Excerpts From My China Journal - Nov. 23, 2014

OMG, what a trip...  We made it from Guangzhou to Shanghai okay, after some unnecessary struggles in GZ (see previous entry).  Upon arrival, I discovered that the Marriott [an acquaintance] picked out for us to stay in was 35 miles away!!  I called Mom who looked it up and said that there was a Marriott 15 miles away but I couldn't transfer my reservation so she booked us a a Ramada and we caught the LAST shuttle of the night, at 12:05am!  No free breakfast, and breakfast, if you bought it, was $23pp, so we starved until we got to the airport early afternoon.  :o(

We checked our bags in, and headed to the passport line.  Yang had been fussy all morning, but when we hit the passport line, she sat on the ground and refused to walk.  I pulled her along the ground until we were deep in line and I finally said, "Fine.  Stay here.  I'm moving forward." and Mei and I continued.  Well, against what I was expecting, she did NOT follow!!  She stayed and cried on the floor in the midst of hundreds of people!  Then, she must've realized she couldn't see us and started SCREAMING!!  By that time, she was 30 feet back (how'd she get that far back??) and I sent Mei to go get her (yeah, right!), and Mei swam upstream through the crowd and I was left in line, with 5 carry-ons.  People were motioning me to go back to get her, but HOW??  I had FIVE bags to carry and it was shoulder-to-shoulder people!  Meanwhile, she's SCREAMING and EVERYONE is looking at me - some amused, some ticked, some understanding.  It was AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL.  Finally, a security person motioned me out of line while I heard a man mutter, "That's a good strategy to get out of line..." and if I knew who it was, I would have decked him!!!  Like the Red Sea, the crowds parted to let us pass and the security lady said, "Take your child and go to the front of the line."  Somehow, we made it through the passport inspection and were on our way.  Oh, and a Chinese lady kept telling me to give her candy!!!  THAT'S what got us in this mess in the first place!  Teaching her that if she acts up, she'll get candy!!!

Sleeping on the other side of security.  Poor girl was DONE.

After that, she was fussy and whiny, but no more fits.  We ate a meal in the airport (had some spaghetti that was actually GOOD!!!) and I met a super duper nice man from Indianapolis, also eating in the restaurant.  (Sooooooo good for the soul!)

The 13 hour flight went amazingly well, though we were in the center section and the piece of crap plane had TINY seats and one movie screen for everyone, so we had no choice on what to watch!  I was SO hoping the girls could watch "Frozen" in Chinese as offered on my inbound flight 3 weeks ago.  It was their last chance to see it in their language!  :o(  Also, the food was some of the worst airline food I've ever had.  When we were embarking, Yang went the wrong way to her seat.  Simple error - not her fault.  Well, this uppity flight attendant said curtly, "Ma'am, please gain control of your child."  I had had ENOUGH at that point.  I looked at her and said, "I AM DOING THE VERY BEST THAT I CAN!"  and Yang quickly joined us and we found our seats.  (btw, that flight attendant went out of her way to kiss my butt the whole rest of the flight - lol - I guess she felt bad!)

Thinking that we were on our way to the hotel as planned...

So we arrived in Chicago and were standing out by the bus shuttle station and I called the hotel.  [The acquaintance] screwed up AGAIN, booking us at the Marriott at Midway, not O'Hare!!!  By a miracle, I reached him and he was able to get us to an appropriate hotel.  Only 2 hours past when we should have been there.  Grrrr...

The girls went to sleep around 9pm but woke up, wide awake, at 1:30am!!  I offered each a melatonin, but both refused.  I took some, as I was awake, too!  I dozed off and on, as I kept getting woken up (surprise!) and I think around 4 or 5 they both finally fell asleep.

 Waiting to board.

At 7, it was time to get up.  Yang would NOT cooperate!!  She wouldn't get dressed, wouldn't put her shoes on, nothing!!  I pretty much dressed her, for her.  >:o(  It was time to leave and she was still whining on the floor, without shoes or socks.  She knew we were leaving, but holding out on me doing everything for her.  We headed out the door with 5 carry-ons, leaving hers for her to carry, and  the hotel door closed accidentally, with her in the room, on the floor.  Oh, the SCREAM she let out!!  As quickly as I could, I opened the door (thank God I had the key!!) and helped her finish getting her shoes on.  She whined and whimpered all the way to the airport, lying down in the middle of the swanky hotel lobby with well-dressed professional people standing around (naturally).  At baggage check, she kept lying on the scale and people had to keep telling her to move - each time with a grunt and a whine.  UGH.  At security she kept lying on the floor, refusing to move.  Oh, this child...  Crying and fighting, she got through security and I managed to get her to a diner and she requested a banana.  She ate the banana then promptly (and silently) barfed it up all over herself!!  OMG!!!!  A very nice man in a uniform kindly brought a bunch of napkins and I managed to clean her up.  Thank goodness she barfed all over her jacket - I simply took off her jacket.  The poor kid is DONE traveling!!!  We are now at the gate and she is out cold.  Hopefully she'll sleep the whole way to Orlando...

I need a vacation.

Exerpts from My China Journal - Nov. 20-21, 2014

Today we will hang out until this afternoon when we have to go back to the area of the consulate and pick up the girls' passports/visas.
--------------
--Okay!  Paperwork all picked up!!  Whooo hooooooo!!  We can LEAVE!!!!!!!  And can it really be true??  Can we leave TOMORROW?!?!  YESSSSSS!!!!!  Tomorrow evening we have a 9:40pm (ugh) flight to Shanghai - we stay the night in Shanghai then aboard our Chicago flight the next afternoon.  Then, we stay the night in Chicago (oh, blessed AMERICA) and the next morning, fly home to Orlando!!  Almost makes me tear up just thinking of it!!

A word about the Internet: China blocks many websites, we all know, but this can be gotten around by installing a VPN (or 2 or 6).  I did, I put 3 on my phone and 2 on my tablet.  I forgot to do it on my laptop.  Well, even with a VPN (or 2 or 6), the Internet is often inaccessible.  It was horrible in Beijing but not bad in Nanjing.  Here in Guangzhou it has been pretty awful.  For instance, the past 2 days, after a good 210 attempts at connecting, I'll get a connection, but it only lasts 1-2 minutes!  So you have to be FAST if you want to check in on Facebook, let alone check e-mails or anything else!  I gotta get home...

Nov. 21 (Mom's birthday!  Happy birthday, Mom!)
We are sitting around, waiting a couple of more hours when we have to check out of the apt and head to the airport, where we'll have to wait ~6 hours before boarding.  UGH!  We will land in Shanghai around 11:30 and stay the night, then leave for Chicago the next day, around 5pm.

As long as we are sitting around with nothing to do (a rare occurrence - cough!) I thought it might be fun to describe what I've noticed of the girls' personalities at this point.  In years to come, it will be fun to see how they've changed, if at all.

Mei: Quiet and cooperative.  Gets silly and LOUD at times, gets very giggly.  Obedient, for the very most part.  Patient with Yang ~95% of the time but occasionally crabs at her for being annoying.  Watches a lot of TV (not much else to do!) and seems to prefer soap operas (you've never seen such epic crying on soap operas in your life!) and live music concerts.  Sleeps a lot, and sleeps soundly, and everyday goes to bed and takes a real nap!  She also goes to bed early every night (between 7:30 and 9) and sleeps until the sun wakes her at 6:30.  She also talks in her sleep!  I wish I knew what she was saying, but it's in Chinese, of course!  So far, she 's a very easy, very pleasant 14 y.o. girl. Her hygiene could use a little tweaking though, to be up to American standards.  She will often wear certain clothing 3 or 4 days without changing, but this could also very well be that we are living out of suitcases and she doesn't have much clothing.  She's also doing better about bathing.  I'm SURE once we get home these things will NOT be issues with her.  She is certainly NOT an unhygienic person!  She loves jewelry and accessories, but won't let me braid her hair.  :o(  I bought some fingernail polish, but she won't let anyone use it.  :o(  Maybe she's saving it?  She also likes to sing, and I'd like to get her in a choir, whether school or church.

Next kid analysis: Hua, Hui Yang!  How many pages can I squeeze her into?  First of all, she loves her mama!  She tells everyone her name - it's really too bad that I have to change it.  If I didn't, she'd spend her whole life repeating it to every person she meets and spelling and re-spelling it to everyone on the phone when she orders something.  It would be a tough name to keep.  :o(  Also, in renaming her I should have given her middle name as "HuiYang" and not just "Yang", but I didn't know...  Maybe at re-adoption I can change it.

Okay - personality description: this girl has a BIG personality!  She talks constantly, and to anyone, and everyone she talks to loves her!  She has a brilliant smile that lights up her whole face, and she craves approval and attention.  If she thinks you are upset with her, it breaks her heart!  For example, if you put her on time out, she is first angry, then her heart breaks as she realizes that she fell out of your good graces!  She must've been spoiled at the orphanage (a favorite?) because she does not handle being told "no" well AT ALL!  The first week in Guangzhou she had some pretty bad screaming tantrums, but they got some better the second week.  She is also INTO EVERYTHING!  If there's a button to push, a knob to turn, a switch to flick or a device to swipe, she WILL DO IT, IN ABUNDANCE!  She simply can't leave anything alone!!  Talk about busy hands!!  I FINALLY got her to quit running the TV remote, and almost got her to quick clicking on stuff and swiping on my devices while I'm in the middle of using them (or simply picking them up and screwing with them - she tried calling Wuesthoff the other day!), but then, Mei is also really bad about being grabby and screwing with whatever device you are working on.  Apparently, it's a cultural thing.  Iv'e tried to use the translator and the guide to explain about "personal property" and "personal space", but I think it might just take some time.

Yang is also very independent most of the time, but then she's also very dependent in some ways.  When we are in an elevator (in our 35 story apt. building), she insists on standing by the panel and pushing the buttons.  For everyone.  No matter who they are.  No matter what.  People are lucky to get in without becoming squooshed as she is so obsessed with pushing the "door close" button that people hardly have a chance to get on!  I'm' convinced she will be the CEO of a company someday.  The girl likes to be in CHARGE.  Too bad (or good?) that she's #6 of 6 kids!  LOL  Bottom of the totem pole.  LOL  She's very fastidious with her things, and always has a place for everything, and everything in its place!  She knows where ALL of her personal property is, that's for sure!  She's also very good at cleaning up after herself.  She also LOVES for everyone to have their shoes on!  The moment she's awake in the morning, her shoes go on, and it drives her battty that I don't put mine on right away!  She'll even bring a clean pair of socks to me and put them on me, followed by my shoes!  LOL

So far, neither girl has had any tendency toward stealing, and neither has lied to me, to my knowledge.  Neither has any obvious post-institutional behavior that's very obvious!  Yang has her insecurities (VERY "Mommy obsessed") and Mei is quiet, but those behaviors, I think, are very normal.  So far, both girls are wonderful, each in their own way, and I am a blessed woman!

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I don't tear up often, so when I do, I'm really upset.  We arrived at the Guangzhou airport fine.  We were attacked by a skycap who demanded $5 for the privilege.  I told him (and the girl there) that we were too early to check my bags but he didn't understand English and scurried away with my bags to the check-in counter.  After consulting with the check-in guy, I was informed that I was too early!  What a shock!  Enjoy my 5 bucks, fella!  We walked a few minutes, with 2 suitcases, a large carryon and 5 backpacks and I looked at the monitor and got an idea: I wonder if we could get on the 435 flight to Shanghai?  I went back to the counter and asked.  The guy nodded "yes" and pointed me to a long line.  We waited in line until arrived back at the same dude's counter.  He took our passports, weighed the baggage, did a bunch of stuff, printed our boarding passes, then pointed at my luggage and wrote "1800" on a paper.  Huh?  He circled it and pointed at my bags.  What??  He obviously didn't know a WORD of English!  He rewrote "1800" over the previous "1800" to make it much darker, while speaking to me in Chinese.  WHAT?!?  Then it dawned on me - he was telling me to come back at 6pm to check my baggage!  No early flights for us!!  I was SOOOOO MAD.  I'd even asked him earlier if we had time to make that flight and he nodded, "yes"!!  FURIOUS, I took the girls to a restaurant.  The prices were terrible, but I had to feed them.  Mei, as always, ordered a huge meal.  Yang was ticked that she couldn't order potato chips and pouted, so I ordered 2 muffins for her, and 2 for me.  And a coke for me.  Well, Yang's muffins arrived but mine didn't.  Just my Coke.  I asked about my muffins, but the server, who obviously spoke NO ENGLISH, held up 2  fingers and pointed to Yang.  NICE!  I get no food!  The bill was so high already, I refused to buy any more.  Mei's enormous plate arrived and she happily dug in and Yang ate her muffins and some crackers we'd brought along.  I drank my Coke through tear-filled eyes.  I asked for water for the girls and was told $2.50 each for a small glass of hot water!!  Forget it!  I plunged my Coke at Yang who was asking for a drink.  She didn't know why I was upset, I guess, with nothing to eat or drink.  She licked the straw, blew bubbles in the Coke and made it disgusting to anyone else who would share it, and only drank about 1/3 of it.  I was SO ANGRY.  So hungry.  So thirsty!!  So sick of food issues in this place!!  We walked around and around the airport, finding no where to sit and finally took the elevator to another floor to sit.  I dug out a worn out bag of apple chips that Mom had given me and guess who wanted those?!  Yang!!  I gave her a few and I guess she was full (must be nice) cause she didn't ask for more.  They ARE dry, slightly chewy, and awfully tangy, I will say.  :o(  I guess I'll be hungry until the flight at 9:15.  Hopefully they'll serve some snacks, or something.  :o(  NOT having a good time!!

Excerpts From My China Journal - Nov. 19, 2015

We're getting closer!  Today we got up early and went to the consulate to apply for the girls' visas.  There were nine other families there at the same time, with only ONE other family with a child over the age of 2!  While I'm really happy for the little ones being adopted, I can't help feel bad for so MANY older kids who are looked over.  :o(  Pretty much every kid there appeared to have some kind of special need.  Several cleft lips, some eye "injuries", other facial abnormalities, etc.  One adorable 4 or 5 year old sibling was a BBE, I though the might look to be from Russia.  :o)  Everything went smoothly and easily and we were out of there lickety split.

Can it be?  Are we really getting close???  (LOL - notice how the girls still don't stand close together)

After this, we went to the Jade and Pearl Factory.  I learned that jade was MUCH more expensive than I thought it would be!  Either that, or Helen didn't know how to get good prices.  I did get some things, although not nearly what I was hoping to get.  Oh, well!  I was surprised that Helen did not charge me for her time shopping!  That was super nice.  Took a taxi back home and both girls promptly took naps.  ;o)  Wait - I forgot - on the way back, we stopped at a cafeteria-style restaurant and, while the food was very... Chinese, there was a lot of it and the bill was $5 for ALL of us!!  Why didn't we discover that place before??  LOL

Excerpts From My China Journal (Nov. 16-18, 2015)

Another day in paradise.  Sat around all morning,then went to Shamian Island to eat at Lucy's again and did some souvenir shopping.  Got some cool stuff, but not much Christmas stuff...  Stockings and an ornament, but that's it.  Also having trouble finding postcards!  What's up with that?!

The elevator at our Will-We-Ever-Get-Out-of-Here-Home-Away-From-Home?  3 elevators for 35 floors.  Yeah.   Sometimes it took 20 minutes to get from the bottom to our 17th floor by the time an elevator arrived to arriving at our floor.  SO grateful to not be any higher up!

Killing time with a 750 piece puzzle.  We did about 1/3 of it, and gave up.  :o(

Both girls are being good, though Yang had a tantrum today.  Not a horrible one, but one nonetheless.  Taxi driver dropped us off 1/4 mi away from the apartment, but it was a quick ride (just 16 Yuan, or $3) and we're used to that. (being dropped off far away)

(Nov. 17)
Yang's 7th birthday!  But oh, my gosh, we're bored!!  I had an orange and a peanut for breakfast.  Yes, one peanut.  Mei had some shrimp-flavored noodles and Yang and a little of EVERYTHING.

(Later)  Not my favorite day...  We went to Pizza Hut for lunch, where the food was way overpriced, with LOUSY service (as in many restaurants we've been to), but the food was decent enough.  Yang is not very good in restaurants, to put it mildly...  She plays constantly with her plate and silverware and cup (always drinks hot water), hollers at the staff, demanding whatever she wants, stands up, plays with whatever she can reach, etc.  I don't think we'll be eating out much at home a the beginning!  LOL  It was her birthday, so I bought her 2 scoops of ice cream and she was pleasantly surprised.  :o)  NOT used to eating anything cold, it took her forever to eat it!  She loved it, though.

LOL  This Pizza Hut is NOT the one we went to, but I wanted to share it with you!  LOL  You are seeing the entire restaurant and I don't believe they've served pizza in there in a LONG time, if ever!  LOL  All I saw were those bamboo steam baskets!   And no, we did not eat there, though it was right around the corner from the apartment exit door.

In the afternoon, I gave Mei her birthday gift - a pendant I'd bought yesterday on the Island.  It is rectangular, jade-looking, with the Chinese character for "daughter" on it in silver.  She seemed to like it.  I hope she understands the significance of it.  The translator app on my phone doesn't seem to translate very well...

Unfortunately, after that, she (Mei) got really wild (an hour later?) and slipped into her habit of shouting everything.  This is a habit both girls have.  THEY TALK LOUD.  I told her twice to lower her voice (using gestures she understood) and she continued shouting, and I stood up, threw the remote near her hip on the couch (did not hit her with it) yelled at her angrily to STOP SHOUTING, and went to the bedroom loft to cool down.  Later, I came down (it got incredibly quiet downstairs during that time) and I used the translator to say, "I'm sorry.  Please forgive me."  She smiled gratefully, I gave her a hug and I went back up and took a nap.  This trip is getting to all of us...

I was contacted by two moms staying at the Garden, inviting us over this evening for dinner at a restaurant.  I really wanted to go, but taxi drivers always drop us off so far away that after dark I didn't want to chance getting lost, so I had to turn them down, offering to do something tomorrow.  :o(  Stupid, dumb taxi drivers!!

Nov. 18
A pretty good day.  Hung out in the morning then took a taxi to Shamian Island again, and had lunch with a really nice facebook family from outside of Peoria!  They had 10 total children, and 2 years ago adopted 2 girls (who came with on this trip) and were adopting a 13 year old this time, so we had 5 girls at the table at Lucy's, ages 14, 13, 13, 12 and 7!  LOL  It was WONDEFUL visiting with them, and they paid for lunch!  ;o)  With the money I saved, I bought some more souvenirs and gifts.  ;o)  Christmas shopping is almost done!  LOL

 Shamian Island:

This man paints landscapes using only his fingers and hands.

I bought this one.

Always making new friends.

At the famous sculpture apparently commemorating adoptive families.

There was a hopscotch area there and I taught the girls how to hopscotch!  ;o)

The girls continue to get along great with each other and Yang's oubursts are SO much better!  :oD  BIG YAAAY!!!

Excerpts From My China Journal - Nov. 15, 2014

We need to get home.  We are bored out of our minds and Ynag doesn't want to touch any of the toys or coloring books in her backpack.  She only wants to eat and help herself to whatever Mei and I are into, whether it's food, the remote, the puzzle, or whatever.  6 1/2 more days...!!!

 This is what I survived on for about 10 days and what the girls enjoyed with other things they picked out from the grocery store, but this was the main thing.   :o\

Every 2 days or so, we'd have to stock up again on dehydrated ramen noodle bowls.

                                             

Yesterday we went to the Guangzhou Zoo.  While a few of the exhibits were fair, far too many broke my heart!!  Lions, living alone on concrete behind rusty bars.  No toys or stimulation of any kind.  Same with the bears, tigers, etc.  it broke my heart.  :o(  The only positive was the amusement park there.  The girls got their first(?) rides on little kiddie rides and they had a blast.  I think Mei might have already ridden rides, cause she seemed like she knew what she was doing.  More crazy taxi rides home, Amazing Race-style.  :o(

I could hardly stand to look at the cruel enclosures these animals had to live in.

Lions and bears were kept in these horrible cages.  I wanted to cry.

The only decent thing about this zoo was the amusement park area.  For $1-2, the girls could ride these rides.  They were the ONLY kids there!!  We had the run of the entire place.

Getting Yang on this ride was HARD, but she eventually went on it an had a great time!  Thank goodness she had her big sister with her to protect her.  ;o)

Getting braver!

Practicing for the DisneyWorld monorail.

More attempts to find affordable, casual clothing, without success.  :o(  Ended up eating at KFC, with good prices, but tiny portions.  The girls eat SO SLOWLY, though, that you'd think they had a lot of food!  It takes Mei several minutes to eat a chicken wing!  You'd think orphanage living would have taught them to eat quickly, but I guess not!

FINALLY found underwear for Mei -- at the grocery store where we buy our food!  Ack!!  Why didn't I think of it before??

Not sure if we're doing anything today.  It's always a risk trying to get a taxi ride back here.  ;o(

Nov. 15, afternoon

Well, despite being bored out of our skulls, today was okay.  We went for a little walk and I stopped by a tiny tea shop and bought some lavender for Mom.  We also stopped at the same hair cuttery where we unsuccessfully tried to get Yang's hair cut last week, but since then she had a talk with Helen, the guide, and she very happily and willingly got her hair cut and washed!  What a difference!!  it is VERY short, but there was no other way.  It was such a sorrowful mess we pretty much had to start from scratch.  :o(  Oh, well.  Mei shows no interest in her hair and won't allow me to braid it, or touch it in anyway.  :o(

I was THRILLED that she so willingly went "under the knife"!!

Yes!!  Still smiling!!!!

Her new scalping --- I mean, HAIRCUT.  Beautifully styled and designed haircut.

Bored out of our minds.  Thank God for the TV.  Though it's all in Chinese, at least it keeps the kids occupied most of the time...

               

It was so boring and the days were so long, she was probably thinking, "What in the world did I sign up for??"

Excerpts from my China Journal - Nov. 13, 2014

A better day.  I took the kids to a park that had carnival rides, but unfortunately, we found out after a rather long hike to get there, the carnival rides were being dismantled.  We instead went to a crowded baby play area where Yang was able to play a little, but I was surprised at how much encouragement she needed to do so!  We left after awhile as I wanted to go either back to the apartment or somewhere else.  Yang didn't want to go, or she sure lagged behind, and complained about carrying her jacket.  Yes, she ended up having a meltdown, but it wasn't as bad as before.  No blood-curling screams, and it didn't last as long.  I ended up carrying her heavy self to a spot off of the path to calm myself (my BP had to have been through the roof!) and let her settle down, too.  Interestingly enough, she soon cried, "Mama!  "Mama!!  MAMA!!!" and clung to me.  Not knowing if this was a ploy to get me back on her good side (she's SO smart!) or if it really was an emotional tie she was trying to make, I decided to err on the safe side and accepted her beg for love and affection.  After that, it was simple whining and pouting the rest of the afternoon!

Camera shy.  :o(

Playing at the baby park.

How cute is she??

Bored out of her mind at a playground designed for toddlers.

I decided that since we were already out and about, we'd go to Shamian Island and see if I could find Lucy's Bar and see if I could see any souvenir shops that looked good.

We took an uneventful taxi ride and found Lucy's easily enough.  What an oasis!!  American decor, American menu, American food!!!  The food was just mediocre, but to me it was gourmet!  The girls found Chinese food to eat, which made them happy.  I even spotted 2 American adoptive families and one looked familiar (from Facebook) so I introduced myself!  This was the FIRST conversation in over 2 weeks that I've had with an American!!  What fun!!  :oD  The girls were clearly bored to tears, not being able to understand anything said, and it made me sad, thinking of how hard moving to America is going to be to them.  :o(

   

Happy sigh.

Until you've lived it, you just can't understand...

One of my very favorite pictures of HuiYang/Violet.

Evidence that I'm not lying to you.  I was drunk with happiness when I first sat down and saw this placement.  It's amazing how such a little thing as familiar food can affect you.

I did find some tourist shops, and almost bought several things, but didn't bring enough cash so I'll have to go back.  No worries!  I want another cheeseburger and fries!!  :o)

Excerpts From My China Journal - Nov. 12, 2014

The last couple of days have been rough.  I've struggled with depression and homesickness a lot.  The lack of English conversation, constant Chinese TV, HORRIBLE food, Yang's temper and tantrums, endless boredom...  I've actually broken down in tears both days.  :o(  This has been the hardest adoption trip I've had, emotionally.  Yeah, Nik's adoption was incredibly STRESSFUL, but it was mostly the agency's fight, not mine.  Here, I feel so isolated, and that, coupled with the other stuff, has been tough.  

The view from our apartment.  Day in, day out...

Today we had the girls' medical exams, and of course, HuiYang had a meltdown.  The guide got to witness this one.  The child was hitting and kicking both Helen (the guide) AND the doctor!!  To be honest, the best part was when they took her in for the blood draw and no one else was allowed inside.  They came out and physically carried her in (the first people to do so in China - everyone else always tries to talk her down).  We heard her screaming bloody murder behind the closed door then very shortly after, she came out as calm and meek as a lamb, and cuddled up to me.  LOL  THAT showed her!!  ;o)

Another crazy taxi day - the taxi on the way to the medical dropped us off 1/4 mile away and left us to find it, in the rain, with Yang whining the whole way.  FINALLY found it - good thing we planned our arrival 1/2 hour ahead of time - it took that long to find our way!!  For the taxi ride home, Helen flagged a taxi - showed our address, but the driver didn't know where our apartment was.  Flagged another driver.  Also didn't know where.  A third thought he might, so we took him.  He dropped us off in the general vicinity and we eventually found our way home.  What is it with Guangzhou taxi drivers?!  They are the WORST!!

Typical street view from the taxi.  I've never seen so many skyscrapers in all of my life as I did in every city in China.

Nine more days to go...  Please God, help me make it.  :o(

Excerpts From My China Journal - Nov. 11, 2014

All settled in, in our apartment in Guangzhou (GZ), though it wasn't easy!!  We got into the taxi okay from the plane and I gave the driver the address of the South And North International Apartments and he drove to a barricade and gestured and looked at the address again.  Said something in Chinese and drove off.  Drove back to the barricade and pointed and chattered.  Drove off again.  Drove back.  By this time, he was talking to himself constantly.  Finally, he gestured enough to mean, "This is as close as I can get.  Your address is up this road.  I can't take you any closer."  Was he KIDDING?!?!  He was going to drop us off in this "Times Square on New Year's Eve" crowd not knowing where we were, not knowing the language, not knowing a soul in the city, with 3 suitcases, 4 backpacks and 2 kids, one who could drop at any second in a screaming tantrum??  Was this guy NUTS???  By the time I could process what was happening, our bags were unloaded from the trunk, the kids were standing in the street and a guy had just claimed the cab for himself and was sitting in the backseat!  I had no choice.  We stacked the luggage the best we could (thank GOD Mei was so helpful!!  Yang wouldn't carry her backpack, saying it was too heavy.)  Nearly in tears, we cut our way through the crowd, in search of our apartment building.   I kept thinking, "This is like being in the Amazing Race!"

This was the maze we had to find our way through.  The tall building is our apartment building.

I asked this guard where it was and he sent us this way.  I asked that shopkeeper where it was and he sent us that way.  Dodging traffic, ignoring stares, pushing our way through crowds, dodging potholes that our luggage fell into, urging Yang to keep up, we searched and searched as I cursed the taxi driver under my breath.  At loooooong last, when I was just about to have a nervous breakdown, I saw the sign.  We MADE it!!!  It was very nice - everything in marble.  Our apartment was on the 17th floor (of 35) and 757sq.ft., marble floors, large TV, kitchenette, beds upstairs in a loft.  Super nice!!  Other than the difficulty finding it, way more adoptive families should stay here and ditch The Garden, with its prices 3-4X what this costs!  It even had an all-in-one washer/dryer though it is all in Chinese, and operating it is hit or miss...

View from the living room.  See Maylee upstairs in the bed?

I had a love-hate relationship with this washer/dryer!  I loved it because of what it was, but I hated it because I didn't know how to use it!!  Sometimes I'd put the load in for 4:35 (yes, that's hours:minutes!) and the clothes would still come out damp!  Finally, about 3 days before check-out, a man from the hotel showed me how to use it.  LOL

The next couple of days were kind of dull.  Walked around another mall, searched for snacks and I looked for food I could tolerate.  The girls ate a couple of times in restaurants while I tried not to retch from the smell or sight of their food.  Surviving on granola bars, for the most part.  :o(

Yang continues with tantrums.  She just simply can not tolerate being told no.  If I put her on a time out, all hell breaks loose!  It's been really hard.  She is SO independent and willful that any attempts to control her (like making her hold my hand while near traffic) makes her lose it.  How in the world did she manage in an orphanage setting??  When she is not losing her temper, she is such a delight!!

Mei's 14th birthday was yesterday, marking a very big milestone for an orphan in China.  To help her celebrate, she got to FaceTime with her friend Xia from the orphanage!  This made her VERY happy.  :o)

Excerpts From My China Journal - Nov. 8, 2014 (I only know the date cause that's what our plane tickets say.)

We are sitting in the Nanjing airport, waiting to board.  Mei is quiet and seems nervous, poor thing.  Yang is her bouncy, cheerful, ever-testing self. She threw one of her little fits at baggage check in because she didn't want to carry her backpack.  Lied on the ground, kicking her legs like a 2 year old, bawling.  Oh, goodness!  She gets over her little meltdowns pretty quickly, thankfully!!  I get a lot of dirty looks, but as long as they don't harass or arrest me, I'm okay with the looks.  Speaking of looks, we get them wherever we go!  A middle aged white woman with two Chinese girls, all of us looking bewildered wherever we go.  LOL  Oh, my.

(On a side note, I've read in travel books that staring is a national past time for the Chinese.  Thank GOODNESS I read that, cause I'd have a complex by now!!)

Poor Mei's really quiet.  Almost seems depressed.  I hope it's just simple sadness and/or normal grief...  I hate that I can't talk to her!!  (I just handed her my phone to play with.  She's happier now.  Ha)

On the plane now, ready to taxi.  After the bus ride to the plane, my adorable little Yang decided to be mad when Mei and I wouldn't let her have more gum and she squatted on the tarmac and wouldn't climb the steps on to the plane.  LOL  This time, though, I think she realized that this was just not the best time to act up, and she cooperatively boarded the plane.  What a kid!!

Boarding the plane in Nanjing headed for Guangzhou

At least she's cute when she's pouting!

The Chinese language is NOTHING like English at ALL (at least Russian had some similar sounding words) but once in awhile I hear something that sounds like English  For example, Yang often says something like "degoba" which of course, reminds me of the "Degobah System" in Star Wars.  The overhead flight person just said something that sounded like "shampoo".  LOL

Yang is NOT impressed with having to wear a seatbelt in the plane.  Can't wait 'til she has to sit in a booster seat in the backseat of the car!  LOL

Beautiful Mei, who is always so well behaved.

Not sure what the grumpy look was for...!!  (Except that she doesn't really like having her picture taken.)

I hope they feed us on this flight.  I'm starving.

I forgot to mention that Mei came to me with a brand new backpack FULL of stuff, but she never opens it and doesn't want to share what's in it with me.  That's okay.  I understand.  At the second Civil Affairs appointment, the orphanage director gave me a BEAUTIFUL large lacquer plate!  Never in any of my 6 adoptions has an orphanage given ME anything!!  I was very humbled, and felt just terrible at the crappy gift I have to her.  Had I known...?  I have her e-mail address and while I can't really write to her, I can at least send photos!  That will take a little of the guilt away.  A little.

Shoot 3 of the 4 of my EE kids (Nik was the oddball) not only did not send any personal effects or gifts with the kids, but every single stitch of clothing on their bodies had to be replaced, meaning they couldn't even wear their orphanage underwear out of the orphanage (now that I think of it, Erik did get to keep his clothes)!  China adoption is SO different!  My girls were very well prepared, loved, clean, and well-clothed!!  It shows, too, I'm happy to say.

A couple of funny things that Yang has said, as told to me by the interpreters:  We were walking past some 3 ft. cement pedestrian barricades and she said, "These are to bring good fortune and happiness to your family!"  Where the heck did she get that?!  An even funnier one was when we were in the police station to get passport pictures taken and we walked past a guard.  She said, "Watch out, or he'll take you away!!"  Then she grabbed him around the waist and shrieked, "TAKE ME AWAY!!"  LOL  I wish I understood what she was saying!!  People are always laughing at her!  LOL

Excerpts From My China Journal - Nov. 7, 2014 (I think...)

Well, the flight to Nanjing left over an hour late, giving us over 5 hours at the airport (see last post's picture of HuiYang eating in the airport restaurant).  UGH.  She NEVER stops moving or talking!!  I was SO tired, and she kept visiting with strangers who kept giving her food.  I kept telling them "NO", putting my hand up and shaking my head, but they did it anyway!!  Either right in front of me or as soon as I looked away they'd slip her food!  I was REALLY getting on my nerves!!  in NO WAY would this be tolerated in America - parents would call the cops!  People here mess with other people's kids like that; giving them food, zipping up their jackets, holding them on their laps, giving them chopsticks in restaurants, etc.  Crazy!!  I'm sure they were all just being really nice, but I was tired and it was getting on my nerves.  It also contributed to Yang's bratty behavior - whenever I told her no, someone slipped in and gave her food!

Anyway, the flight was easy - almost as soon as she got in her seat, she fell asleep!  WHEW!!  I too, dozed for much of the flight.  We got dinner which was, guess what?  CHINESE FOOD!!  LOL  Waaaaahhhh!!!!

Much to my delight, the taxi to the hotel was an absolute snap!  Checked in and crashed.  The Holiday Inn Aqua City is 100 times nicer than the Sha Tan was in Beijing.  :o)  Also double the price.  :o(

The Civil Affairs Office, waiting for the Star of the show to arrive!  I'm told it's usually really busy in here with families and their kids, but because we were doing this on a Thursday, we were the only ones here!

Excited to meet her new sister!

The next morning, the 6th, we met our guide, Michael, at 9:15am in the hotel lobby to go pick up Mei.  We arrived in the empty Civil Affairs Office and talked money and paperwork.  Then, Wei, JiangMei arrived!  She darted in and smiled at me and ran to the bathroom.  LOL  5 minutes later she came back out and we met.  She looked just like her pictures!  She was shy, but seemed pretty happy about the whole thing.  I asked my questions, signed the papers, took a few pictures, and left.  Michael took us to a Chinese restaurant (where else?) and I ate nothing.  The breakfast that Yang and I ate at the hotel made my stomach hurt (probably the fried potatoes) and there was no WAY I was going to eat that food!!!  The girls ordered stuff that made me want to gag: Yang ordered quail eggs (small dark brown balls that looked like they were dug out of a swamp) and a bowl of mashed tomatoes (not potatoes) with scrambled eggs in water(?).  GAG.  Mei also ordered the tomatoes and eggs but also some other disgusting looking things that I've blocked from my memory forever (thank you, Jesus).  My poor stomach!

First moments.  I was showing her how I had her photo on my phone's screen saver so I saw her picture every time I turned it on.

Someone was feeling very jealous at this point and not acting her best.  I didn't care.  I was too happy!!

A better picture of just the two of us.

Some last moments with the orphanage director, who obviously cared about her a lot.

Saying hello and goodbye.  How hard this must be for Mei...  So brave...

At that point, Michael dropped us off at the hotel and we "rested" for awhile.  Mei became emotional earlier and cried a bit, poor thing.  Mostly in the afternoon she hogged my phone and the remote control and didn't want to give either up!  Gonna have some reprogramming to do when we get home.  LOL  For now, I'm indulging both girls just to keep them happy, but it's with my teeth gritted.  You know me...!!  ha

Breaking the ice with silliness, like Jackie O. sunglasses.

Yang is SO sweet and SO funny and SO loving but she is a bit of a brat, as mentioned earlier.  (That'll get better.)  Mei is much more mild mannered and steady, but her manners aren't as good, i.e. she grabs things out of your hands, she hoards things like the remote, and she does not show appreciation for things like when I give her gifts she doesn't say thank you or act at all pleased.  I'm sure these are classic orphanage behaviors and I'm not worried about it.  She seems like a GREAT girl who just needs a family to help her learn proper non-orphanage behavior.  No shocker, there!  ;o)

This morning, Michael picked us up again at the hotel lobby and we went back to the Civil Affairs Office.  We signed a couple of more papers (even Mei had to sign one giving her permission for the adoption) and said goodbye to the VERY NICE orphanage director.  All done!!  Much easier than Beijing!!

Michael, my guide.  I wish I had a better picture of him!  He was a great guy.  Really cared.

Signing more papers.

Finishing up!

Back again to the hotel where we went back to the huge attached mall and I finally found some pizza at a Papa Johns!!  Oh, the taste of real American food almost made me cry!!  The girls barely ate one piece each, and I ate 3 pieces.  :o)  I just couldn't smell Chinese food again (and look at it!) without a break.  I even had a Coke (without ice, of course) and it tasted a little strange, but that was OKAY.

Yes, I took a picture of the placemat!  I was that excited.

LOL!! She looks thrilled, doesn't she??  She insisted on eating her pizza with knife and fork!

One of the benefits of this hotel is the huge mall attached to it.  It is many stories high and is open, so you can see the other floors above and below, and even outside.  It gives us a safe, attractive, interesting and fun place to hang out without really "leaving" the hotel!  

The entire place was decorated for Christmas.

They were so funny - they wouldn't stand NEXT to each other for pictures - there was always a big space between them!  ;o)

There was a little singing and dancing performance given on this set shortly after we took this picture.  Yang refused to wear a jacket, so when we got to the mall where it was quite chilly, I insisted that she wear my vest!  At first she refused, but then she decided she liked the attention it was getting her and she happily wore it for awhile.  ;o)

A word about Yang: She appears to be attaching very strongly to me.  Yes, she is VERY friendly with strangers, but she is constantly saying, "Mama!" and gives me hugs, kisses, and insists on sleeping with me at night.  She is the sweetest little thing!  Mei is slower to come around, but should attach just fine, in time.  She has not called me "Mama" yet (hasn't called me anything), but smiles at me frequently and seems respectful enough, in fact, she hasn't shown the slightest sign of defiance at all!  Just the dominance of my phone and tablet.  Ha  Heck, she's going to be 14 in a couple of days!  What do I expect?!?  ;o)

I desperately needed to repack the suitcases...

Tomorrow we take a taxi to the airport and head to Guangzhou.  Hopefully, we can get into some sort of routine and settle in a little.  Food is going to be a problem I think.  I HATE CHINESE FOOD and they love it and want it all the time...  This could be a loooooong 2 weeks...