The People’s Park

While the adoption paperwork was complete on Tuesday, we are awaiting certified copies of all of it as well as Kate’s passport. David is wonderful. When he isn’t entertaining us, he’s running errands to make sure that we get all necessary documents before we leave Nanning on Friday. We love him! I’m going to do two posts today. One to share what we did today and another to share a little more about Kate (coming later today). So wish I could post pictures.  I’ll get caught up later in the trip, I guess.

Our Wednesday:

We had another great breakfast at the Marriott. There were chicken feet being served today, and Robin apparently can’t pass up a challenge. SHE ATE THEM!!! Oh my gosh. Our whole table was going nuts. She decided that if she was going to rise to David’s challenge, the Marriott was the safest place to do it. Todd took pictures and video. Hilarious!

After breakfast, we met David and the Nichols family to go The People’s Park of Nanning. It’s the oldest park in the city. David explained that we could see people doing a variety of morning routines including exercise, music, dance, and games and that there were amusement rides there. The park did not disappoint! We had so much fun!

When we entered, we walked a large path around the lake. It was mostly older people out. Some were doing routines together – dance, swords, fans, etc. They were eager to get our kids involved. It was really neat. Some were playing instruments. Some were playing a dominoes sort of game. Some were reading together. Some were singing with a microphone. It was just really funny. The cultural differences are so interesting to me. This is their version of morning coffee at Hardee’s. Once we passed through that area, we moved on to an area where a large group (15 or so people of all ages) were doing a dance together. I asked David why the younger people weren’t at work. He explained that they were on break and just came down to get some exercise. Can I tell you how hot it is here?!?? Sweat is rolling down us. Our eyes are red from where sweat is running into our eyes. I can’t believe they are out there doing that and then going back to work. He said that the reason the parks are so full of people all of the time is that they live in tiny apartments and have nowhere to do anything. This is their only option. It was amazing to watch all of the activity, and they were perfectly happy to let us take pictures and video.

Sophia learning how to hold a sword correctly

Sophia got a lesson in dancing with a fan. Now she’s dying to find a fan when we shop!

Next, we entered the children’s area which has amusement park rides. Sophia immediately went to a roller coaster that spins as well. It was pretty crazy, but she talked JD into riding with her and they had a blast! The two of them also rode the big swings and another crazy ride I’ve never seen before (don’t even know how to explain it). They rode three rides with the little ones – an airplane ride that goes up and down kind of like Dumbo, a carousel, and a little car ride. Kate LOVED it! I asked David if she’d ever done anything like this before, and he said that he was sure she hadn’t. She was even asking him to ride the big rides, and he had to explain to her that she wasn’t big enough.

Roller coaster time!!! Sophia and JD

First ever amusement park ride and having fun!

This is the CRAZY ride that Sophia and JD rode. They were the only two on the ride which turned out to be a good thing since they were bumped and bounced all over it. We quickly realized why they were told to take their shoes off before getting on the ride!

Kate and Bella June

Right before she started to get on the last ride, she was tugging at her belt. Tim went into a panic and decided that she needed to use the bathroom. We were nowhere near one, so I picked her up and basically, David and I ran with her to the bathroom. We got there, and they were all squatty potties. I freaked out. David gave me some tissues and told me that Kate would know what to do. We got her pants pulled down, and she squatted. I’m still trying to figure out how she’s going to do this without peeing all over her clothes. She stood up as if she had already used it and wanted me to pull her pants up. I saw nothing happen, and thought, “Wow! This really is magic!” I went back out to David and said, “Ask her if she used it.” He did, and she said, “No, I don’t need to. I want to play.” All of that trauma for me because Tim saw her tugging on her belt!!!

By this time, we were so, so hot. We let Sophia and JD ride their favorite coaster one more time and then headed out. As we left, I stopped to videotape a woman singing and a man playing an accordion. I guess he felt the need to play something I knew, so that broke into Jingle Bells. Hilarious!

We stopped at McDonald’s for food on the way back to the hotel. A little more salty and greasy than I’m used to, but it worked for us.

Kate eating her first McDonald’s. Loved the fries!

The rest of the day was spent at either the pool or hanging out in the room. We hit the bed early. All in all, a fun day for us, and Kate did a ton better!  Check back later for another post about her!

Cute in her swimsuit, but not too sure about getting in the pool