Saturday Afternoon In Chengdu 7/29/06
After the Opera last night we agreed to meet up with Kathleen, her daughter and a fmaily friend who was their exchange student a few years ago and is fluent in both languages. We went to the Brocade Factory today. While that may not SOUND interesting - -the artwork was breathtaking. Unfortunately, Jackie and Jacob left the camera on the bed... but there are these ginormous looms that take two guys to run. Those two guys produce about one yard of fabric in two weeks. The intricacy is amazing. We picked up a beautiful brocade wall hanging for our house as well as several smaller pieces to have. We also got some silks for Julia and a couple of matching sets for the girls. There were wonderful opportunities to shop and in my trip to China I only wanted stuff from there, pearls and jade... :)
Oh and a beautiful 2 year old.
We have had a few "Brad Pitt" Moments as Kelly and Judy call them -- today a man asked James if he could have his picture with him as we got into the cab. Two young boys were taking our photo as we were walking through the Chinese garden. Yesterday three young girls about Jacob's age followed him for several blocks talking and giggling. I laughed that last night at the opera people were taking pictures of Kathleen and I... too fun!
This afternoon Kathleen and I are meeting up to go and have a massage and then do dinner. She leaves for Guangzhou tomorrow. For us tomorrow will be a visit to a temple and the pearl market. I am taking note of requests ... cross your fingers for good deals!
I am going to get some pics posted this early AM. I have some fun ones of Julia and the boys walking down the street. Oh -- we have the French and Chinese Mens Volleyball teams here at the hotel -- they HUGE. I SO want a picture of Julia with one of the guys -- she may come up to their KNEE. :)
As for her progress - she is really coming to life. Today she tried on silks at the brocade shop and she was SO proud of herself but refused to wear the hat. She turned around and threw it to the lady in the shop muttering something in 2 year old. Sandy, our guide said again today that she does not really talk -- she understands well dialect but not Mandarin. That means that once we leave here... the language she knows will leave as well. That piece makes me sad.... I know that her life will be rich and wonderful and hold many treasures that she would not have here but it is so hard to know that I will take away from her the things that made her who she is now. She has a wonderful sense of humor and self. I would not trade that for "all the tea in china".
She is eating a wee bit better -- today she has consumed 3.5 boiled eggs minus the yolks. She also asked me this morning to feed her Rice at the table -- a very good thing. It is nice to see that she is seeking some things from me and not only James. She is pretty funny and today has taken to walking about. In the brocade shop she truly was the bull in the China shop. BUSY! Truly though -- she has done a great job of adapting. She is smart and figures things out quickly -- even our guide Sandy said the same thing. She has no trouble telling you what she wants and we understand her perfectly well.
I will post again after our shopping adventures tomorrow. We actually will get our paperwork to leave Chengdu Tonight but to leave would require that we change our airline reservations, hotel, guides,etc. We can not change our consulate appointment at this point in time so we will just roll with it and do our shopping and such. There is also a great street that has more traditional Chinese architecture and shops we will hit one evening with Sandy.
Life here is good. Very good. In fact, I could not ask for more.
Jackie
Oh and a beautiful 2 year old.
We have had a few "Brad Pitt" Moments as Kelly and Judy call them -- today a man asked James if he could have his picture with him as we got into the cab. Two young boys were taking our photo as we were walking through the Chinese garden. Yesterday three young girls about Jacob's age followed him for several blocks talking and giggling. I laughed that last night at the opera people were taking pictures of Kathleen and I... too fun!
This afternoon Kathleen and I are meeting up to go and have a massage and then do dinner. She leaves for Guangzhou tomorrow. For us tomorrow will be a visit to a temple and the pearl market. I am taking note of requests ... cross your fingers for good deals!
I am going to get some pics posted this early AM. I have some fun ones of Julia and the boys walking down the street. Oh -- we have the French and Chinese Mens Volleyball teams here at the hotel -- they HUGE. I SO want a picture of Julia with one of the guys -- she may come up to their KNEE. :)
As for her progress - she is really coming to life. Today she tried on silks at the brocade shop and she was SO proud of herself but refused to wear the hat. She turned around and threw it to the lady in the shop muttering something in 2 year old. Sandy, our guide said again today that she does not really talk -- she understands well dialect but not Mandarin. That means that once we leave here... the language she knows will leave as well. That piece makes me sad.... I know that her life will be rich and wonderful and hold many treasures that she would not have here but it is so hard to know that I will take away from her the things that made her who she is now. She has a wonderful sense of humor and self. I would not trade that for "all the tea in china".
She is eating a wee bit better -- today she has consumed 3.5 boiled eggs minus the yolks. She also asked me this morning to feed her Rice at the table -- a very good thing. It is nice to see that she is seeking some things from me and not only James. She is pretty funny and today has taken to walking about. In the brocade shop she truly was the bull in the China shop. BUSY! Truly though -- she has done a great job of adapting. She is smart and figures things out quickly -- even our guide Sandy said the same thing. She has no trouble telling you what she wants and we understand her perfectly well.
I will post again after our shopping adventures tomorrow. We actually will get our paperwork to leave Chengdu Tonight but to leave would require that we change our airline reservations, hotel, guides,etc. We can not change our consulate appointment at this point in time so we will just roll with it and do our shopping and such. There is also a great street that has more traditional Chinese architecture and shops we will hit one evening with Sandy.
Life here is good. Very good. In fact, I could not ask for more.
Jackie
posted by Jack's Journey at
11:12 PM
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