Update #8: Day 8

Day 8 (July 31) – We went for a tour of the city wall this morning.  

Nanjing was the southern capital city (the northern capital is Beijing).  The early dynasties were centered in Nanjing.  The city is nestled between mountains on three sides, and the Yangtze River on the southern side.  Much of the original city wall was destroyed during the Japanese invasion in 1937.  The part that we toured was repaired/rebuilt with original stones where possible.  During the original construction of the wall, a ten-year project, the brick masons had to mark their stones with their name.  The emperor decreed that if stones were found faulty or flawed, the mason would be executed.  Talk about job pressure!  The main gate, which we toured, consisted of four individual gates that would have to be passed through.  The structure was very large, and thus the city was not defeated until modern warfare was used by Japan.  Within parts of the gate structure were incredibly long supply chambers with arched ceilings.  The echo effect in these chambers was astounding.  We enjoyed standing in the center of one and singing the Doxology as a family…spine-tinglingly beautiful.

The city itself is an amazing weave of roadways.  I quickly become very disoriented when riding in the vans, and would not be able to find my way back to the hotel on my own.  We have been taking the 2-block walk to the mall, and also the slightly longer walk to the Confucius Temple area (which is in the other direction).  When walking, you have to recognize that you’re quite the underdog.  There are so many motor bikes as well as the cars and trucks!  The cars and trucks are a little more predictable, and are easily heard.  The scooters and bikes, on the other hand, are quite silent until they are right on top of you!  And they don’t seem to have to follow the same conventions as the cars and trucks.  Sidewalks are like extra scooter lanes; street lights are optional for them as well.  You’ll be watching the vehicles from one direction, and just about lose your foot when the scooter comes around you from the other side.  It is even more difficult when handling 4 kids.  Our host, a sweet lady, told us that whenever there is an accident, it is the driver’s fault, not the pedestrian.  I’m not sure how comforting that is, and prefer not to find out!

This morning, Lynette gave Joanna an outfit to wear from what we brought with us.  The pretty dress from the orphanage had been washed the night before, and was likely dry, but Lynette didn’t get it out to show her.  Joanna went along with the program – she is such a trooper!  She also wore one of the headbands that we bought for her (that she picked out).  She looks so sweet!  We took the stroller with us, but she didn’t ride it throughout the time at the city wall.  She wanted to walk and hold Hannah’s hand.  We had to insist on both of us holding her hand for going down the stairs from the wall, which she didn’t particularly want to do – she wanted to hold Hannah’s hand and Lynette’s hand.  She is quite fond of her older sister.

She likes playing with the boys as well.  After lunch today, she had fun with the bubbles again, and enjoyed getting her older brother wet from the bubbles.  She likes playing with Micah, too!  We let the kids watch some Busy Town Learning Songs that Randy had downloaded onto his computer.  After hearing the “ABC” song a few times, Joanna sang along with the DVD a little bit.  She also enjoyed drawing free-hand with colored pencils.

We escaped the heat of the city wall to go to a jade store, where we learned about the differences in jade and jadeite (a more valuable type of stone) and learned that there are a fair number of fake stones in the street markets – good to know.

Lunch was at the Japanese noodles restaurant today – a really great place where the whole family can eat.  A real blessing for us!  The staff are recognizing us and our funny orders, and who gets what food.  The chicken is again a real hit with Joanna.  I ordered another plate of wings, which was again scarfed down by 3 of our kids – Joanna included!

The locals seem to enjoy watching us foreigners.  We keep reminding our kids (and ourselves) that we’re representing Christ and to keep that thought paramount in our actions.  We pray before we eat – which Joanna finds curious.  We haven’t shown her how to fold her hands and bow her head yet – that will come later.

We went swimming before bed!  There was no shallow section.  The entire pool was about 4 feet high.  Joanna was excited about wearing a swimsuit and swim cap; she has never been swimming before.  She and Lynette sat on the edge of the pool and just kicked their legs around while watching the rest of the family play in the water.  Once Lynette got in, Joanna willingly went into her arms and let Lynette hold onto her while walking through the water.  It was a good bonding/cuddling opportunity.  Joanna was nervous at first, but that quickly disappeared.  She was soon holding onto Lynette’s neck and allowing the rest of her body to float behind her.  What a great time!