Yesterday we traveled from Hefei to Guangzhou. Before we left Lollipop received some gifts from the orphanage. She received a small Peking Opera mask that was made by some of the older disabled kids at the orphanage. She also received a small red wall hanging. We also received pictures of L.P. from her life in the orphange with descriptions attached. I'll have it all translated when we get back home. It'll be a special treat to be able read about her first two years.
Our flight out of Hefei left two hours late. This made for a bit of downtime in the Hefei airport. L.P. did well, but she was tired. She had fun playing with my camera. She likes to look at the pictures and press the button to change them. She also wanted to take pictures. I “helped” her take some pictures in the airport. She thought it was quite fun to take a picture and then see it on the screen.
She was not thrilled with the taking off or landing of the airplane, but luckily the flight attendants let me hold her instead of making her sit in her seat. I am sure that the flight being past her bedtime did not help. She did quite enjoy the meal service, though. She ate her noodles and really enjoyed the piece of cake. We thought she’d sleep in the car for the 45 minute ride to the hotel, but we were very wrong. L.P. threw her first temper tantrum for us in true 2 year old style. She went on for about 30 mintues before she fell asleep. I’m sure she missed her bed in the Hefei hotel, and by this time it was after 11:00 P.M. We let her sleep in the next day until the last minute, and she woke up just fine.
The White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou is quite a sight. It is situated on Shamian Island, which was given to the French and British in the 19th century. Because of this western “occupation” the island has a western feel. There are very few cars and almost no mopeds so it is much calmer than the rest of Guangzhou. After the busy cities of Beijing and Hefei, we’re ready for tree lined streets, perfect for a stroll. The hotel itself is quite fancy, not something we’d normally pay for. The room is a standard room but bigger than our Hefei hotel room. Lollipop has more room to play with her toys. The common areas are just gorgeous with a waterfall, tropical plants, and an overall tropical décor. There is a pool that is “Hawaiian style” in its décor. We hope to have some free time to spend by the pool. The White Swan is very popular with American adoptive families. I would guess that around ½ of the people staying here are here for adoptions. It’s nice not to get so many stares!
Today we ate breakfast at the huge buffet, overlooking the Pearl River. (If you travel east on the Pearl River, you’ll head straight towards Hong Kong.) After breakfast we walked to Lollipop’s medical examination. Though she wasn’t thrilled to be looked at by all those doctors, she did well. She had a TB test too. She didn’t like having her arm held down, but I think she was crying so loudly she didn’t even notice the needle. She enjoyed her 2 lollipops that she got to eat during the exams. They said she was healthy, and there were no problems.
Lollipop also got to play in the play room at the hotel. She had fun at the pretend kitchen, “cooking” legos. She seemed familiar with legos; they probably had them at the orphanange. The room has a lot of space, soft carpet, and is a great place for all the new families to spend some time.
L.P.’s new game today was to take the T.V. remote and pretend it is a telephone. She has mini conversations in her baby babble/Mandarin (???). I don’t know what she’s saying, if anything, but it sounds a lot like a phone conversation. The Chi*ese love their cell phones as much as the Americans, so we shouldn’t be surprised that Lollipop knows how to play phone. She also thought it was funny to change the T.V. channels on us, so we had to remove the batteries if she still wanted to play phone.
Our flight out of Hefei left two hours late. This made for a bit of downtime in the Hefei airport. L.P. did well, but she was tired. She had fun playing with my camera. She likes to look at the pictures and press the button to change them. She also wanted to take pictures. I “helped” her take some pictures in the airport. She thought it was quite fun to take a picture and then see it on the screen.
She was not thrilled with the taking off or landing of the airplane, but luckily the flight attendants let me hold her instead of making her sit in her seat. I am sure that the flight being past her bedtime did not help. She did quite enjoy the meal service, though. She ate her noodles and really enjoyed the piece of cake. We thought she’d sleep in the car for the 45 minute ride to the hotel, but we were very wrong. L.P. threw her first temper tantrum for us in true 2 year old style. She went on for about 30 mintues before she fell asleep. I’m sure she missed her bed in the Hefei hotel, and by this time it was after 11:00 P.M. We let her sleep in the next day until the last minute, and she woke up just fine.
The White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou is quite a sight. It is situated on Shamian Island, which was given to the French and British in the 19th century. Because of this western “occupation” the island has a western feel. There are very few cars and almost no mopeds so it is much calmer than the rest of Guangzhou. After the busy cities of Beijing and Hefei, we’re ready for tree lined streets, perfect for a stroll. The hotel itself is quite fancy, not something we’d normally pay for. The room is a standard room but bigger than our Hefei hotel room. Lollipop has more room to play with her toys. The common areas are just gorgeous with a waterfall, tropical plants, and an overall tropical décor. There is a pool that is “Hawaiian style” in its décor. We hope to have some free time to spend by the pool. The White Swan is very popular with American adoptive families. I would guess that around ½ of the people staying here are here for adoptions. It’s nice not to get so many stares!
Today we ate breakfast at the huge buffet, overlooking the Pearl River. (If you travel east on the Pearl River, you’ll head straight towards Hong Kong.) After breakfast we walked to Lollipop’s medical examination. Though she wasn’t thrilled to be looked at by all those doctors, she did well. She had a TB test too. She didn’t like having her arm held down, but I think she was crying so loudly she didn’t even notice the needle. She enjoyed her 2 lollipops that she got to eat during the exams. They said she was healthy, and there were no problems.
Lollipop also got to play in the play room at the hotel. She had fun at the pretend kitchen, “cooking” legos. She seemed familiar with legos; they probably had them at the orphanange. The room has a lot of space, soft carpet, and is a great place for all the new families to spend some time.
L.P.’s new game today was to take the T.V. remote and pretend it is a telephone. She has mini conversations in her baby babble/Mandarin (???). I don’t know what she’s saying, if anything, but it sounds a lot like a phone conversation. The Chi*ese love their cell phones as much as the Americans, so we shouldn’t be surprised that Lollipop knows how to play phone. She also thought it was funny to change the T.V. channels on us, so we had to remove the batteries if she still wanted to play phone.
Chit-chatting on the T.V. remote/phone
Shopping at the pedestrian mall in Hefei
Playing at the White Swan, I'm not sure why she thought this was the best place to sit??
The not-so-happy flyer
The breakfast room on the top floor of the Holiday Inn Hefei 