2/4/2010-Nanchang….again….

It was another rainy day today. We had a rushed breakfast and met our group in the lobby at 9. We were excited that we were again going to go out and see some things. Our first stop was at the Nanchang zoo. It was cold and raining but we were happy to be occupying ourselves with a trip. We saw fish and dogs and wolves and bears and deer and tigers and lots of birds. We also saw a panda bear! Charlotte slept through most of the visit. We were happy to be outside but happy to be on our way to the bus as the rain really started coming down. We stopped by at some porcelain shops on the way home. We saw some really cool stuff that if we had a safe way of getting things home, we would have stocked up on more stuff.

We went back to the hotel for lunch and a nap. We are really getting tired of the buffet and menu at the hotel and there isn’t much around the hotel for dining, so we suffer through it. Charlotte is eating better and is really chowing down the cheerios and rice cereal. She is also taking to her bottles better and we discovered cheese singles! Oh, and French fries are okay by her too. It’s interesting to see how the kids that were in foster care can feed themselves, and that Charlotte has not grasped the concept. We are practicing on this and she is getting better quickly.

Charlotte had a 2 hour nap this afternoon and she really is happy when she sleeps! It is 7:15 right now and we laid her down a few minutes ago….two cries and she’s out like a light! While she was napping this afternoon, I met some folks downstairs to make a trip to the store. It was a giant target-like store with everything from TV’s to giant live fish(for eating). There were a lot of interesting/terrifying things in the market part, but the thing I found most interesting was the meat counter. It was like a US meat counter only it opened out to the patron. People just sort of rooted through the meats with their hands looking for what they wanted…just chucking pieces aside until they found the right one. The other cool thing was the chicken section. I suppose it was just like the chicken section at Safeway….packages of wings, legs, breasts, etc…all of the necessary parts, only here it was just a big bin of chickens….the whole chicken….heaps of fresh chickens just without the fancy packaging. It wasn’t too crazy and I picked up some baby food, lotion, and a teething thing. On the way out I stopped at McDonalds and got two double cheeseburgers and two large orders of fries and brought them back to the room. It was very good.

Tonight as we were sitting around playing with Charlotte, Zhou came by with some copies of notary papers and abandonment papers for us. He sat and talked with us for a while and played with Charlotte. He is very good with kids and always has a way of putting our anxieties to ease.

Tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou! This will be a welcome change. The neighborhood that we will stay in, Shamian Island, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamian_Island) is very walk-able with tree-lined streets, shops and parks. We are keeping our fingers crossed for 70 degree weather. There is a great Italian restaurant on the island and a Starbucks right around the corner from the hotel. Our flight is only an hour and a half, so we’ll get a chance to see how Charlotte will respond to flying. We’re not too sure about the up-coming extended flight to the States but are excited none-the-less. It will be another of many adventures to come….