We had another Free Day today and it actually went quite well. Katie and I are getting along much better. She still won't have anything to do with me outside of the hotel, but otherwise, we are fine. She insists that Dean carry her everywhere when we are outside yet she is not all that cooperative even when he is. Outings can be quite exhausting for Dean and I feel bad because I can't help. At least I am able to do more inside the hotel now, which helps.
The best part of our day was getting and eating dinner. Dean and Kris left around 4:15 to go get some stuff from Wal-mart and try to order something from the KFC there (doesn't that sound like something they would do in Peoria - it seems so surreal that we are actually in China). They had a great time navigating Wal-mart and successfully ordered a great (not healthy, but delicious) meal from KFC. They met a family from Californina who are living in China for a couple of years in order to learn Chinese. They are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia because it is cheaper and faster than China. They had a baby and a toddler as well. They were so excited to find Americans to talk to. I wish I had been there, but Katie and I were having some serious bonding time back in the hotel. She cried for the first minute or so after they left and then we settled in and played. We played hide and seek (she has one place that always hides), talked on Kristine's calculator turned into a cell phone - I think she set up a play date with Luke Nicholson for when we return :), watched a kid's show on t.v. (her turn to know exactly what was going on while I was clueless), had some goldfish crackers and more. She even sat on my lap while we were watching t.v. and for a little while we ate dinner. Actually, we inhaled dinner. We got a bucket of chicken that tasted just like at home (Katie loved it), some bread and corn on the cob. I think we had it all gone in about 5 minutes. You would of thought we had not eaten in a week. There were no temper tantrums and the bill was less than 400 yuan. It was great. I don't know that we can do that everynight, but it felt good tonight. When I left to come check e-mail, Katie actually cried because I was leaving. I am guessing it was mostly because she wanted to get out of the room, but a little part of me was happy - is that wrong?
Not looking forward to 4 days cooped up in our hotel room, we asked our guide to help us set up an additional tour for tomorrow. We are renting a car (they come with drivers here) and heading for one of the minority villages about an hour away. Thankfully, our guide is coming with us. I wasn't sure if I was up to doing that alone (I know Dace and Susan have done that kind of thing - but I am not so brave). If all goes well, we might try to go to another village 3 hours from here on Wednesday or Thursday, but we will see how Katie handles tomorrow first. Something else to note - they do not have car seats at all here. There are seat belts, but I have yet to see one used. Katie is in for a surprise when we get home and she has to sit in one! But that is a challenge for another day.
Karen
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