We are feeling excited today, because tomorrow we fly out to Zhengzhou. I'm impatient to meet Cheng Cheng, and also one province checked off gets us that much closer to getting home. I really miss my kids and my dear and handsome husband. I have never traveled without him on an adoption trip before. I may also be feeling excited and energetic since I ate Dragon Beans at breakfast. The Chinese are so superstitious about health, and everything has some benefit for your qi, or channels and collaterals.
Today we didn't have a guide since she had to run around getting Shi Wu's passport. She explained for us to Shi Wu the other day that we are giving her the American name Therese. We are using both right now and she is starting to know Therese when we say it. We skyped with our families and then using skype, we introduced Shi Wu to her godparents. She was her usually wiggly self but she did talk to them a little bit and look cute on my lap. She has 3 Chinese godsiblings. I don't know if that is really a word, but she seemed to like hearing them use Chinese even though her dialect is different.
After skyping we decided to go find a shopping mall since we needed some diapers. To get to it involved crossing a street, which is normally extremely dangerous, but this one had an underground passage so we arrived at the mall safe and sound.
There was actually a sign that said, in English, Baian Shopping Center.
We had to figure out how to get inside, and we stared into all the windows and watched people and were able to figure out how to get in, in spite of being barbarians who cannot read Chinese. This is the entrance, just in case you are ever in Lanzhou:
We went through the whole mall, out of curiosity. We wanted a tote type of carry-on or big purse, but the prices were horrendous. One we found on the sale rack was $66 dollars. And it wasn't even a fake Gucci. So I said I will carry a plastic grocery bag if I have to. I'm not buying a $66 dollar bag. People stared at us a great deal and one woman tried to ask us about Shi Wu, and then tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't reply. Maybe that is a good sign, that she realizes she belongs with us. I have had concerns about how excessively friendly she has been sometimes with Chinese people. In the basement we bought diapers and wipes, and some cheap spoons with a Chinese character on them. They were only 50 cents and will be easier to wash than the plastic spoons we have been using. The character written on them could say "poison" for all I know, but they look cute. We also found an adapter for the outlet that we need. I brought 4 of them, but we still didn't have the right one and have had to borrow them from every hotel.
Outside the shopping center was the American fast food presence in Lanzhou. I'm sure the "Colonel" would be proud to know his face has made it to the Silk Road.
These are the delivery vehicles. Of course you would have to be able to speak Chinese to order, but we thought they were quite interesting.
This is near the underground street crossing. An exercise area outdoors in a public square. There were lots of people using the equipment--grandmothers riding the exercise bike and younger people lifting weights. There were children in split pants wandering around watching. It was a very local Chinese scene and everyone looked us over very thoroughly since we obviously were not locals.
Our next stop was the bank next door to the hotel where there is a handy ATM machine. Froggy and Little Panda wanted to get a picture with the stone lions out front.
This helpful sign was posted in the bank lobby. I managed to obey this sign while I was in there, both not stealing and avoiding someone stealing from me. I'm not sure which one the sign is talking about.
Froggy and Little Panda also got a picture on the dragons outside our hotel.
We walked around the whole city block after putting our diapers and stuff up in our room. It was interesting just to look in shop windows and try to figure out what they are selling since there is rarely any sign with English on it. We saw a wedding couple too--they had a decorated car pulled up to the curb and people threw paper streamers and confetti on them while the groom hoisted the bride and carried her into what I think is a restaurant where they were going to celebrate. We found two different children's shops, and we ended up buying Shi Wu a couple of outfits from the sale rack in the one close to the hotel. She was thrilled to get to hold the small shopping bag. The sales staff was twice or more what the staff would be in a tiny store like that in the US, but they were friendly and helpful and one even knew a couple of words of English--she did say "small" in English. Shi Wu is so tiny that it is interesting buying clothes. She is longer than a toddler would be, but very thin.
We made noodles in the room for lunch and Jenny, our guide, brought Shi Wu's new passport and some other documents up to our room for us. Shi Wu was very happy to see her and then had a major breakdown when she left. She was inconsolable for a long time, and it was so sad to see. She didn't want me to comfort her but I held her and walked the room. Eventually a lollipop helped things get better.
