Pang Yu Zoo

Today we went to Pang Yu, which is in Guanzhou, a larger city north of Shenzhen (20 million people). Pang Yu is an animal park and safari. We originally wanted to go to the resort there but after our experience at the "very nice" resort in Singapore, I wasn't ready for the gamble involved. So, we went for a day trip.

Our driver (uh, yeah, did I mention we have a driver? "Home, James." Actually, it's "Qing, hue jia, Mr. Lei" but it's still fun to say....sorry, I digress) is from that area and so knew sort of where the animal park is. It's sort of hidden amongst a bunch of shops and apartments, much like anything else in China. The drive should have been about 1-1/2 hours, but traffic in China is worth another blog post entirely. I am not exaggerating when I say that nobody follows the rules, the biggest guy gets to go wherever he wants to, even if the exit is four lanes over, and the entire driving experience here is one great big game of "Chicken". Traffic is unreliable to say the least, and our trip to the park took 3 hours instead of 1 1/2. We were all incredibly hungry and nature was calling loudly when we finally got into the park so we took care of all that first.

Then we walked around this huge animal park. It's really pretty nice - not as nice as the Singapore Zoo, but really, really nice, and amazingly clean considering it's in China and all. There were signs all over the place saying "Let's keep our park clean...please throw rubbish in the trash" and people were actually doing that. Normally people throw their rubbish wherever it happens to fall. You should see a streetside on a Saturday night at about 2 a.m. (I haven't but I've heard...) after everone's done eating. It's all chicken bones and leftover food and wrappers and all just strewn about. Labor is very affordable here so someone will come and sweep it all away to start all over again the next day. Aw, man, here I am, digressing again. Sorry. Back to Pang Yu. Very nice and very big. At the giraffe part you could buy a branch and the giraffe would actually bend down and you can feed it. Andrew got such a kick out of this! At various animal stations you could buy food and feed it to whichever animals were specified. It's a neat idea because kids love it and it raises revenue for the zoo.

There were so many tigers and giraffes, and there are also animal shows throughout the day. We just missed getting into the elephant show and there is a tiger show, as well. Not sure how I would have felt about animals "performing" - I'm not much of a circus fan, either. So, I wasn't especially disappointed about missing that. We saw so many different kinds of animals and cool birds - it's all set up by continent. The coolest thing? WE SAW GIANT PANDAS! I've been waiting for an opportunity to see some - boy are they amazing-looking! One was sitting there, eating bamboo and ignoring us. Most were sleeping. They're so cute! And we saw koala bears and kangaroos (never seen one before!), wallabys and exotic birds, rhinos, orangutangs, baby tigers (awwww...), red pandas, monkeys and baby monkeys, seals and sea turtles. Actually, the seals and sea turtles were in what looked to be a big green-water-filled fishbowl, no land or anything, just a big tank. I felt sorry for them because their space wasn't very big and it wasn't at all exciting or stimulating for them. I also felt bad for the polar bears because they looked way too hot and just had vegetation to hang around in, no frozen area or ice or anything polar bears seem to enjoy.

After we walked through the zoo in incredibly hot, sunny weather and were ready to drop, we found out we could also drive our air-conditioned van through the "safari on wheels." We thought we had to ride the little trolleys which are open-air and probably very hot, listening to a narration in Chinese.

So we went back to the car and drove through that part - there were so many of each animal! We saw a bunch of exotic deer and elk, impalas, black bears, brown bears, a whole herd of giraffes, a bunch of zebras, these African deer-type things with huge, straight horns on top. We stopped for my dad to get a picture of these and he rolled down his window to photograph this one who was right next to the car. It made me a little nervous, because of his big horns and all, and I said "dad, roll up your window." Just then the open-air trolley rolled by so we figured it was safe to open a window. Then we saw that the big-horn deer thingies were in the process of breaking through their fence and getting out of their secured area and into the great, wide open by the vehicles and more docile animals. Yikes. I was worried the tigers would do the same thing and eat the zebras in front of some kids! Didn't happen, as far as I know, but it sure kept me on my toes!

The really, really cool thing about the driving safari was that there were so many of each kind of species, and they really had a lot of space to roam. An ostrich, which I am pretty sure escaped its area as well, walked right up to the car to glare at us. They are so cool looking! So are the emus, which we saw in the Australian section. But, as I was saying about how nice the driving safari is, many of the animals had babies with them, too! So cute, the baby zebras, baby hippo, baby giraffes and baby wildebeests! The baby monkeys were cute, too, in the walking part. One baby monkey's mama was trying to teach it to climb but it kept jumping onto her for a ride instead...another one was trying to learn to climb but a slightly older one kept pushing it off the tree, poor thing.

We drove home this evening - it only took 1 1/2 hours! - and were very happy to get home. On the way home, I got a text message all in Chinese, and Mr. Lei explained that it's a warning there is a typhoon on the way, but he said it's gone already. We thought "gee, thanks for that" but as we drove home, the lightning started and when we got into our neighborhood the wind started blowing fiercely. We had all just gotten into the house and Mr. Lei back into the car when it started to POUR. Very windy, very rain, very lightning-y, very thunder...very typhoon-y. Hmmm.....

Everyone is tucked in for the night, the storm seems to have subsided, and I'm ready for some rest! Thanks for checking out Pang Yu with me!

Ketchup (catch-up)

So, what's happened since July 22, my last post??

We went to Singapore, which I was really excited about because it's supposed to be incredibly clean and English-speaking, which are two things China is not. Sadly, however, our hotel (which was supposed to be really super-duper nice) was sorta run-down, dirty and ant-ridden. And our first-floor glass door to the pool area DIDN'T LOCK! Yikes...we had to booby trap that area every night in order for me to be able to sleep. That was disapointing, to say the least. But Singapore is a pretty cool place, from what I can tell. There are many rules but they do make sense. It's extremely diverse, religiously and culturally. If one particular ethnic group inhabits a certain area, anybody selling property in that area has to sell to someone who is NOT of the predominate group. That way you don't get little pockets of ethnicities and people are forced to get to know people outside of their own group. It seems to me to be a good way of preserving peace and understanding and goodwill between different peoples.

We went to the awesome zoo in Singapore, and returned for a Night Safari at the same zoo. I didn't know that like 90% of tropical animals are nocturnal, including elephants and tigers and bears (oh, my!). It was really cool - you ride around in a tram and it's quiet and dark and the animals are right there in front of you, moving around and doing animal-y type stuff. I could have reached out and touched several of them but of course we didn't do that. It was so cool! We also had a lot of fun at the resort pool and just hanging out together doing touristy stuff. It was nice.

I took a one-morning Italian cooking class with my friend Libby and sampled some of the best food I've ever eaten. Then I made one of the dishes and before serving it to the family Tim called it "Mario and Luigi Meatballs." Alex has a serious thing for the Marios Bros games and those are the two main guys in it. He now LOVES those meatballs thanks to my Genius Husband. Did I mention that Alex is my pickiest eater, perhaps the pickiest on the planet, or at least in China? Hee hee hee...

I went to Hong Kong a BUNCH of times with Ella for some doctor visits. I'm hoping she's on a good treatment program now and can stop having such a hard time with her tummy.

I applied for and almost got a preschool teaching job here but then decided I didn't want to work full-time, I'd rather stay a full-time mom, yippee!

I got my nails done, which you can do for about U.S.$10 here! Actually, I do that quite often at that price. Nothing new there.

I got a foot massage and thought my toenails were going to boil off of my feet when I stuck them into the scalding hot water they like to use. YIKES!

I read the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter series and WHAT A GOOD BOOK! I don't know that I've ever been quite so satisfied with a book or series of books ending, and so on the edge of my seat while reading it. J.K. Rowling deserves every penny she gets from those books! Props to you, girl!

The boys had their last Chinese classes today until after school starts, which is this coming Thursday. I can't believe my little teeny preemie Andrew is a giant kindergartener already, and my peanut Alex is in 3rd grade. Ella will also start preschool and have big, full days. I hope she can handle it. I hope I can handle it!

My dad and his wife are here for a visit - our first company! They arrived a day late due to a flight cancellation. The kids are off their rockers excited about this visit and have been playing with them nonstop. They're sleeping off their jetlag as we speak, so they can be ready for more kid-level energy. They brought me Belgian chocolate from my very favorite chocolate place in the whole world (no, I've never been to Belgium...) in Appleton, Wisconsin...WILMAR'S. If you're ever within 200 miles of Appleton, GO TO WILMAR'S and get some chocolate. It's a little slice of heaven on earth. Dark chocolate caramels, two pounds, YES YES YES!

Sorry. I'm back. I'm really excited about the upcoming school year and seeing how the kids adjust to their new classes. I'm also looking forward to starting up my Chinese class again and learning more of the language.

I hope all is well and peaceful in your lives, lovely readers. School is about to start - I think many of you have little (or big) kids. I hope this is the best school year yet (keep faith, Barb!) and I also hope you decide to drop me a quick e-mail to let me know that there are still people reading this! Thanks for keeping up with us!

Tower of Refuge and Strength

Today we went to church in Hong Kong. It was the first time I'd been inside a real church - a sanctuary - since before we moved to China. It was as though I'd come home, and I spent much of the service peeking through tears of joy. I feel truly happy, in a way I haven't felt in a long time. The building, the service order, the songs - everything was so familiar. The church we went to has a summer-long vacation bible school on Sundays, and the boys had a great time. Alex asked if we could come back every Sunday from now on. The message wasn't too long (they usually last - I'm not kidding - about 45 mins here in the China church) but was challenging and powerful and funny. Ella behaved, and we sang one of my favorite songs at the end. We were well-received by some very friendly people, and I was yet again struck by the diversity of the faces in the congregation. It was lovely.

Then we went to Disneyland and had a nice lunch, went on a few rides, and got ice cream.

Took the train home, and had a quiet evening at home together before we start the week again.

I feel as though a something inside me has changed, been filled up with goodness and energy and love. Just the physical presence of being in a sanctuary and feeling the freedom to worship was truly missed the last six months.

It was a beautiful day.

Here's the whole gang at Disneyland Tokyo...Ella is sleeping and I'm not sure why the sky was so important for the picture-taker to get that in rather than the baby...

Well, what would YOU name this blog?

Well, I've honestly been intending to blog lately...

We went to Japan and I didn't have time to blog. Japan is really wonderful - very clean and modern and high-tech and very, very non-English-speaking! We had a great time and were kept very, very busy by our tour guide...at least we think so...everything was in Cantonese! Cantonese is even more difficult to learn than Mandarin. Yikes.

Then when we got back Ella had caught a croupe-y icky illness from another little girl on our trip and was up all night for almost a week.

Then this week I got the croupe-y icky illness and I've been exhausted all week.

Alex as of this week is enrolled in an intensive Mandrarin class and is loving it. Andrew started a Chinese preschool summer program this week and is hating it. Ella tried it for one day and hated it so much she didn't eat or anything all day, just cried, and nobody called me. I was really upset about that!!! So, she didn't go back. Andrew likes it, really, he has fun as long as we're not looking. I know, I have spies who have checked it out and said yes, he's definetly having fun.

I'm still slogging along in my Mandarin class but it's really difficult and I'm kinda lazy. As of this week, I'm also taking yoga and pilates. Never taken either of them, but I decided to try them both here in China. Love them, but boy are they hard!!! I had no idea the strength and flexibility it all took! I always thought yoga was a bit wimpy but I now officially apologize to all yogis everywhere. It totally rocks, and it's much easier on me than being taught tae kwon do by a 20-something-year-old who has no idea what it's like to be closer to an almost 40-something! I have a long way to go before pilates gets easier but I plan to work hard on it and get physical, physical, I wanna get physical... (does everybody have Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" in their head right now???? I do...)

The best thing is, after my yoga class yesterday I felt really really good and barely sick at all. Of course, by dinner time I felt rotten, but it really perked me up for a few hours. Today my perk-o-lator was a foot massage. I'm sure you remember my previous description of "foot" massages here in China. Whole-body-completely-pummel-you-till-you're-pudding-like massage is more like it! Yeah, baby. I felt pretty darn good for a few hours after that one, too. Tomorrow I think I'll just feel rotten all day and hopefully I'll start to actually get better by tomorrow night. That's tomorrow morning for all you Westerners (are you a Westerner now, Beth??).

I simply must touch on a subject that many might prefer not to. Yes, I'm talking about Japanese toilets. They are a modern marvel. Not only are there heated seats (to relax you, man!) and the built-in bidet/sprayer thing. No, no, they are so much more than that. They also have a little button if you want to release a pleasant-smelling scent to cover up any not-so-pleasant ones. And a little button if you want to make a "flushing sound" to cover up any not-so-pleasant sounds. They're clean. They're simply lovely, really. And the Japanese use charcoal filters in their walls all over the place that absorb bad smells. We stayed in "smoking" hotel rooms the whole time, and I swear they didn't smell at all like smoke. I have a very sensitive sniffer (some might even say over-sensitive to which I say pooh-pooh, I can't help it) and didn't smell anything remotely smoky or even musty in the hotels. Those Japanese have got it going ON. Good times. I had a great time in Japan just using the potty. Too bad nobody spoke English, or maybe it's a good thing, because I would have been praising everybody I met for their toilet wonders.

You know the best part about our trip? It was really nice to get back home, to China. Our home felt like home, warm and inviting and comfy. Yippee!

Virtual Birthday Party

Yesterday we had a birthday party for my mom. We had cake and tea and sang "Happy Birthday, dear Nana". We took pictures and e-mailed them to her on the other side of the world. The kids loved it, and so did she. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Here are the kids getting ready to go for a swim...

Fun! Flattering! Frustrating! Sorta Icky!

Hi, everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I guess I've been lazy, or maybe just too busy. Probably both. I now have a fairly thriving cake business considering I've done no advertising and nothing, really, to have all these people call me for cakes! I've had two or three orders each weekend, usually due at the same time. The thing about cake in China is that they really just don't get it. Cake here, even from the "French" bakery, is flat and very bland and just not much fun. It's usually got whipped icing and glazed fruit on top - there aren't too many "decorated" cakes around. So, I made a cake for a my friend's daughter (as a gift), who then hired me to do a cake for a baby shower. After the shower I got more calls from people I don't even know. It's been really fun and quite flattering, and also pretty frustrating. Frustrating because the ingredients, the ones I can find here at least, are at least double or triple what they cost in the U.S. Most I can't even find (like cake flour...). I didn't receive the pans I carefully packed so I've been making do with sheet cakes and the one racecar cake pan my mom sent. But, really, it's forced me to be more creative, which has been fun. I like a challenge as long as I can do it : )

So, I've been busy brainstorming and preparing and decorating. The best part? Somebody else cleans up afterward! Am I awful or what?

Tim is in the U.S. this week with MY mom. Eating at MY (OK, OUR) favorite restaurants and seeing our lovely former neighbors (Hiya, Heidy!). He's also working his hinder off trying to make it a short trip so he can get back home to China. What a guy. Skype is a wonderful thing, because he can see us and we can see him so it's not quite so lonely. We all can't wait until he comes back.

Today I went shopping at an outlet where they sell all the designer samples for stores. Most items only come in one size, but they have all sorts of fancy-pants labels for dirt cheap. The only problem is you can't try anything on. China is a strange place. No place to try stuff on, you can bargain if you don't like the price, and you're never really SURE if it's the brand the tag says or if it's really the size it says it is. Also, they go absolutely gaga over children here. My friend's baby had her picture taken about 20 times (I'm not exaggerating) and lots and lots of attention. I think it was partly her beautiful blue eyes.

We went to Disneyland this past weekend, which was pretty fun. We went on just a few rides, and tried to go on another ride but it was closed. Do you want to know why it was closed down? Then I'll have to give you another reason why China is a strange place. In many parts of China, little kids don't wear diapers. They wear these open-backed pants (think of Cher in the 90's) and they just do their business wherever and whenever the urge hits them. My mom witnessed it in a restaurant and on streets here - I've only seen it a few times on the sidewalk, the mom just holds the kid out and lets it fly. So, back to Disney, right? Yeah, you guessed it. Little kid, excretion of the smelly kind, and people who walked on it and really spread it around. Icky. Stinky. Not going on THAT ride for a long, long time. We went to the hotel after that and had a ball in the hotel pool, going down the slide and playing in the water. Watched a movie and had a nice time together. The next day Tim left in a cab for the airport, and I took all three kids on a bus, on three different subways, through customs twice and onto the ferry to China. It was a tad nerve-wracking thinking about it ahead of time but it all went quite smoothly and the boys were really excellent, well-behaved and helpful.

I promise to post more pictures and keep up with this thing better in the future. My English class will be over this Friday, freeing up my time to...do more cakes. Next week we're going to Japan so you'll hear all about Japan in the near future. All I know right now is it's supposed to be super-duper expensive. I'll let you know! In the meantime, be thankful for Huggies, be grateful for cake (eat a lot of it) and be making plans to come visit us!! (Yes, I'm talking to YOU, Alyssa, Aleah and Ariel's parents!)

My birthday

My birthday was last Monday. Ella had a doctor's appointment so we had to go to Hong Kong that afternoon. Then, Tim and the boys were to meet us and we were going to go to Hard Rock Cafe for my birthday dinner. Our dear friends from Hong Kong had other plans, however. I was met at the ferry station, taken shopping and to the doctor appointment, and then we all met for dinner. We decided to stay on Hong Kong island rather than trying to get to Kowloon during rush hour, so my friend made reservations at a really, really nice restaurant.

We had a lovely supper in a restaurant that overlooked a huge park. If you can figure out the date of my birthday and subtract 18 years, you will hopefully be able to recall the terrible events of that day here in Asia. As we watched throughout the evening, thousands of people filled up the soccer pitches with candles as a moving and sobering reminder of the events that transpired the day I turned 21. It was a little tough explaining to the boys exactly what the people were holding vigil for and what happened that day, especially since news reports are still fuzzy. But it was also cool in a way to be a part of remembering and to hear the music and speeches and to see how many people still take it personally and keep the memory alive. Our friend explained that when the event happened, millions, literally, millions of Hong Kongese filled the streets - there was no traffic, just people marching. The whole city shut down, which is like New York City shutting down!

It's been really stormy here in southern China the past few days again. Last night there were terrible storms. Today when we went to Sea World for lunch, we saw that all the restaurants on the lower level were filled completely with dirty, muddy, nasty water up to the door transoms. We could see the tops of the table umbrellas underwater. It is so sad, because I am quite sure insurance doesn't work quite the same here for the people who own those restaurants and shops. I think if those business ever do open up again, it will be a while, if ever, before I'm comfortable eating at any of them. Cleanup will be long and tedious and done by all the sole proprietors whose source of income is right now under a bunch of sewer water. We were just at a birthday party last evening at one of these restaurants.

My cake business is picking up here on this side of the world. Today I decorated a graduation cake, which I've never done before. I'm not especially proud of the results but I do know it's going to be a tasty treat for the people who eat it. Cake here is severly lacking in texture and flavor - it's normally very flat and tasteless. I hope they appreciate the cake, at least, if not the design. The problem is that I can't make black or red icing, it just takes too much food coloring and they taste bad and the colors are still muddy-looking. I used to purchase them ready-made at the cake supply store, but can't get them here. So I am quite limited in the colors I could use (the school colors are, yes, black and red) as well as some of the equipment I used for similar cakes back home. A photo cake would have been nice, or some sugar decorations having to do with graduation. I ended up making it look like a diploma with her name on it, and then adding Chinese characters for "congratulations" "graduation" and the school name. I hope it's okay with them... Tomorrow I have a princess cake due for a little girl. I really wish I had my shaped cake pans, I could do so much more. Oh, well....

Hotter than a Pepper Sprout

It's really, really hot in southern China in May. The heat index has consistently been averaging 104 fahrenheit. I'm still not thinking metric or celsius, thank you very much...or in yuan as opposed to dollars. I'm sure I'll get to the point when I don't have to really think about how much something REALLY costs when given the price. For instance, when a friend invited me to a benefit event, she mentioned that the cost of the ticket was 350. I was of course thinking "WHAT?? $350???" when actually it was going to cost me U.S.$45 for dinner and a show. I need to work on that...

So, anyway, about the heat. When I walk down the stairs to pick up Andrew, holding Ella, I get to school completely covered in sweat. Today I was pretty sure I was sweating on the inside as well, and I understood how the wicked witch felt when she was melting. I have found it helps to use an umbrella to block the sun - you see more umbrellas on sunny days than on rainy days here. Here's the strange part about the summer heat - the air is actually much cleaner here in summer than in winter. I guess the winds blow in from the ocean in summer, forcing all the icky air and smog and stuff further inland so the skies are clear here. I suppose that since we're on the other side of the world, a few things are bound to be a bit different, eh?

The kids are doing well. Ella is going through a silly stage - she makes faces back and forth with me until we both crack up. She also tries to fart with her armpit because that's what her brothers do. She's a riot. She refuses to wear dresses, of course, and is now also refusing to wear any clothes I pick out. She has to pick them out. Yesterday she was wearing red penguin pajama bottoms with a white and pink sleeveless peasant top. Very nice.

Andrew is very active and is having many playdates with his friends. He's usually covered with dirt and sweat and is out of breath from running around, playing soccer or being silly. Lots of baths here...

Alex is loving school and making some great friends. Summer is going to be lonely here once school gets out - all his friends will be leaving for the summer. We'll have to make it fun.

I went to Hong Kong the other day to shop with my friend Marcie. We went to Toys R Us, which was really a treat. You can't really buy nice toys in China, and Wal-Mart has a tiny toy selection of really cheap toys or else a few really expensive imported toys (WAAY overpriced barbies, for example). Hong Kong, however, has Toys R Us. I had a ball there and picked up a toy for each kid. I also hit the ESPRIT outlet store which has clothes for everybody, not just teeny-boppers like in the U.S. There are all sorts of outlet stores hidden around Hong Kong where you can get great bargains. I took Marcie to the Hard Rock Cafe where she had FOUR refills of her root beer...guess what else you can't get in China!! She also kept me entertained with stories about growing up Mormon in Texas. She loved the food - had their awesome bbq pork sandwich, and some baked beans we were both fighting over. I had a big, greasy bacon cheeseburger with fries and a load of ketchup. It was a beautiful little slice of normal for us.

Riding the subway was a challenge with big shopping bags, a stroller, and an obstinate 2-year-old who didn't WANT to ride in the stroller. Another challenge was when it poured and we got completely soaked with our babies...not fun. I bought a big, giant Hard Rock Cafe umbrella, only to find I couldn't fit walking down the street with all the other people - the umbrella took up too much space! So, we got really, really wet. All in all we had a nice, normal day. You don't have any idea how precious normal is until you live in China or someplace else where nothing is really normal.

It's the rainy season here so we can expect torrential downpours many days. It's nice, though - it cools things off!

A Clearer, More Sparkly Hong Kong

OK, here are some much better pictures of Hong Kong, thanks to my mom's trip here last fall. They capture what I always talk about - the view from the Peak is first - you're looking down on huge skyscrapers. Next is a typical boat you see in the harbor. And last is the view of Hong Kong from the harbor, which is just so cool. Yay! Thanks, Mom!

We had a really rainy weekend in Hong Kong yesterday and today. But I thought I'd show you a bit of it. The first picture is of Ella because she's so darn cute - no, my house isn't usually that messy!! The next few pictures are inside a Disneyland subway car - it's a special line of the MTR that's exclusive to Hong Kong Disneyalnd. it's so cool!The last picture is a bit gray but you can just make out the buildings jutting up from Hong Kong Island beyond all the boats; it's a pretty typical picture of what we see from the ferry. It's breathtaking when it's clear and sunny I'll take pictures next time I remember my camera and it's sunny (probably won't be for a while...)

I finished my first "Survivial Mandarin" class today. It was a fun class. The teacher was fresh and always very prepared, and she had many interesting and varied activities for us to learn with. Today she looked so proud and was taking pictures - I asked if we were her first class, and it turns out that we were!

And a one, and a two...

Well, Tim came home on Mother's Day, which was a really great Mother's Day present for everybody. He's recuperating well and getting his bandage cleaned and changed daily by the doctor at the SOS clinic. It turns out it was a staph infection, so I'm really glad we caught it when we did, and that the antibiotics worked their magic.

Did you know Mother's Day is celebrate all over the world? It is sometimes on a different day, depending on the country, but I do know that China, Hong Kong and Peru all celebrate it the same day we do in the United States! My friend Patty had a big international potluck on Mother's Day - somehow the moms all did the cooking, however. But we all had a really nice time, and the highlight for me was definetly when Tim got dropped off at Patty's door when our dear friend Daniel brought him home from Hong Kong. We had a great time.

Speaking of Mothers, I am so sorry to inform you all that my mom and her husband won't be coming next week, as we've been eagerly anticipating. Wayne is holed up in a hospital with a nasty case of pneumonia and it looks like he'll have a long recovery before any sane doctor lets him visit China. Very, very sad - I've been having a hard time with this one. I've been very worried about his health, and I've also had to realize that their visit was making every adjustment easier. It was like I just wasn't having that tough a transition, really, because I knew my mom was coming in May. Now that she's not coming, it all is hitting me like a ton of bricks, the loneliness, the homesickness, and the missing my friends so very much. Builds character, I am sure. I'm just going to have to start dancing, I suppose.

Keep on Dancing

I was talking with my friend Paty today. Paty was the first person we met here, on our first walk around the neighborhood. She has given me many words of wisdom and she has made me laugh very hard many times, as well. I respect, admire and really like her.

Today we were talking about challenges in life and she told me a very cool story. Someone once said that depression and troubles are like standing in a hole, digging. If you stay there and keep digging, you're going to get deeper and deeper and soil is going to start falling in on you. But if you start dancing on that soil, you're eventually going to have something solid to stand on again, and eventually you'll end up back on top. Since you're dancing on that soil it's going to be even more solid that where you started.

My Left Foot

Well, Tim's left foot, actually...

I'm sitting in a hospital in Hong Kong waiting for Tim to get out of surgery. This past weekend he developed an infection in the top of his foot. His foot was double the size it usually is (if you know Tim, you know that's really, really big) and red and purple. It looked awful. So, Monday morning he went down to the International SOS Clinic, which is in our neighborhood. The clinic is staffed by English-speaking doctors and nurses and is managed by an American. They are kind, prompt, and so far have been very helpful to us.

The doctor took one look at his foot and sent him to Hong Kong, to Matilda Hospital. Matilda Hospital is located on the Peak of Hong Kong and overlooks the harbor. The private room Tim is staying in has a balcony with lounge chairs and excellent room service. It's really, really nice. The staff are knowledgeable, helpful, and conservative considering we live in China. Rather than sending him away with an oral antibiotic, they admitted him for intraveneous antibiotics to make sure the infection gets kicked out. Lucky for us they did that, because the first antibiotic stopped working on Tuesday night. His foot got worse after getting better. The wise doctor changed the antibiotic, and as of last evening his foot seems to be on the mend. Right now they are draining the infection surgically, and they had to put him under for that.

I came here to visit him on Tuesday for a few hours, too. In order to get to Hong Kong, which we can see from our kitchen window, it takes about 1 1/2 hours and a bit of hassle. We usually take a ferry from Shenzhen - the ferry station is within walking distance from our house. We have to go through China customs on our way out, before we can get on the boat. The trip across the water takes about an hour, and on the way you see many, many boats and cargo ships and ferries. It's very exciting - everywhere you look are small and huge boats loaded up with containers. Hong Kong is the second largest port in the world, and with China being a manufacturing giant, there are unimaginable quanitites of stuff going to and from each day. Once in a while we'll see one of the mega-huge container ships that seem to stretch out a mile long. The ferry usually does a bit of rocking afer going past one of those! Many cranes to load and unload, and smaller ships that have just 15 or so containers on them are all around on the water, too.

Once in Hong Kong, you go through Hong Kong customs and down the ferry station escalators to the taxi stand. If your taxi driver doesn't speak English, as mine didn't today, you need to call someone who can tell them where you're going in Cantonese. I had to call Tim, who had to call a nurse, to talk to the taxi driver today.

This evening when I return to China, I'll go through customs in Hong Kong again, and again when I reach China.

While Shenzhen and Hong Kong are really very close to each other, they certainly seem to be a world apart. When Tim and I were talking this afternoon, he said that just an hour away seems like a whole lot more considering the differences and the process to get there. And the fact that your love is on the other side of that hour and half. The kids and I can't wait for him to come home.

Hopefully he'll be coming back to the room soon and I'll get a good report. Keep him in your prayers!

Tip to Toes

Due to a major language barrier and dim lighting, last week my hair got bleached blonde and stripped of any nice color or resemblance of health. I am very upset by this, and have been told by a professional there is nothing - at all - I can do. I feel like Courtney Love. Enough said. Next time, if I ever get hair again, I'm going to Hong Kong, where it's expensive but they understand the word "RED" does not mean "BLONDE." Yikes.

On a more positive note, I had my first Chinese foot massage today and I don't think I'll ever be the same. In China, a foot massage is so much more. You start with your feet soaking (up to your knees) in hot water that has milk and rose petals in it (or seaweed, or menthol, and I think there are other choices). While you soak you get a major back, neck, shoulder, arm and hand massage - they hit pressure points that release all sorts of pain and tension, they stretch you and pound on you until you feel like you could never be stressed again, even if your hair looks like it's been deep-fried at Dollywood and served on a stick.

Then, you sit back in a comfy chair and they work on your feet. They really, really work on your feet - pressure points to release any tension you may have held in your body since childhood. Every tiny bit of your feet is pulled, pushed and roughed up until it surrenders. It's amazing, truly. They work up your calves to your knees, kneading and smacking the tar out of any sore spots. It's the most relaxing thing because all that pounding makes the stress, tension and soreness just melt away. I truly recommend anyone who gets anywhere near China, come to Shenzhen for a foot massage!

Here are the kids on Easter Sunday.


Here are a few pictures of the kids and our neighborhood. The park below is sort of typical of China in that you'll notice there is a slide but no ladder...it's been like that since we moved in. Sort of makes no sense, eh? Below it is a photo of the Park N Shop, where we walk to get most of our groceries.

This week is the May Day Labor Day holiday in China (and other communist countries, apparently). It's a big deal - most schools are closed for the week, although since the holiday is officially Tuesday - Thursday, they go to school Saturday and Sunday so they get the whole week off. Tim's company is closed for the week, except for Monday. The kids' school is only closed Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday. We had originally planned to travel to Macau for the break, but we heard that all of China will be traveling and vacationing, so we'd best not go there. Then we thought we'd go to Beijing for the week, but, same thing, just tons and tons of crowds, even moreso than usual. So, we're staying home and hanging out here. It will actually be nice, I think.

Today was Andrew's birthday, he turned 5. Amazing, I remember quite vividly the events that led up to his early birth, as I'm sure anybody who knew me then remembers. Lucky us, how blessed are we to have that little boy around! He's so funny.

I made him a racecar cake, as I have done for his past 3 birthdays (thanks, Mom, for sending the pan!). I made it Friday and planned to decorate it for the party on Saturday. Saturday afternoon rolled around - I waiting as long as possible to decorate it because the humidity melts icing - and I realized the cake wasn't cooked all the way through, all gooey and such in the middle. So, stressing like only I can, I baked another cake, waited patiently for it to cool (well, kind of patiently) and decorated it about 1 hour before the party. Since it took 1 1/2 hours to decorate, I was still scrambling when everyone got here. Bummer. My cheesecake was also subpar, which was disappointing and embarrassing because I truly am the Queen of the Cheesecake. Ah, well, Andrew had a nice party and it was really nice to spend time with our friends. The pizza was good - they have Papa John's here which taste pretty much the same as it does back home. Except they also deliver salad and the Ranch dressing tastes like nothing but plastic with some pepper in it. It's strange, nasty and scary. But, I digress...

Today I went to the Protestant service with the boys and really enjoyed it. I met some more very nice people, saw some people I already knew, which was very nice, and felt "spoken to" during the message. In all, it was a refreshing, grounding experience and I felt blessed to be there.

This past Friday I went to the neighborhood pool with the boys (they didn't have school Friday because they really never have school, now, do they?). On the way down I had this feeling of deja vu, only it was us heading to our neighborhood pool in Knoxville. It was really lonely to realize that I would, indeed, not be running into my friends Carolyn, Mary, Heidy and Barb and their lovely kids at the pool, I would just be running into a bunch of people I don't know so well and their kids. It was a very lonely moment for me and I felt so homesick for my neighbors and friends. I miss you, pals!! And your lovely children! The really nice thing was, though, that I did run into some new friends I had met before through my wonderful neighbor. They hung out with me and made me feel quite welcome and included. It was very enjoyable. The sad thing is, they're both moving back to the States this summer. I am going to have to get used to the incredibly temporary situation everyone is in here and not guard my heart too closely. I'm going to have to be open to friends who may not live near me for very long but who very well may stay in my heart and in my life even after we return to our respective homes.

Lily's Wedding

We were invited to a Chinese wedding party this Sunday. When a Chinese couple gets married, the actual marriage takes place at a government office with just the bride and groom attending. It has to be on a good day according to the lunar calendar. The party, too, has to be on a good day according to that calendar (not the Gregorian calendar). One of Tim's coworkers who was there said she got married but they didn't have the party until over a year later because the year in between wasn't a good year to get married.

The party was in a city north of Shenzhen, and has a much smaller foreign population - we received many stares from people in other vehicles.

When you walk into the venue, the bride is there to greet you (she had on a beautiful white dress, gloves and veil) along with a few friends/relatives who carried silver trays. The trays were for little red envelopes, the traditional gift of choice for weddings (filled with cash, of course). Then we walked into the party room where tables were set with red cloths, bowls of peanuts and candy, and two packs of cigarettes on each table.

We found a table and sat down, and were served tea even though we were the first ones there. We relaxed and listened to various songs such as "auld lang syne", "Happy Birthday", and some traditional Chinese music. People began arriving and finding a seat. Finally the bridal procession entered - a wedding cake (very small) on a cart, followed by a wedding performer/MC guy, then the bride and groom, and then some friends with big Chinese crackers that shot out confetti and streamers with a bang. The groom then picked up the bride and paraded her around the room so each table could get a good look at her. They walked up to a platform where speeches were given - in this case, by each of their bosses. Since they are both from different towns, they had already had two parties in each of those towns with their relatives. After speeches and some jokes and nice words from the MC guy (who would normally, I believe, be a friend of the couple), they had a ring ceremony. I suppose I don't need to add that I had no idea what any of the speakers was saying, except for Lily's American boss. The woman next to me explained that it was mostly about how they met and about them as a couple.

Then they cut the heart-shaped cake in half but did not eat any. After that they had champagne in two cups that were tied together with a red ribbon, and poured some champagne into a cup on top of a tower of cups. The MC guy poured that cup into two cups underneath it and they each drank from one of those.

After that, the bride left to change into a beautiful reddish tulle dress - sort of a vermillion color, I guess. It was gorgeous and she looked like a princess. So much so that Ella was terrified of her because she is terrified of any Disney character including Alice in Wonderland and the Princesses. But, I digress.

Chinese meals are served family-style, with a big lazy susan in the middle of the table, and you just grabe what you want with the chopsticks for each dish and put it on your plate. We had a delicious meal of broth soup, fish balls with oysters, mushroom and braised lettuce leaves in gravy, stewed ginger chicken, shrimp (which the Chinese eat whole - head and shell and all, then they spit out the shells), grilled pork (usually sliced, with a lot of fat and skin around very tender meat), cashew chicken (which was REALLY good), fried rice, and whole grilled fish. The other people at the table looked at me funny when I peeled my shrimp and took off the head with my chopsticks - the woman next to me even showed me how to just pop the whole thing in....ummmmm, no thanks. I also didn't try the fish balls because I had a hard time with the smell, but everything else was really, really good. The kids even ate really well. While we ate, the bride and groom visited each table for a toast and a welcome.

Then they served a plate of sweets - little egg custard tarts, which Alex loved, and these sticky rice pastries filled with sweet black sesame seed paste. These were really, really really good! After that came the usual dessert of a huge tray of cut fresh fruit. It was really good - we had star fruit, apples, oranges, melon, watermelon, and grapes.

After that, it was done and we headed back to Shenzhen and a very light supper because we were still so full!

In case you're wondering what Americans can eat in China, here's a rundown of our normal meals:

hamburgers, french fries and baked beans
spaghetti, sauce and meat balls
chicken nuggets and green beans
baked fish, broccoli and rice
Fillippino pork stew (menudo) and rice
Ham, mashed potatoes, beans and salad
pork chops
pizza, pizza, pizza
salad (usually only at restaurants, it's hard to find salad in the store)

There is a wonderful butcher shop nearby where we get all the normal meats we're used to, and with the import stores and wonderfully fresh produce at the corner shop, we can eat fairly similarly to the way we used to. It's pretty cool, because everything is pretty fresh as far as meat and produce goes. We had eggs and toast tonight (the corner shop DOES refrigerate their eggs, probably thanks to the heavy expat population here, yay).

There are some pretty cool perks that come along with living here, too, besides the obvious one of domestic help. Because the only kids' channel we could get was Cartoon Network, and now we can't even get that, the kids just don't watch tv or want to. They play together inside sometimes and outside as often as they can, riding scooters and bikes or drawing with chalk or playing at the playground. It's amazing to watch them fill up their time with good, old-fashioned activities that involve moving your body! We spend more time together as a family, which I had been told ahead of time by dear friends would happen, and we're enjoying each others' company much more.

Everybody delivers, even McDonald's and Subway, though we don't frequent those places often at all. The other restaurants deliver, and nobody expects a tip. Cool! They ride up here on bikes with our food, piping hot and ready to eat. I don't know how they keep the soup that hot for that long. I also found out that STARBUCK'S DELIVERS. Whoooppee! Even though, as I previously mentioned, they don't carry their fantastic cream cheese danishes, pumpkin muffins or strawberries and cream frappuccino. Somebody out there (Marlena?), please have one for me and think about me because I miss those!

So, while we can get Chinese food if we wanted to (and just about any other nationality of food!), and the kids COULD watch Chinese TV, they and we don't. There are some pretty neat things about living in China I hadn't even thought of ahead of time.

Dirty eggs and Other Chinese Stuff

Some funny stuff, some sad stuff, and some meaningful stuff:

1. Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday - We went to an egg hunt/Easter Party Sunday morning in our neighborhood. After walking down to the front of the neighborhood, then following the directions of various security guards, we eneded up at the bottom of the 188 steps behind our back door. There was pizza (at 9 a.m.!) and a bunch of other food. And an egg hunt, which consisted of eggs that were buried in the ground (the dirt) that kids were trying to dig up with sticks or whatever tools they could find, like broken pottery shards. If you were lucky enough to find an egg (few were!), and if there was a piece of cardboard inside your egg, you got a prize. If not, tough luck and keep digging in the dirt. It was the strangest, silliest egg hunt I've ever seen, and we had a good laugh about it.

That afternoon, Andrew had a birthday party (yeah, on Easter Sunday) and Alex and I went to the Catholic church. I felt a little lost, enough said.

2. Last evening we went to a Gala at the school to benefit students in Guizhou Province, which is a very poor, rural province in northern China. The children there didn't even have a bathroom, just a ditch. The building was a shack with big spaces between the roof boards (so, no roof, really). Desks were primitive wooden tables with a bunch of kids crowded around each one. It's very cold there and the children were without warm clothing. And the drinking water came from a ditch - it looked pretty green and gross. Last year's Gala resulted in a bathroom, 6 water cisterns for drinking water, a school building, desks, supplies, warm clothes, hats and mittens, and pigs for many families to raise. It was heartbreaking to watch the presentation of before and after, and even the "after" would be considered sad in the U.S. It was heartwarming at the same time, to see the difference in these childrens' and their families' lives. The really nice thing was, all the work, such as building the desks, was done by people in the town there, so the money went to the community in addition to providing the school facility to the children. We had a nice time, spent as much money as we could on a few auction items, and met so many wonderful people. We met some people from Wisconsin, even, and had a great time talking about "home." We did bid on a "win" a digital camera, so I'll be taking pictures this week of Resort Land and our house and the kids for all of you who are asking : )

3. Church today was a completely different scene from the last time I attended the Protestant service. This morning, we all went and had a very uplifting, moving, spiritual worship experience. It was really fantastic, and I felt so at home. All the Wisconsin folks we had met last night were there, along with a mix of Christians from all ends of the earth. The music was inspiring, the message was solid, thought-provoking, and challenging (in a good way), and the kids had fun in Sunday School. It was the thing I've been so missing since coming to China, and I'm so glad we went back for another chance. I feel like a hole inside me has been filled.

4. This afternoon we all headed down to the pool where Alex beat me severely in a water gun fight (that I started) and we all had a nice time on a hot afternoon. Even Ella got to go swimming, which she loved as long as she could hang onto Daddy. Tim is out starting the grill two hours before we plan to eat because Chinese charcoal is much more difficult and fussy than U.S. briquets. There is no lighter fluid, either, just these wierd little pills, about 3 cm around and 2 cm tall that stay really hot and help the charcoal get fired up. It takes forever to get a fire going, and we've had some really late dinners because of this. Also, the grills don't have covers so the food takes much longer to cook.

5. And yet, aren't we so very lucky and blessed to have what we have!

(Sesame St. Voiceover) Cookies! Um num num num num....

Tonight I had this great idea to give everyone a taste of home and comfort: chocolate chip cookies! Sounds easy enough, right? Riiiiight.

First off, you have to buy flour, baking powder, soda and brown sugar at the import store - they just don't bake here. Could be because nobody has an oven, I don't know. But I luckily had all the ingredients I needed on hand, even real butter (from Fraaaance). I even had my friend the Monster Mixer on the counter. Sadly, we couldn't find a way to make the mixer work because it's a 3-prong 110 Watt machine. Our converter to 220 watts only works with two-prong plugs. So, Tim got a nice workout mixing the ingredients for me.

About halfway through (too late to turn back) I realized the movers had never packed a single cookie sheet, even though I had clearly marked them "TO CHINA." Nor did they pack any of my cake pans, to go with the 16 cake mixes they DID pack, but that's another story for another time. So, I took a sheet of foil, greased it up and stuck it to the broiler pan. I also used a 9 x 13 pan for the rest of the cookies. I'm starting to believe that the bulk of creativity comes from desperation.

We used up our chocolate chip stash, and I have yet to see chocolate chips anywhere, even at the import stores. Very sad, indeed. Please don't send us any because it's really hot here and we'd end up with a giant chocolate lump. Eeuuu.

My oven, which I am incredibly lucky to have here in China, is a strange bird. Most ovens here are those teeny little half-size European jobs. Mine is full-size, but there is no window, so you have to open the oven to see what's going on, letting out most of the heat. In this case, however, that's a good thing, because regardless of what the temperature gauge says, this baby just keeps getting hotter and hotter and hotter. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise that the cake pans never arrived. Perhaps they were afraid.

Anywho, we finally got them mixed and baked and put them to cool (for about 3 seconds). We all had a little bedtime snack (because it was bedtime by the time I finished). And you know, they did taste like home and they were some of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had.

Happy Palm Sunday

Yesterday we were invited to return to Hong Kong and spend the day with some associates of Tim. They met us at the ferry station and took us to a space museum (we all thought of you, Ariel!), the Avenue of the Stars (sort of like in Hollywood, but with Chinese stars), then we took the tram up to the Peak. The Peak is my favorite place to be. It looks way down on all the skyscrapers of Hong Kong and the harbor with all the ships and boats. It's a beautiful place to be during the day, and breathtaking at night. We had a wonderful dinner there and were right in front of the live music. Ella kept flirting with the singer and keyboard player, and they played a few songs for her to enjoy, like Sesame Street in a jazzed-up version and another jazzy kids' tune. It was really fun and I think they had a ball because she was so sweet and dancing and pointing and laughing with them.

We returned on the early afternoon ferry in time for me to check out the Catholic church that meets here at the school. I'm not Catholic, so communion was a big bummer, as Catholics don't let you take communion there if you're not Catholic. But, the liturgy was relatively familiar and the choir was outstanding. It was, again, a very international service. The priest, I believe, is French. The deacon is Irish, and the congregation is quite varied. I was once again struck by the worldwide fellowship of believers.

I cried all the way home. I really, really miss my church, and my support network and the fellowship I was so blessed to find there. I miss my pastor very much and my friends and people who worship like I do and who know me. This is Holy Week, and if I were in the U.S. I would be able to find a service Thursday night, Friday night and a sunrise Easter service. No such luck here; we are apparently lucky to get the part-time clergy we do get here. The Passion truly stirs me - it is a good thing to hear the story again and again. I will so very much miss it this week. Sunday will be church again, but there will not be a sunrise service, which I just love, with the trumpet blasting out "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" and people singing. I'm homesick.

I guess Sundays are going to be hard for a while no matter what.

We had a surprise this afternoon, too. Our shipment of all our things from home was to arrive tomorrow morning (Monday.) However, they apparently wanted to get it out of the way so they brought it tonight at 7:30. Who on earth delivers stuff on a Sunday night?? It was really fun trying to get the kids to bed and also to make them sleep once again in the guest bed because their beds weren't put together yet. Many tears and frustration from my poor 4-year-old. I now sit surounded by boxes upon boxes and more boxes. Tomorrow should be a fun day.

I'm thinking that since it's near midnight, perhaps I'll go to bed. It seems a shame with all the unpacking left to do, but I think I'm done for the night.

Leisure Time

This week is Spring Break for the kids. I know, I know, you're asking "do these kids EVER go to school??" The answer is, well, sometimes. There are many Chinese holidays, and the International School celebrates them as well as the American ones. They do have a long school year, beginning in mid-August and going until mid-June.

Yesterday was play-day for the kids. They played all day with their friend from down the street. I took them swimming for a while, and the pool was completely empty. Our little friend (from Canada) said it's because it's winter. Winter! Ha! Ha ha ha ha HAH! It was hot and muggy and a swim was just what they needed. I like this kind of winter!

We went to the park again this afternoon. It's so easy to just walk on down and play and let the kids let off steam. I believe I only walked DOWN the stairs once today, and we took a golf cart back up. Yikes! I'm going to get out of shape this week without school forcing me to StairMaster. My sister in law asked me who needs a StairMaster when you can be Master of the Stairs! She's not kidding! I do miss my tae kwon do class, though, and could use a little punching and yelling and kicking. I found one class here but it would be myself and a bunch of elementary school kids kicking my tookus around the mats. No, thanks. I guess I'll have to take up tai chi, but it doesn't seem nearly as fun.

At noon we met Tim at his office and went out to eat with his coworkers. I was nervous about the kids eating because we went to a Chinese restaurant (well, duh!) but they really did great, trying stuff and liking some of it very much. It was delicious! One of the best Chinese meals we've had here. We had stewed chicken with ginger; spicy beef with bean sprouts; bok choy; fried rice; eggs with ham, peppers and onion; noodles with broth and vegetables; tofu with sausage; scallops on the shell with garlic; deep-fried ribs; herb soup; and orange slices. We also had a really nice time with Tim's coworkers.

Afterwards, I met with his office manager to work on putting together a Conversational English and American Culture class for any employees who wish to take it. They are very interested in getting English practice and learning about American culture. This seems like a really big job with American culture being as varied as it is. I'm really looking forward to working with them and finding little tidbits to add to the class.

It's been really nice, having this extra family time together to make our transition easier. We're hoping to fill the kids' hearts with many sweet memories to go along with their "I can't BELIEVE you did this to us!" memories of beginning our life here. So, tomorrow we head to Hong Kong Disneyland for more together-time. The ferry, the subway, the Buzz Lightyear - what a wonderful way to spend Wednesday together!

I do have a quick favor for you, readers. Please, right now, say a quick prayer for Katie's pain to ease and for comfort for her and her family. Thanks!

Zai jian!

Not exciting, but normal!

We had a pretty good weekend - a NORMAL weekend. Although we really, really miss watching Monk and Psyche on Friday nights, we made it through the evening without our shows.

Saturday morning we had a relatively lazy morning; we then went ice skating at a shopping mall. It's a really nice mall with a big atrium area where you can ice skate. Our friends' daughter takes lessons there so we met them, then had some lunch at the Spaghetti House (the lasagne tasted a tad funky, but the pizza is wonderful). Then the boys and I went skating while Tim took Ella with him to get a haircut. We had a blast, and it was so normal, so peaceful to just skate around and not have to worry about communicating with anyone or not being able to get my point across. It felt great.

Then we went home and spent the afternoon playing with the next-door neighbors, who invited us over for pizza that evening. We had a nice, relaxing evening having pizza and conversation with other Americans. Got some nice tips for living here and getting stuff, like the milk delivery everyone gets twice a week. Sweet deal! You can only buy milk in the little skinny cartons, and we go through several of these a week. Apparently there's a guy who will deliver as much milk as you need, as many times a week as you ask him to.

This morning Tim went golfing, which I'm sure felt great for him. For me, it was nice and normal because the ayis all have Sundays off, so it was just the kids and I. We found the church, and I was able to sing some of my favorite praise songs then I got the boys off to Sunday school. Church was mainly Asians and other foreigners - it was interesting to realize how Christianity touches such a vast number of people. I guess I never much thought about it before, but it could have been a Sunday morning anywhere in the world, and it felt so familiar and good to worship with other people.

After church we had lunch at home then headed to the playground for the afternoon. Up and down the stairs a lot, again. We had some downtime when Tim got home, then tonight we were invited out to meet our Peruvian and Irish and Brazilian and Canadian and American friends and eat outside while the kids played in the big plaza/courtyard area. It was a lot of fun. The kids are tired, and I felt like I could talk to anybody I needed to, all weekend. Refreshing!

Tomorrow I start my Mandarin lessons - can't wait!

If Only I'd Have Known

Our things should be arriving via the ocean in a few weeks. I definetly WON'T be needing the treadmill, and I wish I would have known that ahead of time.

Here are some other things I wish I would have known ahead of time:

You can't buy deodorant in China.
You can't buy good ice cream in China.
You can't buy English-language books in China. Right now even a trashy novel would be refreshing.
You can't buy toddler beds in China.
You can't return stuff to stores in China.
Starbucks doesn't carry their strawberries & cream frappuccino in China. Or any of the good pastries.
You really do need sunscreen in southern China in March. And shorts and tank tops and sandals.
"Skinny" jeans should not be thrown away in moments of despair.
Clothes are made for people thinner and taller than we (my family) are - even kids' clothes.
You really do need to learn to speak or at least understand Mandarin in China - English isn't going to cut it in everyday life.

Stuff I'm glad I found out:

You CAN buy good cosmetics in Hong Kong, and my favorite hair products are available in China.

The world is much smaller than you may think it is.

There are good, kind and friendly people everywhere.

My mom is still the best mom in the world, even half a world away.

I have some really, really good friends.

Wal-mart: We're Not In Kansas Anymore, Toto

Well, going to Wal-Mart is really a trip here in China. It's so different. When you go in, there are these little tiny shopping carts and you ride up a sort of slanted moving sidewalk - not an escalator because there are no stairs (because of the carts). These conveyor belts are magnetized so the carts stick, and they take you upstairs to the non-food floor. I tried to buy a little TV for our ayi's room but since nobody speaks English, I had a tough time finding what I needed. I also checked out a stroller for my friend, but all the strollers were chained to a high shelf so you could SEE them, but not check them out physically without asking for help. Tough to ask for help when you don't speak Mandarin. No stroller and no TV later, I headed to the little boys' clothing where I tried to find some pants for Andrew. All the sizes here are in centimeters, not the good old 2-4-5/6, etc. Most of the boys' pants had this weird Harry Potter logo sewn all over them and weird embroidery designs. No just plain old khakis or jeans, except one normal jeans style. So I finally figured out what size he should wear and, lo and behold, there are completely out of his size in the normal jeans. I found one pair of the right size but they were SEWN onto the display rack, so again, I had to get help. The woman acted like she was going to get help or ask if she could remove the sewn-on display, but she never came back. No TV, no stroller, no pants.

Down to the food section on the sticky, stinky escalator-mabob. Many stares and pointing along the way : )

Any meat products or produce needs to be weighed at a different station and you get a sticker for what you bought on the bag. If you don't get them weighed at the right station, you can't check out. Period. Since I assume they were telling me I had to go to a different weigh station for my bananas when I got my rice balls weighed, I spent a lot of time wandering around the meat and produce sections.

By the way, they don't refrigerate the eggs in China. Creeps me out. They also have the chicken eggs, which are usually dirty, right by the duck eggs, quail eggs, and various other fowl eggs. Sittin' on a shelf, waiting for bird flu or salmonella or whatever.

Well, I finally got a cartful of goodies and headed to checkout. I always attract an audience, especially when I'm trying to ask for help. The woman didn't want to accept my card, but she finally went over to a different register and came back with a receipt for me to sign. When I signed it, she looked at it for a LOOOOOOONG time before handing my card and receipt back.

Finally got out of there, without the chicken nuggets or frozen pizza. No such luck finding those things in China. I can get them, as well as Haagen Dasz and Ben N Jerry's in Hong Kong, but since it takes a long time to get to and from Hong Kong, all I can do is dream about frozen pizza and chicken nuggets and yummy ice cream.

I know, I know, I'm lucky as can be that I can afford to buy food to feed my family, and some import items that make us feel normal. Don't get me wrong, I know I'm lucky as can be.

I used to hate going to Wal-Mart. I was a Target Girl. But now, I am starting to really miss Wal-Martin' in the U.S.A.

I hope you can read this!

My whole blog turned Chinese when I signed on tonight! Yikes, I guess they know my computer's here now. Well, just so you know, starting Monday morning I did feel much better, and I really do appreciate the encouraging e-mails and blog comments from my friends. I miss you all very much. I guess Sundays will be hard for a while, and I also guess I really need to stick around on Sundays and go to the church that's right in my neighborhood. I think just plugging myself in will be helpful for me, emotionally, spiritually, and physically (because I have to walk down the hill...) : )

This past week went mostly well. I get a LOT of exercise going up and down the hill several times a day to pick up boys for lunch at different times, and drop them off at school, then pick them up again. After I drop them off in the afternoons, I usually head over to the market for the day's groceries. I then head back up the steep, long hill to my house. I could, of course, take a golf cart up the hill once in my neighborhood, but each time the security guard looks at me, it's almost like a dare. I know he's expecting me to ask for a golf cart, so....I DON'T. I trudge on up with my two sacks of groceries and I tell myself I will soon have the most lovely thighs I've ever had. WHEW.

Andrew is having a tough time adjusting to his new school. He and his old teacher really clicked, and there was a lot of love in that class. In this class, his teacher is fine but she doesn't know him yet, doesn't know how sweet and smart and funny he is. So, each day he's been crying about going back to school. I'm hoping that things will get easier for my baby.

We hired an ayi this past Monday. Ayi means "auntie" in Chinese - and it sounds nicer than "maid." She cleans the house and she also takes care of the kids if I need her to (but I usually don't). It's been very different having somebody live here, and having somebody clean up after us and do our laundry. Awkward and strange, but I think I can get used to it (can you say SPOILED??)

I think that helped a lot, too, having somebody around to help out, especially if Tim has a late night. I can really concentrate on having quality time with my kids instead of always having to clean something up or do laundry. I do the cooking still, because I know what my family likes to eat, and I like to cook.

This past weekend we took a ferry to Hong Kong and then a subway to Disneyland. The subway line that goes to Hong Kong is so cool - the windows are mouse-shaped and the seats are plush and curved; the handles you hold onto if you're standing are mouse ears and hang from red suspender straps. The floor has sparklies in it, and there are Disney statues throughout the train cars. We had such a fun day - we all rode the carousel together, and Buzz Lightyear, plus just had a ball together. We then met our dear friends for an evening in Hong Kong and shopping the following day. Had a great time, and got home very late. We do love Hong Kong, and we do love our friends who live there. I think, though, that we're going to STAY HOME next weekend and have some restful time together.

So, things are looking up. My mom and Wayne have plane tickets to come - yippee!! Thanks for checking up on us.

Today's not such a good day in resort land. I miss my mom so much it hurts to breathe sometimes, and I'm wondering just what I was thinking when I thought this would be a good idea. It's Sunday night here, and Sunday night has always been our night to have dinner with mom and Wayne and just be together before the week starts. It's Sunday morning there, and she's on her way to church. I miss my church, I miss my friends, I miss my kids' preschool, I miss my house. I miss my life. I hope I can be happy here.

One of the pilots from our flight snapped this photo after we landed in Hong Kong. He was kind enough to e-mail it to us. Andrew was so excited to see the cockpit and chat with all his Pilot Friends.
The staff on this Continental Airlines flight were all so friendly and so great with the kids.

School Time

Yesterday was the first day of school for the boys. Unfortunately, Tim's alarm clock kept losing time all night so when we thought it was 5:30 it was actually 7:00. Luckily we had just enough time to shower and get them down the hill to meet their teachers.

They were both very excited and Alex was very nervous. Both their teachers were very sweet and happy to see them. Alex was assigned a buddy to show him around, and his teacher said he just sort of slid right in. Andrew seems to have done the same, though I didn't get as much chance to talk with his teacher. It was a bit crazy at pick-up time.

If you live in the school neighborhood, you have to go home for lunch; preschool is off 11:30-1 and primary from 12-1. I really like this idea - I get a nice midday report from the boys, it's a lot less stressful than lunchtime at a school, and they get exercise coming home and going back (and so do I!!) Tim went down to pick up Andrew for lunch and headed back down for Alex. Alex, meanwhile, got out a bit early and cruised up the hill, asked a security guard for directions and showed up at our door. It was a bit unnerving to have him show up at home alone, but he did just fine. He's getting so very big! I told him where to wait from now on so he doesn't miss us when we pick him up.

Both boys seemed to really enjoy their day and were all set to go back for more. I think Alex is going to do great here - there is more homework and I think he will be challenged more, which he needs. I think Andrew will do just great having some other kids his level to play with, instead of older kids ordering him around.

My baby was upset because she saw the little kids playing outside - she wanted to be in school, too! Her class is unfortunately full. We had planned on getting her into a Chinese preschool, but are changing our thinking after talking to the Director of Admissions for the boys' school. Apparently the bilingual thing works best when the native language is mastered first. With her significant language delay, I think she is still working hard on getting the hang of English. I'm thinking she doesn't need the further confusion of an additional language to deal with. So, in fall she'll start at the same school the boys go to. That will make things easier anyhow.

My next task is to find a domestic helper. Domestic help is very cheap over here, and I haven't met anyone who doesn't have help around the home. That will be my goal next week, now that the boys and Tim will be into a nice, normal routine. I also want to find a tae kwon do class for English-speaking moms such as myself, and maybe guiar lessons for my rock star son.

A vacation from the resort

Since Monday we've been enjoying a mini-holiday to Hong Kong with our friends. They live in Hong Kong, and are able to travel over the border using the same vehicle (a rare fortune). We stayed Monday night at the Gold Coast Hotel, which overlooks the ocean. It was a beautiful hotel with a lovely restaurant that we ate at several times. Excellent Chinese and Western foods were available. We spent the day at Ocean Park, which is sort of like Sea World, sort of Six Flags. There is a dolphin show and aquariums with jellyfish (very, very cool!), sharks and a reef. There are also many rides, including a roller coaster that makes you feel like you're about to drop into the sea and one of the rides that takes you way up high and drops you down bit by bit. I skipped both of these! Alex was very frustrated because he was too short for many of the rides he wanted to go on. We later found some kid-friendly rides and a playground, so everyone had a great time right up until closing once we found that part of the park.

This is an interesting park in that it's in several sections of a mountain, and the only way to get from one section to another is via cable car. You get taken way up, over the mountain and there is a spectacular view of the ocean and the cliffs below you. It's gorgeous.

Hong Kong is such a beautiful and successful city partly because it's based on a harbor that is so deep the ships can come right into it. There are miles of containers around the harbor, waiting to either get into the country or out onto the ocean. It's also very mountainous - the most fascinating place I've ever been to is Victoria Peak - a peak that allows a view of the city and harbor, as well as mountainous terrain. The city is 7 million people crammed onto a couple smallish islands. I think 7 miles of land. So the buildings just rise up into the sky, it seems, and at night, lit up, with the boats and the ocean and the buildings, it's just beautiful. I love Hong Kong!

Tuesday we went to Disneyland Hong Kong, and stayed at a resort here. It's similar to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, only much smaller. It was also not very crowded because Chinese New Year just ended. Alex got to go on Space Mountain six times, and we hit the Buzz Lightyear ride many times, too. Disney is always a fantastic time for us, and this time didn't disappoint. The Chinese restaurant at the park (the fancy one) is some of the best Chinese food I've had. We all had a very tiring but magical day.

Some of you have been asking for pictures. I'm sorry to say that the charger for Tim's camera is somewhere on the ocean, making its slow journey here. I'm hoping to pick up another camera today in Hong Kong so we can start showing you what I'm trying to describe.

Some of you have also been asking what we're eating and what I'm cooking! So far we've eaten out a lot, on a constant quest for authentic Western restaurants so my kids will eat. We eat breakfast at home every day, and many pb sandwiches at home, too. I've only cooked supper at home twice - we made steak and potatoes and cheesecake Sunday night, and we made a ham once night. Many familiar foods are available, including frozen chicken breasts and there is a meat market that imports its beef and pork and lamb. So far I think we'll be okay in that we have such picky kids and I don't really know how to cook Chinese.

The Mandarin is starting to come, though I can't read it at all. We're slowly learning how to speak small things, here and there. Hopefully it will start coming quicker as the kids learn it in school and as we enjoy more adventures here in China.

Resort Life

Well, here we are in the People's Republic of China. We are getting settled in our new house; our dear friends picked us up at the Hong Kong Airport, took us through the borders and delivered us to our doorstep. You have to go through a secure border coming out of Hong Kong, and also another one coming into China. We arrived on the first day of Chinese New Year, so the roads were fairly quiet and the border lines were minimal. There have been fireworks every night, all night since we arrived. Many shops are closed for the week because everyone travels, often back to their hometown, for Chinese New Year. It's a really big deal. Public schools are out for a month and a half, and businesses close at least for the week. There are many decorations and flowers everywhere, and downtown Shenzhen had big red balloons lining the streets.

Our house is getting to feel more like home. We've been to Wal-mart and Sam's Club and everywhere we go we make quite a spectacle. Yesterday at Wal-mart people were taking my kids' pictures and pointing at us and staring. Then, of course, Tim's credit card didn't get accepted because he didn't have his passport with him so we had even more of a circus around us, with our four shopping carts full of stuff and our three redhead and blonde kids. We also saw the alligator in the meat section. Big alligator tail, just hanging out there waiting for people to take their chunk of alligator, put it in a baggie and set it in their cart. All kinds of food I had no idea what it was. I tried to find some cleaning products and had to go by the colors on the bottles, hoping it's the stuff I was looking for. You can't buy dishwasher detergent except at the import store because nobody has a dishwasher here - kitchens are very small in most homes.

Our neighborhood is an expat neighborhood, settled around an International School. There's a big playground and all the homes are gated (so is the neighborhood) with stone walls and lots of flowers, trees, shrubs and banana trees. There is a golf cart that takes you anywhere in the neighborhood - you just have to call for it. The weather has been very nice - we've all been comfortable in jeans and t-shirts. There is a little shopping center across the (very busy) street that has lots of restaurants and some import shops. At night it's all lit up with people all over the place just hanging out. I met a woman from Peru the other day who said it's like living in a resort, which I agree with! She's been very helpful to us with information and tips on how to get everyone over jet lag. The jet lag was fun - after a big flight - and the kids did amazingly well. They were so good and slept very well, which was good for the flight but not so good when we arrived at 8 p.m. China time. We were all up most of the night, and I tried to make everyone stay awake all day Monday. Monday night we all slept a bunch, though Ella wanted to play for a while around midnight. We're getting normalized, I think. She's napping right now. At my friend Paty's suggestion (from Peru) I'm thinking of putting her into a Chinese preschool nearby. That way she will get the language as she's developing her English as well. She loved her preschool in Knoxville and I'm starting to think that might be the ticket. Paty says that while Mandarin is taught at the International School, it focuses more on culture and not so much on language. Our next-door neighbor from Kansas also sends his children to Chinese school until first grade. After Chinese New Year I'm going to check that out.

We're going to go to a park nearby this afternoon. Yesterday driving by it, we saw hundreds of kites flying over the park. It was so pretty. I'm hoping there will be more today. Peace out. : )

Today was the kids' last day of school. It was so sad to say goodbye to my fellow mom-friends and the preschool teachers. I think everyone had a tough time saying goodbye to my babies, too. Ella was crying a bunch.

Alex's last day was sad but sweet, too. His teacher had everyone make him a card with their address and phone # on it, and how much they'd miss him. She also wrote him a nice note telling him he would be missed and good luck and all. It was a completely different sendoff than I expected from her and I have to admit I didn't give her enough credit. I apologize, Ms. Teacher.

Then Alex had his last day of tae kwon do. I was able to thank the wonderful Master for his extraodrinary instruction. And then I got completely choked up as we left.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Knoxville for a long time.

Saya-noodles

I had my last tae kwon do class today; it was pretty sad but I wasn't as upset as I thought I'd be. I just decided to try my very hardest during class and get the most out of it. It was fun, but I still am really bad at sparring. At least this time I didn't get kicked in the butt (literally) like last time. That was actually pretty funny but I have a big bruise on my tookus now. Anywho, I do think I'm more ready to leave than I thought. I was okay with tonight being my last night. Ask me again next Monday evening and I might be a little sad, but for now it's okay. I hope I can find an English-speaking class nearby in our new house.

Today was Tim's last day at work, too. It was pretty sad for him to leave tonight, and I think we're both freaking out a little more now that we're leaving Saturday.

Everything familiar to all of us will be beyond our reach for a while - except, of course, for each other. Feel free to keep us in your prayers!

Tomorrow is the kids' last day of school - preschool for the little ones. That's going to be very sad for all of them, and for most of their teachers. We've been blessed with our preschool teachers and director the past few years. I am so very much going to miss that place. I am not, however, going to miss the Alex's teacher. I think if we weren't moving I'd be trying to get him out of that hostile environment he's currently in. I never though a primary school teacher would be so icky.

It's been cold here today - I am definitely looking forward to tropical southern China. I'm not sure how to spell "zai jian" but it means "goodbye" in mandarin.

Anticipation

Well, here we are only 9 days from liftoff. The movers have come and gone - our stuff is all either in storage, on its way to China via ocean, in China thanks to air freight, or just plain ol' gone. Now we just tie up all our loose ends, say our final goodbyes to our dear friends and family, and pack up our immediate-stuff-needs. The 06 taxes are done, the online class is done. At night I just sit and try to think of something exciting or funny to put on my blog. Sorry - still new at this.

Has anyone noticed all the excellent 80's bands are now doing ads? The Violent Femmes are doing Wendy's, the Clash is doing, what, Cadillac, I think? Oh - and Hendrix is doing a Verizon ad (I know he's not 80's, but still...)Yikes. Kids, we're officially old.

OK, back to the China thing. I'm not looking forward to a 16-hour flight with the kids. It's not going to be easy on them, and I feel bad for them. I'm wondering if we should bring along a tub of ear plugs for anybody near us.

I think I'm going to be crying the whole time after saying goodbye to my mommy and Wayne. I'm used to seeing them every couple days. Sixteen hours of straight tears - I'm going to be a lovely sight when we land in Hong Kong. But how very exciting! It will be Chinese New Year when we get there and we have wonderful friends who will meet us and show us around, show us the ropes and how to get food and everything. Our adventure is right around the bend.

Next time I post we'll either be there, in China, living there or else I'll still be freaking out in TN. What'll it be? Can you handle the suspense??

Are we really doing this?

OK, Christmas is over, time to start the MOVE PROCESS. So far we've filled out (not sent in yet) our visa applications for living in China and moving in and out of the country. We've made arrangement to sell a bunch of our furniture and applicances, plus we've cleaned out a few closets. We've gotten a van, villa and school in China. And, as of today, we are the proud owners of one-way tickets to China. OK, when I got that airline confirmation email from Tim I almost started to cry, then I almost threw up. Yep, we are definetly moving. Everything I know right now will be different. I kind of just want to curl up into a ball and make it all go away. BUT, I have to go back to my Moving to China Mission Statement: "One must move OUTSIDE (way the heck outside, in this case) one's comfort zone in order to grow." And growth is good, therefore change is good. Strip away all that doesn't REALLY matter to see what remains. Time for some big-ass growth, y'all.
Truly, I don't know how I'm going to live so far away from my parents. And my church. And my tae kwon do class, which I love. Oh, the house, the kitchen, my big, soft bed.
This is Freaking Out Day, I guess. Tomorrow will be Gosh, I'm So Excited To Move to China Day, I just know it.

Our House in the Middle of our Street

So, it looks like we have a house - an actual house, too, not a high-rise. It's got 4 bedrooms, a nice play area, a dining room, a big kitchen with a -ta-dah! - full-size oven and refrigerator! Yippee! Plus a washer/dryer and dishwasher. All of these things are UNUSUAL. Usually in China the kitchens are tiny; most do not have an oven, just a cooktop and rice steamer. Most of the nicer apartments that DO have ovens have little dinky ones but this is a regular-sized one. Tim will hopefully be taking care of the lease and all that this next trip to China.

The house is right near the International School and the SOS International Clinic and the English-speaking church.

So, we have 2 1/2 months left to go. We started "purging" out stuff we don't want or use anymore, and are now working on toys. Christmas will be a bit of a challenge this year, since we don't really want a whole lot MORE stuff to store or move. We're getting creative with Christmas gifts for the kids.

I am all of a sudden meeting some really cool people; doesn't that figure that I start all these interesting friendships so shortly before we move? Ah, well, can't get too comfortable now, can we? On to the next adventure!! : )

I miss him!!

Tim is on his way back to halfway-around-the-world again. This time it's "only" a week - ha ha. Since last time it was 14 days, I suppose a week is do-able. He's checking out apartments and will set us up in temporary housing, a car and driver, and banking. All sorts of different, confusing stuff to do. I'm so glad my Logistics Man is in charge of all the, um, well, logistics because I wouldn't know where to start. We do have some empty boxes in various rooms but, yeah, they're empty. I don't want to pack stuff we're bringing because that's stuff we're going to be using the next four months. I don't want to pack stuff we're not bringing because I don't know what that is yet!! I did pack up some books I no longer need, but we don't need to store those, I need to sell them. Mostly pregnancy and breastfeeding books, which I now feel I could be writing.

On more local news, Alex, Andrew and I will all be testing for our tawkwondo yellow belts this Saturday together - which is very cool. I do love martial arts, though I know I have a long way to go before I'm not such a klutz. It's fun to yell and punch, though, I must say. : )