Terra Cotta Warriors

Friday - September 6-07

First, I need to tell you about my morning at Starfish. I walked in to these four cuties in mid-feed. So I took over and fed them all, one mouth, next mouth, next mouth and so on. They are so patient!

I then took them one by one into the bathroom for a clean and change and then we had a little story time. Of course my Cai-Lean was sleeping. :)

Once Cai-Lean woke I fed him and changed him into this cute number. I got him to smile today. Check out the photos. First time!!! He is starting to respond to my voice and encouragement. Yippeeee!

It is unbelievable what Amanda at Starfish is doing for these children. Everyday I am in awe. She lives in this small apartment with the children. Her room is across the hall from their room. She runs the foster home on donations and gifts. If you get a chance go to her website and see what she is doing and what she needs. Since I am volunteering I am not able to donate right now but as soon as I get home I will be sending stuff and sponsoring a child. (I think you probably know who that might be!) :) Words can't express what I feel everyday when I walk into Starfish. It is hard to run a home with 19 children that need care and bless Amanda's heart...it is not an easy job. These children need her and she is there.

We toured the Terra Cotta Warriors yesterday afternoon. Wow!!!

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses museum is one of the most spectacular tourist attractions in China today. In 1974, the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses were discovered accidentally by a group of workers who were working on a well. They determined that the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses belonged to the Emperor Qin Shi Huang who ruled during the Qin Dynasty from 211 - 206 B.C. While the Terra Cotta Warriors (and their horses) were created to protect the mausoleum of the emperor. I am not sure the photo really grasps the size.

After the Terra Cotta Warriors a few of us went for Chinese Indian Food. Yes, can you believe it. I ventured out of the Home Base for dinner and had Indian Food in China. :) I am getting a little adventurous. I had these cottage cheese squares in a tomato sauce. I thought I better keep it a little safe. Then we went on a wild cab ride. The drive from the restaurant to where we were going should have only cost about $10 YUAN. Well this kid took us on a tour and it ended up costing $45 YUAN (which is still only $6.50 or so). BUT he ripped us of! We ended up phoning the Director from a cell phone to see if he could give the cab driver directions. We have these cab cards that are written in Chinese so the cab knows where to take us. He knew where to go he just wanted to make more money. Anyhow we ended up getting to where we wanted to go. It was an experience with the difficulties of the language barrier!! He had no idea what we were saying to him and how upset and mad we were.

The funny thing is we were heading for a Massage. One of the volunteers has been here for two months recommended the place. We ended up arriving at 9:15 p.m. Yes...can you believe it. I was up going for a massage at 9:15! The massage was 90 minutes long and cost 30 YUAN that is only about $4.50!!! At that cost I might end up going everyday! What an experience and riot. There were four of us in room. It kind of feels like they are beating you up but it felt so good! Unfortunately, I was not able to relax due to my laughter. Here is a little video clip of the Massage Lady working on Donna! Hilarious. I feel great this morning.