The Six banyan Temple and the Museum of folk art

We met our guide Lee yesterday morning for a few hours of touring. She first took us to a Buddhist Temple. It was very interesting. There were many people there worshiping and we saw many Buddhist monks. The Buddha statues are huge and made of bronze and the people place offerings on the alters in front of them. There seemed to be many offerings of oranges and fresh flowers and orange soda(?). There were many statues. I think we saw at least six. They would burn incense outside of where the statues were and offer prayer. Then they would bow before the statues and offer prayer again. Lee said that only about 10 percent of the people in China are Buddhist. Most do not affiliate with any specific religion. It was all quite interesting.

After we finished touring the temple, we went to the Museum of Folk Art. This used to be the Chin Family Temple. It was used by the Chin family to honor their ancestors. The construction was very intricate and beautiful. I am continually amazed at the craftsmanship of the Chinese people. There were displays of art and porcelain and carvings and embroidery among other things. Of course, there were many items for sale. This whole city is about "sales". It's fascinating. We were VERY HOT and sweaty and tired. It hasn't rained in two days and we have decided that we much prefer the rain. The heat is unbearable. We returned home and had lunch and a dip in the pool. The kids and I did a little more shopping on the island. Then we decided to head into town to find a bookstore and the electonics market. The bookstore was not that great. I was hoping to find some picture books about Guangzhou, but there was absolutely nothing in English. The electronics market was paradise for the computer geek that is my husband! Oh boy! I've never seen so many cell phones and computer accessories in my life. This is the first time I have seen him get excited about shopping (besides the glow sticks). He bought a few things and brought them home and tinkered with them. You never know if what you are buying is legit or not. It might be a cheap knock-off instead of the name brand. But, I think he is satisfied with the quality of his purchases. He is probably going to want to go back again today.

Right now I am sitting in our hotel room waiting for a call from Lee. She is at the US Consulate taking care of all of our paperwork. I don't know if they have changed the procedure or not, but I thought we would be going with her. I guess not. We just have to stay by the phone in case they have any questions. Actually, just Lucie and I are sitting by the phone. The others gave up and went to the pool. That's probably just as well. I need to start packing things up and getting things ready for the big flight home. We leave China tomorrow. What an amazing time we have had here. It definitely has opened our eyes. S-lady said this morning that she had never really thought about the people on the other side of the world before. We get so caught up in our own reality that we forget about all of the other people on this planet. I think we will all be a little more aware from here on out.

One last thing, for all of you Harry Potter fans. The new movie comes out tonight at midnight. It turns out that midnight comes a lot faster on this side of the globe. Bman and his Dad are trying desperately to find a theater that is showing it in English so they can be one of the first to see it. We'll see if they can pull it off. Talk to you soon!