Going to Guangzhou...and the dreaded doctor appointment!

So, after a few days in Nanchang, it was time to begin the last leg of our trip-- we were on our way to Guangzhou in Guangdong Province.  Our first time in China, we had been part of a wonderful group of 9 families, and I had loved it.  I wasn't sure how I would like being all by ourselves for much of the trip this time, even though I was looking forward to the time with my hubby.  It turns out we did really enjoy being the only family in our group this time around.  It was fun just being the three of us, especially remembering that when we got home there would be more than twice that many again.  But I was happy to meet up with other adoptive families that would make up our group when we got to Guangzhou, too.  :)

The flight to Guangzhou was pretty uneventful, and that was a welcome surprise.  Corrie had shown us in Nanchang that she does not like to sit still.  She just really loves to be moving all the time!  So we were not expecting a super easy plane ride, even though it wasn't a very long one.  And I wasn't very thrilled when it turned out that we were separated from each other on the flight.  Corrie and I were in a row, and Scott was in the row ahead of us in front of Corrie.  Somehow I kept her occupied, and thankfully there was food (they fed us a meal on every flight, no matter how short it was!)   It really did go very smoothly.  The child's meal was spaghetti, and I had no bib for her, so it was not easy keeping sauce from getting on everything, but we managed, and she loved it! 

 Getting ready to leave Nanchang.  Corrie made sure we had the snacks!

 

 At the airport!  Interesting thing about airports and stores and things in China...  they don't turn on the overhead lights when they don't need to or run their air conditioning much, probably to conserve resources,  But it was so hot in there!  I guess I'm thankful for AC in America, although we probably should conserve our resources more, too!

 

 Our guide.  I really liked her!  She was very down-to-earth and helpful.

 

 In the oven--I mean airport.  ;)

 



First plane ride, as far as we know!

 

We arrived at the China Hotel in Guangzhou.  It was very nice, and very best of all... the bed was so comfortable!  After the previous one I felt like I was in heaven!  The room was interesting.  You could look from the bathroom right into the bedroom through a big glass window. Very interesting! 

 

That window did have an electric shade!  Good to know, right?

 

Anyway.....we settled in and met some of the other families in our group right away.  There were three other families and us.  Such a wonderful group of people!  I was so happy to meet them and get to know them.  It turns out that two of the families live in the same city, and their sweet girls they adopted actually came from the same orphanage, and get this--lived in the same room!  I think their beds were even very close!  And they had no idea ahead of time.  Amazing!  Only God does these things!!

 

One of the first things we did in Guangzhou was the medical check up.  It's not much of a big deal--just checking eyes, nose and throat, and Corrie being over two had to have a TB test.  Well, it didn't seem like a big deal to us, but to Corrie, it definitely WAS.  For some reason, the children had to get their picture taken while we were there for their passports or visas.  And Corrie was already not liking this place, with the shiny tile walls and floors.  She started crying, and by the time she saw the doctor, she was really upset.  She clung to Scott for dear life, and was terrified and crying almost the whole time she was getting examined.  She did calm down briefly, and then there was a short wait...and then it was TB test time.  That was an absolute nightmare.  For her, and for us  even more than her!  They have a policy that they take the kids away from the parents into a different room to do the poke.  They had to physically pry her away from Scott as she screamed and screamed.  It was horrible.  :(  After they brought her back, she wasn't even interested in a sucker to help her feel better.  I was so heartbroken for her, and so upset that they take the children away from the parents when they are afraid.  It was very hard.  Thankfully, she bounced back pretty quickly, poor baby!

 

 

At least we got that over with pretty quickly, and we could enjoy the rest of our time in Guangzhou.  I really love that city!