We finally got to sleep in late on the 20th... although it was the first time in my life that I considered 7:30am "sleeping in late," to be honest. Happily for us all, the Pipsqueak woke up in a good mood... in fact, she woke up in a GREAT mood! Once we got past the "I just woke up so leavemealone" stage that she shares with her uncle (genetics via osmosis, as Dad would say), she was all giggles and smiles and general fun goofiness.
Looking around as I demolished yet another plate of food (Dude, buffets are dangerous!) something that had been marinating in my hindbrain popped to the forefront. Seeing all the little Chinese kids (almost exclusively girls) and almost exclusively Caucasian, English-speaking adults, I reached two simultaneous decisions: we were definitely in the right place, and any aliens landing at a White Swan breakfast would return home convinced humans are born Asian and slowly morph into Caucasians as they aged.
Lucy had arranged for our papers to be reviewed by the U.S. Cosulate without us having to be there; we just needed to be in our rooms between 11:00am and Noon so she could reach us in case there were issues. Deciding it was best to just hang out at the hotel, AJ & I took the Pipsqueak on a tour of the miniature Rodeo Drive in the White Swan's basement... where I quickly decided it was best to admire the wares but that I'd better stop translating the price tags into U.S. Dollars or my wallet would run screaming from the building without me. (We also thought it was funny that the "florist" sold high-end jewelry, with nary a plant in sight.)
We finished off with a leisurely stroll around the pond & waterfall in the lobby, where I used my zoom lens to avoid getting too close to the koi -- they were so large (and so vigorously going for the food that one particularly brave woman was handing to them) that I didn't want to get in range... you know, just in case they were still hungry... After a couple of photo ops, the Pipsqueak's batteries were obviously running low, and it was time to head back upstairs.
We found our room being cleaned so we just hung out in the hall as the cleaning staff rushed to get out of our way. I noticed a glassed-in balcony at the end of the hallway and headed over to take in the view. The "balcony" turned out to be the fire escape, and after a quick glance AJ announced she'd probably burn to death or have to be carried down; the "ladder" was just U-shaped meta bars set in the wall, out in the open air, with small, unlabeled & unsecured holds in the floor of each balcony allowing passage (for very thin people only) from one floor to the next. It looked like the holes alternated sides every couple of floors to avoid anyone punching a one-way ticket 30 stories straight down... but I didn't find it necessary to get close enough to be sure.
The balcony did provide me with a great view of the Pearl River and part of the city. The river was busy with traffic -- mainly barges carrying what looked like either fill dirt or ore, and I even caught a glimpse of yet another fashion photshoot on the hotel grounds below. There was a ferry nearby, and we watched several crowds of passengers disembarking & boarding (complete with bikes, motorbikes, and bundles that were sometimes larger than the person carrying them).
By now the Pipsqueak was compeltely peekaboo'd out and was actually quietly snoring, and we were just discussing maybe goint to one of the other families' rooms to borrow their bathrom when we were smilingly motioned into our room. We settled down to await news from the Consulate, making good use of the forced downtime. Miri had a nice longevity nap, AJ took care of various odds & ends of packing and paperwork... and Yours Truly gave up on his socks ever air drying and stood in the bathroom slowly drying them one by one with the hair dryer. (Note to self: do not wait until you only have one clean pair of socks before washing your laundry!)
I'm not 100% sure, but I think this was the day we also tried using as aspirator bulb to clear the Pipsqueak's perenially-clogged nose a bit. The result was us learning that what Miri lacked in stature, she made up for in feistiness -- with both of us trying to hold her still, AJ had no success at all and I managed to get one small schlurp of goop out of her nose before she almost knocked the aspirator bulb out of my hand. We looked at each other and decided then & there that a sniffly nose wasn't all that bad after all... and I laughingly remembered only marginally better results with a similar implement when AJ was the Pipsqueak's age. What goes around, comes around!
The phone rang just after 11:30 and AJ dove to pick it up halfway through the 2nd ring. It was Lucy: all was well, the paperwork had been successfully delivered to & reviewed by Consulate staff, and -- five years after she filled out the first page of her first adoption form -- the U.S. governement now officially recognized her and Miri as mother and daughter. We'd already been feeling like a family, but now both Chinese and American law said we were family. It was almost an anticlimax after all the waiting, worry, concerns, fears, preparations... but that one phone call put it all in the past once and for all.
We were dropped off near one of the major pedestrians-only shopping streets, and immediately got a clear view of how the city was preparing for the upcoming Pan-Asian Games: amost every square inch of every building we covered in bamboo scaffolding & green plastic netting so crews could get everything fixed & spiffed up for the big show. Although we appreciated the extra shade this provided as we explored, it would've been nice to see more of the actual signage & architecture. There was also some statuary on the street depicting the types of vendors that would have been encountered in a marketplace half a century earlier -- my favorite was the tea vendor.
There was a strange tune in the air, a not-quite-random series of notes played on a flute that provided counterpoint to the pop music blaring from many of the large fashion stores we passed. The source came into sight a few minutes later: it was a man wearing a large chicken! He seemed especially popular with young kids, who'd go running up (sometimes with an adult), carry out some kind of transaction, then walk off happily chewing on something while the guy whipped out a small reed flute to resum playing his crazy tune 'til the next customer walked up. I figured he was selling eggs, or chicken wings, or maybe candy... but Lucy told us he was selling olives. (Welcome to China, Dude!) No one could explain the connection between chickens and olives... but it was interesting to see!
We reached the end of the pedestrian street and were preparing to play Frogger cross a busy road into the neighborhood of the old-style animal/pet and traditional medicine markets when I noticed a stone plaque set into a nearby wall listing all the awards this particular shopping street had won from the local authorities over the years. I liked the fact that it was considered "the nation's civilized shopping street," but wasn't sure how I felt about someone feeling it necessary to give it two awards for being a leading "counterfeit-free" shopping area...
We were soon in the old neighborhood I had been photographing from our hotel room, navigating a narrow street jammed with cafe umbrellas and sidewalk stands: the old animal market. Despite the heavy crowds (and occasional vehicle bulling its way through them) there was no clear division between building, sidewalk, and roadway; merchandise started on the shelves inside the small stores an continued in a random collection of bins, bags, and buckets clear out to the curb and beyond. There were small animals of every description everywhere, ranging from billiant tropical fish in plastic bins on the ground to puppies and kittens (obviously uncomfortable in the heat) in small cages sometimes stacked six high. Lucy reassured us -- and we chose to believe her -- that nowadays all these animals were being sold as pets and not as food. (Back in Guilin, Lisa told us of an old practice that still continues in some areas in which families raise dogs for a year or two and then exchange them at holidays to be used for special dinners. This led to a few nervous jokes among the group about how to react if you gave your neighbor a Great Dane and they gave you a Chihuahua, but we generally avoided talking or thinking about the subject.)
(If the cage of kittens in the gallery above looks scary, rest reassured that about two minutes after I took that photo they were all awake and mewing at me -- probably hotter than was healthy, but looking & sounding strong.)
I've always liked older buildings (and wondered what they would say if we could hear them talk), so I took a few photos of a cityscape that has since disappeared completely.
There was no clear division, but the animal shops were slowly replaced by stores literally overflowing with all kinds of dried herbs, fungi, and anima parts; we had entered the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) market. Lucy explained that people who preferred traditional cures over Western medicine (or who felt the latter was not helping them) would come to markets like this to seek out a quality of goods that matched the seriousness of their condition (often starting with cheaper, lower-quality ingredients and working their way up the scale in price & quality as needed). They would consult with shopkeepers about the proper ingredients for their particular malady, which either would be mixed for them on the spot or that they would take home and prepare themselves. (Many of the better TCM shops also sold food processors to aid in the in-home preparation of traditional mixes & brews.)
The most common sight were large burlap or plastic bags of dried fungi, herbs, seeds, or tree bark... but almost every store had "lizard on a stick" available along with deer sinew, turtle shells, assorted sea life, and assorted dried of terrestrial animals' anatomy -- all dried for easy grinding. I steeled myself for some unpleasant or strange odors, but for the most part was plesantly surprised by the scents. (For the most part, definitely not always.)
The deeper we went into the market, the more exotic the goods became: batches of dried snakes, boxloads of dried deer legs, bags of dried insects. One store seemed intent on proving their products were fresh, because there were two huge plastic basins filled with ginormous live black scorpions, all intent on climbing out to wreak havoc upon the several men who sat nearby, nonchalantly knocking the most adventurous of the arachnids back into the clicking, writhing mass in the basin. Somehow I couldn't picture finding any of these at my local CVS or Giant Pharmacy back home... and was glad for the excellent zoom lens on my camera because, fascinating as the sight was, I found it best enjoyed at a distance.
An expanse of fresh turtle shells drying in the sun marked the end of the TCM market and we spent a few difficult moments navigating the stairs of the pedestrian bridge that would let us cross back onto Shamian Island. (We had plenty of practice & had gotten pretty good getting strollers up & down China's ubiquitous stairways with the kiddos still riding inside, but it never actually got easy.)
There was one jarring sight on the bridge: on one end, sitting quietly against the wall, sat a little girl obviously begging. We took our cue from Lucy & other pedestrians and walked past without stopping, and as we navigated down the steps to street level Lucy explained that criminal gangs would often have one or two little children act as beggars for them. She was positive there were a couple of older teens or adults nearby to keep an eye on the girl, both to protect her and to ensure she didn't abscond with any of the cash she received. It was a small but unpleasant taste of some of the realities of daily life in a big city like Guangzhou, and put that awards plaque a few blocks away into perspective.
Back "home" in the relative quiet of Shamian Island we encountered several more fashion shoots, including one with a particularly handsome-looking bridal "couple" and another with a young woman wearing six-inch-tall heels balancing on the three-inch-wide wall around one of the planters. Just another day our & about in China...!
Since we hadn't spent any money in the markets we had just come from (the animals could not come home with us and the "medicines" would have been confiscated at U.S. Customs), we decided it was time to take advantage of Shamian's adoption ecosystem of shops. Although several had already disappeared since the S and B families had last been there, all we had to do to find the remaining stores was walk down the side streets. usually tehre would be a cool breeze coming from an air-conditoned shop with its doors open, or there would be a small bunch of women of various ages sitting by a doorway smiling at us and calling out, "Hello!" (and sometimes, "Hello! Best prices here! Hello!").
We wandered in & out of several stores as a group, and then split up for further shopping. Sometimes I browsed along with AJ and sometimes I just sweatily hung around outside the smaller shops while she perused the shelves. After a while, AJ & I headed back to Jordon's to inquire about more calligraphy work -- and to check his pricing on suitcases, since the Pipsqueak was flying home on her own individual ticket, which entited her to a full adult share of baggage... which we intended to take full advantage of.
Jordon turned out to be a very patient man; an American family shopping near us had a couple of kids who couldn't keep still or keep their hands off the merchandise, but even when one of them bounced a ball across one room and knocked a whole bunch of stuff off the shelves Jordon just told the parents not to worry, then quietly went about his business after cleaning up behind the departing kids. We wanted some calligraphy work done, and he refused to charge us for some of it and quoted an excellent price on the rest with the promise it would be ready for pickup on the 22nd -- our last full day in China.
(The last shocked me for a moment; we were now in a situation where we had a deadline after which we would no longer be in the country. Had we already been in China that long already?!?)
After returning to the White Swan, we all went back to the pool (and Miri had a wonderful time blowing bubbles and splashing Mommy with me). We also had our first experience with "negative vibes" we'd gotten from anyone during our time in-country... from a Western tourist sitting nearby, glaring at the girls for no reason but with several emtpy beer cans close at hand. We just ignored the guy and paraded back inside, talking about the irony.
PRESENT-DAY MEMORY CORRECTION: I mentioned the above episode in my entry about our first time swimming at the White Swan, but after reviewing several different records I realized it happened on this afternoon, not the day we arrived there. That's what happens when memories swirl around & mix in one's mind for a decade... and exactly why I've kept such copious notes & records of the trip.
We still heard the siren call of souvenirs, so we stopped at "A Home of Love" near the hotel for a little late shopping. The Pipsqueak was gathering her usual collection of coos & smiles when the young woman who ran the store asked if she could hold her. AJ hesitated a moment, but needed both hands to check some dresses she wanted to take home for when Miri was older... and that's how the lovely Vicky came to be in our family album. Aside from our immediate group and Lisa (none of whom counted as "strangers" by then), she was the only stranger to hold my niece during the entire trip and for about ten minutes she & the Pipsqueak had a mutual admiration society going. (Vicky had me promise to send her some of the photos.)
We were reassured when the Pipsqueak decided Vicky had held her long enough and she made it clear that she wanted AJ to be holding her right now, thankyouverymuch. That was a sign of attachment that some families had to work very hard to achieve -- with success sometimes taking months. (Please note that we do not think we did a better job of it than other families! It all comes down to how well & how quicklly the personality, background, and experiences of an adoptee allow them to bond with their new adoptive parents... and we managed to roll a really good number in that gamble.)
With our shopping urges satisfied and our energy running out, we returned to the White Swan -- where, of course, the Pipsqueak recharged almost immediately. She was in a good mood so we had a nice, long Skype session with our folks. Miri kept grabbing for the laptop, but she also really interacted with her new Grandma & Grandpa this time, even studying their faces the way I often saw her studying ours. (Of course, our folks absolutely ate this up!)
Miri started dozing off a little, so AJ decided to grab a quick shower. She got the little one situated in the middle of the bed and, while I literally kept at least one eye on the Pipsqueak nonstop (she was not going to teleport off that bed again!), she headed into the bathroom to take a shower.
Well, that was her plan. Maybe three minutes after I heard the shower come on, Miri woke up, fussed for a moment, then took a good look around the room. She focused on me for a moment, looked arouond again, realized Mommy was not there... and begain to WAIL. I remember telling her she could be heard on the street 25 stories down as I tried every trick I could think of to calm her down, but she just kept going. In the shower, AJ heard the ruckus through the closed door and broke a couple of world speed records getting just dry enough to pick up what most passers-by would by then have labelled the World's Least Happy Child. (Dude, this kid's got lungs...!)
Miri calmed down quickly, and some cuddling & a fresh bottle had her back in a happy and sleepy mood just a few minutes later. We almost messed it all up by trying to put her in that crib (definitely a no go) but a short time later mother & daughter were quietly snoring next to each other in bed. We never quite figured out the cause of the drama, but I've wondered if it had something to do with being held by yet another new person and then a short time later not being able to see the most familiar face anywhere... It was easy to forget that we'd been yanking the carpet out from under these kids every few days for two weeks, including taking them away from absolutely everyone they had ever known. The fact that AJ was her one real go-to person was reassuring, but we obviously had a lot to learn in the coming years.
No comments:
Post a Comment