The Village People

Well we're one step closer to our return to the States. This afternoon we received Grace's Chinese passport, so the only paperwork left to retrieve is her U.S. Visa next week in Guangzhou. There is a light...

Yesterday we took a quick trip out to a local village, just to get a glimpse of the life that our little girls have lived since birth. Having been to China many times, I had already seen similar villages, so perhaps I was more prepared than some of the other people in the group. In fact, Dapeng, which I visited a couple of weeks ago, was far more eye opening than the village we saw yesterday.

As you can see from the pictures, there is a great variance in the types of housing you see in these small towns. Some of the homes were simple cinder block structures, while others were newer, modern homes featuring luxuries like air conditioning (albeit still bolted to the side of the building, as is the Chinese style.)

Erin was a big hit with the local kids, as she passed out candy and treats. The kids were all yelling something repetitive, and I'm pretty sure it translated to "The giant lady has sweets! The giant lady has sweets!"

The people in the village seemed happy for us to be there, taking a peak into their lives. They were smiling, waving, and even posing for pictures. These people appeared to be happy, despite what many Americans would consider very meager circumstances. I have a little bit of a hard time with the concept that we're "rescuing" these girls from this life in China, when in reality, many, many people live quite happily with what they have here. If you gave them all the junk we accumulate in the U.S., they might not know what to do with it. It just goes to show that if you have other people or family around, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference how many TVs or cars you have...

Tonight we're having our final dinner here in Nanchang before flying to Guangzhou tomorrow, and in all honesty, I couldn't be happier. It feels like I've been in China forever. It is somewhat bittersweet to be leaving the area where Grace was born, and we've definitely enjoyed the experience. Guangzhou will be a bit more like Shenzhen in that it's got western restaurants, tree lined streets, and a Starbucks on every other corner. I must admit that it will be nice to be able to get some decent coffee, even at the expense of an "authentic" China experience. Bring on the Frappacinos...