Day 7

Today was a free day.  Completely open to do what we wanted at leisure.  Our wonderful guide volunteered to take us back to Walmart to look for a few things that we knew we couldn't find on our own.  It was actually quite fun.  She introduced us to multiple food items, mostly fruit, to try.  At Walmart, we were stopped by an older man that started talking about reading the Bible and believing in Jesus.  I was so stunned that he had the sense to even share with us his belief.  How he knew we were believers I can only say had to be a God moment because he just knew and felt the need to let us know that he too believed.

After Walmart, we came back to the hotel, ate lunch, went for a swim, and then went to a local park.  An interesting experience at the park, a younger guy walked by us and I said, "Ni Hao."  It's my natural response to the constant stares.  Smile and say hello.  It softens many people but not all.  This young guy started trying to communicate with us.  He noticed Jordy was Chinese and put it together that we were adopting him.  He then proceeded to give us a magic show where he showed us all of his slight of hand tricks.  It was really quite neat.  He enjoyed doing it and wouldn't accept a tip.

Overall, today was a simple day and we enjoyed it.

  This is the fruit we saw a few days ago but didn't try until today.

The inside of the fruit is very stringy and looks like chicken and boy does it taste bad.  My sister warned us and she was right.  It's hard to describe it.  It had a hint of garlic flavor with a bit of sweetness and a touch of just plain yuck.  Two thumbs down here.

This is another food we wanted to try.  It's actually part of a water lily flower.  You eat the seeds which are the round spots on the top by pulling the flower apart.  We tried it.  We didn't like it.  Two thumbs down.

Milk in little bags.  Similar to Canada but in little packs perfect for individual use and does not need to be refrigerated until opened.

Corn is big here.  This is a flavor of oatmeal that Dustin is going to try for breakfast.

This fruit is the consistency of a potato and is slightly sweet.  It earns an even score.  We didn't throw it out but we won't go searching it out again.

Lunch from the deli at Walmart.  Roasted Duck, green beans in soy sauce with spicy peppers and sticky rice.  It was awesome!  I think this may have cost us $5 USD.

The following pictures are from the rare gem of a park just a block from our hotel.  It really is pretty and no bikes or scooters are allowed making it even better.

Notice the center of the flower.  The green part is what we tried today.

My favorite find of the day.  This fruit is the size of a golf ball.

You peel it like an orange.

The inside has this squishy fruit with a pit in the center and it tasted really good.  Two thumbs up finally!!!

I did a horrible job of taking people pictures today.  Jordy slept through the park and I forgot the camera at the pool.  I'll do better tomorrow.  We are heading to the Longmen Grottoes.  Here's a picture from last night.  It will have to do for today.