Day 10 – Sunday, November 27, 2005 – Changchun, Jilin

We had hoped to attend church in Changchun, but when we showed a church address to Jenny we found that it was no where close to our hotel and the service was very early. So today we slept in and made it to breakfast just before it closed. Afterwards we headed to the pool with the girls for a swim. Lilla LOVES the water and was jumping in and going under (with Emma's assistance) in no time. Juan Juan did not love the water. She got her toes wet and began to cry. So Ben and Juan just watched from the pool deck chairs. After baths and some room service lunch, the little girls headed to bed while the big girls headed out jewelry shopping with Jenny! Jenny took us to the local department store to look for jewelry. I ended up with 3 small jade bracelets that will someday go to the girls. They are very reasonably priced and pretty. There is too much to choose from! Shopping is amazing in China. So many clothes and styles! We wish we had time and money to shop for a whole new wardrobe. We find some cute earrings at a little stall that is located in an underground crosswalk. A whole little world exists here and we didn't even know it. We end our shopping trip at Wal-Mart. We need a new suitcase because the duffle bag of blankets we carried to Jilin for the orphanage is gone. Suitcases are inexpensive and plentiful and I buy another small bag. I probably should have gotten a big bag because in no time this extra bag is FULL! Well - there are more suitcases in Guangzhou . . . ;) Jenny takes us to dinner at a more traditional Jilin restaurant. We find the food in Jilin to be more similar to typical American foods. For dinner we are in our own little room and we are served dishes to share on a big lazy Susan in the middle of the table. We have 2 kinds of pancakes (corn and also wheat with sugar in the middle - yum!), a pork dish with potatoes, mashed potatoes with green onions, potatoes covered in a sugar glaze (another yum!), green beans with small pieces of corn with cob attached, and rice. The girls eat only a little - but we eat way too much! It is cold in the Northeast of China and the hearty diet here helps keep one warm during winter. J Back in our hotel we ready the girls for bed and then fall asleep with them once again. We are tired and each night we find ourselves very ready for sleep! My posting is to this journal is so important, but it is difficult for me to find time to share each day. Juan Juan is doing so well! She continues to amaze us with her adaptability. It seems like she has been with us for much longer than 5 days! We will miss having Jenny with us. She is our guide, our friend, and our personal interpreter for Li Juan. Thankfully, Juan Juan seems to do OK with our few Mandarin words. We wish we knew more! If only we could stay in China a couple more days, weeks, months . . . our Mandarin could improve so much. That's it for today. It was a pretty quiet day. Tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou. Another day of traveling . . . I am supposed to pack us up completely tonight - but I fall sleep. Thankfully we don't leave the hotel until 11 am tomorrow! 

Night! 

Lisa, Ben, Emma, Lilla and Juan Juan ><>