Monday, January 1, 2007

“And some of the things I’ve seen
Maybe she won’t have to see
But there’s a lot I want to pass along
That was handed down to me.”
-Jimmy Buffett

One day closer to home. Today we took a few more tours. We went to the Sun Yat Sen Museum, which has beautiful grounds and the inside is a theater that can be rented out for performances.

From there we traveled to the beautiful provincial park of the “Five Goats” which stand for the city of Guangzhou. Particularly appropriate because Jia-Li was born in the Year of the Goat and she has been acting rather “goatish” all day. Bad mood, bad temper, not liking Mom again. Had a little temper tantrum at the park. All in a days work for a 3 year old.

Around noon we watched the ball drop in Times Square via CNN. Not the same without Dick Clark. Happy 2007 Year of the Pig to all!!

Tonight we ate at Lucy’s again with our group. This is the resteraunt with an American theme. We had onion rings, fish and chips, and pizza. Jia-Li stuck with the noodles, although she did try an onion ring. After dinner we took a stroll with Sharon, who has also adopted a 3 year old-Maggie through Los Ninos. We went to a store that actually had a little cat in it, the three year olds petted it and to our relief Jia wasn’t scared or abusive towards it. You rarely see any animals at all here, so we weren’t sure of her reaction. After that we went to The Deli Shoppe and tried these elaborately beautiful little cakes-they were awful! Sure did look pretty though!

Tonight Jia-Li is squeaky clean from her bubble bath and is dancing, jumping on the bed and giggling.

Tomorrow I (Lesa) am going to the American Consulate for our appointment with Nelson. Drew doesn’t have to go as he is not a US citizen, and Nelson wants one of us to stay in the room in case there is a question with the paperwork. The rest of the day is a “free” day, which probably translates into shopping for Anna and Katie.

Today we would like to thank the people of the beautiful country of China, they are gracious hosts and a most interesting culture. We will give Jia-Li all the opportunities that the United States has to offer, but we will also fill her with pride in her heritage.

“Intreat me not to leave thee: for whither thou goest, I go: thy people shall be my people, and thy God, my God. -Ruth 1:16