There was an audience...where?

Line is starting to form:)

This past weekend we decided to go to the Cherry Blossom festival in Lushun, which is about an hour and half drive. I prepared snacks and water bottles, we had the camera ready and we were off. Lushun was just as we expected, beautiful cherry blossom trees, vendors, ice cream... ...and people wanting to take pictures with the kids. As we allow one person to take a picture, quickly a line forms. It doesn't matter where we are, people will want pictures with our kids. Some people have tried to be discreet about it, not asking, but following us and having their friend take their picture with our kids "in" the picture, but for the most part they will come right up and ask. Our kids have been so gracious and only on a couple of occassions has it become too much and we had to break through the crowd and leave. I tell them they are like celebrities here, and I guess we are getting a small taste of what it is like to have to deal with the popparazi. I told Matt it will be nice to be somewhere and not stand out, and no one cares that we are american. So after pictures here and there, we get an ice cream snack and then have to use the bathroom. I know I have blogged a lot about the bathrooms here, but this just, well...it made me laugh. What do you do? The bathroom at the festival was one with out doors. In these bathrooms, we always go to the very end, so no one is walking past us to get to ones further down. So we go to the end one and are waiting, and it is a little akward, (for us anyways), because there are no doors and you are trying to look at different things, with out watching. So the lady finishes and sees that we are next. The stall is actually quite big and she steps aside to let us in, so now all four of us are in the stall. We think she is going to leave, but she stands there, smiling and trying to talk to Mia, and Mia is asking me if the lady is going to watch. The lady realizes Mia doesn't want her in there, so she steps down outside of the stall, only to stand and watch from there. I stand in front of Mia and Eden as much as I can as they do their business, but in the meantime, the lady is telling the other ladies in the bathroom that there are "meigouren" (Americans). So more and more ladies start coming our way, standing outside our doorless stall to see, and peeking their heads over the half height wall. By this time Mia and Eden have done their thing and it is my turn. I am thinking I will just hold it, but I have to go kind of badly and I am not sure where my next option will be.... So... for the first time in my life, I squatty potty with a crowd of Chinese ladies watching. I finish, smile and off we go. As we walk past the crowd of ladies all I can hear is "meigouren, meigouren". (For me, I am kind of proud of myself, I did what I had to do, and might add that I did it quite efficiently.) These ladies make me smile though. For whatever reason, it gives them great joy to see Americans. I think they don't get to see the variety of God's creation, that we in America are so blessed to have. Maybe we even take for granted, the array of skin, hair and eye color that is so abudant in America. My God is Creator God! (and I might add, He was very good to me, because just the night before, I had a lesson on the correct way to squat...Thanks God!)