Wednesday-Free Day

Not sure I am ever going to get caught up as I am now only able to blog in naptime and once she is in bed, which by this time of night I am wiped out! I have so many things I never want to forget and so I am just making notes to jog my memory later on.

We started the day talking to the kids on skype, they had not "met" Mavery yet. And it was very hard. First, my emotions were already on edge from Tuesday. Then Mavery woke up crying and was just sad. So we call the kids and Sage is BAWLING. Crying she wants her mama, reaching out for me, it was so bad. They all promised she had just woke up from her nap and that she has done great, but it was not fun. I think the other kids did enjoy seeing Mavery though. Mavery just sat on my lap and ate some snacks, no emotion. Well, for that moment. After that she was doing the whimpering crying, pitiful stick her lip out break my heart cry. Emotionally, I have had it. I can't stop crying, I am a mess. We also did skype with Shane and Esther and I had Esther talk to Mavery in chinese and Mavery would lean in close to the screen to stare at her, but would not talk back.

After breakfast we decided to venture out with the Chisums on foot and try to find the Childrens Palace we had heard about. Anything has to be better than sitting in this room with all of us crying! (Mark is not crying, but he might because Mavery has decided she does not care for him) Long walk carrying SongSong who now refused to let her daddy hold her. I used the ergo baby carrier which is ok, but still hard on the already aching from the concrete beds, back and hips and legs and arms, and think of your body parts and it hurts on me.

We find the park, which looks perfect and like lots of fun. But we can't find a ticket window and of course we can't find anyone who speaks english. Though if you talk to people they try really hard to speak to us in chinese. But even after saying it 1000 times, we still do not get it. We finally come to the conclusion that the zillion school age kids we are seeing, must have rented the park as the ticket booths appear to be closed and they are not letting us on any rides with out a ticket. So we decide to walk along the West Lake.

The lake is beautiful, though the smog is thick so it is hard to see across. We had heard that Hangzhou is the most beautiful city here in China. I myself was having a hard time enjoying it as I am working up a sweat carrying a girl who is so sad it makes your heart just hurt and heavy enough to make my arms ache! After our stroll around the lake, we head back and Mavery falls right to sleep.

Mark ventured out to get McDonalds for lunch which was ok. The burger was salty with some hot saucy stuff on it along with cucumbers. Mavery wakes up still very sad and so we decide to go back out and see if the Childrens Palace was open. Another long walk, I am convinced I should lose 10 pounds and gain tons of muscle before this trip is over! The place is still closed, though some guy did let us in to the toddler area that had a playground Mavery enjoyed for a bit. Still sad.. Sigh.

We decide we are going to take a taxi to Carefour and just browse around and maybe pick up a stroller. Well, first of all, the 5 taxis in front of our hotel laughed when we showed them the card of where we wanted to go. They tell us to walk, or at least we think that is what they said. So we go to the next hotel and ask their "hotel boy" to get us a taxi. (this would be another hit against our hotel, have I mentioned how much I do not like the place?) Which they do. We shopped for awhile, but were very bummed about the prices. Strollers were $30, that is high for China! And we are not sure Mavery will even ride in it since she is not even liking the cart! We will try to hold out till Guangzhou, where we know we can just borrow a stroller. We did buy some chinese dvd's of the disney princess movies, chinesedora, books along with some snacks. Have I mentioned that SongSong LOVES to eat? I am wishing I had brought more puffs or those baby yogurt bites, she gobbles those up!

So we finish up and go to McDonalds for an icecream, then look for a taxi. And we could not get one. I did not know that taxi's had an option to NOT take you somewhere, but believe me, they do because we were told no or ignored many, many times. So we have to walk back. Which Mark guesstimated was 3-4 miles. I thought I was going to die. Mavery will walk a little bit, which then slows us down. And did I tell you we are the ONLY white family here, besides the Chisums I think? And I do not think they see many visitors because we were quite the attraction. To bad I could not charge admission for the show, but the title was great. "CRAZED LOOKING WHITE WOMAN AND BALD WHITE MAN SWEATING THROUGH THE STREETS OF HANGZHOU WITH A SAD CHINESE BABY IN TOW." A few people stop to talk to us (in chinese) and I am pretty sure they are asking SongSong if we stole her away and stuck that bow on her head against her wishes!

All the while I am thinking of all the reasons I am disappointed in this city we are in all week. Mark and I are adventurous, we do not like to stay in the room, we like to explore and try to find new things. We are not uncomfortable with new situations and look at it all as a big adventure. But this has gone beyond my sense of adventure. Aren't taxis supposed to feel sorry for woman walking with babies? Don't these places know that we like chinese food but we really want an english menu so we know what we are ordering? And we will try new things to eat, but still would like to know if I am eating monkey brain fungus or ox stomach or simply chicken! Why does our hotel not have strollers to lend out? Why do they think it is ok to smoke outside my room and think if you spray air freshner and take out the ash trays that makes the room non smoking? Wah, wah wah...

We FINALLY make it near the hotel and decide on pizza hut for dinner. (remember, no english menus, and i honestly can't take another step) Up to this point Mavery has been sad the ENTIRE day. Even the ice cream did not grant us a smile. But carry her for 4 miles and then give her a coke and she begins to show us some smiles. Oh when she smiles it can light up the entire room! The waitress starts talking to her and she is talking back and I just would love to know what she is saying. Mark is convinced she is saying" get a load of these people, I totally have this one called Mama wrapped, I whine just a teeny tiny bit and she jumps to my beck and call." Whatever!

After dinner we make it back and once in our room, Mavery starts the lip pouting thing, but afer some coaxing and teasing we get her playing and giggling and talking in chinese and it did all of us good. To see these little glimpses of what our future is with her, I just can't wait! I will get the video up of her talking and laughing, I think you will enjoy it! She was letting Mark in, which she had shut him out all day, so that was good for him. It was a perfect ending to a day that had started out so sad. I am hopeful as some said that either day 3, or maybe just leaving Hangzhou she will not be so sad.

Oh and I did get the kids back on skype during Maverys nap and Sage came on and said, "hi mom, I not cry no more!" The kids are headed to Branson for the week with my parents and Ms Jenny so I know that will be good for them. I can't wait to see more pictures of what they are doing, that has really helped us!

Thursday (tomorrow) is our West Lake tour and our guide promised to take us out and order food for us. Thank goodness! I am also going to try to talk him into some local shopping for silk as Hangzhou is known for silk. I am sure he will love that. We finally got him talking yesterday on the way home from Jinhua and he was telling us how this was his unlucky year according to Chinese custom as he was born in the year of the rat. I told him that was totally not true, in fact this had to be his luckiest year as he met us and the Chisum familys! ;0)