Guangzhou Monday 11-7-11

As usual when I try to add photos the words I have written go away. So here are the words. For pictures go to Shutterfly.com and our name is adoptinginoklahoma. The password is China  After we return home I will be taking the shutterfly account down so you better look now. If you need more instructions on Shutterfly leave a comment and I'll help.

Guangzhou Monday 11-7-11

TB test results are today. They injected into a small site and now, after 48 hours, the exam clinic checks for a reaction. Swelling above a certain size would indicate a need for a chest x-ray. If that is also positive then 6 months of medication before Joseph could leave China. But don’t worry, his arm barely shows the spot.
　
After the TB check the rest of our day was free. We shopped on the island a little. The boys were invited into a badminton game that they seemed to enjoy. The parks in China are full of elders playing instruments or sports. There is also exercise equipment and even a track in many parks. Physical fitness is just part of life here. A senior at the badminton mentioned how poorly my daughter was playing. This was after asking if I played and when I said no he said, “Yes, you are to fat to play badminton.” I didn’t tell little D about being mistaken for a girl for the 3^rd time until we were safely away. LOL
　
When we had decided to head back we ran into some friends from the forum that we had been seeing at every appointment. Karen (the mom) is here with her daughters 14? & 11?, and her son 9?. They are adopting two 3 year old boys with limb differences. He husband had to stay home. I can’t imagine how difficult some times must be for her as the only adult. After deciding we would all go back to our hotel and get Pizza Hut off our group went. Ordering the pizza was a fiasco. I tried calling the order in and the phone guy didn’t speak English so transferred me to another phone line. After the second try I got an English speaker that took my order. The problems arose when he said that someone would be calling me back to verify my order. The call back person didn’t speak any English so the conversation went something like this. Me: Yes, Pizza Hut. Yes, 350 Yuan, Yes, 5 pizzas. Him: (Chinese) I repeated my end of the conversation and he hung up. Were pizzas actually coming? I decided to risk walking the few blocks to the Pizza Hut we had discovered the night before to check on our order. No, of course call ins go to a different place. After many tries I did find one waitress willing to call to check if pizzas were coming for us. No, but now they were.
　
I thought we attracted crowds before, but with all 12 (3 adults) of us it was like being in the circus. And not always in a good way. When leaving the HI Shifu to walk Karen and her group back to the island D and little D ran back to the room for the camera. The rest of us didn’t realize how vulnerable we were. It started like before, with just a curious couple. But in crowded China a mob quickly forms. E and Karen’s two eldest were separated from the group, outside the mob. I could see them and they were safer than the rest of us. Karen brought a side by side twin stroller so her two new sons attract a lot of attention. Twins are lucky but her boys have visible limb differences. In the US it is considered rude for adults to stare. Not in China. The mob was probably 20-30 people surrounding us by this time and we couldn’t move. I had both our strollers and no way to put both. E was outside the mob and couldn’t help. When the grandfatherly man who had originally started asking us about the children in the beginning reached down to touch Jewel’s cheek he also slapped her. Yes, slapped her. On purpose. Although the Chinese treat their kids so carefully most the time, they do have some different cultural beliefs. I think since Jewel was calmly laying back he was maybe getting her to liven up? I started yelling and that was the end of that. I started pushing both strollers and called E into the crowd to help. Then we just barreled through the group. They followed us maybe 50 feet until it was obvious we were going back inside the hotel. And a few minutes later D & D showed up. Missing all the excitement. I would like to say the mob wouldn’t have happened had D & D been there but a similar mob had occurred at the Safari Park on Sunday when we were all together. But I won’t be going out with Karen’s group without more adult help in the future.

We headed back to the safe island and shopped a little. Then little D, Jewel and I got a taxi back to the hotel for dinner and bed. She has been so happy tonight. Babbling and crawling on the floor. Crawling over D’s stretched out legs and rolling from stomach to back too. Every day she learns more and opens up more. We come home in a week and if little D has anything to say about it she will be walking by then. Joseph still prefers D but today with encouragement did acknowledge that I was giving him something a few times. On the stairs coming from the island D was getting all the strollers up and down the stairs and I had Joseph’s hand. Under his duress I might add. I tried to get him to walk down the stairs holding my hand. He refused. He wants to be carried all the time we are out or as a second choice he will ride in the stroller. I gently encouraged him to walk down each step and at each step he said no. Finally once all the strollers were over D was going to come back and I said, “No. Goodbye Baba.” Once Joseph realized it was me or we would stay on the stairs he changed his mind. Stubborn just like our other boys were at 4. Language skills are doing great. A good part of the time we all know exactly what the other is wanting. Joseph says about 10 English words now and he has been giving D Mandarin lessons. That’s great when you think he just met us 5 days ago!

When we Skype he is speaking to the family too. The voice he is using when skyping is very very soft. He says Ni Hao (Hello. Pronounced KNEE HOW) to you guys and Goodbye.