite part of the journey. Take our view here in Guangzhou and then put it in Nanchang, and I would be crying right now because I wouldn't want to leave. Nanchang memories will be the best from this trip. It's where we met Juna and fell in love with the older style of China.

Last night we took a river cruise. It was just ok for me. The food was awful- served buffet style, Chinese, and the only thing edible was the pot stickers and they ran out within minutes. Most of us just skipped the food and took in the view.

The top deck did not have seating. The top deck was very uneven and difficult to navigate, especially with a baby. Of course it started to rain when we got to the best part of the view- the White Swan and the surrounding bars and hotels. On the lower decks, the AC did not work properly and the rain covered windows covered the view. We were very sweaty and miserable so I just bounced Junie on my lap and sang to her. Fortunately it was not a long cruise, nor did it cost that much.

Our guides did warn us to not buy flowers from the little children who swam the boat docks. It's a scam to distract you and pickpocket you. The other agency present did not warn their clients and I saw much chaos and uncomfortable people trying to get away from the mobs of children.

I would inquire about the more private, newer cruise boats. There is a green one with lovely white seating that travels around and looks lovely. I am sure it is pricey, but might be worth it to have a private dinner cruise just for your family. Future families might want to look into that, if you have some bucks to spare. Or perhaps some of the nicer cruise boats. I felt ours was very touristy and not very nice at all.

Breakfast this morning was quite amusing. There's a large group of American high schoolers here for a sports tournament. The coaches were heard saying, "Don't buy anything. You give them money, and they give you their money back, but it's worthless in the United States. It's just paper, it doesn't have any value. It's not real money."

We are now all on antibiotics as our colds have turned into sinus infections. Fear not, Hawk Family, we will not infect you on Weds and Friday!

Today is our last day to shop. Then we will go to the US Consulate for our swearing ceremony. That's what our guide calls it and when she does, I giggle. I picture all of us standing around and using some choice words. I think many in this travel group has some choice words to say right about now. Eh, not worth getting into. Let's just say some of us had fun on our trip and others didn't. Others forgot what the point of the trip was truly about. There. Very PC of me.

I am now almost completely Chinese! You should see me, butting into the buffet lines and pushing my way into elevators and almost knocking people over to get where I want to go. That's not being rude, it's being Chinese in a city packed with people. Our guides explained that to us on the first day and it's so true. It's every man for himself here. Oh, people are polite. But they are not like Americans to be overly polite. There are no lines. There is no real order. You just get where you want to go. And if you want to stop in the middle of the street to chat, people/cars/whatever will go around you. It took me a few days, but I got the hang of things here. But yeah, got some looks this morning when I cut into the buffet line. I just needed one thing and I didn't want to stand and wait. But in, get my bacon, but back out. mmmmm Bacon.....The Chinese man next to me didn't even bat an eye. The American lady behind me seemed miffed. Tee hee. Took me two seconds and I was on my way. that is the Chinese way.

If you are genteel and polite, get over it. Being nice is fine. But it's a different kind of nice here.

Anyway, I'm off to shop. A goodbye letter later today!

Monday in GZ Continues- Red Couch!

Today we had to stay in our rooms until Noon, in case there were any questions about our paperwork from the US Consulate. If so, then we'd be called from our coordinators, who were at the Consulate's office.

There is one unhappy person in our travel group. Things went badly for her in Nanchang in terms of smoking people being put in non smoking rooms. They smoked in their rooms, and the smoke drifted into t everyone's rooms. It's shared ventilation at Gloria Plaza, so if someone next door is smoking, you might as well be smoking. She is worse than I am about smoke, so she's angry and things are going badly for her.

We saw our coordinator coming off the elevator. We said, "How are you?" She said, "I'll be happy when you guys go home."

Ouch!

Our other guide, Jesse, is new to the job. We called her this morning when we didn't know where to take Juna. She's been following up with us ever since. She came by to see the baby, make sure we were ok. See, Jesse has not been driven nuts yet, as this is her first week. I am sure the frantic Americans can wear a poor Chinese coordinator down. Again, it's cultural. Americans rant and rave and want things done NOW. That is not the Chinese way.

We have learned things run on Chinese time. Like the sit down restaurants. Don't go if you are in a hurry. Things move very slowly. And if you inquire about something- like one time Juna's congee was very late. Everyone had been served and halfway through their meal and she still hadn't gotten her congee. I asked very nicely and the waitress snapped my head off. Ok! That is not the Chinese way. The thing to do is alert a manager. They roam the restaurants. Tell them the problem and it's fixed immediately. You don't tip a waitress at a Chinese restaurant, did you know? I did not know that.

So after 12 Noon, we met our friend Aler Young in the lobby. He was going to take us to see his university, but we only had 2 hours and it was a long subway ride away. I was looking forward to seeing a Chinese University! Oh well. Instead, we walked around the Island. Aler had found a must dine restaurant from his guide book. He's never been to this Island, even tho he lives in GZ. The guide book had must eat dishes, so we ordered the ones listed.

It was a cute place. Very small, nicely decorated. The staff spoke a little bit of English. The food arrived very quickly and was quite good. The Drunken Chicken was a dish served in a pot of cold rice wine. That threw me off. Cold chicken, still on the bone. But good. Another dish was pork served in a glob of brown fatty material. The waitress cut it open and the pork inside was so delish. I have learned you serve your food into a bowl and eat it from the bowl. The plate you are given is for the bone yard. You are not given napkins, just sealed wet cloth. Today's smelled like fresh tea. They also give you a a packet of tissues if you want to wipe your hands on something. I keep those packs for the toilets. It's so hit and miss. Will you have TP or won't you? Oh, this restaurant had WESTERN TOILETS! ANd lots of them. Honestly, I've used about five Chinese toilets now and STILL cannot get the hang of the right "aim." HAHHA.

Please note I witnessed another young and tiny Chinese woman purge her lunch in order to stay slim. It appears to be a big problem here. Which proves that even size zero women love to eat. "I'm just never hungry" is pure BS.



Aler Young, a university student from GZ.

The lunch specials page. Note the prices are in RMB. Click on the pic to enlarge. And yes, they did have pigeon here, too. Most of the menus here are in English, too.
Myself and Aler Young, posing at.....
STARBUCKS! From the hotel, walk down the Jennifer's/Lucy's/Name Your Shopkeeper street. Go to the end of the block. Make a right. It's the second store on the corner. And it has this lovely outdoor eating area. It is located near a little park. A lovely area where the Americans stroll around. The staff in Starbucks speak English.

We did not go to Cow and Bridge because it is Thai and we are not crazy about Thai food.

Walking back to the hotel with Aler, we witnessed a photo shoot outside of Lucy's shop. Two very good looking men, shirts off, and modeling jeans? Shoes? Who cares. Probably the best looking men I've ever seen in person in my life. Italian, maybe? Longish hair. Smoldering eyes. Young Chinese girls were gathered around, oohing and ahhing. The fashion director was smoking and looking bored. "She's French, I can tell," said Aler.

Then the girls followed us to try to get into the White Swan but the doorman would not let them go in. I can in and out of White Swan with ease. Even looking as grungy as I do. A white gloved uniformed man helps me out of the taxi and says, "Welcome to White Swan." Another uniformed man opens the door for me. Another man gets the elevator for me. A girl could get used to five star living real quick!!

Ok, now I take you to a special tradition at the White Swan Hotel. The babies get dressed up in traditional Chinese dresses and pose on the Famous Red Couch. How did this start? No one at White Swan even knows. They think we are nuts for doing this. Especially because the red couch in question has faded to a dull pinkish color.

There are about 6 or more red couches in the White Swan. No one knows exactly which is the famous one. We only knew because another adoption group were being photographed there. But there's two across from one another in this lounge and both have seen better days. So which is the famous one? The group chose the one by the birds. Whereas I think the one in front of the river view would have been more stunning.

The couch is located on the 2nd floor, beyond the lobby. There is a small open air lounge that overlooks the river. It's hotel guests only and there is a bar area. There is also a large bird cage filled with love birds. today one of the birds was out of his cage. There are other brand new, deep red couches near the bird cage. But the FAMOUS red couch is the most beat up one of them all. Gee, wonder why!
Miss Thang smiles on the couch before the other families arrive. She is wearing a pink dress we bought in Hong Kong.
The mommies frantically assemble the babies on the red couch. The following pics are the progression from assembling to breakdown. Juna is the second baby from your left, seated on the couch.




Juna is trying to comfort the baby in yellow next to her. she keeps patting the baby's head, which is pushing the baby over.
Juna is now attempting to comfort both babies next to her. She completely knocked over the baby in red. We think she was sick of sharing the spotlight. She did not cry once. She was more interested in consoling her couch mates.

Here is our entire group, assembled on the level between the second and first floor, overlooking the water fall.

More later.

Sunday/Monday GZ pics

Monday morning, after her bottle. That's when she's the happiest baby!
Still so happy and pretty, even with bronchitis, as we'd soon find out.
A view from our window at night to the river below. Those are the cruise ships decked out in neon.
Pink Floyd has nothin on GZ. That is the Jiang Feng Hotel and the light show that happens on the hotel. The lights around the trees below is from a bar district. See the green laser that is projecting from the top of the building? The suspension bridge is to the right of the pic. It also has a laser. They spread out and dance around and hit the water. It's pretty cool.
Mommy, where is my congee? Stop giving me the sign for "more" and just feed me already!
The White Swan breakfast buffet taken from the bread/pastries table.
More river views at night. Not sure which one we will be on tonight, but we are going on a dinner cruise. We will get to see the light show from the water. WOOO!

Katie- where the HELL is that Starbucks??? I've found one so far in GZ and it's in a NINE STORY shopping mall. Oh yeah. Nine stories. One of several downtown. Like to shop? China is your country. This is shoppers paradise. It's insane how many bags I have NOT purchased. I'm running out of money!! I guess I will go ask the concierge. Mama needs a Starbucks fix. But seriously, GZ is fantastic for shopping.

The White Swan's walls are paper thin. I can hear the man coughing next door. I can hear the man above opening his shower curtain. I am lucky to have a quiet baby and no babies next door. Oh those beds, so so so rock hard. I discovered padding in the drawer under the TV. Even with two bed bads, one down comforter, and one blanket under my body, it's still too hard. And I'm so padded! I cannot wait for my comfy bed at home.

Wait, here's Matt. He wants to tell you what he did on his birthday night. He was just running out to the market to get some water and some wipes. This is what happened.

I went to the concierge and said I needed to go to the supermarket. 7-11 didn't have the wipes we needed, nor did they have any sort of dishwashing detergent (which is how we clean the bottles and nipples). She wrote down a bunch of Chinese on the back of a business card and said "Give this to the driver." I looked at the card and thought "Hmmm. I could go to 7-11 and do without some things that we really sort of need, or I could go on an adventure. So adventure it is." I hopped in a taxi out front, the doorman looked at the card and said something to the driver. He drove me off to the Carrefour about 12-14 minutes away (an 11 yuan ride, or $1.40 US).

The place is amazing. It's the biggest grocery store I've ever seen in my life. It makes the Super Wal-Mart look like a corner convenience store. It's underground, so you go down an escalator to the B1 floor where you get your cart. Then you travel across that entire floor past tons of kiosks that are not part of the store but have leased space from them (this is pretty common, Wal-Mart in Nanchang had the same sort of setup). Down to the B2 level where you will find furniture, hardware, cosmetics, electronics, fashion, household items, cleaning supplies, etc etc. This floor is the size of a very large Wal-Mart or Target. Then you go down to the B3 level where you find the actual grocery store. This floor is also the size of a very large Wal-Mart. And it's just groceries. The place was jam packed, as is everything here. Fighting through the aisles is quite an experience. I of course got lots of looks as I was one of three Westerners in the entire store. I was able to find everything I needed very quickly and get into a checkout line with no hassles. In the next lane were two young kids, probably 6 or 7, with their mom. They kept looking up at me and whispering to each other. The next time they looked up I smiled and said "Ni hao" and they laughed and hid behind their mom. 8 1.5L bottles of water, a twelve pack of Duracell batteries*, two packs of Pampers wipes, 70 yuan. Or about nine dollars U.S.

*Batteries in china apparently have less acid in them, they don't last nearly as long as U.S. batteries. I was warned about this by Vince.

The cab ride home was as curious an experience as the shopping. There are LCD TV's in a lot of the taxis and they run main video content with a crawler across the bottom and three boxes of ads down the right side. It's one step closer to the TV in Idiocracy. The music videos here are as goofy, creative, and outlandish as the best of the 80's in the U.S. where there were no rules.


Thanks, Matt. Great update. Now back to Mei.

Helloooo. Ok, so Chinese bottles? LOVE them. I have stopped using my drop ins and am using the Chinese bottles exclusively now. They are the Betty Bottle brand. They come with a long rubber straw with a ball thingie on the end. That keeps the bottle mixed up and acts as a straw so the baby sucks the formula into the nipple. I don't use that part. But it's cool to see how it works.

Chinese wipes? Too thin. Don't like.

Chinese baby and children's clothing? The regular clothes are like boutique clothing in the US. It's SOOOO cute and SOOOO cheap. About 3 USD per outfit and we're talking really elaborate little outfits. Pirated licensed characters, I'm sure. I've got tons of Hello Kitty and Disney outfits for the girls in designs and styles I've never seen before.

People always comment about the smells in China. It's true, they can be brutal. Nanchang smelled like exhaust fumes. Guangzhou can downright stink. There's a vegetable that's used in all the cooking here that rots very quickly in the trash cans and WOW, it knocks you over when you encounter the odor. It smells like garbage/sewage at the same time. You can be walking along, la la la, then AAAACK! GAGG! Then la la la everything smells fine again. You will look around- where is this coming from? No clue. But now that I have had enough Cantonese cooking, I know the smell.

Do I like the food here? I am sorry to say I liked the food in Nanchang so much better. There is a spice here that is used on everything that does not agree with me. It does not taste appealing and it does not digest AT ALL. Bahhhhh. Lucy's, the cafe across the street, sells American food. They use that spice on everything. We had a club last night that I couldn't eat. I literally took one bite and threw it away. I will scan the Lucy's menu for future travelers, but please... don't expect Western food to taste Western. Not with that spice on everything.

Today we have agency stuff to do, then we are going to visit a Chinese University with our local friend. Then it's time for the famous Red Couch picture at 330. Then the dinner cruise tonight. A fun packed day with a family who has plenty of sleep. The Chinese medicine? Baby is out cold AND she can breathe! Hurrah!

Talk to you later-

Oh someone update Marge for me? Tell her about our latest adventures and although we love China, we cannot wait to get home and see everyone.

Katie- how do I get to Cow and Bridge? Cantonese food? How are prices?.

Monday in GZ- Good morning doctor

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 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.