We're on the final leg of the trip

We flew to Guangzhou on Friday. Xian Hua was VERY excited to fly on a plane. As soon as he saw us pull out the suitcases he excitedly told me we were going to fly on an airplane and then proceeded to pack up his toys. And actually, when we landed in Guangzhou, I found out why he was so excited. Our guide told me that he had asked her why we weren't in the United States. I was happy to know though that he was so looking forward to going home.

The hotel we are staying in is located on an island; we haven't actually been to the main part of the city yet. The weather here is very tropical (that's a more fun way to say very hot and humid). And honestly, this doesn't feel like China at all to me. This area of Guangzhou has a very European look about it. It reminds me a lot of Savanna, Georgia. Many people here speak English and many of the businesses here cater to Western tourists and adoption. You can find a 7-11 convenient store and even a Starbucks (which we surprisingly haven't visited yet).

Xian Hua had his medical exam yesterday and we completed the paperwork for his Visa so he can come home. Yeah! I was concerned with how he would do in the exam, but it didn't seem to bother him a bit. It's just a cursory exam; checking the basics and, I guess, confiming or checking on things noted in their original exam done at the orphanage.

The hotel has 2 nice outdoor pools. We spent some time in the pool yesterday to try and cool off and let Xian Hua burn off some energy. Like most kids, he really loves the water. But, he seemed to be pretty good about knowing his limit and gladly used a little inner tube the entire time this time. The first time we went swimming at the hotel in Nanchang, it wasn't like that. He just jumped right in, but he quickly realized that he didn't know how to swim. I think I see swim lessons in his future.

The breakfasts here are amazing. It's a huge breakfast buffet in the hotel with everything from eggs and bacon to a variety of cereals. I hope Xian Hua doesn't think this is what breakfast at our house looks like. Despite it being nice that I don't have to do dishes or laundry right now, I would gladly give all this up to fly home today. We are all looking forward to coming home on Wednesday!

Our visit to the Nanchang SWI...

Today was a busy day. We visited the orphanage as a group because 2 of the 3 families had children that came from this orphanage. Our day started with a visit to Walmart. Yes, they do have Walmart in China. Instead of the "hi, welcome to Walmart" your greeted with "nihao". Just as with most things around here, Walmart is always packed with people. We were told the locals really love Walmart because they can buy everything they need in one trip. After we purchased all of our baby things to donate to the orphanage, we were off. The Nanchang SWI (the orphange) is supposed to be one of the best in the province. I was concerned about taking Xian Hua back, wondering if it would be upsetting to him. But he actually seemed excited about being there; sort of proud about being able to show us around. I think the most difficult thing about touring the orphanage was seeing all the kids there; many of them who may never find a forever family. The orphanage director said the number of kids who will get placed is actually very small.

We were able to visit with Xian Hua's foster parents while we were there. His foster family is one of many that live in a small apartment on the orphanage grounds. They seemed very kind and happy to see us and Xian Hua. There were five other children in the home too. They must really love children to continue to take in and raise so many kids. Their hope is that each of their foster children will someday be placed.

The little boy in the pictures with us has really become Xian Hua's buddy since they met a few days ago. They weren't at the same orphanage, but have become fast friends over the last several days. It's so fun watching them play and hearing them giggle. I only wish I knew what they were chattering about.

It's been amazing to watch Xian Hua's transformation. He went from the first day where he wasn't very responsive to us to, the last couple of days, where he actually wants to hold our hands. And he still really loves to be teased and joke around. With all the people and cars running all over the place, the prospect of taking Xian Hua out of the hotel for a walk had always terrified me. We actually ventured out yesterday for a short walk down the street to buy some water. We felt he was responsive to us enough that it would be safe to try. He did so awesome! He stayed with us the whole time! And I was concerned that he might want us to buy him one of everything in the store, but he didn't. He even helped us carry our groceries!

We fly to Guangzhou today. Just one more step closer to the day we fly home!

We're back on line again...

I apologize for not being able to post anything before now, but for some reason our blog was coming up in Chinese. I got the problem fixed (thank you Kirsten and Angela) and so here's the latest news...

The travel was uneventful. We arrived at our first stop, Nanchang, tired but in one piece. We are staying at the Galactic Peace hotel in Nanchang. We got a good laugh when we arrived to our room... we found a crib, stroller, baby potty, and baby bath. I guess they were expecting us to get a little bit younger child.

We met Xian Hua on 10 September. Neither Hal or I slept much the night before in anticipation of the meeting. We really had no idea what to expect... what would his reaction be, would the foster parents or orphange director be there, etc. Our guide's advice was that we should try and get a good night's sleep. That's easier said than done... we both woke up around 2am staring at the ceiling wondering what the day might look like.

There are two other families here with us in Nanchang who received their sons as well (and I'm certain we will meet up with more families when we get to the White Swan in Guangzhou). Although Xian Hua had been anxiously waiting for a forever family, I don't think he really new what to expect. Luckily, play is the international language of children and one of the moms had the foresight to bring some toys to this meeting. We were able to sit with Xian Hua and play for a while; it seemed to put him at ease a little.

We've been together now for a couple of days, and I already see little bits of progress. Play seems to be important to the bonding process for him. Just sitting side-by-side putting lego structures together is doing wonders (and I'm finding it lots of fun too).

He seems to already know much more English than I expected. He can count, read some words, and seems to understand more than I had expected. That's a HUGE answer to prayers, but the language difference still does present many challenges that time and patience will overcome.