Friday, November 10, 2006

Today was a pretty quiet day.

We did spend some time at the Six Banyan Tree (Buddhist) Temple in Guangzhou. It felt a little funny to be taking part in devout Buddhist’s ceremonies, but the boys did try to throw coins into the wishing pot then lit three incense sticks bowed three times, made three wishes, then stuck their incense sticks into a communal basin. We were allowed inside the temple, for a traditional baby blessing ceremony. Inside, there were three giant golden buddas, and a monk performed some chanting ritual in front of the families, then sprinkled some with a liquid. Oh, and the families were charged 5 yuan each for the blessing (about $.75).

The highlight of the temple tour for our boys was the 9-story pagoda at the temple grounds, which they were allowed to climb. It was a narrow and steep climb, and every floor had six additional buddhas on it. Eric did get some pictures of the surrounding slums from the top floor of the pagoda.

After leaving the temple, we stopped at a Government run store, which specialized in jade, pearls and ivory and porcelain. So many things were beautiful, and the carvings of ivory and jade were spectacular (and VERY pricey!). One huge ivory took 10 men five years to complete, and is still available for sale for 200,000,000 RMB (about $25,000,000 USD) if you’re interested. We purchased two pieces of hand painted porcelain to give to Katie when she turns 16 and graduates from high school.

Karen and Mom got massages today – what a treat! An hour of torture and relaxation (sounds like a contradiction, huh?) for $9.50 plus a $1.25 tip.

Eric here---- Joe and I ventured out into Guangzhou to go to the McDonald’s. On the way we passed a street market with vendors selling everything from dried mushrooms and ginseng to tiger claws. I didn’t take any pictures because it was so hot and fairly nauseating. The McDonald’s was surprisingly similar to home.

I think Katie has an ear infection. I noticed that she often grabs at her left ear. But in some of the photos we got from the orphanage she is also grabbing that ear. I put her on an antibiotic just to be on the safe side. As an added bonus, the antibiotic might help cure the constipation problem (common to the babies)!

Today’s entry is short because, simply, we’re all too tired to write more. Enjoy the pictures!