more of the visit...

Well... it seems Dad and Mom are busy packing up their lives to move down the street, so I will post more China photos for you all to enjoy... since I, on the other hand, am at the most low-key point in my life (that is, no work, little study, and few friends...).... :)

This is one of my favorite pictures of Pops. As is evident, he is about to burst into laughter. He was trying to just stare at the camera expressionlessly, but I insisted he look happy... heehee.... quite a handsome fella! (he is in a famous garden in Shanghai)

The last day of their stay in Beijing, I took them to the Temple of the Sun, a beautiful park area and we just hung out. It was great to notice the sign above the bathroom door......... nothing like a two-star toilet!! When Dad came out, he said he ranked it a negative one or two stars... teeeeheee!! You really cannot understand until you have seen them and had to squat next to a stranger to pee in a hole.... luckily with two stars, you at least get a little wall.... others just have a row of holes in the ground!!! Like camping.....










Another great Great Wall picture. :) Gotta love it! Quite a wall. :) One of the now, 12 (I believe?) wonders of the world.






This is Mom petting a lion who is about to devour her.



:) In that same famous garden in Shanghai.










And this is mom holding up a crab just before we ate a 18-plus course meal! We are in Xingcheng, a tiny town in northeastern China. Dad and Mom have friends in Long Beach whose parents live in this town.... so we went to visit them. They treated us like royalty.... This is where Dad and Mom began to gain weight. :) Out the window you can see the ocean... on the other side of it is north Korea. This city is where the Chinese navy is trained.

Welcome to my world! At least Dad and Mom were here to help off-set the severe racial imbalance in this country! :) Here we are with all the relatives of the people Dad and Mom know in Long Beach (at the same dinner in the picture above). The man on the right of Mom is the dad of their friend in Long Beach. He seemed fascinated by Dad's watch, and I told Dad that maybe he should give it to him as a gift (because they spent TONS of money entertaining us). Well, Dad did, as he figured I know Chinese culture and perhaps if someone complements you on something it is best to offer it to them (which is true in most cases). Oppsss.... after he gave it to him, I remembered that it is REALLY rude to give the Chinese a watch as a gift. They superstitiously believe that it means your days are limited and it is sending you to your death. You give a watch to an enemy! Oppss!!! Goes to show you one year hasn't been enough for me. :( Soooo... we hope the poor guy is doing okay today.

Much love to everyone! Thinking of you all! I still cannot read or comment on any of the comments.

Tami (and Billy)