Weekend in Guangzhou

Saturday we had the medical appointment required for the adoption and visa. We walked there from our hotel at 9:30. There were 4 families there from our agency (AAC). Two are staying at the White Swan and us and another couple staying at the Holiday Inn. The exam, ears nose & throat, and height weight stations went O.K. But it sure got loud and chaotic. The vaccination part took forever. We finally got out of there by the time it closed at noon. Nathan ended up needing 4 shots. He didn’t enjoy that much, but he got over it quickly. In the afternoon we spent several hours swimming in the outdoor pool on the roof. The weather was perfect for it (upper 90s). Outside of our hotel we have the Qing Ping market on one side leading to Shamian Island. Shamian Island is where the U.S. Consulate is located. The Qing Ping market is a traditional Chinese street market. This market has pets on a few streets (dogs, cats, fish, birds, mice, chipmunks, bunnies and some exotic things). On the next couple of streets were Chinese medicines (herbs, roots, etc.). We bought a little doggie to bring home. Just kidding! We did feel a bit sorry for the animals in this heat. At one shop it looked they were trying to revive a kitty. We bought some dried star fish for show-and-tell.

On the other side of the hotel is a street mall. Mainly clothing, but lots of specialty shops. This is where all the locals shop so the prices are set and you don’t need to barter. There are also lots of variety of restaurants (including American ones like KFC, McD, Pizza Hut and Papa Johns). I purchased a pair of shoes because my sandals split down the middle from my excessive walking. I would not buy these shoes in America, but they were the only pair available in my size. Jackie could not contain her laughter when I came walking down the hall in the mall that the sales clerk picked out for me. Actually I have been laughing too. But they feel comfortable and not a bad price. The mall is normally swarming with people. The other AAC family staying at the Holiday Inn described it as busier than New Orleans during Marti Gras (and he lived in New Orleans for several years). Our guide informed us that 12 million people live here in Guangzhou.

On Sunday we went to the Safari Zoo. It was about an hour van ride there. We shared the van with the other AAC family from our hotel. They have 2 twin bio boys (age 6) and adopted a 5 year-old girl. We got to the zoo at 10 am. Half the zoo was made for riding in a car or train and the other half was made for walking. We started out on the safari train. It was pretty neat ridding though all the areas. We saw deer, zebras, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, lions, tigers, and some exotic birds. Some of them came right up to the vehicles. In the walking section we got to hold and feed a baby tiger. But the best part was seeing the pandas. They had several and we got to get very close to them while they were feeding. The temperature really started to climb and we decided to leave before 2pm. Overall it was very cool and Micah and Abby really enjoyed it.
Monday we did not have much planned and we really relaxed. We visited the markets and did some more swimming in the hotel pool in the heat of the day. I will post some pictures soon. Nathan is doing pretty well. Today is our 1 week anniversary with him. His cold is getting better and he continues to be more comfortable with us. He still hasn’t let anyone but Jackie hold him, but he does give us all a kiss and he loves playing with everyone.

Next up on Tuesday we go to the consultate for the ceremonial oath, then Wednesday we start our way home after we get Nathan's visa.

--Craig