Part III � The Enjoying - In Guangzhou
This time, we grabbed a luggage cart (should've got two), stacked our stuff on rollers, and rolled away � for what turned out to be a half-mile trek across the street (a la Beijing Airport) to a dark parking lot, where we met our baggage and passenger vans. Our new guide, whose name I believe was Tung Shan ("Call me Johnny"), herded us aboard, and then treated us to the by-now-familiar running commentary on the wonders of HIS native city. I learned one thing that night: always take Johnny's time estimates, and multiply by three. He told us it would take twenty minutes to get to the White Swan Hotel � it was an hour. Of course, the Hotel was well worth it when we got there: superlative in every detail: a true five-star hotel, at last.
I mean, other than the room being a bit cramped, and the feeling that the sheets were a bit damp, there was really nothing to complain about. Big closet, nice bath with the amenities we'd come to expect, rollaway bed & crib, and a cute little console between the beds (I'm gonna miss that queensize!) with reading lamp, room light and music controls, and a clip on flashlight beneath! There was also the customary minibar and TV, and a new wrinkle on the nightstand: hot AND coldwater flasks! There were even a few more drawers � it looked like we might be able to unpack HALF our stuff now. And THIS place offered turndown service, with the China Daily and chocolates!
Becky cheered up immensely on the ride in from the airport � she now sang along with whoever held her, rocked and sang to her. We had great fun, Christy and I, shoving the luggage through Guangzhou Airport, singing our beloved Gilbert & Sullivan at the top of our lungs to our baby's giggling face. She was now playing "big" peekaboo with us (moving the hand up & down), as well as "thru the fingers" peekaboo. We were becoming more & more convinced that this was, at last, OUR baby � because she, at last, felt so too.
Exhausted, we tumbled our luggage in untidy heaps on the floor of the room � but there was one more task yet to perform. We called ShiYan for assistance, and she ordered us � a pizza dinner from Pizza Hut! From the length of the call, it sounded like she had to negotiate the Russo-Japanese Treaty, and when it came (at a quarter past ten!), it looked a little, well, unusual � three pizzas, one double-cheese; the other two with large tomato slices predominating; but it tasted good, and at Y150 (including tip), I had to admit it wasn't a bad way to end the day.
Day Nine (Friday. August 7th) - Despite the (again) rockhard mattresses, I slept soundly till 5 AM, and then did some surreptitious unpacking. I decided the two setting chairs weren't necessary, so I hauled them out to the hall, and housekeeping took them away. That done, there was plenty of room for the rollaway crib by our window. Breakfast was going to be by ticket admission, and both Baby and Mommy looked fit to sleep through. However, we had to get them up � although breakfast was until 10, we had to leave at 9 for a trip to the clinic.
We actually managed to do it � got daughter up, washed & dressed, and everybody down with breakfast in them by (nearly) 9:00. While there, I noticed another adoptive group � they were in from Maoming. We would see many more. Wherever you adopt from in China (and there are a few dozen possible city orphanages), you MUST end up here, in Guangzhou, for the trip to the US Consulate.
The clinic was a few short blocks away. We stopped for a set of visa photos in a small shop across the street, and a mini-crisis intervened. We had missed the evening workshop back in Nanchang where ShiYan assembled all the couples and showed them how to make out the medical exam form (top paragraph); we didn't even have the form, and ShiYan told us that, without the form, we couldn't even go to the clinic. After a few panic-stricken minutes, Brinda came up with a blank form in her folder, and all was right with the world. We trundled off to the clinic, down one of the side streets, eliciting friendly stares from all manner of passersby.
The clinic was essentially a series of cubicles, where the babies had their tongues and ears looked at, and got weighed. Our baby came out at 8.1 kilos � no surprise to us. They had told us in our referral that she was 9 kilos, but she was a lot lighter when we got her.
Tip � When you get your referral, note the weight, and also the DATE weighed. If they're weighed in the winter, they keep their clothes on (like most buildings in China, clinics aren't heated).
Some babies cried at different stages. Ours basically screamed as soon as a doctor tried to hold her (probably memories of her recent nine vaccinations). But we got through it � one step closer to home! Back to the hotel, to reassemble at noon for a bus trip to a different Cantonese restaurant for lunch. The food was OK; the high point was probably our Christy and the Boisverts' Misty finally making a date for the pool � "sometime this afternoon." I hope all goes swimmingly (bad pun) � we need to get Becky introduced to water.
Back "home" to our hotel room again. While everyone else went down for a well-earned nap, I went scouting about for some necessary provisions � baby-wipes, Cheerios, Doritos, that sorta thing. I wasn't really successful at the hotel's shopping concourse � although I did get Christy some Cheez Balls. I wandered down the street a block or two � no luck. Then I happened across the hotel Deli � it was really too small to deserve the name, but they DID have fresh apples, yogurt & Diet Coke.
Upstairs, I ran into Lesa Cooley, who gave us her extra pack of babywipes, and told me I should get my Diet Coke at the little shop next to the photo studio we went to that morning: 3 cans for Y17! But I still was hoping to get some groceries � who else to ask, but the invaluable ShiYan?
We (Brinda, Lesa, ShiYan & I) took a taxi from the front of the hotel, and found � well, it wasn't Carrefours. I did get some wheat flakes (we really gotta get her off this sugar cereal); ShiYan insisted I try something called "prawn crackers", said the baby'd love them, or she'd eat them herself. But there really weren't any recognizable brands to speak of in this little shop � about the size of one of our 7-Eleven's back home. But I felt confident I would eventually score the rest of our necessities � although it was beginning to look as though Doritos and Chicken Noodle Soup would have to wait until we were stateside.
Dinner was on our own, and I jokingly suggested we order a taxi for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Next time, I think I'll have it delivered. This was a Typical Guangzhou Taxi Driver: when we got in (Lesa, ShiYan & I), and ShiYan told him, "Take us to the Kentucky Fried Chicken", he went to the second-closest KFC, instead of the one within the minimum-fare range of Y7; by the time we got there, with ShiYan arguing all the way, the meter was up to Y17! Well, he said we never told him which KFC, we should've told him what street; ShiYan told him he was the driver, not us, and it was his responsibility to take us to the closest one (which he surely knew existed), and that furthermore, she was going to report him. So he said, "Oh, pay what you want," so I dropped my Y10 on the front seat, and off we went. The weird part about this whole fracas, of course, was that, with the yuan trading at 8-plus to the dollar, we were arguing over � what? $1.25!?
KFC-Canton style is a large, well-lit restaurant, with what looks like a fairly limited menu (probably doesn't pay to get too fancy in Guangzhou � people come here for fried chicken). For the kiddies, there's this little TV in the upper-front corner, running a continuous tape of what looks like two impossibly perky little ladies doing calisthenics, while apparently singing the Cantonese equivalent of "I love you; you love me," � over and over and over. The staff looked as though they had blotted its existence from their minds months ago. I was glad to get out of there with my sanity intact.
Back at the ranch, the chicken was well received � but we could only eat about half of it. Some time soon, we gotta do something about that leftover chicken and leftover pizza in the minibar.
Day Ten (Saturday. August 8th) - Well, IT struck: the dreaded diarrhea that's been laying low our fellow adoptives, one by one. It hit me about 3:30 in the morning; after my second trip, Barb got up and found me our supply of Immodium. Boy, that stuff works great! Of course, I'm probably three pounds lighter than I was last night�It pretty much cleared up after lunch. And speaking of lunch � this was without a doubt the WORST day of the entire two weeks for Christy. Despite the awful-tasting black powder spray and throat spray the doctor at the Hotel clinic had prescribed for her, the cold sores continued. She had now been over a week without her beloved Internet buddies, our video collection, or a change of reading material � like all of us, I guess, she wanted to go HOME!
ShiYan came over after lunch � we had some papers to fill out for the US Consul's Office in the morning, and she spent about an hour with us, what with one form and another. Then, she wanted a picture of us and Becky; then she wanted to stay and talk about adoption, her life, and life in general. We're really getting to like her � we hope she comes back to GR soon!
Somewhere in the course of the early afternoon, Barb decided we HAD to get this baby washed � and surprisingly, it turned out to be easy. Well, sort of. Barb got Becky undressed, and sat her on her lap, while she ran the bathwater � which of course made Becky pee all over Barb's shorts. After that, it was easy: get in the tub WITH daughter, and everybody has a rollicking good time. Tomorrow, we start swimming in the hotel pool.
Tonight, we made a McDonald's run � Mike B & I and of course ShiYan caught a taxi out to the nearest Mickey D's, where Mike bought for his brood, and I collected orders from four other rooms, Whiz back to the hotel, sort out everybody's, and back to good ol' 1426, where Becky was introduced to fries (likes), McNuggets (likes), and strawberry shake (neutral). After dinner, we gave her a walk around the hotel's koi pond, took several pictures, and met a couple who were about to get THEIR child in the morning. How sweet they seemed, and how far away that day seems to us now!
Becky is unfolding like a rosebud. Tonight we introduced the "Swoop & Giggle" game, where Momma swings baby in a short arc toward my face or Christy's, we make the appropriate funny noise in Becky's face, and she rewards us with a perfectly delightful giggle. This went on for a full half hour, until Momma's arms gave out from the effort. THEN she chewed on our leftover pizza from the refrigerator � there's more than one way to feed her dairy! � and said what we believe is her first American word: "Hi!" Oh, the places we'll go, the things we'll see with this girl!
Day Eleven (Sunday, August 9th) - Today was the American Consulate Appointment. At ten o'clock, ready or not, we formed a group at the entrance, and hiked the two blocks to the American Consulate compound. After a short discussion at the security gate, we were let through into the courtyard; the entrance hall beyond that was air-conditioned, so we KNEW we weren't on Chinese soil anymore! A trip through the metal-detector for everyone, and up to the second floor, to the Adoptions Division. (Yes, Virginia: they DO process other things at the Consulate besides Chinese adoptions!)
There was another bunch in front of us, just finishing up. Thanks to long experience, the Adoptions room is copiously stocked with various baby toys, which helped Becky get through the wait. Daddy had another errand to run: it turned out we were supposed to have ALL our passports, not just Becky's; so Dad had to dash back to the Hotel. Some sixth sense told me to get the rest of the money out of the safe-deposit box, too. When I trotted back, sure enough, there was another $200 in fees that I hadn't heard the night before. So that was OK, at least. (My stomach would be upset again all day � but heck, I was kinda getting us to that by now.)
The interview was really a bureaucratic formality: Would we swear to keep this child? Would we care for her all our days? Is this the child we wanted? And then came The Glitch: our papers said we were approved for a special-needs child, but the application form did not. Mrs. Metzger was apologetic � said that this was the single most common glitch they encountered in these adoptions � but firm: we had to get an addendum, faxed from Bethany, signed by our social worker, by the next day, or the visa would not be approved, and we could not leave China with her. And despite her assurances that this would most certainly be fixed by morning, it left a distinct hollow feeling in the pit of our stomachs.
There was nothing more to do but wait. Since Bethany was twelve hours off our time, we were now at midnight, Michigan time. Mrs. Metzger gave us a form to fax back, which I did, from the Hotel's Business Center; then we must wait, since Bethany's business day would be our sleep time. And besides � Kathy Sun, our old social worker, was on leave raising HER adopted baby girl; what if they had to find our NEW social worker, Joy DeKaam, and fax her signature and her license?! What ELSE could go wrong?
We decided to skip the group activities for the day, and stay in our Hotel and try to lick this stomach bug. Christy and the Boisverts' daughter Misty spent about three hours in the Hotel pool; we stayed in our room, mostly, and tried to catch up on our sleep. About midafternoon, the cry went up, "ShiYan's leaving!" Oh no � that meant we'd have to call our OWN taxis to McDonald's! But she explained that a friend of the family had asked her to come back and help in some crisis, and she was catching the mid-afternoon flight back to Singapore. Then the call went out for our air tickets to Hong Kong (Wednesday night flight); and of course we couldn't find those! It began to look as though everything was conspiring against us at the very end of our journey.
Well, we found those blasted tickets. The fax from Bethany came during the night � the staff slipped a copy under our door at 7 AM. By Tuesday morning, we were still fighting the intestinal bug; but Becky was pretty much right as rain. She still ate like a bird (that is, all the time), slept the night through, and clung to her Momma like grim death. But now we found her dancing (on her seat, of course) to the music videos we occasionally found on Chinese TV; she would play on the floor with the Hotel shampoo & bubblebath bottles, and she was still cheerful as anything. It looked like there was a good chance we'd have a pleasant flight home on Friday.
Day Twelve (Monday, August 10th) - Today, I took baby's passport in hand, and marched with the other nine "family representatives" back to the Consulate, where the baby's precious visa was handed over. Then, back to the hotel. We had pretty much licked The Bug; but the today's weather was given over to on-and-off rainstorms. Big John Laffan later told us that it was Tropical Storm Pearl. Let me tell you, from 14 floors up, it's pretty impressive!
The Big Event for the day was our evening dinner party: a bus ride to the Hard Rock Caf� , Guangzhou. This was my first visit to this worldwide chain � I can see why they're so popular. To a tired group of American travelers, frankly sick of nonstop Chinese cuisine, it was not only a welcome American-style meal, but a warm bath of familiar d�cor. Unfortunately, it made us even more homesick! And several of the babies were not at all impressed with the band (well, fine � neither were we. Oh, the BAND was tight; it was the singer, who was trying to do Bee Gees with a voice like Janis Joplin. Well, whaddya want from Guangzhou?!), and tired of the noise, and just tired. We packed it in at 8:30.
This is wearing on everybody; the general consensus is, Enough China, let's go HOME already! But now the word goes 'round: have your luggage in the hallway by 5:30 A.M., and be ready to roll by 6:30. We went to bed, more or less packed, more or less excited. To be HOME again�
