alana is making it so easy for us. as long as her basic needs are being met, there is no problem! she loves to laugh and talk! she calls for dada all the time and it has it's designated effect. we spent the day shopping yesterday in a large department store about the size of downtown MTL Eatons. we bought some 3 pairs of kids shoes for 25$us(probably expensive) and alana couldnt care less. she slept the whole time. it is a rarity for a man to be pushing a carriage around here and i got more than my fair share of looks and glances. the grannies were particularly interested in us and alana and they all approved of her attire for the day which was dutifully inspected. we have the general approval of the chinese grandmas. the agency warned us, before we left, that if alana was not properly dressed we would face the scorn of grandmas in the street and they were right. you should have seen the scene we created while asking the information booth where we might find a bathroom, washroom, wash closet, wash area, toilet etc. in about two minutes we had 2 dozen people surrounding us and scratching their heads! it was hilarious! alana was cooing the audience and then we ended up nixing the bathroom attempt due to her just falling asleep again. what a performance! as for shopping, the store we were in had authentic name brands so they were no bargains. in the street tho, you name it, they sell it. and cheap. how bout 500 mls of local Nanchang beer for 50 cents. it's pretty good too! we took a walk around the department store on the street so as to take some pictures and look around.

we see that, on the surface, the town is a busy decent looking city but if you venture just a little off the beaten path, it is scary. the town is just struggling to keep up with the explosion of economic growth and the battle is being lost. i guess thats what happens when 1.3 billion people are held back for centuries then let loose all of a sudden. according to our guide, China has been relatively free for only the last 25 years and there is aLOT of pent up energy in people. i should not generalize but i hope they dont self destruct. people are people anywhere. anyway, alana's rash is subsiding but carol is pretty ill today so we will be skipping the "tourism" today and just entertain our little girl. she is sweet as a dumpling and just as edible. yes, she is daddy's little girl. and i dont care who knows it.