Ahhh, Nanjing....

Nanjing is one of the most crowded places I've ever seen. Even moreso than Beijing, and different than New York City. You are just as likely to be run over by a bicycle as you are by a car. There is movement everywhere. Cars, bikes, motorbikes, people riding bikes dragging these huge loads (like you think you would see out in the countryside except it's the middle of the city),pedestrians, buses - you name it. There are also traffic lights and crosswalks, but to the untrained eye, you would never know it. Every time I walk out into the street, I feel like I'm taking my life in my hands. I kid you not. There is traffic chaos everywhere. And I'm an experienced jaywalker. It's like all these people and vehicles have some kind of secret radar. It doesn't seem like anyone is looking where they're going, yet no one runs into each other.

And the pollution is phenomenal. We haven't seen the sun since we've been here. The air is like soup - a thick, grey, humid soup that doesn't smell very good.
And the noise -- did I mention the noise? Noisier than midtown on a Saturday afternoon in Times Square.

And it's really humid. I mean, REALLY. I was speaking to one of our facilitators today who lives in Nanjing and was asking her about the weather. She said that this time of year is one of the most pleasant here. In July and August, it gets 'very humid'. I wouldn't describe this weather as pleasant. It's certainly bearable, cause we're here and that's it. But not pleasant.

And did I mention that I got my wallet stolen in Walmart? Yes, there is a Walmart in Nanjing. We had to go there to get some extra baby food and some clothes for Mia because most all of the clothes we brought with us are too big on her. Not like "too big, but we can get by for two weeks-kind of big", but rather, "the pants I have on her keep falling off - kind of big". Anyway, of course there's a story that goes along with this petty theft that brought us to the local police station, but that's for another entry. Serves me right for shopping at Walmart.

And of course, Nanjing is the city where we got our baby girl. It's the major city in Jiangsu Province, our baby's first home. Ahhhh Nanjing. Did I mention how much I adore this city? I mean, really adore it. It is THE most beautiful city in the world. I'm feeling sad about leaving here, and taking our baby away from the province where she was born. :(

You're looking at some pics of our sightseeing trip today. The Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum (392 steps to the top- the 3 of us did it together, although Evan and I did all of the walking!) and also the Nanjing Museum. For fun, I threw some others in of our sweet baby girl.