Day 13 Guangzhou

Lucky day 13! We didn't have to do an official thing today. One of our guides Bob took our documents to the US Consulate and handled everything for us at a 10:00 meeting. He called at 11:00 to say that it had all gone through just fine. I had no idea we weren't required to attend any of these things, but we will go to the swearing in tomorrow. One bit of really good news - I now have NO more envelopes of money to hand over to officials! I started out with 7 and it was very intimidating to carry all of that cash around for the better part of two weeks. I wore a satchel thing that went around my neck and nobody was going to wrestle that thing away from me! I feel that I am traveling light right now, although we are very close to going home.

Today was relaxing and fun. We got up and ate breakfast at the fabulous White Swan breakfast buffet which was a treat. We met our guide Linda at 9:30 and she and the driver took us to Six Banyan temple which was quite extraordinary. Today is the first day of some lunar thing so there were tons of people bringing flowers and burning incense in worship. There is a large courtyard inside the temple with several buildings with Buddhas. The main one has 3 huge Buddhas - we will try to upload a picture - and there was a monk chanting. The worshippers rock back and forth with their hands in a prayer like form, moving their hands up and down. It was especially interesting to me because I have always had a hard time picturing the people in the Old Testament worshipping graven images and this was the real thing.

After that we went to a beautiful park with flowers and statuary. There were some incredibly cool things there, especially trees with unusual shapes. The ambience was enhanced by a darling bride and groom posing for photographs among the flowers. Next, Linda took us to a place that sold very inexpensive dvds that were mostly American movies translated into Mandarin or with Mandarin subtitles. Since they were just about $2 each, we let Gage pick out a lot of them, perhaps 20 or so. I picked out the Simpsons movie for him - he had never heard of it, but said it was fine if Mommy thinks so - bad Mommy! He also got a couple more Game Boy games which he was excited about.

We came back to the hotel and had a great swim in the pool. It was hot today, at least 85, and we could really feel and see the humidity. We had talked to our daughter Christine earlier today and she asked if we could find a knock off of a certain Luis Vuitton purse and, wouldn't you know, Jake found it in a shop by the hotel. While we were there, we got into shopping mode and I got a really fabulous traditional Chinese dress for my niece Rachel's wedding November 8. It is gold silk with hand embroidered flowers, full length. The shop didn't have a dressing room so I tried it on back at the hotel - Gage took one look and yelled "good!" You can imagine how happy that made me feel. I must tell you though, this dress is so tight in the hips! All I can say is that a medium size Chinese woman must have a very tiny butt! 

Gage is doing just beautifully, we are truly amazed and  thankful to God for blessing us so profoundly. He is quite easy going and really goes with the flow. His smile is something to behold! He seems to be happy with us and we haven't seen any signs of fear or regret. I brought a book on attachment in adoption in case we had to deal with initial lack of attachment, but I haven't had to open the book. He accepts hugs and kisses at least as well as any 12 year old boy. One morning when I had to wake him up, his arms automatically went around me and he said "mommy." What a thrill!

Thank you, dear ones, for blessing us with your love and support. This journey is much better for being shared with you and we are grateful for your loving presence.