Goodbye Shanghai, Hello Guangzhou

There was an international incident aboard China Eastern Airlines today. Kevin and I were the only two non-Chinese people on the plane. No one spoke English. We weren't even sure that we were on the right airplane. Ava, the crazy baby known for being head-strong and stubborn since she was born in the year of the tiger, fought me for almost 3 hours. Not only is she head-strong, her body is strong. I wrestled her in that cramped window seat until I gave up. I let her destroy the airline-provided snack of bread, dried apples and crackers. She crumbled food and threw it everywhere. And I didn't care. I was spent. Many glares from the others on the plane, crazy American mother letting her baby yell and scream and have a food fight with herself. Kevin was playing Angry Birds during all this. Yes, we had words. And more glares from fellow passengers. But we made it to Guangzhou, and I'm pretty sure someone is still cleaning the plane.

Our new guide, Helen, met us at the airport. There are 2 other families in our group here. Their flights hadn't come in yet, so she put us in a cab and told the driver where to take us. He didn't speak English. Kevin on the verge of yet another meltdown.

But we made it to The Garden Hotel, which is great. Our hotel in Shanghai was beautiful, but it was on a 12-lane road and we couldn't really walk anywhere. The Garden is in a more pedestrian-friendly area, and it's easy to venture out without our guide. We feel much more relaxed here.

Last night, we took Ava to the Shanghai acrobatics show. It was awesome! Think Cirque du Soleil on steroids. Yesterday was National Women's Day in China, and it was fun to do something like that with Sarah since she was away from her family. Ava loved it! We were a little worried since the show was 2 hours long and began at her bedtime, but she was fine. Not a peep during the show and she fell asleep in the cab on the way back to the hotel.

Ava is adjusting beautifully. Today at the airport, a Chinese woman working at security held her hands out for Ava to go to her. My smart baby girl shook her head "no", gave me a hug and said, "mama". I nearly cried.

We keep telling her about all the love waiting for her back home. She doesn't know what we're talking about, but that makes it all the more special.