Guangzhou

Pictures from Guangzhou


The problem with not blogging every day while in China is that you get home and everything starts to blur together. This situation is not helped by the fact that GZ is where we were all struck with some form of sickness, and the heat continued, and I was so sick of boiling water that I slowed down and I am certain that I spent the entire time there partially dehydrated.
There we were back at the White Swan and while I remembered it as some sort of Shangri La, it really was just another hotel in a long line of hotels. Our room was small and smelled musty and I was very unimpressed with the bedding that was offered to the kids. The a/c was somewhat better though still turned off every afternoon. I also remember the breakfast buffet being better but truly, on our first trip we nearly starved to death in Nanchang.
Man this sounds like alot of complaining and I am not even done yet.
There was construction everywhere and that was just bothersome, but what was a real pain was about an 80% drop in the local yocal junk shops. I KNOW! I loved those little places. It seemed to me that even in the shops in TWS - the prices were seriously marked up from last time - to ridiculous proportions.
So with the combination of sickness, increased prices and the construction- we just did not shop.
There is now a Subway and a Starbucks very near to TWS now so that was pretty cool and Papa John's delivers, so we didn't starve.

Les came down with a minor cold two days before we left for GZ so that means by any calculation that I was screwed. I got it in GZ and I always get it worse and longer. Then Ev got Pink Eye. Liam had the crud and coughed for nearly 48 hours straight.
Two entire days in GZ are lost to me. I didn't even wash any of Liam's bibs. (In the pictures this coincides with the ones of us near the fish pond in the hotel- that's why I look dead, I nearly was).

In matters of family, we chugged along. We started calling Liam "The Boy That Ate Guangzhou" because he would put anything and everything in his mouth and attempt to eat it. I mean anything! Even chunks of plastic that fell out of Leslie's luggage and I am not exaggerating here- he almost choked to death! Really! We had to deliver CPR back blows and he was turning blue- it was scary.
Liam continued to reveal himself a little bit each day but in GZ is where we really started struggling with some of his learned behaviors and I had to learn real quick which cries were legit and which were just fit throwing or attempts at manipulation.
Through the whole trip Evelyn remained her cheery, easy going self and I was so thankful for her and I am glad that we took her because she was an asset every single day.
We swam almost every day and Liam really started enjoying that. He would sit on the edge and kick his little feet and grin these huge slobby grins that melted us each and every time. He is a sweet boy and we started to see that there in GZ. I also watched him while we were out and realized that he was going to be an animal lover as he would stop in his tracks and smile at any dog or cat he happened to see.

The Medical Clinic was a NIGHTMARE. And let me say here that the issues I have with this part of the process have nothing at all to do with China. As a matter of fact I think the graciousness of the Chinese people and government is astounding. They have bent over backwards to comply with the ridiculous terms set forth by the US government. It is a joke. If you are non-Hague thank your lucky stars. I had to watch my son get SEVEN shots just so he could enter this country! I was mad- madder than I have ever been I think. I watched the doctors and nurses work in an appalling flood of people and never loose their professional demeanor. I can not say enough- how silly it is to expect these children to have ALL required immunizations before coming home. I see it as a drain on the resources of China and I see the guides and clinic workers doing things that they are not comfortable with because "WE" say so. I see it as a real health risk to children on the edge of what could be called healthy. 'Nuff said. ( Not really but I could go on and on ).

The Visa stuff went well and was pretty painless- a welcome change form everything else.

We left GZ late one night and had to go to Hong Kong for a single night. It took 6 hours to get from hotel to hotel. The next day we were off early in the a.m. to head home and I could not have been happier.

I think that I will look back on this and always think "No- it wasn't my attitude. It was that hard and miserable" I do think the heat and the energy zapping humidity had alot to do with it and I would have loved to have been there in the Spring or Fall but we weren't. I hate to sound so negative we honestly did have some good times, it's just hard to see them through the smog and humidity....

Now we are home and inching towards a new normal. We have great moments and not so great moments but thankfully no terrible awful no good moments (knock on wood).
We love Liam and he was/is worth every sweat rivulet and crappy meal. He is worth the endless plane rides and the struggles on and off buses. He is worth it all and I would gladly do it again to bring him home to us.