Today we woke up to another cold and rainy day. We canceled our original plan to visit the zoo. We stayed in bed and started our day around lunch time. Bert, Sue and Toby ate some food from street vendors – steamed dumpling – they are good. The rest of the kids had McDonalds for they are not too keen about Chinese street food. Toby had McDonalds again. He is a big growing man.
We were supposed to meet Sue’s sister’s family. But the weather was not good and little Vincent was sleeping so we canceled that plan. Our family went to visit Sue’s friend – another classmate who teaches at Jinan University. We took a subway there. The subway system in Guangzhou is very good. We took a tour of the campus and her lab. There are some very impressive new buildings on campus. Bert was especially impressed with the main teaching building and the library. The library looks huge from the outside. Inside it has a court yard with the actual rooms build around it on several stories. It is a wonderful architecture. The main teaching building is also new and of very interesting architecture.
After lots of talking about the past and the tour we went on to have a Sichuan Hot Pot dinner at a famous local restaurant. By then the family of Sue's sister had joined us. This hot pot meal was quite different then the one we had in Mongolia. The Szechuan style Hot Pot was incredibly spicy – but very good. It is also a buffet style hot pot where you pick the raw ingredients yourself and cook them on your own table. We all ate more than we should.
Oh, we forgot, on the way to the restaurant Bert, Toby and Josh spotted a Starbuck sign and disappeared instantly for about ten minutes and then showed up with Venti Cappuccinos and Mochas. The expression on their faces looked like they just won the lottery.
After the meal it was time to get back to the hotel. It was raining cats and dogs and we arrived all wet. That was it for today – we called it an early night.
This morning we suddenly realized that we do not talk much about Toby and Josh in our blog. This is true, but we should give them the credit they deserve. They have been great in helping us with Anna and Jenny. Anna and Jenny still fight their jealousy battles. For example, we did not want to take the stroller this morning for Jenny since Anna was fighting with her about the stroller yesterday (she is 7 years old!!!). This morning, Anna convinced us to use the stroller today again; she promised not to fight – that lasted only about two hours until she was tired. Last night Jenny saw pictures from Anna's adoption on Daddy’s computer – now she is jealous that we have pictures from Anna at a young age and not from her. It is a constant battle. Toby and Josh are a great help to separate them and help to overcome this. They also have to carry them frequently when they get tired. Besides this they can help out when Mom and Dad have to run an errand. Toby just helped Anna to do her homework. All in all, their presence is making this trip far easier and more cheerful. They are willing to take the backstage. No jealous among them or with their sisters at all. We are so glad to take them with us. We are all one family and it would not be the same without them.
We thought to add a few facts to our writing every day. Here is a link to one of the newest roller coasters that is being build here in Guangzhou and the amusement park where it will be – watch out for competition Six Flag.
http://en.chimelong.com/News
http://www.chimelongparadise
Also, Guangzhou is currently experiencing the longest and lowest cold spell in 50 years with (according to locals). Most buildings don't have any heat which can be difficult if the temperatures drop in the upper 30's at night. Because of the unexpected winter problems all over China, we expect 600,000 people to be stranded at Guangzhou's main rail road station due to the amount of travelers that want to go home for the Chinese New Year.
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