Nearing the End

We just get so busy here in Guangzhou that blog posts seem to take a back seat.  Time is slipping away quickly.  It's an emotional conundrum.  We love it here.  Guangzhou is a great city with so much to see and do, and it has a decidedly Western feel in places compared to other parts of China.  So, our love of being here is warring with our desire to get home to family and friends. The weather here (upper 70s and lower 80s vs the crap back home) is also making it difficult to leavve.  However, the squatties are putting this place at a decidedly disadvantage!

 (One of the CLEANER squatties I've been in.  PS They don't flush their TP and only flush when it's #2!!)

Anway, after 4 hours of sleep Friday, we got up for the medical check.  Fairly routine -- except when they rip your newly adopted son with whom you're trying to bond out of your arms, whisk him away to a closed room, and ram a needle into his arm (ok, that might have been a melodramtic visual but actually not far from the truth) to do a blood draw.

 At least they had a wine vending machine in the lobby! :-/ Surprisingly, I did not avail myself of any of its contents!

Anyway, all went well, and after that concluded, it was nap time for Carter and paperwork time for Daddy.  Then we went for supper with a wonderful Wuhan family.  The food on the other hand... Blah.  Suffice it to say, eating "Australian" in China?  Not recommended.

The next day was a free day.  We went to one of my favorite places in the world: Shamian Island.  It has this wonderful tropical / European feel.  It has fabulous shopping and beautiful pedestrian areas. 

 

We ran into another Wuhan family there and went to Lucy's: a Chinese adoptive family pilgrimage.  However obligatory, not the greatest food.  We got to eat outside though, so bonus!  

Then we came back to the hotel to go swimming for a bit.  Yes.  Swimming.  Outside.  In 80+* weather.  Yeah.  I am NOT looking forward to going home.  Have I mentioned how much I do NOT want to leave this weather?  

After swimming, we got cleaned up and headed to our Holt group supper.  Ah.  Yum.  I cannot begin to explain how much we love the food here.  And this meal was phenomenal!

Today was another free day.  We opted to forgo the zoo as we'd seen it already, and Carter, although he would have loved it, wouldn't remember it anyway.  Instead, we went to the pearl market 

 (Some gals at the market stringing me pearls.)

and back to Shamian.  We wandered about and ate a light lunch outside.  So gorgeous. 

I even treated myself to a massage.  Hard to pass up at $30 for an hour.  Seriously amazing.   Tonight, Troy and I again ventured out to get authentic, local food.  Oh. My. Word! So delicious.  And luckily we had a "menu" written out for us by one of the Holt staff so we got amazing food.  Nothing was in English and nobody spoke a word of English! :-O

Now, as we're nearing the end of our time in China, a brief word on the most important part of the story.  Carter.  He is ridiculous.  He is so well-behaved, neither Troy nor I know how to deal with him.   In fact, we've said time and again that he's just too easy!  We don't even know how to handle it.  We're sure it will all change, but for now, he is quiet, sweet, and gentle.  He can sit for hours and play by himself.  He will happily sit in his stroller or on our laps in a cab or on a bus as we haul him around.  He will sit quietly at a table in a restaurant and be content with a single car or toy.  His heart is very gentle; a stern "no" and a frown can cause him to fall apart.  He will occassionally contemplate defying us but never will follow through.  He is really an angel.  And, we cannot wait for that to change.  We're sure this is a, "somebody recently didn't love me enough to keep me and threw me away" stage where he is trying to ingratiate himself to us.  It's really very sad.  We're hoping that soon enough he'll realize he's stuck with us.  Forever.  Poor kid!  Short story long, we love this kid.  He's pretty amazing, and we can't wait to get him to his home! And, in 3 days, we start that journey!