Red Couch & Group Pics

Today we also took the traditional pictures of all of the adopted children on one of the 2nd floor couches of the White Swan.  As predicted, it was somewhat of a cryfest, but surprisingly, our little Ginny held it together very well for most of the photoshoot, until the very end when the peer pressure of all of the other crying peers got the best of her.  Hey, everybody's doing it!

Follow the Frenchman

Yesterday I mentioned about meeting a French Photographer from Geo magazine.  Today, because of him, we were able to "cut line" so to speak in order to get our consulate work done.  The consulate official mentioned the story he was doing and if anyone wanted to have their child photographed they could go first.  In theory, he had already photographed us, but since we had a relationship with him already, we stepped forward and it probably ended up saving us a bit of time.  All of this, plus our "oath taking" we did today basically confirmed that once we set foot on U.S. soil, Ginny will be a U.S. Citizen.

Tonight, we had the experience of eating at a relatively popular Thai restaurant here on the island called "Cow and Bridge"  It was my first ever Thai food experience.  I ordered a calamari dish with Thai style stir fry veggies, and it was rather tasty.  

Ginny has had a pretty good day.  She continues to get to know all of us and is obviously more comfortable. 

Tomorrow is a free day, with a few sightseeing options in the morning we'll probably do.  With all of the touring and legal stuff, we've barely had time just to walk around and shop.  Hopefully we'll have some time for that tomorrow, which will be the last full day in Guangzhou. 

Guangzhou Touring, Part Deux

Today we had another round of tourism in the Guangzhou area.  We went to two different places.  First of all, we were able to go to the Temple of the 6 Banyan Trees, an actice Buddhist Temple.  Very odd feeling for a Protestant Minister like me to be on the grounds of a place with active Buddhist worshippers.  Some of the families opted in to have their children be blessed by one of the monks there, but we and a few other families just watched from the outside. In fact, I didn't even cross the threshold of the main part of the temple.   There were three 20 foot tall golden idols in the main temple, and various shrines, Buddhas, and other relics around the courtyard.   It was a very beautiful place, with a huge tower in the middle of it.  In addition to the blessing ceremony, we were able to witness a "call to chant" take place, where a monk wondered around the courtyard banging a drum and all of the other monks one by one came into the courtyard and then the temple.  They then went through a ceremony of chanting and playing percussion instruments.

Secondly, we went to a very modern park.  It was huge, and had at its centerpiece a Roman-style colonade and rose garden.  There were cartoonish statues everywhere of popular children's characters (even ones from the West like Finding Nemo, Spiderman, etc.  They had a whole area with nothing but Mario characters as well.  Fountains, waterfalls, etc.  To be honest, I could have spent the whole day there just letting Nathan and Ginny run around and let off steam.  However, Ginny showed us exactly how tired she was towards the end of the time there at the park. Still, the tantrums are getting shorter and more predictable.  We had another traditional Chinese lunch, with Curry Chicken and Shrimp, Broccoli, Sweet Beans, and finely sliced potatoes and fried rice.  Very good. 








We were disappointed that Nathan didn't grow after touching the mushroom.  It always worked for Mario,. 


Shortly after getting back on the bus, Ginny conked out and stayed out for a good hour.  This included the bus ride back to the hotel and the walk back to the Medical Examination place to check the TB results (no problems, by the way). She didn't wake up until back at the hotel, where she initiated her own version of hide and seek with me.  I'm amazed at how rough she likes to play.  She wants us to help her do flips on the bed, and enjoys being lifted high in the air.  Now as far as my (Chris, Dad, Baba's) role is pretty much defined in her eyes right now as recreation.  She initiates little games with me about once or twice a day.  It's also very obvious of how much the orphanage taught her to do herself.  When there is a spill on the floor of something liquid, she will take the towel from you and clean it up herself.  When you change her diaper, she will take the dirty one and throw it away herself.  We didn't teach her these things, so we feel these are little chores they probably trained them to do. 

There is a French reporter from a French version of National Geographic (Geo Magazine) here on the island this week doing a story on adoptive families.  He followed the families to get their TB results today, and took pictures of Ginny and other little ones today for the magazine.  It's supposed to be in the March Issue, but I don't think we can purchase it in the States. 

As I write this, Sharon has taken Ginny down to a special playroom in the hotel just for adoptive families with preschoolers and below, sponsered by Mattel.  In fact, Mattel gives every adoptive family a special "Going Home" Barbie, which is a Blond Barbie holding a Chinese baby. 

Still loving it here in Shamian Island.  Very relaxed and low key.  We appreciate all of the continued prayers, and will need them especially on Thursday and Friday, as those will be crazy long travel days. 

Bluegrass Fiddle Players Statue here in Shamian Island.  Statues like this are all over the island,. 

Guangzhou Touring

It's been a lot more relaxed day today.  We began with another great breakfast at the White Swan.  More American food here than the one in Shanghai.  Bacon.  Need I say more.  After breakfast we headed off to the Chen Family Temple for sightseeing.  Really interesting place.  It's now just a tourist atttraction, but was originally a school, then a shrine for "ancestor worship" for the Chen clan, now a cultural center.  Very colorful architecture.  It was really crowded, though, and a bit on the warm side.  Ginny had one little tantrum, but we've got to the point now that we are learning how those work for her, and can weather them a little better.  She continues to warm up to Nathan and me, and now has even allowed my mom and dad to watch her without Sharon around. 

After, we had a traditional Cantonese (Southern China) family style lunch.  Tried some interesting things, but since our guide ordered, everything was safe.  Sharon got to use a squatty potty at the restaurant for the first time on the trip.  We've seen them here and there,  but haven't had the need to take advantage of them to this point much.  For those who don't know what we're talking about, a squatty potty is a Turkish style toilet, basically a hole in the ground, where you have to well, squat, thus the nick-name. 

We were then taken to a shopping area that our guide said had more authenitc and higher quality clothes, souvenirs, etc.  We bought a finger painting, another traditional Chinese outfit for Ginny, a traditional outfit for Nathan, a silk pajama top for Sharon, and a few what-nots.  I'm still not used to the currency differences, so you freak out a little when they tell you a total in Chinese money that's 6x what the American $ would be.  For example, If you bought $100 worth of stuff, it is about 600 Chinese dollars. 

For those that needed it, we were then offered a trip to Carrefor's store, which is basically like a Wal-Mart.  This one was about four levels, all underground, with moving sidewalks connecting each level.  This may sound weird, but one of my favorite things about the whole trip is just going to regular stores like grocery and department stores and seeing the differences between how our stores work in the U.S.  It was very crowded, but fascinating. 

As I was typing this, Ginny created a new game where she walks by my chair and pokes my, uh, rear end, and runs off laughing.   

First Day in Guangzhou

We have arrived on Shamian Isaland in Guangzhou China and are staying at the White Swan Hotel.  It's a pretty ritzy place, but as many have noted before, it's packed with adoptive families just like us.  Today wnet by really fast, but was filled with a lot of highs and lows.  The days started off early (after only 4 hours sleep because of a late plane arrival from Shanghai) which resulted in an exhausted Bridges family and a very grumpy Ginny at breakfast.  First on the agenda was the passport photos and medical tests, a few blocks away from the hotel.  The medical examination place was packed with people.  However, despite a very early morning and very grumpy Ginny, she actually did well during the tests themselves, until the end, when she was just ready to be outside and "lost it" a bit.  She did get good reports on all of her tests, though.  Not long after this when we went out for a bit again, she zonked out and got a 2 hour nap in, the first real nap she's had all trip.  SO, therefore, the rest of the day was pleasant with a cheery Ginny, and therefore happier Mommy, Daddy, and brother as well.  We had a long paperwork filling-out session this afternoon as well to go through, but I believe that may be one of the last big rounds of paperwork we'll need to contend with on the trip.  We had dinner at the famous "Lucy's" which is an American style restaurant a block away from the hotel.  We went with all of the Great Wall China Adoption Families, and had a great time of food & fellowship. 

A happy jaunt

After the tantrums of the last few days, we were glad to have a few moments of laughter and joy on a trip to the park this afternoon.  We have several hours to kill before our evening flight (which was changed again, or rather back to the original 7:30 p.m. time) so we went to the park next door for a bit and on a snack run.  On the way back Sharon would spin in circles with Ginny and she would just giggle.

Incidentally, in regards to snacks, what appears to be a predictable color packaging for something like Lay's potato chips may not always be what you expect.  They have flavors such as "Hot Pot", "Cucumber, "Tea" and "Fish" flavors.  I stuck with BBQ.

I'm the computer guy

So far, most mornings Ginny wakes up about 4:30 am (I think the orphanage got them up at 5).  This morning, when I got out of bed, she came over to me and pointed at the chair next to the computer as if to say, "This is your spot.  You need to sit here."  She acutually had me lift her up to sit in the chair a bit as well too, which is a big step not because she let me do it, but because she so far has had no interest in chairs, beds, etc.  She pretty much just sticks to things within her reach, but I think she's starting to have an interest in that.  Maybe this is a step in getting her away from sleeping on the floor.  We're due to have a crib in Guangzhou, so we may have to go backwards a bit since she's enjoying this freedom of no bars and boundaries in the room.

She's also been making the pucker face this morning (like the one we posted from the orphanage a while back).  She knows its funny too, because she smiles when she does it.