Toddler Convalescense

Ellie was much better today. Her fever is down and she is as active as she was before getting sick. To the matter of antibiotics, vitamins, and suchlike, she decided to put her foot down -- but she discovered that when Ellie puts her foot down, Mommie does, too. Once she got past the shock of that she did pretty well.

This was a "non-business" day. We slept in pretty late and were barely in time for breakfast, but we made it OK. Ellie had a little more appetite. After breakfast we visited one of the most popular Buddhist temples in South China, and because today was the first day of the lunar month, it was crowded and very noisy -- quite a contrast to the other temple we visited. People were lighting incense and praying in all directions, unbothered by everyone else moving back and forth. I tossed a coin at an incenses burner for luck (successfully) and Karen took Jocelyn's invitation to light some incense. All the babies were blessed by a Buddhist monk at a short but fairly elaborate ceremony, which we got on video. After the temple, we visited an ancestral art preserve of the Chen family. Ellie blew up a bit there, mostly from fatigue, and Karen had to carry her out; but she calmed down before we got quite outside. We waited in the courtyard for everyone else, playing with leaves and blossoms under a tree, and taking a few more minutes of video. Because our guide, Jocelyn, thought we had gone back to the bus, the whole group walked right past us while we were watching the wrong gate! But we were easy to find when Jocelyn came back for us.

Guangzhou is about six times the population of Nanchang -- fifth largest city in the world, so Jocelyn says; thirteen million people -- but it does not feel nearly as crowded, and is not as bustling, as Nanchang. People saunter here, not rush. Our hotel is in a particularly quiet and pleasant quarter, on a man-made island, Shamian Island, in the Pearl River. The weather is mild and warm, and it's a fine thing to wander the streets by day or night. At a park by the river Karen and I were approached by some schoolchidren, out with their teachers, assigned to find Americans (I suppose) and practice their English. They collected signatures to show how many people they had greeted.

We had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant followed by ice cream at a little deli, then sat outside talking until the babies' bedtime. Ellie didn't think much of the ice cream.

Tomorrow (ironically) is Ellie's official medical exam. Karen does not expect any problems. Apart from her usual depression upon awakening from sleep or a nap (Ellie, not Karen) and occasional wariness, our little girl is in good spirit.