Happy 4th of July!

On this 4th of July, I realize that there are many things that I'm thankful for, and that I usually take for granted: The priviledge of living in a country where the water I drink and air I breathe are (mostly) safe. The priviledge of living in a society that was founded on the belief that there IS a God, and that it is good to worship him. And I appreciate the fact that many people are standing up for the rights of the unborn children who are so precious and wanted in God's eyes.
So - no fanfare for us today, no fireworks that we can see. And I'm okay with that. All I long to see is the sparkle in two little black eyes that have seen and felt more uncertainty than I wish on anyone. I pray for God's healing for Nina's sad little heart, and that she feels the fireworks of the Spirit within her.

*****Deutsche Version: www.chinagirlswitzerland.blogspot.com Titel: 4. Juli******

Sad little girl...

I was not able to write about this last night, it was just too emotional.
We had dinner with our adoptive friends A and S, their teenage son and twin babies, and since they speak Chinese fluently, it's really nice to hang out with them. Plus they are super nice and sooo funny! We're having a great time with them. Anyway, the staff at the restaurant was just ohhhing and ahhhing over our children, and it is a normal thing for them to just grab them and take off with them, walk around, talk to them and eventually bring them back. I could already tell when they were doing it with Nina, that she was quite comfortable with the idea of going with someone else, and she was a little hesitant about coming back to us. I don't know if that was a part of what triggered the saddest breakdown I have seen in a long long time: As soon as we were back in our room and getting her ready for bed, her bottom lip started quivering, and big big tears just started spilling out of her little eyes. She kind of tried to hold it back, trying so hard to be brave, but pretty soon she was just sobbing. We held her close and rocked her and tried to comfort her, but we were obviously not who she wanted to be comforted by. She allowed it, but we were second choice by far. We cried right along with her, as the grief in her little heart and body was overwhelming. Didn't we just write about this was going to have to happen at some point? Yep, we thought we were ready for it. NOT. The pain of her loss is so real, so deep, and she is OUR DAUGHTER. It hurts so much to see your child hurt. Every time. Whether it's Nico, Anya, Alex or Elia, and now Nina too. You want to take their pain away, and sometimes you just can't. All we could do is hold her and pray for her. For healing. For peace. For a new sense of belonging.

She has definitely struggled a lot more in the last day: She goes from being content to hitting us in a split second. From affection to total rejection. She goes back and forth on who she favors: Yesterday and this morning it clearly was Mike. Then it was me. Right now she's okay with either. And I really didn't think this would bother me, as I knew (in my head) that this usually happens. Blah Blah Blah.... it hurts, it stings. I'm so used to being emotionally very close to my kiddos. I breastfed them all (sorry if this is too much information *ha*), so I enjoyed the very exclusive bond I had with them. To feel like chopped liver is not a whole lot of fun! Don't get me wrong - I'm SO thankful that she loves her Daddy, but I just want to be honest with you, that the things that I thought I was ready for, are not quite as simple and easy when you're right in the middle of them.
It was very cute though.... this morning litte Miss Spicy Girl got up waaayy to early, and to let Mike sleep a while longer and to get in some Mama time, we headed downstairs for breakfast. Just us girls. When we were done we started back to the elevators, and Mike had just gotten off one of them. I showed Nina that Daddy was coming, and she squealed in delight, shouted "Baba" (=Daddy), started running toward him and jumped in his arms. How very very sweet!

I have been feeling like this too: I just want to run and jump into my heavenly Daddy's arms. Because I know and believe that that is the only place where we're ultimately safe.

***** Deutsche Version: www.chinagirlswitzerland.blogspot.com Titel: Traurig *******

She LOVES bubbles

We got out the bubbles this afternoon. What a hit!!!! Look for yourself!

Tai Chi and peace....

This little girl is just so funny (not to mention cute and spoiled) - she will stand in front of the mirror and make movements like she is doing Tai Chi - we're wondering if she has been watching her foster parents do it. The other really funny thing is that often times when we try to take her picture, she will do the peace sign, and she loves it when we do it too. She pretended to take a picture of me, and she motioned me to make the peace sign too. She just cracks us up!

More pictures from this morning

With Daddy in Front of the Civil Affairs office / Mit Daddy vor dem Zivilstandsamt

Adoption registration / Hier wird die Adoption offiziell gemacht

And it's signed! / Vertrag unterschrieben...

The assitant director of the Loudi orphanage / die Vize-Direktorin des Weisenhauses

A Bittersweet goodbye / Abschied mit gemischten Gefuehlen

A somber morning and forever ours...

Hi all! This morning was not an easy time for Nina BoBo. She is still a little bit sick, and I think this whole "new family" thing is starting to sink in. She definitely has a Daddy-day today - tolerates me just fine, but seeks out Daddy whenever she has a choice (no big surprise there :-) )
Right after breakfast we left to go back to the Civil Affairs Office to finalize her adoption. Logistically, it was easy: a brief interview here, pay some money. Another interview there - yes, we like her and want to adopt her - yes, we know about her special need and STILL want to adopt her - pay more money. A quick family picture, another signature, a thumbprint, more money and handing our gifts to the officials. Painless. Hot. Very hot. But for Nina, it was hard. Uncertain. Scary. She completely shut down again, and she must have been wondering if her vacation was now over, or what was going to happen to her next. What a frightening experience for a little heart. The assistant director and the nanny from the Orphanage were here again, and we were able to speak with them about BoBo. We learned more about her foster parents, a couple in their fifties, and how very sad the foster mom was when BoBo left. BoBo cried most of the way to Changsha after they picked her up, and slept for some time as well. The Goodbye between her and the Assistant director was very bittersweet, and we all had tears in our eyes. They seem to be very kind and caring people. We came back to the hotel, and she ate a little bit and has now slept for almost three hours (so have I!) I'm hearing some giggles in the background now, so maybe she feels a little bit better. We are trying to head to WalMart in a bit, and I will post more pictures later. Here is my favorite one from this morning: She is trying to twirl, but it just doesn't work well without a dress :-)) Sweet little girl!


*****deutsche Version: www.chinagirlswitzerland.blogspot.com Titel: Es ist offiziell *****

More details of this wonderful day!

Where do I even start??? First of all, I want to quote the verse that the Theis'es left in the comment section. Mike and I were both in tears after reading it... how true and alive the word of God is!

AS YOU DO NOT KNOW THE PATH OF THE WIND, OR HOW THE BODY IS FORMED IN A MOTHER'S WOMB, SO YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE WORK OF GOD,THE MAKER OF ALL THINGS."
ECCLESIASTES 11:5

God made this sweet little girl and allowed us to call her ours for a time. I'm in awe, just like I was after all of our children were born. Today, Nina slipped into my heart, and I cannot imagine her anywhere else.

This morning, after breakfast, we took a Taxi to the Civil Affairs Office here in Changsha (kind of like the courthouse), and that's when the jitters started to set in. We knew that it had to be just a matter of minutes until we'd meet her, and we were nervous. Pretty nervous. We were there together with another CCAI family who had just flown in last night, and who was going to meet their twin baby daughters today. There was a room full of crying babies there already, and parents, and complete chaos. I did not see Nina anywhere, and we were ushered in the adjoining room at once. We were then told that the twins were here, but that Nina had not arrived yet. That made it kind of nice, because we were able to take Video and pictures for S. and A. and their babies. We kept peeking into the other room though, and all of a sudden, there she was. I recognized her right away. She was sitting next to the ladies who had walked in with her, her face stoic - it was the face we have been so familiar with since January ;-)). They were fumbling with her hair, putting in some hair clips, and speaking with her, but she showed no emotion. That was when my heart was really aching for her and the tears started welling up in my eyes. I tried to sneak a little closer to take a picture (it's posted in the previous post), and after a few minutes, after S. and A. had finished all their formalities, they brought her in (again, picture is posted). She had a steamed bun and a bag of candy clutched in her little hands, and just looked at us. We got down and started talking to her, and after I while I picked her up. She did not object or cry, but was obviously very unsure of all of this. The entire process went very fast, we were there maybe a 1/2 hour and that was it. We left with her, and she was just eyeing us. There was one time where she cracked a tiny little smile, but most of the time she kept up her serious face.

As soon as we got back to the hotel, she found the toys we had brought for her, and the transformation was almost immediate. She loved the stacking cups, and we stacked, and stacked, and knocked them over, and lined them up, and put cheerios in them and on and on... you get the picture. She started giggling, eating cheerios, and oh my, it was like the sun had come up. She is a little ham, very clever and smart. I would do one thing, and she'd copy me immediately. She has great fine motor skills, loves to lace the big beads I brought and we think she might be left handed. We played with stickers, and Duplos, Playdoh, and she loves to throw the big beach ball around. She is such a joy to watch. She loves to twirl around in her dress, and LOVES to have her picture taken (watch out, Kami!). She immediately wants to see it on the screen, and repeats her name over and over (it kind of sounds like Bo-Buh when she says it). She prances around in front of the mirror and is very sure of herself. Pretty soon she started just loving on me, giving me kisses, and when she saw me in a picture she said "Mama". She loves to hang out with her Daddy just as much, because he lets her play with all the fun toys (Cameras, Calculator and so on ;-)) ). She has just been an absolute delight. She is starting to make very good eye contact with both of us, she lets us snuggle and cuddle with her and feed her. These are such important things when it comes to fostering the attachment process.

I gave her a bath this afternoon, which she loved (God bless the inventor of stacking cups!), and we put on some different clothes, which she was fine with. She is very protective of her shoes though, and did not want to have anything to do with her sandals we brought for her. This is totally fine, and whatever makes her feel comfortable works for us. After her bath she took a good 2 hour nap - not a fuss out of this brave little girl! When she woke up, she was back to her serious self again, I think she just didn't know where she was and who these strangers were. It took only a few minutes though and she was back to her silly self. She communicates her needs very well, and boy, does she have a little 'tude going at times. We had 2 near-temper tantrums when things didn't go the way she wanted. She cracks us up constantly, and it's amazing to think how well she will fit in with the kids at home. She will definitely be able to hold her own, and I'm afraid she will be very receptive to Hoover showing her all this dare devil tricks. She came to us with a little bit of road rash on her forehead.... and oh, does that look familar!

We went for a stroll later on to buy some milk for her (her report said that she loves to drink milk before she goes to bed.... Anya and Elia, your Woo-Woo buddy is coming!!) and some of the same little jello cups that Andi brought home from Japan. She had obviously eaten those before and loves them! We also visited our travel and adoption friends and their new little baby girl, and although Nina was willing to play with that gal for a while (I was holding her), all of a sudden she was done and snuggled in with me. How reassuring! We played some more in our room, and went for dinner after that. Mike and I kept her on our lap, facing us (whoever she was with) and fed her rice and watermelon. Again, she was all snuggly and kept stroking my arm while leaning against me. I tried to give her some ice cream for dessert, and oh boy, she was NOT impressed. The look on her face was priceless!

She seemed really tired after dinner, so we went to our room and got her ready for bed. She has been coughing a little ever since we got her, and now tonight she is running a fever. She took the Tylenol just fine and is sleeping now, but please pray for her that she gets over this quickly. She doesn't really act too sick, so I'm not too concerned at this time. We'll just watch her closely. Neither Mike or I are feeling 100%, not sure if it's the beginning of a cold or just a slight stomach upset, so if you would please pray for health for all of us.

What we are so impressed with is the way she carries herself. You can tell that she has been loved, she radiates the attitude that she is a welcomed child, a child who has known security. Her job is now to transfer her attachment to us, and right now it looks very promising. We are aware that a lot of children go through a so called Honeymoon period, where they don't really think that this is a permanent deal. Yes, we are pretty fun, we play with her, feed her all kinds of yummy snacks (this child loves to eat!), but she will need to grieve for her foster family at some point. This may start tomorrow, next week, in 6 months.... who knows. But right now we are so surprised and incredibly thankful for how well she is doing.

We received all her things that we sent to her in her care packages, but I think she didn't really receive them. Things were not used at all. They made us a little photo album with pictures of her, also from when she was littler, and she loves to look at that. In one picture, she is leaning against the legs of someone, and she always says a name for "her" - we're assuming it's her foster mother.

Another highlight of the day was that we were able to talk to the kids at home for the first time. We love you so so so so so so much, Nico, Anya, Alex and Elia, and we wish you could be here with us. It's only 12 more sleeps until we are home! I know Nina will love you guys! We will have so much fun together! And we want to hear all about the new Motorhome from Grandpa and Grandma!

Well my friends, I'm worn out. What an emotional day this was. And what an incredibly blessed day. God has showered a lot of grace on all of us today. What an awsome Father we have, who has adopted us into his kingdom. Thank you for your prayers - we can definitely feel them.

Good bye from Changsha...

I'll add some more pictures, but I think I will have to do the captions tomorrow... Nighty night, and no we won't let the bedbugs bite!






**** Deutsche Version: www.chinagirlswitzerland.blogspot.com Titel: Nina *******

Here she is....

I won't do much talking for now, because I know you just want to see PICTURES!! So, here they are.... We are completely in love with this sweet and feistly little girl....
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"
God has blessed us today. We are in awe of this precious little gift!

Here is the first glimpse we caught of her / Wir sehen sie!!!

First meeting / Ihre Begleiter bringen sie zu uns

First picture with her new Mama and Baba / Erstes Foto mit ihren neuen Eltern

After we played in the room for a while, she started smiling and giggling and being silly! Does it get much cuter?? /
Kurz nachdem wir wieder im Hotel waren, begann sie zu lachen und zu spielen. Ist sie nicht soooo suess?

Kiddos, you are going to love your new sister!

Time difference

Thank you all for posting (This is Mike btw). It makes us feel connected to all of our friends and family all over the world. You had a question about the time difference, it is 14 hours ahead of everyone in MST. That means when we get Nina 'Bobo' at 10 am this morning (Monday) it will 8 pm on Sunday night for those of you back home. We appreciate all your prayers, thoughts and comments. We are not sure how Nina will react to everything. We do know that she has received one of our packages already, so hopefully she will know that a family is coming to get her. However, we know that she will be scared.

That being said, how much can a three year old understand about about being adopted? It means leaving everything that she has known to this point in her life. Leaving familar surroundings, smelling new things, hearing new voices, new language, seeing strange people, riding in a car, flying in a plane not to mention a hundred other things. These are all new experiences for her. I think that I would be a little more than scared. We have been praying for this day for some time and I know that it is no accident or coincidence that we are here and Nina is the girl that will be part of our lives going forward. Won't always be easy, but it is the right thing. Thank you again for reading! We will definitely have pictures by the time you wake up in the morning. - Mike

To ANYA!

Anya, guess what we saw at the store today.... a TAMAGOTCHY!!! Can you believe it! Pretty cool, huh! Do you want a chinese speaking one? (I bet you would be the only one who had one !)
We love you, Missy Girl! XOXOXOX

On a light note...

Last night we came across this picture of our cat... the kids were playing with all the fun features on Daddy's new laptop, and even Wooley got the honor. We laughed so hard. We love you kiddos! You are all so special and we miss you!

Hello from the rice bowl and fishpond of China

Hunan is an inland province. It's name means Hu = lake, and Nan = south, because most of its area is south of the Dongting lake. Hunan covers an area of 211,800 square kilometers (81,775 square miles) and has a population of about 65 million people. Changsha is the capital city. Endowed by natural resources and abundant agricultural products, Hunan is known as the "rice bowl" and the "fishpond" of China. There are 5,341 rivers and streams in Hunan. This province is also rich in mineral resources. Of the 160-odd kinds of minerals already discovered in the world, 141 kinds have been found in Hunan.

I'm pretty smart, huh?? Well, I'll give away my secret - when we arrived in Changsha today, our guide Daphne had a little booklet ready for us with all the information we could possibly need for our stay. And this info about Hunan was in there. I found this very interesting, as we could see a lot of this rich and fertile area as we flew into Hunan this morning. It was a beautiful flight, way up in the sky (obviously *ha*), where the sky was blue and not covered by an unhealthy haze. As we started descending into Changsha, we could see how green and mountainous the area is, we saw what I believe to be rice fields, and it really hit me that I'm entering my daughter's homeland. I feel honored to be here and it is my wish to absorb this area into my heart and let it become a part of me, just like Nina will become a part of me. Changsha seems quite different from Guangzhou, more open with just a little bit more space available, and somehow kept up a bit nicer too. The driving is just as crazy, and we just love to go on taxi rides!

We got settled on the 31st floor of the Dolton Hotel, which is very nice. We met up with the family that we had met on our international flight, and their travel group is staying on the same floor. I forsee lots of playtime in the hallway in the next few days!

Daphne took us to a local restaurant and ordered some food for us. This area is known for its very spicy food, and she referred to Nina as our "Spicy Girl". Oh boy, was she right. She ordered some mild dishes for us, and whewww, I'm sure glad she did. Talk about sweat pouring out of you and throat and sinuses burning.... it was so delicious, but definitely hotter than I'm used to. Mike fared a little better, as he is not quite such a wuss when it comes to spicy foods. I really enjoy the atmosphere in the restaurants here. There always seems to be such a quiet elegance about it, in the way the staff takes care of you and gracefully floats around the room. Again I'm so impressed with their gift of showing hospitality.

Later on we went to a supermarket to get some snacks and water, and she showed us where we can get supplies for Nina depending on what she needs tomorrow. I think Mike and I could have spent a long time in there, just taking it in and window shop. Some things are familiar (well, a toothbrush always looks like a toothbrush), but of course many things are strange and unfamiliar, especially in the meat department *shiver*.

It is very hot here, but not as humid as in Guangzhou. It was in the 90's today, and is supposed to be over 100 degrees in the next few days. Just like some good Wyoming summer weather!! Oh, and by the way, Mom, my feet LOVE the humidity here! Thought you might like to know :-)))

We are all ready for tomorrow - we had to do a little bit of paperwork, and know the gameplan. Nina will leave Loudi in the morning with staff from the orphanage, and it's a 3 hours drive for them to come here. Most likely this is the first time she travels this far. We are scheduled to meet her at 10am. We have a crib for her in our room, although I don't see her using it - I would prefer to keep her with us at night, but it's kind of sweet to see it being all ready for her, including her new blankie, Bunny, Nuschi, Pj's and everything she could need as one of our kiddos :-).

We have also received her finding ad. And that's a very bittersweet memento, but so very precious. When abandoned babies are found, the province is required to run an ad in the paper, saying that a baby has been found. If no one claims her within 2 months, she is officially declared an orphan. She looked like such a healthy little baby with a head of black hair. Nico, you finally have a companion in the "born-with-lots-of-hair" department! She was definitely not a baldy like all your other siblings!

I'm thinking a lot about Nina's foster mother tonight. What thoughts are going through her mind? Is a sense of gratitude mixed with a deep feeling of loss in her heart tonight? She gave a little girl the selfless gift of belonging and stabilty, all the while knowing that it would not be forever. What a willingness to love and to let go. I have such an appreciation for her! Will she tuck BoBo in bed - just one last time? Will she feel her little arms around her neck, knowing that it will never be like this again? Does she feel relief and joy that her job is done and that Bo will finally have a family to belong to forever?
I may never know... all I know that I'm completely overcome with emotion right now, and I feel like I'm getting a glimpse into God's own heart. He has orchestrated this from before the beginning of the world, and he has loved Bo enough to stir our hearts to pursue her adoption. Not that I pride myself to be the perfect Mama out there, but God matched us through his grace.

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, BUT THE LORD RISES UPON YOU AND HIS GLORY APPEARS OVER YOU. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy! They are the shoot I have planted FOR THE DISPLAY OF MY SPLENDOR." from Isaiah 60

Good night, my friends! We love to read all your comments, they mean a lot to us!

Here are some pictures again from our day - enjoy!


Our plane/ unser Flugzeug

The view we had descending into Hunan / Die Sicht auf Hunan waehrend dem Sinkflug

Our Spicy lunch... doesn't it look yummy? / Unser SEHR scharfes Mittagessen. Es was so fein!

Nina's crib, all ready! / Nina's Kinderbett steht bereit!

Our hotel room / Unser Zimmer

****Deutsche Uebersetzung***** - www.chinagirlswiterland.blogspot.com Titel: Hunan

Fuer d'Kaya!!!

Liebi Kaya,
lueg emal, was mir huet z'China gseh haend: E Tafle mit dim Zweitname! So beruehmt bisch du!!!! Mir schicked dir vili liebi Gruess vo China - Babs und de Goetti Mike

Shopping madness - our 2nd day in Guangzhou

Our second day in Guangzhou is coming to an end. We are trying to enjoy this time - just the two of us (I don't remember last time we had a twosome getaway!), and do things that we might not feel up to with a three year old in tow. We heard about the wholesale markets here in town, so we asked the receptionist to write down some addresses for us to go to. We took a taxi to get there, and we're so glad we did. If you are looking for a bit of a thrill, go for a taxi ride. It's cheap (2 - 3 Dollars at the most), and it's fun! The traffic is totally crazy, with cars and buses and bicycles weaving in and out of traffic with no rhyme or reason, except for getting to their destination FAST! I felt safe though, and the cars really don't look banged up, which I would have expected with that type of traffic. The funny thing was, when it was time to pay the Taxi driver, it cost 8 RMB ($1), and Mike tried to find the right bills. The guy watched intently, and must have gotten a little impatient, so he took the bills out of Mike's hands, pulled out a 10 RMB bill and said, waving it in the air, "Okay? okay?" We were told that you don't tip a Taxi driver, so we laughed about him getting himself a little tip...
The first place we went was just a huge shopping area with hundreds of little stores and tiny little malls. Not sure that I would consider it a whole sale market, but there were definitely a lot of shopping opportunities. It was very crowded and hot, but some stores had air conditioning which was a nice little break. Lots of clothing, luggage, tons of shoes and many street vendors and food booths. I wanted to take a picture of one, but they would not let me - they had selections of Octopus on a stick, chickenfeet on a stick and other equally yummy things. I'm sure you get the mental picture *ggg*.
There are also several McDonalds and KFC's and a Papa John's that we saw. We went to a grocery store that had a large variety of foods, lots of dried fruit and nuts and dried "whatevers". If I would know that my stomach could handle it, I would have gotten some (well, maybe not the "whatevers...). There are lots of western brands available, so if you are travelling to China, don't worry if you forget something. Chances are, you'll find it here too. What we did not see was any fresh produce or frozen items (except some ice cream, so I don't know where people buy that.
We took another taxi to the second area that had been written down for us, and it was pretty similar, but had more individual stores and some nice clothing stores. I bought a cute skirt, and I'm feeling very chinese right now (yep, I'm wearing it!). There were people on the street that are trying to sell you something (usually fake watches, purses or Computers). They will follow you and talk and talk and talk and try to get you to come to the store they are advertising for. Wow, and they are super persistent! I just didn't know if I felt more annoyed or guilty for being rude and ignoring them.
The sheer number of people on the streets is mind boggling: Many teenagers and young adults, some CUTE little babies, but hardly any kids or older people. It is just packed wherever you turn. At the same time there is a smoothness to the flow, and smiles wherever you look. People appear to be at ease in the midst of the crazyness.
The bargaining is another thing that is pretty foreign to us. The way it works, is that if you want to know the price of an item, you ask, and they will type in on a calculator. You can then type what you want to pay, and so you go back and forth until you reach an agreement (or not). We bought a suitcase because I'm sure we'll have more things to bring home than we packed to come here, and after the deal was made, we shook hands, and off we went. Definitely an interesting experience.

Right now we're back at the hotel, Mike is reading and I'm bloggin', and soon we will head out to eat dinner. We just got a call from Grace, our guide, that we will have to leave the hotel shortly after seven in the morning to catch our flight to Changsha. We're getting closer, Nina! We have definitely enjoyed ourselves here, but now we're ready to go. At the same time, getting her is such a blur in my mind: I don't know what to expect, I don't know how our first meeting is going to be. I'm trying to picture it, and I can't. This is a very strange feeling. Mike compares it to the time before Nico (our oldest) was born, and we wanted to be parents, but didn't know what it was going to be like. I feel very much the same way now.
In less than two days, this little girl will slip into our lives, our family and our hearts, and we will all be changed forever. I pray for a lot of grace - for all of us. We need it to embrace her and love her unconditionally, and she needs it so she can grieve and begin to heal at the same time. She is so special to us, and we don't even know her yet. But God does, and that is enough - for now.

Here are some pictures of our day:

the Chinese money /Chinesisches Geld

One of the shopping areas we went to / Einkaufsviertel

This guy was in a bird costume, playing some sort of instrument. ? Ein farbenfroher Vogel....

In front of a Mc Donald's pillar - on top it said "I'm lovin' it" - sorry, the picture is a bit blurry/ Vor dem McDonald's

Chinese traffic - a still picture just does not do it justice, though!/ Chinesischer Verkehr, als Foto leider nicht so eindruecklich


****Deutsche Version: www.chinagirlswitzerland.blogspot.com Titel: 2. Tag****

Spurting Mosquitos

We walk by this sign several times a day, as it is posted right by the elevators. We think it is hiliarious. Now don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to make fun of the chinese people trying very hard to accomodate their english speaking guests. As most of you know, there are still some english words that I either don't understand or that are incredibly hard to pronounce, even after having been in the US for 13 years. These "chinglish" signs are just so funny, but in a very endearing way. Maybe because I can relate...

View from our hotel

I thought I'd share some pictures that we took from the roof of the Victory hotel this morning. The hotel is right at the edge of Shamian Island, so what you see is actually off the island. The swimming pool is on top of the roof too.
As you can see, the air is very hazy, which I think is a mixture of high humidity and air pollution. It's just busy busy busy, wherever you look. Where is my Wyoming tranquility?

*****Deutsche Version: www.chinagirlswitzerland.blogspot.com Titel: Hotel ******

This is for Dad and Brent!

We thought you might like to see some Chinese-style construction. This is bamboo scaffolding that is tied together with plastic coated wire. We see in a lot of construction projects, so it must be sturdier than it appears.
Would you let us know if these pictures are rotated the right way, or if they are sideways? We rotated them, but when I select them for the blog, they are sideways. So I'm just wondering.

PS: Next day update: I'm starting to figure out this IMac thing, so I think I have the pictures rotated now. Would someone let me know (It is very strange not being able to see all of this for myself!!)

Shopping, Dining and a massage...

While Mike is napping, I might as well recount the events of this morning and early afternoon. First we wandered around Shamian Island, just to check things out. It was POURING rain! A nice, warm rain, too, and the temperature was very comfortable. There are so many little shops all over that obviously cater to tourists, and even more so to adoptive parents. We got a little desperate to get away from the rain, so we entered one of these little shops. What a different world! This store was acutally like a Mini-Mall with several little stores in one, but we didn't realize that until the first Sales person literally jumped in front of me when I tried to move out of her area. She showed me everything I could possibly want or need (or not), and she was so sweet about it. These people take customer Service to a whole new level, that's for sure. They asked what we were doing here, and where our baby was from, and we showed them pictures of our kids at home. Can you imagine showing your family pictures to the cashier at Wal Mart? Yeah, right.... they almost did a backflip when they saw a picture of our house. They said that in Guangzhou one square meter (a little over 9 square feet) costs 8000 RMB, that is over $1000! So we visited with all these ladies and men at all the little stores, had a good excuse for not buying anything since we have to travel some more, and had a good time. There was definitely no anonymous browsing through their selection. But again, we were treated like royalty, and they made us feel like we were their new best friends. And they did have some cute things. They had all kinds of little girls dresses, and believe it or not, they had Gymboree, Oshkosh and Gap labels in them! I asked them if they were real, and they said that they were.... except that I have an incredibly hard time believing that. Anyhow, I will have to do some girly shopping when we get back here.
After our little shopping spree and after saying goodbye to our new friends Shawn and Betty, May and Lucy, we tried to find a place to eat. We did not want to eat anything that had been alive 5 minutes earlier, so some places were out of the question right away. We found a very nice little restaurant where the menu was in english as well, even though no one spoke it. Lots of pointing, smiling and nodding. Guess it worked, and lunch was DELICIOUS. We had some kind of vegetable dumplings with lots of mushrooms, some hot and spicy pork and veggie dish with little tortilla looking flat thingies (yumm) and the best fried rice I have ever had! We managed to get through the meal with our chopsticks, and Mike even tried some Chinese beer.
I had heard that massages were out of this world here, so that was the next thing I wanted to do. We saw a place advertised at the hotel, so we headed downstairs. Mike skipped the massage and went back to the room, while I felt like I was trapped in a damp dungeon. It was a little freaky. Instead of the 2 hour massage I asked for one hour only, and wheewww, I'm glad I did. The price had obviously just jumped up the minute we walked in (gotta learn yet when to barter!), and a very nice young gal did my massage. What an experience! Man, she kneaded muscles I didn't remember I had, and it was painful at times. I guess that's what you would consider deep tissue massage *ouch*. The thing that really got my attention though was when she climbed on the massage table, and hanging from metal bars at the ceiling, started to massage my back and legs with her feet. I felt like I was getting CPR through my spine, and I was silently wondering which rib would crack first. Well, nothing bad happened, but I think I will wait to get another massage until I'm back home.
I really need to wake Mike up, otherwise he won't sleep tonight, and then we'll probably head back outside, where it has quit raining now.
Wow, this is such an interesting place to experience. We love it. Shamian Island is a good place to get acclimated to the Chinese Culture, and I'm looking forward to head to Hunan, where I'm expecting things to be more authentic yet.
So, signing off for today!

This is a picture of a bronze statue in front of the post office.

******Deutsche Uebersetzung: www.chinagirlswitzerland.blogspot.com "Erster Nachmittag" ******

Tiiiiiinaaaaaaa!

Tina, I hope you read this - my first purchase in China was a pair of squeaky shoes for Miss Laney! The girl in the shop with her telepathic mind and honed sales skills new EXACTLY what size a 2 1/2 year old needs. And she gave me such a great deal, because I was such a nice friend, and if I would have bought more the deal would have been even better! Sound familiar? Anyway, I got her a pair of purple Squeakies, with the traditional silk type fabric. Very cute. Is that really all you need, or did you also want the leather mary-jane kind? Please comment or send my an email, so I can get you whatever your little princess might need! And let me know what your preference for color is, because my new best friend assured me that I could come and exchange them if you didn't like purple :-)))

The comments DO work now!

Just wanted to let you know. Please keep them coming!