TROUBLE IN PARADISE

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

It's been a VERY long, hard day. We've lost just about any faith in our guide. Yesterday's mess-up with the orphanage donation was just the tip of the ice burg! Contrary to what she told us yesterday, we did not go back to the orphanage today to finish up the paperwork. I was a bit disappointed, but no big deal. We went to some government offices, which had NO air conditioning or fans. About 98% of the time, we sat in a waiting room, while the guide ran back & forth, passing messages between us and the people behind the desk (similar to a DMV at home).

There were a number of miscommunications, all of which sent Matt's & my blood pressures through the roof. Most of it concerned money. There were questions about whether we'd counted out the proper amount of cash for the orphanage donation - we ended up paying a little extra because of this. Then the guide threw out some outrageous amount of money that we would need to pay her tomorrow- nearly the same amount of money as the orphanage donation (we had been told that would the largest sum by far that we would pay out in cash).

Matt was beyond livid. When we finally got back to the hotel, we called our agency's contact here in China to figure out what was going on. He was very helpful (thank God!), and kind of got things worked out for us. Matt is still very concerned about whether we will have enough cash to make it to the end of the trip. I know we'll be ok one way or another- but to say we're disappointed with the process so far is an understatement.

Update on Milo:  He's still very quiet. He studies everything & everyone (very much like Xandra has always done). We only see fussing & crying when he's fighting sleep. Otherwise, he's quite stoic. We're seeing signs that he was meant to be our son---he farts worse than Matt!! J