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.

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.

"Get my gigi out of there!!"

Meanwhile, big brother has to go to school.

Esme Walking!

Breakfast round 1

Breakfast round 2! 

Downed power line?  This is outside my hotel window.

Evidence that she grips a bottle for dear life!  Screenshot while facetiming with Dave, Jude and Max.

Introducing Esme

At 9pm EST, Sunday December 9, I met Esme for the first time.  She is so sweet, and grips a bottle for dear life!

Here is a video of her:

Nothing more beautiful than a sleeping baby.

Exploring Nanchang

This man peeled and chopped a hunk of sugar cane for me. I tried to pay but he wouldn't let me so I don't know how much it would cost.

I wanted a pic of one of these in action, but they are too quick for me and I need to use all my energy to avoid getting hit!

Bewildering view of snacks! I did manage to find pickled ginger!

Open air market.  My guide said that duck is the most popular meat here and I did see duck but I will spare you.  My family will be glad to hear that this region is where most pork is produced in China!

More of the market

A typical street view.  Which I love.

Now that's a bicycle repair shop!

Greetings from nanchang!  nanchang is a city of over 4 million people in jiangxi province.  It has the largest swi (social welfare institute) in the province with about 500 children.  I have learned since getting here that Esme is in a foster family, likely the youngest of 3-4 kids.  Her foster mother cares for her during the day and her foster father likely has a job in the city.  The foster apartments are a building of about 10 families in the orphanage itself.  The foster parents are often a bit older with grown children who do not live at home.

I have learned that my survival instincts are not as strong as they should be; on arriving exhausted to my gorgeous hotel room I did down a small drink from the tap before realizing how dumb that was.  If Dave were here he would have stopped me!  No major I'll effects although I didn't eat too much yesterday.

My flight was long, but not horrible.  I watched 5 episodes of downtown abbey, season2!  And I slept 3-4 scattered hours...

On Sunday morning (saturday afternoon for you all) I wandered the city. Well, I should say I walked about 7 blocks in one direction before deciding I might get lost and turning around.  It is a very safe area, my biggest fear was traffic!  Not many lights, the guide just told me that you go to a crosswalk and cross in a "large group" for safety.  Very comforting!  When I was without her I sought out families with babies crossing and crossed with them. So far so good!

I wanted a good photo of a motorbike with 3-4 people on it but wasn't quick enough.  My guide tells me that 10 years ago it was all bicycles, and now many motorbikes. Some cars, but not a lot.  

We went to an indoor market which reminded me slightly of uwajimaya in Seattle.  Very modern with many tanks of living seafood.  I got diapers and a hat for esme.  I have been told that women will come up to me to tell me she isn't wearing enough clothing, and their local dialect sounds very harsh so I will think they are angry at me...  It is chilly here; about 40 degrees and cloudy yesterday.

I saw a wedding party on the hotel lobby; I was surprised to see the bride in white, but my guide told me many women do the traditional Chinese wedding followed by a more western one.

So, they will bring her to my hotel in a few hours.  I'm excited and nervous!

Well, it's official! Tickets are bought, bags are slightly packed, and I head out for China next week! For those of you who didn't know, we started the process of adopting a little girl from Jiangxi province about 13 months ago.  There are several months of paperwork before presenting forms to China for review and approval.  In May 2011 we were matched with a little girl from Jiangxi province, and the rest has been a waiting game of forms, notaries, more forms.

And the occasional hike in beautiful mountains!

But, now the time has come! Introducing Esme Peng.  (Esme rhymes with Pez-day, which would be a great holiday in my opinion--happy Pez Day!).  This little cutie is 16 months old, and we can't wait to meet her.

So, I am heading to Shanghai and then on to Nanchang in 1 week, and Dave and the boys will be home playing too many computer games and eating too much pizza!  My mom has graciously agreed to join me 1/2 way through the trip to bring Esme home. 

Stay tuned; I will hopefully be updating this regularly as I travel, and would love to hear from you.