Heading to Hong Kong, and Then a Direct Flight Home!

As we were going up to the border, I got very anxious.  Rosie was playing with Keith's shoe.  The lace was totally off and she was content.  She was very interested in lacing the shoe...Although Rosie had to be distracted often during the 3 hour drive,  there finally was a calmness that took over.  Lia was playing with her doll and interacting sweetly with Keith.  The line took forever!  At the border, the trunks were all open as we waited in line for passports to get stamped.  And who knows what.  Tension.  The driver opened the sliding door so that passport photos were matched to us.  At Customs Declaration, we had another checkpoint with documents, and they even checked the girls' temperature.  There was third checkpoint, but it was rather quick.  Keith said the first checkpoint is for leaving China, the second one for entering Hong Kong...

There was some confusion since the driver dropped us off at the wrong hotel at the airport.  Then when we checked in at the right hotel, we had no tub.  The bellhop was very, very kind to me and immediately got a room change, and then waited for me to approve of the room.  I will never forget Simon.  He even let Keith know that he will be coming tomorrow morning to help us with the suitcases.  Another angel unaware. 

We had a really delicious dinner, and then got ready for sleeping. Rosie still gets upset; she will take off her clothes by herself, but then struggles when it's time for putting on pajamas.  We gave her a choice of pajamas and she still refused.  She finally put them on in her own time...maybe that's the key?  Lia was totally wired so I was resting with Lia while Keith held Rosie.  Rosie and I kept staring at each other, and waved to each other every once in a while, until she fell asleep.  She has been making huge strides each day.  Crazy about that kid, you know? 

We'll be up early to catch our 10:25 a.m. flight.  We're so excited to be going home!!!!  Wish us luck as the flight is 15 hours and 40 minutes. 

BTW; we've been adding photos to new posts later on.  We've developed a rhythm of blogging first, then entering photos a day later, so please be sure to check back a post or two to catch up on newly added photos!  Also, I had 2 posts for Friday;  don't miss "Saying Goodbye to Guangzhou"!  It was a fun day!

Keith here...

Sunday morning 00:45 a.m.(Hong Kong time).   Our bags are packed and ready.  It's very strange and also hard to be sitting here in Hong Kong blogging and realizing that we will be on our way home in a few hours.  We've waited and planned for this trip to adopt Rosalie for many months, and now it's almost complete.  It's been a hectic two and a half weeks with a lot of adjustments and changes for each of us.  Of course there have been some tears, but that's to be expected when life changes so dramatically for a child and for a family.  One thing I can say for certain, God has definitely taken care of us, kept us healthy and protected us this entire trip.  Some days Amy and I have gotten only 4 -5 hours of sleep, and yet we've been able to keep going(I know jet lag will set in soon). Every time I or we have ventured out on our own, whether for sightseeing, for dinner and or just going to the grocery store, we've been able to communicate with the Chinese people, either by hand motions or God providing someone who could speak a little English.   For me it's an honor and privilege to be Rosalie's father, as well as Lia's father and to share this role of parenting with Amy. Amy is a great mom and has so much love to give.  I love her dearly and appreciate her so much.  Thirteen years ago being parents to two little girls from China was not even in our thoughts.  I thank God for blessing us with Lia and Rosalie!  With out mentioning names, because I'll forget someone, I say thank you to all that had a part in Rosalie's adoption this year and of course Lia's adoption in 2010.  Amy and I also often think of and pray for both Lia's and Rosalie's biological mothers and fathers.  I want them to know that their girls are loved. As this part of the adoption process ends, I look forward to getting home and living life as a family of four. 

The Top Ten Things We've Learned About Rosie

1. She can put socks and shoes on in a blink of an eye, as well as brush her teeth.
2. She smiles super easy.
3. She laughs at the drop of a hat.
4. She hates hats.
5. She knows very well how to give you "the look".  In many angles.
6. She will put the charm on as soon as she meets you.
7. She toddles, as a true toddler.
8. She loves congi with chicken.
9. She wakes up with a smile, and is rarin' to go!!!!
10. She loves her family; especially her mama! (And we love her!)

Saying Goodbye to Guangzhou

Today we went to the Beijing Lu Shopping Street.  It was very loud and busy.  We also went down a market street that went on and on; loaded full of things to buy.  After buying dresses for Rosie and Lia, we walked the Pearl River with our friends Vicki, Heidi and little Meila.  It was very neat to see bicycles speeding past us on the scenic sidewalk with huge boxes, delivering.  Off in the distance, we saw the Canton Tower.  We walked all the way down to Shamian Island.  Just love that area...the kids got to play on a playground, had lunch at Lucy's, and then did a little more shopping! I bought the neatest sandalwood necklaces (that are on elastic and can also be worn as a bracelet, and smell really nice) that are from Hai Nan.  Really fun.  Photographers were taking pictures of models everywhere.  It was the perfect day for photos!  I just had to meet Amy at Amy's Place and she told me that Rosie is a spicy girl...yes, indeed, she is!  Saw Michael again, at Michael's Place.  (We had bought a few things from him the other day, including a stamp of Lia's name.  Rosie had gotten one as a gift from the orphanage).  He gave Rosie and Lia a high five, and we were off to do more shopping.  Rosie usually greets people on the street with a wave, big smile and a "hi!".  Wait until you meet her!!!

Ah, they are both asleep.

Rosie ate congi as if it were ice cream!

The thought crossed my mind that I could use a nanny like the one behind me!

My little Ruby.This photo is one of my favorites.  (I also have a photo of Lia 2 1/2 years ago at the very same place).

Tomorrow we start our trek home.  We'll be staying overnight in Hong Kong at a hotel at the airport, then taking a direct flight into Newark.  Looking forward to seeing Doreen, my brother Tim and my cousin Linda at the airport. We're so excited to be going home and having a small party with dear friends.  However...we'll miss our new friends Vicki, Heidi and Melia, who we've enjoyed eating out with, hanging out with, and sharing adoption experiences with.   We even did a Garden Hotel photo op with our Rosie and Vicki's daughter Melia on the "purple sofa" in our hotel room! Heidi (Vicki's sister) and Keith took a ton of photos.  Ha! The White Swan is closed, but yes, we started our own new tradition...check back for purple sofa photos soon.

Appointment at US Consulate completed

Keith here, thought I would add my thoughts.  It's 5 a.m. Friday morning, China time.  Amy and the girls are sleeping peacefully.

Thursday morning we were up early, had breakfast and were in the hotel lobby before 8 a.m. to meet our guide to drive to the US Consulate for our 8:30 a.m. appointment.  Amy, Lia and I, along with eleven other families took the adoption oath together and then one by one we were called up to a window to complete and sign the last document, DS-230.  It was an awesome feeling to once again be back in the same spot as we had been with Lia three years ago. We now wait for Rosalie's US Visa and brown envelope that we'll give to US Immigration when we land in Newark on Sunday. 

In the afternoon we ventured out and took a taxi to the Guangzhou Zoo again. It was nice to walk around and see some animals that we missed the other day.  Unfortunately the Panda exhibit was closed so we were not able to see them. It was nice to let the girls run around the grounds and stretch their legs a bit since there so much time is spent being couped up in strollers, hotels, taxis, restaurants, etc.. We had snacks and some ice cream(to ease the heat).  Rosalie really likes ice cream, just like any other child (since it's so new to her we have to limit it to small portions since she is not used to the coldness and dairy).  It's really hot and humid in the afternoons. We've had several afternoon showers as well these past few days and one just feels like a drenched rag, hot, wet and sticky.  It reminds me of my childhood in Africa during the rainy season.  Since it is the rainy/monsoon season here, all the grass, trees and flowers are blooming nicely.  Nice to see all the greenery in this large city.

Rosalie is adjusting well to all the new foods we put in front of her.  She'll try and eat most anything. She's adjusting to eating in restaurants as well... which of course is much different then the orphanage.  She's only broken one Chinese style ceramic spoon so far.  The other night at dinner she was gently tapping the table with a spoon.  Then quick as a wink the tapping turned into banging, which of course led to one crack, just as my hands reached over to catch the broken end of the spoon which was flying across her place setting.  Result... no Chinese ceramic spoons for Rosalie for awhile.       

Lia and Rosalie are adjusting and settling in with each other.  There are times of jealousy and tension, then times of pure joy and laughter.  Please keep them both in your prayers as they continue to adjust.

During our stay here at the Garden Hotel in Guangshou we've had the opportunity to meet many other adoption families from all over the US(California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and Tennessee.  Plus one family from Australia.  Just like Amy and I, there are several families who are adopting a 2nd Chinese child, and one family adopting their 3rd.  One thing in common with each family... a deep love for their new child. It's amazing to think that God, who created us in His image, gave us all the capacity to love... what a great gift it is!  

Miracles are Everywhere

It all started when Lia was fussing about the sun in her eyes while strolling through the back streets of Guangzhou.  Rosie was fast asleep in her stroller.  This elderly lady approached us and suddenly covered Lia's eyes with an umbrella.  She walked with us for a few blocks and then we all stopped before crossing the street.  She noticed the bug bites on Lia's face and we communicated with our hands a mosquito, and a bite.  She totally got what we were expressing and told us with hand motions to wash her face later and put on this cream from her container.  She insisted that we take her little container.  I think it is tiger balm but I'm not sure.  It has no label on it.  It smells like ecyclaptis (sp).   I put kisses on my hand and gave them through the air to the elderly woman...



Didn't notice the bag when I met her, but check it out!  "Say yes, Hope", etc.



I told Lia, when I get old, I want to be just like that.  Kind to strangers, and with a giving heart.  What a beautiful person. And we watched her walk away.  She walked away smiling as she disappeared.  It reminds me of the verse, that sometimes we entertain angels unaware.  Truly an angel to us.

Then this afternoon, we were getting ready to meet our friends in the lobby that adopted a little girl. We were going to go out to dinner with them. They are 2 sisters, and just really wonderful.  So much fun to be around.  We had to be down in the lobby in 10 minutes.  And then it happened...Lia and Rosie started to hug each other.  I tried not to look so I wouldn't ruin the moment.  It went on for 5 minutes, and ended with them rolling on the floor, hysterical giggling.  We had to pry them apart!  As we put them in the strollers, we just looked at each other in shock.   As we were waiting for the elevator, Keith told me to take a seperate elevator because they were soooo wound! I decided to stick with them, and the girls calmed down rather quickly.

Dinner was a bit difficult. Lia hasn't been the usual eater that she is at home.  Rosie did OK.  The service was a bit slow, but we finally got out, and Lia looked totally exhausted.  She gets fussy when she is tired.  When we got home, we had to get the girls to sleep.  I went to take Rosie's shoes off, and she got hysterical.  I calmed her down and then tried with unzipping her dress to put on her pajamas.  I had to stop the transition since she was so very upset. This has been the norm; she usually clings to me, and won't let me undress her to put on pajamas.  (Bedtime has been very trying for me, since both girls want me to themselves).  For some reason, I started to sing Amazing Grace (remember the director playing Amazing Grace on the piano in the playroom?) and she immediately calmed down.  I just kept rocking her, and she was making simular tones at times, as if she was singing with me.  "I once was lost, but now I'm found" seemed very very relevant as she quickly fell asleep. 

Truly a day full of miracles. 

I wish I could show you the video of them rolling around on the floor, in pure bliss; you just wouldn't believe it.

BTW, I'm having a difficult time with videos on to the blog.  Any ideas are appreciated! Just comment below! :))))

And if  you've been praying for Lia and Rosie, God has very definitely answered your prayers! Maybe you prayed too hard...LOL, but thank you!  (An ah ha moment here---Wondering how hard my sister-in-law prayed, "the laughter is getting ready to break loose... in prayer for each of those needs..." See Rosie's Heart/Comment section).

Side notes;

• Every morning we are surrounded by adoptive families eating breakfast.  It's totally fascinating to see the kids, and how they are all doing so well. 
• This morning, we went to the Guangzhou Zoo and had a blast!  Tomorrow we have a 8:30 US Consulate appointment.  It's a red, white and blue day for us. We are slowly assimulating back  into American culture, as we are working toward getting Rosie's Visa.
• A toddler that is learning to speak Chinese gets adopted by Americans?! This poor kid has been frustrated with expressing herself in Chinese (great comprehension though), and is also going through typical developmental stages of independence, assertiveness, testing, and dealing with a new sibling...so, it's been a bit trying at times here.  But we are starting to see big breakthroughs each day...

Happy Meals in China

Strollling down the sidewalk

Daddy's three tired girls

Grocery and department store close to hotel

Having fun....

Just a quick post her of our fun on Monday and Tuesday. 

On Monday we went to the hotel indoor playroom and had some play time.  Lia and Rosalie loved it. Then after nap time we ventured out and got happy meals for the girls at McDonald's.  Late Monday afternoon, Keith, along with one family member from our group met with Jack our guide to go through and organize the adoption paperwork for our US Consulate appointments on Thursday.  Thankfully we had everything and there were no surprises.  The Jack took us all, three families to a Chinese restaurant a block away from the hotel where we had some great Chinese food. As we walked in we passed the seafood kitchen portion and saw some amazing things; long Chinese gray worms squirming in a bowl waiting to be cooked and eaten, raw fish on a slab being cut up by a cook and a cook smacking a live fish in the floor, trying to kill it and maybe tenderize it a bit.  A new experience.  Dinner was awesome... and NO, we did not order any worms or fish. We felt we should leave those delicacies for the Chinese*.    

On Tuesday morning after breakfast we all ventured to the 4th floor of the hotel to have some fun in the pool.  Rosalie loved it!  She splashed and loved playing in the water.  Lia loved her new goggles.  In the afternoon Jack took our group to Shamain Island to do some shopping and eat at Lucy's (an American style diner restaurant).  

We'll add pictures later.    

(*Keith forgot to mention the cool turtles swimming in a tank...---Amy)

Daylight come, and I'm thinking of home...

Just had the best moment with Rosie at naptime...she totally freaks out whenever we want to put her down in the crib.  We think it reminds her of the orphanage.  As I held her while she was in the crib,  I kissed her face a few times, and then she turned her head and kissed me back. It was so unexpected...wow.  Super sweet kid, I mean super sweet daughter!

Lia is seeing Rosie's struggles and has been stepping up to help.  Things are slowly getting better.

Today we toured Guangdong Provincial Museum.  Since we were there before, we just enjoyed each other's company.  It was really neat to take photos in the same spot that we did when we adopted Lia.  For dinner, we ate at a Thai restaurant called Banana Leaf.  The dinner was great, and they had entertainment.  It was hysterical to hear Chinese people singing a Chubby Checker song, wearing Mexican clothes.  In a corny way, they were really good.  Only in Guangzhou!  The dancers encouraged kids to come up and dance with them.  Of course, they came up to our table and sang, Day-O (maybe they could see that I'm getting anxious to go home).  Rosie and Lia loved the music and dancing!  All in all, we had a great day today.  Tomorrow we are free until 5, since we have to prepare paperwork for the Consulate.  There's less paperwork this time around, so it won't be too time consuming. 



Lia and mommy in 2010.

Rosalie and mommy in 2013.

Rosie's Heart

We went to the medical clinic today.  The clinic was in a different and larger location, in the center of Guangzhou.  Jack got us through the clinic very fast.  We were only 2 families, so I think that helped us out alot.  Rosie got weighed first, then went to another office and had a general check up. The check up included  measuring the circumference of her head, and having a specialist come in to check her heart. She is a special needs kid and had a congenital birth defect at birth.  A year later the hole in her heart in her heart had healed. They checked for murmurs but everything was fine.  We were so surprised how Rosie cooperated in every office.  She lay on the table until they let us go.  I didn't dare ask any questions to the staff...last time, I asked about Lia's eye...she had a clogged tear duct and they were very rough with her.  (I guess the mother bear comes out in me though!).  They asked me to sign a form stating that we would get Rosie immunized at home! Could we really be so lucky?The last station was immunizations/TB test.  I still couldn't believe our luck about the shots so I wasn't totally convinced about this since lots of kids were in front of this one door (with Christmas decorations on it. "A new festival?" I asked Jack, just to break the tension), and they were all hysterically crying.  A nurse came out and took Rosie from me, and I wasn't allowed in.  The door shut.  I waited for quite a while, while Lia and Keith went to the bathroom.  It was so sweet seeing all these kids with adoptive parents, comforting their newly adopted children.  Finally, the door opened, and Rosie walked up to me, both with our arms open, not a tear in her eye, but emotionally upset I am sure.  The nurse told me to put pressure on Rosie's bandaid.  I was at eye level with her.  I actually was very grateful for the test, since Rosie really needed something to know that I am always going to be there for her.  So as we waited for Keith and Lia, I asked Jack about the regulations.  He said that they changed it last year.  The TB test procedure also had improved; now it has become a bloodwork test and doesn't have to be checked out, so we are totally done with medical!  What a nice surprise to have it go so smoothly...in the evening we went to eat Mexican, and then went to the mall.  Couldn't resist buying Rosie squeaky shoes.As Rosie went to sleep, it was hard to get her new shoes off; to her, a symbol of happiness and a symbol of ownership.

I've got to talk about bonding though...Rosie has been giving me such a hard time the past few days.  She is truly testing the boundaries.  Not only is she going through the process of adoption, but she also has a lot of 2 year old behaviors such as testing the limits, and asserting independence.  And some orphanage behaviors too. But in the morning, when I changed her in the hotel lobby's bathroom, I had reached my limit.  She then started with sucking her thumb again, and I took charge.  I lathered her thumbs up with liquid soap, and then confidently walked out of the bathroom.  Totally different tone.  It was the beginning.  A huge step.  The air suddenly cleared. Emotionally, I've been exhausted.  She seems to hear Keith's tone though, and  listens extremely well to him. He then gives me updates on her;  he always tells me about Rosie's self help skills.  I've seen some of them...she helps a lot with putting on clothes, and sweetly sits down to put on socks and shoes.  So we are on our way with Rosie learning that we are her parents, through the good and bad. And then last night again, the sweet, gentle sobs came back.  Bedtime is painful for Rosie.  You can just feel it, that she's missing her friends.  (I know the feeling guys....I miss you all out there).  Rosie's heart is in the right place.  Now about Rosie and Lia...they are also having some struggles.  They're learning to give each other some space since Lia and Rosie can sometimes just get to close to each other, if you know what I mean.  Lia has been broken hearted with "sharing" me and doesn't totally understand that I still love her!  I guess she doesn't developmentally understand that I could share my heart with them both, and still have a ton of love to give.  Anyhow, Lia tries so hard to control her emotions, but it's tricky for a 3 year old!  By nighttime, when she is tired, it is just too much for her.  The other day, she made a little bed out of towels for her little Rosie doll (renamed!) and I encouraged her.  Then she mentioned it was a stink bug bed. Ugh. We're hopeful that Lia will come around soon since she also has a sensitive heart. Two different types of kids, but two sweet hearts. 

Goodbye Shanghai... Hello Guangzhou

It's hard to believe, but after many months of paperwork, months of waiting for the next document or process to be completed, we are halfway through out trip to adopt Rosalie Kay Ru  We. left Shanghai today, Rosalie's birthplace and flew to Guangzhou in southern China. We packed suitcases this morning, then went for a walk around some of the blocks near our hotel in Shanghai, grabbed a quick lunch and then met our guide and taxi at 1 p.m..  We had a 3:30 p.m. flight that was delayed and got us into Guangzhou at 10 p.m.. 

When we said goodbye to our wonderful Zita, it was hard to part.  We have developed such a nice relationship with her.  Leaving Shanghai was bittersweet, and Rosalie again started to sweetly and softly cry during the drive.  It was hard for us also; to know that we will be taking her farther and farther away from where her home was.  It was the same feeling as when we left Nanchang...We really hope that we will come back to China when the girls get older and visit Shanghai again as well as the Nanchang area. 

Rosalie and Lia did great on the flight.  Rosalie took in all the sights in of the plane, she sat and drank her sippy cup like she was a world traveler.  There was no fear in her eyes the whole flight.  The walking escalators were a huge hit. We arrived at the Garden Hotel, and are so very happy to be here! We have a really nice suite, and the girls are sleeping soundly. 

Tomorrow at 10:30 we will be going to the medical clinic. Rosalie will be getting immunizations, which I've been dreading.  That sounds kind of funny...I feel so bad that Rosalie is getting a ton of shots.  We've been giving her Vitamin C to help with detoxifying.  We're going to stick together for the appointment, since little miss Lia is quite amazing with medical things.  She loves that kind of stuff.  When Lia does bloodwork, she watches the whole process (and I almost faint watching Lia watch it all, how does she do that?)...and she'll probably comfort Rosalie.

Visiting Shanghai Children's Home

Today we visited the orphanage.  The entrance was so beautiful.  Bright colors were at the entrance as well as in all of the halls and classrooms.  The director gave us a stamp of Rosie's Chinese name.  It was really crazy to finally see the playroom with the green railing, that we had seen in Rosie's referral photo.  From the playroom, we could see the crib room full of Rosie's friends. The rooms were seperated by a utilitarian kitchen.  In the cribroom, Keith, Lia and I gave stickers to the kids, and they put them on their foreheads. Rosie stood at her old crib side and took it all in one last time.   As we walked to Rosie's classroom, Lia and Rosie walked the halls hand in hand.  The classroom was very bright, warm and appealing to young children.   The director started to play the piano, and  played Amazing Grace.  What a sense of peace Keith and I got.  On the wall there was a class poster showing all of Rosie's classmates, but Rosie's photo is no longer there.  The notes at the top shows Rosie's official Gotcha Day date!  As we left, the Director and our guide Zita asked Rosie if she was OK about leaving, and she said yes.  We walked down the steps, while Rosie occasionally turned around to throw kisses to the director.  The girls fell asleep during the car ride back to the hotel.  When Rosie woke up, she cried sweetly and softly in my arms for about 15 minutes, while Keith, Lia and Zita (our guide) were very busy working on paperwork details.  It was a tough day for Rosie, but she handled it well.

Rosie has bonded very well with Keith, Lia and I.  Rosie bonded instantly, but I must say, that Rosie is just full of so much love! We are very thankful for the nannies at the SCH since Rosie has great eye contact, smiles very easily and focuses very well.

Rosie's Gotcha Day, June 17, 2013

Monday, June 17, 2013 arrived and we now have Rosalie.   We are now a family of four.  Here are a few pictures of the beginning of bonding.  Rosie is a happy little girl and is bonding really well.  As expected, life is busy.  More to come....

We are finally meeting!

Rosie and mommy.

Sisters!

The Big Sister-to-be

Lia assembled all the gift bags together this morning.  I had taken them apart for travelling purposes, and I thought she would love the responsibility of putting them together...and she did! We will be bringing a few of these to the orphanage tomorrow morning.  We're leaving the hotel at 8 a.m. and arrive around 9:30 at the SCH.  That means for you guys, Sunday at 9:30 p.m. EST.

Last night, we opened an attachment with Rosie opening our care package.  It was so sweet to see her looking at the Shutterfly book, pointing to Lia.  We can't wait to see how they interact...Lia is so happy about Rosie. 

Today we spent the day going to the International Church of Shanghai, and then Shanghai's Zoo.  Lia loved seeing other little kids at the zoo, and was having a ball interacting with them.  It sure looks like she is ready for taking on a sibling... 

Happy Father's Day Keith! 

Time to get some sleep and get up early to get Rosie!

Looking forward to the elephants...

but loving the giraffes the best! In the left corner are 4 giraffes...2 little girl giraffes, and a mom and dad.

What a good sport Keith is!  "I have already met my prince. I call him Daddy".

A Day in Suzhou

     Today Lia woke up at 5:30 a.m. proclaiming it's "morning time".  So of course we were up and running so we could meet our guide and 8 a.m. to go on a tour of the City of Suzhou. Suzhou is an old city of about 2 million people about one hour outside of Shanghai.  It's known for two attractions that we saw today; "Tiger Hill" and "The Lingering Garden".    

 

The 36-meter-tall Huqiu (Tiger Hill) stands outside the lumen Gate to the north west of Suzhou. It was where the King of the State of Wu( a small state in the Spring and Autumn Periods over thousands of years ago) Fu Chai, buried his father-Helu along with 3,000 swords. Legend has it that on the third day after the burial, a white tiger appeared to guard the tomb, hence the name of the hill.

     Lingering Garden (留园, Liú Yuán) is located outside the Changmen gate (阊门) of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. It was commissioned by an official named Xu Taishi (徐泰时) in 1593. A main feature in the garden is an artificial miniature mountain called Shi Ping Peak that is modeled after Tiantai Mountain in Putao.

     In between the two tours above we had lunch with our guide and driver.  Of course they selected the items off the menu..... and "WOW" was the food good!  After lunch we went to the Suzhou N0.1 Silk Factory where they taught us how silk is made and where it comes from.  It comes from the "silk worms"... 

Yummy

     All in all a good day in China.  Lia is loving all the waitresses that we have in various restaurants we eat in.  She is a "real charmer".  We eat breakfast in the hotel restaurant and this morning as we got off the elevator she loudly exclaimed "Hello, Ni Hao" when she saw the hostesses.  The time change, nap routines, sleep is tough, but we'll get through it.  We talk about Rosalie all the time and can't wait for Monday!   

Our Pearl Jumping at the Pearl

     Zeta, our guide greeted Lia this morning with a Dragon Boat Festival souvenir. It’s a little mini lantern that says Congratulations and Good Health. Lia is quite taken with Zeta. We then went to the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Radio and TV Tower. It was misting out, since it is a rainy season right now. The tower has 3 red balls that you can go up to. At the 2nd ball, which is 259 meters up (750 feet), there is a glass floor that you can walk on. I really am pretty good about heights, but to walk on a transparent floor is really quite scary. I remember taking a psychology class and learning about babies crawling on glass. It was an experiment to see how babies would handle a glass floor that was perceptively dangerous. The babies didn’t have any fear yet, or maybe their perception was not developmentally there yet. Not sure when the fear sets in, or should I say common sense sets in...But Lia went out on it and starting jumping...eiy yie yie. Jumping. Not walking. Not crawling. Yes, jumping.

    

     I went out on my 4 limbs. I had to crawl. People were walking on it very easily. Some were doing great photo shoots; lying on their backs, in a pose of pretend fear. I finally got to that point of being goofy. Not “goofy challenging”, but “goofy take the picture fast please”. It was hard to look down or walk off of it. Crawling would suffice, but I managed to boldly walk off and kept my dignity. We walked around the observation floor and found where where Jiangxi, Nanchang is located. Of course we were very happy to take a serious photo, since that’s where we adopted Lia. We were filled with great memories. The Shanghai skyline is very beautiful.

     We then went to the Jade Buddha Temple. People were burning incense, praying, singing, and bowing to the North, South, East and West Gods. Surrounding the temples were many beautiful lanterns with red ribbons tied onto them. Where the reclining Buddha was, we found a calligrapher who painted Rosie’s name on a scroll. We chose to have him write what we hope for Rosie. He wrote happiness, good health, smiles every day, and smart. Lia has a simular scroll that we had bought in Nanchang.

     Since we were then quite hungry, we went out to a restaurant close to the hotel. After we ordered, the waiter brought something totally different than what we had expected. It ended up to be pretty good, and Lia ate a lot of it. The other entree was absolutely horrible. To me, it seemed as if it was a cow’s tongue. Not that I ever ate a tongue, but it sure seemed to have a very odd and tough texture, and the flavor was not appealing. Keith and I reminisced about Nanchang. Whenever we went out of the hotel to eat, it was so appealing, and we enjoyed the food tremendously. We need to find our niche, and fast! We’re not MacDonald’s people but yet we don’t want to eat pigeon or shark (which was actually on the menu). I’ve been really enjoying my traditional pot of Jasmine tea though.

     Tomorrow we will be going to the Asian City of Suzhou.