Chicken Feet for Dinner 8/27/2009

Well the day started out slow. We were hoping to join another family on a morning excursion but there was a miscommunication and we didn't get to go. We painted toenails, played cards, read and ate lunch. We met our guide Hannah and ask her if we could go to Guangxi Mountain and she was willing to take us there. The rest of the day turned out terrific--a great ending to our time in Nanning. The mountain area is beautiful with a Buddist temple area, monks, buildings by rivers with just a few (as in a few million) fish, and a tall tower you can climb up the stairs and look in all directions. This area is what you see when you look at pictures of China. Temples, chinese arcitecture, sugar cane fields, long boats in the river, coy fish, bamboo trees...so many beautiful sights. FuJiao had a great time eating fruit (a local grown variety that tasted like a pear/apple mix) and pomegranate ice cream, and just being outside running around a bit. She is definitely an outside girl who is 90% monkey. The only improvement we could have made was lowering the humidity and temperature levels.

After touring this area we went and picked up all our paperwork except FuJiao's passport, which the other family will bring us. Then we went to dinner with Hannah (our guide) and another family who just arrived yesterday with their daughter who was adopted 7 years ago. They are back to visit her orphanage and foster family. It was a very nice restaurant, and with Hannah there to order, everything was delicious. Congee, long beans, taro, sizzling beef in eggplant, pork, fried noodles. I (Nikki) almost passed on the long beans (green bean cut into 1/8 inch pieces and cooked with about 30 different ingredients) but was so glad I didn't since I went back for more....twice!! I would be a bean lover if they always tasted like this. My system is going to be in shock from what I eat here and then again when we get back home. Then Hannah ordered FuJiao a chicken foot--yes, it's really a treat over here and she snarfed it right up, along with a second one! I about had to move seats but she was as happy as could be! They say it makes your skin healthy. I'm thinking I'll stick with trying to stay out of the sun and wearing moisturizer. Hannah took pictures and will send them so we have proof when we've Americanized her and she doesn't believe us that she actually ate them.

So now I need to get packing for our flight tomorrow. There have been sad moments, long moments, and some of the greatest moments of our lives in this city. We are looking forward to Guangzhou and the next half of our adventure. I keep asking Todd what gift he wants from China for his birthday tomorrow. He tells me he wants a little something...with black hair and about 3 feet tall!