13 August 2007

Travel Day 13 — Touring in Guangzhou and Medical Exam

Posted by BaBa under: Travel .

Breakfast this morning included a couple of photos of Sheridan and MaMa and a couple of the waterfall in the White Swan. Soon it was time to visit the Six Banyan Tree Monastery, the Chen house and shopping on our day’s excursion. We were hoping to get a blessing at the monastery, but it was the first day of a fall festival and the crowds were large. It was going to be impossible to get this done.

We enjoyed walking around and weaving through the crowds looking at the shrines and the people. I got a few interesting photos including the one of the man with the incense burning below. I also liked the photo of the lady in black. You can just see the character and story of her life in her face.

The Chen house was taken over by the government. It was a family owned house and the Chens are one of the main family names in China especially in Guangzhou. Our guide, Grace, is a Chen. They saved the house from destruction during the Cultural Revolution by turning it into a museum. The house is massive and it is very interesting. We walked around looking at the exhibits and avoiding purchasing in items at the gift shops. It was here that he pitched a fit when I got out of sight. Attachment is coming along well for all of us.

Our last stop was at a state owned Arts and Crafts shop where the items were nice, but overpriced. One of our group, who was traveling with her mother, ended up staying here past the time for us to go because her Mom wanted to shop. Grace had to stay with the mother and another family member while she finished shopping. Grace did not get back until 2pm when we were set to go to the Physicals at 2:30pm. This cut it really close. We later heard that she spent really big money on pearls there. Better bargains could be found elsewhere, but it was not my money. The son-in-law was obviously ticked and said that on one can tell her anything when his Mother-In-Law has her mind made up. Grace had to send the bus back with Paul, the high school son of one of the CCAI heads went back with us. He was on vacation and was assisting Grace with our group.

We had a quick rest and bite to eat while we waited for the trip to the clinic. We arrived to meet the group and all walked to the clinic. Nancy was going to show us where the orphanage charity shop was after our trip to the clinic. We all arrived at the clinic and had just a short wait. The Chinese Physician was amazed at his size (height and weight) and how healthy he was. She asked whether he was in foster care and was surprised to find that he was in orphanage care. She examined his right wrist and said that was that all as to him being classified as special needs. His hearing and vision were fine. It took a minute to check the hearing as he was more interested in the musical keyboard than in the test. He was too long to measure on the measuring station as he hung over the end and the nurse had to get a tape measure to figure out his height. Needless to say he passed the medical and pronounced healthy. We gave Grace the paperwork and with Ms. Belinda and Ms. Nancy went shopping.

While we walking to the store, we passed another bride and groom. The groom was on the cell phone while the photographer was taking the bride’s picture. She allowed us to take her photo. She really was pretty and he looks nice, but preoccupied. We arrived at the orphanage charity store. We bought Sheridan’s christening outfit (white silk) here. We also bought him a linen jacket (used in the red couch photo) and one other outfit. I found some prints I liked. We also bought a couple of puppets and a couple of gifts for those waiting families back home. We were pleased to get the items and know that the profits go to help orphans. The shop is run by a British lady.

We arrived back at the White Swan for some play time and bed.

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