Guangzhou!

Friday we flew from Nanchang to Guangzhou. The flight was about an hour long but I was so nervous about how Emma would do. What a different experience for the girls. It went very well. There was a little crying with the altitude changes but both girls did very well. We were taken to the Shifu Holiday Inn which is VERY nice. We requested a suite so that when Emma is napping, we could close the bedroom door so she would have quiet. This is by far the nicest hotel we have stayed in on this trip. I think it is because it is the newest. The other hotels were nice but this is nicer. Last night for dinner we were really tired and did not want to go out and find something to eat so we ate at the hotel. The have a dinner buffet and Calvin was loving it as we all were. He was like a kid! There was french fries, bread, cheese, fresh cut fruit, different meats and seafood, sushi, desserts and more. It was very good.

I am writing this on Saturday afternoon/ evening. This morning, we went to get the girls visa pictures made and have their medical exams done. We all did well and passed with flying colors. This morning when I was dressing Emma I noticed that she had a boil on her shoulder. It looked terrible but it did not seem to bother her. When we met with our guide Mable this morning, I showed it to her. She said we would let the doctors and nurses look at it when we had the medical exam. I am not sure I can even describe the inside of the place where we had the medical exam. There were probably 50 families in there with multiple people in each family. We moved from room to room to get various things checked.  Thankfully it was cool inside because it was hot outside! They do a variety of things there. They weigh, measure and check temperatures, they meaure head circumference, check the spine, the ears, throat, and hearing. We showed the boil to one of the nurses/doctors and then there was lots of scurrying around. Apparently this is very common with children in hot places with little to no air conditioning. We actually saw some of the children in the orphanage the day we visited that had some boils. We needed to get it drained and we were given the choice to do it there or go to the hospital. We did it there. Boy, was Emma Kate mad at being restrained. I don't think it really hurt but I was holding her arm to keep it still. She was really crying and turning red and sweating. After we were done, she seemed fine and recovered to her happy go lucky self. We will look at it tomorrow to make sure it is okay. While there in medical exam offices, we met several families that had children from the same orphanage. Two of the girls we figured out were in Emma Kate's room. That is pretty cool! We are going out to eat some Chinese food tonight. Tomorrow we have some free time and paperwork to do. Calvin and I have both had some head congestion/ sinus issues and Brian and Stephanie have had a bit of a stomach bug. I think we are all on the mend and just pray the girls don't get sick.

Here are some pics from the plane ride and the medical exam visit.

Sylvie's first plane ride!

Emma Kate's first plane ride!

The calm before the storm

Tomorrow we have a free day for part of the day. We also have to do paperwork tomorrow so one person from each couple will go with Mable and do paperwork. That should be lots of fun! Not sure I will have any pics for tomorrow but we will see what I can come up with!