Telluride

Tom here. Suzanne, Lillia and I are up in the mountains visiting out friend Cynthia in Telluride. What would otherwise be a seven hour drive became a ten hour drive with the squirmy one who-must-be-obeyed requesting frequent breaks. Lillia was up late last night, waking frequently crying, not wanting to be put back down. It was probably a combination of altitude (Telluride is at 8975 feet) and discomfort from her diaper rash. But adding a nystatin cream to her usual barrier ointment seems to be turning things around quickly in terms of the rash, and as far as the altitude goes, we will be back down soon.

Lillia likes driving when all four windows are rolled down and the wind blows past her car seat. She holds her arms out as if she is flying and smiles.

Two photos from the trip.

Lillia and me on the telluride gondola.

Lillia and Suzanne, with camel.

Some Thoughts on China

Suzanne here. It’s hard to believe we got home from China just over a month ago. It seems like ages. Time seems to slow down when you’re watching someone change from day to day--learning how to eat Cheerios, sprouting new teeth, taking her first few steps with her hands held.

So I just wanted to mention a few last things about the China trip before it gets buried in the landfill that is my brain.

First of all, we had a blast in China. I’d been there three times before, in the early to mid-eighties, and these trips were all very interesting but I would not call them enjoyable. Back then the people were not terribly friendly. As a single white person in out-of-the-way places, I would often draw crowds of slack-jawed gawkers, but smiles were rarely returned. Things were very different this time. Whenever we were away from Shamian Island, where the hotel is, we wore cards around our necks that read, in Chinese and English, “We are from United States, we come to China to adopt our beautiful daughter. She is from Yangchun, Guangdong. We love her very much and will take good care of her! Thank you!” Whenever anyone eyed us curiously, we would show them the cards. This always elicited a warm smile and a thumbs-up.

This may seem trivial by comparison, but the food is WAY better. Those of you who know me know that good food is almost as vital to me as air and water. On my previous trips, I lost a lot of weight because there was just nothing worth eating. I remember getting a hankering for a cold beer in Guilin in 1981, and being unable to find one because refrigeration was non-existent. I don’t know what it’s like in the rest of China; Guangzhou is a special case, being one of the wealthiest cities in China and famous among the Chinese for its cuisine, but the food was terrific. We had great Thai and Vietnamese food as well as Cantonese. And you can definitely get a cold beer now.

But what made the trip most enjoyable were our wonderful CCAI reps, Maggie and Jason, and the twelve other families in our group. I’m always leery of group travel, especially in a developing country, and I kind of expected at least one couple to be stressed out and high-maintenance. But to my delight, everyone was really friendly, smart, funny, and relaxed. Unfortunately, our group is spread out across the country from L.A. to New Hampshire, so we won’t be seeing them as often as we’d like. But we’ll keep in touch by email and blog and occasional visits.


One last thing: In applying for her U.S. immigrant visa, we had to attest that Lillia had never been involved in espionage or terrorism. I’m sure you’ll all sleep better at night knowing this.