Friday!

It's Friday morning in Guangzhou... and I haven't written since Monday night...

"Let me 'splain... no, too long, let me sum up..."

Tuesday: Buddhist Temple- Ellie got blessing, Jordan and I climbed the pagoda all the way tot he 9th level, i had my picture taken by 2 Chinese men somewhere on the 8th or 7th level... Then, visit to the ancestral Chen house built in the Qing dynasty, then trip to the Arts & Crafts Store where I bought a very nice Jade ring...

Wednesday: Caroline waited in her room from 11am-12:30pm while Maggie and Jason, the guides, were at the consulate getting paperwork approved: Caroline got the call that Ellie's papers were ok! Later that afternoon: a trip to the Pearl Market, where all 5 of us girls got some pearls! Not superior quality (couldn't afford those: i.e., one Tahitian Saltwater Black Pearl about 3/4" across (only saltwater pearls are naturally black) cost US$2000. Ouch. Dyed freshwater it was!

Thursday: Trip to the Guangzhou zoo, which is much like American zoos were 15 years ago. Animals still in cages, a little sad, but they looked well fed if bored out of their minds. The zoo itself was of a lovely design, and the little island they had built for waterbirds was beautiful. Thursday afternoon Caroline spent with the group working to get to the consulate and oath (I didn't help that cause, but I'll let her tell the drama around all of that), then we ordered from Danny's in to the hotel (ravioli for me, spaghetti for Jordan, pepperoni pizza for mom) and Caroline and Ellie had dinner at Lucy's with other parents. I picked up 2 cheap pieces of luggage.

Today: Caroline and I need to pick up our clothes we had made which needed some alteration. I need to pick up some gifts for folks, and we need to pack! We leave for home at 11:50am (that's when we leave to go to the airport) tomorrow!