Hi All!

Today was our first full day at the China Hotel here in Guangzhou. We were wondering how the breakfast would be because in Changsha we saw some very strange things in the western restaurant for breakfast! Anyway, the breakfast here was just like what we would have at home. No grits, but they did have oatmeal with brown sugar which Eliana loved. Goodbye to congee probably forever because I don’t plan on fixing that for her once I get home. I have had enough rice for awhile!

Today while Betty went to do our visa paperwork for Eliana, Doug and I explored the hotel a little. Oh boy! I remembered Nanette Burrow told me they had a 50% off for adoptive families. Here in the basement, they have a shopping arcade with jewelry, handcrafts, silk stuff, antiques, etc. and they are all 50% off. We go shopping tomorrow, though, and I’m waiting to see what prices are in other places before I buy anything. We also found the Hard Rock Cafe in the basement and went there for lunch. The big oops was that they put ice in our soft drinks and we sat there and drank them like dummies. Guess the ice was made with ok water, though, because neither of us is sick. That or you guys are really praying hard!! Seriously though, Doug and I can tell you are praying because all in all this has not been a hard trip and Eliana has been a true joy. When she looks at me and gives me that cute little smile, it’s just another reminder of how good God has been to us.

Well the lady at the consulate found the mix-up in numbers but it was easily fixed. Betty had to stay at the consulate and wait for the correction and that’s why we ended up eating at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch but that was fine with us. So this afternoon we had the very anticlimactic swearing-in ceremony. All we did was swear that all the stuff we said over the adoption process was true and we were done! Betty will pick up the visa tomorrow and WE ARE DONE!!!!

When we got back to the hotel after the consulate appointment, we decided to take Eliana to the doctor here at the hotel because she is still really congested. The medical exam yesterday was very fast and all they really did was check weight, height, whether she could see and hear, etc. No real examination at all. The doctor here was much better and Betty went with us to translate. Turns out she has bronchitis. They gave us an antibiotic and also some cream for the chapped places on her face. I have already given her the first dose of antibiotic and hope it starts helping her.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant famous for its dumplings which everyone in China likes. Doug and I had fried and two kinds of boiled dumplings. They were really good! Eliana had steamed egg. The size of the bowl was a small serving bowl size, bigger than a soup bowl and the child almost ate the whole bowl. We are going to call her the steamed egg baby. She is so funny when she eats because she gets angry if we pause in shoveling the food in! She will scream or snort or grunt and beat her hands down in fists on her lap!! Greedy child! They did not lie when they said in her paperwork that she gets excited at the sight of food! She immediately starts grunting and beating her fists when she sees the food coming. Kathy, get ready!!

Well, the sports bar internet computers were down so I am again on the expensive ones so I’ll sign off for now. We can’t wait to get home and see you all. Have a good day!

Carmi (and Doug and Eliana)