Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Today was a shopping day. We started out with vouchers for the breakfast buffet in the hotel. I have to go on a diet when I get back. Breakfast is like wading through a sea of adoptive families with their babies. I think I heard 70 families.

After breakfast Pam and I went into a Chinese antique shop here in the hotel. We bought some old pottery and some other things. The prices are very reasonable compared to antique items in the USA.

It took us a while to get going on our shopping trip. We have a baby now. We converted some money into yuan (RMB) at the bank of China. The ratio is 8:1 or $800 Chinese yuan for $100 US. Hannah fell asleep during our chilly shopping trip. The Chinese merchants are very good business people. They offer free services like internet phone calls, stroller loans, etc. just to get you to come in and come back. We saw people making beautiful paintings with no brushes, just their fingers.

Hannah woke up and it's time for lunch at Lucy's, and American food restaurant. We ran into other families from the US at the restaurant and they all seemed like old friends. Later, the O'Haras came in too. Hannah did her regular hamming it up routine and was a big hit. She is doing her happy scream more and more because we all laugh and give her reinforcement. Some things will get regulated later. The lifestyle in the hotel is not a real lifestyle and she'll learn that later. Hannah probably thinks we live in hotel rooms and are a traveling band of gypsies.

I took Hannah back to the room for her afternoon nap while Kristin and Pam went shopping and Donna had some prayer time. Pam and Kristin called to check in from our Chinese cell phone we rented and Hannah enjoyed talking to them on the phone. As usual, Hannah wore me out before surrendering to the sand man and taking a long nap.

Supper was Chinese food again and this food is not so spicy and everyone seems to be getting used to it. They always feed us buffet style with a big spinning disc in the middle with all the food on it. They bring it out as it finishes cooking and about the time you think it's over, three or four more different entrees will come in rapid succession. Hannah likes the steamed eggs, fried rice, and some baby food from a jar. She did her screaming thing and got the desired result of everyone in our group looking at her. I got to hold one of the other babies, which is a huge thing here. One of our dishes was a huge fish with the head still on it. Simon gave us some more cultural information on the bus ride back to the hotel as well as an itinerary for the next day.

Back at the hotel, Pam, Kristin, and Donna went and picked up our laundry across the street. Then Kristin and Pam went for a "quick" trip to exchange some shoes and left me with Hannah. Hannah was not pleased. She cried and yelled for the whole time they were gone. She thinks she is one of the girls now and doesn't like it if they leave without her. She was throwing a fit no matter what I did, so I just put her in the crib and let her get it out of her system...she never quit. Just before Pam and Kristin walked back through the door, she made herself spit up all over the place, and there I was all kicked back and watching TV. We are really looking forward to getting back home and getting some order into our lives.

We have not had a sunny day since we got into China. It will be nice to get back to the sunshine state. Tomorrow is a big day because Hannah becomes a US citizen at the consulate. She has to take a test on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights....not really. The last two pictures are two other families in our group with their babies. The first couple adopted an 8 year old boy and they have 4 children at home. For the other couple with the small baby, this is their first child.

Jeff