Our Adoption Story

The babies all had to have medical exams as part of the visa application process. The medical examination building is a few blocks away from the White Swan, so we walked there this morning.

The medical exam center was crowded. We ran into a family which we first met at O'Hare in Chicago, and again at the Great Wall in Beijing. They're here in Guangzhou, although they aren't staying at the White Swan. They ran the babies through different stations... first was temperature and some measurements (like head circumference, then eyes nose and throat, then height and weight. As you can see from the photos, Anna enjoyed it greatly.

This afternoon after lunch, Ron (one of our traveling companions) and I took a taxi and went to a Chinese electronics mall to see what was available. Most items were priced about the same as you'd see at Wal-Mart. Of course, like most other stores, prices weren't marked so we were probably being given a higher price than the locals. Despite our best efforts to blend into the crowd, I think we stood out. The taxi ride was about 20 minutes, and cost about 20 yuan one way ($2.50 USD).

Our guide brought us lunch from Pizza Hut. MMMMM!

Dinner tonight was at a local restaurant, the "Thai Cow and Bridge". I'm not sure why it's called that, or what that means. It amuses me greatly. Gina likes to call it the "Bridge on the River Thai".

Tomorrow we're going to the Guanzhou Zoo.