COUNTRYSIDE-FREE MARKET

Another peaceful night.
We all slept through the night, again. Can it really be this easy? Just kidding!!

Annie would rather be facing forward than backwards. She would also really like a drink of daddy's Coke but mommy says, "No Way!"

Annie is so curious about everything going on around her! She wants to see everything then tell you about it. She is going to be a talker!

Jack loves his dad!

An outhouse in the countryside. I can't imagine what it smell like when it is 100 degrees outside!!

Mystery Meat! Dinner, anyone???
Who needs a playground when you have a broken tree limb.

Doing the laundry in the river How clean is that laundry?
carrying laundry to the river
A countryside street

Notice the Cleveland Cavs shirt (thanks, Dummer) We thought Jack should wear it and play the part because you know Erich is a "tall American who plays in the NBA"!

The group wanted McDonalds for lunch. It was two floors and had a take out window facing the street. I can't believe we ate at McDonalds. I don't even eat at McDonalds at home!!!

Grandpa Bob and Jack found these fun toys at the Free Market. Neither of them were thrilled about shopping. What do you think of these riding toys, Nico??

One time Jack was surrounded by at least 30 people. They all wanted to touch him. He had his fingers in his mouth (don't worry I have LOTS of antibacterial wipes) because he is getting teeth. Older ladies would pull his fingers out of his mouth. They do not like fingers in the mouth!!

Today we went to the countryside. James wanted to make sure we saw the countryside because then we see both sides of China. If we only were to go to a few cities and not see the countryside our perception of China would be off. It is like our first grade book, The Blind Man and the Elephant. There are 5 blind men that each touch a different part of the elephant and each one describes what an elephant is like from the part they touched. Therefore, each explanation is only one part of the elephant . So, today we learned that China is very agricultural. 70 percent of the people live in the countryside. There are 2 million people living in Nanchung but 43 million in this province, Jiangxi. This is one of the smallest provinces, WOW!! When we walked down the little street in the countryside there were little boys running around and women holding babies. We can't recall seeing any little girls? The babies are dressed in many layers with the "crotch" cut out. The little boys running around didn't have on as many layers ( I was glad to see) but their crotch was also cut out. One little boy squatted in the middle of the street and went to the bathroom. I think we all just stared in amazement.

We then ate at McDonalds (yes, JJ, McDonalds) They did have a side of corn, no fries. Annie loved it! Grandpa Bob ate enough fries for everyone- hear that Butch H. This is not a place to be on a diet, the authentic food has been great! Then it was off to the Free Market. It's a good thing James and Evelyn stayed close by- we would have had a hard time communicating. We bartered by ourselves a few times- Oh my! Who knows what we will get ourselves into tonight. Hopefully a taxi ride, right Nanc! Stay tuned. . . Love, Kari