Long Day In Nanning

Ni Hao!

We had another day out in Nanning.  We went to a commercial district where we saw some of the strangest things imaginable.  There was a large open building with fresh meat from all kinds of animals.  They also sold live animals for people to eat.  There were snakes, turtles, fish, squirrels, ducks, finches, chickens, and some mice.  All alive.  It was crazy to see.  In one picture, I shot a woman cleaning a turtle, she was not pleased with me about taking her photo.  Another picture shows pig tongue, brains, and snouts.  Hannah and John are shown eating some cooked chicken feet.  John said it was nasty.  None for me thanks!

Maya was well behaved again in the hip carrier all morning.  We came back to the room around 12:30 p.m. and fed her a bottle before putting her down for a nap.  She was not cooperative with the nap.  Sheila was holding her for about 90 minutes before Maya would let me take over.  We all were tired and hot!  The hotel shut down the A/C because it's only in the 70's to low 80's.  The room is still too warm for us.  We asked housekeeping to open our window this afternoon.  Much better.  And yes, the windows open, even though we are on the 9th floor.  

Around 4 p.m., I went out for a walk with John, Julie, and Charlotte.  Sheila and Maya were too wiped out from the long morning, and restless nap time.  We went to an antique store that sold little dolls of the native people from the Guangxi Province.  Hannah said that Maya looks like she is Zhoung.  This is the largest minority people of China.  Almost 90% of Guangxi is Zhoung.  The doll will be a nice keepsake for Maya when she is older.  I also found Sheila a small hand made embroidered purse and an embroidered apron.  All of it together was just under $15 US.  Hard to believe.  Hannah said if we were to buy them in Guiyang, a more tourist like city, we could have paid less than $5 US.  Still quite a bargain.

When I got back to the room, Maya had just fallen asleep.  This gives us a little time to straighten up the room, and to shower.  I think were going to wake her soon and order some dinner for all of us.  The best news of the day is that we got back our notarized adoption certificate.  Yeah!  All we need now is her passport.  Hannah will be picking it up tomorrow for us.  Saturday, we leave for Guangzhou.  About a 55 minute flight from Nanning.  It will be good practice for the long ride home.  The flight is cheap.  Only $220 US for the 3 of us.

Tomorrow, Hannah is taking us on a 45 minute bus ride out to the rural areas of Guangxi.  It is very plush and mountainous in this region.  We are looking forward to seeing some beautiful scenery.  1 more week to go!  We are ready to see everyone and get into a normal routine.  It feels like we're camping in a hotel.

Love, Maya, Tim and Sheila :)