Our Beautifully Ordinary Life

Day 12 – Wuhan/Guangzhou

This was a very long and busy day for all of us.

We all had to check out of the hotel and meet in the lobby by 10am so this meant we had to be up very early in order to have breakfast, pack, and get enough things (bottles, diapers, etc.) to last all day for the baby. Since we were flying I left some things in the room – laundry detergent, some of the leftover gift bags, and some odds and ends like snack things and Cokes. Part of the check out procedure for the hotels here is that the housekeeping staff will check your room before you leave to make sure that a) you didn’t take anything and b) you didn’t leave anything. So…we finally get all of our luggage loaded onto the bus and housekeeping has already returned all of the items that we left to the guide and they’re waiting for us. I’m not sure what our guide did with all the stuff but hopefully someone could use it.

In Hubei, you are required to visit the adoption affairs office three times before the adoption is fully completed and filed. One visit is for gotcha, the second is for the official paperwork, and the third is to receive the final decree and the baby’s Chinese passport. This was our third and final visit so we trekked across the city one last time to fulfill the last requirement required by the Chinese government.

Eric, Ava, Director

The adoption affairs director came out and talked with us for a bit – basically thanking us for adopting the babies and giving them a family of their own. She also pronounced the adoption final, at which time one of the other dads let out a loud Yahoo and we all applauded. We were given the final decree in a nice red folder and another folder with a letter from the orphanage thanking us for our official donation. All of these donations go directly back into the orphanage funds to keep the programs up and running. We took a few minutes to thank everyone for their help and to get a few pictures before heading out. I did ask our guide as we were leaving if the Chinese people are happy to see their girls adopted by foreigners and he seemed surprised by my question. He said, “Of course we are happy. These are lucky babies to have these opportunities.”

Finished!

We’re done with all the official stuff in Wuhan now – however our flight doesn’t depart until 6pm so we have a lot of time to kill. We headed out for another lunch chosen by Eric. This one was especially neat, not because of the food, but because there was a huge Chinese wedding banquet going on in the restaurant.

There were at least 500 guests there and it was a very elaborate setup. The bride starts out in a western style wedding dress – very typical white dress with veil and train. They do a walk-down-the-aisle entrance to the stage, where a master of ceremonies awaits. Think a Chinese Bob Barker and you’ll have it. All he was missing was a ruffled tuxedo and it would have been perfect. The setup was very 70′s game show – lots of red velvet and gold trimmed drapes with a garish sign that proclaimed wedding (literally) AND an automatic bubble maker.

After they finished the first dance the bride changed into a gorgeous red dress and started making the rounds of the tables (at least 50 tables) and drinking shots with the guests.

Eric took the time to explain the wedding customs (very complicated) as well as giving us a bit more history on his country. We did talk a little bit about the population control issues, the prevalence of abortions, and where our babies were abandoned. We also got into a discussion about how the babies sleep and he offered up the information that many babies are wrapped (or even tied up) tightly at night since the Chinese people believe that the wind can make you sick so they try to block it as much as possible. What I took away from this is that Ava may be used to being wrapped up more at night so we’ve tried a couple nights of swaddling her and it seems to have helped a little with the sleep issues.

Up to this point, we haven’t really had a chance to shop and I wanted to make sure we got something for Ava from her province so I’d asked Eric if he could take us shopping. Hubei is known for its turquoise, in fact about 80% of all the turquoise on the market worldwide today is Chinese or Tibetan. Hubei Province produces turquoise colors in the much-prized blues and greens. Eric took us to a tiny shop where we were able to pick up a few small things (and he helped us bargain) so I was successful in getting at least one gift for her from her province to be given at a later date. J was also successful in completing a diaper change on a moving bus – another first for him.

Off to the airport (still a couple of hours early) to wait for our flight. We were all accosted by the clothes police as soon as we stepped off the bus. J was getting very frustrated by this point so he dealt with the luggage and I dealt with the little old Chinese ladies. I don’t mind as I know they just don’t understand that we don’t believe that making the babies sweat all the time is a good thing. I will put in a plug for the Ergo carrier here – I cannot imagine traveling without this thing. It makes getting around so much easier.

Waiting

Finally get through security (no problem – if you’re a terrorist then all you’d need to do is carry a baby as they just waved me through with only a very cursory check even though I was carrying a thermos full of hot water and several containers of bottled water) and went to the gate to wait. Of course, it’s at this point that we find out our flight is delayed AND that Miss Ava has a very dirty diaper. I seriously cannot wait to get back to the land of the non-smoking and the country where there are baby changing tables in the bathrooms. We decided that the men’s room was the lesser of 2 evils so J took her in there to change her across a toilet. Thank goodness for the fancy Coach diaper bag with the included changing pad. It earned its keep then and there and got wiped down with Clorox later that night.

The flight was okay – although I felt bad for the guy in our row. Ava fussed a little taking off and a little more landing. In flight she was mostly fine, although I’m very glad that we have a seat for her. It would be a nightmare to have a baby crawling all over you for 20+ hours as it was bad enough for an hour and a half. This girl does not like to be still. She wants to be on her feet and bouncing if at all possible.

Off the plane and into the rain. We had to walk down a set of metal stairs and into a bus to take us to the terminal. Apparently this is pretty common operating procedure at the Guangzhou airport but it was a bit of a shock to us. Imagine the whole plane exiting the aircraft with their carry on luggages and wedging themselves onto a bus – it wasn’t fun and we were all cranky by then. We collected our bags and made it on to the hotel bus (after a short wait in which we all got even crankier). It’s about 10pm by this time and babies and parents are tired and have had a long day. The best part of the whole day for me? I somehow managed to chip one of my lower front teeth. I have no idea how I did this and am hoping to make it home with no issues. It doesn’t hurt (but is a little sensitive) and I have an emergency dentist appointment scheduled for Friday morning.

Got to the White Swan and into the room by 11pm where we both immediately fall face first onto the bed. Ava, of course, is still having sleep issues and is up at least once during the night – usually around 3 am. This night was no exception.

I know this is getting long, so I’ll wrap it up but I do want to share my first impression of the hotel after hearing so much hype about it. It reminds me of Miami Beach meets Dynasty circa 1980. The White Swan was the first 5 star hotel in China and I’m sure it was the height of fashion at the time but it desperately needs a refurb which I believe they’ll be starting soon. It has gold toned fixtures (Gold fixtures, people. I could hardly believe it.) and a marble tiled bathroom with a black and white diagonal inset. Just think 8o’s decor and you’ll have it. That said, the service is impeccable and the lobby is gorgeous. I just wish the floor attendants weren’t so apologetic all the time. If they don’t run to push the elevator button before you get to it then you have to listen to them apologize 14 times for making you push the button yourself. (I’m not exaggerating.)

I’ll wrap this one up now. I’ve been up with Miss Ava and she’s finally asleep so I should probably try to catch a few more zzz’s myself.

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