Back tracking again with a little information. First of all Iris has asthma so those of you with asthma now understand why a sinus infection plus herbs that made her throw up would wipe her out. We did have a very small bottle of Advil with us. I had only packed a 25 tablet bottle because we were trying to pack as light as possible because we had to bring all of the baby clothes, diapers, food, etc with us. There was no aspirin or regular American over the counter drugs in Wuhan which is more rural and inland than our next stop Guangzho. Other members of our group were coming down with colds by now and everyone was asking if anyone else had aspirin, cold tablets, etc.
Sunday March 1-Left Wuhan and headed to Guangzho for final process of getting Mandy's Visa from the American embassee so she can enter the US. Iris had to hold Mandy on her lap during the flight.They served us Nabisco Social crackers and
beverages.Mandy had her own package of crackers and some Kiwi juice which she loved. We were again met at the airport by our representative Barbara from Holt. The suitcases were taken for us to a waiting bus and we were transported to our hotel. This hotel is called the White Swan. It is a 5 star hotel. Our room is the nicest so far. Much brighter with a large potted plant in the corner. Iris was constantly amazed that here I was in China and the first thing I point out are the plants and flowers. She just didn't understand my passion (obsession) with gardening. At the Temples they had incredible Orchids that they were offering as gifts to the statues. Since all 3 of us were sick Iris arranged for us to go to the clinic in the hotel. Barbara went with us as our interpretor. This doctor seemed to have a better idea what we were facing. Once when he was taking my history I coughed and he backed his chair up just a bit. I laughingly said to Barbara that he was afraid of catching what I had. I didn't realize she was going to interpret that to him. But he laughed and moved his chair back to its original position and said no he wasn't afraid at all. He gave me 3 kinds of medicine--a cough syrup, an antibiotic and a cold tablet. Mandy had fallen asleep in my arms just before we went to the clinic and then became rejuvenated for the doctor and Barbara. Iris and I were wiped out so we did not go out to eat that night. We fed Mandy a jar of baby food (macaroni and cheese) and some applesauce and crashed.br>
A few notes about the White Swan Hotel. It has 1,000 guest rooms and had pictures of visits by Queen Elizabeth, George Bush, and Richard Nixon. They had very elaborate gift shops all over the first floor and in the midst of them is The Philipine Consulate.
Monday, March 2nd--Iris and the baby are off to the American Consulate this morning to process the work for Mandy's American Visa. I looked around the gift shops in the hotel and find they have Tylenol and cough drops, something I would have killed for only 2 days ago in Wuhan. I talked with 2 different families today who were here adopting their second baby from China. Didn't realize before that 3/4 of the guests seem to be families adopting babies. It is hard to believe that there is a population explosion when you see the number of babies being adopting. It really reinforces the idea of a male society if the girls are leaving the country. I wondered if they will have a problem in 20 years with not enough girls but everyone assures me that the numbers being adopted are just a drop in the bucket. Bought another box of Kleenex in the gift shop. It has pastel pictures of little ducks on the box and says "gentle and soft". The name is RAMBO. Not a name I would associate with soft and gentle. In the afternoon we went out to the little shops around the hotel. I bought some silk scarves, silk ties, and fans for my family.
Tuesday, March 3rd--Only thing on the schedule today is for Iris to pickup Mandy's completed Visa at the American embassy this afternoon. A note on the food. Everywhere we have gone there have been terrific buffets. The surprise has been the terrific desserts. They have tiny little petit fours, eclairs, sponge cakes and exotic ice creams like mango with kiwi. The End! Love, Mary
