I tried all day to get a good bum shot with the split pants but it was Mom who got this one.
Caretakers boat, used for cleaning the lake.
Squat toilet at Papa Johns.
We found really cool stuff at Wal-Mart for CNY, they sent security to see what we were doing.
Clearly ready for the Olympics!
Mom and I wore waist packs today. The hotel staff at the front desk and then the fellows outside were all telling us to be careful. We've never actually been told that in China before and we've had warnings from the guide yesterday too. The two blocks around the Gloria are in tougher shape than most of what we've seen in Nanchang. We took a cab to Bayi Park and it was just so lovely in there. Truly China as you envision it. Lots of dancing, little children everywhere, men playing games, everyone relaxed and strolling along. The kids liked it so much that they want to go back again with Jia. We REALLY are getting more attention than we expected. The crowds gathering around us are more interested in Lili and Fei than in Eric, Shirley and me. They laugh and touch and pet, they give us grins and thumbs up. Except one lady today who was giving us heck about Fei's teeth. How to explain that she's seen a dentist and she's fine, it'll straighten out and if it doesn't it's fixable. Anyways...we wandered around the park until 1:00 and then went to Wal-Mart. What fun. We couldn't find a way INTO Wal-Mart so ended up meandering around the first floor then we tried to eat at a noodle shop but there was no picture menu, it was loud and crowded and one of the patrons horked a huge wad of yukky phlegm onto the floor right in front of me...so I was done there. Then Mom said she wouldn't mind fries, so we went to Kentucky Fried Chicken and while we were in line an older man asked Eric for money, Eric told him no and he promptly turned around and stole money off of a teenage girls food tray and ran out the door. One of the staff saw him and four/five staff went running after him, lots of fuss and noise, they came back pretty quickly and gave the money back to the girl. The girls are now quite freaked out that someone will steal from them. We just keep telling them the only thing that matters is that we're all OK and it would be nice to still have passports, the rest is just stuff. Eric has been talking to them about not letting two guys affect how they view all of China. I sure hope we don't see any theft tomorrow though. We accidentally found a Papa Johns and lunch was awesome, we had pizza and Mom had salad with potato wedges with pizza sauce.
The girls were woefully unprepared for the smells here. They literally walk beside Mom and I with their faces buried in our bellies. In Wal-Mart they needed to just GET OUT of there NOW. I'll admit it was extremely ripe in the food section but I was hoping to get pictures of the food options in Wal-Mart! I'm guessing we'll be back there before we leave. We'll see if I can talk the girls into seeing it more as a science experience.
The baby section was great. I got a Chinese hoodie/blanket for Jia that is very cool. Also a silk bib with dragons on it. The prices were great there. Mom noticed that in the area around the hotel there are a lot of old people but in the newer area around Wal-Mart it's mostly young people.
Once back at the hotel we donned our swim caps and went for a swim. Pool was great. View was amazing. We can see a pavilion that we're aiming to walk to when we can. Right now we're in the room relaxing. Eric and the girls have found a movie to watch, Honey I Blew Up the Kids, in English, Mom is having a shower and I'm blogging. Our plan is to try the restaurant here at the hotel for dinner and then just hang around the room.
We get Jia tomorrow!!
From Lili: Last night the tooth fairy came and gave me 25 yuan. Tomorrow we are going to get our baby sister Jia, I am so excited. We went to a really cool park today, there was dancing, tai chi, karate, stretching, line dancing and lots of little kids. I was too shy to join in and dance. We think the kids our age were in school today because they were showing up later in uniforms. I had an incredible day. Back to watching my movie now. See ya' bye.
From Shirley: It was so nice to not get robbed today :) Going to the park today was a definite high lite for me. Even though we were surrounded most of the time by curious locals, they were friendly, wanting to know more about the girls and we had an opportunity to communicate with each other using sign language, a card telling that the girls are adopted and live in Canada and are loved, and some stilted English. I hope that I will have the opportunity to join in with the Chinese line dancing. It was beautiful and I'm certain we would be welcome.
