Tourist time
Tuesday was a down day with nothing adoption related except for the adoption ceremony in the morning. We were going to take the bullet train to Shanghai on Wednesday, but decided against it. The guide book we had and the concierge differed on which train station the train comes in to and whether or not it connects to the metro. We also were never able to find an umbrella stroller for under $38 USD, so without a stroller, a big day in the city was just not feasible. We have heard from other families that you can rent or even borrow strollers in Guangzhou, so we will wait until then.
On Tuesday night we went to McDonalds with some new friends from Utah. They are on their 2nd China adoption – have been to both Shanghai and Beijing and said Beijing is really where you want to go. We still don't have a clear picture of what our itinerary is going to be for the rest of our time in China. This is disappointing because it makes it difficult to plan and to possibly see more of China than the two cities that we'll be visiting. Spending extra downtime in Hangzhou has been fine since this is Ellie's place of birth, so we have been exploring some and taking lots of pictures.
We went shopping in a local market on Tuesday afternoon and were not well received. We'd be lying if we said that we have gotten used to the stares and didn't mind people stopping and staring as we pass by, but it just gets old. Many people talk with Ellie without telling us what they are saying. Ellie doesn't seem upset by their words, so we just smile and walk on. We also were snubbed while trying to buy some clothes for Ellie. The lady asked if the clothes were for her and then said they don't sell clothes her size, even though we could clearly see that they did. We also stopped in some other stores and were ignored by the workers. Our shopping was a bust yesterday – Ellie will be packed light like us. The couple from Utah tells us when we get to Guangzhou we will be a lot more welcome (shop keepers will offer to do your laundry and let you borrow strollers), so we will just do more shopping there. We also found out that Hangzhou is the fashion center of China and one of the wealthiest provinces, so a lot of people come here to shop, so that might explain the high prices that we are seeing.
On Wednesday, we went to the National Tea Museum in lieu of Shanghai. It was actually better than we thought. It was very beautiful and peaceful and was a nice break from the busyness of the city. We discovered that tea grows in a hedge type plant. It was our "learn something new" for today! We started to wander around through the suggested tour and were quickly escorted to the tasting room (and the connecting gift shop). We were able to taste four different teas while they explained about the teas, what health benefits the different teas brought and how to best brew them. It was actually very interesting. Ellie was also game to try the teas and drank them all. Made us wonder if they drank tea in the orphanage or while she was with her Foster family. This place did have a stroller for us to borrow, although they had stairs all over the place, but we weren't carrying her the whole time.
We didn't get back to the hotel until after naptime – rookie parent mistake. She didn't take a nap, but she did play in her crib by herself for a bit, while we had a short rest. It was actually quite cute. She was just talking the whole time and playing with her bunny and dog. At one point, the bunny must have been in trouble because it got a scolding, a spank on it's back side, and was placed in the corner. We recorded some of her naptime babble (just audio). We were encouraged by her self play. It shows that she has a good imagination and has normal brain development for her age.
After our downtime, we ventured off to the pool. Apparently in China, it is a requirement to wear swimming caps – this should make our other kids less jealous of us having a pool in the hotel. We found these stylish caps for $4 at a Walgreens type store, and our guide said Ellie could get away with a shower cap. The hotel pool was beautiful. They had a lifeguard and everyone who was swimming was serious lap swimmers, almost the whole pool full of them! Ellie was not too thrilled about the idea of the pool, but eventually warmed up to it. I am sure she will be jumping off the sides before her next birthday!
Finally, we had our first bath tonight. There were a few tears at the start (probably due to the lack of a nap). Once she was in the water and playing with her stacking cups, she settled down and was fine. There is a window between the bath and the room, so Brit Nicole (a.k.a Bunny) and Dad were able to watch and take pictures. Finally, it was time for bed (about an hour early) and she was quickly asleep without any fuss J
Tomorrow (Thursday) is another down day (we are waiting for her passport), so we will be doing more tourist stuff…
Pictures will be posted later.
