A Quiet Day on Shamiam Island

Families that endure the long process of adopting children from China end their adoption journey in a place called Shamian Island.  It's a small island in Guangzhou, a city of around 11 million.  It is the location of numerous consulates in beautiful old historic buildings.  The island feels like a blend of Washington, DC and Charlotte, NC.  The stone pedestrian streets are tree-lined and contain many sculptures.  After experiencing Beijing, Nanjing, and similar cities it is an oasis in which to bond with your child before finally receiving a travel visa and heading home. Okay…it's January 2010.  Shamian Island is being prepared by the Chinese government for the upcoming Guangzhou Asian Games later this year.  The oasis has been turned into a construction and noise nightmare.  Buildings (including our hotel) are covered with scaffolding and tarps, and sealed in by rusty metal barriers.  Our windows are covered with tarps that block any view and almost all sunlight.  The streets are being dug up to bury pipes; walking areas are clogged with piles of debris; water is cascading down from the sides of buildings from power sprays removing dirt from the stone edifices.  Jack hammers pound into the evening as our babies try to fall to sleep.  As we pass by, shop vendors work extra hard to lure us into their shops to spend a few yuans; seemingly being starved as their shops are hidden from view by the construction activity and debris. Pamela has been looking forward to enjoying dinner at a Thai restaurant that we frequented the last time we were here in Guangzhou.  Last night I found what I thought was that same restaurant and went in to order take-out.  The girls were already asleep in the room, having enjoyed a dinner of Subway tuna sandwiches.  It turns out I was in the same location, but the restaurant had changed hands and names.  But Pamela was looking forward to Thai and so I was determined to provide a good Thai dinner. As I scanned the menu, I realized that this would be more challenging than I had supposed.  The menu was many pages long and contained many strange offerings… six different pigeon dishes, three ways to enjoy ostrich kidneys, seven dishes centered on a fish head; fins; a variety of organs.  What was I to do?  Pamela was back in the room, salivating for a tasty meal after working so hard to get the girls fed and asleep. As the two young Chinese restaurant hostesses (all dressed up in Thai costumes) stared at me, wondering what the hell was taking me so long, I went through the menu again and again..backwards and forwards.  Finally I identified 3-4 items.  As I went back and forth I stuck a finger into the page.  Sometimes when I went back, I wasn't sure what I had selected.  Did I really think Pamela would like that? I returned to the room with great trepidation.  But I did good!  My selections turned out to be very tasty, and Pam was happy with her dinner.  And after enjoying our meal together, we tucked the blankets a bit tighter around our two little daughters and drifted off to sleep.  One night closer to getting home. We've uploaded pictures to Shutterfly.  Check them out at http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=c48fa2440d0130626d9889752d9a603cGood night!