Ready for Departure

Tomorrow is our last day in Guangzhou, China. We will get Mara's visa and leave via train for Hong Kong. That's right; I'm going to Hong Kong. Be jelly. We'll stay overnight there and head back to AMERICA Thursday morning. We are all ready. (Evidence: Mara's sad face.) Personally, I've requested to be met at the airport with sweet tea. "Ah, tastes like freedom!"

Guangzhou is a very commercialized city; there's a lot of shopping to be done. My sister and I took it upon ourselves to visit the Leather Market near our hotel. She and our mother went last time and found tons of purses and sunglasses at super cheap prices. Unfortunately, there were much fewer bargains to be had. :( My sister did purchase an awesomely bright green purse, and I bought a cross-body purse and some wallets. (Don't judge; some were gifts.) I was pretty bummed that the sunglasses were so expensive. If you know me at all, you know I'm a freak about sunglasses. I own at least 8 pairs right now, and they are stashed everywhere. Car, backpack, purse, by the door, everywhere. Oh well. More on sunglasses later.

On Tuesday, our guides took us to the Pearl Market in a VERY large mall. We went to a different store than my sister had previously visited, and the prices were somewhat higher. The first strand they brought out was 240 USD! Ha! These poor white American girls don't have that kind of money. We kept requesting cheaper and cheaper until finally we got under $100. That's more like it. I got myself a very lovely and classy necklace as well as some earrings for myself and others. Earrings were cheaper at $20-40 a pair. 

(Sidenote: One of my earrings broke this morning, so we had to go back. Luckily the girls there fixed it up no problem and put a new pearl on the post. They even gave me a free pair since I had to go through the trouble of coming back to the store! Score! :D)

Today we went to Shamian Island, which is an interesting part of Guangzhou. It was settled by different people, I believe, and so it has a completely different feel from the city (I will have to look up more island info later.) It's a very lovely area with tons of luscious trees and park areas, like a little oasis in this huge city. There are a lot of tourist shops there that are good for buying junky souvenirs for people back home. Don't laugh. You know you crave that sort of thing. 

Back to the sunglasses: We found one shop that had knock-off sunglasses and Coach purses. We had searched the leather market high and low for Coach bags, as they're our personal favorite designer brand, but they were no where to be seen. I found some cute ones at this store and bought one for myself and one for my sister-in-law for her birthday. I also found some very lovely Giorgio Armani sunglasses. LOVE! 

It's been a good time and a heck of an experience, but I am ready to leave. I saw something near McDonald's here the other day that sums up the trip pretty well. We had just walked by some pretty scenery and were on our way back to the hotel when we saw a little boy crouching on the edge of the sidewalk. Lo and behold, he was wearing split pants and POOPING ON THE SIDEWALK. So China: Sometimes pretty, sometimes disturbing, but definitely something to see. :/

My Niece is Awesome!

So, we're about to leave Guangzhou (and China!) and I'm going to throw three or four posts at ya. Get ready!

This post is dedicated to Mara and all her awesomeness. She is an incredibly bright little girl. She does not let her hearing impairment dictate her personality. She is vivacious and bubbly (with some cranky moments, but hey, she's two). AND she's smart. Super smart. Not that I'm biased or anything.

She has these "S" shapes and other shapes that link together, and she put them together while I held an "S" and when the shapes wouldn't fit at the bottom, she added them in at the top. We also showed her ONE time how to zip and unzip a Ziploc bag, and she figured it out and promptly and meticulously disassembled her chain and stowed it in the bag. Wow.

ALSO, she makes patterns with our shoes. Tons of them. So, don't mind the shoe pictures.

One more thing: She's super stinkin' cute!

Fwd: Finally in Guangzhou!

We have left Wuhan, Hubei and are now in Guangzhou! Guangzhou is the last leg of the trip for adoptions. Here we have physical exams, visa applications, and a trip to the U.S. Consulate. A lot of official U.S. paperwork before the girl gets to go home with us.

Mara is incredibly easy going. As soon as we saw her, she came right to us and made no fuss. She's a good traveler and had no problem with the nauseating van rides or her first flight. Despite her deafness, she has a TON of personality. She makes faces and giggles and has a good time. Now that she's more comfortable with us, we're starting to see more typical two-year-old fits, but she gets over them pretty easily. We're teaching her some simple sign language, and she is VERY smart and catches on quickly. I can't wait to see her at home with her brothers and sister. Should be interesting.

My sister and I are personally quite glad to be rid of Wuhan. It's the capital of Hubei province and boasts a population of 8 million people, yet it felt very restricting and small. There are very few tourists and even fewer adoptions in Wuhan. Our guide said she only had four last year. Because of this, it did not feel very welcoming. There were only two Western friendly restaurants, one of which was McDonald's. Very few people speak English there, so ordering even chicken nuggets was a challenge. There was, however, a Starbucks, and it produced one of the best white chocolate mochas to ever exist. Yum.

-Sidenote: I saw something completely disgusting in Wuhan. Everywhere in China people hock loogies like it's no big deal. Normally, they spit outside on the ground. Yea, it's gross, but whatever. The other day, I saw a man hock a loogie and spit it out in the lobby of our FIVE STAR hotel. Right on the shiny tile. GROSS.-

Guangzhou is a much more tourist friendly city. Already in the hotel I have heard people speaking Chinese, English, French, and Spanish. This is a HUGE and VERY fancy hotel. There is a mall on the ground floor of the hotel with tons of shops, including a mini mart for grocery convenience. There's also a Starbucks, multiple restaurants, and a bar. (Hopefully less spit on the tile as well.) There's a McDonald's across the street, and the leather market is very nearby as well. We are looking forward to visiting the pearl market and the leather market. You know I need some knock-off designer sunglasses!

More importantly, I am looking forward to returning home. We are about halfway through the trip as far as time goes. I cannot wait to be back in my own bed. I dreamed I was sleeping in my apartment last night and was sorely disappointed to wake up to my sister's snoring. Ha! So far it has been the experience of a lifetime. I'm going to concentrate on getting the most out of these last few days and think less about my comfy bed at home. 

The internet is much better in Guangzhou than it was in Wuhan, so I'm going to attach some pictures for your viewing pleasure. I have uploaded a ton to my Pinterest account if you'd like to see more: http://pinterest.com/katangerine/china-trip-2012/

It's Gotcha Day!

In the adoption world, Gotcha Day is the day when you get your child. Today my sister and I will ride an hour from the hotel to the registration office and get our Mara! I think she might be a little nervous, but she's holding it together very well. I'm really just there to take pictures and hold things.

 

Saturday we went to the Great Wall. It was awesome. Very impressive. Our group had the choice of taking the easy side or the hard side. One guess as to which side we chose. It was still hard. The steps are all uneven. One will be two bricks thick and the next one will be five bricks thick. Not so easy for my short legs. Thank goodness for the handrail. We made it to a beacon and climbed on top of it, so that was really cool. Chinese mountains look very different from Arkansas mountains. Not so many trees and brush, but more rocks. It was still breathtaking.

 

Yesterday we flew from Beijing to Wuhan in the Hubei province.The flight was certainly an experience. For whatever reason, the metal detector went off at security when I walked through. I had no metal on, so I have no clue what that was about, but the guard had to pat me down. A little uncomfortable. :/ Then this older man kept leering at me when we got to the gate. He would get out of his seat and walk near me and stare at me. When we went to board, we had to get on a bus first, and he sat as near to me as possible, still staring. Luckily he didn't sit next to me on the plane, but you can be sure he stared at me when he left. Super creepy.

 

There's a McDonald's and a grocery store directly across from our (very nice) hotel. Trying to order McNuggets, Coke, and fries is very difficult here, but they did have ketchup! A little boy kept looking at us and waving, and he came over to our table when we sat down. His sister said he wanted our receipt, so we gave it to him. He seemed really happy. It was cute. Not sure why he wanted it, but whatever. We felt like celebrities. :P

 

Something else interesting? Fireworks. All last night. And again this morning at 6 am. It's almost 9:30 and they're still going. It sounds like rain because there are so many of them. I slept through them anyway. I've got some kind of allergy stuff going on. I blame the air and pollution.

 

Today we get Mara, and it is exciting. :) I'm nervous, not so much for me but for my sister and for Mara. I know this is going to be extremely difficult for her. We are taking her away from everything she's ever known. I can only hope and pray for an easy transition for her. Maybe tonight I can post some pictures for you!

We Made It!

We are officially in China! After a 13 hour flight from Detroit to Tokyo, we had a 4-5 hour layover. It was much different than I expected. Tokyo has more than one airport, so we must have been at the smaller one. There weren't that many shops or restaurants, and the scenery was different too. I thought I'd see skyscrapers and tons of lights, but I just saw the beach and some fields. From the fields and houses, it didn't look that different from home. Interesting thought. It did, however, have a pretty cool origami exhibit complete with fairy tale scenes.

Neither of the flights were full of people. There were a lot of empty seats, especially on the flight to Beijing. My sister and I slept the entire 3-4 hours and arrived in Beijing at around midnight. By one thirty we were checked into the hotel and in the bed. My sleep schedule is all kinds of messed up, and we basically lost Thursday. Lol. The hotel is very nice, and everything here is decorated for Chinese New Year. 

Yesterday we went with our group on the tours. Our tour guide, Cindy, picked us up at the hotel lobby with the other 30 people in our group (That's a big group, by the way.). Yesterday we got to see a lot of sights. First we went on a rickshaw ride through an old part of Beijing. That was pretty crazy. Rickshaw drivers have no sense of safety. He was swerving everywhere and bumping into other rickshaws. It was fun but terrifying. I was also accosted by two drivers. Ha! One said, "Hi, beautiful! I love you!" The other yelled "Hey!" and blew me some kisses. Watch out, Michael. 

We saw an old traditional Chinese dwelling with the courtyard and all that. It was interesting. Because of its location (15 walking minutes from the Forbidden City) and because it can be passed down through generations (most Chinese people have to give their homes back to the government after 70 years), it's valued at around $4 million USD. Pretty crazy for a place that has no toilet. 

Later we had a Chinese lunch. Normally I'm not one for Asian cuisine, but this was pretty good. Of course, I had to pick and choose what I ate, but the veggies and beef were quite tasty. They put all the food on a lazy susan in the center of the table, and we all ate family style. It was nice. We also went to a silk factory and saw silk worms (gross). I may or may not have purchased some silk trinkets for myself and others. :)

After lunch we went to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. The Chinese government renovates things in the square all the time, and they also renovated some buildings in the Forbidden City for the 2008 Olympics. I was very overwhelmed by the contrast of the opulence and the poverty. Forbidden City was very crowded (though not as bad as it is in the summer, I'm told), so it was difficult for me to enjoy it. I don't handle crowds well.

Today we get to see the jade factory and conquer the Great Wall! I'm pretty excited for that, no lie. I tried to throw in some pictures for your viewing pleasure, but Gmail refuses to upload them right now. I am able to VERY SLOWLY upload pictures to my Pinterest account however, so if you want to see them there: pinterest.com/katangerine

Thanks for reading! Sorry it was so long! If you finished, kudos. You're a trooper.

It's almost time...

for me to go to China! On Saturday, my parents drove my cousin and me halfway to my sister's house. She met us there, we had lunch, said our goodbyes, and went on our merry way. The ride up to the halfway point was fiiiine. My mom and I were in the back seat of my little red Kia Rio (affectionately known as Nancy), and I was streteched out sleeping for most of the drive. After the halfway mark, however, there were seven people in my sister's minivan (which does not have a nickname...maybe Taxi), including me, my cousin, my sister, and her four children. They all wanted to come get us, but let me tell you: There is no better birth control than riding directly in front of three little boys who can't behave. There were feet in my ears, pillows thrown at me, and way more fart talk than I ever thought was possible. Don't get me wrong; I love my nephews dearly and the time I get with them as well, but when you've all been cooped up in a car for approximately 13 hours, everyone is a little strained.

 

I've been chilling at my sister's house for the past few days, doing homework and playing MarioKart, and it's been great fun. The only thing is that all this waiting and anticipation is amping up my anxiety. I've got to remind myself to take some deep breaths and relax. Everything will work out. Have some faith. I'm all packed up minus a few last minute things. I have my tickets and my passport (and some more homework :/ ); I am ready for this!

 

Tomorrow my sister and I will fly out of Detroit to Beijing (with a short layover in Tokyo!). If you want to see where we'll be going in China and when we'll be there, you can click on "The Current Adventure" tab at the top of the page and see a map. I should post again either from Tokyo or Beijing, depending on our schedule. Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the pictures! We certainly enjoyed the mustaches. :)

Hello all! Today I traveled from my college town back to my hometown. Tomorrow I will venture to Ohio where my sister lives, and from there we will fly out of Detroit to China. This is not my first international trip. I traveled throughout Europe in the summer of 2007, but this is completely different. That trip was for fun. It was with a group of classmates and highly supervised. This trip...has a determined purpose.

We are going to China to adopt my second niece. It puts a lot more pressure on the entire venture. Also, this trip is not about me. Sure, I get to experience new things and buy tons of cool souvenirs (pearls, silk, and jade!), but the ultimate focus of this adventure is on my sister and the adoption. I'm really just along for the ride. It should prove to be an interesting one. I hope you enjoy reading about it. Now, time for sleep. We're getting up at 4 am to leave for the North!