Guangzhou

 

We made it safely to Guangzhou.  Our luck is consistent, if anything, as our flight was delayed by two hours.  Two hours before we were to leave Chengdu, the sun came out!!  Aleah finally got to see her blue sky, but it was on the way to the airport!

It is going to be 92 degrees tomorrow here, and humid, if not raining!  We are staying at the Victory, as the White Swan is being remodeled.  Tomorrow we have to be up early, as Ava will be taken to a clinic for a medical exam and vaccinations.  If she were under ten years old, we could defer that until we get to the States, but over age ten you have no choice, per our new guide, who we call John. 

John is going to be great, I can tell.  He keeps Ava in the center of all conversations, where she belongs.  In the amount of time it took us to get from the airport to the hotel, he has already told me many things I didn't know about Ava.  She likes hot Cantonese food.  She sometimes gets carsick.  She had to acclimate herself to our using air conditioning in the hotel, as she is not used to that.  She had to use the rest room in the airport and didn't know how to tell us, so John gave her a word to use.  She once went to Shanghai on a plane for an orphanage event.

The girls had hot spicy noodles in the Chengdu airport for lunch.  They served dinner (supper) on the plane.  When Aleah didn't hear the stewardess offer her dinner choices, Ava told her in English "noodles or rice?"  (Of course, what else would they serve on China Southern?) lol

Ava hasn't always known what to make of Aleah.  Sometimes she looks at me as if she is waiting for me to get Aleah back in line, but as anyone knows who knows Aleah, Aleah is irrepressible!  And I wouldn't change her if I could!!  She must have decided if you can't beat them, join them, because tonight I have two giggly girls on my hands . . .

It started with our coming into the hotel room to find a baby crib in the corner. (The same thing happened when I came to adopt Aleah).  Aleah thought that was a riot and she told Ava that was her bed and she would have to sleep in it.  Ava pretended to measure to see if she would fit.  The next thing you know, they're all over the room, pushing and shoving each other, acting silly and giggling like two best friends at a slumber party.  And to think, I volunteered for this!!!

We are going to go to bed early to get an early start tomorrow.  Just wanted everyone to know we made it safely to our final destination.  It is here that Ava will have her medical exam, vaccinations, TB test, have an appointment with the U.S. Consulate, and obtain her Visa, after which we will start our long flight back to the U.S.

There are sixteen million people here, per our new guide!!  What a tremendous change for Ava to live in a rural area half a world away!  Keep those prayers coming . . .

Laura