I will start by saying, I'm sorry to my sweet hubby. He lectured me on my restaurant choices a few days ago and I swore we were going to venture out and eat the Chinese food. We tried....we really did. But gosh darn it!! When the menus have whole ducks with the heads still on, along with squid on a stick, we just couldn't do it! We sure did enjoy the Chinese version of Pizza Hut and McDonalds however. Pretty darn close to the American versions, except they offer lots of seafood alternatives. Here you go, sweet hubby. Shake your head in disappointment.....
A few days ago, we organized a shopping trip with a lady named Ann. She is very popular in the adoption world because you give her a list of what you want and she takes you to her connections in the wholesale markets. You end up spending next to nothing and get a whole lot. Two items you can get here in China for really cheap are jade and pearls. We started by meeting up with our jade dealer. This is his store....
I know, right? It's a street corner. Lower overhead that way..... he brought a few boxes filled with different jade necklaces, bracelets, etc and we just paid him on the street corner. They swear it's real jade, and the adoption community who have bought in the past have sworn it's real jade, but you better believe I'm going to get it checked out once we are back in the states. It was cheaper than buying an ice cream cone! You should have seen my step mom....she had so much jade draped around her neck and wrists, we've dubbed her the Crazy Jade Lady. Here's Ann, our shopper, with the headless Jade dealer. I did it this way (no identification) so he wouldn't get knocked off by the Chinese police for his street corner dealings. Americans everywhere thank you Jade man.
Next, we went to the Pearl Market. Real pearls are also very inexpensive here so I bought pearl bracelets for my kids when they get married (someday far far away when they're 40). Each bracelet was $16. That's $16 for real pearls, people! Unfortunately, I only had enough money for 4 bracelets though. That means one of my kids is going to have to stay single.....
We bought all the kids a traditional Chinese dress (only cost $2.50 each) and my step-mom decided she wanted to buy one for herself. Ann, our shopping lady, looked at her and said "You have HUGE breasts"!!! It is true....if you ever want to feel good about your upper body proportions, go to China. The women are beautiful, but they are flat as pancakes. Even I feel well-endowed. They did manage to find her a dress, however, and we were all very happy. The funny thing is....at least two other women during our shopping commented on my step-mom's upper body. Several other people have commented on how well she's aging. I think she's getting a big head....here's Sophia in her dress. I won't post a pic of my step-mom in her dress....wouldn't want everyone to drool over her large endowments, know what I mean?
After the dresses, we ended up getting some great toys for the kids and some fancy tea sets for the grandparents ($7 each set.....boom!). All in all, great day.
Oh....and we got these for my sisters.....they'll go great with the pig necklaces.
The next day, we walked through the herbal market. It's right outside our hotel, past the pet food street. As most of you probably know, herbs are a big deal in China. I'm not sure what they do with some of this stuff, however. This is a big spread of tiny, dried seahorses. Where do they even find this many seahorses?
Not a clue what these were. But I saw a lot of them. Big tubes of dried something.
Here's what a lot of the stores looked like. Just big bags of various herbs and stuff. Every time we walked through it, my step mom broke out in a sneezing fit. She's allergic to something on that street.
So past the pet food street and through the herbal market lies a wonderful little place called Shamian Island. It's very popular amongst the adoption community. It used to be a bustling place until adoptions slowed down considerably a few years back. Now, it's a place where lots of Chinese grandparents go to play. I haven't researched the history of it yet, but it's very European in looks and has a great park along the Pearl River. Ava loved all the statues.
Let's not pretend....Sophia loved the statues too.
There was one set of statues that is a MUST for adoption portraits. All the parents take a sweet photo of their child next to this statue (there's a good reason....I just can't remember it). I tried hard, but little Miss Obstinate felt otherwise. So here's what I got instead....little turd monkey.
Now, take this photo and expand it. See the Chinese people in the background laughing? I'm pretty sure they were laughing at the tall white woman chasing little Miss Obstinate around trying to get her to pose. And I'm pretty sure they were saying in Chinese....stupid American..... That's ok! We're cool. I'm used to the crazy looks by this point.
What was really interesting about this place was the people. There were several groups of fine folks playing hacky-sack. And they were AMAZING!!! Seriously...imagine your grandparents playing hacky-sack and being really good at it. There were other groups ballroom dancing and singing. There was even a group learning a cheerleading style dance. I didn't get any great shots of all that because I didn't want to offend them. But I did manage to turn quickly and take a picture of this woman with her long sword doing exercises. Yes...I said sword...
Here, you can see how tropical and lush it is....
Now....a few facts about my little diva.
#1: When I talked with the nanny from the orphanage, she commented that Ava has a "healthy appetite". That was a polite way of saying "Ava eats like a 500 pound fat man". This morning, at the hotel breakfast, she at 2 plates of fried rice, ham, baked beans, and 4 bowls of congee (rice-type cereal). All day long she asks for food. All. Day. Long. And she doesn't just take it and hide it (typical adoption behavior). She eats every last bite of anything you put near her. But she is stick thin!
#2: She is either sleeping or she's bouncing off walls. Her nanny also commented that "She needs to be outdoors". Yea...so she can run a marathon!!!
#3: She's smart as a whip. She has a routine and she does exactly what she is supposed to with her day to day routine. She meticulously brushes her teeth, gives herself a bath, dresses herself, etc etc. I could probably put her out on the street and she would survive on her own and do well. When we are at a restaurant and we're done eating, she jumps up and yells at the waitress. Or if someone walks in her path, buddy...you better watch out.
#4: The kid doesn't shut up. Does that sound bad? I know...I'm sorry. But really...she talks CONSTANTLY. Even when you talk to her...she talks over you. I have been getting yelled at by a Chinese diva for 6 days straight! I've only broke down and wept in the bath tub once so far though....not bad. Not bad at all....
#5: The last 6 days have been rough, but I can totally see complete awesomeness once we are out of our tiny hotel. She's pretty cool. Loud, but cool. REALLY loud and slightly crazy, but cool.
No comments:
Post a Comment