Katie Sees the Doctor(s)

We got into Guangzhou last night at 8pm, and took a bus to the hotel. Here's a night shot from our room:



This morning we walked from the White Swan Hotel (more on the hotel in a later post) to the walk-in clinic down the street. Virtually everything here on Shamian Island caters to westerners, mostly adoptive families from the States. Katie visited the doctor for her adoption physical, and got examined by the ENT doctor (not me this time). Chinese ENT appointments are evidently shorter than U.S. ones.



Katie finished up her appointment by getting measured, weighed, and poked by the pediatrician. She showed her sunny side throughout.




As we walked back to the hotel, Kari pointed out a shop called "Jordan's" and said he was a friendly guy who has all kinds of stuff to sell. That pretty much sums up a description of every Chinese shopkeeper I've ever met. The surly ones with nothing good to sell don't stay in business long I suspect. Anyway, just after she finished telling us about his shop, "Jordan" himself passed us and recognized her:

After shopping we returned to the hotel for a nap (Katie), blogging (Doc), and more shopping unencumbered by husband and baby (Soulmate). Then I spent 2 hours with our facilitator filling out 4 documents for the U.S. State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Each one has to be filled out exactly correctly or we won't be allowed to land in the States next Wednesday. I made two little gaffs, but our facilitator said she will go over each line and white out any mistakes. She must really want us to make that flight!

Then she suggested all 4 families go to her "favorite" Chinese restaurant, where she ordered 6 or 7 wonderful dishes, and we ate til we were stuffed. For dessert I had a wonderful rolled bread with a sweet paste of sesame seeds inside. I snuck a 2nd piece after everyone had been offered the plate. Surprised?

Tomorrow is a free day for us, with absolutely no paperwork. Soulmate has already made it abundantly clear that there will be shopping. My wallet is starting to throb again...

Actually, I am encouraging her to shop for lots of bargains, and we'll plan to buy some cheap luggage here before we head for the airport next week, so we can safely transport the schwag back to the States. Watch future posts for pix and video of our once-in-a-lifetime shopping spree.