Day 12 - Exercise Park, Shopping & Visa

The morning started with a call home to wish Lucy a happy birthday. It was fun and later I saw the pictures they took of her opening her gifts. Love it!

The girls really enjoyed the exercise stuff they did in Nanchang so they asked Helen if she could take us to a similar park here in Guangzhou. The one we went to was very crowded. It is impressive to see the emphasis the Chinese people put on exercise for all ages.

These ladies were doing a routine using the paddles and a weighted ball. They would turn and move all different ways, usually keeping the ball on the paddle, but sometimes doing moves that tossed it into the air. This seemed to be the more advanced group, although the lady in the middle row on this end seemed to be more of a beginner than the others. There was another group a little further into the park that was doing very simple moves and one lady was getting basic instruction.

 

There was this one man that made me chuckle. He had this "perfect" hair do and he clearly cared a lot about his looks. He looked a bit like a Chinese version of Jack LaLanne. You can pick him out in several of the pictures. The guy in stylish black sweats with the pouf hair.

There was a music group and singers nearby. Alice wanted to go see and we got a picture of the sheet music they use. Very different! Chinese characters rather than the notes and staff I'm used to seeing.

Do you recognize this face from BBC? Who knew Mr. Bean was popular in China!

The architecture in Guangzhou continues to fascinate me.

Can you guess how many people it takes for 2 girls to select hair accessories? More than you would expect!!

Amy really like the tiara hair comb, but I nixed that idea. I had the guide explain that in America, a teenage "princess" can have negative implications and that a tiara at school would likely draw the wrong kind of attention. This is part of that curious mix of mature/immature that these kids come with. There are many experiences they missed growing up, but they still have that interest. Seeing a little girl playing princess is age appropriate. A thirteen year old, not so much, but she probably didn't get to be a princess when she was young. Finding ways to let them have those experiences, without exposing them to public embarassment is tricky. Especially for Amy, not being able to see people's reactions, I feel a stronger need to be a bit more protective.

Helen delivered the passport and visa just after 4 pm. She stayed almost 45 minutes chatting with the girls. She genuinely enjoyed their company this week. She was extremely impressed with Alice - that she has retained her Chinese language, and her gentle, helpful personality. She also learned a lot about blindness, braille and independence from Amy.

Tomorrow is another travel day. It came up at the end of the conversation with Helen and we could tell that Amy was starting to get concerned about flying. Helen decided it was time to leave as further discussion wasn't helping. I expect tomorrow will be much like our last travel day. Unless we can keep Amy distracted, which will be very difficult, I think that she will feel ill more because of anxiety than motion sickness, but the results will be the same. I hope it goes better and that it gets her a little more prepared for the long flight home next Monday. Either way, she will survive and we will get home. Thankfully, some families here in the hotel had some extra dramamine, so I will dose her heavily if I have to.