Visa Problems

We are having problems today with our visa application. We have to try to settle something in Chicago in order to be able to leave. Unfortunately, it is about 10:00 p.m. in Chicago right now and we can't contact anyone until later tonight here. Pray that this gets settled, otherwise our stay will be extended. I will post more tomorrow.

Ang, Brian, & Gabe

Another day....

This is going to be a quick one. We are getting ready to go back to Shaiman Island for some shopping today. We went to the Pearl Market yesterday and got some things very cheap. You wouldn't believe all of the dozens of jewelry stores. It is a wonder that they can all stay open. We went to an Italian restaurant last night on the island, the chef was actually from Italy. It was a nice change from Chinese or McDonalds. I ordered gnocchi and Gabe ate about 1/3 of my meal. He loved them! We completed the visa paperwork today, so that is going well. As soon as we take our oath at the consulate on Wednesday, we will be catching the train for Hong Kong. Guangzhou has been the best of all the cities we have seen yet, but we are still really anxious to leave. This is a long time to be away from home. Fortunately, we are meeting a lot of great people. Gabe already has a girlfriend named Harbour. I will have Brian attach that picture tomorrow. They play together very well. Not much to report, but I will have more tomorrow. Love to all! We still are blocked from the blog, so keep the emails coming to ancal1976@yahoo.com. We love to hear from home!


Brian, Ang, and Gabe

Second day in Guangzhou

I have to type this fast, as time really is money in Guangzhou. We went from having the internet in our room for 20 Yuan a day (around $3) to having to pay 50 yuan for 15 minutes. I guess that is the price you pay when you go from chickens running in the sidewalks to having a Maserati showroom in your lobby. Things are going well. We are going to a Buddist temple today and Gabe will get a blessing from a monk. (We will take all of the blessings we can get!) Then we will go to the Pearl Market. Miao, one of the Mandarin teachers who taught in the district, stopped by with her husband and her friend last night. It was SO nice to see a familiar face. One of the other Mandarin teachers who taught at Von Steuben, Sun Junfang, has called us several times to check on us. Miao was able to tell us some good places to eat and shop. They also gave us much information regarding things to do in Hong Kong. She wanted to hold Gabe, but hasn't had much experience holding babies. She was worried she was going to hurt him and said he felt like a "soft meatball" which is a name that has now become a running joke. Speaking of names, Gabe is really starting to respond to his name. His Chinese name is Jian and they called him Jin Jin at the orphanage. We started off called him Jin Jin and then we went to Jin Jin Gabe. I think now he responds to Gabe as well as anything else.

We had the medical exam yesterday and we are very pleased to say that we have put a little more than 2 pounds on him. This kid is a great eater. I really think that he wasn't getting enough just getting rice cereal, formula and a little white rice everyday at the orphanage. He is really taking to foods and hopefully, we will get him off the formula completely when we get back home.

Tomorrow we complete all of the paperwork for his visa. Once we have that, our business in GZ will be complete. Until then, there is a very large, beautiful park across the street and many things to do here. We will be relaxing and waiting for the next leg of our trip. I am so excited that we will get to be home at the end of the week. We will write more tomorrow.

Brian, Ang, and Gabe

ps:
Since we are still not able to access our blog, anyone can email us at ancal1976@yahoo.com. We should be able to ready the blog in Hong Kong, but we would love to hear from people in the mean time. Thanks!

First day in Guangzhou

We made it to Guangzhou and we are so happy to be here. We are now one step closer to coming home. GZ is MUCH nicer, cleaner, better, than Nanchang. Our hotel is incredible. There is a Lexus and another luxury car show room in the hotel. It is a completely different world than Nanchang. Not to mention, there is a Starbucks right next door! Real coffee!!!! People speak much more English here and the city is very westernized. Not to mention, the driving is civilized. I need for everyone to get an idea of the driving in Nanchang. The city has over 4 million people and I only saw 2 stop lights. There are more bikes or scooters on the road than cars and nobody uses a crosswalk. Lanes are optional and using the other lane is not just for passing, it is for driving when no other cars are coming at you. So cars will just drive in the opposite lane and when a bus or car starts coming at you, you just squeeze back in the same going that directions. Signal use is rare and sidewalk use for scooters is apparently acceptable. So basically, it is a free for all of pedestrians, scooters, bikes, and automobiles and there isn't a seat belt or child restraint to be found. It is a complete nightmare. We only saw one accident and it was between two scooters. They were arguing in the street and we thought they were going to break out kung fu fighting. If I never go back to Nanchang or Jiangxi province again, that will be ok.
We completed the medical exam today and he got his picture for his visa. We got in late last night and he missed his morning nap today, so I am sure we will have a less than pleasant afternoon and evening. I am hoping to meet my friend Miao (one of the District 150 Mandarin teachers) and her family, as they are visiting GZ as well. We plan to take Gabe to the zoo/aquarium tomorrow. It was so nice to be reunited with our original big group today. The kids are all great. I am really glad that our entire group has special needs kids. We have really bonded with some of these people. It has been quite an experience and it is great to have others to go through it with.

I gotta run. We have to figure out what our adventure will be for today. We don't have a computer in our room at this hotel, so we may not be able to post as often. We will do the best we can. It is so nice to still be able to feel connected from so far away. Keep the prayers coming!

Brian, Ang and Gabe

Last day in Nanchang

Disclaimer: We have had to use a portable keyboard, which is really nice, however it is very fickle. It will miss keys and sometimes jump to other lines in your text. If is looks like we are losing our English skills, it is probably just this keyboard. If my middle school English teacher is reading this, I know I should be proofing, but with a sleeping baby, time is money.Today, we will get Gabe's passport and the rest of the paperwork here. We fly to Guangzhou (thank goodness) this evening. GZ is more westernized, but not as much as Beijing. I am just praying for a cup of coffee that has been brewed. Even Gabe is getting bored of this room. It is hard to get any kind of schedule or routine when we are all on top of each other like this. My bed (we are living like Lucy and Desi here) is pushed against a wall and we line it with pillows. This has become the play area. It was a huge upgrade from a crib, but I think Gabe has outgrown it. He can see himself in the mirror at the end of the bed and it has become his favorite thing. This kid cracks himself up. As soon as we hit the mirror, it starts with the tongue and it goes from there. (Dad- kind of like me with the microwave...remember???) We went to the People's Park yesterday, which was a lot like Central Park in NYC. It was raining, which was a bummer. I was trying to stay under trees so we would stay dry. Brian went off to take some pictures and I was by myself and about 10 Chinese people gathered around me, which has happened often. They were making over Gabe and trying to ask me questions, which I couldn't understand. The guide came over and was talking to them. She was telling me some of what they were saying, which proved my theory about the looks we were getting. They mentioned that there are so many girls to be adopted out in the country, which translates to, "why are you taking one of our boys?" We have had several younger people (always female) stop us and tell us that he is lucky. The older people and men give us dirty looks. It ticks me off, but I try to be polite, which is not something that I see much of here. People are very pushy and they cut in line and they are down right rude. The good news is that when the Chinese people approach us and they want to pinch Gabe's cheeks or play with him, he usually reaches for us. I think he is really favoring us to everyone at this point, which is awesome. We won't leave the hotel today until around 3 and the word on the street is that they have a Pizza Hut. Another American told us that the salad bar stinks, but the pizza is as good or better than ours at home. I am so excited to go today. I miss pizza, cheddar cheese, and real coffee the most! We found oreos here, but they taste a little off. Brian did get some food poisoning, but it wasn't from the 1000 year old eggs. He got sick right before he was going to try one. He is finally feeling better. We took Gabe to the playroom last night and there were many other families there. He is the only boy in the group we are with now. It was funny to see the difference between little boys and little girls. The girls were just sitting quietly on their parent's laps watching everything and Gabe is squealing and tearing around in his saucer, while Brian and I are on the floor and chasing after him. I thought he would be this little timid thing, but he is all boy. I think he may even give my nephew Dylan a run for his money. All of the people familar with his heart condition tell us that these kids will self regulate because they tire quickly. We are still trying to set some limits on him, but that is really hard with a toddler. Last night, Brian and I sat on the floor and would help him walk between the two of us. He can get a couple steps in. I really think he will be walking by the time we get home. He thinks it is a blast. This has been a long one, but I am up in the middle of the night and can't sleep. I think I am going to start packing. I better go check on Gabe. I am just as paranoid a mother as I ever thought I would be! We will post more tomorrow.

Brian, Ang and Gabe

A Few More Pics

Going well

Things are still going well here. Gabe is doing great. We are very lucky because many of the other families are not having it so easy. One family that we have spent quite a bit of time with is really struggling. Their daughter is 4 and lived in a foster home. She will often not allow her parents to go near her or touch her. The guides have a hard time understanding what she wants because she speaks a different dialect. They finally figured out yesterday and she keeps repeating that she wants her foster grandmother. It is really sad because this family is trying so hard. Even some of the kids closer to Gabe's age are grieving as well. The parents are all discussing at breakfast how little sleep they have been getting and I feel bad. I won't tell them that Gabe sleeps about 10 - 11 hours at night and about 1-2 hours each of his two naps. We are really lucky because Gabe really is a good little guy. We took him to Walmart again yesterday and I bent down and put my face in his and he grabbed it with both hands and gave me a kiss. You guys are just going to love him when you meet him. His favorite thing is a mirror. As soon as he sees one, his tongue immediately sticks out. (Maria - you will love that) He realy loves to look at himself in the mirror, it is pretty funny. We are getting ready to go to a people's park today. This is where we will likely see people practicing Tai Chi and playing chess in the park. Then we will go to do a little shopping. Tomorrow, we fly to Guangzhou and we are really looking forward to it. It is supposed to be more westernized and we are dying for a cup of decent coffee. they serve burned instant coffee here. Brian can't even choke it down, so you know it is bad. Gotta run, we will post again tomorrow.

LoveBrian, Angela and Gabe