Guangzhou continued...

Heh, the early bird gets the worm! Michelle is still sleeping, so I'm going to send an update now, muhahaha!!!

Yesterday was a very good day. Things started off with breakfast and a little girl in a bit of a sour mood.Things started picking up late in the morning while we were out on our walk. I've found out that she knows (already) how to work the eyes. I'm in big trouble. She did it to me first at the 7-11 (yeah, they have 7-11 here) when she wanted some gum. There is no use resisting such a force, ha!

Most of the afternoon was spent hanging out and playing in the room. Nina let me have alot of her time and seems to be tempering things alot better. We looked at books, she helped me eat a couple pears (she loves pears), did a little coloring, and practiced our conversation (her primary word right now is 'aaa', but if that fails, she starts chattering in chinese).

Lee and I went to go check out the local shopping area. There is a massive shopping district that is about a mile from here. 5 minutes on the hotel transfer service and we were there. Traffic here is still...well...chinese traffic, humorous as it is. When we got out we were amazed at the density of the area. Not only population-wise, but also with respect to their storefronts. The area greatly resembled about a half-scale Times Square. If your in Guangzhou and have a hankering for American fast food, this is where to go. There were 2 McDonald's, a Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, KFC, and probably a couple others that I didn't see. Also, as Guangzhou is primarily Cantonese, there is a street that showcases different items of food from noodles to scorpions (self-professed, the Cantonese eat anything but the table). Keep in mind your shoulder-to-shoulder with about 5 other people while walking amidst the stores (or eating your scorpions for that matter).

Stepping inside one of the shopping areas, your presented with a labyrinthian maze of incredible proportions. From the entry floor, there are escalators that go down and up. The storefronts are very much akin to slots in a swap-n-shop, as they are about 5-10 feet square and are rented out to people selling their wares. This adds to the whole density confusion. And if that isn't confusing enough, each of their escalators covers two floors, they are paneled with mirrors, and have mezzanine levels between the floors, so your left with a feeling of "how did I miss that area?".

So, after we gathered our bearings, and with a great appreciation for how tight you can pack things together, Lee and I grabbed McDonald's and walked back to the hotel (about a 15 minute mile). Nina wasn't that thrilled with the hamburgers, but she was totally into the wings that I picked up. Oh yeah, she is definitely a fry girl, but is kinda finicky about ketchup.

The night ended with looking at some books some more. She then let me put a bandaid on a papercut she got from the book...ha! Small things are big and you have to make the most of what you got. All to sleep, no crying, and this morning is starting out pretty good too.

Thank you all for your support!

Bill