Sunday June 21, 2015 Happy Father's Day

First, Nicky wanted to let everyone know that our passports arrived safe and sound.  Liya's new Chinese passport also arrived today.

 

One additional update on what Jack and I love about the Chinese culture.  It is perfectly acceptable to burp and fart as loud as you want whenever you want.  Seriously, no one bats an eye. Hacking up a big lugie and spitting it right out is fine too...even if you're indoors.  As my Gammer used to say, "Better out than in".

On to today's shopping adventures.  First we went to Shamian Island which is a tiny island (5-6 square blocks) that was once occupied by the British.  There used to be lots of shops here because a popular hotel for adopting parents, The White Swan, is located on the island.  The hotel has been closed for a few years for renovations and that has caused many of the shops to close.  There are still a few shops that have remained that sell Chinese trinkets and traditional Chinese clothing.  We bought a few trinkets including some beginner chopsticks for Grandma and then moved on to the clothing.  After Nicky had found the dresses she wanted I began to bargain with the lady.  Taylor left the store immediately.  The lady gave us a number and I countered with a number.  Before the lady could respond Nicky says, "Oh that's way too low".  At this point I am not sure which team Nicky is playing for.  We manage to make a deal, but I am pretty sure I could have gotten a much better deal.  

Next we head to the toy market.  Nicky, Taylor, Rosalie, and Liya head over to the knockoff Barbie section and Jack and I hit the knockoff Legos section. I think Jack almost died when he heard the prices.  He settled on a somewhat large jet.  Liya got Barbies and a Barbie kitchen set.  We found out later that you have to pop the Barbie's head off to change her clothes, but this didn't seem to bother Liya at all.  We then dropped Grandma and the kids at the hotel and headed back out for knockoff sports jerseys and purses.  When we got out of the taxi, it appeared to be a normal outdoor shopping mall.  After a few minutes of walking around a guy came up to us with laminated pictures of purses, watches, and shoes.  We told him we were looking for Kate Spade and he said, "yes, very high quality".  We followed him down an alley and around a corner.  The entire time Nicky is saying this is a bad idea...this is a very bad idea.  We came to a door with bars on it and he knocks.  A lady answers the door and I step inside, Nicky refuses.  They flip the lights on and there is room after room of floor to ceiling purses.  After seeing this from outside, Nicky warms up a little and comes in.  Most of the purses are pretty ugly and they don't have any Kate Spade's.  Nicky picks out a few little ones and asks how much.  The lady enters a number on her calculator and Nicky says, "Oh that's too high".  The lady hands me the calculator and I enter a number and Nicky says, "Oh that's too low".  At this point the lady agrees with Nicky, but has a confused look on her face.  I had to threaten to walk out in order to get a deal done.  Then we moved on to sports jerseys where we got a decent deal, but I had to walk out and then come up in price to get them.
When we returned home the kids presented me with Father's day cards.  Two in English and one in Chinese.  Not sure what Liya's said, but the following video may hold a clue.

 

I am so fortunate to have these three great kids.  It's an honor to be their father.  Today, I think about how wonderful it would've been to have seen my Dad with all the Losse/Friar grandkids.  Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there.