Day 12 - Medical Results Day (Monday)

Day 12 - Medical Results Day (Monday)

Monday seemed like a slow, quiet day with no official appointments...but we were waiting for a phone call.  Part of Saturday’s medical exam wasn’t just immunizations, but also a medical clearance to return home.  If the medical exam has concerning results, our return home could easily be delayed by over a week...

So we went to Baiyun (White Cloud) Mountain to spend the morning and occupy our minds while we waited for the important phone call!  It was so sweet to see our girls wear their “Jei Jei” (older sister) and “Mei Mei” (younger sister) T-shirt’s that they had selected and bought on Shamian island.  They love each other and aren’t ashamed to hide it!  They definitely turned a lot of heads and started a lot of conversations with their shirts and hand holding throughout the day!

Our guide Helen highly recommended that we use the cable gondola to the top since it was a long way.  We were easily convinced to shell out the $5 fee and speed up our trip to the top.  Although the mountain isn’t a ski slope (Guangzhou feels like a Florida type of climate) it was a long, gradual climb.  We enjoyed the 15 minute speedy ride and the beautiful views...although as Brittney has grown in age, so also has a fear of heights developed (trivia tidbit: Brittney did bungee jump in her teenage years though!).  Mia got quite the giggles each time the gondola shook and Brittney shrieked lol

After reaching the top of the mountain we enjoyed the views of Guangzhou (population = 20+ million we were told).  Although it was possible to visit a parrot paradise, KFC, bungee jump, ride sleds, take a golf cart down, or visit an amusement park on the way down we just enjoyed the roadside walk (there are stairs and trails too...plus another 2+km ascent to an even higher peak).  Our walk down probably took an hour and was a good workout (the temperatures have been in the 80s and very humid) but it is impressive to see how many Chinese folks hike and exercise on the mountain.

While we descended our guide received the phone call...and the good news!! Our medical exam revealed no issues requiring a travel delay so we still get to fly home on Friday!!  Thank you Jesus!

When we returned home from White Cloud Mountain we decided to visit the Starbucks (in our hotel, more expensive than in the US though!) for a few treats & 7-11 (next door to our hotel) for some future snacks.

We took a trip to the swimming pool for a fun finish to the day.  The girls love swimming!  They do so great playing together in the pool.  It’s such a joy to watch them splash and interact every day.

Unfortunately our pool time was interrupted briefly...a 80ish lady on a cane hobbled up to the pool.  She promptly removed her gown to reveal, not a bathing suit, but highly disturbing underwear selection that she was ready to swim in.  Try explaining that to your kids!  Thankfully the lifeguard kicked her out of the pool to her dismay and our relief.  Things Jonathan wishes he could forget.  We live in a crazy world. No photos take or attached.

We finished the evening with a fancy Chinese Dinner in our hotel with our AWAA (American World Adoption Association) friends from Virginia.  It was a great dinner with some sweet adoptive friends and we all wandered over for a late night snack at McDs with their curbside walkthrough grape frozen yogurt and chocolate-covered waffle cones too!  Tomorrow’s a big day with our early morning trip to the US Consulate!