Monday, April 2, 2007

Today was our first full day in Guangzhou after arriving very late last night. And today is our only full day in Guangzhou without Ainsley, because tomorrow is “gotcha day” when we go to get her! From that point on, she will be with us forever! Wow!

This morning we were greeted with a rainy and stormy day. Showers and storms were expected all day with a high of 71 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather is okay for now since we just wanted to focus primarily on getting some rest today. So, the rain and thunder made for a nice background for a nap.

Even so, we did also need to venture out today to familiarize ourselves with the area so we know how to get around once the many adoption-related appointments begin tomorrow. We also needed to go exchange some US currency for Chinese Yuan (RMB) and do some shopping for a few more supplies that we will need for Ainsley. Have I mentioned that we get her TOMORROW!?!? (Thankfully, the weather will be better tomorrow - partly sunny and 63 degrees with no rain. Then the weather continues to be decent for the next few days through Sunday with temps in the low- to mid-70s.)

To start our day today, we got up around 8am and had a nice breakfast at the hotel. Our hotel is nice. We are staying in two business suites that are right next to each other. They are extremely spacious with lots of great amenities. Each suite has two full bathrooms, a large sitting area, a large master bedroom area, a computer with free high speed Internet access, a nice crib (in David’s room), lots of closet and storage space, and much more! The room set-up and amenities are no small matter. The large space will be very conducive to having the two “traveling grandmas” around in one of the suites to hang out and help out, while also providing the needed space to let Ainsley sleep and take naps (let’s hope!) while the “grown-ups” are in the other part of the suite hanging out. So, we are very pleased with the hotel – The Guangdong Victory Hotel.

After breakfast, we came up to David’s suite and the “traveling grandmas” unpacked Ainsley's suitcase that we brought, putting away her clothes, toys, the many supplies (bottles, Cheerios, formula, etc.), and preparing my diaper bag for tomorrow (Ainsley’s suitcase had more in it than mine!). There is a lot to do between now and tomorrow when Ainsley joins David in The Victory Hotel for the next two weeks…and then on to Pittsburgh, PA to be with Shannon, Griffin, and lots of family and friends! But even though there was a lot to do, we all decided to take naps in this rainy weather before we ventured out.

The rain finally subsided off and on after unpacking Ainsley’s suitcase and taking a quick nap, so we ventured out to accomplish some key objectives for the day:

• David used his international cell phone to call Shiyan, the adoption coordinator in China who is working with us to coordinate all of the many legal and logistical matters involved in finalizing the adoption here in China. He confirmed the details about tomorrow, April 3, 2007, when we will get Ainsley! More details will follow later. For now, we will simply note that we will be meeting at the White Swan Hotel at 12pm tomorrow to take our transportation to the location where we will receive Ainsley at 2pm;

• We walked around the area near the hotel just a little bit to get our bearings (We will do more of this in the morning when the weather should be nicer. For now, we at least figured out how to walk from our hotel to the White Swan Hotel where all of our adoption-related meetings will take place with Shiyan and the other adoptive family’s in our agency’s group and where we will meet prior to going to various appointments);

• We had lunch at a Thai restaurant near the hotel;

• We exchanged some US currency for Chinese Yuan (RMB) at a local Chinese bank (took forever!);

• We took a taxi to a large shopping center that was supposed to be like Wal-Mart (there actually is no Wal-Mart in Guangzhou despite some reports that there was), but this area called Carrefour was more like a mall. It was not really like Wal-Mart at all. So, we really did not find much of what we needed, although it was interesting trying to speak a mix of Mandarin and English with various sales ladies to get what little we did find! We will ask for Shiyan’s help tomorrow to find a better place to get the kinds of things we need (e.g., diapers, baby wipes, shoes for Ainsley, etc.); and

• We rested some more! (I have a feeling we are going to need the rest!)

Tomorrow morning, Shiyan will call David on his cell phone to arrange to meet to review some logistics prior to getting Ainsley at 2pm!!! Amazing! It is hard to believe it is finally happening. We are experiencing it in person - live and in the flesh - and we still can hardly believe it! We wish you all could be here to get an even more real sense of what is about to happen. David has his diaper bag packed with all the necessary baby/toddler paraphernalia, so it is getting more and more real!!

What a long journey to get here, and yet we know the journey really just begins tomorrow when David takes Ainsley in his arms and holds her for the first time! Wow! Until then…