Last full day in Changsha, and this morning...

Yesterday was our last full day in Changsha (in fact, right now, our luggage is outside the door waiting to be picked up and this computer is the last thing to be shut down and packed in it's carry on). It was a relaxing day with nothing formal planned. I knew I wanted to return to Whacko to buy the dishes i had seen, and found out at breakfast from Maggi that a small group was planning to head out at 11am. I joined them and picked up 8 rice bowls, 4 each in one of two designs (I am betting some will break and am hoping to come away with 4 rice bowls total), 4 spoons, 2 small tea cups, 2 large covered tea cups with ceramic strainers that fit inside, and one large covered rice bowl- which I expect will also break- it's wrapped in my fleece blanket and wedged in Mutti's duffel, so I am not really hopeful. The other dishes I packed in the 2 shoeboxes that Jordan and Ellie's shoes came in, and the large covered tea cups had boxes- all of those I have in paper bags as carry-on... Ellen, our guide, told us that we pretty much can carry on as much as we want domestically, so I am banking on that, hee hee!

After I returned from Whacko, I almost fell asleep while Caroline fed Ellie in our room (none of us were hungry, so Ellie got what we had on hand- banana, fruit grain bar, and GRITS- which she loved!!!!!!), and then it was nap time all around. I started to post some pictures on the blog but Caroline got the girls down and came over, and we decided to venture out for massages!! Only RMB$98 (US$13!!), and they were about an hour long I think, maybe 45 minutes. They were great! I could tell they were using some energy meridian theory and some shiatsu or Thai style techniques. Alot of percussion and tapping. We left all our clothes on, and it was definitely not a gentle massage but left me feeling refreshed and invigorated, and I could tell the girl worked out alot of the tension I had gotten sleeping in the Chinese bed and carrying luggage, and she especially managed to relive some of the creepy crawlies I get in my legs (I'm thinking start of Restless Leg Syndrome, been getting it for about 2 years now). It was wonderful, and I definitely hope to get another massage at the White Swan! Mutti REALLY needs to get one (and she says she will).

After we got back, Caroline had to go to finish the paperwork and get Ellie's passport (very cute I might add), so at first Jordan, Mutti, and I stayed with Ellie (and she didn't scream bloody murder!!)... after a while we gt a call, and Charles and little Caroline were going bowling, so Jordan and I headed that way to play a game with them- lots of fun! Jordan is getting better and better with the ball (she knocked one pin down on her own!). Mutti stayed with Ellie and said at first she was ok, then she cried off and on for 20 minutes (but not the terrible gut wrenching hold-the-breath cry, just a little cry), then finally settled down and sat on the bed and played (and watched Tiger Woods and golf on the TV!). Yea Ellie!! She's finally starting to warm up to Grandmutti and myself!!!

After bowling it was time for dinner (Maggi declined because Betsey was unhappy, but Charles and little Caroline joined us). Caroline asked Joanne, also our guide, to write out a menu in Chinese- we were hoping for lotus root, Ma Po Tofu, Fried Tofu, Hot & Sour soup, rice, noodles, long green beans, sweet & sour pork (NOT the breaded red sauce kind, the real kind). The ladies were wonderful and looked at it,, and told us they didn't have everything, but "Please trust me, I get dishes you like-" and boy did she ever!!!!!! There were no utensils- just chopsticks- and we started with hot green tea (came automatically) and an appetizer (already on the big spinning turntable) of some crunchy beans of some sort, speckled and brown. We also got a small rice bowl (also to be used for soup and noodles) and a dessert-sized plate. No Hot & Sour soup, but they made and an AMAZING soup that had a root vegetable of some sort cooked down in it (not potato, maybe taro root or something similar?) and meatballs that were much like the stuffing of a wonton and tasted like (In Mutti's words) Vi-Eenna Sausages (to me it tasted like Chef Boyardee meatballs)- it was mild and delicious! Not lotus root, but they brought out a dish of woodear mushrooms covered in chilis and garlic and they were soooooo good- even Mutti liked them!!! No sweet & sour pork or Ma Po Tofu, but she asked if we liked beef- we said yes- and they brought a platter of thinly sliced raw beef laid on green onions and surrounded by cucumbers- and also a sterno hotplat on which a pan with oil and spices was already hot- we cooked our own beef!!!! The beef was seasoned with cumin seeds and it melted in our mouths when we ate it. The long beans came out and they too were just delicious, with a grilled flavor I can't describe. The fried tofu also came out in a pan sizzling on sterno for our table, and it was spicy!!!! Super yummy, and Jordan liked that! Our rice and noodles came out towards the end, and the noodles you could tell had been made that day- the big challenge was getting them from the big bowl with the serving chopsticks into our individual bowls- Mutti won at that with the most graceful grab-lift-and-drop technique. The meal finished with a huge platter of watermelon, of which Jordan ate 6 slices!!! The watermelon in Changsha is amazingly sweet and good, and we all partook (I ate 2 slices and cleaned up some of Jordan's slices since she didn't eat "all of the red part, cause she didn't want to eat the green by mistake." This was the meal we had all been looking for, and it was DIVINE. I can't imagine getting food this good in the States, and I wish I could have teleported some to Dad and Charles.

Jordan and I headed back to the hotel (just around the corner) a little before the rest of the group, so I didn't find out til after Mutti and Caroline got back that dinner for 4 adults, 2 kids, and a baby cost RMB$148... only US$19!!!!! And they wouldn't take a tip either... it was just amazing.

At the hotel it wasn't time to rest, it was time to pack! It took us a couple of hours, but a little before midnight we finished, and I decided to take a shower so I wouldn't have to worry about it in the morning... so I made it into bed about 12:30am... and slept the best I have since I got to China!!!!

This morning we had our last breakfast at the buffet downstairs- I have become addicted to the glutinous rice wrapped in some sort of leaf (bamboo or banana), the plain congee with a little sugar, pan fried dumplings, I discovered the glutinous rice balls in water that I would swear are filled with chocolate (and if not, I don't want to know!), the glutinous rice with dried fruit and nuts in little aluminum muffin tins, and steamed buns (with red bean paste or with pork dumpling filling).

So we are waiting another 20 minutes til it is time to go downstairs, and then it's off to the airport to fly to Guangzhou (flight at 2:15pm) and to White Swan- hotel for adoptive families. As Caroline mentioned just now on the phone, the Dolton has alot of Chinese as well as some adoptive families, and "you get crowded into the elevator here" (which is an understatement- packed like sardines is more like it).

Dad- don't forget what Mutti is going to tell you on the phone in a sec- Colorforms for Jordan for X-mas.

Charles, I love you so much!!!!!!!!!!!