July 11, 2010

July 11, 2010

Last night, we had dinner with the other American families at “Lucy’s.”  This was the second night in a row that we had eaten there.  The menu includes both Chinese and American food so many adoptive families like to eat there.  Also, it is only about a 30 second walk from the hotel.  It really is a different universe here.  I don’t remember if I mentioned this before.  But, I feel like I’m living in a colony of expatriates.  Try to picture a bunch of Americans in China, drinking beer and eating fried chicken in a restaurant decorated with posters of “Barbie Mermaid” and “Justin Bieber.” Then, you’ll begin to understand why all this feels so surreal. . 

After dinner, we decided to stroll around Guangzhou for awhile.  There are many shops that cater to adoptive families.  “Cater” probably isn’t the correct word.  They are in business only because of adoptive families.  Shop-owners intercept tourists about a block or so from their stores.  They are very friendly and offer a variety of services.  Almost every single shop does laundry.  They probably all take it to the same place to have it done and their prices are basically the same.  We saw families walking down the street with suitcases.  They were not yet leaving town – they were just dropping off dirty laundry.  Yesterday morning, while I was at the clinic with Lacey, Les and Cassie dropped off our laundry.  Believe me, we had laundry.  Les has been wearing his socks for three days in a row.  Later, Cassie took me aside and said that the place they had dropped off the laundry was also a clothing donation center.  She was very concerned that Les’ Chinese was not very good and that he had accidentally donated all our clothing!  She probably thought this just because of the massive piles of dirty clothing.  I assured her that he had a receipt.

 Shhh....no more whining!!

Anyway, we strolled around the shops, just to avoid being closed in our hotel room.  Most of the shops are named for women.  There is “Miss Linda’s,” “Miss Lulu’s,” “Miss Emma’s,” “Laura’s,” and “Jenny and Amy’s Place.”  You get the picture.  This must have been done to make Americans feel comfortable.  It just makes me feel like I’m in a brothel.  They all advertise, “beautifully designed children’s clothes,” “Unique squeaky shoes,” “gifts and souvenirs,” etc.  There are baby strollers, shoes, clothing, formula, bottles, toys, you name it.  More and more American families are adopting older Chinese children.  I’m sure that the shops will adjust and begin carrying products for older children soon.

 Cassie and some friends

We visited the pool after dinner.  It’s nice to have some down time.  The pool is surrounded by a variety of trees.  They’re beautiful to look at.  But, apparently the planners didn’t realize that the leaves would all fall into the pool.  One hotel employee stands at each end of the pool.  They both hold long-handled nets.  There is a rhythmic “thwack, thwack, thwack,” as they take turns trying to scoop leaves out of the pool.

Today we visited the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum.  It is “Chen’s Ancestral Hall” that was built during the Guangxu Reign of the Qing Dynasty.  In case you think I’m becoming an expert on Chinese history, let me explain that I’m copying from a brochure.  We saw beautiful wood carvings, etchings, pottery, porcelain and embroidery.  The rest of the day we will just relax and continue getting to know Lacey.  She is becoming more assertive each day.  She laughs easily and tries very hard to get Cassie’s attention – all the time.  Cassie is being a good sport and adjusting to having a sibling fairly quickly.  Les made the mistake of introducing Lacey to the TV remote.  Now, she can work the panel with the radio and light switches with her feet and flip through TV channels with her hands.  I’m not kidding.

Tomorrow is our visa appointment at the U.S. consulate.  We pray that there are no errors in our mountain of paperwork.  Yesterday, I had to recopy a 4-page form because the form had been updated. . . 

  One of daddy's little girls

We’re tired of living in a hotel.  Besides having to eat out all the time, the thing that bothers me the most is having to share one toilet among four people.  You can never appreciate this unless you’ve been forced to share a single, low capacity toilet with your spouse for two weeks!