Oct. 21, 2007 (Sun morning 5:40AM)

Andy here... Our bodies are still trying t adjust to the time difference here. Yesterday, we made it to about 3:30 AM and today we got to 4:30 AM before realizing that we were to get up and about. Yesterday was a shopping day and Ann took us everywhere. The women spent about two+ hours buying pearls and jade... I bought a fanny-pack.. :) Sharon forbade me to eat the local, street merchandise and I had to walk past so many succulent dishes! (The squid/octopus on a stick really looked inviting!) We ate at McDonald’s (ugh!) because Ann didn’t want us getting sick on anything, even though I felt a bit queasy after that meal!
We saw a street performer with three monkeys doing tricks. Taylor was fascinated by it all. The deals for pearls and jade were fantastic. We walked and walked and tried to avoid the crush of humanity. Taylor fell asleep in my arms and I carried her for another mile or so before I had to sit and rest... she’s getting heavy! We meandered through countless alleys and side streets to see some of what most tourists miss. Some of the scenes would make a few folks blanch.. Thousands upon thousands of live scorpions, turtles, some snakes... cats/kittens, puppy dogs... hundreds of different varieties of tropical fish for sale. I sensed that most of the animals were for sale as pets and was assured that this was the case by a few locals who spoke some english. No matter, they do what they do and you have to put aside your own cultural mores... “When in Rome...”

Ann was fantastic and really good company. I think she liked me because she ragged on me most of the time we were together... She’s a little wisp of a thing.. No more than 4'10 and maybe 90 pounds soaking wet, but a real firebrand! She needed to leave around 4:00 PM and helped us compose some notes to the Foster Family before departing... For any families coming to China soon, I would highly recommend Ann and her business for Care Packages, guiding around Guangzhou and for anything else you might think you need to get the job done here. She was absolutely indispensable!

Today we need to check out by noon, so it’s pack, pack, pack and get ready to head out to Changsha. We will catch up with the rest of our group there and try to ease our nerves, tensions and anxieties before getting our children tomorrow sometime (Oct 22, here but probably Sunday night back home). Hope the Pats do well against Miami.. :) I think I’ll have a few beers tonight and try to relax before the whirlwind catches us up tomorrow...

It’s almost 6:30 and that’s when breakfast opens up here at the White Swan... Taylor is getting hungry and I’d like a cup of coffee too.. :)

Take care, everyone... we’ll catch up with you tonight from Changsha...

Andy