Photos from Today

This two-year-old girl is the niece of our friends, Mr. & Mrs. Tang, who bake and sell bread outside our apartment complex. The Tangs have a 26 month-old boy who lives in the countryside. They haven't seen him for over two months, and they really miss him. It seems that his girl cousin and Titus have some affections for each other. Do you see her little pony tail sticking straight up?

Bao Mu, our Chinese friend, made us stir-fried green beans for lunch today, and allowed Titus to gnaw on a raw one. Do you see his bottom tooth in the third picture? And look how he's pushing himself up into crawl position! He likes to bend his knees, wagging his bottom forward and back. 

It was a clear and warm day, so after dinner we strolled along the Xiang River, a stone's throw from our apartment. In the background you see a little residence and store floating on the river, and behind that the bridge which we cross about every other day for tutoring or grocery shopping. In the second picture down, you can see a mysterious boat that's stuck on the land. This general area on the Xiang is actually quite fascinating. There's an enormous sandbar-like island in the middle where Mao Zedong, the 1949 founder of the People's Republic of China, swam in his youth. It was in Changsha that Mao developed his ideology and began his military and political career. On May first the free island is becoming a tourist trap; admission will cost 100 kuai per person. For 100 kuai you could buy a nice dinner for six people, one-hundred popsicles, two big packs of diapers, or two hours of private Chinese tutoring.

Drew and Titus are sleeping. I think I'll do likewise.

Rachel