Farewell To China Hello USA!

Our week in Guangzhou is almost over and has been amazing in a lot of ways. The main purpose of our stay in this city is to acquire Cuyler's visa in order to travel to the USA - the US consulate that handles adoptions is located here. It is so amazing to know that as soon as Cuyler lands on the ground in Atlanta he will become a US Citizen! We have been staying in the Marriott China Hotel and have had a great stay here. Guangzhou is a huge city in Southern China of over 16 million - but it has been fairly easy to get around despite the traffic and population. Some highlights of this week - The Pearl River night cruise, Guangzhou zoo, a visit to a pearl wholesale store, Shamian island, and the huge city park across the street. The park is already preparing for Chinese New Year with amazing floats and displays scattered around the park. Inside the park are amusement rides that Dave and Kaori bravely rode on a very old roller-coaster and also the bumper cars. The appointment at the US consulate went very smoothly and all of our paperwork and visa is ready, right now we are packing in order to leave Guangzhou in the morning! Cuyler is doing well and we are all learning to be a family of four. Every day we learn something new about our son. Here are some random obversations about China over the past two weeks: The Great Wall is very long. The Forbidden City is really big. The smog, well you really have to experience it for yourself to understand how bad it is. You can see it, smell it, and taste it in your mouth. The Chinese are the craziest drivers in the world. The public restrooms do not provide toilet paper. If you have a taste for basically any animal that walks on the earth, you can probably find it here. (donkey anyone?) You can't drink the water. The Chinese will cut in front of you in any line you might be standing in it is just the way it is with a population of 1.3 billion. If your American with asian kids, be prepared to be stared at constantly - not in a threatening way just more out of curiosity. China never sleeps. Everyone we have met has been friendly. All the younger generation can speak English. Random people will stop you and ask you it you would take a photograph with them. You can negiotiate the price for anything in all the retail shops. All the traffic and store signs are also in English. China is a massive wonderful country that everyone should visit and we cannot wait to return to Cuyler's homeland someday. One last thought, do not order spaghetti if you see it on the menu in China, it kind of taste like a Mcdonalds cheeseburger.