LAST DAY

 OUR LAST DAY IN ZHENGZHOU

Today was our last full day in Zhengzhou.  We will be leaving at 10 in the morning for the airport for the 4+ hour flight to Guangzhou.  It will be Callie Beth's first time on a airplane.  I sure hope she likes it!!!!


We had another laid back day today.  It rained again, so we spent most of the day in our hotel.  The girls have enjoyed their time playing in the room, even though we don't have a great variety of toys.  I worked on repacking the suitcases, putting the girls clean clothes in one (I REALLY am glad I brought SO many outfits for them!!!), mine and Roger's clean clothes in another, and all of our dirty clothes in the third one.  We still have a few things to throw in the suitcases in the morning after breakfast.


We did venture out this afternoon, even though there was still a fine mist of rain, to go for a visit at the GOLDEN ARCHES.  I'm sure most of you have heard of the GOLDEN ARCHES, known in the United States as Mickey D's, or better yet, McDonalds.  Junk food just sounded better than Chinese for some reason.  Our friends, the Robichaux's went, too.  Tasha and I waited outside with the girls, while Roger and Joey went inside to order.  We were quickly surrounded by a large group of kids, most of them being around the ages of 10 to 12.  They were very interested in us, and asked LOTS of questions in Chinese.  Finally, one of them asked, in English, where we were from.  I responded, "The United States."  They had a really puzzled look on their faces.  A few minutes later, I was asked the same question again, and I again replied, "The United States."  It was as if they had never heard of the good old U.S.  Then I added, "America."  When I said that, their faces lit up and they started nodding their heads and babbling in Chinese again.  They were a really nice bunch of kids.  Several of them took pictures of the girls, so I took a group picture of them, too.

We brought our food back to the room to eat, and then we took another short walk to a 7 Eleven store to get ice cream.  We decided when we got back with the ice cream we would sit in the hall and eat it.  In just a short while, all the other families in our travel group had come in, and we congregated in the hall for quite a while, giving our kids time to play together.  I know I've said it before, but we couldn't ask for a better travel group.  Everyone is GREAT, and the kids are all so precious.


We had planned to Skype with Evan at 10 PM our time.  By the time we went to the lobby to try to connect with him, the girls were so exhausted that they were crying and whining.  We did get to talk to my dear friend, Ginger for awhile, but it was hard for me to hear everything she was saying because of our VOCAL girls.  We never we able to connect with Evan.  We are going to try again in the morning.

Molly Kate waiting to Skype

Callie Beth waiting to Skype

Today was a better day for Callie Beth.  She did have one meltdown this afternoon, but it wasn't as extensive as last night's, and today I finally just put her in her bed and ignored the screaming.  I know that sounds harsh, but she wouldn't let me comfort her anyway.  It didn't take long for her to calm down, and when I lifted her out of her bed, she was all smiles.  She started in again tonight when I put her in bed.  She wanted me to keep holding her, but I had to take a shower.  As soon as I left the room and went into the bathroom, she stopped the screaming.  Roger said she sat in her bed really still and was asleep in just a few minutes.  I talked with Rita, our guide, about the meltdowns, and she said the language barrier is really the instigator of the problems.  I totally understand that.  This is just really common, anyway.  All of the other children in our group have had meltdowns, fits, and major moments of sadness, too, and they are all under two years old.  I can see how it is even harder for Callie Beth.  We will take one day at a time, though, and I have now doubts time WILL heal!!!


I'm going to add a few pictures, and then I'm off to bed!!!  The next blog entry will be written from Guangzhou!!!!

Vicki :)