We have had a busy couple of days here. Hopefully this update won’t come out with all those funny characters. I’ve had all kinds of trouble with updating from The Victory Hotel. Fortunately we are at the White Swan now & all is well. I can actually pull up our homepage & read all your posts!
On Saturday we changed hotels in the morning. That was quite an experience let me tell you. It actually started on Thursday with me notifying the Victory hotel that we were checking out the next day. That didn’t seem to set well with them & they asked me to check back with them later. Upon checking back with them they told us that since we’d booked with a travel agent at a trade fair rate, there would be a one-night penalty fee assessed if checked out. We sic’d Peter on them & they agreed to let us leave for the weekend. We return to them tomorrow with no penalty.
We are soooo glad we moved though. It was worth the hassle. Marissa has been down to the Mattel playroom several times now & although she’s not really sure what she should do with toys, it’s fun to watch her learn to play. We’ve also been having breakfast down in the restaurant since it’s included in the price here unlike at The Victory hotel. It’s a wonderful breakfast too – a buffet with western & Chinese foods. The Victory’s breakfast leaves something to be desired especially for the price so we had been eating out. There is a wonderful bakery next to the White Swan that we have been patronizing regularly. The crib is also included in the price at the White Swan & it’s a nice big crib (fits Marissa much better) and it’s got things on the side for her to play with.
Marissa is eating everything in sight now. She’s definitely not going to be a picky girl after all. If I eat it, she eats it. That’s my kind of girl!! She decided to use the toilet today instead of going in her pull-ups. We are making progress indeed. She’s gotten out her mischievous grin too. I think that must be a world-wide grin that all children somehow learn. She’s walking better as well and a few times I think she’s actually thought about running.
On Saturday we walked around the Island and just relaxed. Friday night we visited for quite a while with the other special needs families who are here staying at The Victory. We had pizza, delivered no less, from Danny’s Bagel. When I checked us into the White Swan another group of special needs families was checking in. The place is now hopping with adoptive families & all special needs. We’ve everything from one girl who has crossed eyes to a family we met this morning whose daughter is missing an arm. It’s really neat to talk to everyone & hear their stories. They are all special.
On Sunday the day was overcast like Saturday, but it actually rained. We had a good ole thunder & lightning storm too. Quite spectacular. When it gets overcast here, the humidity increases exponentially & we have literally sweated it out here for the last 3 days. Fortunately it’s not too hot temperature wise. It’s overcast again today (Monday), but no rain. We were going to take a dinner cruise on the Pearl River last night (Sunday), but we are postponing until Tuesday night because of the rain. I had a terrible sinus headache from my allergies as well & was taking all kinds of medication to get rid of it. Fortunately along with a little clearer weather it worked & I’m back to my old self today.
We decided to be adventuresome and head off sightseeing on our own today. Peter is great, but so energetic that after an hour we’re all worn out. So we grabbed a taxi and headed off to the Friendship store. It was pretty boring to be honest. You know all that stuff back home that says “made in China.” Well they aren’t kidding. We saw it all. Right there. The Friendship store happens to be across from where one of the stadiums for the trade fair is. It really is quite a sight. There are thousands of people here for it. It’s really amazing.
We decided the Friendship store was not the place to be so we decided to head off to Yue Xiu Park. The taxi stand person told us it was only a 5 minute walk (never believe them) from the Friendship store & to head off for the subway & cross the street underneath. He said we’d see it from there. Taking his word for it, we headed out. Grandma pointed out the McDonald’s along the way – she is really obsessed with it. We headed down into the subway station and crossed the street from below. The signs are all in English and well marked. Once on the other side, we weren’t quite sure if we could see the park or not. There were lots of trees across another street, but we couldn’t see any signs. We asked one of the friendly tradeshow people and they pointed us to another subway station and told us to cross the street under there, go straight ahead & we’d be at the gate. They were right & we paid our fair – a whole $1.25 - & went for a walk in the park. (It was a 10 to 15 minute walk for us, by the way). It was huge! Very pretty. Lots of flowers, a waterfall and statues. Mostly goat statutes. That must have some meaning, but I don’t know what. Of course there were the inevitable stairs. I’ve come to realize that the Chinese are enamored with stairs. Of course if Marissa was walking better, or if I was able to pack her around like a baby it wouldn’t be a problem. But since she’s a 30lb monster we kept to the semicircular main path with no stairs. If you choose, you can climb the hundred or so stairs to the top of the mountain and view the 5 goat statue. We looked at a picture of it. That was good enough for me. They have boats there too that you can rent to paddle around the canal. Grandma was after me to rent one. Hmmm & who would paddle? Me. No thanks. We walked. To her credit, she did volunteer to paddle, but I know how that goes. Would that be after we capsized or before? One never knows with Grandma. Since they don’t provide life vests, I decided the ground was a safer bet.
After our nice walk, we were suitably soaked. I’m sure the humidity is over 80% today. We headed back the way we came in except we only had to go down into the subway station once. We actually read the signs this time & discovered if we walked just a bit farther, we could come out where we started in front of The Marriott hotel. Of course grandma wanted to stop at McDonald’s. We got inside & it was absolutely packed. She changed her mind then. She wanted pictures in front of McDonald’s so you would all believe McDonald’s exists over here, but I think you all know that it does, right? Take my word for it, it does. Needless to say, I was a spoilsport for her on that too & had no desire whatsoever to have my picture taken in China in front of McDonald’s. She was completely driving me crazy by now.
We caught a taxi back to the hotel & then had lunch. Marissa is now happily napping. No crying for her thank you very much, unless grandma tries to get a hold of her. For some reason she fusses with grandma. Grandma is glad Marissa’s a momma’s girl though & I’m glad too. She definitely is, & I love it. I have been telling her I won’t hold her outside though – way too humid. We’d both be a puddle of water if I did. She fusses a little when I won’t hold her, but she’s getting a little more confident & independent. It’s good for her.
Tonight’s our last night here at the White Swan (I highly recommend staying here if you ever come this way). We head off to the Victory tomorrow for 2 nights. Then we’re at the airport hotel for a night. Then home! We have nothing more to do right now except sit around and wait. On Wednesday Peter takes our paperwork to the US consulate for Marissa’s visa. Thursday her Chinese passport & American visa should be ready & then we’re set. I’ll update you all again on Thursday before we leave for the airport hotel. Of course from The Victory hotel I won’t be able to see your posts on the homepage, but I do get email.
