Train Trip to Guangzhou

After a wonderful week in Shanghai with friends we said good bye and headed to the train station with all our bags.  So thankful that our friend Robert helped us to the train station.  They let him all the way on the train with us.  I was amazed and asked how he was allowed to do this. He joked " I just told them you were related to Bill Clinton".  China loves Bill Clinton. 

On the train in our little compartment

Addie and Will in their top bunks. I think Will climbed up and down about 50 times during our trip. (He also bonked his head or other part of his body about 45 of those times)

Eating on the train

The most popular food to eat on the train is by far the "Fangbian Mian" which means "Convenient noodles".  You just dump boiling noodles in the cup and add seasoning.  Basically Ramen noodles. We all had our convenient noodles and then headed to bed.

In the morning we woke up to discover that somewhere in the night we had lost some time so our 18 hour train trip was becoming a 21 hour trip.  It was still a great experience but arriving at the hotel in Guangzhou and the soft beds felt pretty good too. :)

A Trip Downtown

We couldn't visit our beloved Shanghai without taking a trip downtown.  The skyline in Shanghai keeps changing. There is always new buildings under construction.  A new tall building is being built that I think will be the tallest building in Asia.  It really is an amazing sight.

Shanghai cityscape at the Bund (river front area). When we lived here one of Dennis and Will's favorite things to do was to head down here and watch the boats on the river. 

We took a ferry across the river to head up to the top of the IFC building. The one on the right in this picture

The view from the top 

 The 100th floor actually had these glass panels in the floor where you can see straight down.  In a few years this building will be dwarfed by the new construction.  

A Trip to the Sauna

One thing I definitely missed in China was going to the sauna.  Going to a Chinese sauna is quite an experience.  One afternoon in Shanghai we took the whole family for an afternoon.  To start we had to split boys and girls. So Addie and I headed off to the girls side where we enjoyed hopping into different hot pools. In addition to your standard hot and cold baths there was also jasmine and milk baths,  Addie liked the jasmine best because the water was pink :).  No pictures from this part of the sauna since this part is done "au natural".  

Next we got into our standard uniform PJ attire they give you and met up with the boys to explore the rest of the 7 floor sauna.

Next you can go into a room with big soft recliners where you can get massages (usually foot) and watch a live stage show.  While Dennis and I enjoyed a foot massage Addie and Will had some ice cream. The chairs were so comfy that after she was done Addie fell fast asleep.

Next we went onto the kids play area - where there is a ball pit and play area and arcade. There is even a spot where kids can try to catch goldfish with nets. 

You can see by this sign that they really try to keep the kids safe. :) Can you understand what this is saying??  (Please don't bring knives, forks, pens, pencils, letter openers etc into the play area) :) Yes we left ours behind.

You can really spend all day at the sauna (for a fee you can even spend the night).  I have often wondered what the record is for the longest stay there.  It was a fun afternoon together, in fact as we were walking out the door Addie said to me "Mom I want to do it all over again.  What are we doing after dinner?"

We Love Chinese Food!

We have had a great time eating our way through China. In fact, Will on multiple occasions has almost made himself sick by eating too much. That boy loves to eat! - especially Chinese food.  Here is a few shots of our culinary adventures.

The very first morning in China we went to get Shao Mai, which is fried rice wrapped up in a wonton. Will took a bite and just groaned with delight and said "This is SO good" He ate 3 of them right away. Here is Will and Vera enjoying a Shao Mai together. (Vera and Will came home around the same time so they have known each other since babies- so fun to see them more grown up together :))

Addie showing her chopsticks skills

Will eating Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

We have loved most everything we have eaten on this trip, however the other night when out with a group of folks on an orphanage trip with Small World Adoption we were served a dish that I have NEVER seen before.  Can you tell what this is? 

Its eggs and.... yes bees! Dennis noted that the stingers were still on some of them. Even most of the chinese folks with us were afraid to eat it. :)

Friends

By far the sweetest thing about being back in China thus far has been seeing dear friends.  It has been so good to be back together and see friends that we haven't seen in 2 1/2 half years.  The kids loved seeing their old friends too and asked to play with them every day that we were in Shanghai.  So thankful for the friends the Lord has given us over here and the chance to reconnect.

Will and Addie and their friends

My dear friends Jenny and Monica- so fun to talk over bubble teas again. :) 

Sharing a meal at one of our favorite chinese restaurants with our sweet friends Ray, Ada and Junior.

Me and my friend Jane

Robert and Richard with Dennis and Will.  Will fell fast asleep at this meal - the jetlag was just too much for him and Robert ended up holding him for most of the meal.

Jane and Addie. Jane is from the same province where Addie was born.  When we brought Addie home 3 years it was so special that these dear friends shared a hometown with Addie. Here are the Jiangxi women enjoying a bubble tea together :)

Traveling Over

Hi all! I am backtracking a little bit since I have a chance to get some pictures sent out. We never thought internet would be this difficult but hopefully here on out won't be as hard.  Here are some photos from the start of our trip.

At RDU airport, ready for our long trip!

On the long flight, taking and unexpected nap  :)

Our good friends Ray and Alex greet us at the airport.

 

4am--jet lag breakfast!

We Made it to GuangZhou

I apologize for our lack of postings but the 2 places we stayed in Shanghai unexpectedly didn't have their internet working, which made it a real challenge to keep folks back home posted. But we just arrived to our hotel in GuangZhou and our internet is singing, so I will be sure to post more later tonight.

We had a great time seeing old friends in Shanghai and going around to all our favorite places and eating our favorite foods (will post pictures later).  In some ways it didn't feel as though 2 and half years had passed since we had been there. Even some of the fruit vendors remembered us, which made it feel like just yesterday that we left.  We then hopped an 18 hour train (which turned into a 21 hour train) to Guangzhou.  We had a little sleeper compartment and the kids did great!  

We will be here for a couple days and will visit our agency's partner orphanages tomorrow.

We also just got an email that our Travel Approval came in- yay! but that it was mailed to the US instead of China- boo.  But it should be ok- they will just have to mail it over to us here.  I am asking and hoping that all will look good for us to meet Ava on the 13th like we hoped.  Please pray that the TA makes it here and that all is in place for a Jan 13th meeting.  Can't believe its only a week away! Also please pray for Ava' heart- I know it will be quite a transition she will be going through and we just hope to know how best to comfort her and support her during this time.

I will catch up much more later tonight - thanks friends and family!