We had yet another busy but fun day. We are between sets of paperwork having finished the Chinese government steps with the US government still ahead of us. This has allowed us to do some touring and general shopping to get out of the hotel and see some of the city. Today was the 6th birthday for the daughter of one of the other families so almost all of us went to the Guangzhou Zoo this morning followed by lunch at at restaurant in a mall.

The zoo was quite nice. It was larger than I expected and there was a lot of vegetation along the paths and in most of the exhibits. We only had an hour and a half so we didnít see over half of the animals. We had to pick and choose. Most of us stayed together as a group and got to see tigers, a lion, hippos, camels, giraffes, monkeys and a single panda as well as a few others. The panda seemed to be sleeping when we got to its exhibit but something roused it and it started pacing around its cage. One of the most interesting exhibits was the monky ìpit.î There were a couple dozen monkeys and people could pay to go down into the exhibit, with zoo workers, and feed the monkeys. The end of the visit seemed to entail having a worker put monkey food on your head and having a monkey jump on you to get the food. Nobody in our group paid to do this, partly, I suppose, because it was time to head back to the bus.

Our shuttle bus then took us to a large urban mall complex and we went to an area that had lots of stores selling pearls and precious stones. Our guide brought us to a particular store that has a good reputation for the freshwater pearls that they sell. Many of us made some purchases as the prices seemed reasonable. We then walked to another shopping area in the large complex, past many clothing stores, and went midway up the many-storied mall to eat at a restaurant. Today we had dumplings, whole shrimp in a curry sauce, chow mien (pan fried noodles), steamed chicken, and crispy duck, We then sang Happy Birthday to the birthday girl in both Chinese and English. The hotel had provided a cake that we brought with us so she got to blow out candles on the fancy, fruit-decorated cake. The cakes here are not overly sweet. The ìfrostingî is usually some type of whipped cream and fruit is a common decoration. We all enjoyed it. Linnea gave the birthday girl a top that lights up when it spins.

Alyssa ate a big bowl of chicken congee and also steamed eggs for lunch. She also had a couple of pieces of watermelon which she loves. She was fussy off and on during lunch so I took her for short walks several times.

After lunch we were all tired to opted to head straight back to the hotel instead of shopping any more. On our way out of the complex we passed through a large open square that had a giant TV screen playing ads, mostly related to the Olympics. There was also a fashion show or something like that going on so there was additional loud music and crowds of people. At both the zoo and in the square we had several people ask to take pictures with us. We also took some pictures of the people around us so we figured that turn-about is fair play.

Back at the hotel Alyssa started getting very fussy again. Her whole nap schedule has been thrown off so we figured that she might just be over-tired. She also has a diaper-area rash that we noticed a bit on Monday that has since gotten worse. Just like last night it was hard to tell what exactly was bothering her so it was hard to get her to stop screaming and throwing herself about. Iím amazed that she hasnít hit her head hard enough on anything to cause an injury. After about an hour she settled down enough for me to take her down to the playroom. We were the only ones there so we had our pick of the toys. Alyssa played with the balls and some of the musical toys for a while then she picked up my hand and practically dragged me to the door making it very clear that she was ready to go. We went out and continued walking around the lower level of the hotel. She discovered steps and made me go up and down a series of three steps over and over and over. I eventually directed her away from there to an area that had longer sets of steps which she loved. I thought that she was over her fussiness but it started right up again a short time after we got back to the room

Alyssa still won’t take a bottle so I mixed up the formula/rice cereal mixture and spoon fed it to her…. I donít think itís the mixure or the temperature of the food that is the issue. She gobbled up the food and still seemed to want more so we also had some Cheerios and a short time later she ate about a bowl of chicken broth with rice mixed in. Was she fussy because she was hungry??? Who knows? In any case, I hope that she has a better day tomorrow. Itíís hard to see her uncomfortable.

After dinner she was very relaxed and obviously rather tired. She sat with me for a while then played around the room… empty water bottles are favorite toys. I put on the soothing Chinese lullabies again and she settled down with me on the bed and quickly fell asleep.The day must have been exhausting from her point of view.

Tomorrow Dave, Linnea and I will join most of the others in our group on a visit to an orphanage where two of the babies lived before being adopted. It is about three and a half hours away so it will be quite a journey but also gives us a chance to get out of Guangzhou and into the countryside to get another perspective of China. We have a couple of backpacks full of what we think we might need for the day. This may give us a glimpse of what it may be like to travel back to the states toward the end of the week. The days are going past quite quickly!

Zoo Sign

Celebrities

Elephant

Family at the Zoo

Giraffe

Lion

Monkey Interaction

Monkey pit

Panda

Tiger