Good grief, what is that noise? Oh yeah, it’s the alarm we set 6 hours ago. I crawled out of bed and got ready first and while Julie was getting ready I was checking out Google Maps to see what was in the area. Strangely enough, Google apps and social media work here in Guangzhou on the hotel’s wifi. I am sure our data plan will be happy about that! We woke Blaize and went down to breakfast. The buffet here was familiar from 8 years ago but different enough that we went in the wrong door. It is a much bigger spread than Xi’an’s and we enjoyed some different food for a change.
At 9AM we were downstairs and back on a bus to go get the medical exam. When we were here last, our son needed 3 shots and a TB test and we were hoping we didn’t have a repeat this time around. It was a 20 minute drive to the building for the exam, which was close to the Central Business District of Guangzhou. I didn’t go last time so it was neat to see the skyscrapers and modern glass and steel buildings. The medical checks all went well and in just over an hour we were all back on the bus. Best news of the day, Blaize didn’t need any shots! We saw quite a few other adoptive families there and passed some more on the way in. They made it as fast and efficient as could be.
Our next stop was Walmart for supplies. We had stocked up earlier in the trip so we were only looking for a baby carrier like we saw a few people in Xi’an with. Luckily they had one and I think at
least two of the other families bought one as well. We also picked up new squeaky shoes and a new pair for his Consular appointment. The Walmart experience here is different than what you think of back home. The store was super clean, and we didn’t see any of the “People of Walmart” - LOL. I wonder if we all showed up on a Chinese version of that site. They had an interesting selection of live fish and seafood, chicken feet and other things we don’t normally find back home. This Walmart was also in a large mall and not like a strip mall but like a department store mall.
After Walmart, we still had some time to kill before we needed to be back on the bus, so we swung by a Starbucks. An Americano was just what we needed for a shot of caffeine and Julie enjoyed a Green Tea frappuccino. We walked back to the bus and looked at some restaurants nearby - “Bear and Crawfish” stuck out as an interesting combination. I looked but I didn’t see panda, polar or brown bear on the menu. They must have no laws about false advertising here - haha. Once everyone else was on the bus, we headed to the hotel. The only thing left on the docket for today is a paperwork party where we assemble all of the documents we need for the US visa. We went to the room, collected our dirty laundry and I went down to the meeting room for the paperwork. It didn’t take long and we were done. I stopped by a 7-11 and picked up milk tea and water and went to the room. We watched TV, worked on yesterday and today’s blog and kept Blaize entertained.
While he napped I found a local food delivery service that would come to the hotel so we planned and ordered some Indian for dinner. It was delicious. I sort of feel bad about missing out on Chinese food, but I think Julie said it best that China is a “Vegan nightmare.” I’m not a vegan but even when you order vegetables there is a good chance you’ll have oyster sauce, some sort of animal broth or other “ingredient” that doesn’t work for her. It’s a real challenge to put it mildly. Once Blaize woke up, we walked down to 7-11 to pickup some noodles and peaches for him to eat. It’s been raining for four hours and going much further seemed like asking for trouble. He’s enjoying the food and we’re all relaxing in the room. Tomorrow will be a slower day as we have a group photo in the morning and then we’re passing on the shopping tour. Nothing else is scheduled and it will be nice to truly relax and not have a schedule to follow. The only other time we’ll need to be anywhere at a specific time is in our room at 2PM so we can get our clean laundry back. Sounds nice to me!
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