Okay, so I admit it, two kids is a challenge. I wish now we had another adult accompany us. I think Sienna is tougher than the baby. Trying to wrangle her in at the airport was tough especially since she did not get a nap in and she was giddy. What should we expect from a 3 year old who is couped up in a hotel without a yard to run around in or play area. Our group is good about it except for one person who is choosing to be unfriendly toward us. Though, most people in the adoption community are wonderful and we have met some incredible friends we will likely stay in touch with for many years.
Back to today, we left Guangzhou at 11am in a flood of tears. We were quite emotional saying goodbye to our representatives from CCAI Evelyn and Cindy who went above and beyond the call of duty and really fell over themselves to make sure all our needs were taken care of. These people work their butts off and help not only make the experience seamless but very pleasurable. We will always remember Cindy who came to our aid when Brooke was running a fever yesterday. I think in the end we just had a teething incident but it gave us a little scare.
We had a lot of carry on luggage including a bag full of electronics gear, a diaper baby (with snacks and changes of clothes), a medication and documentation bag, and Sienna had a backpack. Besides all that I bought a beautiful porcelain set for Brooke with phoenix and dragon designs and is a customary wedding gift for a bride. I will be passing on the set to Brooke. Anyways, you cannot check the porcelain. So we had a big load and two kids 3 and under, not an easy feat.
When we arrived in Guangzhou we were hit with a gust of warm air. The city is huge and modern (mostly). This is a subtropical climate and the temperature is probably 75-80 and humid. We bused into our rather impressive hotel, the White Swan and then walked over to Lucy's for an outdoor dinner next to the Pearl river. Lucy's is a legend in the Chinese Adoption community as a place to get American food near the White Swan Hotel. Karen and John splurged for burgers and fries and Sienna had spaghetti with meat sauce followed by vanilla ice cream. John had apple pie Ala mode. We met up with some other Michiganders who are big fans of the Wolverines.
The hotel is filled with adoptive families with their new babies and children and is located on Shamian Island. Shamian Island is a former British and French Colony. The island is small, with a perimeter that can be walked in a 1/2 hour and has older buildings done in the English Colonial style. It looks a little like Europe with stone paved streets, parks and stores catering to the adoption community. We are excited to check it all out.
Tomorrow we have a 1/2 day city tour, then pictures of our group and children on the famous white swan red sofa (an adoption tradition), and then dinner with the group at a famous Thai restaurant called the cow and bridge.
We just unpacked and gave the kids bathes and they are both now sleeping soundly. We are soon to join them.
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