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We have now spent about 10 days here in Guangzhou and we leave tomorrow. Though it's been very nice here, we're really looking forward to getting home and getting on w/ our lives w/ the rest of our family. I must admit, it's been nice to have breakfast cooked for us every morning, and our apartment cleaned every day too. But there's more to life than a clean apartment and breakfast! Guangzhou is surprisingly modern, even more so than when we were here 3 years ago. Compared to being in Lanzhou, this is not what you think of when you think "China".
The subway system here is excellent. Super clean, fast, efficient and cheap (like 70 cents). You can get almost anywhere you need to go in the city. We were surprised as well to find that people actually stood up so we could sit down w/ the baby. Is it true that someone's actually been teaching the Chinese some manners? (But they still do cut in line when you're trying to buy your ticket.) The hotel apartment we've been staying in is very modern w/ excellent service as well. This one really does fit the 5-star standards, unlike the hotel in Lanzhou. The shopping malls are crazy huge (there's two we could walk to from here). We were always surprised when we were able to find our way out of those mall mazes. Though the air here is not so clean, there are surprisingly not that many public smokers and we've seen very few spitters either :), and only one snot-rocket! They're building like crazy. Building cranes fill the sky and we listen to construction building all night long (they work 24/7). I expect that if we have the opportunity to return when the girls are older, we will visit a much different city.
It's super HOT and HUMID here. Almost unbearable, so we try to stay inside, or use the subway tunnels to walk from one place to another. Here's Mike looking kinda dorky. I think he was the only guy in the city carrying an umbrella, but he was trying to shade Kari from the sun. Come to think of it, he was probably only one of maybe three guys in the whole city carrying a baby on his back too :). Good thing is, when it's hot here, boba tea is cheap! About a dollar. Mmmm... my favorite. Oh, and from our hotel there are like 3 Starbucks w/in walking distance! Talk about modern. But Starbucks is even more expensive than it is in the States - about $3 for an iced coffee.Just for kicks, we have to include some funny random photos.
Gigi and Boppy have now survived one whole week of the 3 Chau children! Actually they've more than survived, they've outdone themselves - keeping up with their regular school schedule and taking them to San Diego as well! We're not sure Micaiah, Mimi, and Lydia will even want us to come back! We're so thankful that our children have such great grandparents with whom they can have such a close relationship. We know both we and our children are blessed. They've even set up a day by day blog to keep us in the loop. If you want to take a look, you can see it at http://chaukids.blogspot.com. We've enjoyed keeping up w/ the kids via Skype Video on a nearly daily basis. Even enjoyed sitting through dinner w/ the whole family a couple of times. Please continue to pray for our kids and their grandparents. 10 more days to go!
Last night we completed the first leg of our trip, our time in Gansu Province in the capital city of Lanzhou. Before we arrived, we weren't sure what to expect. Though not as modern as Guangzhou (we stayed in the ONLY 5-star hotel in the whole city - which would NOT be considered a 5-star hotel in the States!), we were pleasantly surprised. The weather in Lanzhou was very comfortable - cool in the mornings, but comfortably warm in the afternoon. We enjoyed sightseeing most afternoons, visiting the Yellow River (the biggest river in China), the Lanzhou Zoo (typically Chinese, w/ sad looking animals in stark cages and a filthy panda), hiking a mountain to a pagoda, visiting the Gansu History Museum, and walking along the river parks. We also enjoyed the night market in which merchants set out all their items on the street (There were lots of socks for sale some reason!).
The sense of community was enviable w/ streets filled with shoppers and walkers late into the night as well as ladies dancing in a town square - it was sort of like country line dancing, anyone could join in and get their evening exercise. The parks too during the day were always filled with people, young and old, socializing, playing Chinese chess, singing opera, and spending time together.
The horse statue is one of the national icons for China. It originates from Wuwei, where Kari is from. Supposedly horses for the emperor and for battle were trained in the Wuwei area.
Last night's flight from Lanzhou to Guanzhou was a trial run for our long flight home. Kari did some crying, but ultimately fell asleep. We arrived around midnight to Guangzhou, so we're all a bit worn out and trying to rest up a today. Kari had a fever of 102 last night as well, but it seems to have gone down today.
Today we leave for LA. Please pray for us, as we will be in flight for about 14 hours. We're really hoping the plane is not full so we can have a little more space. Our flight on the way here was packed and the seats were so close together that our knees were touching the seats in front of us! Having Kari on our laps in addition is going to be really tight!
