New Friends

We have met a lot of wonderful people that are here from the states adopting.  We hear lots of interesting stories about their journey with their adoption.  It has been very encouraging to talk to others in similar situations as ours.  One American that I met was truly a gift from God.  We met on our last plane ride here, from Beijng to Guanzhou.  She grew up near Peoria and we were the only Americans on that flight.  She has lived in China for the past 2-3 years and in Guangzhou since August.  Somehow it came up that I have food allergies and she mentioned that she has a friend with similar food allergies.  Her friend is from Scotland and he married a girl who is Malasian/Chinese. She had written an allergy note for her husband in Mandarin that he can to take out to restaurants.  That way the restaurants could help him pick choices that he can eat.  They emailed me the same note.  It is funny the reactions you get when you show them the note.  I had one lady take something away from me like it was poison and told me no....not good for you.
The lady I met on the plane wanted to know if Alan & I would be interested in joining her, her family, and her friends for lunch.  We met up with them today and it was so incredible.  Such a diversity among all of them but they are all so close, no matter which country they are from.  I loved the thick Scottish accent from the one from Scotland.  His wife from Malasia spoke excellent Mandarin and helped us out A LOT with trying to communicate to people here.  They took us to an authentic Thai restaurant and ordered all sorts of food.  It all tasted great.   We then went for icecream with them.  They showed us places to eat and visit. It was so uplifting to get out and experience for a moment what life is like for those who live and work here.

Thai restaurant with our new friends