August 21, 2005

Well, it is Sunday and it feels so odd not to be going to church. We are really missing everyone right about now. Yesterday Abigail cried a little for a short time because she wants to go home. As much as we tried to prepare her that Hannah would not be ready to play with her yet, she has gotten her feelings hurt because Hannah has refused to have much to do with her. Hannah is slowly starting to warm up to Mark and Abigail - she is not slapping them away as much and she is pretending to feed them out of her stacking cups. I know that doesn't sound like much progress but that is a huge step for Hannah.

Today was mostly a free day. We didn't meet up with Jophy until 2:30p.m. to go to a Buddhist temple that was built 1500 years ago. More about that in a few minutes. Since we had the morning free, we slept in a little and then went to breakfast. After breakfast, we went to the park that we passed on the way to Hannah's medical exam. It's neat becuase the equipment on the playground can be played on by the children or adults can use it as excercise equipment. Hannah and I left because she was starting to get fussy. Mark and Abigail stayed behind to play. On their way back, they bought a traditional silk dress for both Abigail and Hannah. It will take a while to become proficient at buttoning the knotted clasps on the dresses. All of us then took a long nap. We got up just in time to have a quick lunch at the Shamain Coffee Shop just outside the hotel. They had some really good chicken strips and fried rice and it was much cheaper than Lucy's. We spent just under $6 for two entrees and three cokes. We ordered Coke but the waitress brought Diet Coke. I guess she decided we could stand to lose some weight. :)

We met up with Jophy at 2:30 and began the daily sightseeing tour. The first stop was the Guangzhou Liurong Monastery. Jophy informed us before we arrived that the area is populated by beggars and she asked us to please not pay them any attention. I guess if you give to one of them then the rest will swarm the person giving in to the beggars. I thought some of the homeless people in Atlanta were agressive asking for handouts until I experienced these beggars. The site is very old and the 8 storey temple on the site allows for great views of the surrounding area. Since the only way to get to the top is by taking steps, only Mark and Abigail went to the top. As usual, Abigail was a trooper and didn't complain going up or coming down. She enjoyed the sights and made sure to say hello to all of the gods represented in the shrines. The trip down was slower only because the steps are rather tall and it took longer for Abigail to manage the descent. By the time she reched the bottom she said her legs were all wobbly. Once everyone saw the sights at this location we began to head to our next sightseeing spot. Again we had to run the gauntlet of the beggars before managing to get on the bus. They're all very persistent and don't take no for an answer until you have gone away.

We next visited the Guangdong Museum of Folk Handicrafts. This museum displays examples of porcelain, embroidery, sculpture and paintings from the local region. Shorthly after we began the tour Victoria and I were asked about the Chinese boy we had in our stroller. We explained that the "boy" was actually a girl that we had just adopted. That prompted a bit more conversation and we were glad that Jophy showed up at that time to help us communicate. Also, several people began wanting to take pictures of Abigail. One of the men even said that she was more beautiful than the models that they were shooting while there (and of course they're right). Jophy found out that a group from the photography club was touring the site, which expalined the comments. Abigail liked it for a short time, then turned shy and hid from the cameras. Not long after that, Hannah decided she had seen enough of this place and wanted to get back to some air conditioning. I guess we must have already started to Americanize her in some ways. We headed back to the bus and cool air while we waited for the others to finish the tour. Hannah calmed down as soon as she started to feel the cool air. Eventually the others came back to the bus and we headed back to the hotel. Since the Beardens had to change rooms after we got back, we had Mia and April, their daughters, in our room to watch Charlotte's Web on the laptop while they handled the logistics of the move. We had also planned to go to dinner with them after they got done, but Abigail began to feel feverish so we decided to get some take-out from Lucy's and stay in for the evening.

Mark gave the girls a bath before bedtime, which Hannah really enjoys. It's about the only time that she seems to trust him and allow him to hold her and snuggle her afterward. I guess we'll have to give lots of baths to encourage that type of bonding and trust between them. Hannah has finally started to allow herself to really laugh instead of the suppressed giggles that she has usually given us. We actually got a belly laugh from her while she was drying off from her bath. We hope this means that she's beginning to really trust us and understand that we are her family now. She still ended up having a small fit just before bed, but it didn't last very long, which is an improvement. Progress is progress - we'll take what we can get.

Abigail didn't sleep well at all. She was feverish and couldn't get settled. Mark got up in the wee hours and checked the 7-11 to see if they had any children's Tylenol or any type of fever reducer, but had no luck. Yes, believe it or not, there's a 7-11 right across the street from the hotel. Capitalism has a firm foothold on this island. Once he got back, Hannah woke up very cranky with a messy diaper. We changed it and gave her water, then a bottle to calm her down. She played on the bed for a while, then cried for a while after we put her back in the crib. The pauses between her cries got longer and longer until she finally went to sleep, then we all managed to sleep until daylight. I think that Abigail is ready for her own room until Hannah doesn't cry so much. We were grateful that Abigail's fever broke last night and she seems fine now.

We miss everyone so much. We're not normally phone people, but it is hard not being able to pick up the phone and just call friends and family whenever we want. We look forward to hearing the sound of the computer telling us we got an email. It is so encouraging to hear from everyone. I'm sorry we haven't been able to answer them all. We look forward to seeing everyone when we get home.