Guangzhou - Day 10 - The White Swan...Long Post

We are having problems connecting to Facebook here, and photos are VERY slow to upload as our internet connection isn't the best, so if we post less over the next week, that is why!

So as previously mentioned, we had a long day yesterday. We left the Sheraton in Xi'an at Noon in order to pick up the babies' passports, and get to the airport in time for our 3 pm flight to Guangzhou. Now, I'm pretty sure that on a good day, it would take the average single business person some extra time to figure out the chaotic airport system in China - and families travelling with toddlers take more time to get through any airport anyway, but when you've got 15 Americans, (5 of them being age 4 & under), five strollers and at least 15-20 suitcases - you can bet that EVERYTHING you do takes at least twice the time! Our guide got us as far as security, and from there we were on our own to find the gate and get boarded. The problem is, you have no idea when they are calling your group to board, because everything they are announcing is in Chinese. Finally, it seemed like the time was getting close that we board, so Steve told me to find someone to ask. I lucked out, and the second airport person I found spoke some English. I showed her my ticket and she said "yes, NOW - stand here" - so I ran and got the rest of our group. The airline folks were actually very kind and let our group through a special line to the bus (yes, you board a tram that takes you out to your plane!) Once out at the plane in the middle of the airfield, we had to check all the strollers and climb the steps to the plane. But we made it! The seats on Chinese airlines are TINY (tinier than regular coach American seats if you can believe that!) and Lia just had a lap ticket, so I sat in the middle and Steve sat on the aisle with Lia on his lap. At first she was fussy because she couldn't move around much, but overall she did great on the flight. The cupholders and tray tables held much fascination for her. Once the attendants served us drinks in paper cups, she played with the empty cups and pretended to "serve" us drinks. We looked at the in-flight magazines and the books I had brought along for her. It was a two-hour flight.

Trying out her new sunglasses

Once we arrived in Guangzhou, another tram met us at the plane and transferred us to the terminal. The guys waited for our bags and strollers, while the moms did potty & diaper breaks with all the kids. It was HOT in the baggage area. I think I've experienced some humidity it my lifetime...living in Iowa, visiting Florida and Texas (and most recently, Beijing and Xi'an)...but nothing prepares you for this kind of humidity. The air is so thick you can literally SEE it. It had been raining before we arrived, so the dampness hung heavy around us.

Looking at her "family book"

So we finally got all our bags and headed out of baggage to find our guides, Maggie and Grace, waiting for us - hooray! We made it. Another 20 minutes goes by as we load luggage, strollers, and people onto our (thankfully air-conditioned) bus. The bus ride into town is about 45 min. since we arriving on Friday night at rush hour. At 7 pm, Maggie says if any of us want to order Papa John's pizza, she has menus on the bus, and she will call in the order from her cellphone and have it waiting for us at the hotel. Neither Steve nor I are big fan of Papa John's, but in this case, we are so starved and exhausted - what the heck? Bring it on! Finally we arrived at the hotel, got checked in, unpacked and set up in the room, feed Lia and feed ourselves. Then it was time to get Lia in pajamas and into her crib (where she went willingly - tired as we were!) Our bed is almost as hard as sleeping on the floor, but at that point I just didn't care.

Peace, man...

This morning we hit the breakfast buffet and really got to see the lobby of the hotel for the first time. It's beautiful, with a waterfall and ponds with lots of Koi.

Sunrise in Guangzhou...our view from the 19th floor...6:30 am

We got to meet up again with all the families we'd seperated from in Beijing, plus additional families from our agency who had flown in thru Hong Kong. In total there are 16 CCAI families here now. This morning I finally got to meet one of my "blog world" friends Amy too. Amy and I were logged in as singles at the same time back in 2007 and have followed each other's blogs for three years. She is here with her mom and her daughter, Sophie, is just precious.

Getting ready for our first flight

After breakfast, we headed out as a group to get the kids' Visa photos taken, and then on to the medical clinic to have their required check-ups and vaccinations. Lia was a trooper! She didn't cry at all as the nurses checked her height and weight, or during the general medical check, or even when the ENT was checking her ears and mouth. The vaccination area was rough. According to the officials, Lia needs six shots (ugh) - and they recommended doing three today, and coming back Monday or Tuesday to do the other three (or we could choose to do all six at once). We decided to just do the first three. The first one was in the arm, and she didn't cry! But then they stuck her once in each thigh, and the crying started - poor thing - I almost cried just watching. Steve was an awesome daddy and held her still on his lap while the doctors did their thing and she wailed into his shoulder. Needless to say, we're not looking forward to going back for the other three, but we didn't want to overload her little system with too much at once today. She actually recovered quite quickly (thanks to Gerber yogurt melts - they are lifesavers - I may purchase stock in Gerber after this trip!)  After 20 minutes we were allowed to leave the clinic and walk back to the hotel. We decided to stop at Lucy's (a western-style restaurant) for lunch. After a cheeseburger, enchiladas, and some apple pie ala mode - we were ALL feeling much better!  :)

Playing with daddy near the waterfall

Now it is naptime and we have the rest of the afternoon free. We may visit the hotel playroom or the pool later on depending on how things go. More tomorrow!