Good Morning from Guangzhou!

Life is good here in China! We completed our time in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province on Friday, and took our first 2.5 hour flight with Quinn south to Guangzhou. Where Shanxi was COLD and grey, Guangzhou is warm and blooming! The last couple of days in Taiyuan were not very eventful…we had some time to rest while we waited for Quinn’s passport and the notary books (official Chinese birth certificate/ abandonment certificate). We went to a local park, where there were many people dancing (different types of dancing in different parts of the park)….one group was waltzing, one was doing Chinese folk dance, another was practicing Tai Chi. Here, when people retire (men at 60, women at 50), they spend their mornings doing some sort of dance for physical fitness, then they return home and cook lunch for their extended family/grandchildren, then they play games such as chess or cards in the afternoons. Sounds like the good life to me. :)

Our guide recommended a nearby restaurant for dinner on Thursday, famed for their steamed buns. As people pretty much anyplace in Taiyuan are unable to speak any English (except our hotel), we asked Linda to write down what we should order. That was fun….they looked at the paper, and about 4 waitresses all hovered around our table, trying to guess what type of steamed bun we wanted….since all she apparently wrote was “steamed bun”, and it sounded like they had many types. They kept pointing to the menu (all in Mandarin, and no pictures to help us out), and we had to just shrug and smile!!! While we waited for the food, Monte downloaded an app on his phone that would take a snapshot of the mandarin, and translate it to English (very cool). Between that and “google translate”, we were able to communicate our thanks for the meal, and ask for a to go bag, as they had brought us 2 huge plates of buns…..we’re still eating them, even now. They are excellent!

During our time in Taiyuan, our guide expressed some interest in our culture. We were so excited to be able to share some basic points, and gave her some music….so, my dear brother, Dave, some of your music from DCF is now in China, I hope you don’t mind!!! [editor's note from Dave: of course not! Sweet!]

On Friday, praise God, we were so excited to see our guide walk into the hotel lobby holding up Quinn’s passport! So, we said “good-bye” to Shanxi province and headed south to beautiful Guangzhou.

While our hotel in Taiyuan was nice, (though the room was very small for a family with 4 suitcases of supplies), the Marriot that our agency has us at in Guangzhou is spectacular. We have reunited with the 5 other families that traveled to China together from our agency, and it is sweet to see the children all together. We are a “boy” group….5 boys and 1 girl.

So the first order of business was to get a medical examination from the “American-approved” facility. It has moved and is brand new - only open for the last month. We were hoping for a less crowded space than what we experienced with Zane….but while it is larger and beautiful, there were still hundreds of people waiting. There were many, many families with adopted children, and also some Chinese nationals. Anyone immigrating to the US has to go to this clinic. I went to the “paperwork party” in the afternoon, to square away all the final documents needed for Quinn’s immigration to the US. Then, Monte went for a run in the gym, while I took Quinn to the playground at the hotel for some mommy-bonding time. There, we ran into the other family who adopted from our orphanage in Datong. They were not so fortunate with their guide and agency to figure out how to get the passport early. So, they still don’t have their little girl’s passport, and may be delayed in leaving China. Please pray for them.

Each day, Quinn shows more affection with me….but he’s still a daddy’s boy, though. ;) When we are out, he is full of smiles for those around us, and doesn’t display much “shyness” with strangers. As soon as we put on his coat, he starts saying “bye-bye”, “bye-bye”, and is ready to walk out the door, ASAP. He is talking in Chinese a lot, and people love talking with him….we so wish we could understand him! He hasn’t acted very frustrated with us for not understanding, though. He’s already picking up a little bit of English, and occasionally surprises us by doing something we have only spoken!

We will sightsee today, go to the US consulate tomorrow, drive to Hong Kong on Tuesday, and fly home on Wednesday. Wow! How quickly our time in China is going by.

Blessings to you all!