First full day in Guangzhou

The alarm got us up at 6:30am. Kimberly got ready and Andrew figured out the new TV remote. He didn’t seem to notice that we changed hotels while he was asleep. We went to the breakfast buffet, it is still really good with American and Chinese selections. They have high chairs so we got to have our first at that. He actually did really well than having him sit on our lap. Andrew ate pretty decent. On the way out we ran into the other 3 families in our group and got to meet the 3 new boys.

We all met in the lobby and loaded the van up for the medical exams. They had to draw blood on the other children but not Andrew since he is under 2, our hearts were breaking for the parents. Andrew did not seem very content in the medical office. There were a lot of people there but since we only had 4 families in our group we got through it in about an hour. There was a group after us with 17 families, I think they are going to be there for a long time.

Jason sat Andrew down for his photo and he was not happy. It took a squeaky toy and 3 photos before they got one that was acceptable. Next it was our turn for the medical exam and the nurses took Andrew. They weighed him and measured him he did not like that too much but a squeaky toy calmed him a little. We then went into the Doctor’s exam room and he checked everything out. I’m not sure how much the Doctor heard on his stethoscope over his crying. We got through that and then we went to the last room. There was a toy fish and ball that Andrew repeatedly through on the floor while we waited for the Ear/Nose/Throat specialist. We assume everything was ok as we didn’t get any paperwork.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a supermarket. We got milk, diapers and other supplies (chips and coke) for the rest of the week. We went to McDonalds, which is right next to the hotel, for lunch. Andrew had his first french fry with us. He seemed to like them, it was also good to get a somewhat American meal again. We then walked around the hotel grounds and Andrew fell asleep. We found some cabanas out by the pool and we laid Andrew on the couch. Nothing better than an outdoor nap! The weather here is great, almost 80, nice breeze, similar to Florida. They even have palm trees. Jason went to a meeting to fill out VISA paperwork and go over the plan for the rest of the week.

After our meeting Andrew was up and the guide walked all of us down to a park not too far away. It was very nice with a large lake in the center. They even have amusement park rides, similar to Holiday World, but for small children. We watched people play badminton, hacky sack and table tennis. We spent about 3 hours at the park, it was so great to be outside and not in a hotel room. We still get stop and stares but not as much. We don’t know if it is Andrew specifically or the whole concept, because I would think this town would be use to seeing Americans with Chinese children.

Andrew just ate almost a whole large bowl of chicken noodles, those are his favorite that we know of. We are getting ready to walk down to the 7-11 to get some more bowls of noodles. I think everyone is expected to walk down and check out the 7-11. Of course you also have to walk through the “propositions” for a massage out on the street on the way down there.