Friday,
November 9, 2007
The food post for the day came from the breakfast buffet –
"Preserved
Eggs". Obviously some meaning was lost in translation as the
true
translation would have yielded - "Ancient Rotten Eggs".
I went for a run from the hotel yesterday morning. The concierge
said to go down to the river and run along the river on the
trails.
First, the river was more like a lagoon (as in sewage). Second,
you
cannot imagine the number of people that were on or all around
the
lagoon side trails. They were walking, practicing kung fu,
hanging
from trees, playing badminton, and other activities I'm sure
were for
fitness but, I cannot adequately describe. Anyway, between
dodging
20,000 other trail users and ducking under the tree limbs (which
were
trimmed for pedestrians under 5'2") it was more of a cross
training
workout.
Just so you all know, Jet lag is a real phenomenon. We googled
"Jet
lag symptoms" and we have all of them….and then some. It only
listed
irritability once but, there are two kinds and we have
both....behavioral and intestinal.
Remember the placebo thermostat? The shower control is kind of
like
that but, more sophisticated in it's trickery. For the first 3
minutes (and I mean exactly 3 minutes) it is just right. Not too
cold, not too hot. Then at exactly 3 minutes, it oscillates
between
too cold and just right. Adjusting the handle has virtually no
effect. This phase lasts for exactly 2 minutes. Then, for
stubborn
Americans who haven't gotten the message, it begins the third
phase.
The third phase is much like the the 2nd phase except it goes
from
cold to scalding, back and forth until you give up. No one has
made
it past the third phase, so we can't tell you how long it lasts
or
what the fourth phase might be like.
Ok, on to our day. We visited the People's Park of Nanchang and
then
the Nanchang Zoo. The Chinese people are very kind and warm. If
we
stopped for long they crowded around us and touched us and
especially
our children. They still think Julianne is an American movie
star
and want pictures taken with her. One of the small children
pointed
at us and screamed something – our interpreter said she said
"look
foreigners!" The Peoples park was really nice with lots of
citizens walking, practicing fencing (real swords) and
practicing
kung fu again. For those of you versed in martial arts please do
not
be offended – it looked like kung fu to me. The zoo was really
dirty
and Paige stepped on a box of milk and it exploded onto several
in
our group. She's getting kind of clumsy (Jet Lag symptom) and
walked
into the wall last night. There is a big bump on her forehead so
I
can prove it. We fly to Guangzhou tomorrow to finish the
American
side of the paperwork. Madeline will be a US citizen when we
land in
the US!
Now for what you really want to know… Madeline continues to
smile
more often and giggles frequently. She is a little reserved in
the
mornings and after naps but, hey so is Paige. Julianne is
teaching
her to clap and say "Yay" and also to blow kisses and wave bye
bye.
We thought she only weighed 16 pounds before we arrived but, she
weighs almost 20 pounds and most of the clothes we brought for
her
don't fit. We are going shopping for her in Guangzhou and
believe it
or not I'm actually not complaining (I hate shopping).
Thank you to all who prayed for us and all who have posted. God
has
done a kind thing in giving us you and giving us Madeline.
Posted by Hank
(the contents of this post are true to the best
of my
knowledge) |
Allie, she likes chopsticks like you
Low sugar preserved eggs, YUM
Madeline brings a crowd
Family pic at the Nanchang Park and Zoo
School children practicing their English
Learning to say "yeah" |
