Mission Accomplished

Today, we got to shop a LOT. We got fans. FIVE fans because we kept getting them as "free gifts" for all the other stuff we bought. I don't now what will happen to them all. We got some other stuff also. We had no guide today, so we had some freedom. The pool at our hotel is nice. We went there today. It's fun to experience it all. I'm so glad we got to come to China.  Guangzhou is my favorite but Xiushan was special.  We're packing right now. I'm ready to eat normal food. Though the noodles are good. Thanks for following our blog. 

~Lydia

Today was our last day in China.  We leave tomorrow morning to head home.  Today we didn't have a guide which is easy in Guangzhou because many people speak a little English and Google translator is a huge help.  So, we took a cab back over to Shamian Island and shopped and had lunch at Lucy's.  Lucy's is this restaurant over by the White Swan hotel that caters to Americans.  Their grilled cheese is especially good.  They also have some Chinese food, but most of their menu is American.  We saw many new adoptive families from the US in there.  Then, this afternoon the kids and I went to the pool while Craig went on an unexpected adventure.

You know how we paid through the nose to ship the baby carrying basket and bamboo hat home?  Ya, well, it turns out that Chinese customs denied our shipment because it didn't have some certificate that it was machine made and not handmade.  Actually, we aren't really sure which way they were made.  We think the hat was machine made but we are really unsure about the basket.  If things are handmade they cannot be taken either out of the country or into the US...I'm not sure which...maybe both....for fear that we are transporting insects to the states.  So, our guide from Chongqing called us to tell us and as it turns out, the package was in Guangzhou where we are.  So, Craig had to get an address, get a cab and go on a wild goose chase for this thing at the airport where it got denied.  Three hours later he returned to the hotel with our package.  The cab driver apparently got stuck in the middle of this mess translating for Craig and going to bat for him and he got a hefty tip for his above and beyond work.  So, these silly things just keep costing us money.  And, we aren't sure that they will even make it through the airport when we try to get them through...actually, they probably won't.  So, after all this, we probably won't end up with them which really stinks because they were from Xiushan which is Lydia's birthplace.  Craig is such a good daddy to go chasing after these things and to keep spending money on them for his baby girl!  He knows that she thinks they are special.

Tonight we had dinner in the hotel room.  Most everyone is sick of Chinese food.  I am almost there but had to have noodles one last time. 

This has been such a wonderful trip.  Lydia says she wants to come back in 10 years...especially to Guangzhou.  She's liked Guangzhou far more than the other places.  She likes the little shops where she can find all sorts of little treasures.  Chongqing used to have those lined up and down the streets but they aren't really there like they used to be 10 years ago. 

We were talking at lunch about what the children have learned by coming to China.  We heard that they have learned that not everyone has the same opportunities as they do.  That our living conditions are vastly different (I think it is safe to say that 90+% of the housing in China would be considered slums in the US).  They learned that many people here really struggle to make a living and will sit in their little shop or restaurant all day and be hard pressed to make enough money to feed themselves and their family.  That the market is saturated by oversupply.  We talked a lot about how these people seem very content with their situations, and, from our guide, we get the sense that the people are very content letting the government lead their lives, owning all the land, and providing housing that we would consider to be completely unacceptable.  They seem happy outside playing games, dancing and exercising the park.  But, they don't have a fraction of what we have.  At the same time, the government blocks things like Google, Facebook, HGTV's website, etc.  The majority of people most likely do not realize the opportunities that people in the US have.  And, we all agreed that was probably for the best.  There's nothing they could do about their situation here and so all that knowledge would do is depress them.  Our guide, Lina, in Chongqing asked to see pictures of Violet.  Lina is very well educated.  We joked that she is a walking Chinese history textbook and geography textbook.  She is a beautiful woman who dresses very stylish.  However, she kept telling us how "we" (the Chinese people) are rich because they have enough to eat.  That their government takes care of them by doing this, that and the other.  That their government has these plans, has fulfilled these promises, etc.  She feels very indebted to her government.  She has never been out of the China.  She has never been to the US.  One day she asked to see pictures of Violet so I showed her a few.  In one was part of our front yard.  She was astonished.  She asked if we could farm our garden (front yard).  Then she saw a photo of the backyard and about fell out of her seat and asked the same question.  I got to explain was an HOA is by telling her it was the "government of the neighborhood" LOL!! Then, she saw a photo of Violet where the kitchen was in the background and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.  I had to explain to her that we buy our food like she does (she lives in an apartment) and so she couldn't understand what we did with all that land.  I had to explain that we play in it, plant flowers in it and enjoy it.  She had absolutely no idea.  And I'm not sure she is better for knowing.  I didn't intend for her to see all that, I was just pulling up pictures of Violet from my phone. 

I think our kids appreciate their lives a little more.  Jake finds it sad that they can't choose their path based on their dreams and expect to attain those goals because opportunities are so limited.  Lydia said very sincerely, "I'm happy I was placed for adoption and I'm happy that I got adopted by this family."  I think she has a new found respect and appreciation for her birth parents' choices.

Great trip.  Some questions answered and gaps filled.  Closure in many ways. Positive outcome.  Mission accomplished.

~Carla

The flight today was a piece of cake. I mean it was only 1 hour and 30 minutes! We leave to start heading home on Wednesday. I've mixed felings about that. I'm glad, but went to stay a little longer. We got to see live scorpions! You could eat them. Yum. You could also purchesse a deer leg. There was no meat on the bone. And it had the hoof with some hair on it too. We saw some other amazing things you eat as medicine. At dinner I got to have the noodles. They were SOOO good. I had like 5 servings! These noodles were the first noodles I had on this trip. Earlier in the day we bought a few things. We got Violet, and Ava hair things they're super cool. I got one. I had a lot of fun, I'll want to come back in ten years.
~Lydia


Today we traveled from Chongqing to Guangzhou.  It was about a 1 1/2 hour flight.  During our adoption trip, Guangzhou was the last place we visited.  When a US family adopts a Chinese child, all of them must go through Guangzhou where the American Consulate is.  The child must undergo a medical exam and then apply for their visa to enter the US.  Once that is done, they are free to travel home to the US and as soon as the plane lands, they are an American citizen.  Today in Guangzhou we walked all around Shamian Island.  We did a little shopping and Lydia got a Chinese dress that is very pretty.  It needs a little bit of alterations but it fits pretty well.  We ran into a few adoptive families walking around there. These days, almost all adoptions from China are for waiting children who are classified as such for a variety of reasons...older age, infectious disease status such as Hep B, minor birth defects or more major ones such as heart conditions that have been partially or fully repaired.  The wait for a "healthy" child is very very long now.  Like 8 years or so.  When we were waiting for Lydia we began our paperwork on January 1, 2005 had it into the China Center for Adoption Affairs in early April 2005, received our referral for her on December 8, 2005 and traveled in late January 2006.  So, lightning fast compared to now. 

When we finally got to Guangzhou we stayed at the famous White Swan Hotel....well, famous in the Chinese adoption community.  Almost all adoptive families stayed there and breakfast was a sea of American families who had just adopted babies.  White Swan what known for their red couches and most adoption groups got photos of their babies on the red couches...known as the "red couch photo."  The White Swan also contracted with Mattel and provided adoptive families a special Barbie doll of a caucasian mommy and a Chinese baby.  Lydia's is on her dresser still in the box.  It was such a cool little gift!  Several years ago (about 7) the White Swan closed and the Chinese adoption community was sad about that.  We expected it would still be closed but it has undergone remodeling and reopened less than a year ago.  It looks very much the same except no red couches.  Instead Jake and Lydia got the "taupe couch photo."  LOL!  The waterfall is still there.

As we walked around the island there were people playing Mao Jung (not sure if I spelled that right), playing hacky sack, and dancing to music they were blasting in the park.  We then walked to the famous Qing Ping medicinal market.  Wow.  You could smell that place as you approached for all the Chinese herbs and medicinal items.  Some of the most noteworthy were dried starfish, dried seahorses, dried bee hives, live scorpions, legs from various animals...such as a deer leg bone with the hoof and little fur attached.  Blech. Blech. Blech.  Apparently they make soup with the starfish, seahorses, and bee hives.  They fry up the scorpions.  And just knaw on the raw deer leg bone.  No.  Just no.  Even our guide who was born and raised in Guangzhou and is a strong believer in Chinese medicine thinks some of this stuff is crazy.  Hope I'm not offending any of my deer leg bone knawing friends.  If so, I apologize.

In Guangzhou, they speak Cantonese while in Chongqing and Beijing they speak Mandarin.  Our guide says that everyone in Guangzhou speaks Mandarin also but they use Cantonese primarily.  For lunch, we had some classic Cantonese dishes.  Our guide was very vigilant about keeping Lydia safe at lunch and so Lydia got to try Cantonese food and loved it.  I think that girl had 4 servings of noodles!  It was very good but I still prefer the spice of the Sichuan area. 

Tomorrow we have a free day in Guangzhou without a guide or a driver.  We are planning to get ourselves back over to Shamian Island from our Mariott hotel by taxi.  Shouldn't be too hard with the fact that many people here speak at least a little English because so many foreginers come here and we have the Google translate app on our phone.  We are actually happy to have a relaxing day to do our own thing. 

Wednesday we head home.  It will be a long day plus some.  We start out leaving Guangzhou at 10am and head to Beijing.  We will then change carriers and fly Air Canada to Vancouver.  Then Vancouver to Denver.  Then Denver to KC.  All in all about 28 hours.  But, I'm telling you, I don't dread those 28 hours one bit as long as NONE of it is on that smoky, nasty, stinky, uncomfortable train!  Give me 28 hours of posh airplane anytime compared to that.  That train was hands down one of the most humbling, take-me-way-out-of-my-comfort-zone expereinces of my entire life.  It will stick with me for a long time.

Tonight we are eating room service American food.  Guangzhou is much more Americanized than the other places.  American music playing at the pool.  MUCH more American food options.  And, thank goodness for HBO!  We are watching Ratatouille right now and last night we got to see Minions.  We are homesick and so getting to watch a little TV in English (with Chinese subtitles) and eat some American food and hear some American music is wonderful.  We also got to access Google and Facebook today.  The Chinese government blocks them in most of China, but apparently not in Guangzhou. 

I think all 4 of us appreciate all of the blessings in our lives a little more after this trip.  It is a humbling experience in so many ways.  Much different than last time when all the same stuff was around us but we were so gaga baby brained that we didn't get the opportunity to really think about what we are seeing and how it compares to our lives.  I'm so happy that our children have had this opportunity.  It is important to see and experience a completely different culture and think about how very fortunate they are. 

~Carla

Retail Therapy

Today we went to the zoo while it was pouring! It's a good thing we brought umbrellas. The other day we didn't grab them and it poured! We also did some shopping. That, was fun. It was also cheap!  Shopping was the best part of the day.  I bought some souvenirs.  Tomorrow we get on another airplane to go to Guangzhou.

~Lydia

Today we went to the Chongqing Zoo and saw several pandas.  It was pouring so we weren't sure they'd be out but they apparently love the rain because they were all out playing in it.  We also saw several tigers.  We didn't stay to see any other animals because the rest were ones we could see anytime at home.  After that, we rode the city's monorail around the city to our hotel.  They have a really nice monorail system that they opened in 2006, several months after we adopted Lydia.  It goes above the streets like monorails do but it also goes under the streets like a subway.  Likewise, their subways go under the streets and in some places, over the streets.  Chongqing is VERY hilly so they have had to compensate this way.  Later we ventured out without our guide to find something American to eat.  We ended up at KFC.  Okay, get this.  An American fast food restaurant, with non-English speaking employees trying their hardest to understand what we wanted by a rather complex picture menu and they NAILED our order PERFECTLY.  American employees in American fast food restaurants can't do that much of the time!!  Craig and I got spicy chicken sandwiches...but they weren't like in the US.  They were Chinese level hot with that same flavor and they were GOOD!

We travel to Guangzhou early in the morning. That should be the most relaxing part of our trip, which is good because we are exhausted! 

~Carla

Trained Out

I'm not going to say much, but it was quite an experience today. The traffic is horrible. We almost got ran over a few times crossing the street! It's so dangerous and scary here. I am super tired, so I'll type more tomorrow.

-Lydia

Today we traveled back to Chongqing from Xiushan by train. I think we all have had our fill of trains for a while. Today on the train we got to eat lunch in the train canteen in car #14. That was an experience. They had a full kitchen and were whipping up whatever you wanted from scratch just like a restaurant. Now it wasn't as good as the restaurants we've eaten at but it was ok. Jake and Lydia stuck to rice. Jake didn't see anything that appealed to him and we didn't want Lydia to have an allergy problem between the middle of nowhere China and the middle of nowhere China. 

It is interesting that on the train they sell packaged snacks on one cart that they bring through periodically and on another cart they sell fresh fruit. Then their meals are cooked from scratch in the train kitchen. Much healthier options than America. There is certainly no obesity problem in China. They eat very healthy and walk a lot.

Below is a photo of a calligraphy artist in Chongqing doing a calligraphy painting of Violet's name to go with the ones I had done for Jake and Lydia last time. 

Also below is a photo of a baby carrying basket similar to the one I purchased in Xiushan. We just shipped that and Lydia's bamboo hat home. It cost us 5x the purchase price to ship them home. Luckily the purchase price was super cheap!  

Tonight we are going to go on a river cruise down the Yangtze River to see Chongqing at night. Craig and I did this 10 years ago and it was beautiful. 

Here are a few pics as we made our way to the train station in Xiushan along with the others mentioned above. 

-Carla

Wow!

Today was one of the BEST days of my life! I got to see my birth place and orphanage!  We also bought one cone hat, and one baby basket. We went to the orphanage and saw the kids and babies.  There was something sad about them all. We've  got pics. of them. Mom got to hold one of the smaller ones.  There was a 5 year old with dwarfism there, she also had problems learning because she got sick at 2 years old. You would NEVER guess she was 5. The others were just as sad. I prefer to tell this story over others.  I got to meet the person how found me today as well.  He was as excited to meet me as I was to him. It was very cool.  My finding place was at the entrance of a trade center, so that's where we went next. Quite an experience that's what I'd say.  Eating Xiushan food was not my favorite part of the day, but it was fun to try. Today was just AMAZING! I'm glad we came to Xiushan.

~Lydia



Today was worth every smokey minute on that train! Xiushan is a beautiful city with lots of dark complected people. When we woke up this morning, we looked out our window to find a beautiful river and gardens and buildings with Chinese music softly playing outside. 

We went downstairs to the breakfast buffet to find only Chinese options. All of our other hotels had a mix of Chinese and American food but they do not ever really see Americans here. It is very traditional here. The signs are written in Chinese and English in Chongqing and Beijing but rarely here. We got lots of stares today. Lots of curiosity. Lots of complete amazement that an American family was standing right in front of them. 

We then headed to the orphanage. We had read online that the orphanage was not really an orphanage anymore and had changed to a different location. But what we found was that the location was the same, they just moved the remaining babies to the adjacent building of the complex. But we did get to see the room Lydia was in and we got to visit with the orphanage employees and ask questions. The loved seeing her. The head nanny said, "Xiu Ai, our baby is home!" She kept touching her face and hugging her. (Xiu Ai is Lydia's Chinese name). There are very few babies being abandoned in Xiushan now because their economy has greatly improved over the past 10 years and more and more people are keeping their daughters because the Chinese people are changing their way of thinking.  

We went to the room with the babies. There were just a handful. The one with the red and pink polka dots is five but has dwarfism. She also contracted meningitis when she was two and was in the ICU. She hasn't really spoken since and her cognition was affected. She is very playful and smiley. The baby in the crib with the white sleeper was born with an imperforate anus and will soon have surgery and then be placed for adoption. The newborn is a week old little girl and is healthy. They must place her finding ad in the newspaper and will wait two months for her parents to return for her and then she will be placed for adoption. The one in the crib with the red blanket has Down Syndrome and other medical problems. She has significant nystagmus and we think she had a seizure while we were there. She is ineligible for adoption because of the severity of her issues. Children with Down Syndrome can be placed for adoption but her medical issues are much more extensive than that. The other child up walking around is also ineligible for adoption. His mother has severe mental health issues and is unable to care for him and his grandparents are older and unable to as well. So he is under governmental care but because he has a family he cannot be eligible for adoption. He was so sweet and really clung to the nanny that was caring for the babies today. All of the children are so sweet. I was in tears. My daughter was that little newborn baby girl living in an orphanage and being well cared for by these loving nannies. They go out of their way to take good care of the babies. We asked them what they needed, which our head tour guide told us to be careful doing because sometimes they will say they need a new laptop or something very expensive and then get offended if you asked and then didn't oblige. But we couldn't identify any specific needs so we asked and they said special diapers for the baby with imperforate anus and a can of formula for the newborn. Such things are very expensive in China. Each was $50 (USD). So, we got them those and some toys for the other children. We plan to keep in touch and help support the orphanage in the future. 

In our discussions with the orphanage staff, we were able to get the name and address of the man who found Lydia at the entrance of the trade center. We then went to the police station and asked for their help in locating him. They were immensely helpful and called him. He was so excited that he left his job and his boss lent him the company car to come right over to the police station and meet us. He remembered finding her. She is the only one he has ever found though his wife has found a baby also. He was overjoyed to have follow up to this situation and we had pictures taken with him. Can you imagine the talk around his dinner table tonight!? We are overwhelmed by how open and honest and helpful everyone has been along the way. We have found the orphanage and the Congqing Civil Affairs office to have been very open with us during our adoption by giving us exact copies of almost everything they have in her file. They were helpful in their explanations and guiding us today. 

No one knows anything about her birth parents. They were not seen at the finding spot. As we knew, she was found in a baby carrying basket with a thin small blanket. She was also found just before noon so she was either born in the morning or the night before. So her birthday remains May 16, although it is probably just as likely that it was May 15. 

We then had lunch. Lina, our guide, says that in Chongqing they will tone down the spiciness for foreigners but in Xiushan they only know one way to cook because they rarely see foreigners. It was incredible food and Lydia got to try it all. She loves trying it but doesn't care for really eating it. 

After lunch we went to her finding spot. This trade center used to be the city center but it is more on the outskirts now. It is a poorer area. It was nice to be able to fill in another gap in her first 8 1/2 months. Lydia is pretty quietly absorbing all this and taking it in. 

We went shopping for a baby carrying basket like the one Lydia was probably found in. Each are has their own style and Xiushan's is unique compared to areas at the border with Hunan, etc. So, the one we bought was made by farmers in Xiushan and is unique to this area. Lydia also got a traditional hat that the Chinese use to block the rain and sun. The kind you have probably seen in pictures of workers in rice fields. It was also made by Xiushan farmers. 

We have now made it back to the hotel and are going to go to bed early. We catch a train back to Chongqing in the morning. Another 5 1/2 smokey hours but I would ride a million smokey hours to get to see and experience what we did today. 

~Carla

Chongqing

Right now we are on a train that started at 4:20 and will end at 9:50. It's 7:25 right now. We got to go to a book store with a few English books! We bought Peter Pan. There was a copy in English, and in Chinese. Together it was about 5-6 dollars. Lunch was also cool. I got to have a little Chinese food 🍱! It was certainly tasteful. I chose not to have much of any thing. My family and I went to a mall. It was huge! We bought racing swim suits, and goggles. The suit might fit perfectly 😍! Before we got on the train, we had to go though the train station. That was NOTHING like what I thought it would be. It's sooo crowded. I had to sit in between Jake and mom to stay with them😅. It was... an experience. I was glad to get on the train but the train isn't the best. Can't wait to get home, but this is so fun!

-Lydia

Today has been all about important life lessons for our children. It is one thing to come to China and go visit Beijing and see all of the historical sites and interact with the Chinese people. It is fun to try to communicate with them when there is such a big language barrier. It is an entirely different experience to enter the Chongqing train station and attempt to catch a train to a more remote part of China. 

We have been sitting in the train station in the "preferred waiting room" because we paid an extra 80 Yuan for help with our bags. That's about $15. It is beyond crowded, filthy, loud, reeks of cigarette smoke and is just complete chaos. And this is everyday life for millions upon millions of people. The filth is beyond describable. I don't think there is enough hand sanitizer in this world to make us feel clean at this moment. Restrooms are the worst. If you can get to a 5 star hotel restroom then you are lucky. But here in the train station it is a 1 star at best. In many public restrooms soap isn't even an option. They don't even have dispensers. Same story with toilet paper. Almost all toilets are "squatty potties" and sometimes there will be one or two "western toilets" in a public restroom, though not always. There always are in airports or nice hotels though. But some just skip toilets altogether. We've seen a man going by the highway. We've seen multiple people hold their 3 year olds over the public trash can in this waiting room to go. We've seen children just squat to the ground and go. Today has just really solidified in our minds why Violet could not come. She is only 3 and puts her hands on her face as well as ours. We would all be sick. The city center is cleaner than Beijing as far as the sidewalks and the air. But public places that are old and in disrepair without any maintenance and millions upon millions of people just don't lend themselves to a clean environment. We are spoiled in the US. Our standards for cleanliness are high. Our expectations of public maintenance are high. It is good to see another way to live. It is not wrong. It is just different and not at all what we are used to. I imagine we will get more of that lessons as we get to Xiushan which is a small farming community. We will really get a more traditional Chinese experience I think/hope. It is good for us to be stretched outside our comfort zone. We get very comfortable in the US with our spoiled ways.  And we are wayyyy outside of our comfort zone with this whole experience.  

Today we went to the Civil Affairs Office in Chongqing. It is not in the same building it was 10 years ago. We got to look through her adoption file and surprisingly we had been given copies of pretty much the entire thing when we adopted her. We did get to take a picture of her footprint the day she was born/brought to the orphanage and we got to take a picture of her earliest color photo from right after she was born. She can still make that grumpy face!!  Haha!

Tomorrow apparently we will visit the orphanage although we heard it wasn't an orphanage anymore and is in a different building. So, we don't know what to expect. The part we consider the entire reason for this trip is to go to the entrance of the trade center and stand in the place that she was left to be found and taken to the orphanage. It's been quite a ride to get to this spot of the world and has taken a long time. 

We are getting a bit homesick. We are missing HGTV, healthy American food, space, fresh air on a consistent basis, and most of all, sweet Violet. 

Lydia got to eat some yummy, very spicy, Chongqing food today. Chongqing is a municipality in the Sichuan province. It is not officially a part of the province but like Sichuan, Chongqing has very spicy and delicious food. Our guide was very careful to communicate to the restaurant about her allergies and follow up so we allowed her to try two dishes and steamed sweet potato leaves. She liked it but didn't love it. She did love getting to take part in the experience. We don't have the same guide now as we had in Beijing. We are also no longer with a group. That means our individual needs can have priority attention. We will take it on a meal by meal basis. I don't know how it will go in XiuShan. At this point I'm just praying for acceptable hotel accommodations. We will see.  Off to enjoy 5  1/2 hours of China's countryside before arriving in XiuShan. 

Update...We survived the train ride and are officially in Xiushan. It is 11pm so it is dark but the city looks beautiful and it is more developed than I had imagined. It is not at all common for Xiushan to have foreign visitors so you would have thought aliens just got off the train with the way people were gathering around to see us, ask us questions (that we couldn't understand), and bombard our guide with questions. They followed us out of the train station and were asking where we were staying. I'm glad that our guide didn't tell them or I think they'd be knocking at our door!  We are showered (and thankful to get the cigarette smell out of us) and are off to bed. We have an important day tomorrow. 

-Carla

Chinese One Direction

You know how I said that Pizza Hut was horrible the other day? Well today we went there again, and guess what they served us... American cheese pizza! We had been praying it would be so good. And McDonalds, one of the best lunches ever. I got McDonalds at the airport with an Alice in Wonder land book. It was half Chinese, half English. We were at the airport for forever. Our plane was delayed 3 hours! Its been a long day, and it's about to get longer because we leave for XiuShan tomorrow after we go to see my adoption file.  Our train ride is going to be 5 1/2 hours.  I need to think of more words to stump Mom and Jake in Hangman!

~Lydia  

What a day!  We left for the airport early this morning to fly to Chongqing only to find out it was delayed.  No reason given, no estimated time given, so we just sat at the Beijing airport hoping it wouldn't get canceled.  So, 2 1/2 hours after our original departure time, I was walking out of the restroom only to hear a bazillion teenaged girls screaming at the top of their lungs.  Then I saw this mob of teen girls following this teen boy and his bodyguard down the hall toward our gate.  It turns out that one of the members of this very famous boy band in China, TF Boys, was flying to Chongqing on our flight.  Of course, we had NO idea who this was.  It was only after we met our guide that she showed us another mob of girls surrounding his car and the police trying to control the scene that she said who it was.  We all had to laugh that the closest we have ever gotten to a famous person in the US was when I passed Dolly Parton in the Nashville airport and certainly no mob of girls was chasing her screaming, but we come to China and are on a flight with basically one of the members of Chinese One Direction!  After all that, we had a fairly uneventful flight to Chongqing.  No one bothered this poor kid on the flight.  We learned that you can't use cell phones on airplane mode on a China Southern flight.  We also learned that "no smoking" is just a suggestion and that the rather strong smell of smoke coming from the bathroom as a line of 10 guys rotated in and out of there is just ignored.  We learned that "keep your cell phones off until we are at the gate" and "keep your seat belts fastened until we are at the gate" is also just a suggestion because the second the wheels touched the ground people started making and taking phone calls and texts and their seat belts unclicked in unison.  We had a 2 hour and 15 minute flight and they served us a full meal.  Our options were fish and rice or mushroom noodles.  Both options came with peas, carrots and pickles medley, a roll, and banana yogurt.  Interesting.  Not quite delicious but a lot more interesting than pretzels!

We are in Chongqing now at the hotel.  This place is just as gorgeous as I remembered it.  The high end shops surrounding the city center are just beautiful...Prada, Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc.  The traffic is easier, though still not easy...there are 33 million people in Chongqing.  We tried Pizza Hut again.  This time between Google translate (which I can't explain how we were able to download that since Google is apparently blocked by the government along with Facebook and Instagram) and a helpful waitress, we were able to convey that we wanted tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and not brown stinky sauce and cheese.  We were beyond thrilled that we got what we wanted and took a picture of the pizza and the check to show the next waitress in case we go back. 

Tomorrow we take a 5 1/2 hour train ride to XiuShan after visiting the Civil Affairs Office here in Chongqing.  At the Civil Affairs Office we will get to review Lydia's adoption file and hopefully glean more insight into her 8 1/2 months before we adopted her.  In XiuShan, we don't know what we will see and who we will get to talk to exactly, but we will see the spot where she was found and subsequently was turned over to the orphanage.  Five and a half hours on a train sounds exhausting after our long travel day today and we've never been to XiuShan so we are a bit nervous.  Everything else, so far, has felt familiar to us. 

Wifi is hard to come by for us, so I don't know what our XiuShan wifi situation will be like.  Hopefully we will get access and can update the next couple of days.  If not, we will as soon as we can.  Goodnight!

~Carla