Last Day in Nanning, Guangxi Province

Today was spent shopping in Nanning at a Chinese bookstore and then a shop for local handicrafts. Michael, our guide, made sure we all received a puzzle map of China that shows the different provinces. We also found some lovely local handicrafts ranging from handmade, embroidered purses to carved jade figurines. Unfortunately, it was so hot inside and outside the stores that we couldn't think straight and concentrated more on the babies'comfort.


Shops of Nanning

As the only Caucasians in the shopping area, we drew quite a crowd! People came up to us by the dozens, attempting to speak English with us, and calling us "kind hearted" Westerners for adopting their abandoned daughters. It was amazing...they were all so happy to see us, taking photos or video and gazing at our daughters in fascination. Women brought their children or grandchildren forward to meet us and explain about the babies. Emily was called beautiful many times, and she was so calm amidst all the attention. In fact, all our babies were, surrounded by familiar Chinese faces. When our guides came to get us, we all waved goodbye and the Chinese giggled as we Westerners bowed our heads and called out "Zaijin!" (goodbye). The Chinese get such a kick out of us trying to speak Mandarin. Kevin says my New Jersey accent must amuse them the most. Wise guy.


Emily Draws a Crowd

Speaking of wise guy, Michael and David, our guides, nicknamed Kevin "Happy Buddha BaBa" ("BaBa" means "daddy") since Kevin is so big and jolly by Chinese standards that he resembles Buddha. And since Emily is his daughter, she naturally becomes "Buddha Baby". So when we visited the Buddhist temple yesterday, a giggling David made Kevin pose by a statue of Buddha, then David completely convulsed with laughter. Our group loved it. Here's the photo.


Happy Buddha BaBa

Today was also our last day with Michael and David. The group has become very close with them, and we'll really miss them. We exchanged gifts, and in return, at a pizza party on the 14th floor by the elevators with our babies, each family received our babies' passports with photos taken hours before the Gotcha moment. We also received a copy of our finding ads, the ads the Chinese government places in local newspapers where the babies are found, asking for their parents to step forward. The parents never do, and then the babies are taken to the closest orphanage by the local police.

Emily's photo at one day old is grainy, and barely looks like her. I thought it would make us more emotional, but it's just a sad part of her past. Her passport photo is neat--many of the babies were in the exact same outfit. We also received a lovely photo of the three of us, and a group photo taken last night out on the lawn in front of the hotel with bats flying around. Chinese bats!!

Speaking of the hotel, here are a couple of photos, one from our room window and the other of folks doing Tai Chi down by the river.


View from Wharton Hotel


Tai Chi by the River

We'll miss Nanning for many reasons...for Michael and David and their great support at all hours of the day and night...for their loving care of Emily (her feet never touched the ground when they were around--they reached for her whenever they saw her). We'll miss the kindness of the Chinese people. And most of all, we'll miss being so near Emily's birthplace, since it's where our relationship with her began. She's warming up daily, and today she giggled hysterically when I noisily kissed her neck. When Kevin jostles her in his arms, she gives him a huge smile and giggles, then sighs happily. She's such an incredible joy, even after her first diaper blowout today. We should have filmed it, because it was like the blind leading the blind! Emily just laughed through it all.

Next stop, Guangzhou tomorrow! The last leg of our journey, where over 100 families from around the world will congregate with their adopted children at this White Swan Hotel...THIS WEEK!!

Take care,

Caroline