The Half-Way Point.
Another great day. Ava is doing amazingly well. She wears a diaper and wets in it. But, when she has to go poo, she points to her backside and goes to the little potty they brought in here for her. She has gone twice! This is a big deal in adoption world. “The baby go poo poo. It mean baby comferbal wif ahhh, famawee! “
We went to a pavilion today that is 1300 years old. The Tengwang Pavilion has been burned down and rebuilt 29 times. We went to the ninth floor where we saw a 10
minute dance. There is symbolism in everything. The number 9 is the closest number to heaven. Hence the ninth floor being the top floor. There is a tradition or superstitious reason for everything that is done here.
I wish you could be here to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of China. There are people absolutely everywhere! On foot, on bike, bus and car. The traffic is CRAZY! People in the city live in apartments. If you look up there is laundry hanging out of all the windows. It is the only way to fit in enough housing for the population. Only 30% of people live in the city and the other 70% are farmers in the country.
The smells are of garlic and onion. (And it ain’t no Olive Garden garlic!) It is everywhere. The elevator, Wal-Mart, the smell coming from restaurants. It is all the same. And the food seems to all have the taste of that smell. Chris and I have noticed we are starting to smell like it as well.
As far as the sounds go, my dad would love driving here. He would get to use his horn every 30 seconds. They honk while they drive. If you saw the streets you would know why they were honking. Not just at cars, but at 
people walking and riding bikes. Insane! And one other sound that is everywhere. The wind up. What is it? The hacking done prior to the spitting of the loogey! We have listened to it on the plane. Where the heck he was spittin it, I don’t want to know. On the street there is constantly someone doing the wind up. We have been walking down the hall of the hotel to hear people in their rooms! It is everywhere. Oh, and it is nice to watch the holding one nostril shut while blowing out the other one on the street. Oh yeah, I have seen men in suits and a pretty lady in a dress just blow it out on the street. We ain’t in Kansas anymore Toto! But, once you get past those things, it is all rather pleasant. Everyone is very kind and very intrigued by us holding Ava. We constantly get stared at and approached. They love to come up and touch Ava’s face. If they speak English, they tell us how beautiful she is, lucky girl and she has big eyes. If they don’t speak English, they smile and give the thumbs up. It is very touching actually. They are very grateful for us adopting their children.
We are having a wonderful time and we love the
other families we are here with. There are 3 other families here with babies 13 and 14 months old. Ava is the oldest and the only one that can walk. That is nice! I can’t wait to see how all these children flourish! We have made friends here that we will be in touch with for life!
We miss all of you. But, we are half way through the trip. Though I am not looking forward to our flights home. UUUggghhh!
Goodbye until tomorrow!! See more pictures here.
