Good to be in Guangzhou

You know, I felt conflicted leaving Guiyang. It was a tough place to be as an American tourist. There was nothing Western about the city at all. Essentially, no one understood a lick of English, it was dirty, smelly...though, oddly, I kind of got used to the sour stench of the city by week's end...very poor, and as much as I'll eat about anything put in front of me that isn't still alive (and that really is more of a guideline rather than a rule), I just didn't like the food there. It wasn't funky, or scary...I just didn't like the taste...it tasted like the city smelled.

It was a relief leaving Guiyang...yet, on the last night, we played in a pedestrian park that sits between our hotel and the river that runs through the heart of the city...as we walked home, I looked at little Tao Tao...she was so happy, so excited, having so much fun...and I was about to take her out of a city that she LOVED...it was her home. If you know Tao Tao, and you know Guiyang, you'd understand this. I understand where we are taking her, I understand what is better and what is not...I also understand that people from New York think Franklin is the sticks. I was sad, and she was clueless.

All that said...I'M SO HAPPY TO BE IN GUANGZHOU! Whew. It even felt good to say. This really is a nice city. It has a life to it that you expect in a big city...and even though I'm pretty much a small city, Southern sort of guy...I like this in small doses. It's clean...relative to China, at least...and they have pictures for all the food options on the menu, so I'm OK.

We're getting to know Maggie more and more each day, and she's getting to know us better too. I think she had a really awesome foster Grandmom...and it's obvious that Maggie loved her so much. She grieves hard...hard at times...but in a healthy way. She wakes up from a nap, for instance, and she is sad...really sad. This is typical. Then, after a few minutes, she cries. Hard. She calls out for her Lei Lei, and Stef rocks her in her lap. Once it is out, she's on her way...about her business. I think her grief is real...and I think she is really dealing with it. This makes me think that she'll be pretty healthy...mentally.

A young Chinese lady told our guide the other day that Maggie is so lucky to have a "foreign" family...they know we're not Chinese, but they don't immediately know we're American, which I find odd in my obvious USA centric sort of thinking...I started to tell our guide that the lady was wrong...Maggie would be better off if somehow she could stay with her foster family...but I wasn't sure it would be appropriate, so in my Southern style...I stayed quite and smiled.

Maggie, on one hand, is shy. On the other (big) hand, she has an extremely strong personality. I know those statements don't make much sense, but a lot now doesn't. She shys away from people when they talk to her. She covers her eyes with her hand to hide...but she peeks out the other side. Stef is the one she's attached to...and Stef is doing a great job with her.

Maggie needs to be told "no" a good bit. I feel a little uncomfortable doing that, considering the circumstances, but knowing Maggie as I do...well, let me just stay it needs to be done. Stef really does a good job with this. Me...not so much. Tonight at dinner, I decided that Maggie had enough fried bean curd with peanut sauce, so I moved the plate to the person who actually ordered the dish...Stef. Well, Maggie didn't appreciate my insensitivity, so she threw her chop sticks at me. With cat-like quickness, I was able to dodge, and swat them away as the Chinese man behind me snickered in an international sign of "thank god it's you and not me". I semi-panicked...Maggie screamed Chinese words that everyone except us frustrated white people understood. Stef, on the other hand, was cool as a cucumber (not really, but in comparison to me she was, at least). She grabbed Maggie up, and whisked her outside the restaurant. I don't know exactly what went down between the two of them...I stuck my face in a bowl of beef noodles in spicy broth in an attempt to hide my shame...but every time after that, when Maggie was about to get out of hand, Stef would gesture to the outside of the restaurant, and Maggie was suddenly in control.

We had the medical exam today. I know I saw this last time, but the scene at the medical exam is kind of surreal. You're surrounded by families who are so happy to have finally been united with their little angel that they've waited for, for so long. You see little Chinese kids with T shirts that say "Little Princess" and such...but the faces are heartbreaking. If you look past the Tshirts and American tourists with fanny packs and digital cameras, there are kids whose lives have been turned upside down, who are devastated and wonder who are these odd people who've taken me away from "my home". The medical visit made me sad. On the other hand, I think of little Corinne, and how much I love her, and how much she loves me...how she sneaks into our room early in the morning hoping that we're still in bed so she can cuddle with me...and how I wait a few more minutes most mornings hoping she shows up...and I'm suddenly happy because I know that is the future for these kids.

Tomorrow I think we're going to a zoo....I hope we enjoy it. These are odd trips. There are so many awesome things you see and experience...but you JUST ADOPTED A KID!!! Stress is high in our hotel room, so I ask that you pray that we be calm, be safe, enjoy our time here, bond as a family and enjoy each other before we GET HOME SAFELY!

Oh...a couple more odd tidbits...I thank our government for infringing on our rights to smoke in public places....I also thank God for Starbucks and McDonald's...when I pointed out a McDonald's to Graham, he said he didn't like McDonald's. I said "me neither...but I sure like looking at the Golden Arches".

Brook

PS...trouble with pictures tonight...I'll give it one more shot and then I'm going to bed. Otherwise, it will be tomorrow morning...or tonight for you guys....and I'm putting up a couple short videos this time too.