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I wish I knew what he was singing!

-Sarah

7 Days Left!

The paper chain taped to the wall in our room is getting smaller. MaryCatheine takes one ring off every morning. It's a good visual for her (and for Mom) to help her understand when we'll be returning to our favorite gray house on Isabella Drive.

This morning at 5 AM Sarah's wimpering woke me up. She was complaining of a sore throat. Her sore throats, although now rare, usually mean a trip to the doctor for antibiotics. I started stressing about where I would take her for medical care or should I instead, beg the few American families I've met for their antibiotics they usually bring with them when adopting.

Sarah also had a slight fever which confirmed she probably had some sort of infection. Instead, our guide directed us to the very popular White Swan Hotel around the corner which has a medical clinic. As I opened the door to the office, I felt like I was entering a time warp. It was really a doctor's office from the 60's or 70's. You know, the old-fashioned kind with little brown bottles of who-knows-what in glass cabinets. We were greeted by a friendly ederly physician in a long white coat who took Sarah's temperature with the kind of thermometer you have to shake. He then proceeded to put it under her arm. (Thank goodness! I thought he might put it in her mouth.) He checked her throat with a tongue depressor and said she had an infection. No throat swabs for cultures sent to a medical lab, etc. He then sent us on our way with an antibiotic along with some "Chinese medicine" (huh?) which she was to take for a few days. All this cost me $30 which, of course, back home is equivalent to a copay minus the prescription.

So our trip to MaryCatherine's orphanage was cancelled for today but Sarah is already feeling much better.

As a result, we had quite a low-key day. The little ones and I went to a park along the Pearl River this morning to allow Sarah her rest. This was really quite a wonderful experience. In most parks people are together in large groups doing a variety of physical activities. Some play music and do ballroom dancing. Some do aerobic types of exercises. Whoever is interested in a particular activity just joins in. There was even a group of people playing instuments and singing traditional Chinese songs. It is so great to see the sense of community that exists among the Chinese in their everyday lives. I started to feel a little guilty that my two Chinese kids were going to miss out on the cultural aspect of China-learning their history, language, and being with other Chinese people. I suppose it is a tradeoff for the many advantages they will have in the US-like speaking their mind publically without being thrown in jail, for instance. So now I'm pretty much over it.

Daniel has been a total sweetheart today. He is much happier with less meltdowns. He has been very affectionate (no kisses yet, though!) and kinder to MaryCatherine. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

-Liz