First day in Guangzhou

We had a great first day in Guangzhou. It's definitely not so smoggy anymore, and it's much warmer - about 75 degrees. Lovely, Carolyn says!!

Max did not want to sleep last night, and was happily gurgling to himself until about 11:30, but then slept until 7:30. He is truly a great sleeper. In fact, more and more I realize how lucky I am to have Max do so well. We noticed it when we went down to breakfast.

As soon as we stepped off the elevator, we saw other American families with Chinese babies. The hotel is known to host these families as we're all waiting for the last step with the American Embassy. We were definitely seated in the "American" section of the restaurant, literally surrounded by other adopting families. Now Car and I have felt a little isolated since Chongqing, so both of us, the social butterlflies that we are, are greeting our neighbors, trying to make small talk. But looking around, we realize that most of these families seem as shocked as the babies they are adopting. Some of the babies haven't eaten in a few days, and of course, the new parents are really worried, and it showed. I hope it will all smooth out for them. We'll definitely keep track of them over the next few days.

We did meet one Dad from San Francisco who we briefly saw in Chongqing. He has little Wei Wei, a girl from Max's orphanage. He and his wife adopted a baby girl four years ago, and are back for #2. He is traveling on his own this time, and it was great to talk with him. I'm sure we'll be talking with him some more; we want to keep track of the kids since they come from the same area.

Cordelia, our new guide, met us at 10:00, and we walked around Guangzhou (yes!) . It was so great! We walked through busy local streets, where vendors were selling crazy things like live scorpions, snake skins and other obscurities. Then we reached the Pearl Market, and yes, we supported the local economy once again. Cordelia also took us to a small bead shop, who were really happy we stopped by! :) While the hotel is on a small island, and seems almost tropical, you walk onto the mainland and you're in the middle of a busy shopping scene and vendors. Really great contrast. Cordelia suggested a great place to get a foot massage. Again, just want to do our part in supporting the local economy. $10 for 70 minutes - we can live with that. :)Max had a great day. He sat in a high chair, he is grabbing for more things, and is getting more comfortable by the day. He loves to be outside, walking, and can sleep in the greatest of noises; in fact, he prefers that to his quiet crib. Car is walking him through the hotel as I write this. We're putting a lot of steps on the pedometer!!