China By the Numbers

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Today we got Elsie's Visa. Applied for it at the consulate at around 9:30 am. Took our oath at 2:00, and received the visa at about 2:05. Our coordinator told us we broke two records. First the longest stay for an adopted family and the shortest visa turn around time (5 1/2 hours). The rules changed on October 1st and it should have taken three days. The consulate officer told us that they were taking extra ordinary steps to get us through since we have been here so long.

Now here is our trip to China by the numbers:

16 - The date in September in which we left Fresno
28 - Number of days spent in China (3 1/2 Beijing, 24 1/2 Guangzhou)
14 - Number of unscheduled days in China (All spent on Shamian Island)
16 - Number of days we had Elsie in China
2 - Number of kids we took to China
3- Number of kids we brought back
3 - Number of Hotels we stayed in
13 - Hours of flight time from Beijing to Los Angles
3 - Hours of flight from Beijing to Guangzhou
25 - Number of minutes our airplane taxi'd on the runway at Beijing Airport after landing from LAX (The airport is huge and that’s with the plane going at a good rate of speed with no stops)
12,000,000 - Approximate number of people in Guangzhou
10,000 - Approximate number of bicycles we saw in China
100 - Approximate number of brides seen on Shamian Island posing for pictures.
6 - Number of brides seen at one given time.
8 - Number of trips to starbucks
6.75 - Number of Chinese Yuan in a US dollar
700 - Cost in Yuan of tea that Chris mistakenly ordered from the Fine Tea Menu on first day in China (Yes, its over $100 US, think of it as fine wine. Bad part is, I did not even like it)
50 - Approximate number of times our kids were either asked to be photographed or secretly photographed.
4,000 - Approximate number of people we saw smoking in China
50 - Approximate number of street sweepers we saw (Not a vehicle, but a person with a broom)
0 - Number of non military helicopters we saw flying (I know that it is random, it's just an observation)
5 - Approximate number of people we saw in wheelchairs (Also random, but I noticed these type of things. The place is not accessible at all for wheelchairs)
7 - Number of times we ate at Lucy's (famous for Chinese adoption families)
24 - Number of 6" subway sandwiches we ate
10 - Number of times we took the subway
2,001 - Number in feet of tallest structure in Guangzhou (3rd highest in world)
2,000 - Approximate number of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) security cameras we noticed
60 - number of television stations at our hotel on Shamian island
11 - number of stations operated by China Central Television (government run TV, also abbreviated CCTV, coincidence, I think not)
50 - Approximate number of TV stations broadcasting the National Day parade. (The news reports that day stated that the viewership set a new record. I wonder why that is when no one worked on that day and most stations were broadcasting it)
12 - Approximate number of TV stations that broadcast Chinese soap operas
11 - Approximate number of Chinese soap operas where the theme is centered around the military.
10 - Approximate number of times I saw commercials with Jackie Chan endorsing a product.
2 - Number of sports channels devoted to ping pong, badminton and other sports like synchronized diving
30 - Number of minutes for the best fireworks show we ever saw.
4 - Number of shop owners on Shamian island that we tried to visit daily
2 - Number of Sundays that at least one of us went to Church
1 - Number of times our family stepped out of building and almost got hit by a car driving on the sidewalk.
4,000 - Approximate number of car horn honks we heard.
5 - The apparent age in which they teach you marching in school
14 - The apparent age in which they have the boys run through rifle drills for PE class (when we saw them they were practicing the bayonet lunged while yelling something in Chinese)
7 - Number of western stores or restaurants we visited (Pizza Hut, Papa John's, 7-11, McDonalds, Ikea, Starbucks, Subway)
1,500 Approximate number of steps climbed at the Great Wall of China
15 - The date in which we fly into Fresno (9:55 AM)