China Day Eighteen -- Government as Usual Plus China Shopping Made Easy

Heading out for a day of shopping

Today we had a big day planned, and we needed to get started on it right away.  Herman took Savannah with him and walked to the island to drop off a huge load of laundry for them to do.  It really was very inexpensive to use their service, so we decided to use them again and get everything done for one last time while we are traveling.  After this we won't do wash again until we arrive home next week.  Hopefully no one will stain the clothes too much so that we can rewear them a time or two.  I have the feeling that laundry in Hong Kong will not be as cheap as it is here in Guangzhou.

As he went on that errand I gathered the rest of the family to take them down to breakfast.  The hotel restaurant is a lot emptier these days as adoptive families finish their work here in Guangzhou and leave to go home.  We will be one of the last families left here when we leave tomorrow.

Herman and I left early with Minsy to head over to the American consulate for Minsy's consulate appointment.  We travelled with one other family from our group.  It was a mom  who was here with her four adopted Chinese daughters.  She was adopting a fourteen year old girl.  It was nice having someone with us who had gone through the process before so that we would know what to expect.  When we arrived at the consulate office it felt just like any other American government building you would find in the US.  After checking our passports to see that we were Americans (okay, that doesn't normally happen in the US) we headed to the security line where I was divested of the huge security risks in my purse like iPhone chargers and earbuds.  Erg!  But I did eventually pass scrutiny enough to pass through and enter a waiting area with several other families adopting Chinese children.  The room looked like so many other government facilities with uncomfortable chairs pointing toward a series of windows mainned by government workers who would call people to the window as their number was called.  Very impersonal.

All of the adoptive families were gathered together on one side of the room while the other people who were there for other business were seated on the other side of the room.  There were a ton of adoptive families there, maybe twenty or so.  There was a little play area for the kids, but it was too small for the number of kids there.  It was a good thing that Minsy looks like she is under two because that meant that other parents were more patient with her actions than they would have been if they knew she was supposedly four.  Minsy could get a bit possessive about the toys that she claimed as her own.  We'll need to work with her a bit on that.

After waiting around for what seemed like forever a worker finally called us all to attention.  He had all of us stand and raise our hands to pledge an oath that we had not lied on any of our information that the consulate would receive today.  It took all of about thirty seconds.  I don't know what I was expecting, but I was expecting a bit more than this.  But it got the job done, so I guess I shouldn't complain.  He explained that our chiildren would not be citizens until they stepped foot on American soil, so Minsy will officially be American when we arrive in Chicago next week.  Hurray! 

After the little oath ceremony each of the families were called up to the window individually to turn in our paperwork so that we could get Minsy's visa tomorrow.  The family we arrived with was called up first.  Their process took a little longer since their daughter had turned fourteen during the past week, so she had to get fingerprints taken before they were done.  As a side note, it was neat that this lady had adopted this girl right before she turned fourteen because once a child turns fourteen in China they are no longer eligible for adoption, so this girl now has the opportunity to have a family that she wouldn't have had otherwise.  After they were done we were still waiting to be called.  We were one of the last families called up.  When I got to the window we handed over our documents, and I found, as I had expected to, that my immunization affadavit was not correct.  They didn't give me any trouble about it.  They just had me fill out a new one right there.  It took all of about five minutes.  Then I had to head to a different government office to get a receipt of some sort.  I don't know exactly what its purpose was because I didn't have to pay anything for it.  But I dutifully took it like a good girl and headed back to government office number one where I had to go to the notary there to sign the document officially. 

As I walked up to the notary window the lady working there said, "I know you!"  Now that is not something that you expect to hear when you are in the middle of China.  But she was from the church and saw us there last Sunday.  That was neat, and she was super nice as she helped us out.  Once we finished the notary part of the job we were able to go back to another window to finally complete the process we started in the beginning.  It had taken much longer than anyone else, so we were the last family to leave.  We headed back to the lobby to meet our group and head back to the hotel.

It was interesting to see the American consulate in Guangzhou.  One interesting thing there that I also noticed throughout China was that they had people whose only job was to stand at corners and direct people where to go.  They were all over the place.  I reflected on how you rarely see anything like that in the US.  We would never pay anyone minimum wage to do that, nor would very many people take that job.  I'm sure we would just place a lovely sign with arrows directing people where to go.  With so many people in China, and with wages so low, they choose to have lots of people doing these sorts of jobs.  It is interesting to see.  I also thought it was interesting to see all of the Chinese citizens lined up outside the American consulate, hoping for the chance to get inside so that they could apply for an American visa.  We were told that they start lining up very early each day, and very few actually get the opportunity to get a visa.  It is amazing and a blessing that we were able to just walk right in and get the job done that we came to do.

Once we arrived back at the hotel we ate a quick bite before meeting our personal shopper, Ann, in the lobby so we spend the day shopping with her.  Ann has been the lady who we worked with before coming to China to send Minsy some fun little care packages for her birthday and letting her know that we were on our way to meet her.  She has done a wonderful job getting us some pictures of Minsy from the orphanage.  She also offers to do personal shopping with families when they arrive in Guangzhou.  My adoption buddy Tara used her a few weeks and highly recommended her (thanks again Tara!).  I was really nervous to call her because my ordinary phone phobia is even worse when I contemplate having to call someone in China.  But I overcame it and called her yesterday.  We set up a time to meet this afternoon.

We had put off buying anything in Guangzhou before today because we had heard that Ann could get us better deals than we would find anywhere else.  I'm glad we waited because Ann was amazing.  She took us to several wholesale places where she was friendly with the owners.  We were able to get jade items for next to nothing.  It made me a bit sad for the hosing we took at the jade factory in Beijing, but it was a learning experience at least.  I was able to pick up some beautiful ornaments as well.  We headed to the pearl market next and were amazed at the great deals we got.  The girls and I all got necklaces made for the equivalent of $150.  Now we are no pearl experts, so it is possible that we didn't get the highest quality pearls in the world, but even if they are not as high of a quality as Ann suggested, it was a still a super great deal, and the necklaces are beautiful.  

Fighting the huge crowds of the shopping district

After spending a few hours in these markets we headed back to the hotel to drop off our packages.  We decided that Spencer, Katie and I would stay with Ann as we took a taxi to another shopping area across town.  It was busy when we tried to hail a cab, so we waited and waited and waited without finding one.  We were also battling the hundred other people who were trying to get cabs.  Finally Ann did something that I would never have ever done in my life.  She got an ordinary driver stopped in the street to agree to take us for 30 RMB.  It was more than a regular taxi would be, but it was still cheap by American standards.  Plus it was available for us, so we took it. 

When we arrived at the next shopping area she took us to the antique (or antique looking at least) sword shop because Spencer really wanted to have a Chinese sword to display as his memory of this trip.  I am no sword expert, so I just patiently sat by as Spencer closely examined the available swords.  He chose very different types of swords than I would have, but you could see his eyes light up when he saw the one he wanted.  Ann helped us to make sure that the sword we got was the highest quality for us.  We got a large sword for Spencer and two smaller swords for JoJo and Hyrum.  I have some worries about whether we are going to be able to transport this all the way home.  I'm especially worried about getting them onto the train to Hong Kong since the trains don't have any system to check baggage through.  Ann assured me, however, that we would be able to get it on the traiin without problems.  At least we can check the boxes through when we have our flight back to the US.

We quickly stopped at a shop to get cheap watches for JoJo and Hyrum, and then we got some traditional Chinese clothing for all of the girls.  It was super cheap and very beautiful.  Katie was really putting on the charm with all of the ladies working in each of the shops we visited, so she came away with all sorts of free stuff that they gave to the "beautiful little girl."  She is definitely the shopper of the family.  She closely examined each item and gave me her opinion on which choices I should make at each shop.

After a quick stop at a tea shop to get some cups for gifts we headed back to the hotel.  Once again it was impossible to find a cab, so once again Ann grabbed a driver stopped on the street and negotiated for him to take us to the hotel.  He was an interesting specimen of driver that I have yet to see in China -- a man with road rage issues.  We couldn't understand what he was saying, but it was obvious that he was ticked off at the other drivers.  Ann explained that he was letting loose with a bunch of Chinese cuss words.  Hurray for our lack of knowledge of the Chinese language.  He was nice to us though, and he got us where we needed to go.

We parted with Ann after a fun day of shopping, and we headed back to meet everyone at the hotel.  We were feeling boring tonight so we just headed to McDonalds to eat.  The restaurant was small and crowded, so we just got something to go.  Then we headed back to the hotel to eat.  Everyone was tired after a long day, so we went to sleep soon.

In the hotel lobby

Tomorrow is our last day in mainland China.  Amazing to think that our adventure is coming to a close.  We will only need to quickly stop to pick up Minsy's visa before heading to the train station for a quick ride to Hong Kong.  Hong Kong will be so different than the cities we have been in here in China.  It is more of a western city.  But we're still excited to visit it for a few days before heading home next Monday.