Tianjin

Dean was quite the entertainer!

On campus at Curt's university.

Fun dinner at the Hibachi grill.

Curt's living room at his apartment.

The famous curtains we have viewed during all of our Yahoo messenger conversations with Curtis!

Our day started with an easy hailing of cabs outside the hotel and a ride to the bullet train station. What a trip...there in 30 minutes. Curtis specifically says "hang on to your tickets, don't lose them." The train stops and we all get off, only to find out Sheri can't find hers and the girls tickets! After unloading everything in every bag, backpack and purse, there are the precious tickets! Matt, Curtis' friend, meets us to help Curtis navigate us to his apartment in taxis. Boy did Curtis appreciate Matt's help, up until that moment he had complete responsibility to get all 7 of us everywhere. We were all quite impressed with the differences in his apartment and apartments we are used to at home. It only made us more proud of Curtis as to what he has endured and accomplished while he has been here. A few snacks sitting in his living room, and we were off to his university, but first a stop at the bank to meet up with Nick and Kellie. After instructions as to how to use the subway system, we got on without difficulty and everyone (Ha!) held onto their tokens.

A quick lunch at a most welcomed McDonald's and we were ready to see the rest of Tianjin. We stopped at the DVD store our tour guides frequently visited and bought all the new releases at about 2 dollars per DVD. Katy and Macy were so excited to get their favorites! Then back to the wonderful activity of hailing a cab! It was completely fascinating to watch Curtis, Nick and Kellie in action with the cabs (Matt left to see us later at dinner). At times, I feared for their lives as they stepped out to stop a driver. We safely made it Ancient Culture street to shop at the markets. James, another friend of Curtis', joined our group at that time. First stop at a purse and watch store, Curtis and Mike bargained with the people and much later we were strolling down the rest of the market.

Off to the streets again to hail more cabs! Of course we were running late as usual and Curtis was a little stressed as his friend Dean had made reservations for us and all of their classmates (25 plus) at a Hibachi grill. With our wonderful new tour guides, we made it to restaurant to be welcomed by a huge group of fanstastic college students. The dinner was a wonderful experience. Even the shark that I ate, which I thought was a pork chop! It was so warming to see Curtis with his friends. Even half way around the world, he continues to develop the closest relationships with friendly loving people.

After lots of hugs and thankyou's, we headed to the dreaded curb to hail a cab. Curtis gave a word to each of Nana, Mike and me to memorize to tell the cab driver to get us back to the train station. It worked! Boarded the train without difficulty and all fell asleep!

Off to Hong Kong early (4:30 a.m.) in the morning. We are all really tired but having a great time!