for esme

Friday, December 14, 2012

Guangzhou!

Behold the lion

So, we took a plane to Guangzhou, the sight of the American consulate. Esme has a very cool passport with a very unhappy baby photo, and she is ready for international travel! In Guangzhou she will have a physical and then get a visa for travel to the states.

Guangzhou is a lovely city where all US adoptions are finalized. We met some Spainairds in Nanchang (Spain is apparently the 2nd most common country to adopt from China) and they finalize adoptions in Shanghai. But, we are in Guangzhou. So far it is lovely. We are staying on Shaiman Island which is unbelievably quaint and quiet. It's amazing how restful it is not to hear the constant blaring of horns! (in Nanchang there were very few horns from 2 AM to 4 AM, otherwise it was pretty constant...)

The food has been good so far. We split this delicious plate of mushrooms in pumpkin sauce. I wish I'd snapped a photo. Esme loved it which was a kick. We will see how long I can resist the siren call of Starbucks which is conveniently located just a block from our hotel. (you know you are in a tourist area when...). It feels wrong to drink coffee when you are in the birthplace of tea.

My mom arrives tonight! Can't wait to introduce Esme to her grandma :-)

Ahhhhhh

Nanchang continued, Or, apologies to my world history teachers through the years!

I am attempting to educate myself on my daughter's birth country, but I have a lot to learn!

Today we visited a pavilion which is quite emblematic of nanchang. It was originally built in the teng dynasty in the 7th century, but is currently in its 29th incarnation. The most recent building was constructed in 1989 (slightly less impressive). It is in some places called a pagoda, but our guide informs us this is incorrect as it is not a religious building.

The other big attraction in town is the August 1st memorial, which I believe signifies the start of The Long March, a military retreat in the 30's during which Mao rose to prominence (again, apologies for my ignorance!)

I can say with confidence that Nanchang has the most terrifying traffic I have ever seen. It is said that if you can drive in Nanchang you can drive anywhere. I cannot.

The orphanage

Esme and I went to visit her orphanage yesterday. It was a great glimpse into what life was like for her prior to joining our family. There are so many lovely dedicated people in her orphanage, and I had a chance to meet her primary care givers through the months. It was so interesting and special. I took photos of her foster mother and her "aunties," but I'm not posting them as I'm uncertain of the rules on photos. If anyone has a particular interest, let me know. It is clear she was well taken care of and I am deeply grateful for that.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Three vignettes

Peekaboo

Dad is so impressed!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Super Puffs

She loves these things

Melting in her mouth

"Just one more? Please?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seeing Max Again

"Oh, that's my brother. Better get the picture"

"Look, Max! It's you!"

"See?"

Esme Meets Max

It all started with Esme and I hanging out in the hotel room. She is ticklish on her feet and loves playing peek-a-boo!

Still a little camera shy

This is the first time Esme face-timed with Max and Dave. She gets upset and wants something.

She points over there. We get up and go get the thing she wants --the picture of our family that we sent to her orphanage a few months ago.

She looks at Max on the ipad, and looks at the picture in her hands. Looks at the ipad, then back to the picture, then back to the ipad.

She starts saying what sounds to all of us like the Chinese word for "big brother" -- gigi. She reaches around the back of the picture. Maybe she is trying to pull her big brother out of the picture. Whatever she is trying to do, she gets frustrated and we hang up.