I'm having some problems with access to blogger (unreliable VPN, I guess). Anyway, I'm moving my blog to MSN spaces. I hope it works out well and doesn't cause any of you too much difficulty. You can subscribe to an RSS feed there as well to help you keep up to date, or join my network. Thanks for all your cheerful messages. They help me keep my chin up! If there's any trouble with the new site, send me an email.
New blog address:
http://weatheringthejourney.spaces.live.com/default.aspx
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
We Did It!
Image via Wikipedia
Did you know that fortune cookies aren’t Chinese? Nope. Don’t have them here. They do have some cookies called “Coconut Pancakes” that are very similar that our kids seem to like.
Last night we ventured out on our own, as a family, to ride the bus into Guangzhou City. We needed to go to a computer place to buy a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers and web camera/microphone. After much puzzling, and phone calls to figure out which bus to get on, we made it! We also went to a night market which is right by “Silicon Valley Computer City” and got some fruit; partly, because I didn’t get everything needed when I went shopping, and partly because we needed change for the return bus home.
I think this afternoon, I’m going to Clifford Supermarket to buy some butter. We have some bread and a toaster oven, we should make some toast! Also, maybe they have baking soda and baking powder. I’m pretty sure I’ve found flour. We could make cookies or pancakes. I’ll be so glad to get the spices that are somewhere on that slow boat (not complaining too much – better slow than caught in a typhoon) so that we can make our food taste familiar.
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Missed the Bus
Well, we missed the school bus this morning. Couldn’t find the right place to catch it. Hopefully, that will all be cleared up with the kids’ ride home on the bus. We had to call a driver to take them to school instead. At least it is the same driver who took us to the school yesterday. He is fast-ish and pretty safe by Chinese standards. His general driving philosophy seems to be: take as much room for yourself on the road as you can, use your horn plenty to let people know you are there, and don’t dally around. Now I sit here and stew. I wonder how their day is going? Were they horribly late? Will they like their classes?
I guess I’ll get back to the cleaning.
I guess I’ll get back to the cleaning.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Making Lists
Today is school orientation for my two youngest kids. I have so many questions – How will the bus system work? What classes do my kids have (school starts tomorrow and we don’t know!). Where can I buy school supplies?
We’re making a list of things we need to fix in our house:
* The master bathroom shower floods the floor through some mysterious means whenever it gets used and there is no cold water in the shower only hot and hot. Ouch. Also, the sink is not secured properly and needs to be repaired.
* The kids’ bathroom needs a new shower head – only the hand-held part works. Also the sink in there leaks and needs to be re-secured.
* One of the bedrooms needs a closet rod.
* We need 3 remotes for the A/C. They are either missing or broken
* The stove is wimpy and lights unreliably. It took me 15 minutes to light it yesterday. We will have to replace it.
* The lighting in the kitchen is so dim it’s almost non-existent.
* The kitchen faucet leaks and the sink needs to be sealed so it won’t leak water into the cabinet below.
* The oven that we were given is a very nice toaster oven. Lovely for toast, but not for real baking. We will need to buy what we want ourselves.
* The microwave looked old and rickety (maybe it was just very, very, dirty) so I had the landlord take it away. Brad was not happy about my doing this, but what’s done is done.
* The beds are very hard. I hope we can find some memory foam cushions or something like it to cushion them. It is very difficult to sleep soundly right now – at least for a couple of us.
* There is inadequate counter and cupboard space everywhere and we will have to have some things bought or built to fit.
* We need the landlord to get the rest of his “stored junk” out of the house so we can really use the space. There is a nice room for a pantry/storage by the kitchen but it has some stuff in it. We need it moved out so we can put shelving in there.
I feel like I’m on a permanent camping trip right now, just trying to figure out ways to “make do”. It’s getting old really fast. Hopefully things get better soon.
We’re making a list of things we need to fix in our house:
* The master bathroom shower floods the floor through some mysterious means whenever it gets used and there is no cold water in the shower only hot and hot. Ouch. Also, the sink is not secured properly and needs to be repaired.
* The kids’ bathroom needs a new shower head – only the hand-held part works. Also the sink in there leaks and needs to be re-secured.
* One of the bedrooms needs a closet rod.
* We need 3 remotes for the A/C. They are either missing or broken
* The stove is wimpy and lights unreliably. It took me 15 minutes to light it yesterday. We will have to replace it.
* The lighting in the kitchen is so dim it’s almost non-existent.
* The kitchen faucet leaks and the sink needs to be sealed so it won’t leak water into the cabinet below.
* The oven that we were given is a very nice toaster oven. Lovely for toast, but not for real baking. We will need to buy what we want ourselves.
* The microwave looked old and rickety (maybe it was just very, very, dirty) so I had the landlord take it away. Brad was not happy about my doing this, but what’s done is done.
* The beds are very hard. I hope we can find some memory foam cushions or something like it to cushion them. It is very difficult to sleep soundly right now – at least for a couple of us.
* There is inadequate counter and cupboard space everywhere and we will have to have some things bought or built to fit.
* We need the landlord to get the rest of his “stored junk” out of the house so we can really use the space. There is a nice room for a pantry/storage by the kitchen but it has some stuff in it. We need it moved out so we can put shelving in there.
I feel like I’m on a permanent camping trip right now, just trying to figure out ways to “make do”. It’s getting old really fast. Hopefully things get better soon.
Now That's Some Good Food!
I've spent my evening catching up on Facebook stuff and emails, so I won't write much tonight. I do want to pass along a link to another blog that is really great. Brad found it. It's a blog about some really delicious Chinese foods. I can hardly wait to look at it more deeply, but right now I'm falling asleep as I type.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Moving In
We are in our house! Yay! We moved in on Friday but the house was so filthy that we had to spend most of the Saturday cleaning before we could unpack anything. The kids cleaned most of the house while I spent most of the day trying to un-disgustify (my own word) the kitchen. Brad went to the store and came home with something called “kitchen cleaner” in a spray bottle. He was assured by the store clerk that it was really good stuff and they were right! It took off the grossest grease and the tea stains and everything that didn’t belong. I’m so GLAD. Apparently, it is very common for the Chinese to just leave places really dirty. You'd think that if you wanted to sell it or rent it out, you'd clean it up, but not so.
Our landlord assured us he would get us a “big refrigerator” and he did (at least by China standards). The problem with it was that it was used and dirty and smelled so NASTY. I opened that thing the first time and was very glad I wasn’t pregnant or I never would have been able to clean it. Eeeww. The wonderful thing was the magic “kitchen cleaner” took care of everything, so it’s fine now.
Our “oven” was also delivered. It is a very good quality toaster oven. We have given up trying to communicate what we want, and will just go get our own in a little while.
I figured out what “that smell” is here in China. It is what I call the “China smell” and it is everywhere you go. It is Chinese tea. It stains everything it touches from teeth, to sinks, to clothes, to anything else it contacts – including the air. I’m surprised at how popular it is considering the damage it does. Still, I guess if it’s the only assurance there is of having potable water, I can see how the tradition got started. Me, I’ll stick with bottled water and try to get my house so it doesn’t smell like everywhere else.
I have found some friends who took us shopping for dishes, pans, towels, silverware, and cooking utensils, and showed us where the closest “cheap marketplace” is. Yeah! I might survive this after all (I try to only think of things in small “units” otherwise I start to feel overwhelmed). Also, we were told of a restaurant that sells really good hamburgers (after 10 days of “foreign food” it was like heaven). Their other food is really great too, I hear – can’t wait to try it. The restaurant is run by a Hawaiian woman, and she knows her stuff. I have called this restaurant “my happy place”, but its real name is “The Garden Café” and it’s beautiful there.
Our two youngest kids will be attending Utahloy International School. It is located in a beautiful place and I hope they will do well there. I think I am at least as nervous as my kids about this school change. We have orientation on Tuesday and school starts on Wednesday. It all feels like it’s happening so fast! School for our 17 year-old will start when our things arrive from the U.S. (remember that “slow boat” – that’s where the school stuff is right now). I hope it all arrives intact.
I have read that the typhoon that hit Taiwan was a big deal and that Shanghi is dealing with it now, but we haven’t had to deal with any of that storm up to now. We’ve had sunny weather for the past 3 days. It made moving in much easier.
Our area (Clifford) has a really great bus system. The buses come by almost every 5 minutes and make getting around quite convenient. If we leave our community, there are buses that will take you just about anywhere you would want to go. Yesterday I learned that the #1 bus will take you to a movie theater where they show the new releases in English with Chinese subtitles, and there is also a night market nearby. Those night markets are amazing. I will have to tell you about them some other time.
I tried a mangosteen for the first time yesterday. Delicious! They look so ugly on the outside, but the inside is amazing. Also, I really like dragon fruit, and the papaya here is divine. I’m so glad that I can prepare food in our own home now, so we can get what we like to eat and not be stuck eating “expensive” fatty pieces of meat at restaurants.
Brad and Meg and Jace bought a chicken at the supermarket yesterday. Meg wouldn’t let Brad buy one at the “wet market” where you choose your live chicken and they butcher it for you, so they went upstairs to the supermarket and bought one. It was a whole chicken, including the head and neck and legs and claws attached. The chickens here are much smaller than in the U.S. I’m told it’s because they don’t give them hormones to make them grow big. Anyway, we ate the chicken today. We cooked it in a stew pot (like a slow cooker only a little hotter and faster) with some vegetables and it was really good).
I will hunt down my camera cable this week and post some photos.
I hear thunder now, so apparently our sunny weather is taking a break for a little while at least.
Our landlord assured us he would get us a “big refrigerator” and he did (at least by China standards). The problem with it was that it was used and dirty and smelled so NASTY. I opened that thing the first time and was very glad I wasn’t pregnant or I never would have been able to clean it. Eeeww. The wonderful thing was the magic “kitchen cleaner” took care of everything, so it’s fine now.
Our “oven” was also delivered. It is a very good quality toaster oven. We have given up trying to communicate what we want, and will just go get our own in a little while.
I figured out what “that smell” is here in China. It is what I call the “China smell” and it is everywhere you go. It is Chinese tea. It stains everything it touches from teeth, to sinks, to clothes, to anything else it contacts – including the air. I’m surprised at how popular it is considering the damage it does. Still, I guess if it’s the only assurance there is of having potable water, I can see how the tradition got started. Me, I’ll stick with bottled water and try to get my house so it doesn’t smell like everywhere else.
I have found some friends who took us shopping for dishes, pans, towels, silverware, and cooking utensils, and showed us where the closest “cheap marketplace” is. Yeah! I might survive this after all (I try to only think of things in small “units” otherwise I start to feel overwhelmed). Also, we were told of a restaurant that sells really good hamburgers (after 10 days of “foreign food” it was like heaven). Their other food is really great too, I hear – can’t wait to try it. The restaurant is run by a Hawaiian woman, and she knows her stuff. I have called this restaurant “my happy place”, but its real name is “The Garden Café” and it’s beautiful there.
Our two youngest kids will be attending Utahloy International School. It is located in a beautiful place and I hope they will do well there. I think I am at least as nervous as my kids about this school change. We have orientation on Tuesday and school starts on Wednesday. It all feels like it’s happening so fast! School for our 17 year-old will start when our things arrive from the U.S. (remember that “slow boat” – that’s where the school stuff is right now). I hope it all arrives intact.
I have read that the typhoon that hit Taiwan was a big deal and that Shanghi is dealing with it now, but we haven’t had to deal with any of that storm up to now. We’ve had sunny weather for the past 3 days. It made moving in much easier.
Our area (Clifford) has a really great bus system. The buses come by almost every 5 minutes and make getting around quite convenient. If we leave our community, there are buses that will take you just about anywhere you would want to go. Yesterday I learned that the #1 bus will take you to a movie theater where they show the new releases in English with Chinese subtitles, and there is also a night market nearby. Those night markets are amazing. I will have to tell you about them some other time.
I tried a mangosteen for the first time yesterday. Delicious! They look so ugly on the outside, but the inside is amazing. Also, I really like dragon fruit, and the papaya here is divine. I’m so glad that I can prepare food in our own home now, so we can get what we like to eat and not be stuck eating “expensive” fatty pieces of meat at restaurants.
Brad and Meg and Jace bought a chicken at the supermarket yesterday. Meg wouldn’t let Brad buy one at the “wet market” where you choose your live chicken and they butcher it for you, so they went upstairs to the supermarket and bought one. It was a whole chicken, including the head and neck and legs and claws attached. The chickens here are much smaller than in the U.S. I’m told it’s because they don’t give them hormones to make them grow big. Anyway, we ate the chicken today. We cooked it in a stew pot (like a slow cooker only a little hotter and faster) with some vegetables and it was really good).
I will hunt down my camera cable this week and post some photos.
I hear thunder now, so apparently our sunny weather is taking a break for a little while at least.
A Break in the Clouds
08-06-2009 (Written offline)
Just now, I’m sick of hotels, unfamiliar food, and generally feeling displaced. Even when we get our house, we won’t have access to the things we packed until they get here in another five weeks (you’ve heard about the slow boat to/from China – that’s what they are on). Brad has been to work every day these last four days and we’ve been stuck here with nothing to do. We are all going a little stir crazy. Grumpy me. I think I need to go for a run.
School is supposed to start next Wednesday and we are still putting in applications to schools. AISG is not going to work out, they base admissions too heavily on the entrance exam performance; our 13 year-old son has never taken that sort of test before and found it confusing. Our 15 year-old daughter has limited experience with those exams also, add jet-lag into the mix, plus our late application, and I think it was not good. We have talked with another international school which doesn’t require an entrance exam, and they place into grades according to age. This is how it was done in Utah and we were able to help our kids through the transition from homeschool to public school quite well. It took a lot of effort at home, but it did work out. I already know our 15 year-old has the ability to do just fine in whatever school she goes to. She’s already made the transition to “regular” school.
Someone from church just called to tell me she has a car and would love to take me shopping for some of the things that we will need in order to get a home set up. That was really a nice ray of hope in a dreary day. We can make it through this and I know the Lord is mindful of us.
It’s finally stopped raining now. I even see some blue sky at the moment.
Just now, I’m sick of hotels, unfamiliar food, and generally feeling displaced. Even when we get our house, we won’t have access to the things we packed until they get here in another five weeks (you’ve heard about the slow boat to/from China – that’s what they are on). Brad has been to work every day these last four days and we’ve been stuck here with nothing to do. We are all going a little stir crazy. Grumpy me. I think I need to go for a run.
School is supposed to start next Wednesday and we are still putting in applications to schools. AISG is not going to work out, they base admissions too heavily on the entrance exam performance; our 13 year-old son has never taken that sort of test before and found it confusing. Our 15 year-old daughter has limited experience with those exams also, add jet-lag into the mix, plus our late application, and I think it was not good. We have talked with another international school which doesn’t require an entrance exam, and they place into grades according to age. This is how it was done in Utah and we were able to help our kids through the transition from homeschool to public school quite well. It took a lot of effort at home, but it did work out. I already know our 15 year-old has the ability to do just fine in whatever school she goes to. She’s already made the transition to “regular” school.
Someone from church just called to tell me she has a car and would love to take me shopping for some of the things that we will need in order to get a home set up. That was really a nice ray of hope in a dreary day. We can make it through this and I know the Lord is mindful of us.
It’s finally stopped raining now. I even see some blue sky at the moment.
The China Diet
I’m not sure how I will post photos onto Facebook or this blog when using a proxy server. (Yikes!!! It is still storming as I write – using battery power – and it is one impressive display just now, though not as bad as our camping trip in Omaha, Nebraska was years ago. You sure have to respect Mother Nature). I think I will probably set up a Picassa or Flickr account (hope I don’t have to proxy that too) for you to view photos. I’ll let you know.
Snack food from the U.S. is easily available here in the Clifford/Panyu area. The “difficulty” for me is that I don’t eat refined sugar. Without the “health food” options that I had available locally in the U.S., I have much less snacking going on. I eat some crackers or fruit occasionally, but most of it is unfamiliar, so it doesn’t have much “comfort food” value. I have no scale, but I know I haven’t gained any weight since moving here, and I may have lost a little, all while lounging around in hotels. For all of us though, the food is unfamiliar, so we tend to stop eating when we are satisfied rather than full at mealtime. It should be interesting to see what happens with all our weights.
I have curly hair now, which has surprised my children and Brad. I don’t even try to make it straight – why fight a losing battle? I just try to keep it from being frizzy. I will try to get some photos up soon somehow, and you can see.
We went to have photos for our Clifford I.D. cards taken last night. They took the photos and then Photo-shopped them! They removed pimples, and other skin blemishes. This was strange to us, but we sure liked the pictures!
Snack food from the U.S. is easily available here in the Clifford/Panyu area. The “difficulty” for me is that I don’t eat refined sugar. Without the “health food” options that I had available locally in the U.S., I have much less snacking going on. I eat some crackers or fruit occasionally, but most of it is unfamiliar, so it doesn’t have much “comfort food” value. I have no scale, but I know I haven’t gained any weight since moving here, and I may have lost a little, all while lounging around in hotels. For all of us though, the food is unfamiliar, so we tend to stop eating when we are satisfied rather than full at mealtime. It should be interesting to see what happens with all our weights.
I have curly hair now, which has surprised my children and Brad. I don’t even try to make it straight – why fight a losing battle? I just try to keep it from being frizzy. I will try to get some photos up soon somehow, and you can see.
We went to have photos for our Clifford I.D. cards taken last night. They took the photos and then Photo-shopped them! They removed pimples, and other skin blemishes. This was strange to us, but we sure liked the pictures!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Stormy Weather
I didn't think it was possible to rain harder than it did yesterday, but somehow it is. With thunder and lightning today. Whoowee! We may just huddle in the hotel today...
I was watching CNN this morning and experienced the censored version of the news. They stopped a report about the Uighur woman "behind the attacks" in Northern China (I think it was about the documentary showing of her life happening the Australian Film Festival), and they stopped a report about Google video developments (haven't found that story on the internet yet so I don't know what it is). It all feels rather "Big Brother-ish" just now.
gotta go - the storm is close and I don't want my computer to get fried.
I was watching CNN this morning and experienced the censored version of the news. They stopped a report about the Uighur woman "behind the attacks" in Northern China (I think it was about the documentary showing of her life happening the Australian Film Festival), and they stopped a report about Google video developments (haven't found that story on the internet yet so I don't know what it is). It all feels rather "Big Brother-ish" just now.
gotta go - the storm is close and I don't want my computer to get fried.
That's a Lotta Water!
Today it poured buckets of rain all morning long. There was no thunder, but it set off a car alarm near our hotel. When it seemed to be letting up, we went to the shopping area and bought umbrellas. It seemed like a good time to take care of that. Sure thing, it pretty much stopped raining for the day.
We got a bank account set up today with the help of someone from Brad’s work and the bank manager. I now have a “magic card” for shopping (debit). It’s a lot easier than trying to figure out the cash, but I think money will spend too quickly that way, so I’d better get the hang of this money thing ASAP. Also, I need to get a battery operated calculator. My solar one in my purse won’t work under the store lights.
We hope to hear from the school soon about the admissions status for our kids. It will be nice to have that cleared up – since school starts in one week (yikes).
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Foggy Day
I woke up today and thought of Carl Sandburg's poem when I looked out the window.
The main difficulty just now is that the fog is not moving on. There is no breeze and the humidity seems to be rising, so that it is getting denser (is that a word?).
The weather here with all the humidity is lovely for the softness of my hair, but it has awakened all the unruly curls I enjoyed forgetting that I had. I either have to find a way to make the curls less frizzy, or some really good hairspray. At any rate, just now, a hair dryer is kind of a pointless tool since I mainly used it to straighten the curls.
We rode the taxi into the city yesterday to go to church. $25 U.S. each way!* That certainly can't continue. Next week someone will show us how to take the bus. It was a nice meeting. People were very friendly and it was nice to be able to understand what people were saying and have them understand us. Apparently the attendance is down right now but will pick up when school starts and people come back from vacation. Our girls will double the size of the Young Women's group. I'm just glad to hear that there are some other youth for them to make friends with. Most of them also live here in Clifford. In the Young Men's group, three of the boys' names start with "J" and only one person's doesn't. It's pretty funny.
I can hardly wait to get into a home and be able to start taking Mandarin lessons. I feel like such a dullard not being able to speak the language here.
The school admissions test is out of the way and we just await word of whether or not they are accepted. They seem to be highly motivated to accept Western-looking, native English-speaking students, since it is highly ironic for the "American" international school to have predominantly Korean passport holders and Asian-looking students. I know if they go there, my kids will be pushed academically, which I think will be very good for them. In the U.S., a good education is taken for granted and many have the attitude that it should be made easy and handed to them. Here, people work very hard for the opportunity of good schooling and take it seriously because they know that they will need the knowledge in order to have a successful future. All you have to do is walk outside a few blocks and you have ready testimony to what life is like without education. Still, this school is American in style rather than the Chinese "eat-sleep-and-breathe-your-studies" type of school. Many families want this school, just because they know it allows them the best chance to have an education plus some family time.
I'm so grateful for the chance to get on here and post. Sometimes you don't even realize all the freedoms you have, until someone comes along and limits them or takes them away.
*Correction: The taxi to church was $25 U.S. round trip not each way. I misunderstood Brad when he told me.
FOG
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
The main difficulty just now is that the fog is not moving on. There is no breeze and the humidity seems to be rising, so that it is getting denser (is that a word?).
The weather here with all the humidity is lovely for the softness of my hair, but it has awakened all the unruly curls I enjoyed forgetting that I had. I either have to find a way to make the curls less frizzy, or some really good hairspray. At any rate, just now, a hair dryer is kind of a pointless tool since I mainly used it to straighten the curls.
We rode the taxi into the city yesterday to go to church. $25 U.S. each way!* That certainly can't continue. Next week someone will show us how to take the bus. It was a nice meeting. People were very friendly and it was nice to be able to understand what people were saying and have them understand us. Apparently the attendance is down right now but will pick up when school starts and people come back from vacation. Our girls will double the size of the Young Women's group. I'm just glad to hear that there are some other youth for them to make friends with. Most of them also live here in Clifford. In the Young Men's group, three of the boys' names start with "J" and only one person's doesn't. It's pretty funny.
I can hardly wait to get into a home and be able to start taking Mandarin lessons. I feel like such a dullard not being able to speak the language here.
The school admissions test is out of the way and we just await word of whether or not they are accepted. They seem to be highly motivated to accept Western-looking, native English-speaking students, since it is highly ironic for the "American" international school to have predominantly Korean passport holders and Asian-looking students. I know if they go there, my kids will be pushed academically, which I think will be very good for them. In the U.S., a good education is taken for granted and many have the attitude that it should be made easy and handed to them. Here, people work very hard for the opportunity of good schooling and take it seriously because they know that they will need the knowledge in order to have a successful future. All you have to do is walk outside a few blocks and you have ready testimony to what life is like without education. Still, this school is American in style rather than the Chinese "eat-sleep-and-breathe-your-studies" type of school. Many families want this school, just because they know it allows them the best chance to have an education plus some family time.
I'm so grateful for the chance to get on here and post. Sometimes you don't even realize all the freedoms you have, until someone comes along and limits them or takes them away.
*Correction: The taxi to church was $25 U.S. round trip not each way. I misunderstood Brad when he told me.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Hooray! I'm On! (for now)...
Well, the Great Firewall is big, and great, but not completely impervious. Years ago I married a computer geek and not regretted it for a minute. :-)
It is very humid here compared to the dry climate we're used to. We got off the plane and felt like we were breathing under water and had a serious case of insta-sweat. By the time we went to bed that first night, our clothes were quite wet. Whew!
We wandered through a night market in Hong Kong that first evening. It was like a giant street festival or the farmer's markets in the U.S. EVERYTHING was for sale. Part of me wishes I had bought one of the nice purses I saw, but we had too much luggage to deal with to be adding more stuff to it. Guess I'll just have to go back one of these days or find a local equivalent.
It's interesting, I was cautioned not to carry a purse in Guangzhou because of the risk of theft, but I look around and everyone carries a purse - the men even more than the women. It's a sight that takes a little getting used to. In Spain they call them "bolsas" and there is no gender attachment to who carries them there either. I wonder why we have such rigid "rules" about it in the U.S.?
The sun is setting here right now. It is very red due to all the pollution, but it's beautiful. Still, I have been paying attention to the infamous pollution levels and at least here on the outskirts of the main city, it's generally not so horrid. In the city where the factories are is another matter altogether... Today was the worst pollution day since we came here - like a bad inversion day in Utah. The sky was white today, but the past days they have been blue with some clouds. I think the daily rainstorms help clear the air. I wonder what the acid content of the rain is here?
It is interesting to me to see that in the homes, each room has a separate air-conditioning unit rather than central air. Here at the hotel, people seem to appreciate the cool A/C, but don't hesitate to leave outside doors open.
When we go to the restaurants, if they happen to give us "napkins", they are always the equivalent of pocket facial tissue. Most of the time however, there is nothing in the way of napkins at the table. Also, public restrooms, if you dare to use them, have no tissue so you'd better carry your own supply.
The company has a driver who's sole job is to drive "the bosses" around where they need to go. He has been carting us places all week. It's nice not to have to worry about finding our way around or driving here. It's been a strange concept for the kids to think about a man's only work being to drive people places. They understand taxi drivers, but to pay a driver a constant wage just so he's available whenever you want him, sounds rather "high-brow" and "chauffeur-like". I guess it is, but I would never, ever, want to do the driving here.
It's an interesting thing about the drivers here. There is zero concern about letting engines idle while waiting for someone even as long as an hour. This ensures that the drivers have an air-conditioned environment to wait in. Of course, it also contributes to all the pollution. If the Chinese government really want's to clear the air here, they have a lot of work to do beyond making the factory standards more stringent. They have two or three billion people to educate about personal environmental impact. I consider myself a global warming skeptic, but come on, people, unless you're a fish, do you really want to poop in the water you live in (so to speak)? In fairness, they are making some progress here with anti-pollution, but the factory growth is hard to keep up with and people seem very willing to accept the status-quo.
We've been eating at restaurants since we came and have concluded that our favorite food in China so far is..... Korean. It's the only place to easily get regular rice and veggies, except at a Mongolian hot-pot type of place, where you cook it at your table as you eat it, which gets a little complicated. At the Korean restaurant, we can order stone-bowl Bi Bim Bop, with rice, veggies and an egg, served in a VERY HOT stone or cast-iron bowl. Simple and YUM. :-)
Gotta run. It's time to hunt up another meal. Maybe we'll do Korean again...
It is very humid here compared to the dry climate we're used to. We got off the plane and felt like we were breathing under water and had a serious case of insta-sweat. By the time we went to bed that first night, our clothes were quite wet. Whew!
We wandered through a night market in Hong Kong that first evening. It was like a giant street festival or the farmer's markets in the U.S. EVERYTHING was for sale. Part of me wishes I had bought one of the nice purses I saw, but we had too much luggage to deal with to be adding more stuff to it. Guess I'll just have to go back one of these days or find a local equivalent.
It's interesting, I was cautioned not to carry a purse in Guangzhou because of the risk of theft, but I look around and everyone carries a purse - the men even more than the women. It's a sight that takes a little getting used to. In Spain they call them "bolsas" and there is no gender attachment to who carries them there either. I wonder why we have such rigid "rules" about it in the U.S.?
The sun is setting here right now. It is very red due to all the pollution, but it's beautiful. Still, I have been paying attention to the infamous pollution levels and at least here on the outskirts of the main city, it's generally not so horrid. In the city where the factories are is another matter altogether... Today was the worst pollution day since we came here - like a bad inversion day in Utah. The sky was white today, but the past days they have been blue with some clouds. I think the daily rainstorms help clear the air. I wonder what the acid content of the rain is here?
It is interesting to me to see that in the homes, each room has a separate air-conditioning unit rather than central air. Here at the hotel, people seem to appreciate the cool A/C, but don't hesitate to leave outside doors open.
When we go to the restaurants, if they happen to give us "napkins", they are always the equivalent of pocket facial tissue. Most of the time however, there is nothing in the way of napkins at the table. Also, public restrooms, if you dare to use them, have no tissue so you'd better carry your own supply.
The company has a driver who's sole job is to drive "the bosses" around where they need to go. He has been carting us places all week. It's nice not to have to worry about finding our way around or driving here. It's been a strange concept for the kids to think about a man's only work being to drive people places. They understand taxi drivers, but to pay a driver a constant wage just so he's available whenever you want him, sounds rather "high-brow" and "chauffeur-like". I guess it is, but I would never, ever, want to do the driving here.
It's an interesting thing about the drivers here. There is zero concern about letting engines idle while waiting for someone even as long as an hour. This ensures that the drivers have an air-conditioned environment to wait in. Of course, it also contributes to all the pollution. If the Chinese government really want's to clear the air here, they have a lot of work to do beyond making the factory standards more stringent. They have two or three billion people to educate about personal environmental impact. I consider myself a global warming skeptic, but come on, people, unless you're a fish, do you really want to poop in the water you live in (so to speak)? In fairness, they are making some progress here with anti-pollution, but the factory growth is hard to keep up with and people seem very willing to accept the status-quo.
We've been eating at restaurants since we came and have concluded that our favorite food in China so far is..... Korean. It's the only place to easily get regular rice and veggies, except at a Mongolian hot-pot type of place, where you cook it at your table as you eat it, which gets a little complicated. At the Korean restaurant, we can order stone-bowl Bi Bim Bop, with rice, veggies and an egg, served in a VERY HOT stone or cast-iron bowl. Simple and YUM. :-)
Gotta run. It's time to hunt up another meal. Maybe we'll do Korean again...
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
What Can You Fit in a Suitcase?
After a little searching I have found more than one way around the "Great Firewall". I'm much less worried now about becoming unable to get online for the things I want to do. Thankfully it's not that hard.
We are having some interesting times trying to get items like our ClearPlay DVD player and the computer to China with us. It looks like we will be experimenting with "what exactly can you fit in your suitcase?". It should be interesting...
As far as all the boxes go, we have had to number each box and keep a list of what is in each box. This is to make the time going through customs a little smoother when the shipment arrives.
BlendTec makes a blender that will work in China - yea! They are expensive, but it will be so nice to have a few semi-familiar conveniences while we live there. We will have it shipped later (they have to build it for us first).
We are having some interesting times trying to get items like our ClearPlay DVD player and the computer to China with us. It looks like we will be experimenting with "what exactly can you fit in your suitcase?". It should be interesting...
As far as all the boxes go, we have had to number each box and keep a list of what is in each box. This is to make the time going through customs a little smoother when the shipment arrives.
BlendTec makes a blender that will work in China - yea! They are expensive, but it will be so nice to have a few semi-familiar conveniences while we live there. We will have it shipped later (they have to build it for us first).
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
In Case I Can't Access My Blog
If for some reason I can't access my blog from China (a very real concern), I will email my blog posts to someone and have that person post them for me from the U.S. I hope I won't have a problem with this but based on the current blockages of YouTube, Twitter, and some other sites, I am a little worried. So far, I think Google stuff is still accessible, but who knows how long it will last. Apparently, Facebook is already blocked in China. :-(
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Countdown...
Yeah! Roommates in the works for the homebody. That's good news. After staying alone last week, it was concluded that some company in the house would be a NICE THING. :-)
We had a wonderful open-house put on by friends to let people in the neighborhood come wish us well. It was nice to see everyone and chat and say good-bye.
We will maybe not be taking the electric piano to China - we are worried it will get stolen in customs. We will be inquiring about the possibility of leasing a piano in China. Hoping, Hoping, Hoping... We have removed all the DVDs from their cases and put them in CD holders to place in our luggage, again, because we don't think they would survive the trip through customs.
The violin will have to be hand-carried to China by us. We may have to pay an extra fee for the carry-on. Oh well.
It's been a crazy week. We did manage to go see the new Harry Potter movie on opening night. I was so tired that I can't really remember any of the movie... Hmm, don't think I'll do that again. I still haven't recovered from the sleep-deprivation. Oy. Brad just confessed that he can't remember it either, lol. We may have to see it again at a more human hour.
I've gone back to martial arts to sharpen some skills before we move to a huge city. First day back - sprain a finger - how to feel like a dork. Still, I'm rusty on the "formulas" but not too bad on the skills. I'm also not so out of shape for it as I had worried. Apparently all the running has been good for me. :-)
TB tests for school admission tomorrow - yea! - not.
We had a wonderful open-house put on by friends to let people in the neighborhood come wish us well. It was nice to see everyone and chat and say good-bye.
We will maybe not be taking the electric piano to China - we are worried it will get stolen in customs. We will be inquiring about the possibility of leasing a piano in China. Hoping, Hoping, Hoping... We have removed all the DVDs from their cases and put them in CD holders to place in our luggage, again, because we don't think they would survive the trip through customs.
The violin will have to be hand-carried to China by us. We may have to pay an extra fee for the carry-on. Oh well.
It's been a crazy week. We did manage to go see the new Harry Potter movie on opening night. I was so tired that I can't really remember any of the movie... Hmm, don't think I'll do that again. I still haven't recovered from the sleep-deprivation. Oy. Brad just confessed that he can't remember it either, lol. We may have to see it again at a more human hour.
I've gone back to martial arts to sharpen some skills before we move to a huge city. First day back - sprain a finger - how to feel like a dork. Still, I'm rusty on the "formulas" but not too bad on the skills. I'm also not so out of shape for it as I had worried. Apparently all the running has been good for me. :-)
TB tests for school admission tomorrow - yea! - not.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Not So Much Stuff
Image by Kassel via Flickr
The two girls will be living out of a suitcase for the next two weeks but the boxes and household items we are sending to China will ship out next week. We will then spend the last week cleaning.
Brad and Jace come home from Timberline National Youth Leadership Training Camp today. It will be nice to have their help. Sometimes I wonder if I'm taking too much or not enough and it will be nice to get Brad's opinion once in a while.
I still haven't gotten the soap made. If I have to, I suppose I can take the remnants of past batches. That would be interesting (especially the batch that was supposed to be green but turned purple!), grab bag soap. :-)
The photo today has no significance to me (I got it from Zemanta), it just brings me a calm, peaceful feeling, and I like it. Here's a great song to go with it.
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Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Books, Books, Books...
When you have a mazillion books, how do you choose which ones to take? We are discovering that Juvenile and Teen Fiction books are not available on Kindle so much. :-( I guess we'll have to just keep making requests for the digital versions. It's an interesting thing, the boxes the kids are shipping will be mostly full of books. They don't have a lot of other "stuff" they are attached to except maybe their MP3 players.
Dentist appointments are almost all done. We have the best dentist in the world. Dr. Randall Stucki at Alpine Dental is wonderful! (It's not easy to get that kind of recommendation from me for a dentist or doctor.)
So how many boxes will two pallets hold anyway?
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Dentist appointments are almost all done. We have the best dentist in the world. Dr. Randall Stucki at Alpine Dental is wonderful! (It's not easy to get that kind of recommendation from me for a dentist or doctor.)
So how many boxes will two pallets hold anyway?
Monday, July 6, 2009
Sticks, Not Soap Today
Part of me keeps waiting to receive news that, "never mind, you're not going to China after all," but the news never comes. Although if the passports don't hurry up and get here, it just might happen. They are supposed to be here by the 8th. We paid a fortune in expedite fees, so they'd better hurry up.
I'm starting to feel the time crunch. Partly because Brad is at Timberline Scout Camp and I'm not sure what to pack, and partly because things keep coming up that seem to eat time. We need to get the car's registration and inspection renewed, new tires (here's expensive: new tires on 4 cars in 2 months!), and an oil change and tune-up. I need to get sealed grade transcripts for school applications, try to keep a running list of what we should bring, and oh yeah! half a bazillion passport photos (well maybe not quite that many).
At some point this week I need to get some sunshine. The eczema on my leg is FINALLY almost gone thanks to the sun and vitamin D and I want that to continue to be a happy thing. (When all else fails, do what the dermatologist first recommended, lol.)
Today was not a soap day. It was a stick day. We finally got rid of all the pruned branches and the bush stumps that we recently dug up (and some not so recently). Tomorrow will not be a soap day either. It will be a funeral and dentist day; neither of which are the cause of nor contributing to the other circumstance. :-)
For a Girls' Night FHE (Family Home Evening), we went to the Dollar Movies. Best deal in town on a Monday, $2 for 4 people. I almost felt like I was stealing, the price is so ridiculously low on Mondays, I had to laugh. We went and saw the Hannah Montana Movie. That is a silly but fun show, with some make-you-move music. It was actually nice to go to a show where I didn't worry about "naughty scenes" or language.
At this point, I'm too tired to think about anything more to write.
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I'm starting to feel the time crunch. Partly because Brad is at Timberline Scout Camp and I'm not sure what to pack, and partly because things keep coming up that seem to eat time. We need to get the car's registration and inspection renewed, new tires (here's expensive: new tires on 4 cars in 2 months!), and an oil change and tune-up. I need to get sealed grade transcripts for school applications, try to keep a running list of what we should bring, and oh yeah! half a bazillion passport photos (well maybe not quite that many).
At some point this week I need to get some sunshine. The eczema on my leg is FINALLY almost gone thanks to the sun and vitamin D and I want that to continue to be a happy thing. (When all else fails, do what the dermatologist first recommended, lol.)
Today was not a soap day. It was a stick day. We finally got rid of all the pruned branches and the bush stumps that we recently dug up (and some not so recently). Tomorrow will not be a soap day either. It will be a funeral and dentist day; neither of which are the cause of nor contributing to the other circumstance. :-)
For a Girls' Night FHE (Family Home Evening), we went to the Dollar Movies. Best deal in town on a Monday, $2 for 4 people. I almost felt like I was stealing, the price is so ridiculously low on Mondays, I had to laugh. We went and saw the Hannah Montana Movie. That is a silly but fun show, with some make-you-move music. It was actually nice to go to a show where I didn't worry about "naughty scenes" or language.
At this point, I'm too tired to think about anything more to write.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Independence Day
Image via Wikipedia
Tonight we will once again go to park along with the Stadium of Fire crowd and have a picnic, games, and watch the fireworks. Ooo... aaah... ohhh...
Tomorrow the guys leave for Timberline Scout leadership training all week. Hopefully the girls and I can get a lot done at home to make progress toward moving. Only 23 days left!
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Friday, July 3, 2009
Making Salve to Take Along
Image via Wikipedia
Monday will be a soap day, I think, since I also want to take about a year's supply of homemade soap with us (I KNOW China's Customs officials would frown on bringing the chemicals necessary to make soap over there!).
A friend died today. I think that after her long battle with cancer, she can finally have peace and rest. I only hope her family can too. I pray for them.
Tomorrow is Independence Day. Besides running the Provo Freedom Festival 5K, and enjoying some picnics with family, I plan to take a few minutes to re-read the document that started it all. You can read it too if you click here. Happy Holiday!
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Thursday, July 2, 2009
Will it Kindle?
Image via Wikipedia
Got one more doctor appointment out of the way today, and started Jace drilling math and English so his brain will be in gear for the admission exam for the international school. Sure hope Sara remembers what she learned last year...
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Dashing Around
Today was crazy, but the Lord's hand must be in our efforts because the timing of everything worked out OK. Jace and I spent the day dashing from one appointment to the next trying to make sure all body parts are in working order. Teeth are good as long as he brushes well, ears are good as long as he actually want's to hear what you are saying. :-) We made it home from the appointments just in time for me to remember my appointment with the sister missionaries. After that Jace cooked dinner - yea!
Brad and Jace and I went to the book store to look at some Chinese Mandarin language resources. Always read the reviews on Amazon before you fork out the big bucks! Doing this saved us a lot of money. We did not buy the very expensive "big name" language program after all. Turns out the format doesn't work so well in Chinese, though it's great in many other languages. We bought some other resources for a lot less money that will work out better for us. We still plan to get some other things but we will wait till we are in China for that.
We also heard today that a friend of ours is moving to the same area to teach at the "international school". Wouldn't it be something if he was teaching at the same school our kids were going to? It will be strange enough to know someone else in the church branch we'll attend. Small world.
Apparently Google and China are having some challenges getting along, and Google was cut off in China for a couple of hours last week. If there are bigger problems that develop and you think I may not have email access to gmail, send email to my alternate address (I will never check this unless there is a problem with gmail or Google) which is: ilovewarmsocks2@yahoo.com . I hope there won't be any lasting difficulty, but it pays to be prepared.
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Brad and Jace and I went to the book store to look at some Chinese Mandarin language resources. Always read the reviews on Amazon before you fork out the big bucks! Doing this saved us a lot of money. We did not buy the very expensive "big name" language program after all. Turns out the format doesn't work so well in Chinese, though it's great in many other languages. We bought some other resources for a lot less money that will work out better for us. We still plan to get some other things but we will wait till we are in China for that.
We also heard today that a friend of ours is moving to the same area to teach at the "international school". Wouldn't it be something if he was teaching at the same school our kids were going to? It will be strange enough to know someone else in the church branch we'll attend. Small world.
Apparently Google and China are having some challenges getting along, and Google was cut off in China for a couple of hours last week. If there are bigger problems that develop and you think I may not have email access to gmail, send email to my alternate address (I will never check this unless there is a problem with gmail or Google) which is: ilovewarmsocks2@yahoo.com . I hope there won't be any lasting difficulty, but it pays to be prepared.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Catching Up
Image via Wikipedia
We are moving to Clifford Estates, Guangzhou, China. The college students will stay here and work their hiney's off (besides someone has to take care of the dog and cats). The younger ones will be attending an international school. The timing for getting all the documents in order seems to be coming right down to the wire, so keep us in your prayers, we can use all the help we can get. Meg will continue her homeschool studies for her senior year of high school.
We will likely be living in China for several years, with long vacations to the U.S. in the summers. We're hoping to be able to work in Girls' Camp with our "home ward" for Sara each year and maybe some sort of Scout trip for Jace.
We will be attending an English-speaking branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, composed of international members of the Church. We are not allowed to meet with members who are citizens of China, and proselyting is prohibited.
Brad will have a long commute to work everyday, and the kids' school is about a half-hour bus ride from where we will likely live. No, we don't have an exact place chosen yet, that's why we are leaving on the 27th of July. (YIKES!) Any other questions?
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Sorting Our Lives
The sorting process has begun. We have two categories:
We went shopping for luggage tonight. My what a great deal of room ten 29 inch suitcases take up. It took us two trips to buy it and bring it home. We will need help to get to the airport...
Did you know that you can't have a TB test for 6 weeks after receiving the MMR? It tends to cause false negatives....
- Stuff we will bring with us
- Stuff we still want to have during the summers and in three years when we come back.
We went shopping for luggage tonight. My what a great deal of room ten 29 inch suitcases take up. It took us two trips to buy it and bring it home. We will need help to get to the airport...
Did you know that you can't have a TB test for 6 weeks after receiving the MMR? It tends to cause false negatives....
Getting Started
So I'm starting this blog with the goal in mind of making a journey journal of our family's travels and experiences in China and wherever else the Lord sees fit so have us go. It took me some time and effort to select a blog address that wasn't already taken ("Oh, the Places We Go!" was used). Still, I think I have come up with a decent one that is descriptive enough but not too difficult (I was afraid people wouldn't be able to remember "Family Peregrinations", lol).
I'll write more later!
I'll write more later!
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