Guangzhou!!

Let me first say that Andrew is better. Since waking up Friday morning from food poisoning, it's taken him this long to be semi back to normal. He's still not 100% and doesn't have his appetite back, but at least he's holding food down.

He was pretty much out of it all day Friday and most of the day Saturday. Which, if you know me, I couldn't really think about much else with him ailing like he was.

As for everything else, I last left off writing Thursday with me and Anamaria making a trip to the town Emily was found...a city southwest of Tianjin about 20 miles called Jinxing, I may have that spelling wrong. Anyway, we supposedly located the actual address and the coal storage room she was found near. Sadly, when we were inquiring, the residence thought we were asking about babies that had been left there more recently, one of which did not make it.

We learned that the residents themselves did not discover Emily, but it was a passerby that took her to the local police. And from the newspaper notice that was placed asking for whom would claim to be her parents, she was taken to the orphanage the same day she was found. Of course her birth day of 1/19/06 is an estimate given by the attending physician.

I took my video camera so I don't have any stills, however Ana does and I hope to have those uploaded to Flickr over the next day along with all the other pics since last Wednesday/Thursday to now.

The day after was our day to hop a Southern China airline and fly to Guangzhou, we recognize it more by the name of Canton. Speaking of which, you probably already know, but Beijing used to have the name as we knew Peking. Anyway, the flight was good and yet miserable, at least for Andrew and us feeling terrible for him. He managed the flight without losing his guts though, which was good. That morning was the last time he was to have lost it.

The flight was 2 hours and 45 minutes, but not before we checked in over an hour early and waiting on the plane before takeoff another 30-45 minutes.


We arrived Guangzhou and obtained our luggage all fine. There was one sad point of the flight that we're still trying to recover from though...they confiscated our bottle of scotch at the security check point in Tianjin. Gloom and despair and agony on me...oh oh!


I'm hoping you all can discern when I'm using candor in my posts and when not, otherwise we've got a problem. :)

As for Guangzhou, the warmer climate was very welcoming, probably in the mid 70s when we arrived. Also, the hotel with a tremendous amount of amenities that we Western folk are used to. We're so spoiled, it's ridiculous. The hotel room is interestingly smaller than what we had in Tianjing, but the choices of food and also...get this...this hotel is grand central station for all adopting families in China. There is a secondary choice of hotel around the corner for those who wish to have it. Otherwise, this is it, since all babies have to receive their visa in this city at the American consulate.

It's not just the adopting families though. This hotel is a 5 star hotel that would rate very close to what we may experience in the states, so there are many travelers coming through here for business and leisure. The hotel sits on, what they say, an island. Somehow the Pearl River meanders around it. It's quite a large river that looks to be a quarter mile or more across.

We got checked in and came back down for dinner in which they were offering a grand buffet for $40 per person. We weren't that hungry, so we opted to order off the menu. This buffet though, it had it...caviar, every kind of seafood, and I mean every kind. For a person that isn't that familiar with eating things like sea cucumbers, oysters, things I've never seen before, it kind of disrupted my appetite. There were all types of breads, meats, etc. The restaurant faced the river with the whole wall being all glass.

Our hotel is 28 floors high with maybe 150 rooms per floor. I would say that the majority of the visitors were adopting families.

Every place we've stayed, the breakfast has been included, so you can imagine how we're taking advantage of chowing down during this meal.

This morning, after breakfast, we went on a group tour and visited a buddhist monastery not far from the hotel. It had a pagoda about 9 stories high in which it was originally built around 500 a.d. They offered to have the monks bless the children. Some did, we declined. As we entered, they offered incense sticks to light and burn. It was apparent that many come to pay tribute or homage to buddha. I'm not really clear on whether they see buddha as a god. At least now I'm not. Previous to today, I thought they did, but I was told today that is not necessarily the case. Either way, let's just say I'm not racing the embrace the religion. But then again, I'll have to claim ignorance to a large degree.

After we left there, we went to an artist's venue in which we watched painting with hand and fingernail, no brush...very interesting and very talented. We bought a few things and bring them home to show you. We also have pics so you can see online soon.

Finally, a little shopping. Mostly arts and crafts. Then back to the hotel. We grabbed lunch at a deli that is out back of the hotel and yet connected. The breads were tremendous. I just bought several simply because they looked beautiful. They were tasty as well. We bought sandwiches and drinks.

This afternoon, we came back, allowed Emily to take a nap while Andrew, Ana and I scouted out the hotel and it's shops. The shops had all the local treasures...silk, jade, ivory and porcelain items. A cigar humidor was selling Havana Cuban cigars. All over the lobby are carvings, either statues or furniture.

Upon Emily waking, we all went around the corner a couple of blocks to a...you guessed it...a Starbucks for caffeine fix. It's been drizzling all day, so it's somewhat gloomy, but it puts a different feel to our trip since we haven't seen rain while we've been in China. Walking the streets with the mist somewhat reminds us of a London town or maybe even Key West with a little bit of British feel.

We came back and met up with a group to all eat at a local Thai restaurant. Yes, it was difficult again in the ordering and trying to discern what we wanted and what we finally got. It didn't seem to matter that we had huge menus with the pictures, because where we thought we were ordering a nice dish of chicken...we got chicken, but it was refrigerator cold. It was intended to be just that, but it wasn't what we had envisioned.

So far I've batted 1000 with ordering a Heineken. Beatriz folded the menu and said, "you guys order, I'm washing my hands of it." I think she might be involved with the ordering the next time given what we ended up with. It really wasn't bad. We did enjoy dinner. It's just amusing when you have this picture of something and it's quite different.

Upon leaving, a couple was leaving behind us that had just adopted a 13 year old girl, her name is Bing Bing, that we had noticed upon going in. This girl was very cheerful and all smiles. Unfortunately, she is a burn victim with face disfigured...I can't even describe, and fingers missing also due to the fire. It's amazing to feel the happiness of this child finding herself a family, a home and someone to love her. I found myself looking through her scars and seeing a beautiful person that has found hope in a new life.

I have not said this before, but I will say it now. We have heard and we continue to hear the commendations, the accolades, the whatever, of what it means to adopt a child and the supposed saving of a child from a situation, but I believe it works out in many ways the reverse of the adopting family being the ones saved. Yes the child needs a home, needs a family to love them, but too, the adopting family needs a means to give that home and show that love. Now, you may be asking what do I mean...what do we need to be saved from. I believe giving the orphan a home, even though it's monumental and paramount, still only points to a grander plan. We are shortsighted to believe that these orphans wouldn't be cared for and tended to if it weren't for an adopting family.

I don't mention this to limit or reduce what people are doing, but to just say this...God's grace is despite what we might be. And I can only begin to hope of being a part of that and there be a minuscule of that outward expression shine through me. I'm a very selfish person. I'm sure lots can attest to that...about me, that is.

Let me just say, if I may, in all this...we ARE blessed and very thankful for a Creator that shows more mercy on us than we show on each other. Any demonstration of good, I believe to be a gift and we are merely the conveyence.

I don't wish to offend anybody with any of this. I'm just feeling a little emotional right now and rather than erasing all of this and starting over, I'm going to take a chance that you understand what I'm saying and how I'm feeling about all of this.

Before I dig myself a deeper hole, I better call it night. It's getting late and tomorrow I'm preparing all the papers for the consulate visit on Wednesday.

Please ask me if something doesn't make sense in what I'm saying. It's been enough to be misunderstood here in China just ordering dinner, let alone the off-chance of troubling someone with what I've written.

I hope not to go another 2 days before writing again. Also, I am trying to talk Beatriz in to posting. Maybe I'll remind her tomorrow.

Love to all.