We continue to learn of the Chinese culture. We've had our fill of Chinese food but have another week til we fly home. Fortunately, there is Lucy's, a restaurant right outside the hotel that is geared toward Americans. While you sit and eat your cheeseburger, you listen to Elvis, Elton John, etc. It's a comforting feeling being on the other side of the world. Carlee Mei Mei, as we have been calling her as Mei Mei means 'little sister," continues to amaze us. Charleen and I have been taking her down to eat about 7:30 each morning, leaving the Jei Jei's upstairs asleep in their room (sleeping in til 9 or so is a wonderful thing, especially for Jamie at 16). She has been eating good (and pooping good, too), enjoying scrambled eggs, tots, watermelon, etc. This morning while we were feeding her, she was getting kind of fussy, wanting to hold the spoon. So, we let her have it. She immediately grabbed it, turned it in the right direction and started shoveling the food in! We didn't know what she had learned in the orphanage, but have realize that with things like this they must have had a good structure/routine. When it's time to get dressed, she puts the legs up in the air to get the pants on, extends the arms for the tops, and already knows what "bye bye" means. As soon as one of us mentions it, she goes over to her stroller and climbs up in it and its patiently as we prepare to go. Again, she is adapting to us amazingly. It is becoming hard to imagine life before her.

We have grown to know the other couples/families in our group through day trips for medical exams, the zoo tours, etc. We realize every day that we are blessed to have our 3 girls as every other family in our group could not have children and elected to adopt, some vs. fertility treatments. There are two Chinese men in our group, both born & raised in the US but raised speaking both English and Chinese. One of them, Victor, along with Jason and I, took a cab into downtown Guangzhou today (Sunday), my first ride in a taxi ever (I've led a sheltered life) to an electronics mall. It was huge. Hailing a taxi was an event. If it wasn't for Victor, I never would have attempted a trip like that. He was able to communicate with the drivers. I've mentioned how crazy the drivers are here. I guess it's probably like driving in a place like NYC where there are so many people crammed into such a small area. However, I think people here are actually more rude when it comes t driving. It's a constant merging of vehicles. You never get above maybe 45 mph, tops. Most of it is more like 20 - 30 mph. We've been seeing all this going on since we got here but riding in a cab the size of a Carolla vs. sitting up high in a big bus is a whole different experience. Needless to say, my first taxi ride was a memorable one. The other guys got a kick out the fact that I had never ridden in a taxi before.
Carlee Mei looks and acts like a 2 year old. However, she is no bigger than some of the babies that are 1. She is so petite. We don't think she will get above 4' 6" when she is full grown. We met a young lady in one of the stores yesterday who is full grown and is a little smaller than Rebecca Lynn who is turning 12 in February. Carlee Mei has a beautiful smile that just melts us all. But she also has a strong will. Kind of ironic that we could adopt a child and still have one with a strong will. We have all enjoyed reminiscing about each of the other girls and things they did when they were little. I won't mention any of them as it's one thing to talk and laugh among family, and it's another thing to put it in print on the www.

The hotel we are staying at is really nice. The girls think it is so cool to come back from dinner and have their beds turned down and chocolates for each of them. Boy are they going to have a big wake up call when we get back home. They have a separate room from us and Carlee Mei so they have been able to have their room a mess with stuff everywhere and Mom not telling them to "pick up your room." Again, January 7 is when it all changes back to what we call "normal."
There is a Starbucks a block from the hotel, one of the things that has pricing equivalent to the US. But it's a nice treat every couple of days for Charleen and the girls to get a taste of back home. The rooms have TV with a few English stations on them so we can watch CNN, a movie channel, and have seen parts of a few bowl games. Tomorrow (Monday) is an open day with nothing planned except meeting to finalize some paperwork.

It's still neat to think of our official adoption day being Christmas Day. My life long best friend, Jeff, celebrated his 50th birthday on Christmas Day this year. Her officially joining the Berg family on both Jesus' birthday and Jeff's 50th makes it all the more special day.

We will continue to keep you posted every day or two.















Amanda & Rebecca Lynn atop the temple














Amanda posing at the top














Rebecca Lynn posing at the top




















Carlee Mei had had enough














Even the newer apartments had clothes hanging out on the small porches. It's obviously part of the way they live. Clothes dryers are not common.














Propane Gas delivery in Guangzhou. The way people drive here makes us all nervous just riding by one of these guys thinking of what could be a big disaster. I don't think they have OSHA, personal injury lawyers, etc. here.




















Carlee Mei riding on the bus with Jei Jei (big sister) Jamie Lou.
















Carlee Mei back at the hotel. She is changing our lives. This 2 weeks together will be a great bonding experience for us all.