Ellie's first swim

Well, we're pretty sure it was her first swim.  In any case, she really enjoyed the water and it was a fun way to pass some time this afternoon.  A far cry from yesterday, which was hard on us all.  The other pictures were taken in the hotel room, blowing bubbles with Daddy and playing with the world's greatest toddler toy - the Amazing Stainless Steel Hotel Ice Bucket.  Who knew?  I guess it's just the away-from-home version of pots and pans.

We went to the park today, forgetting to bring along the camera - which I was really bummed about at first, but once we were there I was kinda glad to give the American tourist gig a rest and just be a family at the park.  (A very unusual-looking family here, but just a family nonetheless)  Near a refreshment stand, Ellie started playing with another little girl, which attracted the attention of an older woman who spoke some English.  She asked about Ellie, obviously wondering what in the world Tom and I were doing bringing a little Chinese girl to the park - so I showed her the nametag our agency had given us, which has our name, Ellie's Chinese name, and explains in English and Chinese that we are adopting her.  (Plus the name of our hotel, which could come in handy in a pinch.)  The woman and the mother of the little girl Ellie was playing with talked with us for quite awhile, using the little English they knew and helping me with the very little Mandarin that I've learned so far.  There were some older children there, too, I think the grandkids or nieces and nephews of the older lady, and she was prodding them to show off their English skills and be our interpreters.  I tried reassuring them that it was okay, they didn't need to perform for us, but they did seem eager to communicate in spite of their initial shyness.  They were incredibly sweet, beautiful children, and they reminded me of the fifth graders I used to teach - kids are so much the same everywhere.  And their English was excellent.  The older boy finally asked me why we were in China (he'd missed the first part of the conversation, and Ellie had since wandered off with Tom to explore), so I explained what I could and then showed him our nametag.  He read it and said, "Very good!" with a big smile - leaving me to wonder, as I often have, how the Chinese people really feel about children being adopted by foreigners.  I'm sure the feelings are as mixed here as they are anywhere else.  But the warmth of the people at the park today was absolutely genuine, and I do get the feeling that people generally wish us well.  And it was a reminder to me as a traveler (especially as an American) that you have to be willing to let your guard down, because most people aren't out to steal your wallet, make off with your passport, or poke fun at you for sounding ridiculous when you try to speak the language.  Most of the time, people are just curious - and usually, they are very kind.      



"World's Greatest Toddler Toy"



 



Blowing bubbles with daddy



Tomorrow we will receive Ellie's Chinese passport and then fly to Guangzhou, where it will be even hotter than it is here.  We will have two appointments at the U.S. Consulate - the first will be Ellie's medical exam, and the second will be to complete the process of obtaining Ellie's visa to enter the United States.  And then we can go home.