Thursday, February 8th

Another outing...today we went to a village outside of Nanning, Yuling. It was rather interesting. I guess if there was one word to sum it all up it would be primitive. The bus dropped us off and we walked through this 1000 person town. It had dirt roads, cement floors in the homes, they grow their own vegetation and skin their own meat. One of the first things we saw was a man killing a chicken and cutting it's head right off. I'm not too interested in eating chicken anytime soon.

We all brought candy for the children of the village. Apparently, they are a custom to Americans site seeing. They know they get candy when we come. We saw the ladies in the fields tending to the crops and washing their clothes in a pond and scrubbing them on the rock. We also had an opportunity to see a home in the village. Cement floors, a well in the middle of the main room with an open ceiling and a chicken running around inside. The bed room was cramped and had a wooden bed for sleeping.

An old lady wanted to hold Emma and she did great! She is not afraid of anyone yet. The ladies loved Jacob. He even sat on a ladies lap. She said he was heavy. He was a good sport. The people there were very friendly and loved having visitors.

Tonight, we went out to dinner at a restaurant that had engagement ceremonies. Well, the Miau (minority) tradition is the lady comes and picks her groom by tugging on their ear and tapping her foot on their toe. This a sign that she wants to marry him. Well, Scott was chosen to get married. They had a ceremony, they danced on a bench, he carried her on his back and then they toasted wine. The good news is after 3 days they can back out with out

Emma is making so much progress. She turns her head when you say her name, she will let anyone hold her, she eats great and sleeps very well. She is still working on cutting in her sixth tooth. Thank goodness for Tylenol.

Jake has really changed the past several days. He is learning so much about the Chinese culture and traditions and has even learned some Chinese. He writes in his journal daily. So he does not forget a thing. He is an awesome big brother too.

Tomorrow is travel day. We travel to our last destination, Guangzhou to finalize Emma's Visa and Passport. What we hear is the White Swan Hotel, were we are staying is wonderful. May Western traditions and great shopping for souvenirs.

Talk with you all tomorrow!