Medical Exam Day and Guangzhou

Today Kristy takes her required (by the US) medical medical exam for entry into the U.S. She weighed 12.2 kg (27 pounds) and is 87 cm (34.25 inches) long. She is a big girl for 2 years old. The locals are amazed at her size. exam before entering the US. We had a rough night last night. Kelly had a 102 degree fever and got sick once. Kourtney did not have a fever at all and was up all night and into the morning being sick. Kristy passed her The other parts of her exam included ENT and heart. Since she is a cleft affected child they had to look at the repair. We did not do anything else today because Kourtney and Judy were napping all day recovering.

A little information about where we are staying. We are staying on Shamian Island in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong. Shamian Island is an island surrounded by the Pearl River, the 3rd largest river in China. It once was owned by England and you can tell by the architecture. The island now caters to adoptive families since thousands of adoptive families have to go through Guangzhou each year. The locals speak the Cantonese dialect, Mandarin is the official language of China. The language differences between Beijing and Guangzhou are subtle but the locals will correct you if you use the Beijing pronunciation. The local park Shamian Park is a focal point for the locals. If you go there you will see people playing hacky-sack, badminton, mahjong. They will exercise by ballroom dancing or tai chi (favorite of the senior citizens). You may also see people playing musical instruments or singing. The Chinese really know who to take life leisurely. We are staying at the White Swan Hotel which is a 5 star hotel. The staff at this hotel really are customer service centric. They have operators at each floor to open the elevator for you every time. They have a small shopping mall in the hotel. They have a waterfall with a pond that have huge carp. The hotel has two pools, an exercise room, an arcade, and several restaurants. The most disappointing part of the hotel is when you first get to your room and see the beds. They are bigger than a twin but smaller than a double. The most famous part of the hotel is the breakfast bar. The breakfast bar has almost everything you can think of and a lot that you can't. Ever had stir fried rice or noodles for breakfast? How about dumplings (pork or fish)? Fried green beans? Baked beans? Tater tots? The french toast is the best. All kinds of breads, eggs anyway you want them. All kinds of fruits. It is extremely hot and humid here. The weather is very similar to Columbia or Charleston but the locals are a lot tougher than the Americans. Most shops have fans or little airconditioners. Some shop owners do not turn those on until they see you walk in their shop. I'll leave you with pictures from Guangzhou and the White Swan. The waterfall at the White Swan, a license plate from the wall of Lucy's restaurant, a building from the view of our room, and a picture from Gotcha Day. Oh yeah, I couldn't resist the picture of a menu item from one of the local restaurants. Yes that is a duck with the head still on it. All of you "Christmas Story" fans will know that this is also called Chinese turkey.