Wenshan International Hotel Ji'an

Another night train and another mystery guest in our 4 birth cabin.

Helen and I secure the bottom bunks, a bit of a change to the Trans-Siberian where we preferred the top. The Russian's really use the space below and sit, watch tv, play cards and chat. Where as the Chinese seem to lay horizontal and sleep at every opportunity ...

Getting home from Xian was great, It was nice to be back in my own room! I worked very hard in the studio this week trying to get everything done for the firing this weekend. I got a package from Aunt Pam and then packed up some of my pots and sent them out! I got so much done this week it has felt very productive! And it was also a very fun week one night we went out rollar skating and I have also been drinking lots and lots ...

... along these streets is an experience in and of itself. Shop-owners are often out on the sidewalk cooking with their propane-heated woks or cutting up the veggies to go into the wok. (We really did see a couple skinning a chicken on the ground; we veered quickly away from that scene.) So, either they are outside cooking or they are inside smoking. The Chinese love to smoke. We've actually seen three men sitting down to dinner with chopsticks in one ...

... she has had many bed sores. The sores on her feet are healing nicely and the bruises on her feet and wrists have almost faded. I have to tell myself that this is a small thing considering her general health. Some of the other moms and I have been comparing info though. This is what we've deduced from our observations and from the little photo albums we were given by the orphanage. One, they kids probably weren't in diapers. Hmm, you say; then how did they keep them clean ...

... that soothers aren't so bad and are kind of fun to chew. She throws everything on the floor, so I attached it to her clothes and that in itself had us laughing as she tried to figure out why it didn't land on the floor but was still hanging off of her! I'd like to get her out of the habit of sucking her finger, but already she does it less than the first day. It must be a worry reflex. Right before bed she drank water out of a sippy cup and sprayed herself. Ha ...

... for a bus ride and art gallery. Once again, I was fooled. The art gallery was outside, or rather in an open-air atrium. Lucky for me I have a little furnace on my hands which will be very practical in Quebec. Her head is always sweaty and she kicks off shoes and socks whenever she has the chance. Her head must itch a lot because she's always scratching it; apparently Chinese kids do this a lot. We're planning an expedition to the pool when ...

Evening everyone. It's almost 10 pm here and I'm not really sure why I'm still awake. Baby and husband are sleeping. Dishes are done. I'm clean. Clothes and bag and food all ready for tomorrow. This is the second time today I've had any me time. (All you moms out there are laughing, I know!) So what was on the agenda for today? Shopping. . .at Adam's favourite store: Walmart. It was absolutely nightmarish. I don't particularly like Walmart at the best of times, but this was something. Don ...

Morning all. Just wanted to let you know how much fun the three of us have had this morning. Poor Maia woke up at 5 am because she konked her head on the corner of the stupid "crib" they gave us. I woke up (not for the first time) with a start because she is literally right beside me. I grabbed her and tried to soothe her but there was no going back to sleep after that. She also has night terrors which they say is ...

... of beggars too, which supprised me. I assumed that the Communist Party would not want that kind of thing going on. The store itself was really intersting. Much of the stuff is similar to what you would find in North America, but with Chinese labeling obviously. Other stuff you might not even be able to guess its use. I got stopped by a couple of old ladies who wanted to poke and prod. After a few confusing moments I figured out if they were asking me if she was 1 ...

... That too happened around 3 am this morning. So where did Adam leave off? After we finally made it to the hotel, we were told to go to our rooms, dump our stuff off and come back down to a meeting room to get our babes. We walked into our room and I was not pleased. It stunk of smoke, so I tracked down our guide and asked for a room change. She was bustling about trying to accomodate everyone but did manage this for us. What a strange 20 minutes that was. All the moms were ...