Our day began yesterday by going to the Beijing airport with Tom. Originally we were going to leave the stroller behind but once we saw her attachment to it we figured he would be the best one to convince them to let us check it in. I am proud to say that none of our suitcases were over 44 pounds and we did not have to pay a fee this time. We left a lot of old clothes at the hotel :) However, Cherry Blossom could now have a carry-on so we used the rolling duffel bag that I had packed in a suitcase. So now you can imagine the crazy Americans trying to get through security at a Chinese airport with a 2 year old in a stroller, 3 backpacks, 3 winter coats and 3 carry on bags. The Rock was ready to strangle me :) Tom had told us that security was not that strict and much easier then the U.S.A. He was way wrong!! They made The Rock go first, then Cherry Blossom (out of her stroller) and then me. What would have been great was if they would have let our daughter go to her father but they were busy searching him and now they were searching her. All the while I'm on the other side of the metal detector and they will not let me come through to get to her. I was one stressed mama but trying to stay calm since she looked like she was about to freak out. I have never seen them search a toddler for so long. They then went through all of our carry on bags and backpacks with a fine tooth comb. I was constantly having to say medicine, food for baby, etc. etc. They even sent her stroller through twice. All while this is happening I have some unhappy Chinese older ladies standing on top of me (lack of personal space) and all of our bags being unpacked for everyone to see and then things being sent back through the metal detector. Cherry Blossom did very well during this stressful time and even clapped when her stroller made it through the second scan.
After a 2 hour wait we finally boarded our plane and then sat on the runway for a very long time. Cherry Blossom and I were sitting in two seats together and then The Rock was in the next aisle seat across from us. Cherry Blossom was not impressed about having to have a seatbelt around her and let everyone know it. In Beijing they do not required to have car seats for the children in the vehicles so all week she has been on my lap. We went through many puffs, fruit snacks and goldfish before we even left the runway! She was not scared about lifting off or the noises, it was more of being constrained to a seat. I tried to get her to go to sleep many times, but each time she either threw the pillow or the blanket. We tried Play doh, which would get thrown after a few minutes, the IPad, which she would get tired of after 10 minutes and bribery with lollipops. She was not having any of it and we were going through hand wipes like crazy.
side note:
Our little Cherry Blossom has an addiction towards kleenex, napkins, baby wipes and handy wipes. During a meal she will probably wipe her face a dozen times and also wipes her hands EVERYTIME she has something on it. We went through two large packs of wipes in one week so we are trying to convince her that she can use the same wipe multiple times during a meal.
One suggestion I would give China Air is to have some type of kid's meal. They hand my child this big thing of chicken and rice and expect her to eat with a seat belt on in a plane seat and not make a mess. Arghhhh!! I looked at The Rock peacefully eating his meal in the other row of seats and just groaned as I pull out yet another hand wipe. The life with a toddler, right? We finally got her to sleep on The Rock's shoulder 40 minutes left in the flight and then 10 minutes later the stewardess tells us that we have to wake her up and put her in her seat belt. Really?!?! Thirty minutes before we land?!?! I gave her many dirty looks and then she comes by when Cherry Blossom is screaming her lungs out and wants to know why she is crying. Really?!?!
We finally landed in Guangzhou and the heat hit us getting off the plane. Cherry Blossom and I got off in case the stroller was waiting for us at the terminal but The Rock wanted to wait since he had so many bags to carry. Cherry Blossom wanted to carry her own backpack and I loved her response when she saw her daddy coming off the plane....pic below of course! She screamed and clapped even more when we arrived at baggage claim and there was her long lost stroller. She hugged it and kissed it while babbling away to us.
We met our new guide who is a "Big fish in America but a small fish in China" Elvin, who I actually requested. Everyone on facebook that has adopted before talks about Elvin and our good friends, the Wombles, had him as their guide back in June. We jumped into another van and off we went to a new hotel. I'm covered in lollipop, chicken and rice, fruit snacks and look a wreck and we walk into a 4 star hotel with this extravagant lobby and people nicely dressed standing around. Cherry Blossom and I stood off to the side and you can see below how she was feeling by this point :) Our room is nice here, but much smaller then our room in Beijing. Cherry Blossom's favorite part is the bathtub which is part of this amazing bathroom. She loves it even more because it has a window that looks out into the bedroom and she can see me and baba at the same time if she is in the bath. She went to bed immediately after her bath :)
Today we had to go get her medical exam, which was of course traumatic for all of us. They did not draw blood this time but really spent some time looking at her special need area. We tried to make her happy afterwards by giving her the glasses that she loves to wear. Those pictures are always quite entertaining. We then went to the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees where we saw some people burning incense to various Buddha statues. The pagoda was really cool to look at! Finally, I convinced Elvin to take me shopping somewhere since I now do not have to worry about the suitcases being 44 lbs or under :) We bought some pretty silk dresses for Cherry Blossom and plan to go to Shaiman Island tomorrow to do more shopping. Woo hoo!!
Cherry Blossom will now have to part with her winter coat and multiple layers as we get used to the warmer weather! We are going to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner tonight.....Hallelujah!! I'm sure there will be pics to come tomorrow night!
Things I learned today about their education:
1. All kids wear the same uniform in a school, no matter what. The one we saw today looked like a white warm-up suit with blue stripes down it.
2. Elementary and Secondary School is provided free of cost or "public education" K-9
3. If you go to high school your parents must pay for you to go there 10-12 - kind of like a private school setting. So, if you choose to fail or not do well then you are losing money for your parents. I think this would be great for some of my high school kids who just want to work and not go to college!
4. Public College is a good thing here and according to Elvin if you go to a private college then you are "dumb and your parents are paying a lot of money because you are dumb". Private colleges are for those that do not do really well in high school and they do not get good jobs out of "college" Totally opposite then our college system.
5. They go to school normal school hours like we do, but those that want to succeed stay until 5pm every day voluntarily. They will also study on the weekends and during breaks. Education is very important to this culture, which of course I think is great!
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