Jon Wiley is doing better and better every day. He looks to us for permission before he does something. He understands the word "No" and can use it himself when appropriate. He sits in his high chair at breakfast without argument; dinner is still a struggle because he can usually find a big sister willing to hold him. He is actually talking about me when he says "Mama" now, which is nice. He can clearly say "Bye Bye" complete with wave. Now when the groups of people stop and stare at us, he waves at them and says "Bye, bye" really cheerfully. Too bad it doesn't work. When we leave the hotel rooms, he checks to see if any sister is getting left behind, and if so he will go up to her, take her hand, and yell, "Go."
He knows exactly what a nail clipper is. He saw one on our nightstand, brought it to me and then stuck out his index finger for clipping. He loves to have his fingernails and toenails clipped. Really, kid, you hate the bath, but you tolerate nail trimming? What kind of two year old are you? He also just noticed his dirty feet today. I don't know why they haven't bothered him all week, or his whole life for that matter. All that was left of the original grime consisted of some black stuff where his nails meet his cuticles. Honestly, I think it may just have to grow out. He did a lot of fussing and muttering about his toenails, and then, sure enough, brought me the nail clippers and stuck his feet out. One of the pinky toenails is split in half (tight shoes? aggressive kick? ran into furniture?), and the lateral half is just totally black. So I had to delicately clip off as much as possible before he would accept it.
He had another ice cream tantrum at the Porcelain Village today, but it lasted about 1/10th as long and had 1/100th the fury of the original ice cream tantrum. [Before any grandparents get upset, I submit for your approval that we had just bought all the kids some cotton candy -- the craziest cotton candy I've ever seen.] Sophie said, "I think maybe his foster family have little bit spoiled him." My thoughts exactly, Sophie.
Ciqi Kou is one of the few districts where the citizens are not required to have a pet permit. So every shopkeeper had at least one dog and one cat. In most of Chongqing, pet permits are expensive; therefore having a dog is a sign of wealth. Each evening we see people walking dogs near the hotel, and they all seem to be purebreds: huskies, great pyrenees, shelties, pomeranians, etc. etc. The dogs in Ciqi Kou are mutts. All 4 of my children felt compelled to pet every single gou gou and mao mao who crossed our path. Jon Wiley is so excited at the site of them, I'm thinking he will be thrilled to go home to 4 cats, 2 dogs, and a rabbit.
In Ciqi Kou, we saw men hammering out paste for sesame candy, a traditional apothecary, a pretend haunted house ("Hell House" Sophie called it), a beef jerky shop with a salesman out front who was dressed like an ancient emperor. There were shops of every kind, with little residences tucked behind them. To paraphrase Scott, it was like the Renaissance Festival or Silver Dollar City of China....if Silver Dollar City allowed spitting.
We got back to the hotel to see the end of a wedding at the Sichuan restaurant across the street and another at our hotel. Sophie said that Chinese weddings are now very Westernized, including the tux, the white dress, the flower girl, and the ring bearer. However, the engagement pictures are still often in traditional garb, with the bride wearing a red dress.
This is our last night in Chongqing; tomorrow morning we fly to Guangzhou. We did a test run today, letting Jon Wiley ride the bus without dramamine. There was no puking. Hooray! We'll see how he does on the plane. Perhaps he hadn't been in a car before the trip from the orphanage to Chongqing.
This is a Dancing Water Bowl . You wet your hands and rub the handles, making vibrations that eventually build up resonance to make the water jump out of the bowl. Scott and Mia got it on the first try. Devyn got it on the second try. Eiley finally got it after much coaching. I opted out, as a crowd had gathered and the thing clearly had an anti-blond device on it.
Gate at the Buddhist temple. The Buddha statue is to our right, inside, but we were not allowed to take a picture of it.
Mia at the Buddhist temple waterfall.
Lighting incense at the Buddhist temple
Sophie helps Devyn place her incense after lighting.
Sophie and Devyn
The "Many Armed Goddess of Longevity" at the Buddhist temple.
An ancient incense burner.
The "toilets" at the Buddhist temple, which (in the women's) consisted of 4 "stalls" with waist-high stone walls on the sides and open fronts. All along the floor in the stalls ran a communal trough at a slight angle from right to left. You strip from the waist down, squat over the trough, and do your business. No water runs through the channel, so liquid wastes leave and solids wastes....don't. I held Jon Jon over the trough, and Scott held Devyn over the trough in the similarly equipped men's room. He reported that Devyn yelled out, "Dad! Did a bunch of people have diarrhea down there!?!"
The "toilets" at the Buddhist temple, which (in the women's) consisted of 4 "stalls" with waist-high stone walls on the sides and open fronts. All along the floor in the stalls ran a communal trough at a slight angle from right to left. You strip from the waist down, squat over the trough, and do your business. No water runs through the channel, so liquid wastes leave and solids wastes....don't. I held Jon Jon over the trough, and Scott held Devyn over the trough in the similarly equipped men's room. He reported that Devyn yelled out, "Dad! Did a bunch of people have diarrhea down there!?!"
Baby octopus on a stick. Perhaps it is the next state fair treat.
The outside of the Haunted House (Hell House)
Buddhist temple steps.
Buddhist temple.
Three gargoyles.
Beef jerky salesman, made up to look like ancient emperor
Making a huge batch of sticky rice, with a wooden paddle and a stone urn
Gourds R Us
Crazy cotton candy. Why in the world don't we have this stuff in the U.S? It's really cool!
The little plates below show the different sizes available to order.
The little plates below show the different sizes available to order.
Pig blood jelly (the brown squares) with chicken innards (the yellow floaties). We declined.
Coffee or tea? A coffee shop in Ciqi Kou.
Scott and Devyn bought a fan.
Cleaning fish on the curb. Why not? Keeps the smelly juice out of her house.
This statue is of a Communist spy who was disguised as a "Stick Man," a porter who delivers items for people by hanging them in baskets from a long stick balanced on his shoulders.
Pounding taffy for Sesame Candy.
Peek a boo on the bus
A wedding car.
A vegetable carver at Ciqi Kou
The fan seller at Ciqi Kou
Eiley and Jon wiley on the steps in Ciqi Kou.
Chongqing
A cruise ship on the Jia Ling River.
Mia is really hoping Jon Wiley does okay without dramamine.
These houses will be demolished to build high rise apartments, but people are still living in them right now. Somehow.
The most expensive housing in Chongqing. Four villas on the top of Purple Mountain, with private pools, large yards, and 360 degree views of the Yangtze and Jia Ling Rivers.
They are 1 million US dollars each.
They are 1 million US dollars each.
Sleepy men.
Just take those old records off the shelf....... (movie reference).
The hotel kleenex cozy and the adoption memory book really are covered in the same material.
Our official adoption photo.
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