I sent Charles to do some important paperwork, so I have some time on the computer now. It was funny, our schedule for the day said to send “one smart person for each family” to complete some legal documents. I quickly removed my brain and nominated Charles! I did all the paperwork in the USA, so I am done for awhile!
If he gets back before I finish, he will add pics. If not, scroll down to what he posted earlier.
Yesterday, we checked out of the hotel in Guiyang and had to wait around for over an hour in the lobby for Kennedy’s passport to be ready for pick up on the way to the airport. Once we arrived at the airport, we had an hour to spare…or so we THOUGHT! Once we were through security and could no longer access our sweet guide, Richard, we found out our flight that was supposed to take off around 6:20 pm was delayed for AT LEAST 3 HOURS! OMG!!!!!!!!! We had over 4 hours to sit in a less-developed airport, and we were the ONLY people who looked like us!!!! NOT a good plan. The airport was …shall we say…not the cleanest. With HOURS to wait, our plan to use the normal toilets at the hotel and “hold-it” for our hour and 20 minute flight until we could get to our nice hotel fell by the wayside. 2 hours in, Mia HAD to go. I have never used a Chinese “squatty-potty” before, and Mia had never seen one. I had made it VERY clear to her for the last few months in preparation for the trip that we would HAVE to go to the bathroom at our hotel right before any outings to avoid the crazy hole-in the ground toilets at all costs. With the huge delay, all bets were off.
She almost cried when she saw that thing. (Me too!) We asked our travel partners from CALI for tips. The mom told me what to do, and we were off. There I was, holding her over this hole in the floor with one arm, and strategically holding her pants out of the way with the other so she would not literally pee on them! She then got stage fright and my arm was shaking trying to hold her up! I told her firmly she better hurry up and go or I might drop her in there!!! Somehow, we were able to accomplish the task! (Only to find out later that if you look for the handicapped stall, it has a NORMAL western style toilet. Nice.) We made use of that a few times before take-off…which was at 10 pm. We arrived at 11:30 and were not in bed until after 1am. We had to meet our guide at 9:30 am, which meant a 6:30 wake up call for all showers to be taken and breakfast eaten in time. OH MY. Needless to say, it was a struggle waking the girls up and keeping them alert for the day’s activities.
Today was the medical exam. We were so happy to hear that the vaccination requirement JUST got waived LAST WEEK! Surprise for us…that was only for kids under the age of 10. Kennedy had to get a TB test, which she counted as a shot, and 4 vaccinations…2 in each arm. She was terrified and gasped, making horrible faces. BUT, that strong daughter of ours never cried a tear. When we walked over to the area for vaccinations, she read the sign and acted out giving herself a shot. I motioned that she would have to get 4, and she gasped loudly, opened her eyes super wide and shook her head. Of course, she complied with them without a protest, but I felt horrible for her. When we returned to the room around 2pm, she passed out for 2 and a half hours. Mia joined her for 2 hours of that time. We are all BEAT!
After paperwork, Charles returned and we met the guide, David, for a short walking tour at about 5pm in the area surrounding the hotel so we would know where to find stores and places to eat. (…and STARBUCKS!!!) At the end of the tour, we spied the golden arches and had dinner there. That may have been the best cheeseburger ever, only because it tasted “normal”! BTW…I am sad to report that I am not on the lose-10-pounds-in-2 weeks plan this time. I have only lost about 4, and doubt I will lose more. I am not nervous, like I was when we adopted Mia and had all of the baby-tasks to do. (Diapers, naps, feeding her, strollers, no communication abilities or sleep…) Kennedy has made this very easy, so I can carry on as normally as possible in a foreign country. I am actually hungry and I usually find something I can eat. Good thing I dropped a few lbs before we left, or I would be disappointed!
Well, I have more to say, but I am honestly just too tired to keep typing! I will hand this over to Charles to add pictures!
P.S. The Garden Hotel here in Guangzhou is amazing!!!!!!
1 comment:
Oh my goodness...no squatty potty for me...
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