Now that we have video-conferencing stuff working we have broken out of this mode a couple times and actually had a few phone call type experiences. Today when Hui-Hui was having lunch we managed to hook up with my sister's family (just before they went to bed the night before). This was fun because they actually got to see a bit of what we call his "Monkey-Boy" behavior. We were feeding him hot cereal in the hotel room and he was pretty focused on the task at hand, but as he got towards the end of his third bowl he began to get pretty playful. I don't know what he thinks of them on the computer screen exactly but they did get him to play one of his games with them. It's sort of a "call and answer" thing that basically consists of yelling "Aye-Ah!!" back and forth. The object is to yell it louder and with more gusto then your companions! He went back and forth with them for some time until they were all laughing in hysterics! It was very funny!
We finally had to call it off, as he had apparently gotten full, and mealtime had morphed into a sort of impromptu science experiment involving instant baby cereal, lots of water, and some expensive looking hotel room furniture.
The rest of our day was quite busy. We began by getting up a little earlier and all having breakfast together here at the hotel.
Then we walked across Shamian Island along the canal
To the Physical Examination Clinic.
This is where Hui-Hui had his medical examination which is required for him to get his U.S. visa.
After the exam was over we had to return to the hotel and wait in our room until we head back from our guide, Connie. She was taking all our paperwork to the consulate to apply for the visa. She has been wonderful to us, and makes sure we do everything we need to complete the adoption successfully.
So while we were waiting I thought I'd show you some of the stuff they provide for us here in the hotel room.
Here's some photo's of the mini-bar
that little bottle of Hennessy XO in the top center is $30 USD. We're not touching that!
They restock the tea supply every day with 6 types of tea.
And give us little chocolates at bedtime every night
The complimentary toiletries are nicer than I've ever seen. They even give you toothbrushes, shaving kits, and these fancy little wooden combs.
I don't usually take stuff like this from hotel rooms, but these are really nice! The only problem is that there's so much of it I knew I would need an accomplice, er, I mean "assistant".
I got out some of the hotels complimentary "Loot Bags" and asked Hui-Hui if he'd mind giving me a hand...
We started in the bathroom...
Then we went next door and cleaned out the Big Brothers' room...
After we finished I let Hui-Hui glean through the take anything he wanted...
We still had time to work with the stacking cups...
and we spent some time coloring too...
Hui-Hui likes looking out the hotel room window...
At the boats on the Pearl River
After Connie finished our paperwork at the consulate she took our family to the Six Banyon Buddhist Temple in the center of Guangzhou. We took two taxi's with Connie, Tina, Hui-Hui and me in one, and Cam & Ben in the other. When we got the temple it was very hectic getting out of the cabs, as I had to pay both drivers and we were approached by a number of beggars, many with physical defects. I am a pretty easy mark for beggars with hand problems on this trip, and so I started putting a few yuan into their bowls. When we finally made it inside the temple Tina suddenly turned to me and said, "Where's the backpack and stroller?"
They were left in the trunk of the taxi.
Tina, Connie and I all started to get a bit worried. The stroller is borrowed, so we'll have to pay for that, but the backpack. What was in the backpack? We've had to have the airline tickets out for confirmation, and our passports for the medical exam! No, Tina had thought to put all that back in the safe in our room. The only document in the backpack was our adoption certificate. Connie explained that this was no longer needed for anything else in the process, and we do have 3 notarized copies of it in the hotel room. We're bumming because it's a beautiful keepsake, but we decided that if it's gone, it's gone and we can't do anything about it now. Connie called the hotel and cab company so we might get it back. But we'll be okay without it, and we decided to relax and enjoy our temple visit.
This is the "Laughing Buddha" you see at the entrance to every temple. His big belly can hold all of your troubles, so I gave him an offering and asked if he'd look after our certificate.
These are the 3 main buddha statues of the temple. They represent the past, the present, and the future.
We gave an offering here and had the monks bless Kai-Hui. It was a very moving experience, especially since our family was all alone there at the temple. Cameron was able to videotape this for us as well.
The main feature of this temple is huge pagoda that houses the relic of an historic monk.
Cam and Ben both climbed to the top of the pagoda. It appears to have 9 "stories" on the outside, but actually has 17 stories inside when you climb it's steep stairs. Here's a picture of the vie from the top...
This is a statue of the goddess Pusa. I have felt a very strong connection to her on this trip and really liked this statue...
When we returned to the hotel we finished our busy day by taking a Pearl River dinner cruise with a bunch of other adoptive families from the hotel...
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