Just across the street is the photo shop for the visa, and they were also selling strollers which was the first thing on our list to buy. After the all of the photos were taken it was time to walk to the medical building. The short walk showed us the many changes that are taking place on the island. We had read that there was lots of construction going on and the reports were correct. Many of the sidewalks were torn up or flooded and we had to backtrack a few times picking the stroller up and carrying Lydia across some of the less stroller-friendly sections.
The medical building was crowded with lots of families. There didn't seem to be any order to the process, the instructions were that there are three stations for ENT, height/weight and surgical and you can go in any order. The rooms and the process were familiar and we were done quickly with no problems, the height/weight station told us that Lydia is 19.8 pounds. Lydia of course didn't find the process quite to easy and she screamed through most of it.
Once done with the medical we had some free time to go shopping. This is when we really saw how much had changed. Many of the shops we remembered have gone. Jennifer's place was where we purchased the most from with Gabby, but the shop looked gutted and empty. We were sad to not find the places we remembered but there are still a few shops around. Since the adoption traffic is down many of the shops have stepped up the hard-selling tactics and have people out trying to draw you into their shops. We were led into one shop where they closed the door behind us - quite off-putting and we didn't spend much. Other's like Jordan's place are very nice, the owner was great and now that we've looked around we're planning on going back there before we leave. Seeing all the construction and the change in the atmosphere of the island we're very happy to be staying off the island at the China Hotel.
Before meeting back up at the bus we went inside the White Swan hotel to look around and remember our time with Gabby. We found the 'red couch' and where we took our group photo - fond memories of our time with Gabby five years ago.
Back on the bus and Lydia soon few asleep. On the way back to the hotel we could stop and go to a grocery store so many of the families split up, Kara went to the grocery store and I stayed on the bus to go back to the hotel. Getting off the bus made Lydia wake up and she just played in her crib rather than take her regular nap. Kara came back with a new toy for Lydia - a cellphone. It's very loud and says the same couple of lines in Chinese over and over... but Lydia loved it and played very hard that night.
After such a busy day and a couple of days off-schedule though Lydia didn't want to go to bed last night. I think she's having too much fun in the room and does not want to stop playing. We had screams for around 30 minutes before she finally dropped off.
Waiting in the rain outside the photo shop.
Lydia in her new stroller.
Medical Room 
Inside the White Swan Hotel
No comments:
Post a Comment