It has officially been one week since we left home. It has been remarkably easy with this entire adoption, and the trip is no exception to that. Marin is so much fun! She laughs constantly, and has become very vocal....haha. She even showed me some attitude yesterday, which I was very happy to see. All this time, we have been told what a people pleaser she is, and that worried me a bit. Made me wonder if maybe she would try to constanly please us at the expense of having her own opinions. Well, that has not been the case. She is feisty and has no problem telling me when she doesn't want something! Very glad to see that.
This morning, the day started off with a skype call to Marin's BFF, Mia, who was adopted last May, and now lives in Florida. Marin was rather reluctant at first, and then appeared really embarrassed, but after a few minutes, the conversation took off and they were talking in Mandarin. We are so happy to be able to maintain their friendship, and look forward to getting them together in person in the next few months. It is a beautiful thing to have that connection. The girls are very fortunate. There are also a few other girls that Marin is interested in talking to that were adopted in the last year, so we will encourage those relationships as well. Skype is great!
After breakfast, we took the drive over to Shamian Island. All of you adoptive families know the significance of that. But for those who don't, Shamian Island is an area where the British were allowed to live during the trading season, so it's like a small piece of London in the middle of a Chinese city. It's also home of the famous White Swan Hotel, where most adoptive families stay when they visit Guangzhou. It is currently closed for renovation, but they are allowing people in to visit the first couuple of floors. Beautiful art, fabulous restaurant. Many great memories. There are great little stores on the island and some wonderful restaurants, including one called Lucys, that is famous to adoptive families because they serve American food :) So, today we had burgers and french fries- yay! Marin loved the french fries..... Even dipped them in ketchup!
We had Marin's medical exam today, which is a part of all adoptions. You go through a series of rooms where various doctors check various parts of the child's body. Unfortunately, because Marin is over 10, she had to have a full set of vaccinations. Those with children under 10 can choose to have them waived as long as they promise to have them done in the States. Poor girl. She howled a little, but didn't cry. She also was not a fan of the blood from all of the pricks. You can tell she had never had a shot before. But she did awesome!!! And I got some great snuggles out of it :) We go back on Monday to have the TB test read.
After we got back to the hotel, we went to the koi ponds, and then played some tennis. We were still full from Lucy's, so decided to just have ice cream for dinner :) Marin is just exhausted at the end of every day! She tried to fall asleep around 5, but I kept her going so she wouldn't have her night ruined. Even though she was use to getting up at 6 am at the orphanage, she has been sleeping in until almost 9 am every day! When she wakes up, she gives me a huge smile, then I bop her with the pillow. She loves it. Really, she is the most amazing child. So, so beautiful in every way. Her personality is the best!!! My little goofball :)
Have a great Saturday everyone! We are off to bed :)
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