The Pagoda was originally built 1200 years again (I missed when Nelson told us the corresponding dynasty), but it was rebuilt in the 1970s because it had fallen into disrepair (Cheryl did notice the avocado green/harvest gold appliances, but didn't want to offend anyone). After wandering the grounds taking pictures, we took an elevator to the 6th floor and watched a group perform several classical Chinese numbers. We then made our way down the various floors buying china, scrolls, and golden Mao statutes from the vendors. Nelson also took us to special chop maker who would make personalized chops with each daughters Chinese name and new English name. Cheryl and Molly ended the tour by paying 30 RMB to ring the Buddhist Prayer Bell ten times for good luck. It can't hurt.
On the back I had the opportunity to interact with the old and new China. At a little shop I spotted a stack of Little Red Books for sale. After inquiring about the price (i.e. the shopkeeper pointing at a calculator), I was able to negotiate the price down a few RMB. I am not sure that was intent of Mao's revolution.
For lunch Nelson arranged to have Pizza Hut delivered to our rooms. We thought it tasted like the Pizza Hut from Grand Avenue, but we don't eat their pizza very often. The best part of the day was after lunch (after waiting the appropriate 30 minutes of course) we took Molly for her first swim! As you may have learned, Molly DOES NOT like baths. So far she has screamed with locked little arms, from the moment her feet hit the water. For the first swim I hopped in first and splashed around while Cheryl held Molly close the edge. I than took her in my arms, holding her close, and slowly lowered her into the water while moving around. She initially offered some whimpers of protest, but soon relaxed. Before it was all said and done, I was pulling around the pool (head out of the water) with lots of splashing. A very successful outing. As a result, we have now asked Nelson to start the paperwork for formally changing her name the "The Unsinkable Molly May"!
Between swimming and dinner, Cheryl was able to obtain a sad but cherished little piece of Molly's history. The day before, several members of the group came across a shop keeper named Tiffanie who was willing to track down the Finding Ads for anyone that asked (the Finding Ad is a little announcement published in the local newspaper after a child has been found. It is part of the process of confirming the baby was abandoned). I was a bit skeptical, but after dinner last night Cheryl and a couple of other stopped by her shop. The only thing she asked was that we buy something from her shop. This afternoon when Cheryl went back, Tiffanie had a little package with a small newspaper clipping. The clipping has a graining black and white picture of little Molly, taken a day or two after she was found, a brief physical description of Feng Chu Heng (big baby, birth marks on her hip and shoulder, red face), where she was found (The Old People's Palace), and the name of the Social Welfare Institute. She had a full head of hair even than! After visiting Feng Cheng yesterday and than seeing this little clipping, the whole thing become so very real. Nearly a year ago, a mother safely deposited a little (actually big) baby on the steps of the Old People's Palace joining a process that had started a week or so before when Cheryl and I had completed our Dossier and dropped it off to Monique and Beth as they were just about to ship off a bundle of Dossiers to the CCAA. All bringing us to that special moment on Sunday where we all found each other and become a family.
On a less emotional note...today was Mikala Winfield's Ninth Birthday. We had planned to have a big group meal out, but because it was raining hard (again) we ate at the Gloria Hotel's nice restaurant. The settling was very nice, but the food didn't compare to the places we had been eating (Molly didn't even like the congee!). It was fun to end the meal with slice of birthday cake and round of Happy Birthday. Molly did like the little taste of icing that CHERYL gave her.
Off to bed. This will be our last night in Nanchang. Tomorrow we start the process of bringing Molly home.
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