Tuesday, November 18, 2008



Today was an amazing day!!! We went back throught the medicine market and once again saw huge bags full of dead seahorses. We saw chopped off tiger paws (eew) and a monkey skeleton for sale that still had bits of fur stuck to it. We saw big bowls full of live scorpians. What do they do with them, eat them? Eel, centipedes.... you name it. If it is gross we probably saw it and it was fascinating! Unfortunately my battery died before I got many pictures. The picture above is of octopus on a stick - a specialty I guess. The picture does not do it justice, you have to actually see the people heartily chewing on these moist delicious snacks on a stick as the legs dangle and quiver around. Whoa, it is something. We are going back to see more tomorrow. I will make sure that my camera is charged. Fortunately the people enjoy having their pictures taken. Wish you could be here.


Too cute!!!!!!


Red couch day. This is a picture of our portion of the group that went to Zhengzhou. All the kids here are special needs. The rest of our group had their picture taken separately. This was organized chaos and a lot of fun. You can imagine what it was like to try to get that many babies to cooperate after having each family's picture taken separately just beforehand. This is a fabulous group. We have fallen in love with every baby and every family. Can't wait to come home but also am going to hate to say goodbye. Amy was called on numerous times to help to calm the upset babies. She loves them all so much that this was a treat for her.

We finished off the day with a river boat ride along the Pearl River. It was absolutely beautiful. Amy gets motion sickness and so had to take a Dramamine before we went. She did manage to stay awake through the ride though, Yeah!!! The ride was not only beautiful but a lot of fun. We (the girls and I) made a game of trying to get the passing cruise ship people to wave at us. Most didn't wave back. I suspect that they thought that we were crazy Americans. Yes, even Nikki did this with us!!! (Kel, that is in case you were wondering!)
I have mentioned how crazy the driving in China is. It actually is MUCH calmer here in Guangzhou. However, last night our bus was involved in an accident. Nobody was surprised. The biggest surprise is that it hasn't happened sooner. We smashed a new BMW between us (the bus) and a barrier. The crazy car driver was trying to slip through ahead of us, which is pretty normal here. What in the world was he thinking?! Anyways, we ended up being stuck on the bus for quite a long time while we waited for a police report. Fortunately no babies cried and no one needed to "use the toilet". I say it like that because instead of signs pointing you towards a restroom they all just say "toilet".
Right now Amy (also known as MoMo) is sitting on the bed listening to her MP3 player. She sounds as if she is moaning (really) but I suspect it is singing! Hmmm, now this I think she gets from my side of the family!
More later guys. Oh, I was thinking that for any of you that looked at that site with the children I want you to know that kindergarten starts at age 2 so the grade level numbers don't match up with ours.
Blessings to you all!!!



4 comments:

Kim said...

Okay... now I REALLY see my job in a whole new light. I am really grateful that i teach kindergartners that are 5 and 6 years old and not 2 years old! Wow!

We miss you!!! Can't wait to meet our newest neighbor!

Kim

Unknown said...

Hey Guys!!! So excited to see you guys soon...We are thinking about you and loving the blog and pics!! Love you all, Jodi

Kelley said...

I can't even spell the sounds I am making looking at the picture of octopus on a stick and reading about the other foods. I am so white American. Beef and potatoes.
Anyway - why is Josh so freaking cute! I think the pic of him and Amy is my favorite so far, previously it was the one of Mike and Amy but I think Josh just stole the show. That hat is hilarious. It is just sooo cute.
What got into Nik? Was she on Dramamine? Was she woozy when she was waving? It's really cool that you have been giving Amy an awesome experience of her own country that she probably hasn't been able to have.
I'm glad no one was hurt in the bus accident. I'm glad everything else is going well. I'm sure you are looking forward to getting home and starting your everyday life as a new family. I know everyone else is looking forward to you getting home. Couple more days. Then Thanksgiving and total chaos!
Tell everyone hi.
Lots of love - K

Unknown said...

uuumm.. i pay really good money for some fresh octapus! yuuuuummmmie!

hehe. figures, right?