Nanjing City Tour

After breakfast this morning, where we learned that Eva does not care for peaches or pineapple, we met Fred in the lobby to spend the day touring the city of Nanjing.

The first place he wanted to show us was the Nanjing Massacre Museum. I have to admit that when he mentioned it yesterday I was hesitant about wanting to bring the boys to a place with such a name, but I am so glad that we went because it was very moving.

During WWII, Nanjing was the capital city of China and the Japanese invaded and massacred 300,000 people in much the same way we think of Hitler and the Jews.This museum is on one of the actual excavation sites where many skeletal remains from the massacre were discovered. There is a room with part of the actual site excavated and preserved under glass, with skeletal remains in the ground as found. I know it sounds creepy but it was actually done in such a respectful manner that it was profound to see.

Next we went to the brocade factory which this area is famous. In the factory, you could see the making of brocade from silkworm to completion with the traditional bamboo pipe weaving machine. We learned that they are only able to weave 5cm a day taking a yard of brocade fabric over a month to make this way. The process and details were absolutely stunning.

From the brocade factory we went to the pearl factory. Here in Nanjing the pearls are harvested from their local lake and are therefore fresh water pearls. We got to see the oysters in their bags out on the line in the lake.Inside the factory, the boys got to pick an oyster from a tank where the worker then opened it and counted out over 20 pearls inside...and here I thought there was only one pearl per oyster...who knew? Throughout the trip we have been picking up items to give Eva each year as we celebrate her adoption day. Here we got her a string of pearls and a pair of pearl earrings.

Our last stop was to view the Yangtze River Bridge, which crosses the Yangtze River, the 3rd longest river in the world. The 3 mile structure was built completely by the Chinese without any foreign help. There is a viewing tower that you can go up to and see clearly see the river and the bridge; it was a great view on a clear day. We were also fortunate to find the Master Crystal Artist in his workshop here. Crystal art, the intricate painting of scenes inside a piece of crystal, is a dying tradition here in China because it takes too long to study to learn the art; approximately 10-15 years. This Master has been donating his monies to help provide training to the poor. The proceeds from this studio help to fund his endeavor. We purchased one of the crystal balls with a traditional scene of Suzhou, Eva's birthplace. The Master painted in the city name and date of our adoption on the inside. It is very amazing the detail that goes inside these pieces.

We spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening on our own. We were able to give Eva a nap and reorganize our belongings.

Dawn & I were able to find out what two skittles together were actually our favorite combination (very scientific experiment!), and much to her daddy's dismay, our little girl had her first pedicure!Eva has done well but she has had more meltdowns today than yesterday. Some we can attribute to her being out of her routine and probably tired. The others, like at dinner tonight where she was perfectly happy being fed one minute then out of nowhere she starts screaming and arching her back like crazy, we can't figure out. I know these are just things that we are going to have to work through, but it is really hard on this mama's heart.

Tomorrow we are going to visit her orphanage, a decision I hope we don't regret making. I felt it was more important to go so that we could have as many details of her life up until now and to have an opportunity to thank those who have cared for her the last two years.

Until then...good-night (guess it's good-morning for you)!!