A Trip To The Quarantine Bureau, also known as Where the #$%&@ is my Purell????

Yesterday we all went to the Quarantine Bureau so the girls could have their visa check ups. I didn't know I could bring a camera and I left mine at the hotel, which I regret because you wouldn't have believed the scene there. So, picture a clinic setting with about 75 Caucasian parents and their little Asian girls waiting for an "exam". Totally chaotic, extremely hot, (did I mention that it is really humid here in Guangzhou - like tropical humid.)Kids screaming, new parents not having a clue as to what was going on. Everyone wiping their noses. Coughs galore. A hot moist environment where all kinds of things love to flourish. Are you getting the picture? Lovely.

There were three short stops. The "ear and throat room" (the MD looked in the baby's throat and tested her hearing. She said "throat red. take care of". I'm taking care of it by bringing her back to New York and taking her to a very expensive infectious disease physician (who doesn't take my insurance) who specializes in pediatric adoption medicine. Hopefully she'll tell me how to "take care" of a red throat. On to the weighing and measuring room - Mia is about 18# and they said about 28" - although I doubt that measurement was anywhere near accurate. Then to the "physical exam" room where the MD "purelled" her hands and touched my baby. I couldn't really tell what she was doing other than checking that all her important parts were there. When we were done, I grabbed the baby and literally ran out of there. I tried to hold my breath the whole time.

Since I don't have photos of that the clinic visit, I decided to share some pictures that Evan took of Guangzhou. Even though we haven't seen the sun since we arrived here in China on June 2, Guangzhou is a lovely city - not anything like Beijing or Nanjing. Also known as Canton, it is the capital of Guangdong Province. It is the administrative center of the Pearl River delta. The pace seems slow here, and there are many parks and lush vegetation, and 19th century buildings, the kind which make you feel like you are in the South. We are actually on Shaiman Island which, in the 19th century, was a trading hub for foreign merchants.

Just some history for your information. The pictures you are looking at are from Sunday morning, very early, when we were taking a stroll in the park. I thought that China had a population crisis because people were having too many children. But here in Guangzhou, it seems like if there is a crisis, it is in part because the elderly live so long and are out, dancing around, doing tai chi, and playing maj jong when the rest us(well, some of us)are drinking coffee and eating McDonalds breakfast sandwiches and Krispy Kremes. No judgments, just an observation.

Tomorrow is our last full day here in China. We go to the Consulate and take our oath, get Mia's passport back with her visa and pack to come home.