A Walk in The Park

Pics: walking in the park across the street from our hotel.

Today was a nice day off the clock. We had the whole day to spend together without having to rush anywhere or go to a specific meeting. So we slept in a bit this morning and then came back to the room for a rest.

Later the girls all went shopping while I made a phone call and then I went down to the lobby to check my email and fantasy football scores. The girls brought back McDonalds for lunch again today. Its much less expensive than the hotel plus its familiar and the fries actually taste better than back home because they can still use beef tallow here.

After lunch we went to the lake park across the street from the hotel. Its not simple to cross the street here you have to go down underground and follow the Chinese signs to where you're going. We almost made a wrong turn but noticed our mistake and found the park,

Its a beautiful park with a large lake in the center and a tiled walk all the way around it. The had an area for kids to play and a section with at least 6 ping pong tables all busy bring used. Everyone we saw could beat most of the people I know with their eyes closed. they are good.

We saw several brides and grooms getting pictures taken while we were there. This time of year is considered good luck to get married in China.

Gracie is an amazing little girl. She was eating all day today and she actually threw some good ol' 2 year old temper tantrums. The good news is that they don't last long.

There were some cute moments in the park. She saw the trees and leaves and started chattering. She chattered when she saw the birds. It was so adorable. In the shops here you see lots of those mechanical waving cats you often see in the states in Chinese food places. Gracie loves to see those and she chatters at them too.

Yesterday we received an email from a woman who was helping sponsor the orphanage Gracie was assigned to. They provided resources for children to be in foster homes and Gracie was one of those children. Turns out this woman and a group she belongs to had actually been sponsoring Gracie and get this the agency had assigned her the english name 'Sarah'. Just another confirmation that God was working on this all along.

We also received some pictures of Gracie and her foster mom and the other girls with her in this foster home. They were taken two or three weeks before we came to China.

Quick hitters:

Wifi isn't as easy to find here as in the States, however its free at Starbuck's as long as you buy something you can sit down and surf. There happens to be a Starbuck's in our hotel but security might be getting suspicious of this foreign guy who keeps hanging around the door with this little handheld device.

Guangzhou is much more expensive than Nanning.

Hotel TV stinks unless you speak Chinese. No American football here.

Chinese commercials are a lot like in the US only in Chinese and some strange products but they use the same themes and ideas. They also use very anglo looking Chinese in the commercials. American/Euro is the desired look.