Day 14: Holiday on Shamian Island

Today we have a free day due to Qing Ming-the Tomb Sweeping holiday.  Because it is a holiday, the US Consulate is not open and we could not get our visas, so we decided to head over to Shamian Island.  It is a quaint (not a huge fan of that word, but it describes it perfectly) little town-kind of like Mackinac Island in Michigan, only much smaller scale.  The famous White Swan hotel is there-but is under construction and you cannot even enter the grounds to see the red couches and koi ponds.  The red couch photos are a tradition with adoptive families-the kids all dress in authentic garb and sit on the couch for a photo.  Since it was closed, Maggie and Jason improvised and we had the "red carpet" photo shoot on the steps of the China Hotel yesterday.

The other thing I would like to note about yesterday's post is this: I had searched high and low for a red, white and blue dress for Zoey to wear to our consulate appointment.  I ended up finding 2, and bought them both.  Well-she is apparently a giant.  She is heavier and taller than we had expected, and the size 3 dress ended up being a long shirt.  I was going to put her in that shirt/dress with a random pair of clean leggings, despite them not matching, but she was also not crazy about the spaghetti strap-like straps.  So, we bagged the whole idea and let her wear the crazy character t-shirt since it was clean.  [She really is big-she is towering over the kids who are just a year younger (by towering, I am estimating about 6 inches) and is only an inch or two shorter than Chloe, who is 2 years and 2 weeks older than she is.]  

Back to today:  Shamian Island used to be split down the middle-half governed by the French and half governed by the British.  As a result, the architecture is half-British influenced, and half-French.  Like Hong Kong, it has reverted back to China, but the buildings and the grounds are still very beautiful and lush.  It was fun to walk up and down the streets and see all of the sites.

After coming back from the Island, Zoey again passed on the nap.  We did sleep in today (hey-it was a holiday, after all), so I didn't push the nap-thing.  We hung out in the hotel a little, then headed to the play park with other families from our group.  Some other family had bought a soccer ball, and she, Jenna and Juliet were passing it back and forth.  She held her own-they showed her how to kick the ball and stop it.  She ran hard for over an hour.  Then off to dinner with our group.  We ate again at Food Street-at the edge of our hotel.  We had some really good Chinese food, then Chloe's family came back up to our suite.  Tim worked with Jenna again on math (probability and statistics-ew), we ate some Haagen-Dazs, and the girls played.  They have been so funny lately-a lot of interaction, a ton of dialogue, and we even had some kisses.  After they left, I gave Zoey a bath-she was "swimming" in the tub.  There is still hope...I think we'll be fine.  Our entire summer is spent at the pool, so really, she has no other option.

Lisa and I are trying to coordinate with the other families to make sure that we all keep in touch.  It has been such a blessing having them around.  Especially Lisa and Tim.  Zoey and Chloe are going to miss each other.  We figure that Skype might work to keep the girls in touch-and we'll watch to see how much of their Mandarin they retain over the next couple months.

I am going to start packing-we begin our journey home tomorrow.  We'll say goodbye to China and head to Hong Kong.  I am sad to leave here, but very excited to get home and see Bryan, Megs and Sam, and introduce Zoey to the rest of her family.  I also would like to put in a little plug for my other daughter-who was the best travel companion I could have asked for.  She has done the pre-teen attitude thing here and there, but for 99% of the time she's been a treat.  I think with Zoey having been so well-bonded to her foster family, if just adults were here, the transition would have been slower.  Jenna was able to really get down to Zoey's level (must be a maturity thing-but don't tell Jenna I said that, haha) and engage Zoey.  Zoey's been able to laugh and play, which an adult just would not be able to do.  She's been able to get her to do things that I could not.  Because of that, Jenna was rewarded with the first kiss, first hug, first words-which she earned.  I know that Sam and Megs will do well with Zoey-they are as goofy as Jenna.

Again-I feel like I am rambling.  Here are the highlights from today:

The hot pot.  An essential for Chinese travel.  All of our rooms have had one-we can't drink the water out of our tap.  We can boil our water to drink when we run out of the bottles.  And make tea.  And instant coffee.  And NOODLES.  To pay it homage, I needed to include a picture of it on my Blog.  We might have starved and died from dysentery by now were it not for this pot.  Seriously.  (Well-the kids would have starved.  We are keeping Ramen Noodles, Inc. in business here in China.)

View from the front seat of the cab on the way to Shamian Island.  I kinda liked this view...if only there were a sound-proof screen.  Zoey was loud-saying that sentence that sounds like "Ha gushy jello" over and over-she had us all in stitches, even the driver.

We all liked this sign-no honking horns.  The trumpet, that is.

Lots of interesting things to see on Shamian Island.

My vote for the sign of the day. 

Tempting...

They have statues of this kind all over the island in random places.

I swear the minute I turn the camera off she is giving me the biggest smile ever.  Every time.  Stinker.

Attracting attention with the locals.

Buggy races.

Who would have thought that Meghan and Jenna were trendsetters-their love for buying a super cheap pair of readers and having me punch out the lenses - has made its way here.  There are NO LENSES in this pair of glasses.

These shoes are for real.  I thought about buying a pair... they would add about 6 inches on to my 5'2" build.  I asked around but no one had them in a flip flop style. 

Hmmm.... poking fun at the Americans adopting the babies? 

That is Lucy's Bar and Grill behind us-where we ate lunch.  I had a burger and fries.  Not quite like home, but close enough. 

No clue what they were doing, but they were funny to watch.

In the park there were lots of people-playing soccer, hacky sack, badminton, tai chi, dance lessons and just sitting around watching others. 

Working on "cheese"---she can say the word, we're working on the meaning. 

Jenna gave this place two thumbs up (or maybe just a thumb and a half).  (I think Jenna and I are going to need  a break from each other when we get back home.  lol)

Monkey girl.

Harry Potter VIII?

Not sure what standard they were using, but maybe there is just one excellent toilet.  I must have used a different one.  

At Jordon's, we found, and purchased, the most annoying toy in all of China.  Trust me on this.  It has no volume control.  But she LOVES it.  It might make its way into our checked luggage tomorrow.  I am just sayin'...

Jenna breaking out into dance when she heard Bruno Mars' "It Will Rain" on the radio...this one is for Megs.

For all of you coming to Guangzhou-Jordon did not shut down, but he has downsized.  He found us in the park and asked how we were (we really didn't know him until today).  Very friendly guy-I finished off all of my souvenir shopping with him-he had a decent selection and things were very reasonably priced.  He loves the Americans and is wonderful.  He drew a free calligraphy of Zoey's American name-with the Chinese meaning written on it.  The entrance is down the street from Lucy's-find him and give him your support.  Everything was great, except for that annoying sheep/goat phone...grrr.

Off to pack.  Will check in tomorrow after we leave China.  Will be home soon...