Hello From Guilin!

Yesterday (Friday), we took the train from Nanning to Guilin. It was actually a very nice train and was not very crowded. The trip took about 4 1/2 hours and it was great seeing the China countryside. When we arrived at the train station, our guide met us on the train. We didn't realize what a relief this was until we departed the train and saw people everywhere. I have no idea where everyone had just come from, but we barely had room to walk, let along navigate with luggage. We hopped in another van, and were taken to the Bravo Hotel. We were definately not in Nanning anymore. We were in "tourist central". I think we're the only adoptive family that I've seen. The hotel restaurant only has one highchair (total) so that tells you how often they cater to families with young children. There are people here from all over the world. It's really kind of fascinating.
After our arrival yesterday, our guide Tony took us to Elephant Trunk park. Basically, it is a huge rock formation along the river that resembles an elephant's trunk. The elephant is actually the symbol of Guilin. Just as we arrived, a local group of dancers performed a show which was very entertaining. ShaoShao loves music and immediately began to dance. Maya then grabbed his hands and the two of them danced during the show. The performers were so taken by ShaoShao and Maya that they invited them over for a hug and photo. ShaoShao seemed ambivalant and Maya was a bit timid and unsure.
Poor Maya. Everywhere we go, Chinese woman are prodding and poking her and trying to give her hugs. Strangers bring their young children up to Maya and expect her to carry on a conversation. She has been very scared and timid and has not enjoyed this aspect of our travels.
This morning, we went on the river cruise. It was absolutely spectacular. The topography of Guilin is facinating...huge mountainous formations everywhere. It truely is a natural wonder. The cruise lasted about 4 hours (the river is currently very fast as it is rainy season and the water levels are high) and included a sit-down lunch. As we had lunch, a group of friends from Spain sat with us. Never did I imagine that I would be practicing my spanish in China. I was actually able to carry on a conversation with them for quite awhile (not at all gramatically correct) and mostly understood what they were saying.
Tomorrow, we visit Reed Flute Cave and from there, head to the airport to fly to Guangzhou. It feels like we're going home as Guangzhou is where we stayed for 14 days when we adopted Maya. It will be great to visit again and share this experience with Maya.
ShaoShao is still doing well. We really think he is still numb to so many things as he is processing his new life with virtual strangers. Even though he is somewhat ambivilant, he still has so much personality and a definate "naughtiness" side. We can only imagine what life will be like when he really comes out of his shell in a couple of months.
Tonight, we ventured out to a local chinese restaurant. We chose this place because it had a picture menu. As we were ordering, we were pointing to a variety of pictures and asking "what is this....beef? chicken? etc... Well, the waitress thought that we were ordering everything we pointed to. The food just kept coming and coming until there was barely room on our very large table for everything to fit. If only we had had some friends to join us for such a yummy feast. I guess next time we'll know to count the items on the waitress's order before we send her to the kitchen. Live and Learn!
I tried to upload pictures, but for some reason, the computers at our hotel business center do not accept my camera. Hopefully I'll be able to add pics from Guangzhou.

The Dynamic Duo!

ShaoShao has been doing great! His personality continues to surface more each day. He has also been sleeping well. For the first time last night, he didn't even wimper when he woke in the middle of the night. I think we are finally beginning to look familiar to him which is a great feeling.

Even though we have only known hime for 4 days now (it feels like so much longer), we are definately figuring out his likes and dislikes. So far, we know the following:

ShaoShao really likes:

Food (espeically anything sweet); being outside; music (everytime he hears music; he stops whatever he's doing and dances); fried noodles; balls; bubbles; making silly faces; milkshakes; his daddy; water (including bathtime); playing with chopsticks at dinner; and being held.

He's not so fond of:

short sleeves (he'll point to his bare arms and then to his drawer of clothes); diapers (he refuses to wear one...even at night); his sister invading his personal space; being taken out of the bath; getting ready for bed.

He is so easy going and seems to go with the flow. Maya continues to "mother" him like you wouldn't believe. Today, they wore matching outfits chosen by Maya. She wants to be just like him. Therefore, she is sitting in a high chair next to him during meals, requesting to be carried everywhere, always needing to go potty just as Shao let's us know that he needs to go, and always wanting her mommy's attention (expecially if I am holding or playing with Shao). She has dealt with so much change over the past week and is really handling it so well. She is also being prodded and poked by Chinese strangers everywhere we go. It has to be a bit intimidating for her. Anyway, she continues to be a trooper and always says something each day that just makes us melt.

Here are some pics of the dynamic duo.

Happy Birthday Papa!

Today we celebrated my Dad's birthday. Who ever thought his 62nd birthday would have been spent enjoying the sights of Nanning with his two grandchildren. Anyway, according to him, he couldn't imagine a better way to spend the day.

We began by visiting the local walmart...pretty much what you'd expect from any walmart, with a Chinese twist of course (barrels of rice sold in bulk and conveyer belts going from floor to floor that also carried your shopping carts). We then did the American thing and ate at the McDonald's next door.

In the afternoon, my dad and Dom took the kids to a local museum while my mom and I got pampered. Just across the street, there is an amazing hair salon. May mom was there the other day to get her hair cut and just raved about it. So today, I thought I'd give it a try. Since I had just gotten my hair cut before our trip, I decided to just get a wash and style. After about 30 minutes of washing (including head, neck, and scalp massage), I then sat in another chair for more head and back massage, and then in a chair to have my hair styled. It was so relaxing and my head feels great. All this for 15 Yuan (about $2.00). We then went to get a full body massage which was pretty much torture. It was a proper therapeutic massage that nearly sent me throught the roof with pain a couple of times. I'm still taking tylenol to ease the pain. I guess I was carring more stress in my back muscles than I thought. A one hour massage cost 60 yuan (just under $10.00). I just love the customer service around here...it is supberb.

Unfortunately, we were unable to visit Shao's foster family. It is against orphange policy to release the family's address so we were unable to locate the family and coordinate a visit. A representative from Hope and Grace (Shao's foster program) met with us today and picked up our gift to take to Shao's foster family. He also gave us a cd with additional photos of Shao and Yulin City. Any info we can get is better than nothing.

Just after our meeting with him, we met Ayla's foster mom. Ayla is a little girl who was adopted almost a year ago by another Harrah's family. Her foster mom had heard that a Harrah's family would be in Nanning so she traveled by bus over an hour to deliver a small gift for us to take back to Ayla's family. She was so nice and very appreciative of us for taking the gifts.

We ended the evening at the buffet restaurant in our hotel. It was absolutely fantastic! At the end of our meal, the staff brought a beautiful cake to our table for my dad. They all sang Happy Birthday to celebrate his special day. The hotel also delivered flowers to his room in honor of his birthday.

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Tomorrow, we leave first thing in the morning to catch a train to Guilin. Wish us luck as we travel 4 1/2 hours by train with 2 kids and lots of luggage. We're actually looking forward to seeing some of China's countryside on the journey.

I'm not sure when I"ll be able to post again. After tonight, we won't have a computer in our room. I"ll try to find computer access when we arrive in Guangzhou (Sunday evening).

More From Wednesday!

I forgot to mention in the last post that Shao had a bit of a difficult night last night. He went to bed great, but woke crying a couple of hours later. When I tried to hold and comfort him, he arched his back and kicked his legs, resisting me. I just held him tighter and closer until he was finally able to calm down. Dominic and I took turns waking with him as he stirred often throughout the night. When he woke this morning, he had a bit of a fever. We really think that he just hasn't been getting enough to drink and was a bit dehydrated. After a good breakfast and lots of fluids, he was fever free and feeling fine. After the marketplace and some quite time in the hotel room, we headed back to the People's Park. Maya taught Kai how to feed the fish. She also felt as though she had to have her hands on him constantly...pulling him right, then left, trying to control his every move. He has definately been much more resistive to her today because I think he's a bit tired of having his space invaded. I guess the sibling bliss has already ended. Reality, here we come. After feeding the fish, we played some carnival games, rode a couple of rides, and walked back to the hotel. This evening, Hannah took us to a local restaurant which was great. The menu was in Chinese so she ordered a variety of dishes including spicy fish. I couldn't believe it when the waiter actually brought a live fish in a bag for us to examine before it was cooked as part of our meal. The meal was really enjoyable. Bedtime was dreadful. Shao would begin to cry, then Maya would start her fake cry, and it just seemed like utter chaos. Shao has definately formed a special bond with Dominic as he only wanted him tonight. This gave me some much needed mommy Maya time. So I lay in bed with Maya while Dom rocked Shao to sleep. Within about 15 minutes, both kids were sleeping. Fingers crossed that this will last more than a couple of hours. I'm including some photos of people's park. I particularly like the one of Maya waving her index finger at Shao as though to say.."do what I say or else".

The Local Marketplace

Today, our guide, Hannah, took us to the local marketplace. For those of you who have never been to an authentic Chinese marketplace, it is quite the experience. Besides the usual fresh vegetables, fruits, and grains, there is also a wide variety of live animals (birds, chickens, snakes, turtles, and yes, even dogs) just wating to be bought to be eaten. Dead, skinned animals also hang from ropes, unrefrigerated. This market also had a large homeopathic section full of a variety of roots, leaves, and spices used for medicinal purposes. The market streets are so crowded with people, bikes, scooters, motor cycles, and cars. Did I mention to look both ways before crossing any street! Nobody stops for pedestrians around here. I feel like a pawn in the old video game "Frogger". You definately take your life into your own hands everytime you leave the safety of the sidewalk As we walked through the marketplace, we felt like walking artwork (actually, it is like this everytime we leave the boundaries of our hotel) We are often the only caucasions within eyesight and everyone is just so curious as to why we are carrying chinese children. I will say, though, that almost every encounter we have had with the local people has been pleasant and friendly.

DiDi Speaks!

Our first experience in China was so amazing, I hardly expected the second one could be moreso...but we are having a wonderful time once again! The travel, of course, is long and tiring, but OH! the reward is great!

Seeing our little Kai for the first time - in a room full of strangers, and even stranger-looking to him, biting that lower lip, trying so hard to be brave and looking so completely adorable - well, I was sold! What a wonderful grandson he is! And our Maya! I couldn't forget for a minute, regardless of the fact that she was probably having a panic attack - cold sweat, unfocused eyes - in the face of all these strangers and the idea of a new brother, a concept for sure not totally understood; yet, she bravely followed her mom and dad and put her arms around Kai and handed him her precious teddy bear all dressed up in its dinosaur pj's! The crowded room of adoptive parents all "ooh-ed and ah-ed" simultaneously whereupon Kai began to cry and I was already crying, of course. So, once again we witnessed the "birth" of a new grandchild to our family.

All you grandparents out there - you know exactly what I'm trying to express. When Kai blew me a kiss this morning I felt like the whole world was mine! We are continually showering Maya with all the attention we can offer - and that's a lot because she is our best girl -it's very hard to watch a new little stranger (brother - that brother-concept again!) get so much attention from mom and dad.

Well, my most interesting and brave experience was to go to a hair salon and get my hair cut -- it was not unlike being pampered in the ritziest salon in Chicago, but probably better! Now, I'm told I'm a modern girl!! We love China! We enjoy the people - it's interesting to be here in Nanning because there are fewer Caucasions here, so we are stared at a lot , but it is all friendly. We say "nihau"and people respond with smiles and curiosity.
Our days are fairly relaxed with a blend of sight-seeing, shopping, food, food, and food. I just returned from a local bakery with my "lunch". I had no idea what might be in the rolls I purchased (no English translation available), but Maya, Kai, Dom, and I sure did enjoy them! As they say: "When in Rome..." Next I think I will talk Jen into going out for a massage at a local parlor. It is supposed to be a wonderfully relaxing experience!

To all my Yostie friends who may be following along: I will be glad to share photos and experiences, probably until you tell me "STOP"! Today we were taken by our guide to the local market. I have some good photos of all the shops selling local products - mostly food, including live turtle, snake, fish, chicken (all live) and others that I'm not sure about. My daughter says I should plan some special library times to share with my student-friends about our wonderful China experience. See you after spring break, Yosties!

Before I close my eyes each night, I give thanks for my beautiful children and grandchildren, and for this amazing China opportunity! Lorene