Today was another free day with nothing planned until the evening.
We slept in and enjoyed a late breakfast.
While I miss home I'm definitely going to be sad to going back to preparing three meals a day and cleaning.
Ruthie enjoyed the play room in the hotel until a child she didn't know came into the room. She came and hugged me and stared at him until they left.
She likes to mimic what everyone else is doing. She sat against this wall to throw the ball to me.
Happy girl.
It rained most of the morning so we didn't do too much. We went to the little mall next to the hotel that sells souvenirs to pick up a few more gifts.
After a long nap and a hurried dinner we headed out with a large group of families for the river cruise on the Pearl River.
Waiting for one boat to move so ours can dock.
The boat we took.
For some reason we had to start below deck but as soon as we started moving could go up on deck.
It was stunning.
The boat itself was really neat, all decked out with Chinese lanterns.
Trent took most of the photos.
View of the deck.
Ruthie eating coco puffs. Just trying to get her prepared for America. :)
Such a relaxing evening.
Panoramic view.
This twisting tower was amazing to see. John told us that it's actually a TV tower and is advertising for a soap opera.
Cutie pie.
Tower behind us as it was getting darker.
Passing another ship.
About halfway through this woman set up this instrument (it reminded me of a lying down harp but I don't know what it actually is).
Ruthie really liked it and was copying the finger motions.
Our guide, John, talking about craft beer. It's still a very small niche in China, but John is really into craft beers. It was fun to watch his excitement.
John has been a wonderful guide. I asked him the same question I asked our other guide, "What is the general feeling of the locals?"
His answer was 99% of them look at Americans and foreigners who adopt, especially special needs children, as celebrities. John shared that now that the one-child policy has changed, many Chinese families are open to adoption. Ironically, they only want healthy baby girls and the waiting list is extraordinarily long.
He shared that there have also been some changes for special needs kids. China will now pay for cleft lip and palate surgery, but only the first one. They will also pay for one heart surgery. John said that his generation is starting to make some changes in their way of thinking. He said that it would be nearly unheard of for one of his friends to say that they just want a son. While this may not seem like much to us, this is huge for China.
However, John said that international adoption will absolutely be necessary for a long time. While thoughts have changed on gender, they have yet to change on special needs. Families in China depend on their child to provide for them in their old age. Especially if they have a child with a mental disability who may not be able to live alone, let alone provide for their parent, they are left with a difficult decision.
Also the Chinese culture still highly values beauty and perfection. A child with a special need brings shame on a family. I have never in my life seen women dressed as impeccably as I have all throughout China. While in the US the priority tends to lean toward strong women, beauty reigns in China.
There are many layers to the difficulties and situations leading to children being abandoned. I hope the day comes that all these children will having loving homes in their birth country.
My strong, beautiful, Chinese (soon to be American) daughter.
You all will soon be home. You're journey has been beautiful.
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