Thursday, September 2, 2010

Pearls, Green Hill Park

Hello from Nanning, China.

We are savoring this time together here in Nanning. Last night, we did a little pearl shopping followed by a walk near the hotel to a little park.Hattie sure seemed to like trying on pearls. We wanted to wait until today though to buy pearls incase the place our guide took us was better. She what you think in the pictures!

We also went to Walmart to see if we could find a bottle that would work better for Hattie. We found one that we could squeeze as well as a longer Chinese bottle top that she can drink from much better. So, now she has a sippy cup and a bottle that she seems to be able to drink from. I do look forward to getting home and getting on top of the food/formula issue. We have decided that as long as she is drinking anything and eating well, we won''t worry about how much formula she is drinking. She isn't a newborn and she is certainly sturdy enough that we will be fine.

Last night, Kory headed out with my request for spring rolls and dumplings. I would do it myself but Hattie is always on me, so it is not as easy for me to explore. While Kory is understanding and patient with Hattie, I think he feels a bit left out as she won't even really look at him. I keep telling her she doesn't know what she is missing, he is lots of fun to play with and she may as well take advantage of her time alone with him. Once, we get home the boys will be all over him!!!

But back to the spring rolls and dumplings. Kory came back with three plastic bags, like we would put produce in at home. One had dumplings, one had spring rolls and one had sauce. It is so weird to see people walking down the street carrying clear bags of liquids. At home, it seems liquids are in containers of some sort. The spring rolls were wonderful. They were Vietnemese Spring rolls and came fried (I was craving fresh but these were certainly yummy!) with the little rice noodles inside and I am not sure what else was in them but they were delicious. Also, the dumplings were good but the sauce was the best I have ever had. Some kind of sauce with garlic and chilies and lots of spice. If only I knew how to make that at home! Hattie had room service Congee. Kory ordered it for her and was given chicken, beef or fish flavored Congee. He choose chicken. It was like chicken noodle soup in flavor and was very good. Both Kory and I liked it, but Hattie went to town on that-she was leaning in for more.

We all had the Chinese cake for dessert and it was more beautiful to look at then eat, but all these experiences are so much fun.

This morning, we had breakfast and then met Mary for a tour of Green Hill Park. We enjoyed seeing the Buddhist Temple and walking through, we were able to apply what we learned in Beijing. Although, we do not believe in Buddha we were still able to appreciate their way of thinking and found it interesting. We went into the temple for Gods Of Mercy of Babies. While in there, there was a display on the alter of fruits and candy. They believe that they offer this to Buddha and he will fill the fruit/candy with happiness and protection and then you may take the item back and eat it to receive protection and happiness. While we were in there,a woman walked up to us and said that the baby was very beautiful even "with her cleft" and she said a prayer(to herself) and then took a package of candy and gave it to Hattie. A few moments later another woman walked up and said, our baby is very beautiful and has very nice eyes and then she took an apple off the alter and gave it to Hattie. Later, Mary told us that in four years of taking families here she has never seen anyone give the babies anything from the alter. She said, we are "very, very lucky."

We went to the top of a Pagoda and were able to see the red dirt where they are digging to make more of the city along Yong River. Also, we were able to see the newly completed bridge that is the only bridge in China that looks like the wings of a butterfly. We then walked down lots of steps to an area where we could buy food to feed the fish. We all enjoyed this very much. Hattie is coming a bit out of her shell and even got in on throwing the fish food. We left there after awhile and went to buy South Sea Pearls for Hattie. We bought her a bracelet for now and a strand of pearls for her 18th birthday. This seems to be the tradition of the families who adopt girls from China. The women all wore yellow gowns and were very helpful. Once, we choose the pearls they boxed them up with a certificate of quality in each box, as the shop is connected with the Chinese Government and their study of authentic sea pearls.

After this, Hattie fell asleep and we went back to the hotel for naptime. More adventures to come later..... Stay tuned!

















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