Unless you are 20 hours and three flights away from home with three kids! :-)
Let me start this entry with an apology. We were retired to the room last night I had all intentions of finishing the post before I went to bed. I had it started and then went to assist Ann Marie with the bath and bedtime duties which concluded with me lying down with Declan as we watched a Thomas movie on the television to assist him in falling asleep......it ended with me waking up around midnight to a dark room, me still dressed and snuggled up to Declan who was sound asleep, just as I had been! I looked around for Ann Marie and she too was in bed! Oooopppps! Ann Marie told me this morning that we looked too peaceful to wake up so she left us to sleep. Thanks Sweet Pea, I needed that rest!
So here we are at 5:30 on Wednesday morning, our last day in Nanning before we transfer to Guilin.
Tuesday was paperwork day here in Nanning so
we rose early to get breakfast in before heading off with Bob. The kids enjoyed cereal and milks in the room while I ran out to grab some things for we adults. After finishing breakfast and dressing we met Bob downstairs at 10:00 to drive to the Civil Affairs Office to complete the paperwork we started the day before here at the hotel. For those of you who have adopted from China before you know this as the "Red Finger Day"! With kids in-tow we entered the building, which is had been recently built and was beautiful, and were taken to the waiting room where there were several other families waiting to complete their paperwork was well. The kids played and Mom and I signed and stamped our way through the documents. We then met with the official who signed off on our paperwork after asking us several questions about our intentions, a few more red finger stamps and one tiny red foot stamp and the adoption was official! We then drive to the notary to have it authenticated and we were quickly on our way back to the hotel!
Once back at the hotel it was time for lunch! We decided to go low key so we walked to the Pizza Hut (yes, non adventurous after last nights dinner) and had spaghetti bolognase, pepper steak and rice, and fried rice. Declan was not too keen on the spaghetti, but the fried rice was a hit! We loved seeing the menu for Pizza Hut in China and wish the the restaurants in the United States would offer such a variety of food! I mean, Stuffed Crust Jumbo Shrimp Crown Pizza not only sounded good, but it looked awesome! Maybe next time that's our dinner!
Naps were in order after lunch as we had been up since 5:00 am (again), so we bedded the children down for naps, then Ann Marie went on a shopping excursion for supplies while I watched the kids and did some work on the PC. After naps the kids played in the room for a while with puzzles, toys and such till the point that Savannah and I ventured out to find us a place for dinner. We walked up and down the streets here near the hotel and even visited the newest Mall in Nanning that was outstanding! It had everything from an full size ice rink to a movie theater inside and not to mention any store that you could find in the United States. I was angling to keep Ann Marie out of this one as shopping at a mall with a Gymboree and a Starbucks could proved disastrous! So Savannah and I settled on a nice German Restaurant just behind the hotel for a change in culinary flavor!
Zur Eiche, or the German Oak in English, was a huge hit with everyone! From the moment we walked in we were really impressed. The owner, Ruediger Sonten, came over and spent copious amounts of time chatting with us and telling us all about his history in China and about starting the restaurants both here in Nanning as well as in Yangshuo. For starters the adults ordered a great German beer called Schneider Weisse Original. A product of the oldest German wheat brewery in the world, Schneider Weisse Original is an amber-colored speciality beer that has been brewed for more than 130 years in accordance with the brewery founder's old, unchanged recipe and is produced just minutes from Rudi's hometown in Germany. For food we order plates of homemade German sausage with sauerkraut and potatoes, Swabian Onion Steak with red wine sauce and swabian noodles, Chicken Fricassee with rice, Kaesespetzel which is swabian cheese noodles with fried onions, and last but not least a Vienna style Schnitzel! All I can say is that everyone was well stuffed when we departed Rudi's establishment and ready for a good walk back to the hotel!
Once back at the hotel, Savannah had arranged a Skype call to her classroom back at Thales Academy in Apex! Mrs Gainer and the class called right on time and even though there were a few technical difficulties, the class and Savannah had a great time talking to each other and asking questions about the trip so far. They even got to see Declan live and in person which seemed to be a real treat! We will try to do this again from Guanzhou where the Internet may be a little more cooperative.
Well, that brings our story full circle.....bath and bedtime duties......zzzzzzzzzzz!
So till next time.....
Michael (why did I not bring my gym clothes!), Ann Marie (mmmm....beer!), Savannah (noodles and cheese please!), Aiden (Im not jealous.....yet!) and Declan (zhè-ge shì wǒ-de)
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| Waiting Room at Civil Affairs |
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| Declan makes his mark! |
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| The Kennedy's, one of the Orphanage Staff and the Civil Affairs Offical |
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| The sign at the Civil Affairs Office |
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| We needed these! |
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| I think Ann Marie needed this one after what had just happened (story to be revealed later) |
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| We were stuffed after this one! Thanks Rudi! |
With breakfast out of the way we packed up and shipped out
for our trip to Guilin with Bob around 10:00 am. Before heading to the bus station, Bob took us to the
Nanning Minority Museum so that we could get a better understanding of how
Chinese Minorities make up a large part of the regions heritage and the
importance it plays still to this day. The new museum was built in 2009, moving
from its pervious home in downtown Nanning. It was very interesting with Bob as
a guide as he is from Guilin and could expound on many of the things in the
displays. The daily lives of the 12 indigenous minorities of China are
recreated in many displays. In China, the vast majority of the people are
descended from the Han. Anyone who is not of Han descent is considered a
minority, and there are several minority groups in China In Guangxi, the
primary minority group is the Zhang, and the province is called "the
autonomous region of the Zhang people." There are other minority groups
from the region as well, though, and the museum represented several different
minority cultures.
The museums contains an extensive drum collection, as well
as artifacts of everyday objects such as textiles, rituals and music from
different minorities, vases and cooking tools, one life-sized display of a
minority home as well as several structures typical of homes of the various
minority groups. Everything is explained in English and Mandarin on plaques
near displays that makes it quite visitor friendly! Also, if you are not Chinese, be prepared for celebrity
status as the local school children will all want to take a picture with you
and practice their "hellos" and "good mornings" 
After leaving the museum we made a quick stop at the former museum
location as there is still an extensive gift shop there where we purchased a
few items for the kids so that they can have some things to remember their heritage
once we return home. Then it was
on to the bus station!
Once in Guilin, we made our way from the local bus terminal
to the Sheraton Hotel where the offloaded our luggage and then met some local
friends for a kid friendly dinner at the local McDonalds! It was so good to see our old friends
and to share great stories as well as show off our newest family addition.
Savannah has ecstatic to have some girl time with our friends daughters as she
has been cooped up with the boys for several days now and adult interaction for
us was a great thing as well!
