We have been wearing shorts and t-shirts here--it's going to be a hard to adjust to cold weather. Today, Lia kept pulling her socks off and we were talked about constantly. It's warm! No socks!
As we walked into breakfast (the big social event of the day), I told Shane that we only got to do this one more time. Our stay here is just about over--one more day.
This morning we hopped in cabs with the Irishes and Cashes and headed back to Shamian Island. More shopping. . . and I'm shopped out. We did walk up the Pearl River walkway, played frogger across a very busy street, survived that, and then venture into the Electronics Market. The building is five stories of noisy, non-English speaking electronics sellers. Although there were cameras for sale, we did not buy one--no credit card, only yuan, and we did not have enough yuan with us. Maybe tomorrow, or maybe we'll just use Shane's Blackberry, although those pics are not loading into the computer, nor is Shane being able to text them to me so I can download them. We are so not techno-savvy. At the Electronics Market--there were gazillions and gagillions of phones and and parts of phones and chips to phones and people taking little metallic pieces (chips?) out of plastic bags, spreading them on the counters, and counting them, selling them? I don't know what they were doing with them...but there were millions of these little copper squares everywhere on the counters. Crazy.
We walked back to the White Swan, caught a cab, and arrived back just in time to go to Luihua Park, a beautiful park very near the hotel. The flowers, trees, lakes, landscaping are gorgeous. There was a small amusement park, people playing cards, concrete pingpong tables filled with pingpong players, tai-chi practice, paddle boats (no one in them), and lots of grandparents with babies all in this beautiful, tropical setting.
For dinner tonight we went out with the Irishes, Watts, and Cashes to One Thousand and One Arabian Nights restaurant. Middle Eastern food in China was actually very good. We washed it all down with a few more Tsingtaos. Then the belly dancer came on stages. We were seated front and center. The loud music scared Lia, but I think she was a little enthralled with the belly dancer--but still tears of fear, so she and I walked back to the front of the restaurant till our belly dancer had finished wiggling and jiggling. We were a table of six, plus the babies, in this HUGE restaurant . . . and maybe 12 other people in there, all men. Brenda's guide said this was a Muslim restaurant. Outside were beggars draped in scarves. Chalk it up to: It's China!
We then walked up to buy hats for the girls--no orange one for Lia so I opted out. Back to 7-11 for Shane's nightly Snickers and it's time for bed. We need to start packing!
Tomorrow we take our oath at the American consulate and receive Lia's visa. When she steps on American soil, she'll be an American citizen!
Old photos--Brenda took some at dinner tonight I'll share tomorrow.
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