Tuesday, May 18

It has been a busy couple of days for us. Today we went back to the same building where we got Olivia yesterday and met with a notary and a registration official. They asked us the same questions- why did we want to adopt from china, what is our age and occupation, do we like our child, and will we promise to never abuse or abandon her? Then we gave them a gift and they signed our papers. We also had an official family photo taken and that was that. It took about 2 hours for all of this to get done for the families in our group. After we did this we went to a store which they describe as the WalMart in China- for those of you in Idaho it was very similar to a King's store but with more food. Here we got formula, diapers, water, and anything else we needed. It was chaotic but we got what we needed and got out of there. I don't think I have mentioned the Starbucks here. They are everywhere- in Hong Kong there were at least 5 within 2 blocks of or hotel. I was beginning to feel like I was in Seattle. Here in Guangzhou they are a little more rare- I have only seen about 4 with all of our driving around. I went to one after the store today and the girl behind the counter was so excited to practice her English that I stayed for a few extra minutes to let her talk. The only thing they have more of than Starbucks are 7-eleven's. There are 2 on this island which is less than a mile long and less than a half of a mile wide. It is really weird. The stores here are very small- not much bigger than our master bathroom in our house and the shopkeeper is usually sitting out front just looking (probably smoking too) and waiting for a customer to come in. It looks like a very boring job- but any job is good here I think. We had some friends recommend an Italian place here on the island and we were going to try it for dinner. We were both very disappointed that it has closed down so we went to the same place that we ate on our first night here. I had a hamburger- which was more like meatloaf- and Patrick had a Chinese chicken dish which was spicy and very good he said. We walked around the island which is under major construction for the Asian Games which are being held here in Oct. It is a very big deal here and almost everything is torn up for this. It seems like they have a lot of work to do before they get done. Olivia is doing very well. She spent quite a bit of time in the front carrier today. She slept and people watched. I have to remind myself that she has only been in the orphanage her whole life so riding in the bus and going to buildings with lots of people are very new to her. She does well as long as she is close to me. The locals want to touch her because her skin is so light. It is kind of odd how they all comment on it- I don't know if it is a good thing to them or not. I just really don't want them to touch her. I wouldn't go up to a stranger's baby and touch her- I might smile and talk to her but not touch. Hmmmm... I will have to think of a way to get this to stop. Love to all and here is hoping for another wonderful night of sleep!
Donna and Patrick