Good to be in GZ

We arrived last night in Guangzhou and are staying on Shamain Island. The White Swan hotel is really beautiful and huge. There are tons of American families here with their Chinese children and we've reunited with our travel group. XiaoJun did really well on the airplane, after a mini-tantrum when we made him put the seatbelt on. He gets really bad motion sickness so he mostly just sat there quietly and tried not to vomit.




Today we had the infamous medical exam at the clinic here in GZ. Again, XJ did great! He is a real trooper. He had to get 6 shots and he did not cry once. He sort of just shuts down and becomes a wet noodle when he is scared, not sure if this is a good or bad thing but that is how he copes. The clinic was total chaos. Hundreds of families with their new kids moving between these "stations" of ENT exams, shots, height/weight...there was seemingly no order and it looked like something out of the Dharma Initiative in LOST. Very surreal.



Guangzhou is a welcome change from Hefei. It is subtropical climate set on the Pearl River and looks a lot like New Orleans. The entire, and I mean ENTIRE, island is under construction. It is hard to navigate without risking getting scooped up by a backhoe. Despite this, it is a relief to be here. We can walk everywhere, there are great restaurants and shops and I even treated myself to a Frappachino today.



Tomorrow is the Pearl and Jade market tour. We are thinking of skipping because I really think it would not be fun for anyone with a very active 4 year old.



XiaoJun's little personality is really coming out. He is VERY active and curious. He is super independent and loves to be in the front of the pack. He does not like being told "no" one bit...but who does?! He's also super sweet and loves his Mama...and is warming up to Baba.



Will post more pictures tomorrow!