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/