Dear Friends and Family,
Hope that it is ok that I am keeping you updated even though there is not much adoption related as of yet. :-)
Our first full day in Tianjin (yesterday) was spent hanging with the Changs (our dear dear friends here) around their city. We got to go with Sophia and the girls to their open market to go grocery shopping. It is kind of like a farmer's market, but they also sell live chickens that they will slaughter and defeather for you. The veggies and fruits were so beautiful and colorful. Sophia says that she goes practically every day to just buy what is needed for that day. Pretty cool, huh? Attached is a photo of our family in the ride that we took to the market (it's only 2 blocks away). Sophia took that photo - that is the electric bike she takes every morning to send 2 of her children to and from school and for local errands. Of course there are no helmets or seatbelts :-P. Yes, we all fit in there, and after the photo, Dave came into the wagon, and also Sophia's two little girls, and then Sophia "drove" us to the market. It was really fun!
When we came home, Lorden took us to a place in downtown for local shopping. I think it is called Cultural Street (loose translation). Not very enjoyable because we are not used to bargaining. And as soon as you look interested in something, someone will accost you and start making a hard sell. When you walk away, they immediately start lowering the price. We did buy some wooden swords for the boys (with sheaths - pretty awesome) and some Chinese outfits for the kids. Way cheaper than China town. We had KFC for lunch. We are still nervous about adventuresome eating, so we thought that KFC would be a bit safer. The kids played on the indoor playground in there and then we went home. In the later afternoon, Lorden and Dave went to play basketball with some university students who believe and come to the book study. The boys and I tagged along, along with Caleb and Megan (the oldest and youngest of Lorden's kids). They played at the international school in town. There was a playground there and mini basketball hoops for the kids. We came home for dinner, and passed out almost immediately afterwards. We are feeling much better - the sunshine is helping with the jetlag.
Today we are off to the Tianjin portion of the Great Wall of China! Should be an adventure. Not sure if Aaron will be able to hike it, but we shall see. Fortunately, it is beautiful weather right now in Tianjin - somewhere between 75 and 80 I think. Not bad at all.
Forgive me if this is too much information and I am boring you with details. I will try to be more concise (not my strong suit, as you all know!).
I do read each and every e-mail from you. They are so appreciated and treasured as we really feel like strangers in a strange land :-). We also thank you for your continued pryers.
Love,
Chenning
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