Trip to China
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008 The day started a little crazy. I woke up at 4:30am, as usual, which I kinda like. I can't do that too well back home, but I hate getting tired at 8pm. Anyway, that gave me a full 3 hours or so to get some stuff done. Then one by one, the rest of the fam started waking up. Breastfeeding sure was a nice luxury compared to this formula business! April and I felt like mad scientists today trying to figure out the right mixture of this and that to give to Ava. With breastmilk, it's always the right consistency and temperature - and always available. Wait a second, I don't believe it, it happened to me! I've always accused my wife that all female conversations eventually turn to breastfeeding and periods and here I am giving in to it. QUICK, get me to a Cabela's or a motorcycle shop!!! I need my manhood back! Okay, sorry for the tangent. It's late and I'm loopy and you're paying for it. Anyway, Ava once again did not take the bottle in the morning. We decided to try and fill it with juice or something a little sweeter. I wouldn't drink that moonshine we were concocting either - nasty stuff. We finally got down to breakfast at like 9:30. Thankfully our first appointment wasn't until 3:30 or so this afternoon. For breakfast Ava ate just about everything we put in front of her - eggs, yogurt, watermelon, fried goose hands (KIDDING!). We tried some congee for her but she didn't eat too much (turns out they put meat in the congee in the orphanages but we didn't know that little tidbit yet.) She scarfed all that down but still wouldn't drink anything. Later in the morning we had some time to kill so we did some exploring on Shamian Island. We walked through the park blocks and noticed the Polish Consulate. Apparently the Poles have an agreement with the Chinese military for security because a patrol of infantrymen marched up and changed the guards out in front of the consulate. Dad and I both snapped pictures and realizing what we'd done, looked quickly for an exit strategy. Seeing the futility in that, we tried to look as uninterested as possible even though we were actually very interested. Visions of the Gulag once again flashed in my head. I'm not posting those pictures out of respect because I know the CCAA can get embarrassed easily if the conduct of adoptive parents is a little unruly online. We managed to get away without incident though and came upon Sherry's Place... then Jenny's place... then Susan's place... then So and So's place on and on and on. It seems that everyone on Shamian Island wants their place. They're all trinket stores, but the best trinket store is Jordon's place. Mr. Jordon is a wonderful man with a nice little shop on Shamian Island. He is the only one of the shopkeepers we've noticed so far that actually puts a price on his stuff - and you're inclined not to bargain because you know he's not a crook. Jordon welcomes you in and immediately asks you the name of your daughter. Armed with this information he sets out to write her name in calligraphy. While doing this he still takes time to point out features of his wares and gets to know you. My Dad is called "Papa John" by the kids. Mr. Jordon got a big kick out of that and complemented Dad on his fruitful offspring. All of his transactions are still done on paper for the most part. We told him about a mountain tour we were thinking about taking and he said he likes to get away with his family up there on the weekends. This hustle and bustle lifestyle can wear on you. April got pretty good prices on squeaky shoes there and we got a few other trinkets. If you are coming to Guangzhou, make sure to stop by Jordon's, he's a good man. We also walked by what used to be the German Consulate, directly across the street from the hotel. The doors were tall enough for Oompa Loompas, but not quite tall enough for 6 foot westerners. There were lots of other sights we came across. There was a group of Chinese fashion models that were posing in a clothing line along the city streets. The wedding photographers were out again taking pictures of married-to-be couples. And of course there are all the interesting translations on the signs. We got back to the White Swan about 2 hours early so we decided to chill out on the red couches rather than go up to the rooms. The lobby was nice and cool and relaxed so this was a nice time. In that general vicinity they have all these sets of chairs set up with a small table between them. There's a bar close by also. It would be a good place to play some cards with a friend in the evening and wind down. YaYa had just slept a bit and was pretty active while we were hanging out. Soon enough it was time to depart for the Police Security Bureau to have YaYa's picture taken for her passport. This was about a 30 minute drive from the hotel. Walking in, several of us remarked how very similar it looked to a DMV. There were rows of chairs where people sat along with a counter that had uniformed officers at each station. The place was very new and spotless. Covertly, I snapped a few pictures inside but have opted not to post them. I asked our officer if I could take a picture of her doing the paperwork and got a firm "no photo", so that was that. Apparently we get her passport on Monday. This was just the photo that needed to be taken. To prove we were her parents, our guide handed the officer a nicely bound, red vinyl book with our adoption record in it. It reminded me of what a diploma looks like. Now that we're done with the police, it's time to go shopping! Okay, not so great as it sounds. We piled in the bus to go to the Carrefour grocery store. Now THIS was a surreal experience. Imagine a super Wal-Mart with obnoxious blaring muzak, 10,000 people, and a huge selection of exotic meats and vegetables. No liquor laws either so you can get some underwear, select the finest frozen chicken's feet, and buy your hooch all in the same place. You have your choice of live seafood... or dead seafood. One thing that really freaked me out is that you traverse three levels of this store, going down inclined people movers. At the first one after getting my cart I was thinking that this would be really interesting with a cart full of stuff. As it turns out, the darn things are magnetic! My cart just stuck there. April thinks I'm a doofus because apparently we have those back home too and I just didn't know about it. Here I am all giddy on the escalator ride and she had to rain on my parade. In any case, the shopping center gave us a chance to get some needed supplies - mostly formula and comfort food. We did get a new bottle that proved to work out very well that night. BTW, if you do get to see the sun in Guangzhou, this is what it looks like. When we got back from shopping we set to work trying to figure out the right consistency for the formula. Tracy (one of our Holt guides) was very helpful for us. She and April whipped up some kind of concoction that almost worked. Still though, YaYa didn't take it. We decided to head over to Lucy's to see if we could give her some broth or something, just to keep some liquids down her. At Lucy's, you can get all manner of American food - from hamburgers to burritos to spaghetti. Nothing too exotic here. We ordered some kind of brothy, noodly thingy for YaYa and she ate pretty much all of it. We also put water in a big girl glass for her and she drank a ton of it that way. When we got back to the room we tried one more time to give her a bottle, this time using a different one that we had gotten on our grocery shopping adventure. SUCCESS!! She drank the whole thing and fell fast asleep. Finally, we figured out the right chemistry - pasty gooey formula combined with rice meal and a local bottle. That cheesy bottle we brought from back home just flat didn't work. Either that or she was finally just so thirsty that she threw in the towel. Everyone slept easy. Thought you might like to see what the Guangzhou skyline is like in the morning.

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