Travel Journal
April 1, 2013
No foolin'! We've got one day left in China. After almost 3 weeks, it's hard to believe. Today was quite busy, but filled with wonderful surprises.
We started with a pretty early morning going to the US Consulate here in Guangzhou. It was fascinating to Dayna to consider that as soon as she walked through the door, she went from China to America. Not much unlike stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia (although she doesn't know that story quite yet.)
It was a completely uneventful morning, where about 15 families took an oath on behalf of their children who are about to become American citizens. Our guide will pick up Annie's visa and other immigration documents in the morning. We'll present those papers to immigration officials in San Francisco on Wednesday morning, where Annie will become an official American citizen.
After this appointment, we briefly returned to our room, only to find that in the short time we had been gone, it smelled like some sort of wet animal had died in our room. We had a quick turnaround before we had to leave again, but Grace, our wonderful guide, called housekeeping and the problem was solved when we returned.
We visited the pearl market this morning and were able to purchase some more gifts for special events in Annie's life. Alaina has a jade necklace she purchased here on our trip for Dayna, and had hoped to get matching necklaces for the girls. Apparently jade has a very high appreciation value. Coupled with inflation over the last 7 years, the girls will end up with much smaller pendants than Alaina's. Still, we hope they will be cherished and something special they can pass on to their own children someday. This whole market is absolutely amazing. There are about 6 floors with hundreds of stalls/shops on each level that sell some sort of wholesale jewelry. Some of them sell semiprecious stones. Others just sell pretty beads. When you put all of the shops together in one location, it is unfathomable!
After we made our purchases, we continued with Grace and the Yang family to an outdoor shopping center, translated "Up Down Nine." To Alaina, it seemed like the Guangzhou equivalent of Times Square. (She's never been there to truly compare, but it was pretty big.) We didn't stay too long, but Dayna was excited to buy a hair clip at the Chinese equivalent of Claire's.
The Yangs managed to talk Alaina into a foot massage this afternoon (it didn't take much convincing.) So she rode back in a different cab than the rest of the family. They enjoyed naptime while Alaina enjoyed an hour of pampering. Thanks to the rapid translating of Jenny Yang, she was able to follow what was happening, and the person giving the massage managed to take good care of her ankle. It is notable that the sign on the front of the building advertised "Food Massage" and "Body Massage" - not sure if they do any meat tenderizing there.
While her feet were soaking in a hot herbal mixture (tea for the toes?), the man worked on her shoulders, neck, scalp and arms. They added a mini-pedicure (no polish), and Alaina's just about ready for sandal season. The best part was that with a tip, it was a great treat at just under $20 US. It was interesting that two of the people working there were deaf (they also happen to be husband and wife.) It was explained to Alaina that there are few jobs in China offered to those who are hearing impaired. Massage is one of them.
After naptime, Annie had a really hard time waking up. She would just stand in the middle of the room and stare, not quite sure what was going on around her. Unfortunately, this coincided with our group and family picture session. So Annie was either zoned out or crying in most of the pictures. Still, these pictures will chronicle an unforgettable time in our lives.
We took another trip to Shamian Island to pick up something we ordered yesterday. We also ate dinner at a local Thai restaurant we remembered from before: The Cow and Bridge. The meal didn't disappoint, and Dayna has been waiting to be served a whole fish while we were here. She wasn't too sad that the head had been removed. We also finished up our shopping while we were there. We did this for Dayna and continued the tradition for Annie. We've purchased a gift for the anniversary of each Gotcha Day until she's 18. We also picked up gifts for significant events in her life, such as high school graduation and her wedding day.
Our day ended with much silliness and a long Skype conversation with Alaina's parents. They've been so wonderful...driving halfway across the country to take care of us (and our house). We hear that Alaina's dad has even changed the oil in the car for us.
Tomorrow has nothing really on the agenda, and we hope to be able to avoid the rain long enough to finally check out this big park across the street. We'll be packing up 3 weeks worth of laundry, gifts, food, and whatever else we've accumulated.
Our flight will be landing at 10:00 in Omaha on Wednesday evening. Flight details are available on the Itinerary page of our website. It's a late night, but after a long day of travel, friendly faces are always welcome!
Prayer Requests:
• Sleep and adjustment to our return to Central Time
• We are able to process and remember all that has happened while we've been here (especially Dayna.)
• Safe travels home
Praises:
• Everything has gone quite smoothly
• All the laughter that has been ringing through our hotel room
• Our safety and protection so far
• Travel companions who share our faith
Inside the Pearl Market
Strings of pearls
Up Down Nine
Annie in her green dress
Wilson family
Group photo
Couch photo
Sisters!