Day 12 - Guangzhou Hot Zoo

Wow, it has been so long since I have blogged I think I have forgotten how. Barry has been monopolizing it so far....Actually it has been a joy watching him and hearing his side of our story. For most of our journey he was pretty quiet and now he is hooked! I will say, he has had the more exciting end of it though. I am not sure what he shared the last time, but we do apologize for not blogging every day like we were. We are not very pleased with the hotel we are at right now. We have to pay the equivelent of about $15 per day for internet access. It is pretty pathetic. Also, all of us, but Barry have been sick. Just about everyone of us in our group as had a swore throat, cough and head congestion. I think all the babies from our Lianjiang orphanage have been to the clinic at least once and most were diagnosed with bronchitis. Last night I couldn't sleep unless I had a throat lozenge in my mouth. I don't really recommend sleeping with one, but sometimes you just got do what you gotta do.
Today we went to the zoo here in Guangzhou. In the words of little 5 year old Olivia, "The zoo was sweating!" Even our ice cream cones were soggy! The humidity is just about unbearable and we were all dripping. The poor little babies were miserable, but they were all great little troopers. We saw a panda, bears, a lion, tigers, monkeys, an elephant, hippos and rhinos. Even though it was hot it was good to get out and finally do something. Meredith was glad. It also made the pool feel even better today.
Meredith has been such a wonderful help and we are so proud of her and how she has travelled. She is really enjoying all the babies and the other children that came on the trip. In the afternoons when we are waiting for the pool to open many of the families hang out in the hallway since there isn't a common area. We call it a hall party. People bring out their snacks, babies and toys and we all just sit around talk and play. It is so amazing to see how all of the babies interact and love their mommies and daddies.
It is also amazing to think that we have had Melina now for 8 days. It seems as if we have had her from the beginning. She is so precious to me. When I hold her she will intently study my face and sometimes mimic my mouth movements when I talk. She has the sweetest voice. I love her dearly. Well, enough of writing, I know it is the pictures you really want! By the way, there is a baby panda in the background in one of the photos with Meredith. Make sure you click on the photos so you can see him.