More of China...

So my daily blogging of the trip got a bit off track... Some because we haven't done much that required blogging about, but mostly because we have just been trying to keep the tiny terror safe and well until we can get her home! And that's taking a lot of energy 😆 she's seeming to mellow out some, behavior wise, and has learned some boundaries (we think), and is also well aquainted with the word NO by now 😂. For a few days after we met her, we couldn't really take her anywhere besides walking around with her contained in the stroller, but we've managed a few restaurants now and a few other things with our guide.
Friday, the 18th, we left Hangzhou and flew to Guangzhou, where the American consulate is, to finish up the paperwork needed to bring her to the US. It's so much nicer to be in Guangzhou, we aren't the only strange looking Americans to be stared at! The Chinese aren't shy about staring.
Tomorrow, Tuesday the 22nd, is our consulate appointment, and then we wait for Zuris visa to be picked up and delivered to us. And then we come home on Friday!! I am missing the 5 children at home so much! Plus it's not like a sauna at home. Guangzhou is a tropical climate, and so humid. I can't even imagine being here in the dead of summer... Plus China doesn't seem to be real big on air conditioning😓 And I really like air conditioning.
Today (Monday) we went to Shamian Island, and walked down Pedestrian street, was pretty fun. Also got to see the herb market ( think dried worms, snakes, scorpions,ect.) Interesting. And all the pics from that are on the camera :(
We ate supper at pizza hut, Mathan got duck pizza, while I played it safe with a nice Cobb salad!

We leave the hotel at 7:45 am Friday to go to the train station to take the train to Hong Kong to fly home. We fly from Hong Kong to Dallas, then from Dallas to Denver, get in at Denver around 8 PM on Friday, spend the night there, then fly out of Denver to Hays at 10am on Sat. To say we are ready to get home is a bit of an understatement!  We are also dreading the flights home just a little... our girl is not known for her patient quiet sitting. Pretty sure there will be a plane load of people that will be glad to never see us again. 

China day 3--meet Zuri day!

We have her! After all that paperwork, some tears, and lots of frustrations, we have her on our arms. She is spunky and on the go constantly, but sweet and charming also. Pretty sure she's not used to being told no 😰 

 

This was very soon after meeting her, she was unsure about us. Everytime we picked her up for a little while she would just go limp. She has relaxed so much just the few hours she's been with us though. 

On the way back to the motel with her, she just crashed. She went from not hardly sitting still to just asleep in about 30 seconds!

She loves the bathtub, and is very quick and smart 😂 I gave her a bath and she threw a fit about getting out. She had her PJs on and was ready for bed, and the next thing I knew she was back in the bathtub with her PJs on and water running! She doesn't miss much and will copy everything she sees us doing.

Most of our pictures from today are on the camera, so I can't share them yet, but once we're home and I'm not blogging from a cell phone, I intend to post them! 

China--day 2.

This was an interesting day! We felt much more refreshed and ready to go exploring. We located McDonald's, KFC, and pizza hut.. So we feel pretty good about that :) Hangzhou is a popular tourist destination, and has a beautiful lake called west lake. We explored there for awhile and took a boat ride to an island where there was some little stores and things to look at. While there we had some interesting experiences... while walking up to the lake a young boy came up to us and said his name was Leo and he was 9 years old, and could he have a talk with us? We said sure and said we were from America and he said "yes I know". We really stick out :) we had some young people come up and want to take their picture with us... The most interesting of all though was when a group of men came up to us, 6-7 of them, and we talked to them for quite awhile. We were told we looked like a match made in heaven :) and when they found out we had 5 children at home and were there to adopt another one, they were very impressed. Then Mathan told them that I stayed home and took care of the children and that I also sewed my dresses...I was told I must be a domestic goddess😂 they said the Chinese girls should learn from me and that Mathan is a lucky man, lol. They were very kind, and extremely good for my ego :)

Mathan had an interesting experience with a squatty potty also...:)

 

China is a mixture of old and new, modern and ancient. It's a beautiful country.

China--day 1.

We made it to Shanghai in one piece, exhausted but so glad to be off that plane! Welcome to Shanghai!
                       
After 14 hrs on planes, a 1 hr long car ride from the airport to the train station, complete with carsickness, a 1 hr bullet train ride and another 40 min long ride to the hotel... We were ready to crash! Our guide got us checked in and then left... And we realized we were hungry... So we ventured out on our own, not feeling overly brave and managed to find a little to eat.

meat on a stick :)   

Then we went back to our motel and crashed for the night!