Most importantly, it's the time of year when we celebrate the birth of a savior. I am continually grateful for God's decision to send him and his decision to deliver the promise of salvation to me. And you. :)
Secondarily, it's the time of year that lights sparkle and red & green are everywhere. And if you're lucky, a little white too! While the red and green and sparkle were pretty easily available (after December 1st), we did not have a white Christmas here in Shanghai. In fact, I think our only family with a white Christmas was in New Mexico! That doesn't stop us from celebrating. This year was challenging, of course. It was hard not to be with our family. Add to that a 5-year-old and 4-year-old who are still learning about entitlement vs. gratefulness and you get another rough day for this mama. I know plenty of you can relate!
On the flip side, I made Cranberry Coffee cake for breakfast and we were able to have some friends over for Christmas dinner. We read the story of Christmas and, for the first time, we were able to Skype with our families, so at the end of the day, we had a good Christmas. I hope all of you can say the same!
I wanted to add a short story from today before I sign off: the kids & I were eating lunch today when the gardeners came by to clean up the yard. One was sweeping up leaves when another came along and shook all of the trees to knock off any (still greenish) leaves that might fall later in the week. I have to admit - I almost cried! Now I really understand why there is no autumn experience here. I thought the leaves just turned brown and they were sweeping up leaves as soon as they fell, but now I see it's a much more "proactive" process than that. It's too bad - there's something really beautiful about the change of seasons, even when that includes dead leaves on the ground. It's something I've been homesick for, which probably explains the spring of tears. Nothing more, just another bit of the story that's making up our lives right now.
M and I are celebrating our 10-year Anniversary tomorrow. It's hard to beleive it's been 10 years, but we've certainly have enough memories together to fill that time! I hope everyone has a Happy New Year - I'll see you back here then!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Adventures in Driving: Part 1 of 26
I know you're wondering where 26 came from. Truthfully? Thin air. I'm not sure 26 is the right number, but I do know that 10 won't be enough and 26 seems like a good place to land. Driving here is really… well, amazing. Let's start with turning right. (Come, on, Beth. Of course you can get 26 posts out of driving if you're going to nitpick like this!) Just trust me, let's start with turning right:
Have you ever approached a red light with a single car sitting in the right lane? You turned your blinker on a while back, but they must not have noticed and didn't move over so you could make the turn. Ever wanted to just pull around that person on the left and turn right in front of them? In Shanghai, that dream can become your reality.
Very recently my driver was taking me to the grocery store and he knew I was in a hurry (as it turns out, this is only a minor incentive for the described right-turn strategy). We approached a light that we ALWAYS turn right at and it was packed - 3 cars across, 4 cars deep. Without hesitation, we head for the left lane. Naively I think, "Is this new store in a different direction?" No. As we approach the light, we turn to the right, cross 3 lanes of traffic, and drive naturally onto the highway entrance ramp.
Other possibilities for turning right:
- Cut into the bike lane. You may have to do this fairly early if there is a cement barrier between the car lanes & the bike lanes. Also, watch out for bikes. You don't want to have an accident.
- Squeeze between the car in the right lane and the cement barrier - very slowly so that you do not bump or scratch either car - until you get through to the street you want to turn onto. If you are irritated that the person in the right lane has not left enough room for you to squeeze through, it is appropriate to honk repeatedly, even if they have no room to move out of your way. Continue honking until they inch away, the light turns green, or by some other miracle, you make it through.
Have you ever approached a red light with a single car sitting in the right lane? You turned your blinker on a while back, but they must not have noticed and didn't move over so you could make the turn. Ever wanted to just pull around that person on the left and turn right in front of them? In Shanghai, that dream can become your reality.
Very recently my driver was taking me to the grocery store and he knew I was in a hurry (as it turns out, this is only a minor incentive for the described right-turn strategy). We approached a light that we ALWAYS turn right at and it was packed - 3 cars across, 4 cars deep. Without hesitation, we head for the left lane. Naively I think, "Is this new store in a different direction?" No. As we approach the light, we turn to the right, cross 3 lanes of traffic, and drive naturally onto the highway entrance ramp.
Other possibilities for turning right:
- Cut into the bike lane. You may have to do this fairly early if there is a cement barrier between the car lanes & the bike lanes. Also, watch out for bikes. You don't want to have an accident.
- Squeeze between the car in the right lane and the cement barrier - very slowly so that you do not bump or scratch either car - until you get through to the street you want to turn onto. If you are irritated that the person in the right lane has not left enough room for you to squeeze through, it is appropriate to honk repeatedly, even if they have no room to move out of your way. Continue honking until they inch away, the light turns green, or by some other miracle, you make it through.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Big McDay
Today is a big day in the McHousehold. Our crate is coming! It's going to be a long, tiring day, but I know we'll be happy at the end to sleep in our own beds. I've got plenty to do, so I'm going to keep this short.
Another reason this is a big day is that the doctor cleared C to go back to school today! He was very excited this morning and knows he can come home early if he gets worn out. I hope today is a good day for him.
I am trying to get back into the plan of posting pictures. Look for some later this week!
Another reason this is a big day is that the doctor cleared C to go back to school today! He was very excited this morning and knows he can come home early if he gets worn out. I hope today is a good day for him.
I am trying to get back into the plan of posting pictures. Look for some later this week!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
One Giant Complaint
Let me just start by saying, C is doing great. We are home and he is happy and feeling good. Regardless of what you read below, I have not lost sight of my thankfulness for God's care of him and our family over this last week.
That said, I feel like I have settled into a new can't-believe-we-moved-to-china low. There is something truly horrible about trying to get something done here. It's like nothing I've experienced before. At least not on this level.
It's about the refrigerator - and really it applies to everything else. The first time the repair man came to look at my frozen refrigerator, he told me I had it on the wrong number. It didn't matter to him that I have an engineering degree and have had problem-solving beaten into my brain. It didn't matter to him that I have tried all of the numbers. It didn't matter to him that I wasn't happy with his solution. That was his assessment and that's all I got. At that point, I knew I was in for the 4 visit rule.
Here's where things start to get bad. You all know that C was in the hospital all week (which means I was too). I'm tired. I'm emotionally spent. I've run out of gumption for the time being. Sigh. When you're out of gumption is absolutely the worst time to try to get something done in China.
I stopped by the office on Friday afternoon when I was home to pick up K from the bus. I asked them to have someone come on Saturday afternoon and look at the fridge. Saturday rolls around and a neighborhood worker comes by, not the GE (maybe?) repairman that came before. This is a bad sign. I call the office and explain that we do not need to start from square one. I need the supplier to come. They say he will come Sunday between 3 & 4pm. Fine. (Side note: this 1 hour time frame is pretty shocking as most repair appointments around here seem to be very vague: i.e. "tomorrow morning", "later today" - worse than the cable company!)
Sunday rolls around. It's after 4 and I'm at a birthday party with K. Matt calls the office to ask where the repair man is. I'm not sure they gave him an answer about that, but they did tell him the guy would come today before noon. I bet you can't guess where this is headed...?
About an hour ago (around 10am) I called the office to ask what time I should expect the repair man. HE'S NOT COMING TODAY. HE'S IN PUXI (the other side of the river). I absolutely went ballistic. We have waited at home for 3 days for this guy to come and nothing!!! I had an extensive argument with the office girl. I told her they were going to have to work this out for me. If the repair man can't be here when they say he will be, then we need to forget the repair man and the office needs to buy me a new fridge. (Of course, as I was saying these words, I knew it would never happen.) She tells me he can come tomorrow and I say - I WON'T BE HERE!!! I CAN'T WAIT AROUND EVERY DAY FOR SOMEONE WHO NEVER COMES!!! She says, "He came yesterday and no one was home."
More ballistic. I know some of you are wondering at this point if I swore at the girl (admit it, you wanted me to). I didn't. But I can hardly say that I kept my cool. After shouting at her at least 7 times that HE. DID. NOT. COME. TO. MY. HOUSE. I finally get out of her that after Matt called to ask where the guy was, he showed up at the office and THEY SENT HIM HOME. They thought we didn't want him anymore.
REALLY????
REALLY????????
I'm not sure what the worst part of all of this is. That my fridge still doesn't work? That after 3 supposed appointments today would have been the 4th visit if they had all happened and my fridge may have been fixed today? No, I think it's the completely beaten down feeling that I have right now. I think there are 8 more things wrong with our house right now that I am terrified of asking to be repaired because I can't face any more of this. Yes, that's the worst part. I'm not generally a fearful person. Sometimes things intimidate me and I have to work up the gumption to give them a try. But I'm out of gumption for now. And I'm not sure how to fill up when I keep getting beaten down.
Somebody please throw me a bone...
That said, I feel like I have settled into a new can't-believe-we-moved-to-china low. There is something truly horrible about trying to get something done here. It's like nothing I've experienced before. At least not on this level.
It's about the refrigerator - and really it applies to everything else. The first time the repair man came to look at my frozen refrigerator, he told me I had it on the wrong number. It didn't matter to him that I have an engineering degree and have had problem-solving beaten into my brain. It didn't matter to him that I have tried all of the numbers. It didn't matter to him that I wasn't happy with his solution. That was his assessment and that's all I got. At that point, I knew I was in for the 4 visit rule.
Here's where things start to get bad. You all know that C was in the hospital all week (which means I was too). I'm tired. I'm emotionally spent. I've run out of gumption for the time being. Sigh. When you're out of gumption is absolutely the worst time to try to get something done in China.
I stopped by the office on Friday afternoon when I was home to pick up K from the bus. I asked them to have someone come on Saturday afternoon and look at the fridge. Saturday rolls around and a neighborhood worker comes by, not the GE (maybe?) repairman that came before. This is a bad sign. I call the office and explain that we do not need to start from square one. I need the supplier to come. They say he will come Sunday between 3 & 4pm. Fine. (Side note: this 1 hour time frame is pretty shocking as most repair appointments around here seem to be very vague: i.e. "tomorrow morning", "later today" - worse than the cable company!)
Sunday rolls around. It's after 4 and I'm at a birthday party with K. Matt calls the office to ask where the repair man is. I'm not sure they gave him an answer about that, but they did tell him the guy would come today before noon. I bet you can't guess where this is headed...?
About an hour ago (around 10am) I called the office to ask what time I should expect the repair man. HE'S NOT COMING TODAY. HE'S IN PUXI (the other side of the river). I absolutely went ballistic. We have waited at home for 3 days for this guy to come and nothing!!! I had an extensive argument with the office girl. I told her they were going to have to work this out for me. If the repair man can't be here when they say he will be, then we need to forget the repair man and the office needs to buy me a new fridge. (Of course, as I was saying these words, I knew it would never happen.) She tells me he can come tomorrow and I say - I WON'T BE HERE!!! I CAN'T WAIT AROUND EVERY DAY FOR SOMEONE WHO NEVER COMES!!! She says, "He came yesterday and no one was home."
More ballistic. I know some of you are wondering at this point if I swore at the girl (admit it, you wanted me to). I didn't. But I can hardly say that I kept my cool. After shouting at her at least 7 times that HE. DID. NOT. COME. TO. MY. HOUSE. I finally get out of her that after Matt called to ask where the guy was, he showed up at the office and THEY SENT HIM HOME. They thought we didn't want him anymore.
REALLY????
REALLY????????
I'm not sure what the worst part of all of this is. That my fridge still doesn't work? That after 3 supposed appointments today would have been the 4th visit if they had all happened and my fridge may have been fixed today? No, I think it's the completely beaten down feeling that I have right now. I think there are 8 more things wrong with our house right now that I am terrified of asking to be repaired because I can't face any more of this. Yes, that's the worst part. I'm not generally a fearful person. Sometimes things intimidate me and I have to work up the gumption to give them a try. But I'm out of gumption for now. And I'm not sure how to fill up when I keep getting beaten down.
Somebody please throw me a bone...
Friday, November 11, 2011
Good News!
Great news, everyone! We are going home in the morning! C has made such good progress and we are ready to bust outta here. If that wasn't enough, we got word today that our crate (most of our worldly possessions) will be ready for delivery on Tuesday. Nothing like Christmas-come-early to push away the bad memories from the previous week.
Thank you all for your prayers on C's behalf. We know that God is busy at work in our lives!
Thank you all for your prayers on C's behalf. We know that God is busy at work in our lives!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Firstborn Update
Thanks for your prayers and well-wishes everyone, we are steadily improving here. There is a marked improvement in C's behavior today. He is up walking around, pushing his IV cart himself. He spent about a half an hour on some fun workbooks this morning and talked to friends and family on the phone.
The doctors were able to examine him and assess his pain levels this morning and he is feeling much less pain than yesterday. He was able to have a liquid breakfast today and we look forward to giving him some solid food tomorrow.
I will keep you posted on his progress. Please keep praying! We don't want him to wind up with Pnemonia or any other complications. More to come...
The doctors were able to examine him and assess his pain levels this morning and he is feeling much less pain than yesterday. He was able to have a liquid breakfast today and we look forward to giving him some solid food tomorrow.
I will keep you posted on his progress. Please keep praying! We don't want him to wind up with Pnemonia or any other complications. More to come...
Welcome to China
Just a quick post to share that we have received our formal welcome to China in the form of an all-expenses-paid visit to the hospital for an appendectomy! Not exactly the welcome we hoped for. Unfortunately, it wasn't me (been there, done that), it was my firstborn. It's so hard to watch a child go through a painful struggle and I'm sure this isn't the only one we'll face in our lives.
The good news is we had a very good surgeon and the operation was minimally invasive. The appendix did not rupture, but it was about the size of my thumb and very red. It contained a stone almost 1cm in diameter. Pretty scary stuff, but the surgery was successful & we are now working toward a similar status in the recovery phase.
Please keep our family in your prayers. I am continually reminded to put my trust in God. He has blessed us so much already through our new friends and neighbors who have been looking after us here.
As a side note, one of the peculiarities about Chinese hospitals (at least to westerners like me) is that the families tend to do most of the patient care such as changing clothes, washing, bringing food, and feeding. The section of the hospital we are in is more western-style than most, however I can see that I am expected to do a lot of these things for my son. It is also a bit more challenging to get pain meds here, although the surgeon has given us a get-out-of-pain-free card to make sure Carson is comfortable. I just have to strongly remind the nurses of that every so often.
Right now he's resting and I should be too. Sleep when the baby sleeps, they say. Who are "they" anyway? And did they every actually have a baby? I guess that's irrelevant to my current decision to blog while the baby sleeps. Maybe I should re-evaluate & get some rest. Good night!
The good news is we had a very good surgeon and the operation was minimally invasive. The appendix did not rupture, but it was about the size of my thumb and very red. It contained a stone almost 1cm in diameter. Pretty scary stuff, but the surgery was successful & we are now working toward a similar status in the recovery phase.
Please keep our family in your prayers. I am continually reminded to put my trust in God. He has blessed us so much already through our new friends and neighbors who have been looking after us here.
As a side note, one of the peculiarities about Chinese hospitals (at least to westerners like me) is that the families tend to do most of the patient care such as changing clothes, washing, bringing food, and feeding. The section of the hospital we are in is more western-style than most, however I can see that I am expected to do a lot of these things for my son. It is also a bit more challenging to get pain meds here, although the surgeon has given us a get-out-of-pain-free card to make sure Carson is comfortable. I just have to strongly remind the nurses of that every so often.
Right now he's resting and I should be too. Sleep when the baby sleeps, they say. Who are "they" anyway? And did they every actually have a baby? I guess that's irrelevant to my current decision to blog while the baby sleeps. Maybe I should re-evaluate & get some rest. Good night!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Ice Cream & Chocolate
Some of you may know that I have an extra stomach just for ice cream. I can always seem to fit ice cream in no matter how full I am! I LOVE it. Sadly, there isn't a lot of ice cream where we are. I can find it at the store, but the selection is meager. The import store seemed to have a good selection of Ben & Jerry's when we visited this summer, but I haven't seen any since we moved here. They do have several varieties of HagenDaaz, but none of them to me are worth spending $12 to try a pint!
Yes! That is the ACTUAL PRICE!
As a result, I've turned to chocolate. It's also more expensive than normal (because I'm buying imported chocolate!), but at $3/bar it's easier to justify taste-testing. My absolute favorite so far is the Ritter Sport Praline. Yum! Of course, Toblerone is always dependable. And there are others I haven't tried yet. I'm still watching for the Ben & Jerry's to return, but I'm starting to think that's just a summer treat :(.
Yes! That is the ACTUAL PRICE!
As a result, I've turned to chocolate. It's also more expensive than normal (because I'm buying imported chocolate!), but at $3/bar it's easier to justify taste-testing. My absolute favorite so far is the Ritter Sport Praline. Yum! Of course, Toblerone is always dependable. And there are others I haven't tried yet. I'm still watching for the Ben & Jerry's to return, but I'm starting to think that's just a summer treat :(.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Marketing
Re-posting with a picture!!
_________
I realized the other meaning of marketing today. Market-ing (like Krogering) is shopping at the markets! Today I was finally initiated into the life of a Shanghai Tai tai. From the source of all online knowledge (Wikipedia): "Tai tai is a Chinese colloquial term for a wealthy married woman who does not work." Let me tell you, I was working it today!
I went to the fake market with my neighbor, who needed to have some new pants made. It was incredibly enlightening to watch her "negotiate" (haggle isn't even the right word) her price with the vendor. They insisted things like because she was tall or bigger than the average chinese person they would have to buy extra fabric, so it should cost more. Or, my favorite, "This is high quality! You can't buy in US!" HILARIOUS! So after a little observation, I found my grove. A couple hours later I was the proud owner of a new "Cath Kidston" purse (no clue about the brand as I am brand-name-naive), a cute grey leather clutch, a cute "Kate Spade" bag, a pair of "Diesel" slip on tennis shoes, and, the piece-de-resistance: a Nick Lidstrom Winter Classic throwback jersey (for M). And all for about $85! And the best part - I had SO MUCH FUN!!
It is important to note that anything in quotes is that way due to the uncertain nature of the actual brand ;). It is, after all, a fake market. An interesting tidbit about the fake market: there are copies & there are fakes. One is ok and one is not. I'm not really sure what the difference is, but some of the merchandise is hidden in walk-in rooms behind fake doors where you pay separately. Everything I bought was legit - at least in the Chinese sense of the word. We'll see how long it all lasts!
_________
I realized the other meaning of marketing today. Market-ing (like Krogering) is shopping at the markets! Today I was finally initiated into the life of a Shanghai Tai tai. From the source of all online knowledge (Wikipedia): "Tai tai is a Chinese colloquial term for a wealthy married woman who does not work." Let me tell you, I was working it today!
I went to the fake market with my neighbor, who needed to have some new pants made. It was incredibly enlightening to watch her "negotiate" (haggle isn't even the right word) her price with the vendor. They insisted things like because she was tall or bigger than the average chinese person they would have to buy extra fabric, so it should cost more. Or, my favorite, "This is high quality! You can't buy in US!" HILARIOUS! So after a little observation, I found my grove. A couple hours later I was the proud owner of a new "Cath Kidston" purse (no clue about the brand as I am brand-name-naive), a cute grey leather clutch, a cute "Kate Spade" bag, a pair of "Diesel" slip on tennis shoes, and, the piece-de-resistance: a Nick Lidstrom Winter Classic throwback jersey (for M). And all for about $85! And the best part - I had SO MUCH FUN!!
It is important to note that anything in quotes is that way due to the uncertain nature of the actual brand ;). It is, after all, a fake market. An interesting tidbit about the fake market: there are copies & there are fakes. One is ok and one is not. I'm not really sure what the difference is, but some of the merchandise is hidden in walk-in rooms behind fake doors where you pay separately. Everything I bought was legit - at least in the Chinese sense of the word. We'll see how long it all lasts!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Freezing
I understand many of you back home are freezing, but that is not what this post is about. It's about my refrigerator. It's freezing. Literally. At first it was just the crisper & I thought I had figured out a fix. Alas, no dice. I've put the temp on 1, 5, & 9 and just get different levels of freeing. I've been contemplating talking to the office about it, but, like everything here in China, getting something fixed can be complicated.
I finally asked for help today and they have scheduled a service man to come tomorrow. I'm trying to hope for the best without setting myself up for disappointment. We've heard more than once since moving here that it takes 4 attempts to get something fixed. The first attempt someone looks. The second attempt, he or she brings someone else to look too. The third attempt they try to do something & the fourth attempt they actually bring tools & (maybe) fix the thing.
It's kind of an arduous process given that I need to be at the house for all of these attempts! This is why I've been putting it off. My greater fear is that they will replace my large (American-sized) unit with a tiny Chinese unit. In an ideal world, I would go to the market every day and get fresh things to prepare the evening meal, but in my actual world that takes about an hour & a half - who wants to spend 10+ hours grocery shopping every week? Ok, it wouldn't be that bad because I wouldn't be buying as much... or would I? I'll let you know what happens with the fridge.
I finally asked for help today and they have scheduled a service man to come tomorrow. I'm trying to hope for the best without setting myself up for disappointment. We've heard more than once since moving here that it takes 4 attempts to get something fixed. The first attempt someone looks. The second attempt, he or she brings someone else to look too. The third attempt they try to do something & the fourth attempt they actually bring tools & (maybe) fix the thing.
It's kind of an arduous process given that I need to be at the house for all of these attempts! This is why I've been putting it off. My greater fear is that they will replace my large (American-sized) unit with a tiny Chinese unit. In an ideal world, I would go to the market every day and get fresh things to prepare the evening meal, but in my actual world that takes about an hour & a half - who wants to spend 10+ hours grocery shopping every week? Ok, it wouldn't be that bad because I wouldn't be buying as much... or would I? I'll let you know what happens with the fridge.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Time Flies
Yikes! Has it really been 10 days since I last posted? Where does the time go? Same story, new location. We have been so busy here this last week getting ready for Halloween. The kids had a halloween carnival at school on Friday evening and we had trick-or-treating & a block party on Saturday. Trying to get more than just our daily tasks done was a challenge here in our new country. I'm happy to say that we made it through! No blogging, though. Sorry about that.
While I'm here, I just want to get something off my chest. I think about this blog a lot, even if that's not reflected in my frequency of posts. I actually have a list of topics that I need to write about (including some with - brace yourselves - pictures) and a couple of posts drafted but not completed yet. Here's what I need to tell you - I'm writing this blog for two reasons:
1. As a record of our thoughts & experiences on an international assignment
2. To give everyone at home a little insight into our lives
I've had to have a little talk with myself recently about keeping this blog up-to-date. The conclusions that came from this one-sided discussion are as follows:
1. I like to write and try to be eloquent and clever, but it doesn't always work out.
2. It may sound like I'm complaining, but I hope my adoring public will realize that what I really want is an honest record of my feelings while we are here. Some of those are bound to be complaints. Some will just be facts (that may sound like complaints based on their proximity to the actual complaints). Still others will be great things that are happening for us.
I hope that all of you can take the bad with the good & enjoy my blog for what it is. Thanks for being here with me.
While I'm here, I just want to get something off my chest. I think about this blog a lot, even if that's not reflected in my frequency of posts. I actually have a list of topics that I need to write about (including some with - brace yourselves - pictures) and a couple of posts drafted but not completed yet. Here's what I need to tell you - I'm writing this blog for two reasons:
1. As a record of our thoughts & experiences on an international assignment
2. To give everyone at home a little insight into our lives
I've had to have a little talk with myself recently about keeping this blog up-to-date. The conclusions that came from this one-sided discussion are as follows:
1. I like to write and try to be eloquent and clever, but it doesn't always work out.
2. It may sound like I'm complaining, but I hope my adoring public will realize that what I really want is an honest record of my feelings while we are here. Some of those are bound to be complaints. Some will just be facts (that may sound like complaints based on their proximity to the actual complaints). Still others will be great things that are happening for us.
I hope that all of you can take the bad with the good & enjoy my blog for what it is. Thanks for being here with me.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
It's Complicated
I get that this particular phrase could apply to any aspect of my life right now, but today we're going to discuss milk. "Really?" you ask, "Milk is complicated?" You betcha.
When we were here on our look-see (find a place to live, school for the kids, etc) we were told that there had been a melamine scare with the milk a few years ago. As far as I know China doesn't have the equivalent of the FDA, so things like this happen and then someone figures it out and then it gets undone (one hopes). For those who aren't familiar with melamine, corelle dinner plates are made from it. It's not something you really want IN your food or drink.
When we arrived, we figured the melamine scare was in the past and it's probably safe to drink China milk now. So we did. None of us got sick. Seemed like it might be ok! A little extra creamy (no reduced fat milk that we could find!), but ok. Then our neighbor told us there was another melamine scare last year. I'm thinking I need to check out the periodicals at the local library to read all about this, BUT WAIT! I can't read chinese. Besides, The Party may have just declined to record that kind of damaging thing.
So we were back to square one. We all like milk. It gives us calcium for our bones. Some of us our still growing! Others would like to refrain from becoming brittle. More cheese, then? Probably not the best complete decision. So we searched and searched for imported milk only to find it in warm containers on a shelf (which, by the way is also how eggs are sold). YUCK!
Really. YUCK!
But seeing no other options we gave it a try. The imported milk is processed so it's safe to drink, but it definitely has a funny taste. I've found that I prefer the New Zealand milk to the European milk. M & K don't have such discriminated taste. C likes it less that I do. :(
As if this weren't complicated enough, now I'm wondering... how does this affect the ice cream?
When we were here on our look-see (find a place to live, school for the kids, etc) we were told that there had been a melamine scare with the milk a few years ago. As far as I know China doesn't have the equivalent of the FDA, so things like this happen and then someone figures it out and then it gets undone (one hopes). For those who aren't familiar with melamine, corelle dinner plates are made from it. It's not something you really want IN your food or drink.
When we arrived, we figured the melamine scare was in the past and it's probably safe to drink China milk now. So we did. None of us got sick. Seemed like it might be ok! A little extra creamy (no reduced fat milk that we could find!), but ok. Then our neighbor told us there was another melamine scare last year. I'm thinking I need to check out the periodicals at the local library to read all about this, BUT WAIT! I can't read chinese. Besides, The Party may have just declined to record that kind of damaging thing.
So we were back to square one. We all like milk. It gives us calcium for our bones. Some of us our still growing! Others would like to refrain from becoming brittle. More cheese, then? Probably not the best complete decision. So we searched and searched for imported milk only to find it in warm containers on a shelf (which, by the way is also how eggs are sold). YUCK!
Really. YUCK!
But seeing no other options we gave it a try. The imported milk is processed so it's safe to drink, but it definitely has a funny taste. I've found that I prefer the New Zealand milk to the European milk. M & K don't have such discriminated taste. C likes it less that I do. :(
As if this weren't complicated enough, now I'm wondering... how does this affect the ice cream?
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Haircuts
I attempted to give the hubby a haircut on Sunday night. I've been cutting his hair for a long time. It started with him going to graduate school and me not having a job - we needed to find a way to cut costs and a pair of clippers & a buzz seemed like a good solution! I've since learned his hairstyle and can combine the clippers on the sides with scissors on top for a pretty good-looking do. Applying the same education to our son, it has felt good to keep those expenses down. Not to mention not having to deal with the fear of the barber shop!
When I plugged our clippers (from the US) into our transformer (purchased here at the local grocery store) on Sunday night, I thought they had been possessed! My hands were still a little numb Monday morning and I was too scared to actually give M the haircut! So that's some bad news. Worse: school pictures are Thursday and C's last haircut was at least 2 months ago. But I definitely wasn't putting those clippers close to anyone's head!
So, Monday morning, rather than enjoying the morning at home, I found myself (once again) out on the town visiting the grocery store. (Side note: grocery stores here are really like Walmart or Meijer, not just groceries.) My driver and I talked on the way over and he was sure they wouldn't have clippers. Everyone here, he says, goes to the salon or barber shop. It's apparently only around $1.50 for a good haircut! When I told him haircuts start at $13 and can go up to $100 in the US, he was stunned! I think he was even more surprised when I came out of the store with a new pair of clippers. Especially after I told him the price (around $60). I could see him calculating how many $1.50 haircuts I could have bought for the same amount of money.
The thing is, I like the convenience of cutting my family's hair. I like that I can do it and hope I can continue after this assignment is over. It's a life skill I worked hard for and would like to maintain. That and I can't take the tears when we go to the salon! I haven't tried the clippers yet, but they are rated for 110-240v. I'll let you all know how it goes...
When I plugged our clippers (from the US) into our transformer (purchased here at the local grocery store) on Sunday night, I thought they had been possessed! My hands were still a little numb Monday morning and I was too scared to actually give M the haircut! So that's some bad news. Worse: school pictures are Thursday and C's last haircut was at least 2 months ago. But I definitely wasn't putting those clippers close to anyone's head!
So, Monday morning, rather than enjoying the morning at home, I found myself (once again) out on the town visiting the grocery store. (Side note: grocery stores here are really like Walmart or Meijer, not just groceries.) My driver and I talked on the way over and he was sure they wouldn't have clippers. Everyone here, he says, goes to the salon or barber shop. It's apparently only around $1.50 for a good haircut! When I told him haircuts start at $13 and can go up to $100 in the US, he was stunned! I think he was even more surprised when I came out of the store with a new pair of clippers. Especially after I told him the price (around $60). I could see him calculating how many $1.50 haircuts I could have bought for the same amount of money.
The thing is, I like the convenience of cutting my family's hair. I like that I can do it and hope I can continue after this assignment is over. It's a life skill I worked hard for and would like to maintain. That and I can't take the tears when we go to the salon! I haven't tried the clippers yet, but they are rated for 110-240v. I'll let you all know how it goes...
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Struggling through Sunday
Today has been a challenge, which is saying a lot because the kids are actually napping! (Small victory.) After some tears yesterday over missing home, and as one kid put it, home missing us, today has been rough on me. We visited a church today. The worship was really good! It was a little different than we're used to, but some of the songs were familiar and it was nice to sing with a family again. It kind of got me excited - maybe we found a church home! Then the lesson started. There was some negative talk about another religion and very little scripture (one reference, never read). At the close of the lesson, the speaker indicated this was an introduction to what will be covered over the next few weeks. What that means to me: it wasn't a true sermon sample, so we'll need to come back for a few more weeks & see how things go. It was kind of a let down for me that it wasn't an instant fit.
There are ups & downs to looking for a new church home. It's been about 8 years since I was last in the market. While I remember it being difficult, I guess I had let go of the emotions & pressure that can come along with it. It can be really exciting to visit a new church and feel the energy of the worship. For me, this morning, it also tugged at my emotions - the sweetness of worship in a strange place after several weeks of absence and the sadness over what we left behind to come here. We visited a different church here in Shanghai when we came for M's interview. I felt equally uncertain of our fit with that congregation as well. Worship was very loud and the seats were uncomfortable. On the flip side, the lesson was straight from the Bible with plenty of references and there seems to be a very large children's program there.
I've heard there are one or two other churches we can check out on our side of the river. We'll have to decide on our visiting strategy going forward. I know our kids aren't going to be excited about it, but we will continue to be dilligent in our search. Worship, fellowship, and accountability don't lose their importance on an international assignment!
There are ups & downs to looking for a new church home. It's been about 8 years since I was last in the market. While I remember it being difficult, I guess I had let go of the emotions & pressure that can come along with it. It can be really exciting to visit a new church and feel the energy of the worship. For me, this morning, it also tugged at my emotions - the sweetness of worship in a strange place after several weeks of absence and the sadness over what we left behind to come here. We visited a different church here in Shanghai when we came for M's interview. I felt equally uncertain of our fit with that congregation as well. Worship was very loud and the seats were uncomfortable. On the flip side, the lesson was straight from the Bible with plenty of references and there seems to be a very large children's program there.
I've heard there are one or two other churches we can check out on our side of the river. We'll have to decide on our visiting strategy going forward. I know our kids aren't going to be excited about it, but we will continue to be dilligent in our search. Worship, fellowship, and accountability don't lose their importance on an international assignment!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
The Grocery Store
I have lived in Shanghai for 2 weeks and have been to 6 grocery stores. I have purchased things at all but one and am still trying to decide which will be my go-to store. There are some interesting things about grocery stores in China. First, and no different from changing my store at home, things are laid out differently. On the first trip to a new store, it's hard to find what you're looking for. Second, most everything is in Chinese. Well, that complicates things. If that's not enough, a large percentage of dry goods are packaged in bags. Gone is the familiar cylinder of quick oats! Look in one of a handful of aisles of bags for a picture of oatmeal and hope that's what you're getting.
It's not always that uncertain. Many of the stores in our area have an import section. In fact, one of the stores I've visited is all imported. In my first round of trips to these stores, I took the most comfort in that one. It was such a relief to be able to simply recognize what an aisle contained as I walked by!! Between this store and the import sections of the others, we can find a lot of the things we used at home (maybe a new brand), but they come at a price. Most imported items are 2-3 times the price of the product at home. Gone are the days of tracking the sales at Kroger!
I have no idea what my local vs. imported food use ratio will wind up being, but it's been nice to know I can lean on the imports when I'm unsure about a local product. At least we can know what we're eating while we transition to a new country/culture/cuisine. Hopefully I can sit back soon, comfortable in my choice of my main grocery store. According to my driver, I have a few more to visit!
It's not always that uncertain. Many of the stores in our area have an import section. In fact, one of the stores I've visited is all imported. In my first round of trips to these stores, I took the most comfort in that one. It was such a relief to be able to simply recognize what an aisle contained as I walked by!! Between this store and the import sections of the others, we can find a lot of the things we used at home (maybe a new brand), but they come at a price. Most imported items are 2-3 times the price of the product at home. Gone are the days of tracking the sales at Kroger!
I have no idea what my local vs. imported food use ratio will wind up being, but it's been nice to know I can lean on the imports when I'm unsure about a local product. At least we can know what we're eating while we transition to a new country/culture/cuisine. Hopefully I can sit back soon, comfortable in my choice of my main grocery store. According to my driver, I have a few more to visit!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
One More Day
One would think that a summer vacation that never ends is a good thing. Today, in my life, one would be wrong.
Because of our move, our kids haven't started school yet. I didn't want to start them in new classes with new friends only have to pull them out after one month and start the process over again. Because of the hectic pace we've kept over the last few months, our summer has been wild and unstructured. All of this has led to an increasing level of whining and tears, which today is nearly pushing me past my limits!
I crave structure and positive distraction. I need 10 straight minutes to focus on a single task. I am desperate for the day the kids go back to school!
That day is tomorrow.
Because of our move, our kids haven't started school yet. I didn't want to start them in new classes with new friends only have to pull them out after one month and start the process over again. Because of the hectic pace we've kept over the last few months, our summer has been wild and unstructured. All of this has led to an increasing level of whining and tears, which today is nearly pushing me past my limits!
I crave structure and positive distraction. I need 10 straight minutes to focus on a single task. I am desperate for the day the kids go back to school!
That day is tomorrow.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Guidelines for Calling
Any of you who have our phone numbers (M's cell and our home phone), here are some guidelines for calling us here in China:
1. The time difference from Michigan to Shanghai is 12 hours during Daylight Savings Time (summer). So if it's noon (Thursday) in Michigan, it's midnight (Friday morning) in Shanghai.
2. After DST ends (winter) the time difference is 13 hours. So if it's noon (Thursday) in Michigan, it's 1 am (Friday morning) in Shanghai.
3. We wake up at 6am during the week, and are planning to maintain that schedule on the weekends. See #1&2 for conversions.
4. Right now we go to bed usually by 8:30 pm, but we hope to push that out to 10pm soon. For now, stick to the 8:30pm bedtime. I'll let you know when that changes.
5. To allay any fears or confusion, our number is a local call for those in Livonia - it's just like calling Livonia, but through the magic of the world wide web, you can reach us here in China for the same price (free)!
6. We have voicemail, so feel free to leave a message if we don't pick up.
Talk to you soon!
1. The time difference from Michigan to Shanghai is 12 hours during Daylight Savings Time (summer). So if it's noon (Thursday) in Michigan, it's midnight (Friday morning) in Shanghai.
2. After DST ends (winter) the time difference is 13 hours. So if it's noon (Thursday) in Michigan, it's 1 am (Friday morning) in Shanghai.
3. We wake up at 6am during the week, and are planning to maintain that schedule on the weekends. See #1&2 for conversions.
4. Right now we go to bed usually by 8:30 pm, but we hope to push that out to 10pm soon. For now, stick to the 8:30pm bedtime. I'll let you know when that changes.
5. To allay any fears or confusion, our number is a local call for those in Livonia - it's just like calling Livonia, but through the magic of the world wide web, you can reach us here in China for the same price (free)!
6. We have voicemail, so feel free to leave a message if we don't pick up.
Talk to you soon!
Welcome to The Great McBlog
I'm so happy you're here! Even better - I'm so happy I'M here! After a few trials over the last week, I'm pleased to introduce my new blog. To protect my family's privacy, I will be using first initials only. Please try to do the same as you leave comments. Catch up on the last 3 (pre)posts and I'll be back later with more!
The Great McBlog in T-1 (Connectivity!)
It's pretty exciting when you get your Internet, China home phone, and Michigan home phone all working in the same few minutes! It's kind of a downer when you realize that ALL of the people you’d like to call and tell about this phenomenal success are fast asleep (except for one who's in a meeting). Bummer. It's going to be hard to wait patiently until everyone is awake on a sleep-in Saturday morning. Maybe by then my VPN will work as well and I'll be able to share all my success at once!!
Post Script: The VPN is working! Thank you, Witopia for being so quick to help in my time of need!!
Post Script: The VPN is working! Thank you, Witopia for being so quick to help in my time of need!!
The Great McBlog in T-2 (Making a House a Home)
(Written Thursday, October 6, 2011)
I've never really had the opportunity to get ahead of the curveball organizing my house. What I mean is, in almost every place I've lived I've put everything into the house and then tried to find a place for it. Here in Shanghai, though, we only brought what would fit into 3 large suitcases, 3 large duffel bags, 3 smaller suitcases, 4 small duffels, 4 backpacks, 1 computer bag and my (newly gigantic) purse. Don't worry, more is coming! It will just take a while to get here - about 6 weeks they tell us. What's great about this is that we've moved into our (furnished) house with a fairly small amount of stuff, but I still know what else is coming. I've been able to think through the organization of the house without all the clutter weighing me down. I've been able to move something to a new & better location without having to find a home for what was previously in that location. It's so refreshing!
BACK STORY: Prior to living in Shanghai, we had cozy bungalow in Livonia, MI. Funny thing - we found out just before we moved that our bungalow wasn't as cozy as we thought! When we bought the house, the listing said 1162 sq ft. We didn't realize until speaking with a selling realtor that our house is actually around 1400 sqft! Either way, it was a bungalow. And bungalows are built with all kinds of nooks & crannies to put things in. And ours was stuffed to the gills. I spent the last few weeks before we moved sorting through things in the house to sell, give away, donate, put in storage, pack on the sea crate, or just throw away. As a result, I'm pretty familiar with all of our worldly possessions at this exact moment of my life.
I've never really had the opportunity to get ahead of the curveball organizing my house. What I mean is, in almost every place I've lived I've put everything into the house and then tried to find a place for it. Here in Shanghai, though, we only brought what would fit into 3 large suitcases, 3 large duffel bags, 3 smaller suitcases, 4 small duffels, 4 backpacks, 1 computer bag and my (newly gigantic) purse. Don't worry, more is coming! It will just take a while to get here - about 6 weeks they tell us. What's great about this is that we've moved into our (furnished) house with a fairly small amount of stuff, but I still know what else is coming. I've been able to think through the organization of the house without all the clutter weighing me down. I've been able to move something to a new & better location without having to find a home for what was previously in that location. It's so refreshing!
BACK STORY: Prior to living in Shanghai, we had cozy bungalow in Livonia, MI. Funny thing - we found out just before we moved that our bungalow wasn't as cozy as we thought! When we bought the house, the listing said 1162 sq ft. We didn't realize until speaking with a selling realtor that our house is actually around 1400 sqft! Either way, it was a bungalow. And bungalows are built with all kinds of nooks & crannies to put things in. And ours was stuffed to the gills. I spent the last few weeks before we moved sorting through things in the house to sell, give away, donate, put in storage, pack on the sea crate, or just throw away. As a result, I'm pretty familiar with all of our worldly possessions at this exact moment of my life.
The Great McBlog in T-3 (Give me back my Internet!)
(Written Thursday, October 6, 2011)
We've been in Shanghai for 6 days now and things still feel very uncertain. Many people are on holiday this week due to National Day (Yay, we're communists!), which was October 1st. The time off work goes through Friday for most people, which here in China means back to work on Saturday. I'm happy to say that our house is dry and comfortable, but there are some minor frustrations that we can't work out until everyone (including Matt) returns to work. The biggest of these is that our Internet isn't working. We've been "borrowing" our neighbors to check email, and unfortunately the best connection is standing at the top of our stairs!
Along with limited Internet access comes a subset of frustrations:
- No phone service (pretty sure this is related to no Internet)
- Can't set up Vonage (which I am anticipating will come with it's own set of problems - see future post regarding The Great Firewall)
- Trying to troubleshoot my newly acquired VPN is tricky
I could almost make a dichotomy of the frustrations we've experienced this week just related to the Internet. For example, this blog post, the first I've written and potentially the first I'll publish, won't be posted today because Blogger is blocked. So much so that I can't even see pictures from blogs that are emailed to me! I think my VPN can help me get around this, but if you read the Internet frustrations subset, then you know that my VPN isn't working correctly. Even as I write this, it's difficult to organize my thoughts and experiences regarding the Internet here. I'll have to work on a list. Look for that in another future post.
We've been in Shanghai for 6 days now and things still feel very uncertain. Many people are on holiday this week due to National Day (Yay, we're communists!), which was October 1st. The time off work goes through Friday for most people, which here in China means back to work on Saturday. I'm happy to say that our house is dry and comfortable, but there are some minor frustrations that we can't work out until everyone (including Matt) returns to work. The biggest of these is that our Internet isn't working. We've been "borrowing" our neighbors to check email, and unfortunately the best connection is standing at the top of our stairs!
Along with limited Internet access comes a subset of frustrations:
- No phone service (pretty sure this is related to no Internet)
- Can't set up Vonage (which I am anticipating will come with it's own set of problems - see future post regarding The Great Firewall)
- Trying to troubleshoot my newly acquired VPN is tricky
I could almost make a dichotomy of the frustrations we've experienced this week just related to the Internet. For example, this blog post, the first I've written and potentially the first I'll publish, won't be posted today because Blogger is blocked. So much so that I can't even see pictures from blogs that are emailed to me! I think my VPN can help me get around this, but if you read the Internet frustrations subset, then you know that my VPN isn't working correctly. Even as I write this, it's difficult to organize my thoughts and experiences regarding the Internet here. I'll have to work on a list. Look for that in another future post.
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