Children in China

People sometimes comment to us about the Chinese not wanting their children. I just want to clarify that this is an incorrect assumption: the Chinese people love children. There is a governmental policy limiting families to one, sometimes two children in order to help control population growth. (Agricultural families can have up to 4, and ethnic groups are not restricted.)

However, we have found that people really care about children, not just their own, but others. When Rachael is running and trips, several people come to her to make sure she is okay. They will ask questions about Rachael and now Robby and are very pleased that they have found a home. Rachael was crying in the pearl market the other day due to the fact that she had just woken up. The clerks gave her a little red bag to have and several were trying to comfort her, one even brought her an ice cream bar.

One other side story about children in stores. We toured the Provincial museum yesterday and stopped in the museum gift shop. The clerks had a watermelon sitting on the counter and were cutting it and eating it. They saw our kids (Rachael and Robby) and offered them good sized pieces. Remember, this is a two and a four year old walking around a museum gift shop with Persian rugs, silks and handmade leather goods, eating watermelon -- Not exactly a neat fruit. [of course, no pictures of this, since pictures were forbidden in the museum]

More about the museum later. I am heading for bed now.