Thursday morning in Nanchang

Good morning JunaHappy Baby! The only member of this family who looks stunning in orange.
Time for a bottle. Daddy will feed you.
Look at how big and healthy she is, considering where she came from.
In this pic below. you can see the river outside of our hotel.
Here's our room.

Good morning! I am unable to read your comments or my Yahoo email due to the Great Firewall. It will probably be back later today. If not, I will post my new email account.

Can someone call my mom and update her on what we are doing? Could you tell her of some of our adventures? We call each night but the connection is horrible and we can only talk a few mins.

Also, if she could do some grocery shopping before we get home to get some items for Juna? She will not eat jar food. She needs things like eggs, soft fruits, and she loves banana bread if Mom or someone could make some? Banana bread is her number one food choice (second to congee) and I know my mother cannot find congee.

Thank you to anyone who can do this. Mom is curious to know what we are up to and we just cannot communicate for long via phone. Thank you!!

Ok here is my latest update.

I slept 8 hours last night! I feel like a new woman. Ahhhh.

I woke up and looked over at the crib to see two big eyes staring back at me. I picked her up and she smiled and smiled. This has been her happiest morning yet.

We just got back from breakfast. Rose said hello and got some steamed egg for the baby. Something we hadn't been feeding her because we didn't know we should.

So funny because we dined with some of our travel mates. When Rose came over and fed the baby, they whispered, "This is what they do? Should we warn her not to feed our baby?" We laughed and said no, we're friends, it's ok! Our mates were so baffled by this. You made friends with someone who works in the hotel?

We had asked our agency guides about this. They said to just be careful. Perhaps Rose wanted to take us to a shop that her friend runs, so the friend could make a commission. But no, they were honestly interested in helping us and hanging out. While you should always use caution in situations like these, do not let it scare you. Since Rose is a manager in the hotel, and Jason works for her, we felt pretty comfortable going out with them.

The people of China are very friendly. I was told that once you earn their trust, you have a friend for life. If you are coming to China, take the time to make friends while here. They are so curious about American life and love to share their culture.

The one thing we aren't doing is spending any time with our travel mates. They joke with us, "You were the one who set up our online chat group and we never see you!" I know, I know. I just love spending time alone with Matt and the baby in our room. I love dining with just them at a private table and sharing our laughs and special moments together. I also love going out and experiencing China. Our mates complain about the walls closing in on them. We tell them to get out! Wander around the pedestrian mall!

I have to remember not everyone has the adventurous spirit as we do. There are three types of travelers. The ones who throw themselves into the moment and experience as much as possible , those that are just getting through each day, and those that are hating every second. We have one of each kind in our group, as are in all travel groups. And that's fine. Everyone processes this differently. Tho I must say that if you are in the first category I listed, you will have a much better time!

Today we visit a Chinese village. More on that later. Then we're meeting up with Rose and Jason again in the afternoon for more shopping and exploring of Nanchang.

Bye for now. Sleep well, my Fellow Americans.