| Day 10 - 2/13/2012 |
As Vivian gets more and more comfortable with us she has
started asserting herself with us a lot more. What a stubborn
little girl she is! We've been a bit reluctant to start disciplining her
too much at this point for various reasons, but when we do it's
hard not to laugh as she throws her arms down with a humph
and imitates our stern faces. I, for one, cannot wait to get her
home so we can get back into the routine of every day life. It will
be interesting to see how she takes to everything at home.
This morning we visited the Chen Family Temple. When we
arrived we asked Tyler if he remembered it as we had taken him
there the last time and he said yes! We laughed. Yeah, he
remembers the pictures we've shown him and that's about it.
Even though we had been there before it was actually nice just
walking around because the cloud cover broke open and we
actually saw sunshine for the first time since we've gotten to
China! It was a beautiful, mild day in Guangzhou and to be out in
it enjoying the sunshine was wonderful. The heavy jackets we
brought with us were tossed aside and even Vivian seemed to
enjoy basking in the sun as she wandered around in her
squeaky shoes.
After the temple we went back over to Shamian Island in order to
check the girls' TB tests. A quick glance at their arms and we
were done. We were then set free to spend a few hours on the
island. We immediately headed over to the White Swan hotel
where we stayed those 2 weeks in 2005 with Tyler. Everything
looked pretty much the same, just some of the stores had been
rearranged. We did notice that the cool playroom that Tyler used
to spend so much time in as a baby was gone which made us
somewhat sad.
After leaving the hotel Bill managed to find a store that is owned
by the couple we had kind of befriended when we were here in
2005. We had borrowed a stroller from them and brought our
laundry to them before. We thought their store had closed down,
but they had only moved. When we walked in the proprietor,
Dong, immediately recognized us. It was amazing.
Unfortunately, Susan, his wife, was at home with their sick son,
but we're glad we found their store and that they are still in
started asserting herself with us a lot more. What a stubborn
little girl she is! We've been a bit reluctant to start disciplining her
too much at this point for various reasons, but when we do it's
hard not to laugh as she throws her arms down with a humph
and imitates our stern faces. I, for one, cannot wait to get her
home so we can get back into the routine of every day life. It will
be interesting to see how she takes to everything at home.
This morning we visited the Chen Family Temple. When we
arrived we asked Tyler if he remembered it as we had taken him
there the last time and he said yes! We laughed. Yeah, he
remembers the pictures we've shown him and that's about it.
Even though we had been there before it was actually nice just
walking around because the cloud cover broke open and we
actually saw sunshine for the first time since we've gotten to
China! It was a beautiful, mild day in Guangzhou and to be out in
it enjoying the sunshine was wonderful. The heavy jackets we
brought with us were tossed aside and even Vivian seemed to
enjoy basking in the sun as she wandered around in her
squeaky shoes.
After the temple we went back over to Shamian Island in order to
check the girls' TB tests. A quick glance at their arms and we
were done. We were then set free to spend a few hours on the
island. We immediately headed over to the White Swan hotel
where we stayed those 2 weeks in 2005 with Tyler. Everything
looked pretty much the same, just some of the stores had been
rearranged. We did notice that the cool playroom that Tyler used
to spend so much time in as a baby was gone which made us
somewhat sad.
After leaving the hotel Bill managed to find a store that is owned
by the couple we had kind of befriended when we were here in
2005. We had borrowed a stroller from them and brought our
laundry to them before. We thought their store had closed down,
but they had only moved. When we walked in the proprietor,
Dong, immediately recognized us. It was amazing.
Unfortunately, Susan, his wife, was at home with their sick son,
but we're glad we found their store and that they are still in
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adoptions slowed down. Well, we certainly did our best to help them stay in business buying all
sorts of souvenirs during an extended visit to their shop.
We had lunch at an outdoor cafe before catching our ride back to the hotel. Back at the hotel I
stayed with Vivian while she took an hour and a half nap. Meanwhile the boys wandered around
Guangzhou. They had spied a Lamborghini dealership across the street from the hotel so they
went to check it out. Bill said as soon as they walked into the dealership a man approached them,
trying to help them. Bill then jokingly pulled out all of the loose Chinese yuan he had in his pocket
and said "here!" The man looked at him a little confused, but then started laughing. There was a
saleslady who spoke a little English so Bill asked if he could take a picture of one of the cars. She
replied, "No, thank you." After a bit of pleading she finally said OK, but to hurry. Tyler was a happy
boy.
A bit more wandering and they discovered a large park where you could rent either paddle or motor
boats that had little laser guns attached to them. As you puttered along there were little targets that
if you hit them with the gun they shot water in the air. Also, you could try and hit other boats as they
had targets on them as well. Anyway, I was glad they found something to do giving Vivian the time
for a much needed nap.
For dinner we decided to try a place that our guide had suggested a few blocks from the hotel. As
we sat down at the restaurant what we failed to realize was that they spoke hardly any English at all.
Even selecting tea was an adventure. I know how to say tea in Chinese so I knew what they were
asking, but I had no idea how to say the kind we wanted. We all had a good laugh trying to figure it
out. They eventually brought out all of the different tea containers and pointed to each one, saying
the names. I chose one that I recognized and they gave me the thumbs up. Luckily the menu was
full of pictures and the descriptions were in both Chinese and English. That's not to say that we
didn't have a hard time deciding and ordering, but we finally managed to find 3 dishes we thought
we could eat. The food was actually really good, if a bit salty. I wish I could tell you exactly what we
had, but I have no idea what the names of the dishes were. We got a vegetable dish with greens
and wild mushrooms, a beef and turnip type stew and a pork dish that reminded of us of sweet and
sour pork with the fried, battered covered pork. The only difference was the sauce over the pork was
savory and not sweet. Anyway, it was a fun adventure and something for the Rose family history
book.
sorts of souvenirs during an extended visit to their shop.
We had lunch at an outdoor cafe before catching our ride back to the hotel. Back at the hotel I
stayed with Vivian while she took an hour and a half nap. Meanwhile the boys wandered around
Guangzhou. They had spied a Lamborghini dealership across the street from the hotel so they
went to check it out. Bill said as soon as they walked into the dealership a man approached them,
trying to help them. Bill then jokingly pulled out all of the loose Chinese yuan he had in his pocket
and said "here!" The man looked at him a little confused, but then started laughing. There was a
saleslady who spoke a little English so Bill asked if he could take a picture of one of the cars. She
replied, "No, thank you." After a bit of pleading she finally said OK, but to hurry. Tyler was a happy
boy.
A bit more wandering and they discovered a large park where you could rent either paddle or motor
boats that had little laser guns attached to them. As you puttered along there were little targets that
if you hit them with the gun they shot water in the air. Also, you could try and hit other boats as they
had targets on them as well. Anyway, I was glad they found something to do giving Vivian the time
for a much needed nap.
For dinner we decided to try a place that our guide had suggested a few blocks from the hotel. As
we sat down at the restaurant what we failed to realize was that they spoke hardly any English at all.
Even selecting tea was an adventure. I know how to say tea in Chinese so I knew what they were
asking, but I had no idea how to say the kind we wanted. We all had a good laugh trying to figure it
out. They eventually brought out all of the different tea containers and pointed to each one, saying
the names. I chose one that I recognized and they gave me the thumbs up. Luckily the menu was
full of pictures and the descriptions were in both Chinese and English. That's not to say that we
didn't have a hard time deciding and ordering, but we finally managed to find 3 dishes we thought
we could eat. The food was actually really good, if a bit salty. I wish I could tell you exactly what we
had, but I have no idea what the names of the dishes were. We got a vegetable dish with greens
and wild mushrooms, a beef and turnip type stew and a pork dish that reminded of us of sweet and
sour pork with the fried, battered covered pork. The only difference was the sauce over the pork was
savory and not sweet. Anyway, it was a fun adventure and something for the Rose family history
book.