Topic: Chongqing
After sleeping the sleep of the dead, we woke this morning to a lovely breakfast here at the Holiday Inn Chongqing, and then went right to the Chongqing Zoo. The weather was hazy but warm, in the mid-50s Fahrenheit.
Things I love No. 1: Pandas (Liann thought they were pretty nifty too)
There were tigers, too, who were inches away from us (although thankfully ensconced behind several inches of glass - I'm sure we looked like a tasty bunch).
As we've encountered over and over again on this trip, the Chinese people we met were overwhelmingly kind and giving, including one man who gave an impromptu martial arts class.
[Martial arts teacher with Andrew]
Things I Love No. 2: Chinese Food
After the zoo, it was off to lunch where we got to eat some delicious Szechuan dishes, many of them SPICY!! But oh so yummy. Liann liked many of the dishes, saying for the first time, "I love this lunch!"
So you have some idea of the menu, I wrote down what we had today:
- Steamed baby bok choy
- Green beans in sesame oil
- Beef and bean sprouts
- Spicy peanut and spring onions
- Corn fritters
- Eggplant in red sauce
- Steamed fish
- Sweet and sour chicken
- Bamboo shoots with mushrooms
- Watermelon
It was insanely good.
After lunch, we had some free time before going to the Bureau of Marriage and Adoption Registration, so we gathered for a group picture, then did a little shopping. Even with 43 families and over 100 people in the group, the crowd we attracted while taking the picture was almost as large.
Lian's favorite part of the afternoon came after the shopping, when some Chinese music began playing and a set of fountains began dancing, ala the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas. She and her friend Natalie ran up and down for over half an hour watching and dancing in front of the leaping jets of water.
Things I Love No. 3: Liann
Finally it was our group's turn to go inside the Bureau of Adoption Registration and get to see our files. First we gathered in a conference room and watched a video on the orphanage and the Bureau that had everyone in the room blubbering like a baby. Then we got to go and spend a few minutes reviewing our file. Sadly, we weren't allowed to make copies or even photograph anything from the file. Truthfully, there was little more than what we'd been provided, although I was able to see a picture of Liann when she was first brought to the orphanage as well as a footprint. She was with me in the room, and I'm very happy that she was able to see those bits of her babyhood. She was somewhat put out that she couldn't bring it home with her, like all the rest of the presents we've been showered with on the trip.
Tomorrow we are off to Fuling to visit the old orphanage and help decorate the new. It should be a very incredible day.
