Saturday, January 27, 2007

Well - we finally arrived at the White Swan Hotel. And for the FAPs, this place really is the end of the rainbow. I've been in other 5 star hotels and this place seems to beat them all. Of course, the prices are at 5 star level as well. No longer do I get to pay for a 30 cent room service cup of rice; my cup of French onion soup here at the White Swan costs over 10 U.S. dollars and it was for a cup, not a bowl. No worries though, as several restaurants are within walking distance of the hotel and are very reasonably priced. And this place is a shoppers' paradise. Angie did manage to let Becca pee on my bed tonight while she without a diaper (we have separate twin beds). But this was easily remedied by calling our floor attendant (each floor has an attendant.)

Our day started out this morning with breakfast and then we hung out in our room the entire morning playing with Becca. We had to break for her nap time but I managed to eke out a few extra minutes of play time with her by taking from her nap time (I know - she needs her nap time and I won‘t do that again but it was so much fun.) While she was sleeping, I ran down to the Carrefour store to get those diapers I previously left behind. After lunch, we headed out to Hefei airport for our flight to Guangzhou. We flew Hainan Airlines, voted the best in China for 8 consecutive years. The trip was uneventful, especially for Becca's inaugural flight. Becca threw a few temper tantrums, but overall she either slept or played with Angie. Angie had it rough though; as Becca insisted Angie hold her for the majority of the flight. Angie did have a first today as this was the first time that I did not have to hold her hand on the takeoff and landing. She now has the responsibility to do that for Becca. The flight from Hefei to Guangzhou took about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

This was perhaps the last time that we will ever be in Anhui Province. We hope one day to take Becca back to her finding place and orphanage when she is old enough to comprehend the visit. Yesterday, I mentioned that Becca's birthplace is Chao Hu City, Anhui Province. Actually, her documented birthplace is unknown. We know nothing about Becca's life or existence prior to December 12, 2005. It is assumed that Chao Hu City is her birthplace as her finding spot was in that town. We really don't know her actual birth date but it has been extrapolated (or interpolated - someone go look that up for me) back to December 4, 2005. Think about the significance of this with Becca and other Chinese adopted children. Part of their history is unknown and will never be known. This presents to be a problem with a lot of these children as they reach late childhood and early adolescence. It may seem that I have painted a rosy picture of Becca's transition to her new life. Challenges with her have already presented themselves to us, but we have found a way to work them out. We will be there to aid Becca in tackling any of the obstacles ahead of her. Just look at the resilience of her now. Your prayers so far have done wonders for her well being and her present adjustment with us, and we are grateful for these blessings bestowed upon us.

Well, that's it! It's been a long day and tomorrow we have a meeting at 10AM, church service around 11AM and then plan to explore Shamian Island.