Hello From Guilin!

Yesterday (Friday), we took the train from Nanning to Guilin. It was actually a very nice train and was not very crowded. The trip took about 4 1/2 hours and it was great seeing the China countryside. When we arrived at the train station, our guide met us on the train. We didn't realize what a relief this was until we departed the train and saw people everywhere. I have no idea where everyone had just come from, but we barely had room to walk, let along navigate with luggage. We hopped in another van, and were taken to the Bravo Hotel. We were definately not in Nanning anymore. We were in "tourist central". I think we're the only adoptive family that I've seen. The hotel restaurant only has one highchair (total) so that tells you how often they cater to families with young children. There are people here from all over the world. It's really kind of fascinating.
After our arrival yesterday, our guide Tony took us to Elephant Trunk park. Basically, it is a huge rock formation along the river that resembles an elephant's trunk. The elephant is actually the symbol of Guilin. Just as we arrived, a local group of dancers performed a show which was very entertaining. ShaoShao loves music and immediately began to dance. Maya then grabbed his hands and the two of them danced during the show. The performers were so taken by ShaoShao and Maya that they invited them over for a hug and photo. ShaoShao seemed ambivalant and Maya was a bit timid and unsure.
Poor Maya. Everywhere we go, Chinese woman are prodding and poking her and trying to give her hugs. Strangers bring their young children up to Maya and expect her to carry on a conversation. She has been very scared and timid and has not enjoyed this aspect of our travels.
This morning, we went on the river cruise. It was absolutely spectacular. The topography of Guilin is facinating...huge mountainous formations everywhere. It truely is a natural wonder. The cruise lasted about 4 hours (the river is currently very fast as it is rainy season and the water levels are high) and included a sit-down lunch. As we had lunch, a group of friends from Spain sat with us. Never did I imagine that I would be practicing my spanish in China. I was actually able to carry on a conversation with them for quite awhile (not at all gramatically correct) and mostly understood what they were saying.
Tomorrow, we visit Reed Flute Cave and from there, head to the airport to fly to Guangzhou. It feels like we're going home as Guangzhou is where we stayed for 14 days when we adopted Maya. It will be great to visit again and share this experience with Maya.
ShaoShao is still doing well. We really think he is still numb to so many things as he is processing his new life with virtual strangers. Even though he is somewhat ambivilant, he still has so much personality and a definate "naughtiness" side. We can only imagine what life will be like when he really comes out of his shell in a couple of months.
Tonight, we ventured out to a local chinese restaurant. We chose this place because it had a picture menu. As we were ordering, we were pointing to a variety of pictures and asking "what is this....beef? chicken? etc... Well, the waitress thought that we were ordering everything we pointed to. The food just kept coming and coming until there was barely room on our very large table for everything to fit. If only we had had some friends to join us for such a yummy feast. I guess next time we'll know to count the items on the waitress's order before we send her to the kitchen. Live and Learn!
I tried to upload pictures, but for some reason, the computers at our hotel business center do not accept my camera. Hopefully I'll be able to add pics from Guangzhou.