stuff your eyes with wonder.

One of my favorite things: When a normal day leads to an unplanned, crazy adventure.

Yesterday, we went to a ward party in Guangzhou. It was a 30 minute taxi ride to get into the city. We had subway sandwiches, met some of the ward members, and were planning on swimming. Then, one of those huge monsoons I've been talking about came out of nowhere. The little kids ran outside to a garden walkway in their swimsuits and ran around. They were basically swimming. The rain was coming down so fast and there was at least 1/2 a foot of water along the pathway.

Alyssa, Bekstrand, Amber, and I decided to explore the city. First that meant finding the metro. It turned out to be a couple blocks away. We had umbrellas, but they didn't help much! It was still raining like crazy. We ended up wading across 2 very big streets. I say wading because there was over a foot of water in the streets. Apparently crosswalks are casually observed here...you just have to cross when there's a break in traffic and hope you make it! We were waiting at the first street and the cars would zip by, splashing water into the air and sending waves of water towards us. Finally we made a dash for it. About half way across the road I turned back and saw Bekstrand trying to save her flip flop which was floating away. A big bus was heading right towards her. It was an intense moment. Luckily she got the flip flop in time and we made it across safely. Just a little wet. We were all laughing. I think it was a pretty exhilarating moment.

We finally made it to the subway and rode several stops. I've never been pushed on a subway with so many people. When we got off, we were literally herded to this escalator to exit. You did not have a choice if you wanted to go that way or not. You just had to follow the crowd. I was pushed to the far side of the escalator and right when I stepped on my pinkie toe got jammed into the side of the escalator. I prayed that it didn't break skin, but when I looked down, my toe was bleeding. I thought I'd be fine, but with the combination of all those people, the humidity, and my hurt foot, suddenly I felt very faint. Luckily there was a place to pull over at the next level. I just sat down on the nasty subway floor and drank some water. Also, being raised with boy scouts, I was prepared with sanitary wipes and some tissue. So I made a makeshift bandage. Hahaha it was such a crazy moment.

We finally made it out. And guess what? Magnum was doing some promotional thing where you could make your own Magnum Bar for free. So naturally we waited in line for our Magnum bar. The ice cream, coupled with making it out of the subway alive, made me one happy camper.

The rest of the day we walked through the streets of Guangzhou and also through this crazy huge mall that included an ice skating rink, aquarium, movie theatre, and game place. And so many people. You know that U2 song where it talks about how after it rains all the colors come out? That really is true. And after the rainstorm finally ended, Guangzhou was stunning.

Here's my custom made Magnum bar. Vanilla dipped in dark chocolate covered with white chocolate, chocolate cookies, almonds, and peppermint. :) Also, you can see my injured toe. Had to document that. 

Welcome to a free ice cream store where they do it your way. Just don't go crazy. 

Here's part of the super huge mall. 

Walking the streets after the rainstorm.

Til next time, Guangzhou.