Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Wed Dec 15 – Green Lake Park and Temples (Laurie)

After breakfast we walked in beautiful Green Lake Park across the street from the hotel. Kaeli was a rock star! So many people were curious about her and why she was with us. A crowd of about 20 people formed around Cheryl and Kaeli. Luckily, we had our wallet card with us explaining in Chinese that we’re adopting Kaeli. After reading the card everyone smiled, wished us well, and kept admiring Kaeli.



She was not in the best of moods this morning, but she enjoyed watching the world go by. You could practically see her little brain taking everything in. She watched the birds (they caused a smile), people dancing with scarves in their hands and other kids who stopped to visit with her.



I had a very interesting time, too. We saw a man teaching a beginning tai chi lesson, and I stepped in and joined the group. There’s really a lot of things to keep track of! Hands, arms, feet, the angle of your legs. I had no clue what I was doing, but it was fun. Mrs. Chen, the mother of our advisor Susan, is going to give me another lesson in the morning. Should be fun!

A bit farther on we watched some people playing a game we’ve nicknamed basketbowling. They roll a basketball toward a pyramid of cans and try to knock over as many as possible. One of the men handed me the ball so I could play. I did ok and got several applause from the crowd. Well, it turns out that it was a betting game! I lost 5 yuan (about 50 cents) so I did pretty well and had fun. At least now I know what the game is all about!

Next it was nap time. Kaeli was so good today – it only took 8 minutes of crying before she finally gave in to sleep. I think she’s getting the hang of it!

This afternoon the group visited two places - a beautiful Buddhist temple and the Golden Temple. Both were colorful, restful places… except for all the steps we had to transport the stroller up and down. We’re all a bunch of tired adults tonight!

Here’s mom and Kaeli in a garden at the Golden Temple



And Laurie taking a rest by a pond.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pictures!!! Sounds like a wonderful community!!!
Glad to see the three of you enjoying yourselves. It may be a letdown to return home.

Grandpa Towne

Anonymous said...

So glad to see some pictures!!!! Hope all continues to go well.
Lisa and Tim

Anonymous said...

Wonderful to be able to see some pictures....
Mom can we talk about how you are dressing your child? :-)
She is looking like Ralphie's brother in a "A Christmas Story" Kaeli is beautiful but needs a fashion coordinator:-)
Can't believe how much you are accomplishing and still getting adjusted as well. Just wonderful!!!
Tommy

Anonymous said...

Wow - not only are all of the updates fabulous we get pictures too! I'm glad so many folks are posting comments, as we get to know Kaeli we are also learning quite a bit about Cheryl's friends and family as well.
:-) Cheryl - she is absolutely beautiful!!!! I can't wait to give her a hug and welcome her to PA! I'll have lots of Hershey's chocolate waiting for her arrival. Have fun, stay safe and COME HOME SOON! - Yvonne