Exploring new things

So, swimming wasn't quite the success we had hoped for, but it went better than expected. We did manage to get Owen close to the water, where he just dipped his feet in the water from sitting on the edge. We also got him to splash a little bit. I think he is just getting over some fears and also learning how much he can trust us. Such a big transition at such a young age can take a long time to adjust to.

In any public pool here, it is a rule to wear a swimmers cap. Yes, I know I look silly, but rules are rules...

After everyone dried off, we went for another walk thru Tianjin. We've been more in the mood for Western food...there's only so much Chinese you can eat over a 3 week period. Don't get me wrong, we have enjoyed the variety of seasonings and spices, but sometimes, you just want a good burger! Well, Helen did not know of any restaurant like that, besides McDonald's. So, we walked until we found something that struck our fancy. We ended up finding a restaurant in big neon lights that said "Western Style Restaurant". Although it didn't taste quite like home, it was okay. We sampled 4 different dishes that they had: Chicken Curry, Beef & peppers, Spaghetti with meat sauce, and fried cod. It sounds kind of disgusting when you think about how different these 4 dishes are, but I guess we've been used to sampling different tastes over the past week. Since Cackie ate most of her dinner, we headed to McDonald's and all enjoyed hot fudge sundaes.

After breakfast this morning, we packed the kids in the double stroller and went for a walk thru the park beside the hotel. It was much busier than when we were there the other day. It was also much warmer and the sun was out, so we got to enjoy the beauty of the trees & flowers more.

A man playing some sort of instrument. It really sounded beautiful.

In front of the beautiful multi-colored roses.

Already loving on his Aunt Caryn.

We also went down to the river, close to where the big ferriswheel is. There were a lot of men fishing, and of course, riding bikes! We even observed what seemed to be a ritual of some sort, where there as a group of people gathered with bowed heads and 2 bowls with what seemed to be filled with small snakes or eels. Michael & I stopped to watch, wishing we could understand what they were saying. As we kept walking, we came to a stone wall, where there was carved artwork. We guessed it was a story of how that part of the river was created. It was very cool!

Look at all the traffic.

The rest of the day, there wasn't much to do and Helen was busy with other things at the orphanage, so we pretty much stayed in the hotel, playing & watching TV. Owen is starting to learn his name and some small words, as we keep repeating them to him. Because we ate breakfast late and ate so much, we skipped lunch & didn't eat again until dinner. We ordered room service and got to finally enjoy burgers! We thought about going out for Pizza Hut (yes, they have them here), but we didn't know where one was. And, so much for trying to read the phone book! It's kinda hard when it's all in Chinese!

Tomorrow should also be a low key day. We will have to do some packing up to prepare for our departure to Guangzhou (we leave Saturday) and we have plans to visit Tianjin's "Culture Street" in the afternoon. Hopefully we will have some interesting experiences there.

Until then....I'll leave you with a picture of Happy Owen!