Background

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Temple Visit and Shopping!!!

Today we did some sightseeing and a lot of shopping. We are in a group with 5 other families from our little adoption agency in California. Another family has an 11 year old girl and the boys have enjoyed having a new friend around.

Our first stop was to a Buddhist Temple. Since we lived in Korea and have traveled to China and other Asian cities, we have been to plenty of these. I continue to be underwhelmed and just creeped out by these places. Maybe I should appreciate the architecture or the tradition of the religion, but I just don't. Instead I find myself creeped out by the food offerings and irritated with the smell of incense. If there was anything positive about the temple visit, it certainly was a good opportunity to show the boys the difference between a faith in a living God and faith in a dead fat dude. In front of the many Buddha statues there were various food offerings to Buddha - fruit, nuts, water, etc. We found it funny that Buddha is also afraid of the tap water in China because many bottles of water are left as an offering to him each day. Honestly, it is just sad!

So, after the temple visit we went to some Chinese govt run gift shops. We weren't allowed to bargain there, so we didn't get much there. After that we went back to the hotel and headed out to the Mexican food place with 2 of the other families. After lunch, and a cat nap for Hannah, we got a taxi and returned to Shamain Island for some good shopping. The island is just beautiful! It also has these amazing bronze statutes all around the island. it's just a warm and enjoyable place to be! We had a wonderful time and got lots of goodies! We even got Hannah a $16 stroller that she LOVED!!! She had a great time being pushed around the island.

Now it is time to hit the hay. We have our US Consulate appt early tomorrow morning. Hannah is doing great! She is a fantastic little girl and we are so thankful for her. She is a blessing and I'm so proud of her progress so far.

Goodnight and blessings from Guangzhou!!!

Chris, Amy, Travis, Chase, and Hannah

2 comments: