Lions, Tigers and Panda Bears

This morning our guide took us and another family to the Safari Park. The park was built in 1997 and is a privately-owned park. It was incredible! The park is large and beautifully landscaped.The animals have large open areas that imitate their natural habitat. At each exhibit, Margo would begin to fuss and it was obvious that she was afraid. She and I had to stay back a bit. Mike was able to move in close and take some great pictures. About halfway through we took a 40 minute train ride through the “free-roaming” area. Some of the animals were free-roaming and some were enclosed. We saw lions, tigers, giraffes, zebras, wolves, gazelles and more. There was a guide who would talk about what we were seeing. Whatever she was saying must have been hilarious because the passengers laughed the entire ride! After we completed our ride, Margo was more fascinated by the animals and would laugh at them! The park is home to 10 giant panda’s! Six of them are transplants from the area that was devastated by the large earthquake. The panda’s are very well cared for! The have their own health room where the vitamins are mixed and medications are kept; the cake room where vegetable and grain cakes are baked; and the delivery room complete with an ultrasound machine! There was a large mural that talked about panda’s in the winter season. We had to snap the picture of a panda with Dong Dong underneath. Dong means winter and Dong Dong was the nickname Margo’s nanny gave her as she came to the orphanage in the winter! Margo was a real trooper. Even though we were in the heat for 5 hours, she did not fuss or cry!

This evening, we went out for one last group dinner with the other Faith families. Our guide took us to another Chinese restaurant. We were seated in a large private dining room and served another feast. Margo sat quietly in her chair and enjoyed watching everyone. She has begun to hold her own food and feed herself! This is a big feat for her as she was spoon fed in the orphanage! Tomorrow is our Consulate appointment and our last full day in China.

Temples and Trees

Margo is doing really well! She appears to be quite content in our arms or the stroller but has no desire to walk! She has not taken a step for a week now! I guess she is really enjoying being taken care of! She appears to be a people watcher and gets quite engrossed in watching others but does not interact very much! The occasional stranger can get a smile out of her but mostly she will give them a serious stare! She loves to be on the go and gets excited when we head out of the hotel room!

Today we toured the Liu Rong Temple otherwise known as the Six Banyan Temple. It is surrounded by ancient Banyan trees. It is 1000 years old and 17 stories high! They used to allow tourist to go inside the Pagoda but now the doors are locked.

We were taken to a government-run store for souvenir shopping. We were told stores owned by the government guaranteed the quality and authenticity of the products. We were also told that you cannot barter at the store and since the quality is good, the price is high!

After leaving the store, we were taken to a local park that was near our guide’s home. The park is a bonsai garden park and on the right/left of the path are bonsai trees on small tables. The park also has a “children’s teaching” area. The teaching area has a vegetable garden, fishing pools and a sand box. We were told that the grandparents take the children to the park while the parents work. Most of the young adults do not move far from home and once they buy an apartment, (or their parents buy them an apartment after marriage) they will keep the apartment for life. We were told that if you work for the government, you can only have one child. If you have more than one child you can lose your job. If you are not a government worker, and you want to have a second child, you must wait six years. If you want to have a third child, you can have your third child anytime but you must pay a 10,000 yuan fine.

The men and babies were brought back to the hotel while the women were taken to a large children’s clothing mart. Most of the stores in the clothing mart were wholesale. The stores required you to buy 5 or more of the same item but in different sizes so the trip was a bit disappointing. Five years ago that was not the case as the stores were retail. Our guide told us the change came because people were buying an item and then copying the item for their own retail stores. At least we will not have to sit on our suitcases in order to close them! Tomorrow we are visiting the Safari Park!

A New City

We woke up early this morning. Anyone who has stayed at the White Swan knows how hard their beds are. It is like sleeping on a board! The hotel is one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever seen, but they also have the hardest beds I have ever slept on! On a high note, they have an incredible breakfast buffet that has American, Chinese and Norwegian style breakfast foods. Margo ate very well and even held her food and fed herself for the first time since placement!

After breakfast we went to the clinic for the medical exam. The US requires that all adopted children have this exam. Other countries do not have this requirement. They check their heartbeat, ears, eyes and throat. Look at their skin and measure their weight and height. For children over two, their check their vision and do a TB test. Margo had a meltdown before she was examined. Other children were crying but Margo was flat-out screaming. It was hard to see her so upset and yet I had no choice but to stand in line and wait our turn. It turns out, her weight is much lower than the information we received in an update several months ago. She is very thin and we need to work on helping her gain weight! The minute we left the clinic, she was fine!

We were told the Guangdong province is known for its food. People from Hong Kong love to travel here to sample food from around the world. Our guide took us and two other Faith families out to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. She ordered about ten dishes so it was more of a feast than a dinner! Both families have girls around the same age as Margo. It was nice to see the other families with their daughters and hear their tales of placement, bonding and travel! Tomorrow we will meet up with them to go sightseeing and shopping!

Up, Up and Away

Margo woke up happy and had a fantastic day! She would smile easily, laugh often and was very playful. This was the first time we have seen her be playful and it was such a joy to watch her create little games! An empty water bottle, the cap from her bottle and a cherry tomato are her new favorite toys!

Our guide took us to the Jing Chang porcelain factory. The Jiangxi province is known for porcelain and we wanted to purchase a nice keepsake from her birth province. Our guide told us good porcelain is as thin as paper, white as jade (the best jade is white), chimes like a bell, and is as translucent as the sun. They had many beautiful pieces and it was a difficult decision. After narrowing our choice down to 4 pieces, Mike had to choose as I was having a difficult time!

We received Margo’s passport and now we are finished with the Chinese paperwork for our adoption. It is time to fly to Guangzhou, where the US Consulate resides. Here we will complete the US portion of our adoption. It was hard to say goodbye to our guide Koby. He was an excellent guide who took very good care of us and really enjoyed Margo.

Margo did awesome on the flight. She laughed and made up little games to amuse herself. After checking in to the fabulous White Swan hotel we hit the streets in search of a late dinner. Margo loves to be out in public and enjoys sightseeing. It looks like we have another “Go-Go” girl!

Only in China

Margo slept several hours less than she has been and appears very solemn today. We have tried our best to get a smile or laugh but were unable to get any until after dinner. Even then, she held back and we really had to work for them. I think maybe the honeymoon is over and she is beginning to grieve everything she has left behind. Please pray for the healing of her heart.

Today we visited the People’s Park. It is a very beautiful large park that has everything you can imagine in it. A small amusement park, paddle boats, an exercise station, a playground, and a platform where the retired exercise while a band plays. They even have a goat that is dressed up and pulls a small rickshaw for children. The one thing that I had to try was the plastic bubble. You step into a large plastic bubble that they fill with air, you are then pushed into the water where you are to run or walk. I could never quite catch my balance and kept falling, by this time a large crowd had gathered to watch and as it is very hot inside the bubble I asked to be pulled in. Since it was so hot and humid we walked quickly through the park so we could take it all in, in a short amount of time.

After dinner we took a taxi to the Star of Nanchang. At 160 meters, it is the world’s largest Ferris wheel. Our guide told us that Singapore is building one that will be 170 meters. The Ferris wheel moves very slowly and it took 26 minutes to go around one time. The height gave us incredible views of the Gan River and the city. Only in China!

The City That Never Sleeps

Margo is doing great! She is sleeping about 12 ½ hours and she sleeps throughout the night. We wish we were doing the same! It seems no matter what time of night we wake-up we hear cars and buses honking their horns as they whiz past below. Occasionally we hear dogs barking, people yelling to one another and fireworks and this is all from 16 floors up! Our guide told us many couples plan their weddings around China’s national holidays and as the Moon Festival is coming up there are many celebrations going on complete with fireworks! At least Margo is able to sleep through it all and she wakes up happy and rested! We are seeing more of Margo’s personality as she is becoming more trusting and relaxed. She appears to be very calm and content. She smiles often and laughs quickly. Today she was a very picky eater and most of the food that went in, came out. We did not notice that with our older two from China for quite some time. Hopefully she will eat more tomorrow, She still has not taken a single step. She wants us to carry her everywhere! Today we went to the Tengwang Pavilion. It was amazing. Originally built in 653 AD it has been torn down and reconstructed several times, the last was in 1929 during the Chinese Civil War. It is a very popular tourist site and extremely crowded with people. Margo attracts a lot of attention and multiple people came over and touched her arm or cheek. This made me a little nervous as we had been told she had a lot of stranger anxiety. There was only one time she became noticeably nervous and began to cry. Our guide told us that everyone comments on how lovely Margo is and what good skin she has. Her skin is very white and he told us the women want to have pale skin as that is what is considered attractive. That is why they carry umbrellas on sunny days. I have even seen a skin whitening cream in many of the local markets. It is funny to note the cultural differences. The Chinese women value pale white skin and so many women in America will go to tanning salons and use tanning creams to have a nice golden color!

After Margo’s nap we took a taxi to Pizza Hut. I was not sure what to expect but the pizza was very good. The restaurant was very crowded and many children through out the place were playing chase. They would dart in front of waitresses carrying trays of food, people being seated and people exiting and no one seemed to raise an eye. It seemed strange as we have often noted the parents being very strict with their children. Margo however loved watching all of the commotion. The children made her laugh! We took a hair-raising taxi ride back to our room where we are ready to pass out! Tomorrow we are going to visit a popular park and visit a porcelain factory which is what the Jiangxi province is known for.

Navigating the Streets of China

Margo is becoming more comfortable and showing us more of her personality. The nanny had said she is very much afraid of strangers and she will cry but so far she is a real little trooper! Many strangers will approach her and touch her but she has not cried! That is an answer to prayer! She smiles quickly and laughs often. She is content to sit in our laps and watch everything that goes on around her. We still have not seen her walk since placement as she cries if we set her down. The only time she is on her own is in her crib and highchair. However, we are okay with that as it is a joy to hold her after waiting so long to meet her.

Today we went to the children’s clothing market in search of bargains. There are four floors of mini-shops set up like a maze. Going up and down the aisles was so overwhelming that we gave up the hunt after an hour. We still made out with shoes, shirts and a dress for a little under 16.00! After Margo woke up from her nap we decided to brave the streets without our guide. We went to a local market where we had to guess at the contents of some of the packages! There was a cute little boy about 6 years old that followed us through the store. When we would turn around,
he would duck behind shelves or dive on the floor! He finally came up to us and began talking, we could not understand him but he still tagged along making Margo laugh! So far we have kept our trip pretty low-key but tomorrow we are going to visit one of China’s four most famous towers, the Tengwang Pavilion!