On stomachs, sewers, and shopping

Today started off on an inauspicious note, with Annie sick in the bathroom. We both felt a little bit off last night, and she was nervous about it this morning, so I gave her a pill to settle her stomach, and she choked on it and threw up, which did nothing to calm her nerves or her stomach. Then I gave her another pill, which she managed to choke down, but which made her incredibly sleepy.

After a little nap, she decided she was well enough to go sightseeing. Our group visited the Chen Clan Academy, where I didn't get any pictures, mostly because I spent the time we were there feeding Rose and nursing Annie, who smelled a sewer and felt sick again. Annie is not a fan of sewer smell or beggars, both of each abound in Guangzhou, and she ends up with her nose in her shirt and tears in her eyes when we're on the street. She told me today that she doesn't want to leave the hotel anymore because it makes her sick and sad. Anyway, from what I could tell, Chen Clan Academy was a lot like the museum we visited in Nanjing, a quasi historical building with displays of furniture and handiworks from the area. I bought Annie a magic coke (that's what she calls it) and suddenly she felt restored.

After that, our group went on to a city park. I have to say that we have the best, nicest, coolest travel group ever. It feels a little bit like summer camp (if summer camp came with awesome accommodations and babies) in the sense that the shared experience makes you bond quickly. I thought traveling in a group might be a pain, but it's been a highlight of the trip to be with these families. Three of the seven families have baby girls with unrepaired clefts-- they're the three amigas. Anyway, we walked around the park, which was hot, especially with Rose strapped to my chest. But we saw lots of cool sights, like this:










I'm so glad we didn't come in August.




We returned to the hotel and tried (without success) to get Rose to nap. So we set out for Shamian Island, the former home of the American Consulate. The island is a lot like Charleston or New Orleans. It used to be the place that the British and French lived when they were not allowed on mainland China and the architecture reflects the island's heritage. It's lovely and walkable and Annie has made me promise that if we ever come back, we'll stay there (two of the families in our group are at the Victory and Annie thinks I made the wrong choice). We met up with Tina (sorry I missed you, Valerie-- no answer at your room) and we went to Jenny's, a little shop where I spent my entire wad and had to borrow 5 yuan from Tina to make sure I had enough to pay the taxi driver on the way back.

We bought:

9 silk dresses
2 pairs of shoes
7 jade bracelets
2 jade pendants
1 puzzle
1 jade chess set
6 Christmas ornaments
1 doll
1 hair clip
1 awesome marionette
1 embroidered wall hanging
And
1 Chinese zodiac hanging thing

If I told how much I spent on that haul, you probably wouldn't believe me.
















Rose is doing great. When I set her down she looks like this:




Consequently, I spend most of my day doing this:




I think she'd be a lot better off with more sleep, but that is unlikely to happen tomorrow, when we start off the day at the Consulate and then head to the Safari Park. When we get back home I'll have to work hard at establishing naps and baby physical therapy to get Rose to some weight on her legs and realize that she can get where she wants to go without me if she learns to crawl and walk around furniture.

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