Day 10 - Shopping at the Market

Monday was our big shopping day. We headed out with our group but took a taxi back to the hotel so that we could stay several hours longer. You'll see in the pics how busy the streets are at the market district. It was a sea of people and the shops were very close together. We got good merchandise. We had lunch at McDonalds. Isabela likes to go shopping and is very patient. She learned today to sleep in her new stroller. What a great help that will be.

Emma, the little girl in the pic looking over the seat, is 4 years old. She was helping me make my shopping list on the way to the market. She is as smart as a whip. She can even spell.

I wanted to also mention that Chinese New Years is approaching. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is 2,640 years older than ours and never begins on January 1st, nor does it begin on the same date each year. It can begin any time between January 21st and February 18th, depending on the date of the New Moon in Aquarius. Each year is named for an animal. Every 12 years this cycle begins again. The Chinese say that the animal ruling the year you were born will influence your life. In 2009, Chinese New Year begins January 26th and will be the year of the Ox. The streets are filled with red lanterns, paper dragons, and lots of mandarin orange trees. The trees symbolize good luck for the new year. Isabela, born at the beginning of 2008, is the year of the Pig.

Although we have met alot of new friends, we very much miss our friends and family from home and would love to hear from you if you are reading our blog.