3 More Days

We are alive and well.  I’ve gotten some emails inquiring if we are okay and yes, we are!  I’m sorry for not being a better blogger.  There just isn’t much to report.  We are just buying time until Friday which is only 3 days away, not that I’m counting down or anything.

 

We haven’t done much and if I blogged what it was that we have been doing it would read like the movie Ground Hog Day because that’s what life has been like lately.

 

Wake up, eat breakfast, return the room, hope for an appointment to waste time, if no appointment walk the streets of Guangzhou, stop in at the 7-11, say hi to clerk who knows us almost by name, buy some Ramen noodles, return to the room and watch Chinese soap operas.  That has been our life for the last couple of days.  

Last night we did venture out with our travel group.  We were all trying to meet up for dinner with another family that is staying at a different hotel (The Garden Hotel, WOW! and Colleen if you reading this, you weren’t kidding about that place:).  The line for a taxi was very long and was going to take too long so we as a group decided we would take the subway.

(Me, Noelle and friend, Kristen, braving the subway!)

Let me just say that was an experience.  I have never been on a subway and I’m okay if I never have to go on one again.  I have never in my life seen so many people smashed into such a small space.  I was worried about Noelle the whole time as she really does not do well in crowds and the crowds were insane.  I’m sure to the locals we were a site for sore eyes; 20 whities with our Chinese children in tow, all holding a piece of white paper that our concierge had given us with our hotel name and the name of the other hotel written in Chinese in case we got lost or separated trying to navigate the Guangzhou subway system.  It was quite laughable but we all made it.  As much as we all said we enjoyed the experience/adventure not one of us took the subway home, we waited for a taxi…no matter how long it took. 

(Whatever you do, DO NOT LET LOSE THIS PIECE OF PAPER.  This was our lifeline last night.)

Noelle is still very fond of her Daddy.  She and I have had our moments; both good and bad but the bad isn’t bothering me as much as it did a few days ago.

Today we headed over to Shamian Island.  The island is where all adoptions took place up until the last year or so.   Many of the stores and shops have closed down and the streets are very quiet.  While there we wanted to see if one of the shops was still open that we hung out at last year.  It’s a shop owned by a woman named Judy.  Last year she and I talked for hours about life, Jesus and family.  I admit I had selfish motives; her shop was one that always had really good air conditioning so it was easy hang out at.  As soon as I walked in she smiled and said, “You’re back?!” and hugged me.  I couldn’t believe that she remembered me.  I thought maybe she was full of it and just saying she remembered me trying to get me to buy something but she remembered Mason and Reagan.  I couldn’t tell if she had good or bad memories of them but she definitely knew who they were.

(Me and Judy)

 

 And speaking of those two….only 3 more days!

 

Thanks to those of you just checking in to make sure we were ok and letting us know you were thinking of us.  We can feel the love, thank you.

The statues represent the modernization of the Chinese woman. 

She is pretty darn cute.