from Chen Clan Temple to Pizza Hut

It was a good day today...no tears and lots of laughter. I was falling asleep last night as I was typing, so I hope it made sense and the pictures matched my story. We all had a good night's sleep and Kelley woke up today while we were skyping with Kimmy, Emma, Jenna, Julie and Papa at home. She came out of the bedroom with her hair all a mess and wanted to see what was going on. I can tell, she wants a sister in the worst way! Kimmy went on a Girl Scout corn maze trip yesterday and spent the afternoon with Grandma Carol. She told Kelley all about it.

We are starting to recognize some of the other families from the US that are on our same time schedule. After breakfast, Kelley wandered out on the patio to watch three Chinese sisters from Georgia. The youngest one, who is now in the process of being adopted, is a few years older than Kelley. They all sat outside by the pond and Dan took some bread out so they could feed the fish. That is a good way to start a conversation. The other family is from Georgia and has good friends in Chagrin Falls that they visit yearly. They knew exactly where Aurora and Mantua were located. We caught glimpses of them throughout the day and I'm sure we will see them tomorrow at breakfast. They are from a larger group of around 8 families. I miss having other families with us. This time around we are the only family here from our agency, so Kelley won't have any special friends to share in this adoption. On the other hand, we get one on one time with our guide and she takes us anywhere we need to go (like the pharmacy).

Next it was time to go to the Chen Clan Temple. I didn't remember until we got there, that we had seen the temple in 2009. I remembered some of the basics, like the woodwork, gardens and bonsai trees, but the exhibits and displays have changed. The Temple was originally an academy built by the Chen family about 100 years ago. Now, the rooms display tea, jade, ivory & bone carvings, porcelain, embroidery, paintings and Cantonese furniture. This was the place that Lucia recommended to buy some nice souvenirs, like a tea set, fans and jade bracelets. Kelley was wound up when we get inside and played a game of hide & seek (or run away from Dad) for about 5 minutes. She finally settled down and was mesmerized by the room where people played music on the calabash. The calabash looks like a small gourd/squash and sounds like a flute. I liked the room with all of the embroidered pictures on display. I'm not sure what Dan liked best, but I know he did not like the Cantonese furniture room. There beds were all hardwood (no mattress) and they used pretty, painted, curved porcelain blocks as a head rest or pillow.

We finished a little before lunch and Lucia suggested the Buddha Temple. I think we saw that the last time, but decided to go again. In the van Dan started to feel sick, so we headed back to the hotel instead. I finished my third and last book that I brought, while he slept for a few hours. I ordered a new book from Amazon for the tablet and then found out that I couldn't read it in China. Blocked! Kelley and I played silly games in the room and she watched cartoons. It was another 90+ degree day in Guangzhou with high humidity and I chose to wait till after 6 before going outside. We headed to Pizza Hut for dinner, which is less than a block away and a whole lot cheaper than the hotel restaurant. They have the basic pepperoni pan pizza plus many other Chinese varieties. We thought we ordered pepperoni & sausage, but only got pepperoni. Kelley took a bite, but wasn't sure about it, especially after she saw the waffle fries and fried rice bowl that I also ordered.

We walked around some more on the streets and stopped at 7-11 for an ice cream cone before bed. The sidewalks are crowded with people walking. We haven't seen many bikes here and are told that scooters are outlawed in the city. They were everywhere in Taiyuan! The streets have plenty of old & tall shade trees and lots of beautiful flowers. Lucia said that the government put a lot of money into beautifying the city before the Asian Games in 2010. Everything is extra green, in preparation of the big trade show coming up, too. She also told us there are about 12 million people in 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles). It is considered to be in the subtropics and they don't get any snow, just an occasional hurricane. Guangzhou is also the third largest city in China and has a strong manufacturing economy. On our van ride to Hong Kong we should go past many factories, including Nike and where they make the iphone.

Dan and Kelley are in bed asleep now. He gave her the Indian Name "Refuses to Sleep Under the Covers" because she always kicks them off. Sometimes I think it is a game with her, especially when she is happy. She was happy to snuggle up next to him and feels safe in his big bear arms. Tomorrow we are going to the zoo, which we have not seen before. There are two pandas that I hope to see. We will also stop at the Government store, which is where we can buy Chinese clothes. That is a new stop for us, too.