April 1/05 ~ Touring Changsha

Well this is no April Fools joke! We are in a beautiful hotel room that is far better than the previous one and it has an Asian theme. The travel organization is taking care of the cost difference. The lobby is gorgeous and our buffet breakfast was fantastic! There are 5 other families here with us. We were able to get a good night's sleep but Sophie has decided to wake us up twice in the night for feeding and changing. Her schedule is just out of wack as with all the other babies. This morning we had to fill out more forms for Sophie’s visa. The paperwork just seems to keep coming. Hopefully we are nearing the end of it. The rest of the day was free so we hopped in a taxi (no seatbelts or baby car seats, you just hang on for your life and for the baby) and headed downtown. Our first stop was Walmart where I bought a couple of inexpensive pants for Sophie and some formula. People keep staring at us and looking into our cart to see what we are buying. I had Sophie in a Snuggli and I’m glad that I did because people want to come up and touch her for "good luck". When I see them coming, I head off in another direction. They are very nice and friendly here but I just wanted some space today. Then we walked the streets of Changsha to get feel for life in China. There are ladies carrying cages with all sorts of small animals for sale. I don’t want to think of where these animals end up. Sometimes we see people begging and some that are very deformed. There is such a class distinction from the rich and poor. I’m so thankful that Sophie will not have to grow up as an orphan in poverty. We are enjoying the experience of life in China and it makes us truly thankful for our life in Canada. Tonight we joined the rest of our group for an evening of bowling in the hotel. We then went back to our room to finish packing for the trip back to Beijing. Our flight leaves at 1:30pm. I'm sad to leave Hunan province because of it being Sophie’s home, but I look forward to the new life that she is starting on her journey to Canada.
Our new hotel room at the Dolton.
Giggle time.
Ready to tour Changsha.
Life in Changsha.
Downtown Changsha.