Kari and Christopher are now in Guangzhou. Nanning was hot, but as Kari recognized as soon as they stepped off the plane, Guangzhou is hotter.

Something that Kari is having to deal with on this trip is separation anxiety. Unlike Ben, who spent most of his days in the orphanage, Christopher was placed with a foster family. Yesterday, Christopher got one last chance to say goodbye (although he may not have fully realized the implications) when his foster mother came to the hotel as Kari and Christopher were leaving for the airport. It was a touching farewell as Kari, while Christopher was tugging on her in his excitement to get in the car, gave his foster mother a hug of thanks, one Ma-ma to another.

Having made it successfully to Guangzhou, Christopher seemed to begin processing the situation when they arrived at their hotel room. He began to quietly cry and demanded that the bellhop tell him where his mother was. After explaining to Christopher that Kari was his mother, the bellhop slowly and anxiously backed his way out of the room. After a half-hour or so, Kari was finally able to console Christopher, but it's clear that we will need to be careful helping Christopher through the transition to his new family.

Luckily, Kari is now traveling with another family who are able to provide some additional emotional (and luggage handling) support. Although the guides have been wonderful, it's nice for Kari to have some native English speakers she can turn to.