The End of Our China Visit

Med Exam and Stuff

We are almost done

We are all beat like drums. We have more video and pictures to load and might get to it, but honestly, we are just focused on getting home. The consulate stuff went well and we now have all the paperwork to travel. Hui has bonded completely with Emily, some with Mama and barely with Baba. She will not allow him to pick her up without screaming, but will hold his hand as they walk (as long an Emily has the other hand) and will play ball or balloon with him. It will just take time, we know. It has been a LONG two weeks. We have a 4:30 AM wakeup call and a 5:30 AM departure for the airport. 8:15 AM to Tokyo, 3:30 to Minneapolis and a 2:30 PM flight to St. Louis arriving at 4 ish Thursday afternoon. Shaughn will meet us and then the short drive to home. See you all soon.

Twenty-Four Hours of Firsts

We moved from Lanzhou (Lanjo) to Guangzhou (Gwanjo) on Saturday evening. A major step up in accomodations. On Sunday we had a terrific breakfast in the restaurant at the Westin..... AMAZING was more like it. A walk around the hotel and a swim followed. Bus ride to get photos taken and then to a mall for shopping (looking around for us mostly). Emily bought a Gucci (yeah, right) purse for about $20 US. Pearls, pearls, pearls...... We never knew there could be so many pearls in one place. Stores and stores of them.

Lot's of firsts for a little girl today:

First airplane flight
First Westin (for Mama and Baba, too....)
First pretty dress
First shower
First sticker book
First numbers
First swim
First pearls
First pizza

Medical stuff tomorrow. Application goes in for her visa Tuesday. Everyone have a great Labor Day! Enjoy the movie!

Waterwheels and Laundry

THE SUN IS OUT TODAY!!!

We spent the morning at a park dedicated to waterwheels. The engineer is featured at the entrance (of course) and there are waterwheels large and small. WE enjoyed this day a great deal. The park was beautiful and located right on the Yellow River. At one time there were hundreds of waterwheels on the Yellow River here at Lanzhou. Afterward we had lunch in the room and Hui had a nap. Dinner was back at our favorite restaurant.

The fun thing of the day was making paper airplanes and flying them around the room. A hotly contested session of “hit the balloon in the hall” followed.

We look forward to leaving for Guangzhou tomorrow. We spend most of the day here then check out of the hotel at 2:30 PM for a 5 PM flight. We are a bit tired of waxing philosophically and just want to get on the road. We’ll save the philosophizing for later. All the best to everyone at home. We wish you were all here to share this with us, especially Matthew and Shaughn. We miss you guys a lot! See you soon!

Lanzhou Day 4-5-Five Springs Park, Zoo and Museum

These two days were a bit of a challenge. It has rained quite a bit which puts a damper on being outside. Nevertheless on Wednesday morning we made our way to Five Springs Park and the Lanzhou Zoo. A depressing day as the animals here are in pretty filthy conditions. We know that this is a different culture and respect that, but still it is difficult to see how these animals appear to be treated. Hui loved seeing the elephant and the giraffes. There were some very beautiful birds as well. We saw a panther, kangaroos, a wolf, a reluctant hippo, the requisite monkeys, and the like. After returning to the hotel and a nap, Hui, Emily, Mama and Baba played ball in the hall. She’s good at catching and at throwing. Wild sometimes, but fun. Dinner was back at the dumpling restaurant, and, believe it or not, Emily actually tried some food not familiar to her. She even admitted that she liked it. Pigeon feeding followed. The pigeons have learned what Olivia Hui looks like and come flying over to her. It is a joy to watch her giggle as they fly around her vying for the little bit of food she offers…. “Feed the birds, one Yuan a bag….. Yuan, Yuan, Yuan a bag……” The rest of the evening was spent watching the world track and field championship from Osaka, Japan. We rarely see the US athletes. And of course, all of the Chinese athletes are victorious. Come to think of it, it was a great deal like the US coverage…. Just as biased when you think about it. It gives one pause.

Thursday morning we loaded the van and headed for the provincial museum, as it was poring rain. This was an awful ride through the worst traffic we can ever remember. Three lanes become four. Pedestrians cross the street anywhere they want. Drivers change lanes without looking or seemingly caring if there is a car/bus in the way. Fortunately, we had a very skilled driver. Unfortunately, the combination of pollution, gas fumes, heat in the car, lack of ventilation and all the stop and start driving made Olivia sick. It took one hour to get to the museum. Dreadful trip but there was nothing to be done about it. We could not get out and walk because it was raining. The windows on the van had to be up because it was raining. We arrive at the museum and headed right to the washroom where Miss Hui had a little car sickness. Glad we got there. The rest of the visit went fine as Hui quickly regained her sea legs. Her favorites were the dinosaurs (of course) as well as some interactive games.

There has been a little snag with the paperwork, not on our end. This is on the SWI’s end of things involving a specific date Hui came to the SWI. It is a very minor issue but one that could hold us up in Guangzhou. Lina is working on it and believes that she will have everything completed for us so that we will not have a hold up at the consulate. Lina has been terrific. We are ready to go to Guangzhou and get the rest of this done so that we can come home to our family, our friends and OUR BEDS! We are most grateful for the excellent treatment we have received by the hotel staff, our local guides and our CHI coordinator, Lina. It is obvious that they have done this more than once.

Emily Gets A Mandarin Lesson

Hui finally got tired of us pointing to her photograph book and asking her "Who is this"...... she turned the tables with Emily by taking the book, pointing to a picture, and in Mandarin asking (WE THINK!) "Who is this?" When Emily replied in Mandarin, she shook her head as though to say, "That was awful! Try again!" The funniest moment is when Hui is saying snowman and Emily just can't quite get it right. (This part is not recorded) She said Baba something something something.... so I repeated it apparently to her satisfaction.... she looked at Emily and said...this was pretty obvious "Dad can say it correctly but not you!" then reached out and tapped Emily on the forehead. Very funny! Enjoy these moment between two sisters. Hui is now the teacher and Emily the student!