Last night in Nanchang

Today is our last night in Nanchang. It's a very interesting city. Traffic is WILD! Oh my gosh, the lanes do not matter, the direction of traffic is up in the air and whoever gets there first has the right of way. And it's only a matter of inches, seriously, before the right of way is determined. Our guide said we just need to literally walk in front of traffic and they will stop and let us go. And if we stop and wait for traffic to pass, we will never get to where we are going. There are no crosswalks or traffic signals to help. I just decided to stay as close to our guides as possible when out and say "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh" over and over until I safely arrive across the street.

Today we visited People's Park. It was beautiful. A completely wooded area with winding paths and pavilions. Many people exercise in this park daily and we were fortunate to see some performing tai chi, a lady using a Chinese yo-yo and others with their families walking through the park. There was a pavilion of people playing Mahjong. And I even managed to get barked at by a gentleman playing who was not liking the fact I was taking pictures. There were badminton matches and little boys in split pants running all around with all their "glory" hanging out. The locals are eager to see us with the babies and are very kind and curious. A beautiful bride and groom were just coming to the park as we were leaving. It is this China that I love to experience.

We've now eaten at McDonald's twice this week and yes, it tastes just like home! However, they took our orders at our table and they come around selling happy meal toys!! Our dinners have been good, most of the time! We had probably my favorite Chinese meal yesterday. Different than home, yet so good!

Marlo is doing very well. She is sweet and loves to talk. She will giggle quietly and has the sweetest little smile when you give her kisses. And then when she wants you to do something and you are not doing it or not doing it fast enough, she will cry as loud as it takes for me to do what she wants. No tears, just noise. Noise that will stop as soon as she gets what she wants! She has a bit of attitude and I love it! She's a little like her sister that way and it is a characteristic that will serve her well in our crazy home.

Tomorrow we will be going to Guangzhou to complete the paperwork for the United States government. In China's eyes, Marlo became a Benson on Monday. We are in the home stretch! Let's just hope the paperwork that John completed (under my instructions) is done correctly!











Wendy