Dream Time in Nanning

After breakfast, Libby and I headed to the senior market to do some more hunting. I bought some jade, after some negotiation, and was quite pleased with my purchases. Libby and I stopped to talk to many people in the market and on the street, giving me plenty of opportunities to practice my Mandarin, and to take some nice pictures.

We hurried back to meet Matthew for our trip to the zoo, with the McCormack family, with whom we've been traveling. They have adopted an adorable little girl named Caroline, who is 3. The Nanning Zoo is beautifully landscaped, and has many relatively well-maintained exhibits. We saw white tigers, lions, ostriches, zebras, and some very entertaining monkeys. We also saw performances of bears, elephants, and dolphins. Many school groups were at the zoo, and we had fun saying "hello" to the kids. It was very hot today, but Matthew had arranged for us to ride in an oversized golf cart sort of thing; it was a pretty comfortable way to see the zoo.

After the zoo, Pierre, Libby, Lulu, and I took a cab to . . . Pizza Hut! One of two in Nanning. It was quite a classy joint--we were greeted warmly at the entrance, and waited on by about 5 uniformed staff. The pizza was--well, like Pizza Hut--but the decor and ambiance were very modern Chinese. After lunch we tried to walk back to the hotel, but got a little lost, so got to see more of life in Nanning. In a park we stopped to listen to men playing banjo-like instruments--one man using a mah jongg tile as a pick. Speaking of mah jongg, I disrupted a game by asking to take a photograph. The guys told me no, but I whined and wheedled, and took it anyway. As soon as I did, they scrambled the tiles all over again--and the picture didn't come out anyway--I guess they cursed it with their magic mah jongg powers.

Back at the hotel, Libby and I hit the pool--Jazz was there, so Libby was happy! Then we went to dinner with the McCormacks and Matthew at Food Street, which is the place we ate on our first night in Nanning. Remember the duck beaks? With Matthew ordering for us, our dinner was much better!

Matthew had arranged for Pierre and me to get massages from a young woman who is a nurse at Nanning Hospital. She was an excellent masseuse, although my enjoyment of my massage was somewhat tempered by the girls' standing next to me for a good part of it, Libby actually climbing on the bed for a good close look, then playing her electronic game next to my head. When it was Pierre's turn, I took Libby out for our regular Mom and Libby time--a walk in the warm Nanning evening, followed by drinks in the bar--Sprite for her, Irish coffee for me.

Over the course of the day and evening, Matthew talked about his work with Girls Global Education Fund, where he started out as a volunteer, but now works as paid staff. (His adoption work is just a parttime gig.) You can read about it at www.ggef.org Basically, they provide scholarships to girls who wouldn't be able to attend school otherwise. We also talked about the phenomenon of international adoption, how Matthew feels the availability of abandoned girls grew out of government policy, and how Chinese mothers are misrepresented in the U.S. as heartless women who "throw their babies away." He said he knows that, on the contrary, such decisions are painful, often made under pressure, and result in lifetimes of heartache for birth mothers. He feels his work with adoptive families builds friendships, increases understanding, and creates a bridge for adopted Chinese girls to explore their heritage as they grow up. Matthew is so much more than the "cool guide" I thought he was at the beginning of the week--he is that, but he has a very serious, humanitarian mission.

Also today, he talked about the economic growth in China, especially in the cities, and how it is a "dream time", when life is very good for many, but without any idea of how it can be sustained, it seems like a dream, from which people will someday have to wake up. This week in Nanning has seemed very dreamlike to me, as well--so our toast tonight was "to dream time in Nanning." In a few days, when we've said good-by to this green city, it will all seem like a lovely dream, filled with palm trees, friendly people, .70 cab rides, and relaxing days with our beautiful Chinese daughters.

Good night!