The Weekend

We had a pretty nice weekend. The weather has been hot during the day, i.e. in the 90s and cools off a bit at night. On Saturday, we took the girls to a small amusement park we had driven past somewhere in the city. There were only 2 rides they were tall enough to go on alone, and Larry and I took them on a couple more they could go on with a parent. The prices were pretty comparable to ride tickets at a state fair in the US. They really enjoyed it. After that we went back to the hotel and took them swimming or I should say, Larry got in the pool with them and I just sat on the edge---the water was cold! In the evening, we took our ritual walk to the park so the girls could burn up some more energy, and then went to Lucy's for lunch.



On Sunday, we met another couple that is here adopting a beautiful 3yr old and all went to church across the street. The service was in Cantonese, but the music of the hyms was very familiar and we quietly sang in English. It is a small church, but packed to gills with local Chinese. The four of us and our daughters were the only foreingers. It was great to see a lot of young people in there too. This church is allowed to preach without being monitored--we think. Our guide told us of another church that has guards posted on the outside to make sure only foreigners are allowed in (have to show a passport) and takes names of any Chinese that try to go in. It's hard to imagine those kinds of restrictions. After church, we walked down to the mall to look around and maybe shop. The streets were packed as I hope the pictures show. It was just a normal Sunday--no holiday or anything--but even shopping the day after Thanksgiving can't compare. There are just a lot of people everywhere. Trying to navigate a stroller through it all was a nightmare too. Maybe that's why very few of the Chinese women seem to use them. Most of the babies and toddlers are carried. They look heavy, and the women are usually small frame, but obviously very strong. We ate at KFC and I have to say it was close to what we have at home. We saw more interesting sights on the way home in the shops. The day was exhausting.