Up at 5 a.m. for an early breakfast, and I saw Andy and Zhen off to the Canadian Embassy Medical Clinic for the medical exam for the kids to enter Canada. Everything was fine with Zhen, but she is almost a month behind in her motor development, as seen in her motor (finger) dexterity, and stability sitting up. The U.S. standards were used, so we are not sure about her development compared to Chinese standards. However, she does seem to us to be a little behind in those areas, but rapidly catching up. Her weight was a little over the average (no kidding!), while height was a little under. Andy got back around 11 a.m., before I expected him. I had just had a nap, and was preparing to go over to the department store on my own. We fed Zhen, and put her down for a one-hour nap.
(For details of early Chinese money, place cursor over each of the pictures to the left.)
In the afternoon, a bunch of us went to the famous (infamous?) Silk Market, which was just a block away from the hotel. It is an ancient market place, originally specializing in rare silks for international trade. We were told that this is marked for demolition, to develop the "new China" (and because the "narrow alley is a fire hazard"), so this may be one of the last chances to experience this ancient trade institution. Today it specializes in cheap "knockoffs", Rolex watches, "brand" name luggage and coats, cashmere and silk scarves and garments, fake cloisonné, DVD copies of recent movies ($2.50 CDN!), computer game copies, Gortex coats and gloves, boots and shoes, etc.
The main area was a narrow alley with shops lining the walls. As we walked down, the vendors would call out in English, trying to get our attention. Most of the vendors were nice looking young girls and women. As in the shops we were in before, if you show a little interest, you get a barrage of sales pitches. As I walked, hands would grab at my sleeves and coat, trying to pull me in. I kept saying "Bu" (No) and "Bu Yao" (Don't Want), to no avail. When I brushed off one of them, she gave me a whop on the shoulder, and said loudly "Why?". I talked for a few minutes with one vendor about silk and angora wool. I finally said that I did not want to buy anything, and I would like to see what else was in the market before walking back and looking again. Later, I walked by (on the other side of the alley), and she tried to call me over. She was most insulted that I didn't come over to buy something, saying "you promised".
We had developed our bargaining skills with a few other vendors, but this market was quite a few notches up the ladder. Andrea and Nina helped us - they had bargained in China before. Nina had the technique of quickly setting her top price, and not budging from it, just saying "No", and repeating her price. She had quite a few vendors annoyed with her, but she often got her price. Andy and I decided to take time to "play the game". The vendor would start at a ridiculously high price, and we would counter with a ridiculously low price. We would all laugh at these prices, chat a bit, then each would come down or up a bit. We would say "no, too expensive", and they would counter with "no, no profit". We would look at other items in the shop, then perhaps come back to the first item, offering something a little higher. We then might joke a bit (when bargaining for "Rolex" watches, in the middle of the process I pointed to my watch, then to all of theirs, saying with a smile - "no good, not the same time" -everyone had a good laugh). This establishing relationships was very important to the Chinese, and might result in a better price eventually (or not). The process did take a lot of time, and a lot of feigning such as pretending to walk away. We did have several vendors call us back after we were a few booths down, accepting our price (and the vendors down the way trying to push us back).
Andy bought quite a few items there. I bought a set of pseudo Cloisonné chopsticks (for 1/5th of the real factory price), and it required close inspection to tell the difference from the real thing. I was helped by Nina to buy several sets of tablecloth runners and chopstick sets as gifts. Nina had bought some there previously for a good price, and she just insisted that we get the same price, always saying "no" to their price. Andy and Claude had fun bargaining for "Rolex" watches ($9.60 CDN each - we found later we could get them for about $3.50). Although they ran well throughout the trip, the three little dials on the face only had hands painted on. Andy bought DVDs, some dresses for Téa and Zhen, and Game Boy cartridges for Bailey .
We walked around the area. We came across an artist who was painting with water on the pavement. His sketches and symbols would evaporate after about an hour. Farther on, another crowd had collected around a uniformed official supervising painters. They were painting (with real paint this time) a large circle with a red line through it, on the pavement of the market area. This turned out to be a large "No Smoking" sign. Contrary to Canada, smoking is allowed in many indoor places (not restaurants), but is now being discouraged outdoors. Even though we were on the lookout for pickpockets, none materialized.
Although Zhen was tired during the expedition, she was so fascinated by it all that she kept shaking her head to keep awake and not miss a thing. We went back to the room, and Zhen fell asleep instantly. Andy went off by himself to find a large toy store that was said to be in a nearby shopping area. He came back with some McDonald's fish burgers for supper in the room.
After supper, most of the group (with Cherry in the lead) went to see the "Acrobats of China" show. The theatre was nearly empty, and we had our choice of seats. Most of our group went up high in the theatre, but we decided to stay down in the 4th row.
Zhen enjoyed the show immensely, sitting up straight in Andy's lap, and commenting out loud on the acts she liked. It was a great show, with lots of color, beautiful costumes, and very talented acrobats. The athletic young men certainly took risks jumping, rolling and tumbling, and the young girl contortionists were unbelievable. A highlight was when 10 girls all piled on one bicycle and circled the stage (they were always in motion, and although I tried to get pictures, they were blurred).
Back in the room at 10 p.m., Zhen refused to go to sleep - probably too many acrobats tumbling in her head. Although Andy had to work on the computer tonight (a long distance work proposal), he first went to the grocery store to get supplies. The store was a bit of a hike down the street, and unfortunately, it was closed. When he returned, he went down to the business center to do the computer work while I put Zhen to bed. First he is going to upload the pictures to the photoalbum (the first time since Nanjing), then do his proposal. What a workhorse.
Andy has such energy, and is such a great Dad. He takes everything in stride, and is so calm, relaxed, and happy. He is quite self sufficient - even claims that it is better not to have help putting on his very heavy backpack, and putting Zhen in her Baby Trekker. He is adept at changing, feeding and cuddling. He sings her to sleep, plays and laughs with her, reads to her, baths her, dresses her - sometimes I wonder what did I come along for? I manage to pry Zhen away from Andy sometimes, so we can have some time together, but he and Zhen are certainly bonding, from hour one! I am happy to provide a supporting role, sharing getting up in the night with her, giving Andy some day time off to himself, and washing and preparing bottles and food, washing clothes, getting groceries, and watching the clock for our deadlines.
See More Day 8 Pictures Here
