Wow, where did the time go? I don't know what my Mom, who is watching our kids at home, will say, but this time has flown by quickly. I was trying to just take it all in today, since I don't know when I will be back. We walked around the Island after breakfast this morning. We saw the school kids doing some hulahooping for P.E. Every morning they were doing a different activity for their gym class. Yesterday was roller skating, skateboards, and razor scooters. They have really stressed physical education here in China as of late. They are starting to see an obesity problem in their children. It is suggested that since they are only having one child, these children are very spoiled and get whatever they want and sometimes food is used as a reward. We continued walking around the Island and took pictures. In the parks, the adults are also doing a lot of physical activity. Today we saw a lot of ballroom dancing, and other kinds of dancing. I really think it is cool how they gather in the parks to exercise together. I know it helps me to have a partner to get me out there and get my morning walks in.
Since we can't exchange our yuan for American money, we were spending it freely today, trying to get any last minute souvenirs bought. Jason is well known in one of the shops. When I went in there this morning, the girl whose American name is "Stella" asked me where Jason was. I told her he would be here soon. She knew we are leaving in the morning, so she reminded me to get my last minute shopping done. She then asked if Jason was at the bank. She is a very good salesperson!
While I went back to the room to pack up, feed Arisson and get her to take a nap, Jason went with some guys to get his final foot massage. Arisson and I had some fun girl time together. She is just silly. She wasn't ready to take a nap, but I kind of forced her into it. Today we were leaving here at 2:40 to go the US Consulate for an Oath Taking Ceremony. I took my shower and got ready, and in that time Jason returned from his massage. He mentioned it was a bit painful this time. He had the guy that I had the first night. What does that tell you? I am tougher than Jason.
We left the Victory as planned and arrived at the Consulate. The US Consulate is high security, so we didn't take anything into that building other than what we really needed. We just took our passports, and Arisson, of course. There is no cell phones or cameras allowed at all. When we got there, we saw the American flag. That really hit us to see that. There were probably 40 or so American families besides our 8 families taking the Oath. One really special thing that happened at the Ceremony was the man who lead our Oath Taking, prior to having us take the Oath, had a few announcements, and then he said that there were some birthdays that he wanted to recognize. Those birthdays were our 5 Jiang Cheng babies. He mentioned them all by name. We were all sitting in one area, and he was surprised to see the birthday girls all together. The Oath taking wasn't very personal, but that made it special for us.
We had a quick departure meeting and then our final meal together. I am so thankful for my group, and I am going to miss spending time with them. I know that we will see each other again and we will stay in touch, so that makes our departure tomorrow not as sad. We are going to miss China, and we really want to come back someday. We are so ready to see the kids tomorrow and to get back on our US soil. This is my last post from China. The next ones will be from our computer room at home. Please pray for an uneventful flight! See you real soon kids!
Three things about Arisson you can't tell from her photos:
1. She is rather flexible, perhaps a future gymnast
2. She has three dimples, one on both cheeks, and one on her chin
3. She has really long eyelashes |
