Random Thoughts...

First of all, Happy Birthday Tommy!!! We miss you!!!

China really is crowded. Really. Thousands of people line these streets at any given moment of the day. Really.

The retailers are very pushy in most areas. The street vendors will come up often trying to get us to buy things.... did you know you can buy a Rolex for $10 here? iPhones, MP3 players, MP4 players, watches, anything you can imagine.

It costs 1 yuan to ride the bus. 2 yuan to ride the bus with A/C! (1 yuan is approximately 14 cents).

The traffic is nuts. We've been passed by buses and trucks that literally come within 6 inches of us... and we are sitting inside another bus. It's crazy here. Pedestrians DO NOT get priority on these streets.

We learned that motorcycles are forbidden by anyone but police. They are dangerous on the streets, but also there were many cases of purse-snatchings with them.

Gracelynn is doing well. She hasn't formed any serious bonding with any one of us. She'll go to PapPap, Daddy or Mommy just the same. However sometimes when she begins to meltdown, handing her off to another will help.

She does have some hair! YAY! I wish I could post a photo to show you. It's a little crooked in back, but at least she has about 3" of hair everywhere. Enough to wear barrettes. We saw her notice a little 5 year old Chinese girl (previously adopted 2 years ago) who had hair down her back. She immediately reached to her back to see where her hair fell. So... we'll let her grow her hair out long. :-)

She does have a sense of humor. Yesterday she accidentally got her hands too close to the faucet and sprayed water all over herself (and me). We laughed hysterically about that. She also loves to play with the balloon and various button-covered equipment (tv, lights, calculator, travel alarm).

She has a very 3-year-old dignified air to her. She walks very upright well-postured.

She cannot tell us that she's tired, has to go to the bathroom, isn't happy, etc. So, she has mini tantrums where she'll throw her body back and stiffen up. (Oh, my.... the terrible twos?) She likes to hit things too. Just to make noise, I think.

On the Great Wall, we were huffing and puffing up those 1000+ steps. The Chinese tend to be thin, fit people... but c'mon! Some people were booking it past us... on high heels and flat-soled dress shoes... with pantyhose and dress suits! We'd love to know who got all those souvenirs up to the top watch-towers. There were some areas where we could barely squeeze by ourselves.

The Family Chen temple was a place to learn about Chen family history (if you were a Chen), to stay, and to collect family pieces. It was built in the mid-1800s (unlike the Forbidden City which was about 800 years old).

Guangzhou has a history that dates back 2200 years. It is one of the three biggest cities in China (Beijing and Shanghei are the other two). Guangzhou is a mostly Cantonese-speaking area. Gracelynn Chun is from Huizhou, which is a Hakka-speaking area. (Though it's possible she may know some Mandarin, too.)

Every morning as we eat at the breakfast buffet, big boats pull something out of the Pearl River. We can't quite figure it out. It looks like some sort of vegetation... tons of it, literally. Seaweed?

Every evening, there is an amazing light show along the river. Apparently across the River from us is some sort of an entertainment district with bars and discos. There is a laser light show in the sky, lights all along the banks, and brightly lit-up river cruise ships. It's like Vegas in China.

Our beds are hard. Basically I'd say it's like a boxspring with a 1" mattress topper over it. Mike seems to like it... he likes hard mattresses. I do too... but these are a little too hard. Better than the ceramic 8" high "pillows" we saw today that people used to lay on. Pillows is a strong word. I'd call it a pedestal for your head.

Most of the cars are Asian made. Lots of Volkswagons, BMWs and Audis. But we did see a Dodge Caravan, some Chevys and Buicks too. The Honda Odyssey here is very different than back home. It's squatter with four hinged doors... no sliding doors.

The fashion... oh the fashion. Wow. One person will be wearing normal polo shirt and jeans. The next some goofy puffy dress with knee-high black stockings and white tennis shoes. Huh? It's an eclectic blend of fashion in Guangzhou!

There is no central air here, except in newer buildings. Seems like most stores and restaurants have these upright fans/air-conditioning units that look like refrigerators. Every nicer apartment seems to have an A/C unit hanging out the window.

You cannot drink the tap water here. I've already thrown out three toothbrushes after instinctively rinsing them out under the tap. Thank goodness they keep giving us new ones. :-)

Gracelynn gets showers here. We use the little handheld sprayer on her to clean her off each morning. It seems to always make her cold, but she never fusses at shower time. We were advised to do it this way, and she is fine with it. I tried to get her to sit down and she wouldn't. After a few shower washings with American shampoo, her very-coarse black hair has gotten much softer.

Well.... I think that's enough for now. We'll ask for this computer again next time. ;-) Take care. Only a week left to go.

Christy