China- Day 9 {Teng Wang Pavilion}

Today was a leisurely day...and we saw a new side of our spunky girl.

We started our morning at the breakfast buffet again. I made the mistake of letting her have noodles and they were everywhere. After her morning nap, we met our guide to go visit the Teng Wang ("tungwong") Pavilion.

We first stopped at a restaurant. Our guide ordered for us and then left. We weren't completely sure what all she had ordered for us but we tried it all. It was yummy and spicy!!  Once she returned, we found out it was fried rice, beef with willow garlic, eggplant and green beans, cabbage with pork, chicken wings, corn, and some type of dessert.  She said the Chinese always order way more than they can eat. ?? It was definitely too much for us to eat, but we enjoyed trying everything.

Beef with the willow garlic

From there, we walked to the pavilion. It was beautiful and offered amazing views of the city. Nanchang is huge...same population as New York City.  We went up to the 6th floor and then worked our way down.

On one of the levels, there was a "happy Buddha."  Brielle got down on her knees in front of it but we would have had no clue what she was doing had our guide not pointed it out.  She said her foster mom must have taken her to a similar temple. She said people get down on their knees and fold their hands and bow in front of Buddha. Then she said, "She is even saying Buddha." In Chinese, Buddha is "fó." (We weren't sure if it was really what she was saying/doing so this evening, we pulled up a picture of Buddha on the computer and showed it to her. Sure enough, she pointed to it and said, "fó.")  We are proud of how smart she is, but it was another reminder of why we are here. We are part of God's plan for her to hear His Word and learn about Jesus dying on the cross for her sins.

We made it back to the bottom and walked over to the garden area. I had just mentioned to Alex last night that we hadn't seen any koi ponds yet. Claire said koi ponds are common in southern China but not northern.  There were ducks in the water. I said, "See the ducks. Quack, quack, quack." Brielle never missed a beat and said, "quack, quack, quack." :) 

We are stared at a lot. We have seen very few other foreigners, even while we were in Beijing. While we were at the pond, a man standing just a few feet from us was taking our picture. At this point, we are kind-of used to it but it's still strange. Also in the garden, there were statues of the zodiac animals.  Brielle was born in the Year of the Tiger, so we tried to get a photo with her by it, but this is when we started seeing a very stubborn side of her!  She was wearing down and didn't want to obey. It is difficult to reason with any 18-month old child, especially one who is just learning English.

I asked Claire about buying a tea set for Brielle as Jiangxi is known for porcelain.  She took us to a local porcelain shop, saying we would pay too much to buy it at a touristy area or the hotel. Jiangxi is known specifically for their blue and white porcelain, which was very popular during the Tang dynasty. I found a very pretty set that was within my price range for her.  Many things in China are cheap-- porcelain is not one of them. :)  Alex didn't understand why I needed to buy an expensive gift that could get broken on the way home, but I think it will be a very special gift for her. 

As we were walking up to the porcelain shop, Brielle threw another little fit. She really wanted mama to hold her instead of daddy. I had to make my porcelain choice quickly so we could get her back for a nap. Sure enough, she needed it...slept for 2 hours.

This evening, we've been playing in the room, running up and down the halls, and packing up because we leave for Guangzhou tomorrow.

It seems on a lot of blogs I've read, the families are happy to leave their child's province and move on. While I am anxious to get home to my family (and snuggle my girls!!), it is sad to be leaving her province. It will be the first time she ever has.  Praying she does well on her 1st flight tomorrow!