Lions and Tigers and Pandas, Oh My! (And Caucasians)

(Post 2 of 2, see below) What a great day in Guangzhou! The sun was shining and for the first time in over a week, we saw the blue sky! It was almost 70F outside and we were happy to be where it is very safe and easy to get around. We woke up, gave Katie a bath (which she now loves!) and headed to the breakfast buffet with the Rainey's. Babies as far as the eye can see. There were no less than 100 babies at breakfast, and I'm guessing that there were more. The restaurant with the American buffet (with some Chinese thrown in) is on the 1st floor overlooking the river. One side is glass looking out, and on the other side it is open to the waterfall in the center of the hotel. A koi fish pond is under the waterfall. The breakfast buffet was quite yummy and sufficed for both lunch and dinner (well, for mom at least...I had several snacks until dinner).

After breakfast, we called home to Brad & Alex and Dad, then JD and Deanna made some calls home from our computer. We are using Skype which is a free program for your computer that allows you to make phone calls computer to computer for free and computer to land line for 2 cents a minute. We haven't spent $8 yet on phone calls, and we've called quite a bit. JD and I headed downstairs to get laundry done and find a stroller. Small shops who are quite used to the adoptive families are plentiful around the hotel. We shopped a bit and I priced strollers at several before bargaining my way to the right price. I got Katie a great reclining umbrella stroller for under $20. Couldn't find a similar stroller in the US for under $150. I also found a little something for my baby brother. I was really just pricing things and getting a sense for what is available, but Pat's gift was something I wasn't sure I'd see again. In case he's reading this, that description alone would tell you that it isn't 1) a carved Buddha 2) squeaky shoes or 3) Chinese artwork. All of those are plentiful. :-)

After Katie woke up from nap at 1pm (we were later for everything today), we caught a taxi for the Zoo. Mom's #1 goal in China after getting Katie was to see a panda. To go anywhere in a taxi, you just need a piece of paper that says where you want to go in Chinese (and where you want to return to for the ride home). The concierge at the hotel has cards printed up for all the major attractions. The zoo was about 20 minutes away and that meant a $4 US cab ride. We walked a bit at the zoo, then FINALLY figured out how to catch the sightseeing bus that would allow us to ride around the entire park (it was a big park). The bus (really a 10 passenger golf cart thing) was only $1 US each and we agreed it was a good investment. The park was really well landscapes and quite beautiful in places. The animal enclosures were generally not as nice as the landscaping, very plain like more old-fashioned zoos in the US. The funniest thing for us was that we were really more popular than the exhibits. I'd guess that we were the only Caucasian folks in the place and just about everyone stared at us. It was only if we stopped, or paused really, that we drew a crowd. At one point, I gave Katie a bottle and we had some ice cream (Vienetta...do you remember that ribboned chocolate/ice cream dessert? it's still big here) while sitting on a bench. At one point, we must've had 20 Chinese people around us jabbering at us in Chinese, smiling and pointing at Katie. We just smile. At one point, I finally said to a woman (in English), "I'm sorry but I have no idea what you are saying because I don't speak Chinese." It seemed to get the point across. We were much more comfortable here than that day in Nanchang when we were really getting harassed. Today, everyone was friendly and nice. Smiles and tone of voice convey a lot, as does body language (theirs). I do believe that this must be what it is like to be a celebrity. Some people try to be subtle, others don't. I figure I might be one of the only American's that they ever come across, so I smile and try to be as pleasant as I can. I always compliment their children, and they seem to like that. (Doesn't everyone??)

We caught a cab back and were quite pleased with ourselves for getting what we wanted to do done without help. Katie was tired, so we came to put her down for a nap with the intention of going out for a Chinese dinner. Well, we didn't think this through very well, so she went down for her nap at about 5. I tried to wake her at 7 to no avail. We decided she was down for the night, though I am going to head to bed at a reasonable hour in case she needs to eat or just gets tired of sleeping sometime tonight. It is 8 pm as I type this, and I'm actually tired enough to sleep after I walk down with JD to pick up our laundry.

Mom didn't get to shop, because that was part of the dinner plan, too. We had good Chinese food from room service and we have big shopping plans tomorrow. I'm going to get Katie's US Visa Medical Checkup in the am, then we're all going to the Pearl and Jade markets. I'm glad I worked on my bargaining skills today, I think I'm going to need them tomorrow. Mom is very excited to spend some $$$! (Don't worry dad, I'll keep an eye on her. We can only bring home 3 more suitcases without getting charged extra.)

Katie in her new wheels!

Katie's "Going Home Barbie" (Caucasian Barbie with Chinese baby in her arms) arrived in our room today. We were anxiously anticipating it! On the back it says "The souvenir is presented by Mattel (Hong Kong) Ltd. to adopting parents of Chinese orphan children staying at the White Swan Hotel, Guangshou, China." I think it is one of the better grass-roots marketing ideas I've seen. Mattel also sponsors a huge play room at the hotel. (Same Mattel as we have in the US)

Close up of Going Home Barbie. If only she had red hair...perhaps Whitney (my hair stylist) could help with that!

Happy Grandma and Katie at the Giant Panda exhibit.

Grandma and Katie at the zoo.

Mom and Katie at the pandas.

One of the lakes at the zoo. A beautiful view.

Every day we talk about Daddy and Alex. Katie is practicing her "Da Da" for when we see the real thing! We can't wait to be home with you. I miss you tons, Roo!