Monday, July 25, 2005
Today was a pretty cool day. No, not the temperature, but the experience. It started off, as per usual, with a big breakfast. The breakfast buffet here at the White Swan is stiff competition for the Marriott in Chongqing and the Marco Polo in Beijing. Each, in their own right holds great merit. I could compare and contrast the specialties of each, but I digress. But I just have to mention that being able to have all-you-can-eat lox (cured, smoked salmon) and cream cheese every morning gives the Swan high marks in my book (BOY! What I wouldn’t give for a few toasted Panera Everything bagels to go with it, though!). Lily worked her way through a couple slices of banana bread, a butter croissant, some crackers, a soft roll and washed it down with watermelon chunks. Mom joined Daughter and Dad and enjoyed her favorites, too. (She gives the Marriott a slight edge as her personal favorite).
The waterfall and fish pond in the courtyard of the White Swan Hotel. Notice the gazebo at the top of the falls.
Part of the fish pond in the multi-tiered courtyard lobby at the White Swan Hotel
Then it was down to business. Rey and I met in Helen’s room (our guide) to fill out the final bit of paperwork. In some respects, it seems like just yesterday that Dilla and I were filling out the first few forms for the home study a little over a year ago that got this process underway. And now, here we are, just days away from bringing Lily home forever (or at least the next 18 years or so!). It took about an hour to go through them all and make sure all of our I’s were dotted and T’s crossed (literally). Then we gathered up everything and everyone for a brisk walk in the sultry morning heat, a few blocks from the hotel for the physical exams.
The busiest time of the week for the clinic is Monday mornings – go figure! It’s best to get there early and we were arriving at 11:30 AM. There were many families like us there with their newly adopted children. It was noisy and busy, but people were moving in and out. We braced ourselves for a few hours of waiting. Amazingly, Helen led us right in to the waiting area next to the examination room and we were taken care of immediately. We’re not sure if we had an appointment, or what, but were not about to start asking questions.
The exam was in 3 parts – each only took a few minutes. First, they checked her hearing and filled out some paperwork. Lily didn’t mind that at all. Next, she was weighed and measured. She is still 76 cm (30 inches) tall, but has put on a pound and a half since having been at the Global Doctor last week in Chongqing (no big surprise, the way she’s been eating!). She weighed in at 9.8 kg (21.6 lb). This process got her a little agitated. Finally, she got a quick physical once-over, which she flat-out did not like, and let us know in no uncertain terms. However, in a few moments, it was over. She settled back into her stroller and Helen escorted us out. It was that easy! At this point, Helen will submit the paperwork we did this morning with the medical exam report and by tomorrow at noon, the Chinese government will (hopefully) issue Lily a visa to enter the United States.
Lily and Dilla in the clinic waiting for Lily's medical exam.
Lily getting her hearing checked.
Lily getting weighed. The piece of equipment at her feet is the device used for measuring her length.
Lily getting the final part of the exam - the physical once-over.
The excitement tired Lily out, and she fell asleep in the stroller on the way back to the hotel. When we got back to the room, Dilla took advantage of the opportunity and crashed for a while, too. Neither of us slept well last night for some reason, so the down time was welcome.
By 2:30 PM, Lily and Dilla began to stir and, having eaten a large, late breakfast, we were all ready for a bite to eat. We were just going to get a sandwich, but the trusty coffee shop at the White Swan offers a nice afternoon buffet. One look at it, and our minds were made up. We commenced to scarfin’ – again!
After lunch, we decided to boldly go where we hadn’t gone before – shopping in a different part of the city. We needed some baby supplies and wanted to do some “window” shopping (what else would you call it when the local shops have no windows?). Earlier, Helen wrote in Chinese, the name of a store on Beijing Street for us, we packed up Lily’s diaper bag, jumped into a cab and took off for parts unknown.
This was the most fun we’ve had since we arrived in Guangzhou. We left “Disneyland” and immersed ourselves in the local culture. It was about 5:30 PM when we set out, and the streets were bustling with cars, motorbikes, bicycles and countless pedestrians. Our first stop was the store that Helen suggested. They had beautiful merchandise, but everyone there spoke not much more English than we spoke Chinese. Still, the salespeople were very patient and helpful, but we didn’t see anything we really wanted besides the baby supplies. So, we ventured out into the streets.
The streets are crawling with people going here and there, many shopping the local stores. Every time Justin stopped to take a photo of the buildings or scenery, fellows hawking all kinds of merchandise barraged us. They were MOST insistent and didn’t take “bu xia xia” (no thank you) for an answer. A White couple pushing an Asian baby we must look like fresh meat to these guys! No matter, it’s part of the fun and we just kept smiling, thanking them and walking. However, we did take one of them up on an offer for a piece of luggage (the 2nd piece we’ve had to purchase since we’ve been in China).
Justin on the Beijing Street Mall in Guangzhou at approximately 6 PM local time.
We were led through a maze of a mall of little shops, all the way to the back to the end where he and a girl had a shop the size of a large closet full of luggage for sale. We discussed what we needed, Dilla picked one out, and Justin bargained the price to an agreeable amount. When we were finished and walking out, the man shoved a tray of watches in front of us and we couldn’t resist asking about them.
Justin was feeling pretty confident about bargaining now, and showed the man the “Rolex” he purchased in Beijing for 20 Yuan ($2.50 US). Our host insisted that his watches were of much higher quality, stating in the best English he could, that the winding mechanism was automatic and started the bidding at 350 Yuan (about $35 US). We didn’t really care for the selection and started to walk away with our new suitcase, but this guy wasn’t going to give up that easily. He led us out the back door, through an alley and into a room where about 8 trays of watches were laid out and a few people were looking them over. It was a little unnerving, but kind of exciting, too. At this point, I knew we were hooked. It was just a matter of making the best deal I could and getting out of there with something decent.
Shortly, we settled on his and hers dress “Rolex” watches. The bidding for the pair started at 500 Yuan (about $60 US). With nothing to lose, Dilla suggested offering half that much and sticking to it. He was relentless, but we didn’t really care if we got them or not. So, we played our ace and got up to leave. Lo and behold, it worked, and our host said okay to 250 Yuan for the matching pair of watches. He smiled and extended his hand to shake on the deal. He seemed genuinely satisfied. That made me feel good, too, but I couldn’t help but wonder just how much the darned things are really worth. If they keep decent time for a year, I’ll be happy! With our purchases boxed, we strolled out of the alley and back onto the main thoroughfare.
Another view of the Beijing Street Mall.
The following explanation is in Chinese and English on the slab at the end of the walkway around which many people are gathered (near top of photo):
The Site of a City Street Dating Back to the Seventh Century
In the summer of 2002, the remains of an ancient street were discovered under the pedestrianized area of this road. Field and textual research has dated the origin of the street back to the Tang dynasty (618 – 907 A.D.). Between then and the period of the Republic of China (1912 – 1949 A.D.), 10 additional layers were added. The bottom grit layer is around 3 meters below the present surface. At a depth of 4.5 meters, the remains of the Southern Yue kingdom (ca 203 – 111 B.C.) were found. From 7.9 meters below the surface lies gray-red virgin soil, which reveals the site that was once a riverbed.
According to historical records, the location of the present Beijing Road was Guangzhou’s hub from the Tang dynasty to the Republic of China period.
The Cultural Relics Management Committee of Guangzhou
The People’s Government of Yuexiu District of Guangzhou
December, 2002
Enough was enough, and we’d had our fun and came out with some prizes to show for it (the odds are better than gambling and we think it’s more fun!). Dilla was getting tired and Lily had been amazingly content through all of this and we didn’t want to push our luck any further. We hailed a cab, loaded up our haul, and rode contentedly back to the hotel.
We basically have 2 days left in China. Tomorrow, we will get Lily’s visa and on Wednesday, visit the US Consulate for a swearing-in ceremony. These things won’t take long, so we just have to kill time and enjoy our last hours in this wondrous country. We will leave the White Swan on Thursday, early in the morning for Beijing where we’ll board our flight back to Newark in the afternoon. Then it’s on home to St. Louis by Thursday night, 8:40 PM, local time. We can’t believe how far we’ve come and how much we’ve done. But mostly, we’re in awe of the little 20-pound, 16-month-old package we call Lily Beth we’re bringing with us. See you soon!
