Sightseeing with the Little Guy

Seeing the sites is a much different experience with a baby in tow, that's for sure. Yesterday after our 2^nd Civil Affairs appointment, we headed out to see some of the city on our own. Now that our hip carrier is working, Ian is a breeze to carry.

Many people talk about the crazy traffic/drivers in China, but they're not much different than what Shawn has experienced in the Philippines or what we saw in Italy, so navigating the streets is not too terribly difficult. We wanted to find a part of the city that we had passed earlier in the day with several tea shops. We couldn't quite remember where it was, so we found a landmark and then set off in the general direction we needed to go. Soon we were out of the touristy area and in the more traditional neighborhoods, which our guide hasn't really taken us to yet here in Hangzhou. It was our first real experience with having locals come up to us and want to see Ian. We'd had LOTS of stares, but no one had approached us up to that point.

I will say this. The people we have encountered in China are by far the most polite of anywhere we've been before. Even though not everyone strikes up a conversation, we have never once had negative experience with people on the street or otherwise. The hotel staff here in Hangzhou is a slightly different story, but I'll go into that another time. Anyway, yesterday we had stopped at one point so Shawn could take a picture of something and 5 girls came pouring out of a restaurant to ooh and ahh over Ian. He's a lady killer already! Older people also just love the kids. We've had no issues whatsoever with "the clothing police", but we're also layering him pretty well, too. I've already changed his diaper twice thinking he was wet when really he was just sweaty. I'm new at this. How was I supposed to know?

After about an hour of walking around without finding the street we were looking for, we abandoned hope and headed back. Ian was perfectly content in the carrier the entire time, taking in things he has never seen before. Since the kids in his orphanage don't really have any place to go outside, the babies don't get out, so this was all very new.

After being a total angel all day, he was a bit more of a handful at dinner. It was apparent that he was worn out from a very full day. We wanted to keep him awake for a little while longer, but he won the battle and was asleep in his highchair half way through dinner. I didn't have my camera, but it was pretty cute. He was awake by the time we were back to the room, so we drew a bath and HE LOVED IT. He splashed and giggled and played until the water was cold.

Shawn then headed out for a foot massage (70 minutes for about $20…can't beat that) and Ian and I played "Where's mama" and "Where's Ian", where I would hide behind a towel and he would pull the towel off and laugh his head off, and then would do the same with the towel waiting for me to pull it off. We went back and forth for about an hour and he after that, he now has mama down well (that he uses mostly when he's tired) and now responds to Ian.

Next, I held onto one hand and we walked back and forth from the door to the bed. If I stopped, he would start to cry, so we did that for another hour. He is getting much better balance after only a couple of days, which tells me he could have been walking long ago if given the means and opportunity. People just love to carry their kids everywhere here, so I think it must be normal for them to walk really late, orphanage or not.

We had a minor meltdown at bedtime last night, but it only lasted about 10 minutes. If that's what we have to deal with, we can handle it. Polli has much more staying power when it comes to crying at night. She can whine for hours or until we let her out of her kennel, whichever comes first. Ian simply tired himself out in a few minutes and slept from 9pm to 7am without a problem and was his usual happy loving self in the morning.

Today, we went to a park at another part of West Lake. As soon as we got out of the taxi and headed toward the park entrance, we noticed a woman dressed in her fancy skirt and high heeled boots kneeling down staring at a flat tire on her car. Plenty of people were standing around watching, but no one was offering to help her, so Shawn handed me his camera and bag and had Celine translate to her that he would help her. He changed her tire and put away the flat in her trunk like a true gentleman. People were snapping away his picture and a man from the park security who had taken some shots came over and asked for his name and email address and said that his picture might be put in the paper to display his act of generosity. He also purchased us bottles of minute maid orange juice as a thank you on behalf of the park. It was pretty funny…and an example of how nice people are here. It's just that none of them know how to change a tire!

While in the park, we were approached my many people asking to take our picture and to touch Ian. People became so excited when they found out that he is a boy and especially when they saw his ear. A man shook Shawn's hand and told us he was very grateful for giving him a loving home. A few minutes later, we were approached by 3 older ladies, a mother with her two grown daughters. They gave us a bag of some kind of candied seeds, maybe watermelon, and candied fruits that are a delicacy in their home province. One woman explained that she is a doctor in Yunnan and has seen Microtia before and is aware that Ian will have the chance at surgery. It was great to know that not everyone in China sees special needs as a spectacle unworthy of living, as I think the adoption community sometimes leads itself to believe.

We came back to the hotel for lunch and naps, and then headed out to an open market that Celine found for us with the hopes that we could find some interesting tea sets. It wasn't terribly far and in an interesting part of town. It went on forever and we truly could have spent the whole day there. There were several medicine shops that sold ginseng and dried insects meant for traditional Chinese medicine. There were many tea houses, restaurants, silk shops, and others. We had a great time and picked up more souvenirs than we have room for. We'll see how we get them from here to Guangzhou and home… I guess everyone probably has this problem!

So we're back at the hotel and going the path of least resistance and ordering room service. It seems to be the easiest way to eat lunch and dinner now that Ian is here. Our favorite is the fried rice, dumplings, and sweet/sour pork with vegetables. Definitely not anything like what we get at home and very good. So much for my "no pork" mantra. Its better here than in the states! I hope it's really pork. LOL.

Tomorrow, we go to the Silk Market, and against my better judgment, we are going to the zoo on Saturday. My fear is that the animal living conditions will make me depressed, but it might be OK. We'll see.

Below are some pics from last night and today: