Another day down

There's not a whole lot to report from today except that we are one day closer to coming home! It was 40 and rainy today and was a "free day" for all the families. We ended up going to the jade market, which ended up just being a jewerly showroom. I was hoping for a busy marketplace with lots of little stands where I could practice some negotiating skills. Everything we had heard about China was the fun of trying to haggle for things, but I've started to think that this really is more so in the tourist-y areas. I knew we weren't going the direction I was hoping for when the first stop our guide brought us to was a new mall that had a Lamborghini dealership in it. I didn't think my haggling skills were sharp enough to put one of those in my price range.

Minzi started showing more preferences and testing today, as she continually tried a few things like hitting or spitting after we said "no". She also tried to grab things and get away before we could stop her. While normally discouraged at home it is good to see normal toddler tendancies. We would still love to know what she is saying. Minzi was talking at our guide (also a great step), who said it sounds like Chinese but didn't know what she was saying. There are so many dialects that differ that many times they can't even understand someone from a different area. So I guess it's not so bad that we don't understand her since they don't either.

Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy and there are no plans, maybe we'll be stir crazy enough that the crazy part will take over and Alayne will finally try the fried (whole) frogs at the restaraunt across the street.