Random Thoughts (continued)

I think I will continue with my discussion of Melody.

On Monday, November 28th, the day I made Desi's adoption official, we showed up at the Civil Affairs office shoeless. Desi refused to put on the boots/shoes/whatever they called those things they had on her feet when they brought her to me Sunday. The shoes I had brought with me were WAY too little. Her feet had grown a lot since the last update!!!!

Anyway, I told Melody that we needed to go shoe shopping after our appointment. I could tell this was a request that she did NOT want to be bothered with, but Desi needed shoes and so I persisted. When we left, she had the driver take me past the hotel, around a couple of blocks and past a children's clothing store. Melody looked at me in the backseat and told me this is where I could WALK and buy Desi's shoes. I looked her straight in the face and said WHY would I walk down here when we're RIGHT IN FRONT of the store????? I'm pretty sure this is the point in which Melody decided to make things really difficult for me. She instructed the driver to stop the vehicle. She got out and flung my door open for Desi and I to get out too. Inside she all but REFUSED to help me buy the shoes I wanted and told me that they were not warm enough!!!! They were boots!!!!! I tried repeatedly to get the sales woman to get the size I needed for the shoes I WANTED but instead, Melody had them bring out these horrifically UGLY shoes and put them on Desi. Next thing I know she's telling me how much to pay!!! I was SO mad I could hardly see straight but I knew at this point there really wasn't much use in arguing. I ended up paying $24.00 for this pair of shoes which was sooooo OVERPRICED! Especially when she only wore them for 4 1/2 days:-( I was thankful to get to Guangzhou to buy squeaky shoes for $6.00 a pair and they were LEATHER!!!! After the shoe incident Melody began taking Desi from me and started having her marathon conversations with my child and then refusing to tell me what she said to her:-(

I need to move away from Melody for just a moment and talk about something different.....like the water. Anyone who's traveled to China before KNOWS you cannot drink water from the tap. In every room there is a hotpot that boils water in record time. I really need one of these things at home because they're awesome. Well, the bottled water provided at the hotel smelled and tasted something like what I would think rotten eggs would taste like. I have honestly never smelled anything so wretched in my life. The water in Beijing, Changsha and Guangzhou was perfect. THIS water was not. Every time they would bring water into my room I had to put it through the hotpot at least 3 times before that awful smell and taste went away. My friend Chris (the guy from Dallas) was becoming dehydrated, I was getting dehydrated and Desi was in the beginning stages of dehydration because of this water. I was so glad to get to Guangzhou where I didn't have to boil my water over and over and over again just to be able to get a drink!!!!

Lanzhou the city. I don't know how to describe this place other than just nasty. Lanzhou has this awful smell that reminded me so much of the trips I took with my dad to the local landfill:-( Every time I walked outside my clothes seemed to soak up this wretched stench. It didn't take long for me to use my Tide singles trying to get rid of the smell. I didn't ever really get rid of the smell until I was home and able to wash my clothes in hot water and bleach.

The entire time I was in Lanzhou I did not see the sun a single time:-( It was gray, dreary and downright depressing. The people in Lanzhou didn't seem to be very happy at all. In fact, they sort of resembled robots. Everyone had the same blank look on their faces. They appeared to be just going through the motions. It was so sad. You could tell that most do not know Jesus. I had such a hard time because as a Christian, I felt the "darkness" there. Jesus was not welcome in Lanzhou, but "someone" was alive and well there:-( Just landing in Guangzhou, where there are Christian churches, made me feel so much better. I cannot begin to describe the spiritual sadness I felt while in Lanzhou. The light of Jesus Christ is needed there so badly.

Time to close again. It is difficult for me to revisit some of these feelings:-(