People's Park

Nanchang is not a tourist city, so we're told. (No more is Cleveland.) But we pretended to be tourists today. We visited People's Park: a collection of gardens, pathways, play and exercise areas, etc. decorated with pagodas and some fascinating rock formations. Ellie didn't show any interest in the play equipment. As a matter of fact most of it was being used by elderly people to exercise. Kind of an odd thing - in a park like People's Park back home there would be ducks.

This afternoon while taking a walk we visited a grocery. We bought a bottle of wine, cookies, some hard candy, lemon Tang, a couple of oranges, and one or two other things that we thought we needed. We didn't buy a corkscrew. Tom went back for one. Then he spent a goodly time wrestling with the cork, but got it out finally, and we toasted Ellie in Chinese wolfbery wine. The wine was vile.

Ellie continues to fuss volubly if I try to hold her, and she's still clinging to Karen. Karen and I are beginning to wonder whether some of this behavior is manipulative. But if it is, we figure it's better to err on the side of spoiling her for now.

She is becoming more playful. Today she played throw-the-ball with Karen in the hotel room, and played another game with both of us
that involved picking up random items and handing them around. She's also "talking" a bit more.