Chongqing market

Today we went to the Chongqing market, Claire was quite the celebrity there. We were again surrounded by curious Chinese people. We came across a teenage girl that was originally from Claire's town. She said that the town was not that big, however according to Chinese standards a town of 100,000 people is only a small village. She did say that her town was very poor and there were a lot of farmers there. Yesterday we ran into a girl at the park who knew of Yunyang and was very informative. She told us that many times when a mom will abandon a child they are very shameful and will go into hiding before giving birth. She also said that Yunyang was very poor and that there were many farmers there. She said that you are required to pay for public education in China and that many of the farmers can not afford this for their children. Also the fines for having a second child are very high and this prevents many poor from keeping their babies. She was very surprised when we told her that in America everyone is provided with an education no matter how rich or how poor.

The General Joseph Stillwell Museum, that we went to yesterday, was located in a very poor area of Chongqing. Many of the living quarters were basically concrete walls with a concrete top built into a hill, they had no front walls or doors, they were primarily just a shelter to stay out of the elements. Many had no running water or plumbing as Mary Ann found out when she stepped in human poop. Many of these people sold goods from the fronts of their homes in order to make a meager living. Some people here live under tarps. One thing we have not seen is a house. Everything here is built up. The whole city is full of tall buildings and most people live in highrise apartments. Most people hang their laundry out to dry from their balconies. Our guide tells us that in China the number 6 means good luck and that people pay a premium to have an apartment on the 6th floor. He told us that the number 4 is bad luck and that you can get a really good deal on apartments located on the 4th floor.

Claire is still doing very well. She seems very content and happy. Even the Chinese people here are impressed that she is able to do the splits. I'm still thinking she would make a great Chinese Acrobat.

Today is our last day in Chongqing; tomorrow morning we will travel to Guangzhou and will be there for a week, we are really hoping the smog situation will be better there. We did see the sun again today, at least through the smog, so this is only our third day out of 10 to see the sun.

We have really been blessed beyond belief with Claire and thank you all for all your prayers.

Love to all,
Jason, Mary Ann and Claire