We arrived in Guangzhou at 9:00 PM local time. At the airport our nice adoption guide, Cathy, whisked us off to our hotel on Shaimen Island. At the hotel we got everything unpacked and realized to our horror we left behind the most important thing, Desitin butt medicine for Leia. There are several stores nearby including a trusty old 7-11 so I am sure we will find a store that will sell any forgotten items. Later we will be taken to the Chinese equivalent of Wal-Mart.
Waking up at 5 AM local time we fuddled around the room for a few hours and then headed down stairs to the hotel's buffet. What a buffet. Uncle Jack you would have wept when you saw the spread before us. The french toast was 2 inches thick an arrayed like gold ingots on a silver platter. The hearty crispy bacon and Canadian ham were still sizzling when we put them on our plate. It was a real cornucopia of deliciousness.
After breakfast we went outside real quick to hit the local 7-11 for some bottled water. Bottled water here is the only way you can drink water. Even the hotel says the water is not potable in their literature. Knowing that we bought about 2 gallons to last us the next few days.
I noticed when we walked to the store a few people stared at the red haired foreign devil with the big nose. Everyone here though is so polite and nice. They have helped us out immensely and we appreciate it. I try to speak a little Mandarin when I can to pay some sort of respect but for the most part everyone we have encountered can speak a little English. One of our books on touring China mentioned that using hand gestures is considered rude. It is a hard habit to break when you try to explain some things you are trying to do using charades.
After writing this Nina and I will head on out and walk around Shaimen Island to absorb some of the local color. Nina will also continue to agonize over whether or not she should take her anti-malaria pills. For my part, I have taken mine which have some of the worse side effects for any of the malaria pills. Some of the side effects include mental illness, vomiting, vivid dreams, and extreme diarrhea.
Hope all is well at home.
Jesse and Nina
1 comment:
Because you're not Chinese, they won't expect you to know all the customs. You can use your whole hand to indicate something or a direction. And to show a number, you can place the number of fingers of one hand on the palm of the opposite hand. This is fine. Just don't use individual fingers to point. Sounds like you're having a great trip. Enjoy!
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