Day 8

Day 8) Today was a day to be spent in the hotel waiting on the guide to bring us all the provincial paperwork and Liam’s passport. Really that is all we did due for the entire day is just watch television in the room, which I must say for a television junkie like me it is a hard thing to do when your selection of channels only include 3 English channels and these channels repeat the same shows several times a day. We did get CNN but news is good sometimes during the day but not something I can watch all day, the other choices were either HBO or some Fox international channel. These two choices were what we watched most if something was on good but even then not always. We did read and entertain ourselves by keeping the journal going on a daily basis as to make sure that we kept it fresh so that we did not forget to include something of importance or interest. Okay to add a few interesting observations to this journal. First is that beds in China are hard as a brick, honestly they are very hard and extra firm this is the way the Chinese like it, it does take some getting used to but it is still uncomfortable to sleep on when you’re used to sleeping on a comfy pillow top mattress. Secondly another thing that is very hard to get used too is the fact the Chinese that smoke do it any and everywhere they are no matter what, having not smoked for over a year not it does not really bother me anymore but it stinks a lot and is not something I want Liam to be exposed too. Thirdly we had a convention or conference at the hotel for a couple of days that was for a cigarette company and its supporters this just added more stink to the already abundant smell of stale cigarettes in the air. Lastly we find it interesting that Chinese people don’t think that we know the proper things to feed the baby. We were told how much to feed him and also what to feed him, it is like they think we have never even seen a baby before or been exposed to one.

Even more pictures

More pictures

Pictures of Nanjing from Day 8

Here are some pictures of Nanjing and some places we went to during our time there. They are of The Nanjing Brocace Research Institute and random sites we took.

Day 7) Again we began the day with the same morning routine as we have had for the last few days here in his province. We are trying to let him get adjusted to us by creating a semblance of a routine as we can here in China, adapting this as it is needed. Then about 8:30 we were picked up by our guide and driver and headed out have a morning of leisure sightseeing here in Nanjing. We were taken to the Confucius Temple that is just off the Mother River which flows into the Yangtze river. We took a short tour of the Temple which was truly amazing to see and experience since this was also one of the first places in all of China to have a University and one of the first in the entire world. We then went to what Shirley and I would consider a true Chinese Street Market, just like the ones you have seen on cable television, narrow streets or corridors with just rows and rows of stalls and shops selling almost everything you wanted or needed and something’s you truly could do without. We were told to make sure we kept an eye on our money and wallets in this confined area because this is where the pick pockets hang out. They were selling anything from fruits, clothing and souvenirs’ to even an assortment of animals that we think were suppose to be pets but in a foreign country you are never truly sure what that culture considers pets or food. Shirley did buy a solar flower for her car that she has seen in several cars as we have travelled around the area, it is similar to a bobbing head doll. We were heading back to the van when I saw the most prolific site in all of China, you may ask what pray tell is this site of wonders that I saw, it was none other than KFC and Pizza Hut the largest single fast food chain and most popular in all of mainland China. Believe it or not the number of these are far greater than the mega chain called McDonalds, which we have not seen at all here in Nanjing but we have seen Shirley’s favorite retail store in the entire world which we saw on our way too the hotel the first day here that being IKEA. After this trip to the temple and street market we headed back to the hotel for Liam to take a nap and rest for the rest of the day. We did experience in the afternoon our first big tantrum from Liam, we were unsure as to the root cause of this tantrum but in the end we think it was a combo of hunger and adjustment. After this event we had a fairly calm night with him.

Day 6 China

Day 6) We seem too stuck on getting up at the wee small hours of the morning for some reason don’t know if it is a form of jet lag or what. We are getting up most days around 5 in the morning so that we are ready and fully prepared for Liam to get up for the start of his day. So this morning we had our daily routine of breakfast and play time with Liam until about 8 am when we went out for the morning to do some shopping and a short visit to weaving institute. We first visited this gorgeous factory called the Nanjing Brocade Research Institute. This was a huge treat to see how these amazing Chinese silk brocades are made all of which no matter how intricate the design are produced by hand. After this we went to Chinese Department store that can only be describes as very high end Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Ave... It is funny because of the way you shop, you shop the different departments get a sales slip and then proceed to the nearest cashier and pay then return to the individual departments to pick up your purchases in the correct sizes, which generally are not out on the rack for sale but still in the stock room to be retrieved after selection is done. This department store is more than just an average American style department store because they have a full grocery store on one level and yet another level that is just restaurants. Our guide did say that all of the Department stores throughout China are of this same name and style. Another interesting fact about retail in China is that if you are buying let’s say cosmetics in one store the price is going to be the same in every store across the country for that brand and every other brand. So that is to say no matter what store carries an item it is the same as the next store and so forth and so on. Prices here in China seem to be controlled more here than we are used to in the USA, we think this may have to do to the fact that China has little to no inflation rate at all in their commerce. We did buy him 4 different one piece outfits, some shoes, and a couple pair of socks for his feet so that we will not offend anyone here in China. Not having something on your feet here in China is considered to be sign of poverty. We then went back to the hotel again for rest and relaxation with the baby, it may seem that we spend a lot of time in the hotel this week but it is what we and China would consider necessary for the bonding process too begin.

Day 5 China

Day 5) We woke up around 5 so that we could get ourselves ready before Liam woke up for the day, I showered and got dressed for the day. Shirley slowly got herself ready for the day and then we got Liam up and headed down to breakfast as a family. We headed back to the Department of Civil Affairs too make it official, to finalize the paperwork hand over large sums of money to them. We signed several documents and promised never to abuse or abandon him ever. Like that would ever happen to him again with us around to protect and care for him. Final after about 1 hour we headed back to the hotel with Liam Holt Shunyue Wetherald as our son, signed sealed and delivered as of 9:30 a.m. Chinese time. Here we spent the day with him experiencing him and his variety of moods, from happy too sad and even a little loneliness. The biggest emotion of the day is Crankiness. We think his moods may have stemmed from him being constipated or even a little itchy from what we guess is maybe bed bugs or some other bug bite. Our biggest relief came in a very small format for the new parents, it is truly amazing what brings great joy to you as a parent of a new baby no matter what their age maybe, we got to experience his very first “poop” it brought us such great joy because the poor boy had been constipated for about 2 days. We even did the “poopy” dance in celebration.