You Burn...You Buy

First of all, I would like to appologize to Matt and JoEllen. I borrowed your title and some of your writing for today's post. Today started just as all of the others while here in Hangzhou-breakfast in the hotel. Again, Maelin ate a lot of watermelon. We waited around in our hotel room until it was time for Veronica, our guide, to pick us up and take us to the silk museum. While we were waiting, I was lying on the bed on my stomach and Maelin started playing with my hair. She also tried to stick her hair clip in my ear. OUCH!(see pic below) At 9:30 Veronica took us to the silk museum. Hangzhou is also known to have some of the best quality silk in China. After learning more than we ever wanted to know about silk, came the instruction on how to distinguish real silk from fake silk or polyester. Our "instructor" told us that you can't tell by touch or sight. The only real way to tell the difference is with the burn test. He pulled out a lighter and lit a piece of polyester on fire. It only took a few seconds before it started to burn. The smoke was black. He pulled out a piece of silk and ran the lighter over it for about 10 seconds and it didn't burn. He pulled a few threads of silk off of the fabric and burned it. The smoke was white and smelled like burned hair. He said that is the only way to tell the difference. So, he said when you go out to buy silk, take a lighter and perform the burn test; but, beware "YOU BURN, YOU BUY!" Then, he went on to say you can risk that our just buy your silk here where you know it is real silk! They know how to sell here. We looked through the silk store, then it was time to go back to the hotel. We ate lunch, Maelin took a nap, and mommy and daddy packed for our departure to Guangzhou tomorrow. This afternoon, Veronica came to our hotel to bring us the laundry we had done and fill out some paperwork. We also had her translate the note her birth mother left with her when she was abandoned. This is the translation in it's entirety: "Born on October 4, 2006 at 5:35 am. We name her WenWen. She got a PKU from birth. The treatment a year costs 7000 Yuan. May need 10 years of treatment. She is taking different formula which can get from the hospital. It's better to take her to the hospital again to recheck. We lover her so much. I am a common laborer. I can't economically afford her treatment. I hope you are a loving person. Please keep her, lover her. She is very smart, cute, and a very thoughtful and loving baby. She can go to university if you could control her sickness. Thanks for your big heart." We were in tears when we heard these words for the first time. It was obvious that her parents loved her very much. When all of the paperwork was done, we came back and finished packing. I went to McDonalds to get our dinner, and now we are getting ready for bed. Guess what, Maelin wants to play. She loves bath time right before bed and talks the whole time. We can't understand a word she says, but it sure is funny! (Meme and Pa, we need to borrow your bath tub every night until we get in the new house) After I finish this post, we will be going to bed for the night. We fly to Guangzhou tomorrow to finish the adoption on the U.S. side and get Maelin's visa. We love you all and miss home very much. Maelin told Veronica that she wants to play with kids. Get ready Rylan and Keelan. She wants to play! God bless!