Answering Questions

Adding pictures, because Abuela R e-mailed to complain about my rambling without a glimpse of Baby S. BTW, we are going to be without phone service for a while. We brought our Vonage box and were able to call from here. Then two days ago, P needed to make a phone call, unplugged the laptop, plugged the Vonage box, and a short circuit fried the box. Better the V box than the laptop. P needs to purchase a new box once we get home, but given how hectic things are it may take a while. For those of you who have our alternate phone number (J, A&J, C, D and Michelle), we will turn on our phones once we arrive at SFO on Monday.

Yes, she is this happy in the morning. Her brother was the same way. What is it with me being "blessed" with morning children?

Three in, two to go.

Another one for our J.

Sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you.

Michelle:

We are staying at the Bai Yun Hotel in Guangzhou. Depending on whom you ask the pool is either under construction or just empty. One of our guides made arrangements with a nearby hotel for us to use their pool for a fee of $5 per person. BTW, they have construction going everywhere, including in the staircase next to our room. We are lucky that Baby S is a sound sleeper, or we’d be in trouble. The other babies are not faring as well. We are rather surprised at the lack of thought for the babies’ well being. A lot of us are very disappointed with our agency. For example, we were given written instructions regarding the payment for our in China travel. It clearly stated that we could use cash or travelers cheques. We decided to use the latter because we were already carrying over $6,000 cash and it made us uncomfortable. Once here, the China Team refused the traveler’s cheques and P has had to go to the bank (they will only cash $1,000 per day) and it takes over an hour to cash the money. The teller examines each cheque like it is a counterfeit, thus the delay. One couple who is on their fourth adoption trip (first with this agency) informed us that for their three previous trips, they were able to use credit cards for the China travel and asked their guide why cash only. They were told that Norman likes to use his credit card to earn points. Great, way to use our money to get frequent flyer miles. I hope that when it is your turn to travel things are much better than what we have experienced. We are definitely not using them when is time to return for Baby S’s little brother.


C:
We purchased Baby S’s pink and orange Chucks almost three years ago in Santa Rosa at a store called Shoe City. It was the day we got our first set of fingerprints for immigration. Wow, that was November 2005. There are a lot of stores here that sell Nikes and Chucks, but they do not carry baby sizes.


A:
We LOVE the food and have yet to have a bad meal. The cuisine in Baby S’s province was delicious (and spicy) and although I am not normally as adventurous as P, I ate everything that was offered. I am not big on pork or shellfish, as I have had some nasty reaction to both. However, I decided that I would try whatever was offered, and so far have not had any problems. Chances are that I won’t be having prawns or pork again until we return, but for now, if Baby S can eat it, so can her mama. It is a given that P eats anything. BTW, last night we had dinner while cruising the Pearl River and we had shark fin soup. It was awesome. Baby S polished a bowl by herself.

One of the fathers goes around asking everyone if they have lost weight and keeps complaining about the food. P and I, as well as B & J (another couple) keep complaining about gaining weight. Really, it’s kind of embarrassing. That same dad overheard me state that we ordered ice from room service in Kunming (no ice machines like at home) and he was horrified. He asked, “You don’t eat it, do you?” Well, you know me well enough to know what’s coming. I calmly responded, “No, we use the ice to reenact 9 ½ Weeks.” Heh

We also have ice with our drinks and have had tap water with no ill effects. I do not recommend that for everyone, but it suits us well. We are also using tap water to brush our teeth, while most of our travel mates use bottled water. Again, if it is good enough for Baby S, it is good enough for us. This reminds me of a hilarious picture I saw on a blog a few years ago. The mom was so terrified of the water that she wore goggles in the shower and duct taped her mouth as well. We are too darn lazy to go through all that effort.