Happy May Day!
Hello! Thankfully Brayden woke up in a pretty good mood this morning, so we are hoping that means no headache! His back was bothering him though, so we decided to skip out on PT. Jason the therapist let him do accupuncture and electrowave therapy early, so we had the rest of the day free. Jason said he had to hold Brayden still during accupuncture bc he was laughing so hard. All wound up on stem cells Jason says!
Today is May Day, and the Chinese have a 3 day celebration! The morning was full of lots of loud bangs and honking horns, so we knew there were a lot of people celebrating. When we first got here, we heard lots of firecrackers, sometimes at all hours of the night. A little frightening at first bc the echo makes them sound more like gunshots. We have since learned that they use fireworks to celebrate EVERYTHING- opening a business, moving to a new place, etc. Today, we heard an unusually loud round of them going off very close to the hospital. We ran to the window to check it out, and they were setting them off right in the middle of the park that is next door to us. I mean the big ones! There were people just walking around very close to them like it was no big deal. Huge flames coming out of the tubes, and people didn’t even flinch! I guess they are used to it. They certainly don’t clear the launching area like we do back home!!
After a quick bite, we decide to venture to the Jiajia Yuan Market. We were told that they had Nike, Adidas, Puma, and a few other stores. Unfortunately, the prices for all their things were as high as at home. The only American thing left to do was have another icecream at KFC. While at KFC, I had my first opportunity to use a squat. Let me tell you, that was very interesting! It is one thing to step in your own potty when you gotta go in the woods, but it is another to step in someone elses splashies! I took a picture so I can share it with all of you! On our way out of KFC, we spotted a huge building with Coach, Columbia, Dolce and Gabana, Nike, and tons of other signs on the building. We were sure we had hit the jackpot. We walk into the first floor, and there were like 10 little stores, none of which were on the signs outside. We tried our luck with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors, which were the only ones even open. At each floor there was maybe 3 or 4 stores, again, none of them Coach, Nike, or Adidas! I am assuming all of the open spaces will be full of those stores at some point- after we leave!!! We hauled our hineys the 5-7 blocks (country miles) back to the hospital with a shirt and pair of flip-flops. Not really the jackpot we had hoped for, but still a fun outing.
We stopped in for a quick visit with Giovanni and Elvia- the AustItalians- when we got back. They always have great adventures to tell us about. While in there, one of the nurses came in to see Brylie, who was standing at my feet. This lovely little nurse looks up at my belly, pokes me like the Pillsbury Doughboy, and says “Oh my!” I said, “I know, I’m a little on the chubby side!” She replies, “YES, YES!” Boy did that make me feel great. I made my husband and kids walk what seemed like 10 miles instead of getting a cab only to be called chubby when we returned!!! Gotta love the honesty I guess!
We are sitting down for another meal of microwavable Hamburger Helper, so I better get. Hope you all have a fantastic Thursday!
14 comments May 1st, 2008
