Sunday Snapshot: Hard Goodbye

I just loved having my brother, Thaddeus, here. Like really loved it. I will admit, I was a little nervous at first because I'm so used to just "my life" over here that I wasn't sure how it would be to have another person around. But it was great! He was able to see and experience a lot in the 2 weeks he was in China. And surprisingly, things went very smoothly. 

On Tuesday afternoon, it was time to say goodbye. He became quite attached to little Treasure which made it painfully hard to say goodbye. 

These two were inseparable for those two weeks he was here. Playing, reading, laughing for hours. It brought me to tears several times just watching them together.

In such a short time together, they fell in love with each other. And I know they miss each other terribly.

When Thaddeus was in the room, no one else existed to Treasure, not even me! Their bond was that strong.

 A beautiful friendship was formed in such a short amount of time.

Which made the goodbye all the more painful. It was painful to watch when he walked out of the playroom for the last time and Treasure lifted her arms in anticipation of being picked up.

*Sigh* It's hard. But I know that two lives were changed in their time together. And that makes it even more special and I know the memories will last forever.

Linking up with Ni Hao Ya'll

Dim Sum: Last Chinese Meal

One thing that I was pleasantly surprised about Thad's time in China was how much he loved the food. He especially loved the Chinese vegetables. I knew he liked American Chinese food but "authentic" Chinese food is much different. He was willing to try anything! Of course I didn't feed him anything totally weird like pig's blood or chicken feet, but still, the food here is just different. 

We had to take the 5:20 p.m. bus on Tuesday afternoon to Guangzhou where we would then spend the night for his 8:30 a.m. flight Wednesday morning. For our last real meal in China, we went out for Dim Sum with the foster home's medical coordinator, Katrina. Dim Sum is a southern China thing (you won't find it in Beijing) and I just love it! It is usually eaten for breakfast or lunch and you order a lot of "smaller dishes." You then take your time eating, drinking tea, and chatting over a leisurely meal. Dim Sum could be a couple hour event! Here are some of our dishes:

This is pretty much cooked lettuce with delicious seasoning!

Once of my favorite dishes... a cold spicy and sweet cucumber dish.

Not entirely sure what these are... a sort of pastry.

Radish cakes.

Noodles. I just LOVE the noodles here! This one had pieces of beef in it. Thad loved the noodles!

Spring roll. So much more delicious than the ones in the states.

Shrimp dumplings. I'm not a fan of shrimp and Thad didn't think he was either, but he loved it! Honestly, he likes the food here more than I do.

And of course, flower tea.

It was a good "last meal." Well that night we did have a overpriced bowl of Japanese noodles for dinner at the airport and *cough, cough* McDonald's for breakfast before he boarded his plane, but we won't count those.

Wordless Wednesday: Reading Time

Hot Pot & Goodbye's

One of the things Thad has gotten the chance to experience a lot in China besides playing with some of the most adorable children ever, is try some new food. Saturday night we went out for Hot Pot. 

For those of you who don't know how Hot Pot works, it's like this:

You order raw meat such as beef...

And pork...

And you cook it into a pot that is boiling on your table. What is in the pot? you may ask. Why it's a pork bone, of course. For flavoring. 

You then order other things to add such as mushrooms and corn.

Potatoes,

noodles,

tofu noodles,

And then you enjoy!

Or you could always pose with the lettuce bouquet. It's up to you.



It's even more fun spent with friends. We went with my friend, Joy.

The waitress apparently couldn't figure out how to focus my camera. Oh well.

We ended the night with a ride on one of the many rickshaws that are found throughout China.

It was such a fun and delicious evening!

Thaddeus and I are currently in a hotel by the Guangzhou airport. He will fly back to the states tomorrow via Beijing and then JFK in New York City. Please keep him in your prayers. This is his first time traveling by himself and it's an international flight at that. Pray for his connections (he has a short one in Beijing), smooth flights, and also for the weather in Buffalo as he is scheduled to land Wednesday night. This protective big sister may be just a little anxious but I know that the Lord will be with him each step of the way and I'll anxiously await word that he has made it home, safe and sound. 

Sunday Snapshot: Shamian Island

Yesterday I finally made it to an area that I have been wanting to go since I moved to China almost 2 years ago. Shamian Island. This is an area where any US family adopting from China would stay at the famous (in the Chinese adoption world at least) White Swan Hotel. The main reason families would stay at this hotel was first of all because it was really nice and a luxury in China and second, because it was right next to the US Consulate where the adoptive child would receive their visa to enter to US. 

The US Consulate has moved and no longer located here and the White Swan is being renovated and so families no longer stay in this area for the Guangzhou portion of their trip. However, I have still been wanting to go. I have heard about this area for years from my parents and the adoptive online community. It's about time I made it there!

It is so beautiful and peaceful. I'll definitely be going back sometime. 

We ate lunch at "Lucy's" which is a western restaurant near the White Swan. I've read a lot about this restaurant from adoptive families and it didn't disappoint! After 2 weeks of Chinese food, I think Thad was ready for a double cheeseburger. 

The dirty beautiful Pearl River.

The Pear River.

It was just a tad smoggy yesterday (notice the sarcasm)... typical Guangzhou or China for that matter.

I'm going to miss this boy when he leaves me on Wednesday. It's been so fun having him here!

Of course I had to get a picture next to the Pear River. Surprisingly, I wasn't even wearing pearls!

The White Swan Hotel. Still has a ways to go before it'll open again.

I just love the buildings.

Figured out that this where Kiah had her "medical physical" before she could enter the US. I put it it in quotations because in order to check her hearing, they shook a rattle to see if she would turn her head. Yes, very thorough.

His serious face. Maybe he's tired of me taking his picture? He'll thank me one day when he has them to look back on.



Probably the coolest Starbucks I've seen. Definitely planning on coming back and hanging out here for an afternoon.

Oh I'm so glad I was finally able to make it to Shamian Island. It was even more special that I got to experience it with Thaddeus!

Ni Hao Ya'll

Beijing: Wangfujing Street

Better late than never right? I'm finally getting around to our Wangfujing Street post. So Wangfujing Street is a famous street in Beijing. It's known for it's umm.... interesting snacks. No, we didn't try any but Thad found it rather amusing when he saw someone eating a starfish on a stick!

Seahorse or scorpion?

Or..... a bug? Or two.

There is fruit too which is really good.

Thad with his "new friend" working on his bartering skills.

Thaddeus is really under the weather today. Started feeling yucky yesterday afternoon and really not good today. He's been in bed most of the day, what a day to spend New Year's right? Won't you please keep him in your prayers? He is really bummed since he wants to be over playing with the kids so he is only in China for a short time but instead home sleeping.