tuesday

as absurd as it sounds i think we're getting into a groove here. it seemed like an average day, you know? i mean, we did walk to the mall we went to earlier in the week and passed many shops, stores, people living their usual lives in guangzhou, china and got to spend a good deal of time with a great couple - boston dave and his wife - but that's just kinda how life is these days. when we get back home i'm going to pick up the phone and try to order room service from the operator. or to tip the wal-mart gal a buck or two for handing me a cart at the door.

so this morning, on a whim, we decided to walk back to the mall because moe, neat lady who's on her third adoption trip and is therefore quite the expert on this whole experience not to mention guangzhou, was going and had walked there before. while there i picked up a couple more movies. amy picked up a couple more bracelets. didn't take any pictures, really. then back to the island to try the deli at the white swan. not bad at all. very western in most respects. amy and joy crashed at the hotel while i met with half of the group to do the paperwork for the consulate appt. on thursday. i was wrong about the medical check up being the last thing we did with the chinese government. the medical check up is required by the US govt. so, technically, once we left changsha the PRC was content that joy was in good hands.

the paperwork was pretty straight forward. so glad we're not trying to do this on our own. morgan is a blessing. and then it was off to try to find some dinner somewhere. i was still looking to try basically western food and amy wasn't up for leaving the island. we caught chris and tonya in the hotel hallway and headed across the street to a steak house. they were very western. even played country music the whole time. not too bad. but everything is just one click off from what we're used to. we are in china after all . . .

we strolled around the island afterwards. we met a chinese couple with a rottweiler - the largest dog we've seen on the trip. and chris caught a tiny gecko on an eucalyptus tree. we cruised along the pearl river and stopped in at the deli again to try the mango cheesecake. again, just a couple clicks off from normal. joy liked it though. and now we're back home.

i'm tired of calling this place home. it's nice enough. things are good. but even disneyland can never truly be home. i want my life back. i don't regret, for one second, being here. but there comes a point where the adventure becomes an interruption. i miss my boy. i miss kansas, believe it or not. i miss grass. even the smell from the feedlot will be welcome. and i'm excited to get on with this next phase of our lives. life back home will never be the same and i'm ready to get started seeing what it's going to be like. at the same time, we keep saying to each other, um, we're in guangzhou, china!!? so, i'm happy to be here. but i'll be happier to be home. and it IS all about me being happy, right?

so, it's tuesday. i'm up waay later then i have been this entire trip (11p). maybe i'm starting to shift back into kansas time? hopefully i can get a nap tomorrow. life is good. tuesday was good. it's amazing to be here. life, in general, is amazing. thanks for following along. check flickr to see a couple more pics from today.