Today was a free day with nothing on our schedule, but our guide offered us a van if we wanted to go back to Shamian Island. We wanted to go back to finish shopping, and because it is so peaceful and beautiful there. Today we went around the other side of the island we hadn't been to before, to find the church and enjoy some more buildings and gardens. There are local people and we passed a school full of kids, but people tend to smile and greet you here, unlike in the town.
This is one of the bridges that links the Island to Guangzhou.
We saw the spire of the old French church peeking through the trees.
I took a moment to kneel and pray that God would help me to be a good mom for these children He has entrusted to me, and for us to have a smooth journey home. It was the first time I have been in a church since I left for China, and that is a very long time to be without the Mass. I love visiting churches and feeling the spiritual peace inside, and I usually light a candle, but they didn't have any available here.
The church did not have much decoration inside, and no high altar, so I assume it must have been trashed in the Cultural Revolution. The confessional looked old, but the windows didn't.
I showed the kids the statue of Jesus and the children outside, and told them about it. I don't know if they understood me, but you have to start somewhere.
I think one reason I loved coming to the island so much is that I am so tired of living in huge, dirty, crowded, stinky cities. If I had to live in a Chinese cities very long I think I would not be fun to be around. I feel stressed and my blood pressure goes up.
Lots of parks in China have exercise equipment and you see people using it.
We saw more brides and grooms. I think some of them are actual newly married couples, but some may be model shoots. There were also people modeling clothes, and even coats and hats. Keep in mind the idea of modeling coats and fur hats, here where it was swelteringly hot and humid.
We had lunch at Lucy's again with our other two GWCA families and then came back to the hotel for naps. After naps we went swimming.
Froggy and Little Panda really enjoy lounging by the pool.
It will be so much easier to eat when we get home and have a table and chairs and can all sit together. I will also be so happy to have a washing machine and dryer. When you have two kids with leaky diapers that makes for a lot of laundry in the sink, which you have to wring out and dry in the room, and when it dries it is so wrinkled you have to iron everything, even t-shirts, so we won't look like we slept in our clothes. I can't wait to have a normal life instead of camping out in a hotel. I don't care how many stars they have, it isn't a home.
