Medical Exam Accomplished

OK finally got through with the medical exam nonsense. Jen got a little scared when the one nurse kept listening to Teresa's heart. She finally said it was a heart murmur and to have our doctor look at it when we get home. I have no problem with that so long as they give us the medical green light to get her home with us. The worst part was that Teresa wet herself while the medical technician was examining her and she got her dress wet, poor thing. We had unfortunately forgot to pack an extra outfit in her diaper bag but did have a sweater for her to wear. She was not happy with that technician.

The medical exam process was chaotic noisy and a general mess. I can't take it too seriously and consider it a necessary evil to get the U.S. visa paperwork started. Later after lunch we paid our U.S. visa fees and had our guide double check our U.S. documents from the I-600 party.

In the afternoon we shopped at Jennifer's place and a couple other stores. The whole area is crammed with adoption stores and such with everyone promising the best price. It's a bit of a racket but we fell into it. I did pick up a free stroller to borrow while we stay here after I dropped off my laundry to be done right across from the hotel. I have to admit that Shamian Island is nothing like I pictured it to be. It is very pretty, and much more pedestrian friendly, plus without the absolute crush of humanity that we experienced in Beijing and Nanchang. The people are amazing and very friendly wherever we go. I have to say the breakfast buffet at the White Swan is awesome. And to answer Johnny's question about the beds here, yes, they are as hard as rocks. You may as well sleep on a concrete floor. Luckily there are comforters galore you can use to act as a pillow top. The White Swan itself is shockingly beautiful, especially the pool area and fountain are in the center. Plus the stunning oriental pieces for sale. It's like being in a museum of fine art.

We finally ended the night with dinner at Lucy's Bar & Grill which was an extremely nice change of cuisine for us. It was our first dinner alone with just the three of us and we had a ball. I'm going to sign-off for now and just leave you with some pictures from the past 2 days.