Tuesday, October 25, 2005

first pair of squeaky shoes!

Poor Elizabeth—she was still sick in the morning, so I began giving her amoxicillin. I was so thankful that I’d brought it! I cut the amoxicillin pill in two, crushed it up, and mixed it with some baby cereal and water in a small plastic bowl I’d brought with me. Glad I’d brought that and a baby spoon from home. (I gave her the medicine this way each day until she was well). Auntie and I also noticed that she simply wailed (really loudly, I might add) whenever I left her sight (though by the time we left China she would tolerate it if I briefly disappeared to use the bathroom), so she attached to me almost instantly. We ate breakfast downstairs at the buffet, and then our group completed more adoption forms for the U.S. government in a conference room in the hotel. While walking outside, we found a little playground behind the hotel, so Elizabeth and I went on the merry-go-round. That was fun, but what was a little unnerving was that we were watched the whole time by a Chinese man smoking a cigarette. Auntie and I joked that if he had been told to watch us to see what we were up to, then he must’ve been incredibly bored. One other thing about the Lakeshore Hotel: the elevator carpet was changed daily to reflect the day of the week--that was actually helpful as I lost track of what day of the week it really was! We had lunch at a nearby restaurant, and we walked back to the hotel on a path lined with willow trees that took us around the lake. It was a very pretty walk. We later went to a large upscale department store where I purchased Elizabeth’s first pair of squeaky shoes—red ones with teddy bears on them! Shopping at this store was an experience. After I’d decided what to buy, the clerk filled out a slip of paper with the details on it and gave it to me. I then had to take that slip of paper to another clerk, pay her, and take my receipt back to the first clerk, who then gave me Elizabeth’s squeaky shoes in a bag. I actually managed to go up and down the escalators there with the baby in her stroller—no small feat! Auntie and I sat outside on the steps, waiting for the rest of our group to finish shopping. A couple of young women approached and made over Elizabeth and asked to have their picture taken with her. Too cute! Dinner once again at the hotel buffet.