Kung Fu Shung Mow

We started our day having breakfast on the very top of our hotel, the Asia International, in a revolving restaurant. Not a bad way to eat breakfast. The views out the window were amazing or Tie Bang La as Ming would say. The best thing about breakfast was that they had maple syrup! We did not find syrup in Fuzhou.

We spent the morning getting Ming's visa picture taken and having his physical done that the USA requires. He had the same doctor that Jamae had back in 2004 when we were here.


We then got the bad news that since Ming is over 10 and does not have a vaccination card, the United States requires he have certain vaccinations before he can enter the US. I tried my best to talk them out of it, but you can't change the law. Ming ended up getting 3 shots and 1 oral vaccination. It was not fun for him at all, but at least he will have to get fewer shots when we get him home.

We then went over to the local Carrefour for a little shopping. For you Moses Lakers reading this, that is the China's version of Target. I figure if I can't shop there at home, I might as well shop there at China. The best thing was that there was a Starbucks. Yeah! First Starbucks we have had this trip. I (Caryn) got the best Dark Chocolate Frappachino. We were also able to get Ming many Disney and Pixar DVD's in Chinese. That was one of my goals on this trip.

We went back to the hotel this afternoon to swim and found out that our hotel just redid their pool and is now requiring swim caps for all who swim. At first we resisted the thought and then realized 'when in China do as the Chinese'. We broke down and bought swim caps. Everyone looked very cute. :) I'll have to take a picture tomorrow and post it.

The day ended great as on our way to McDonalds for dinner, we came across someone selling DVD's on the street. We ended up buying a number of movies including, Kung Fu Panda or Kung Fu Shung Mow as we say in China. It was fun to end the day watching the movie in our room.


Thanks for your continued prayers and comments. We feel the prayers and enjoy the comments.
Ming is doing great. He has transitioned well from leaving Fuzhou and being in Guangzhou. I feel like he understands almost everything we say, although he doesn't speak much English back to us. He has learned that basics like "Time to go!" and "Jamae is a baby". I know many of you asked us before we left if he knew any English. We didn't know the answer than. Now we do. Ming had a few years of English classes in school, so he has been exposed to it. I compare it to having 2 years of Spanish in school in the states and then going to Mexico and trying to talk with the natives. Most of us probably wouldn't do very good. What we learned in the classroom would be hard to remember if we were immersed in the spanish language.
He is doing great though and doesn't seem frustrated by the language barrier. I can't wait for you all to meet him. You are going to love him!
We'll write more later.