Shopping for Jade and Pearls

Fri. 6/5/09

Got on the bus at 8:30 am for our sightseeing and shopping excursion. The first stop is at the Six Banyan Pagoda (Liurong Temple) to have the children blessed. We were here four yrs. ago with Jenna. It’s a beautiful place. The temple was founded in the Song Dynasty (AD 420-479). The main attraction is the Flowery Pagoda, which stands in the center of the temple. The Octagonal Pagoda is 57 meters tall. There are half a dozen very large, tall gold Buddhas scattered around in different “halls”.

Our second stop is at a store that specializes in jade. We bought a jade necklace for all of the “girls” in our family as a keepsake. Decided to buy the traditional round circle of jade with a hole in the center on a red thread. Sarah got the smallest circle (nickel size), Jenna got a little bigger circle, and Margaret got the biggest circle (quarter size).

Our third stop is shopping at the Pearl Market in the basement of a mall. Oh my gosh, what a rabbit warren of small shops! There are pearls of every size and color imaginable. Each shop seems to specialize in different colors of pearls or style of pearl jewelry. The people in each shop are busy stringing necklaces and making earrings. Luckily, we had Molly along to help us talk to the shopkeepers. None of them spoke English. Tim bought a small smiling Buddha carved out of jade. We managed to leave the mall without buying any pearls.

The weather is hot and sticky again today. We bring bottled water with us every time we leave the hotel. We love the new backpack because it has two pouches to hold our water bottles. We spend time every day boiling water and refilling the bottles. We have a small refrigerator in our room to keep the water cold.

Supper tonight was at Lucy’s again. I think this is the third time we’ve eaten there in 5 days! We ordered noodles and rice for the kids and french fries, garlic bread, beer and coke zero for the adults. Not the most nutritious supper, but it tastes good! We love sitting outside on Lucy’s back patio. Tonight, we sat in front of a couple of large fans. It felt great to have cool air blow on us and keep the mosquitoes away. Jenna and Sarah have lots of mosquito bites. They seem to prey on the kids more than the adults. Unfortunately, we didn’t think to bring mosquito repellent with us.

Jenna and Sarah are bonding more each day. They were laughing and giggling getting ready for bed. It’s great to see Sarah smile and hear her laugh. Whatever Jenna does, Sarah imitates it. It’s pretty comical to watch. We’re guessing that Sarah will want to sleep with Jenna in her bed once we get home.

Saturday morning is the medical exam for Sarah. We’ve been dreading this visit. Due to our I-800 paperwork status, Sarah is not exempt from receiving vaccinations. The rules changed a couple months before we started our paperwork. Don’t understand the reasoning behind the rule change. Obviously, the people making the rules don’t have adopted children. We were really hoping Sarah wouldn’t need as many shots since she’s almost 2 ½ yrs. old. Molly told us three days ago that she would need 4 shots!! Then yesterday, Molly found out Sarah would need 2 additional shots!! We thought about splitting them up (3 and 3), but if Sarah develops a temperature after the first 3, she won’t be able to get the last 3 until her temperature is normal. Timing is critical, so we’ve opted to get all 6 shots at once. It’s going to be a really tough day for our little girl!! Hopefully, she won’t develop a temperature from any of the shots. If she does, we won’t be able to leave for home on Thurs. 6/11.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Margaret