HK Disney

Sunday was our day to spend at Hong Kong Disneyland. This was one of those really special days that I think we will look back on as a family and really cherish. We had such a tremendous day! The night before Becca slept only 6-7 hours because she was so excited. When we first arrived at the park, we were getting ready to explore when an employee of Disneyland stopped us and asked if we would like to be the parade that day. Now we thought that we would be walking in the parade with others. We agreed and were told where we were needed to arrive for the start of the parade. Then we were off to explore! We spent the morning in Fantasyland. All the kids enjoyed the carousel, riding on Dumbo and Small World. But Becca's favorite was the teacups. I seriously lost count of how many times we went on the ride together! For our last 2 rides, Tori joined us but there was no convincing Josh. I did change his mind later in the day when I told him that we could ride on it and make it NOT spin. He got off and told Andy that his favorite thing was the not spinning part. :-D We then spent the beginning part of the afternoon in Tomorrowland. Josh and Becca absolutely loved the Buzz Lightyear ride where you can blast Zurg. They were hilarious to watch on that one! Then at 2PM, we headed to the park entrance for the parade. We got to Guest Services and told them we were there for the parade. At first, they just said, "The parade starts at 3 and you can see it all along Main Street." Andy said someone had asked us to be in the parade and then they said, "Oh, you are THE family. Come through this door to the VIP room." Huh? Turns out that we got picked to be the Grand Marshals of the "Let it Snow" parade! We were each given Mickey and Minnie hats with our names sewn on them and would ride at the beginning waving big Mickey hands. They also had all kinds of free things for the kids as souvenirs. Who knew? After the parade, we explored Adventureland and saw the Lion King show. We ended up back in both Tomorrowland and Fantasyland to ride our favorite rides before the fireworks at the end of the day. It was a day full of fun and great memories.

In front of the special subway line for Disney

We loved riding Dumbo!

I absolutely love this picture.... it so captures the fun that Becca had on the teacups!

Watch out Zurg!

Tori with the 2 women who were in charge of the parade.

Look at us!

Watching the parade (since we were at the beginning, we got off at the end and then were able to watch the parade). The whole park was decorated for Christmas. Since Hong Kong stays warm all winter, they make it "snow" during the parade. You can't really see the snow in this picture but at the bottom of the post Tori is dancing in the snow right before the fireworks.

Waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise

Becca under the rocket in Tomorrowland. It shot mist out the bottom so Becca determined she needed to wear her raincoat. 

Sleeping Beauty's castle decorated for Christmas

Tori dancing and trying to catch the fake snow before the fireworks.

The Peak in HK

Hong Kong is made up several islands and a peninsula. The main area that contains the densely populated part of the city is Kowloon (on the peninsula) and Hong Kong Island which lies directly across the harbor from Kowloon. On Hong Kong Island, there is a mountain with a tram that you can ride to the top. This is called The Peak and is considered a must-see in HK. We spent most of Saturday meandering about the top. We ate at Burger King, found a fun playground, took a hike to an overlook, and enjoyed some over-priced gelato -- should have stuck to the ice cream from the night before.  :-) The day was wonderful (a bit cloudy) but the temperature was in the high 60s!

Here some highlights of the day:

Riding the ferry from Kowloon (where we stayed) to Hong Kong Island

Waiting for the tram

Riding the tram to the top

View along the way

Becca being a monkey at the playground

In a garden by the playground

At the overlook that we hiked up to

View of Hong Kong, the harbor and Kowloon from the Peak.... impressive, huh?

Hong Kong

We arrived at our hotel in the late afternoon. After resting a bit, we ventured out to find some food. I had read that for those who live in the mainland (of China) visiting HK is a culinary treat and that is SO TRUE. We found a great Indian restaurant next to our hotel and had a feast. The kids discovered that they each like something: Becca loved the rice. She kept commenting on how wonderful it was and how it is different than the rice we normally eat. Josh devoured the tandoori-style grilled meat. The lamb was his favorite. Tori liked the chicken. She kept calling it "fire chicken" (because of the color). I know that I have said this before, but they have grown so much in their ability to try new foods. A year ago, we ate at an Indian restaurant in the States and it was not a pretty sight! 

Tori trying a samosa.

After dinner, we wandered down to the harbor and took the ferry boat from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island and back. All of the buildings on the waterfront were decorated for Christmas and it was a beautiful sight. We finished the night off with some bing qi ling (ice cream). Some of the best we have had since coming to China.

Riding the ferry. You can sort of see some of the buildings lit up behind the girls.

Enjoying ice cream on the ferry.

Tori and I were admiring.....

this hotel that was so beautifully decorated.

The kids and I in front of the same hotel

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

The day after Christmas we left and took a weekend trip to Hong Kong. Andy had found amazingly cheap tickets flying into Shenzen (right across the border from Hong Kong). But it required that we take many forms of transportation (and just a little more time) to get there....

We left from Suzhou and drove 2 hours to Hangzhou in the van

Took a 2 hour flight to Shenzen

A 3o minute taxi ride to Lo Wo (the border where you cross into Hong Kong)

Then a 25 minute train ride into the heart of Hong Kong.

Total time spent traveling: 8 hours

Types of transportation used: 4

Weekend away as a family: PRICELESS!

A very Skype Christmas

This was our first Christmas that we didn't spend with family in the States. While we missed everyone, we thought it would be fun to open gifts via Skype and webcams. We scheduled times with our families and then gathered around. While it was not like being there, it was a really cool thing that made us feel more connected. Isn't technology grand?

Tori opening a book from Uncle Dave and Aunt Amree (if you look closely at the computer, you can see them watching her)

huh?

Andy was driving one of women from his office to have dinner together with a customer. As he drove, they were making small talk. Since it has been more than 6 months, she asked how he liked living and working in China. Andy responded with, "I really like living in China!" She gave him a strange look and an awkward pause followed. After a couple of minutes, she asked "Why did you say that?" Andy inquired into what she thought he had said. She thought that Andy had said "I really like women in China!" How hilarious is that!? I am so glad that she asked (as is Andy!). We have decided that there is a lesson to be learned here: SPEAK SLOWLY. 

Party people

Over the weekend we had quite the crowd of people at our house. Saturday we had a party to celebrate the holidays. I invited some other expats who also weren't going home. Knowing that probably not everyone would be able to come, I invited a lot of people. Then only 2 families couldn't attend! We had 26 people for dinner (14 adults and 12 kids). It was a fabulous time! I was too busy enjoying myself to take any pictures. :-D

Then on Sunday, we had the music teacher from Becca's school and her family over for dinner. Her youngest daughter is a friend of Becca's (they are also in the same class). 

All in all, a busy but wonderful weekend! 

Making cookies

I have been baking up a storm getting ready for Christmas. If we were back home, we would be going places where others would have made cookies. But this year if I wanted cookies, I needed to make them myself. Ovens are a rarity in China. Most homes or apartments don't have them (which makes me SO thankful for mine). I was also giving plates of cookies as gifts (neither of the kids teachers have ovens in their homes). All this to say, I have been a cookie-making fiend! I have lost count of how many batches and kinds I have made! Last week, I had several Chinese friends of mine that work at Andy's company over at our house and we made cookies. We had a GREAT time! I had so much fun sharing one of my favorite holiday traditions with them. :-D They were funny -- I gave them basic instruction and then they took over while I looked on. I thought that the cookies would be too sweet for their taste (many Chinese don't like really sweet foods) but they all liked the sugar cookies. They were in shock with how much sugar was required though!

Measure words

So, I haven't blogged in awhile about the ongoing battle with Chinese. There are days that I feel that I am really making progress, but others where I struggle to speak and understand. Overall, I am encouraged because I can have a basic conversation, can tell a taxi driver how to get a few places, can order some things in a restaurant (I did it the other day in a place that had NO English, NO picture menu or anything.... I felt victorious!), and can understand more and more. My current nemesis (other than my limited vocabulary) are measure words. Let me explain.... In Chinese, when telling how many of something, you need to include the appropriate measure along with the number. Instead of saying I want an apple, you would say: yige pingguo (one apple). "Yi" means one and "ge" is a general measure word used for "pingguo" (apple). There are a few general measure words that can be used for lots of things, but often specific items have specific measure words. Long, thin things have one measure word while small, round things have another, flat things another, cylindrical things another, and the list goes on..... Have I lost you yet? Really in English we have lots of specific measure words for certain things: a strip of bacon, loaf of bread, pair of shoes, but they are so instinctual for us. For some reason, the measure words in Chinese get quite tangled up in my brain. Eventually, I am sure that I will get it. But for now, I continue to say the wrong measure word for things and get MANY confused looks. ;-)

Yes, he ate that!

I have mentioned before some of the crazy things that Andy eats at business dinners. He recently traveled to see some customers and was treated to this:

This is Hokaido Crab and he said it tasted a lot like Alaska king crab. Yum. But then how often do they bring the live crab to your table first?

Holiday Cheer

Yesterday we went to a Christmas party here in our neighborhood. We had such a great time! The family who lives across from us hosted it outside their house. The evening was cool (in the 40s), but we enjoyed keeping warm by the fire and sipping hot mulled wine and hot apple cider. The kiddos had a blast jumping on their trampoline. When Tori woke up this morning, she told me that her legs were tired. I believe it -- I think she jumped on the trampoline for a couple HOURS. As we sat and talked with others, I was reminded that we have made many friends here and how blessed we are.

Her first pie

Becca sometimes enjoys helping me in the kitchen. On Saturday, Becca wanted to help me make an apple pie to welcome Andy home -- this is one of Andy's favorite desserts. I made the crust, peeled the apples,  and as Becca put it, "handled the oven." But she did the rest! Didn't I tell you she was growing up before my very eyes? Here she is in action:

6 month update

I realized a few days ago that we have been here for more than 6 months. Is that amazing to anyone else? Just makes me stop and take inventory....

The kids continue to do well. Our recent visit from Duease was so good for them. I am thankful for their overall good health. True, as I write this Becca has a bad cold and just got rid of lice. Becca is thriving at her school. As I watched her in the school play last week, I felt like I was watching a different girl than the one we brought to China. Every time I turn around, she is growing and changing before my eyes. Josh is slowly making friends. But that is who he is. Tori has made several friends and is enjoying taking a ballet class.

Andy hen mang! (is very busy) Over the last 3 weeks, he has been gone more than he has been home. I think that he has been home maybe 5 days during this time! He was even gone on Thanksgiving. He gets home Friday and does not travel again for a while. Funny how it comes in spurts. He feels that he is starting to settle into his role, though there is still much to learn.

I am overall doing well. The past 4 weeks have been busy. Duease (Andy's mom) came to visit, which was wonderful. Then for the last week and a half we have had a family of 5 staying with us. They discovered mold growing in their apartment, so they bunked here while looking for a new place. There were 6 kids and Becca (at 7 years) was the oldest! 

Normally, I love this time of year, anticipating Christmas. However, even though we have decorations up it just doesn't quite feel like the holiday season. I am sure part of it is the weather (it was in the high 60s today). But I also know that it will be hard for all of us to be apart from family and friends over the holidays. In fact, I am already missing our families. :-(  Don't misunderstand me. I am still enjoying so much of life here, but this is my first wave of homesickness. There is just a small store of sadness that I normally don't carry around this time of year as I miss all of YOU!  Knowing how celebrating with others is so important to me, we will be celebrating with several friends who will also be around. Anyway, think of us over the next couple of weeks.....

17 random things

Some little known things about me:

1. My favorite flowers are gerbera daisies - but I love any daisy. They just make me smile.

2. I LOVE peanut butter. In fact, I craved it when I was pregnant with Becca and would eat it straight from the jar! Thankfully, PB is readily available in China.

3. I can count to ten in 5 languages other than English (Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German and Arabic). Though other than Chinese I can't really say anything else in those languages.

4. I don't like to wear high heels because I feel like a giant. I like the way they look, just not the feeling of towering over people. Imagine if I wore them here....

5. I was voted "Most Shy" by my high school class.

6. I am horrible with numbers -- especially phone numbers. I am forever switching the order in my head. At our house in Indy, Andy even choose a telephone number that he thought would be easier for me. :-)

7. I really, really like fall in the U.S. The weather, the leaves, the smell, pumpkins and picking apples. I don't think I realized how much until this year. Unfortunately, very few leaves change color here (but on the plus side, the weather can be really enjoyable through December - today was 65!) 

8. I was on my high school dance team/flag corp.

9. I like socks -- stripes and argyle are my faves.

10. I really like Christmas music and could listen to it year-round.

11. I love coke (please not pepsi). Did you know that it tastes different in other countries? In China, it is not as sweet.

12. After moving to China (land of cheap knock-off purses), I found I really like purses. Andy is threatening to cut me off. 

13. I am an avid reader. My favorites are biographies and mysteries. Though I can't read mysteries while Andy is traveling.

14. I cannot go through a day without listening to music. The type can vary but I need to have something on in the background.

15. I can be a control freak when it comes to certain things with my kids. Though I have learned to let go quite a bit. ;-)

16. I don't feel right leaving the house without earrings.

17. I am a terrible speller. 

Now it is your turn. List 17 random things about you on your blog, facebook or send me an email. 

Lice

Yesterday I found lice in Becca's hair. There have been several cases going around her school, but I thought that we had escaped it. Can I tell you how gross I find this whole thing? But I have been careful not to communicate that to our girlie. She has been worried about it enough ("Will I always have bugs in my hair? Are they going to hurt me? I really don't want to miss school."). So I have washed all sheets, PJs, quarantined stuffed animals, anything Becca wore recently, and have treated her. Today I found only one. So we treated it again (and washed all bedding again). We are using tea tree oil to treat it because I am leery of using chemicals bought here to put on the kiddos heads! 

Just as an aside.... I hesitated blogging about the lice because somehow I feel like a bad mom that it happened. Even though I know I had no control over it. Ah, maybe one day I won't be so concerned with what others think..... (I think that I needed to blog about it as one small way of letting go. Make sense to anyone?)

Look at my bad cat!

I started writing this blog on Friday, but had video trouble so I am finally posting it (notice that I still don't have video). Friday was the long-awaited play "The Mice from Outer Space" at Becca's school. Tori and I went to watch Becca perform. She did an amazing job! She played the bad cat and her meow was really frightening. I had banned her from practicing inside the house because she was scaring Tori. In fact, the music teacher told me that they had to turn the microphone down because Becca was SO loud. ;-)

The Answer

So, Lori you are right! It is firework-related. And Melinda, you were thinking like I was. But let me back up, I am getting ahead of myself..... Last week when Duease was here we were in Metro perusing the Christmas section and found these really cool rolls. Being that it was in the CHRISTMAS section, we assumed that it was wrapping paper. However, we were quite wrong! We got the tubes home and realized that one end were heavier than the other. I thought that it was just stuff that you would use for wrapping (you know tape and things inside the roll). I decided that I would open it to see what it was. I pried it open and found all sort of rolled-up paper inside and then one end was a metal canister. Because this just confused us more, I asked our househelp if she could read the Chinese on the package. She read it and started laughing.  Totally missing the joke, Duease and I just stood by befuddled. XaLiu then told me that what I had was actually similar to fireworks, but instead you twist the roll and it shoots out brightly colored confetti (hence the paper I found inside). Chinese set these off for Christmas - this really doesn't surprise me. ;-) The funny (and alarming) thing was that Duease had been thinking of taking her "cool roll of wrapping paper" back ON THE PLANE. Can you just imagine going through security and then customs with that!? I laugh and then shudder thinking about it. When Andy got home that night, we decided to try it out. He put it back together and we were amazed that I had not set it off earlier with my dismantling. We shot it inside (because we were just expecting a little confetti), but were really surprised by the force at which it came out. The confetti projectiles came close to taking out our Christmas tree! Afterwards, the kids had a blast playing the in the massive amount of paper. This was a quintessential Chinese experience on so many levels!

Shooting it took two people after I had mangled it.

Can you even see Josh for all the confetti? And this was after it went off, the kids had a great time throwing handfuls of the streamers and confetti into the air. Our house was a wreck!

Tori gathering her pile.