The White Whale

Well, well, well, it’s our last full day in Nanning…and we’re very happy about it. Happily, our group has nothing planned today, so each family is free to do what it chooses. This is also nice because we were able to sleep in until 8:30 since there was no bus to have to get on at 10:00. We rolled in to the Garden Restaurant at about 9:30, 30 minutes before it packs in its breakfast service for the day. The good news is that the other families in out travel group did the same thing and we had a nice breakfast together. Then, we went our separate ways for the day.

Since the second day we were here, I have had quick glimpses of an Adidas store on the corner of two busy streets not too far from our hotel as we passed it in taxis and buses. It looked like a pretty nice store, so I had hoped all along to get back there and see if $120 shoes would cost significantly less if bought here in Nanning. I had a few minutes yesterday to go look for the store by just wandering in the general direction for about an hour, but the White Whale eluded me. I don’t know why I wanted to visit this store so badly. I have no particular preference for Adidas shoes and any other of their various product lines. Perhaps it was the thrill of the hunt; perhaps it was because it was the only Western store I’ve seen here besides Walmart. At any rate, my search yesterday left me tired, hot, and thirsty. To gulp down a liter of tea when I got back to the hotel room was with me the work of a moment. I was, as P.G. Wodehouse once put it, “…like a hart bending toward cooling streams.”

But today would be a different story and my fortitude would be rewarded. Colleen and I managed to let one of the bell boys at the hotel know that we wanted the Adidas store and he successfully communicated our desire to by way of a lengthy discussion to a waiting cabbie. 10 minutes later, we were there. The clouds parted, the sun shone through, and choirs of angels sang their hallelujahs. I had slain my White Whale. All that was left to do was enter and buy.

And buy I did. I found a pair of running shoes (for all the running I do), two “Beijing 2008” t-shirts, a “Beijing 2008” baseball cap, and a little soccer ball for Sha Sha. Colleen was very patient with me, as she always is. This wasn’t her idea of a fun place to shop, but there she was, coming to the aid of the party when aid was what was needed most. But my White Whale wasn’t done yet. It turned out that, for some reason I still don’t understand, the kids behind the counter couldn’t get my American Express card to work, or any of my other cards. Even the manager couldn’t get the problem across to me. No one spoke English! Where are we here, in China!!?? My guess is that either their system was down or they took cards that have anti-identity theft PINS associated with them…which my cards and the cards of most Americans don’t have yet. So, through sign language, the nice girl helping me walked me a block down the street to the nearest cash station and waited for me while I took our some money. We walked back, I paid, we all had a good laugh, Sha Sha slept, Colleen found a restroom, and on we went. Photo of my new shoes included. And yes, they were cheaper than if purchased in the U.S., but not by as much as I had hoped. Still, fun to complete the mission.

Then, it was across the street to a big department store to get Sha Sha some shoes and maybe some clothes. Very nice store, and “Chippy” (a nickname I have for her because she’s so tiny that she looks like a little chip of something much larger) came away with 2 pairs of shoes and a fisherman’s hat (see picture). Emma got some clippies for her hair. There was a very fancy Pizza Hut attached to this store, so we ducked in there for a little lunch, headed by taxi back to Walmart to get some cups with straws built in for Sha Sha, and then we took a taxi home.

It’s now 3:30 in the afternoon on the 22nd and I’m in the living room while Sha Sha sleeps in the bedroom. Colleen is down at the hotel store looking for something or other. Tonight, we will pack our mountains of stuff with great happiness in preparation for our flight to Guangzhou tomorrow. It’s only a one-hour flight, so no worries. No worries about the 16 hour flight home since Sha Sha is so good and mellow. I remember that Emma had us very anxious and off our feeds for days before the trip home. Not this one…she’ll sit and play, sleep, or eat the whole time.

And speaking of Sha Sha, she continues to make progress every day. Today, she walked all around our two rooms, playing with every little thing she could touch. She turned door knobs, open cabinets, felt table legs and sofa cushions, and all while not really caring where we were or if we were interested. All of a sudden, she’s become much more curious and a bit more busy. This is VERY good news. Only a day or two ago she would sit like a bump on a log until we came over to get her. Now she’s all curiosity and somewhat independent. She is also starting to do things specifically to amuse us. It’s really cute to watch her do something funny and then see her look right at us to see if we saw her. Her latest tricks are to a) drop things behind her back and b) open her mouth all the way, as if she were in a dentist’s chair, and hold the position until we do it back to her. She also likes toplay ball with me now, throwing it across the room only to have me fetch it, give it back to her, and have her throw it again. Simple pleasures, but worth more than gold any day.

So now, a nap may be in order, preceded immediately by some Ipod action. Then, an early dinner, packing, “…and so to bed,” as Samuel Pepys put it at the end of many of his diary entries.

Next blog from Guangzhou, China, near Hong Kong. Bye!