Monday, November 6, 2006

Eric is writing today’s entry because Kelly is too tired from shopping. Actually she only bought formula and rice cereal but she has done a lot of window-shopping. We are on Shamian Island in Guangzhou. It is an old British/French colonial trading enclave within Guangzhou. Now it has many shops that cater to families adopting from China since they all have to pass through here before coming back to the U.S. Guangzhou itself is a city of 6.5 million located on the Pearl River upstream from Hong Kong. At night the waterfront buildings are lit up and there is a laser light show with music. It is a little like Disney World but not nearly as good.

Today was the day to do some preliminary shopping for the baby. We went shopping at a Carrefour (sort of like a Meijer store but occupying two levels). The prices were very reasonable). The atmosphere was pretty chaotic with lots of people and loud music blaring. Like Meijer, it had a meat and seafood department but it was definitely more exciting. One of the butchers was wildly chopping at something with a huge cleaver and meat bits were flying everywhere. Also, there were big piles of seaweed that women were sorting through.

After shopping we ate at a Brazilian style barbeque restaurant with excellent beef. It was all you could eat for about 5 dollars.

After lunch, Kegan and I played badminton in the park on the island. We had noticed many people playing yesterday, so we bought some rackets and played for an hour. It was a lot of fun. Kelly was supposed to meet us but we never saw her. It turns out she was checking out all the little shops that cater to the adoptive families. Some of the artists make incredible renderings of the babies (etched in glass or stone). Also there are lots of silk outfits to buy for the children.

Tomorrow is “gotcha day,” which means we will be handed our baby at the office of civil affairs. After that G.G. will be with us all the time (the ladies in the shops keep asking Kelly where her baby is). Originally, we planned to get her today, but the schedule was changed so Kelly had to wait yet another day.

Hi all, Kelly here. I just wanted to mention that today Katie received two gifts, a bouquet of red roses and lilies from her Daddy, and the “Coming Home Barbie” doll from Mattel, the toy company. What a lucky young lady! I’m hoping I’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep tonight, but I’m afraid I won’t.

Our appointment to meet Katie is at 2:30 pm, China time! One final thing, take time to VOTE today!!