Guangzhou: Day 4 (US Consulate Appointment and ER Visit)

Ephesians 2:19 "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God"

Today Shan Chen and DJ are one step closer to being United States citizens. We had our consulate appointment this morning. I wish I could have taken my camera with me to take pictures of the amazing scene. There were about 15 families waiting to have their interview to finalize the last step of their adoption process. The room was filled with about 20 children who used to be orphans, but who are now beloved sons and daughters!! It was wonderful to see their happy faces and the love that these parents have for their children. Unfortunately, it was raining when we got to the consulate and we were rushed through the gate, so we only snapped a picture from outside at the very end. 

Since DJ and Shan Chen were both over 10, they had to be asked questions by the US State Department. The interviewer spoke both English and Chinese. I was worried at one point because he had to call over a lady who spoke more fluent Chinese to get a better answer from DJ. He was asked if he knew where his biological parents were or who they were. He kept pointing to me saying I was his mom. On one hand I was thrilled that he was proudly saying I was his mom, on the other hand, my heart broke that he didn't understand the concept of a birth parent. We feel blessed that we now have a way to stay in contact with both sets of foster parents for the boys. It is important to us to allow them to stay in touch with these amazing people that played a vital role in their lives. Thankfully, both boys answered the questions correctly and if everything goes as planned, we will have their paperwork to enter the United States on Thursday morning!!

 After our consulate appointment, we headed to the Shifu district with my friend Brooke and her kids. We had lunch at Pizza Hut and then walked the streets looking at shops and street vendor goods. THIS is what I imagined shopping in China would look like. I thought the Pearl Market and Toy Market were neat just because of their massive scale, but it felt like a big overcrowded mall with tons of vendors. The Shifu district felt more authentic and raw. I loved it!!

Funny story: I went into a store to purchase a silly gift for the boys that we saw another kid playing with on the train to Jinan. While I was in the store, I was able to pick 5 little scratch and play tickets. Shan Chen scratched the one off for me and was very excited. It was all in Chinese, so I had no clue what was going on. He handed it to the lady who kept looking at it, looking at him and me, and went to get her boss. I guess we won 1st prize and had the chance to purchase any jewelry for 82% off. They kept saying how lucky my son was. That was a fun moment and I was able to buy a really nice gift for a nice price!! As we left the store, Shan Chen looked at me and said, "I do good Mama, I do good!"

Would you like a snack of squid on a stick?

China's version of the Home Depot

How about some fresh meat?

Would you like some Nkie shoes? What about Nika? The shoe stores cracked me up with their names.

Fresh meat market

Fresh squid and octopus for dinner anyone??

How about some frogs? They were sorted by type too.

Turtles anyone??

My favorite - how about some snakes??

Chicken feet?? I don't know if I'm brave enough to try chicken feet!

Home Depot - lumber department

The store clerk pulled up my hair to show me how to use my new hair stick

Guangzhou version of Time Square?

  

This evening our hotel had a very nice reception for the adoptive families staying at the hotel. I did not get to stay long because I had to take Shan Chen to the Chinese version of the ER. Earlier today, I saw a waded up piece of toilet paper in Shan Chen's ear when I woke him up. I pulled it out and told him that we do not stick things in our ear. As the day went on, he kept complaining about his ear. On the taxi ride to Shifu, I looked in his ear and deep inside was white. It looked like he had pushed a piece of tp deep into his ear canal. His ear was dripping as well and didn't look right. So, after getting him to eat a quick dinner at the reception, we headed next door to the doctor. 

I have always heard how amazing the adoption community was, and I have seen first hand what great friends you can make during this journey. I have made a few life-long friends. One of those friends is Brooke! She left the reception, that she had just arrived at, to accompany me to see the doctor with Shan Chen. Not only did she do that, she took pictures for me since she said this is blog worthy China stuff tonight. Brooke is seriously an amazing woman and I'm so glad that God crossed our paths!!

I'll spare you the details, but the doctor said that Shan Chen had an ear infection. He didn't seem to concerned about the toilet paper until we kept insisting there was something else in there. Needless to say, even after some cleaning and rinsing of the ear, I will be taking Shan Chen to the doctor right when we get home because I don't think the doctor cleaned the ear good enough. For now, Shan Chen is on an antibiotic ear drop. Hopefully that will clear up his ears before we fly home...that would be miserable!! So, not even a week as my son and we already have visited the ER once!!

Hopefully everyone sleeps well tonight! We are taking a trip to Baiyun Mountain tomorrow to do some last minute sight seeing. Please pray with me that Shan Chen's ear clears up and that we won't have any issues flying home!