Guangzhou- Day 2

We had such a fun day today.  I hired a lady to take us shopping.  I got to know her through our first adoption, and she played an integral part of some of the more complicated parts of it.  It was wonderful to meet her in person.  She took us to some great places with rock bottom prices.  After two hours or so, we said goodbye to her at the Pearl Market, which is a 6 story mall that sells mostly jewelry.  She took us to a store that sold beads, and we got a few strings of beautiful beads for just a couple dollars. 

From the Pearl Market, it’s about a 30 minute walk to Shamian Island, the place we stayed for our last adoption trip.  It’s a calm, peaceful place with lots of open space for kids to run.  (Here near our hotel, you must keep a strong grip on your child as it’s in the middle of busy streets, a.k.a. crazy drivers.) 

We walked through a very modern outdoor mall, which led to a traditional Chinese market.  We saw all sorts of animals for sale, along with buckets of live scorpions, tons of dried animal skins (rats, maybe?), and even a mouse on a stick. 

Once we got to the Island, Erin understood why I loved it.  It’s lush, quiet, peaceful, and traffic free (well, mostly).  We had yet another awesome lunch.  Pumpkin soup-delish! 

The down side of our excursion was that it took us an hour or so to hail cab to get back.  A couple drivers just didn’t want to take us.  They said no and let someone else in the cab.  We walked around looking for a busy corner where cabs might frequent, but had no luck.  We finally walked back to a well-known hotel and waited.  As a cab was pulling out, I just stood in the road so he wouldn’t leave!  Finally, we could get back to our hotel.  I was beginning to get concerned.  Jinny was getting hungry, but she was SUCH a trooper as we wandered through the streets. 

Jinny has been doing better and better.  I think she is missing other children.  As we sat at breakfast, another adoptive family was next to us, and she slowly gravitated toward their table.  Their two children were younger than she is.  She very gently helped them eat, patted them on the back, and retrieved their dropped toys.  It was such a blessing to see that side of her.  What a sweet girl!

She also has such a great sense of humor.  We laugh a lot.  She is very, very happy to be with us.  A couple of the ladies at the bead shop kept saying they wanted to take her home and it scared her.  She stood behind me gripping my coat.  She said something back to them, and they told me she said, “This is my mommy.  I don’t want you.”    I wish people would think before they say things like that. 

There zero issues at bedtime, and she sleeps solidly all night.  Yay!  That is not common, and I’m incredibly thankful for it. 

Something that surprised me…she doesn’t like dresses!  What?!  Doesn’t she realize she’s a Degan now, and there oodles of dresses hanging in closets in her new home?  I think this will really shock Jia too, as she would wear dresses every day of the week.  We may have to work on that one.  ;)

I am feeling more and more blessed by this little one.  People often say, “Oh, she is so lucky to have you,” but that’s really the opposite of how I feel.  We are the ones who are so blessed to have her.  Despite a difficult first week which had me more than a little concerned, I can see God’s hand so clearly.  He has certainly brought me to a place of complete surrender, and I know I can trust Him with every aspect of our family. 

I’ll post pics in the morning!  I didn’t realize how late it was.  Sorry!