Moving on Up

Zachary did really well on his first plane ride. He was a little unsure of what was going on when the jet engines began to roar, but he soon settled in and fell asleep. It was a good test for how the next plane ride might be, 13 hours back to the states. Our flight was delayed for several hours so it was around midnight when we finally arrived at the hotel. The hotel is the Marriott in Guangzhou, NICE!! We walked in and immediately said we are moving on up as the hotel is truly a 5 star. The next morning we walked  down for breakfast and you would have thought we were in “any city” America. There were dozens of American families with their adopted children. This hotel host most if not all families adopting from China as the Consulate is not far from here and every family must secure US Visas from the Consulate in order to enter the US. The breakfast buffet was overwhelming with so many choices. Bruce said it was by far the best breakfast he has had since he left the US last October.

After breakfast we went to have a brief medical exam; check hearing, height, weight, reflexes, etc. Nothing too serious.  The doctor said Zachary is very fit. He did not like the doctors and nurses taking him and really screamed when they started checking his ears and throat. He only settled down once Bruce held him again. All in all, not too bad. From there we hit the local Carrefour store which is very similar to a Wal-Mart. We bought a few supplies for Zachary and some snacks for all. Bruce says our grocery bill just doubled because this little guys eats a lot and often. From there we spent most of the day catching up on some rest until the evening when we went to enjoy the hotel pool. Zachary got in the water with Bruce for a few minutes then decided he wanted out; I think he was a little scared. He likes to sit on the side of the pool and splash the water. Avery enjoyed swimming with her friend Avery (I spoke about  Avery’s friend in an earlier post). Avery was so excited to see her friend again and we have barely been able to separate them!

Day 2 was local shopping at Shaiman Island. We bought local silk outfits for both Avery and Zachary and I actually bought a dress as well. We also bought some fans and some squeaky shoes for Zachary. The squeaky shoes are a little annoying already. Bruce said if we lived in an apartment building we would get evicted because of the noiseJ.

Today we went to the Consulate to take our oath which is  the last step in getting Zachary a US Visa so he can enter the States. We are now about to head out for one last local cultural and shopping experience.

We have really had a good time here in Guangzhou.  I’m especially going to miss the breakfast buffet!

On a side note, we are glad to have left Beijing when we did. They received 19 inches of rain Saturday which caused major flooding with 15-20 deaths. Sad.