China--Last Day

The last day, we had to ourselves. We had been getting up early each morning so we actually slept in and enjoyed a relaxed morning. After breakfast, we decided to head to a marketplace where we heard we could get good deals on American toys for the kids. The hotel desk told us it was a 10 minute walk so we decided to hoof it. Unfortunately, it was about 40 minutes later before we found the place. Isaac and Tanner were both able to find things that they wanted and we were able to haggle with the price a bit. We were not so lucky for Brynn. All she wanted was a Cut and Style Rapunzel Barbie but all of the vendors that had the doll were asking too much and wouldn't budge on the price. She was awfully understanding and we were proud of her. It is difficult when your brothers get new toys and you don't. However, never to fear...her Mimi and Poppa are here. They have found the Barbie for us and will be mailing it shortly!

After shopping, we decided to head back to the hotel for lunch. We didn't want to walk so we were going to try to take a taxi. Most of the taxi's in China will not take more than 4 people because they get fined by the police. I did not want to take a taxi by myself and quite honestly was terrified to do so. Finally, we were able to find a taxi driver that spoke minimal English and he told us to name the price. We had no clue what to pay a taxi in China so we ended up paying way more than we should have but at least we got to go together and we didn't have to walk.

That afternoon, we headed to another shopping area where we found Brynn her church shoes and a pair of Clarks for me. Again, paid more than we should have but WAY less than I would have in the US so I felt we did well. Then, McDonald's for dinner (we promised) and off to the Chinese acrobat show. Another neat show but not quite as good as the Kung Fu show. This was the first night where we actually saw foreign families with young children. We saw many foreign families during our stay but they were usually with teenagers.

Finally, the perfect ending to our China trip was our taxi ride home. We found a gentleman that was willing to take all 5 of us and truthfully it was because he said he loved Americans. There were two British ladies in front of us and he pushed passed them and came to us. While we apologized and were embarassed, we just wanted to go together and it was late so we took him on his offer. After we get into the taxi, he bursts into singing. His first song was the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Then, he goes into telling us about how the only foreign movie that China would allow their people to watch when he was young was The Sound of Music. So then, he starts doing the yodeling song that they sing when they are doing the puppets. I was laughing so hard that I was crying. Tanner and Brynn were giggling. I think Isaac was quite scared and uneasy with the whole situation. It took us twice as long to get home because whenever he started talking, his driving would slow and he would swerve. While I feared for our life, we did have a good laugh and he was a nice guy. Questioning whether he was sober....but a nice guy!

The next morning, we got up early and headed for the airport.