Leaving Nanchang, going to Guanzhou

 

Outta here! At Nanchang airport we were to board at gate 9. The problem, though, is that there are really only 5 gates. Numbers higher than 5 have just a door that leads out to a bus which drives you out on the tarmac to your plane. After getting settled in, Clara started screaming her fool head off. Only lasted about ten minutes before takeoff, but of course it seemed like an hour. Towards the end a stewardess came over and asked what was wrong with our baby. Some responses immediately popped into my head like “Why don’t you ask her?” or “I’d say poor communication skills,” or “She just does that when I pinch her.” She was winding down by then, though, so I replied something civil. She slept the entire flight and woke up smiling. We think it’s the three teeth that are just starting to poke through. She’ll be getting a dose of Tylenol before the next flight.

Guangzhou is mid 80’s and sunny. Our guide, Jason, is a hoot. Very excitable, helpful, and funny. Genuinely seems to enjoy helping us. The White Swan is on a small island which is kind of its own little city. Starbucks, Papa John’s, Lucy’s, and a bunch of small shops. Vendors are more aggressive than we’ve seen which is probably due to the fact that they speak English. When you politely decline, though, they leave you alone.

We had dinner at Lucy’s which has a lot of Western fare, as well as Heineken. Most importantly, it’s cheap. Clara had her first helping of mashed potatoes and could not eat enough of them. She must be used to feeding herself so we are regressing her a bit and insisting that we feed her most of the time.  The White Swan itself has many restaurants and shops, selling lots of high-end pottery, carvings, etc. There is a gym too and I am excited that I can go for a run later today! With the Asian games going on, security is tight. We get our bags checked every time we leave the hotel. It’s fine, though. Compared to our last room, this one is much bigger and has drawers for clothing. The bed is FIRM. More like sleeping on a box spring.

Clara slept o.k. last night. She woke up several times, probably because of her teeth. We gave her some pain medication and she was good to go. She is sleeping again now. She takes about 2-3 naps per day. She wakes up happy and ready to go out. She seems very comfortable outside and seeing new things. There is a big play room at the White Swan and she is having fun with the new toys. She can roll over both ways and sit into a crawling position but has not crawled yet. This will come soon, I hope. It is likely that her foster mother carried her most of the time.

Today, we had an option of going on a 3.5 hour bus tour of Guanzhou or staying here and resting. We are staying at the hotel and going shopping when Clara wakes up. We want to get her a traditional Chinese dress to wear for a group photo of all of the babies in her group. There are 9 total that came from Clara’s orphanage. All of the little ones look like they were matched perfectly with their families. The families in our group are all very nice people and all of the babies seem to be doing well, except for some sniffles, coughs and ear infections. Only 6 more sleeps until we are home! We miss Liah so much.