The trip to the park today was a quicky since it was so hot. We got our driver to take us around Nanchang in the air conditioned van. We saw the world's largest Ferris wheel, which wasn't working because it was too hot. (I wouldn't have gone anyway.) I tried to get a good picture, but couldn't fit it all in. It's so big, it takes 30 minutes to finish one rotation. Crazy, huh? I guess there's some worry about what will happen if someone has a heart attack at the top of the thing, but so far that hasn't happened. After the Ferris wheel we cruised around some brand new middle class neighborhoods--condos in high rise (five to ten stories) buildings. They're very slick in that way new American structures are slick. Ho-hum but tidy. There seems to be millions of those communities sprouting up on the edges of Nanchang.
Willa is eating so much, I'm almost worried. I don't mean I'm worried there's something wrong, I just mean I think she's trying to make up for everything she's missed in the the first few months of her life. Iris was a good eater, but she didn't do anything like this. The other night we ordered steamed egg for the babies--imagine a flan you might make in a nine inch pie pan. And she ate probably a third of it and would have eaten more if I'd let her.
Today I told Nikki that everyone is warning me that Guangzhou is hotter than Nanchang and she looked puzzled for a minute then said, "How is that possible?" I guess we'll find out soon.
Those of you who have heard the stories about crossing the streets in China: it's just as crazy and scary as you can imagine. Richard's advice is not to even think about crossing a street without him. He says every Chinese motorist is an insane killer. Traffic lights are just suggestions, not something you can depend on everyone around you obeying. And while cars will sometimes slow down for pedestrians, scooters drivers don't even pause. When I first got here, I marveled at how young the population seemed. At first I assumed this was because there continues to be a high birth rate. Now I know that as soon as someone starts to slow down, they get mowed down by some sort of vehicle.
Things here are crazy cheap. Last night dinner for four adults and three kids cost six dollars. We had a ton of food. We could've fed three more people easily. On one hand, that's kind of fun (I can't wait to tell everyone my dinner cost two dollars!!!), but on the other hand, it feels uncomfortable to have so much money that dinner out is nothing, nothing, nothing and then walk home bloated and full, passing little kids sitting on the stoops of shops eating their tiny dinners from bowls in the unbearable heat. (That was kind of a tangled sentence, but you get the idea.)
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Hilarious comments about drivers and pedestrians in China! It took John and me half an hour to cross a city street; we didn't attempt that again.
The attachment--how heartening, if hot/sweaty. I'm envious, too, that you've been able to get around Willa's birthplace and buy pottery for her.
By the time we got to GZ, we were pretty burned out on being in China. It's a tremendous country, but hotel rooms are hotel rooms. Shamian Island makes you feel like a statistic (75% of the people you pass are white w/Asian babies) but it is nice to have some familiar comforts. It's humid there (on the Pearl River) so... More heat.
You can get bagels and pizza in GZ, mac-and-cheese, other American comfort foods (if you want). We didn't care for Lucy's but loved a place across the street from the Victory that had Asian and Western choices. Beatrice (grocery) is kind of fun if Chinese talk-radio is playing while you shop.
I love reading your entries; they're full of details. Hey, you should write a book...
Lizanne
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