Friday,
January 2, 2009
We have arrived in Guangzhou! We were thrilled to be on the
ground for several reasons. One: the weather here is much
milder, we can get away without the heavy coats during the day.
Two: Guangzhou is familiar stomping ground to both of us. The
people are friendly, the area is beautiful and it's quite easy
to navigate without a guide. Three: we thought we were going to
die trying to get here. We had a flawless flight, in fact, I had
mentioned to my sister that you couldn't ask for a much more
pleasant trip... we got up in the air, had a snack, followed by
a cup of tea and about the time Cole started to get tired of
sitting still, we descended. Perfect! The only problem was, when
the plane touched down in Guangzhou, it took off again. Uhh,
hellooooo? Aren't we supposed to be landing? And if we are not
landing, why the heck not? Andrea and I stared at each other as
the color ran out of our faces. Later we realized the other one
was having an equally disastrous, but different thought. Andrea
thought our plane had been hijacked. I thought our landing gear
had blown and we weren't going to be able to land. Well, maybe
land, but sort of in an Airplane-the-movie like landing. All
crazy and scary and possibly fatal. It was terrifying. After the
quick touchdown, we ascended rapidly and the two of us patiently
(okay, not so patiently) waited for a word, any word, from the
flight crew. Nothing... not even in Chinese. We couldn't even
FIND the flight crew. The silence was deafening as everyone
looked out the closest window to see what might be going on.
Eventually we landed again (obviously), and we still don't know
exactly what happened, but we do know that we are both praising
God tonight!!
Once we arrived and managed to compose ourselves, we met Rebecca
(who was my guide with Sophie and Shepherd)... it was such a
relief! Cole had missed his nap in all the excitement of his
very first plane ride and had been such a trooper all day. Once
in the safety of the baggage claim, we let him loose to stretch
his legs and he darted from here to there with abandon. Finally
we had to put him on top of our baggage cart to make being
carried more fun than walking, he looked like a king on his
palanquin. We met up with the other families in our group (there
are a total of eight families) and we are looking forward to
learning more about them and their new little ones. Several boys
are in our group, all around Cole's age and I think they are
going to enjoy each others company. Our group dinner at Cow and
Bridge should definitely be interesting!
We settled into our room at the Victory and we took a short walk
around the island, just to stretch our legs. I already have my
eye on a brown teapot... we'll see if I'm too cheap to cough up
the dinero or if I leave Shamian Island without it. Andrea made
a few purchases and made a small dent in her 'to buy for' list.
Then, on our way back to the Victory, we stopped at the
incredibly Chinese 7-11 for some snacks and drinks for Cole.
Tomorrow we visit the Botanical Gardens. I can't tell you how
excited I am, the last two times I have been here we have
visited there and it has been hot enough to melt the makeup
right off my face. Tomorrow should be significantly cooler than
mid-June, and hopefully it will be MUCH more conducive to
excessive picture taking! Cole is such a handsome little guy, I
am hoping to capture his precious personality on the backdrop of
the gorgeous gardens. |
A boy and his flashlight
All dressed and ready to go!
Mary, our guide, took such good care of us
Andrea insisted this be included,
evidently it's HER website
Seatbelt, check! Lollipop, check! Time for takeoff! |
