Chinese Wal Mart Adventure

This is James writing this time.

Today was much less stressful and the best day yet.  Chun Wu was much more expressive and relaxed.  Yesterday she was either emotionally flat or crying.  Today we got her really giggling and having fun!

In the morning we went to the CCCA and did some more paperwork, did our final interview (we think), made the donation to the orphanage, and got our certificate of adoption.  This did not take very long.  We got to see all the other families again, and ask how everyone else is doing.  Lots of interesting stories, but everything is going pretty well.  We rode a chartered bus to and from CCCA, which Chun Wu really liked.  She seems to have no trouble in cars or buses.

We went out to lunch with a great couple from Atlanta who are also adopting.  They brought their daughter along who is Sophie's age.  With them, we ordered our first Chinese meal without a guide helping us out.  But we did well.  Everything was excellent and tasted great, and the kids got a kick out of the chicken head that was left in the chicken soup.

After lunch, we went to Wal Mart, which was an adventure.  It was very strange to see such unfamiliar food products with the standard Wal Mart advertizing.  We bought water and a bunch of assorted Oreo cookie varieties, such as green tea and birthday cake.  I was a little disappointed that there was no "duck head" flavor.

The city we are currently in, Hafei, is undergoing rapid development and is very disorganized.  There's no such thing as a city block, every street seems to be at an odd angle from every other.  Adding to the confusion, there are so many high rises that it's difficult to get oriented.  When we left Wal Mart, we had no idea which way to go.

Plus it's so hot, that decision making is difficult.  When the wind blows, it's not refreshing.  Hot air is just changing places with other hot air. After Wal Mart, we wandered around hoping for a clue as to which way to go to get back to our hotel (which was within walking distance), until Michelle flagged down a nice local man who helped us get a cab. Strangely, every time *we* tried to hail a cab, regular people would stop to pick us up!

Cabs, bus, and subway are all very cheap in China.  This is the government's way of discouraging driving to help with pollution.  A cab ride to the restaurant and back was only about 4 US dollars.  So we do not hesitate to get a cab, so long as we have some sort of written instruction about what place we want to go.  It is virtually impossible to communicate with people here.  There is no middle ground, even simple gestures barely work.

Once back in the hotel, we retreated to our room, where we took a nap and played ball in the hallway.  Chun Wu LOVES playing with a ball!  Then we played games, Michelle gave Chun Wu a bath, and ordered dinner in.  Right now, we are reading, Chun Wu is watching a movie, and Sophie is reading comic books.  We're keeping things very simple and trying to establish the room as a safe and fun place.  We are also trying to set up routines so that Chun Wu knows what to expect.  This will take time, obviously.

We try to limit ourselves to one adventure a day, and today's was "Chinese Wal Mart".