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Our Trip
November 31, 2001 - Day Thirteen: Friday. Lives up to its name. click HERE for Day Thirteen Photos Question for Ms. Foster's classroom: Can you follow our flight from Changzhou to Guanzhou? They are about 1 hour and 40 minutes apart by plane. Paige's comments: This morning started in Nanjing, city two in our three city swing through the largest and most populous country in the world. Both of us are still reeling from the flu and Sophia, who's had a cold, has been a brave little trooper. We had some food at the Hilton buffet (which we're sorely going to miss) for breakfast and lunch and John, our God, our Savior Tour Guide, picked us up at 1 pm for a quick tour of the local art museum. I wished I felt better but I was winding down in "Porcelain" and by the time we got to Folk Art, I'd hit the proverbial wall. Sophia was once again whisked away by shop workers in the museum gift shop and we retrieved her on the way out. If you think about it, it's actually a pretty strange concept. This is no less then the sixth time that our daughter has been spirited off by strangers. And we didn't even think twice about it. This is China. They love kids. Imagine going in to Target and having the six women at the photo store up front grab your kid away and play with her while you're shopping. Then you get an idea of really how bizarre this is. John got us to the airport on time and he held the sleeping Sophia on his lap for the drive. He's guided hundreds of adopting couples from around the world through his city and through the myriad bureaucratic entanglements. The guy is genuinely a nice man who loves his job and believes in what he does. On the way out to the airport, which is 24 kilometers out of the city, we passed a strangely out-of-place western neighborhood (it looked like Eagan or Lakeville) and a huge condo development with a lake and a golf course that is straight outta Scottsdale. We barely made it on board the Shanghai Airlines flight to Gaungzhou, and got settled in. We were delayed by a couple of minutes because, while we were in line, Sophia practically blew the back off her clothes with some explosive diarrhea. And that was just the start of our Glimpse Into Hell. Ann and I were concerned about the flight because this was Sophia's first plane ride, and with four more take offs and landings between now and arrival at Mpls./St. Paul next Friday (with a ten hour jaunt from Seoul to SFO) we were a little concerned about how she'd take it First, let me retract my earlier positive comment about Shanghai Airlines. When the bidding was on for company slogans, and "We Love To See You Smile" and "Fly The Friendly Skies" were taken, apparently Shanghai did a focus group test and settled on "Shanghai Airlines: Gosh, But We Do Hate Americans." In the entire trip, this was the first time that I felt really loathed. And I get enough of that with Clifton, so this had been a welcome respite. It was a 757 for the hour and a half flight south and they sat us as far away from everyone else as they possibly could. The plane was PACKED. And we had the first six rows to ourselves. Which actually worked out for the best. Sophia started screaming as we backed away from the gate and only calmed down about 45 minutes into the flight. We did all of the things you can do to relieve Eustachian tube pressure but it worked only a little. What we're learning is that she has trouble sitting in high chairs or in a seat or anything for too long. Hates cribs. We're thinking that this is a result of living in a crib 24/7 for ten months at the orphanage. Once you get her out and she can feel "free", she's fantastic. A delight who laughs and giggles. But she has some limitations. Which is to be expected. On the plane she had another liquid blast and had two more at the hotel. We're thinking it was when she had a bath this morning and got the water in her mouth. Tap and bath water here are lethal. You have to close your mouth in the shower and use bottled water for brushing your teeth. Now we're in Gaungzhou. Our last home on the road. The city has 8.6 million people and is a 20 minute commuter flight from Hong Kong. Southern China with Southern China temps. Reminds me of New Orleans: shteemy. The other families are all getting in tonight so it will be a nice reunion. The hotel is the China Hotel, a 5 star Marriott property that could be in either Vegas or on International Drive in Orlando. There's a Hard Rock on the main floor, 1100 rooms, 9 restaurants, ten bars, a shopping arcade, a McDonalds next door, and a 7-11 adjacent. And Christmas lights and trees and ornaments. We missed Thanksgiving and are holiday-challenged right now. I'm beginning to get into the spirit. Tomorrow is medical checks for all the kids, and then paperwork and documentation (supplemented with pool time and shopping) between now and Thursday when we blast home. Ann's Comments: What a long day. This had to be the most difficult day of the trip yet. There were highlights - like walking down the streets of Nanjing and seeing everyday life, visiting an art museum, buying a piece of art work from the Ming Dynasty, and getting to a warmer climate. I'll talk about those later. But first the "bad" stuff. In the greater scheme of life these things are minor. For us they were one thing after another which made the day difficult. It started out with Sophia being sick with diarrhea this morning. I thought the morning episode would be it. Nope. At the airport I picked her up just as we were going to check our luggage through at the counter. Looked down and the back of her dress was covered. Luckily Richard from Massachusetts was there with Mave catching a later flight and he watched our bags while I ran to the bathroom. As I was changing Sophia's diaper a progressively larger group of women gathered around as I was changing her. Just watched and pointed at the back of her dress. I didn't have another dress in the diaper bag…just felt so unprepared. One woman was kind enough to hold Sophia up while I finished dressing her and to put my backpack on my back. Other than that…the women just observed. That wasn't the only time that I was evaluated on mothering - or lack of mothering - skills. This morning on what started to be a pleasant walk up and down the streets of Nanjing a group of older women gathered around her. They started out cooing at Sophia. Then they counted the number of layers of clothes she was wearing. She had a onesie, dress, sweater, and three blankets covering her. Her legs had tights and feet had shoes. She also had a hat. That wasn't enough. They wanted her to wear more layers. They indicated she was cold. Any more layers she would have melted. I don't know what the deal here is with heat. The rooms are heated at about 75 or 80 degrees. They're like saunas. Being here in Guanzhou is really nice. It's warm outside, but the rooms are about 65-70 degrees. One more difficult thing and then the good stuff. Sophia's first plane ride started out with her crying. Midway Paige had to change her in the bathroom. Sick again. Paige accidentally dropped the rice dinner on the ground and I with two stewardesses cleaned it up. After lunch Sophia turned the corner and we ended up playing games the rest of the flight. She had some discomfort on the descent, but used her pacifier. Now the good stuff. The highlight of the walk was seeing inside the little stores. Each store is only about 20 feet wide maximum and about 50 feet deep. The restaurant staff sit on the ground along the sidewalk and prepare the food for lunch or dinner..peeling onions, cutting herbs, or cutting meat. Some of the store owners sit outside their store reading books waiting for customers. It's just a real interesting atmosphere to be a part of. I wanted to take pictures, but didn't want to make people feel uncomfortable. I know I'll regret not doing that. Another neat part was passing by the local park. There were two people playing badminton without a net, one person doing Tai Chi, and about 50+ seniors dancing and exercising. Another good part of today was going to a local museum that was right next to the hotel. There are only three museums in China of this type - a combination of history and art. The art work that was displayed goes back to as early as 300 BC. The level of detail was impressive - particularly on some of the very early pieces. The work was so advanced for the time periods - it was just amazing. We went to the museum store. There was one section that had pieces from various dynasties that could be purchased. These were originals and not replicas. I used to translator to make sure that this was a reputable place and that they were originals. Why China would want to sell these pieces is beyond me…you'd think they would want to preserve its history. But, I guess it's like the United States, too with antique shops selling pieces from the 17th century. The piece we bought was a bowl with a leaf imprinted on it. Hard to describe. It was from the Ming Dynasty - from the mid-1300s through the 1600s. Now we're at the last stop in our journey. The hotel is comfortable. Sophia is finally asleep. No naps today so this is a nice break. We just finished watching Sting in concert in Tuscany. We both enjoy Sting's music so it was a nice way to end the evening. Last night Bruce Springsteen was in concert in Madison Square Garden. Paige and Sophia watched that. Sophia was moving to the music. I wonder how much music she listened to in the orphanage. I didn't hear any playing while I was there. She seems to really like listening to music. A last Sophia observation. As she gets more comfortable with us, she comes up with unusual games. Tonight as I was trying to get her to relax before bed, she laid on her back and puffed up her stomach while making a little noise. Then I would push on her stomach lightly and mimic the sound. She would do the same thing again, looking for the same response. Each time she laughed loudly. Such little things entertain her. It's great. One
more thing and then I'm calling it a night. In the hotel closet
there are these weird full-head masks that pull down over your shoulders
in the event of a fire. Haven't had the masks in other hotels. Do
we need to be concerned?
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