Look at her go!

A couple weeks ago we bought bikes for Andy and the older two kids. Becca's does not have training wheels, but with all the rain we were unable to start practicing with her. This week there was a day that it rained only part of the day and I helped Becca start learning to ride on her own. We worked for half an hour or so. Today was a beautiful day so Andy took her to the basketball court (the smoothest area in our neighborhood) to practice more. He was holding on to the back and running beside her for about 15 minutes when Josh needed some assistance. Becca told Andy to go help Josh. She told me that as she sat there she thought, "I think I can try it on my own." Andy looked up and look what he saw:

Wow! Look at her go! Is that really my little girl? She spent the rest of the afternoon riding on her own. Becca was so excited that she asked Andy if she could call me on Andy's phone to share her accomplishment. When she got home, she told me, "Mom, maybe in a year or two, I can ride to Tesco or the produce market with you!" Be still, my heart!

One month

We have officially been in China a month! Does anyone else find that hard to believe? This got me to thinking of how each of us are doing here. Andy has hit the ground running with so much to learn in a short time. I don't think he has even had time to wonder how he is doing! Becca loves it here, but misses friends. Josh, too, is enjoying life here, but has not made friends yet. He can be my shy guy so I know that it will take him some time. Tori seems unfazed - she is back to napping most days, which she had pretty much given up in the States. I think this is partly due to the fact that we walk so many more places and the heat also takes a toll. She is also getting back on track with potty training and going whole days dry. And me? Well, I am doing well, but I think that it is so hard to really judge until we get into our house. Everything so far I can just say, "this is just temporary. It will change." I am curious to see how things will be harder and how they will be easier in the house. I know my way around my little part of the city and that makes this feel more like home. But the language barrier frustrates me. People tell me this is good because it will motivate me. But imagine trying to do simple things and not having the words to communicate it. Yet again, I think this has raised an awareness of how we treat others in the U.S. who do not speak English. I cannot tell you how I appreciate small kindnesses and when people go out of their way to try to communicate with me and don't just get frustrated. Already I can see that living here will change me and help me to grow in ways I had not realized. That is my hope for each person in our family - that our time here will help us grow in ways we couldn't have in the U.S.

New hair and language challenges

A couple of nights ago, Josh, Becca and I went and got haircuts. The kids are fairly straight-forward and I was sure that I could navigate that one. But for my hair, Qian (Andy's boss's wife who is Chinese) came with us. She highly recommended this place, but I wanted her to come with us for our first time because the owner/stylist doesn't speak much English. So, I described to Qian, who described to the stylist what I wanted done. Can you see the potential problem here? I wondered if everything got through in translation. Anyway, I got a GREAT haircut, but it wasn't what I had in mind. I actually like it better that what I had in mind! ;-) I will go back again, and have learned to say "I want the same," but we will see if I can communicate it when the time comes! I also took pictures to show him (that are still on Andy's phone - which is acting as our camera for now). I will post the pictures in the next couple days. It is amazing how the simplest of things become complicated without language. For example, I have wanted to find Olympic t-shirts (which I thought would be easy). I found some that are outrageously expensive (especially for Chinese standards). Then today I learned there is a store that has copies (of course, this is China!) that look like the real thing. The problem is that I got directions how to get there IN CHINESE! I will also need to bargain and without someone who speaks Chinese I'll get the "foreign face mark-up." Hmm, I'll have to ponder how I am going to solve that one. I am limping along (without language) so far, but in the fall I will start taking some classes 2-3 days a week. I can't wait!

A Soggy Sunday

I walked to Tesco (the grocery to which I often bike) today. It had rained earlier in the morning and afternoon, and the streets were wet enough that I really didn't want to bike. Maybe eventually I'll be confident enough to do that, but not yet! Doesn't it seem like a lot of my stories involve going to the grocery store? And I haven't even posted some of the really strange stuff you can buy there! I digress.... When I came out of the store and saw that it was raining, I was SO THANKFUL that I had walked! The rain was light at first, but before long I was walking home in a downpour. By the time I got back to the apartment, I looked like I had been swimming with my clothes on -- AND I HAD AN UMBRELLA! As I was walking, I was reminded of Forrest Gump talking about sideways rain and rain that seems to come up at you. I was so wet that I even my hair and glasses (the things most protected by the umbrella) were wet and my glasses are fogging up in the picture. Water was running down my arms and legs. Andy opened the door, laughed, and ran to get the camera! I keep thinking the rainy season will come to an end soon. Because it is only 2 weeks, right?! But here we are, at least 2 and a half weeks of rain every day, and at least 4 more days with rain in the forecast! Ahh, the rainy season!

WE HAVE AN OFFER!!

We finally have an offer! Woo-hoo! There are still some things to be negotiated and nothing is definite yet, but I am just rejoicing at an OFFER. The truly sad thing is that by the time we paid for all the repairs on the house, if the offer goes through, we will just about break even. [sigh] I think that we will be glad just to be rid of our house. :-) ....Can I mention again that Andy never wants to own a house again?!

The Humble Administrator's Garden

Isn't that a great name? I have no idea where the name for this garden came from, but according to the guidebooks, this garden is one of top 4 gardens in China. Actually, Suzhou is quite known for its gardens and boasts 2 of the top 4 gardens in all of China! Becca loves to tell people, "We went to one of top gardens in China." At each attraction, she asks, "What number is this on the list?" Saturday has become our day to explore. Today we went to the Humble Administrator's Garden. This is such a beautiful garden, and we did not even see it in its prime (which is Springtime). We had fun exploring the winding paths, peering into the ponds and looking for fish, and climbing rocks. The garden had many rocks with steps that would have hidden caves and passageways beneath them. It was an adventure finding where the various rock steps would lead. Exploring the "secret rooms" within the rocks was the highlight of the day. The garden is quite big and we spent several hours there. Towards the end of our time at the garden it rained, and you know that it is hot when you are thankful for the rain and DON'T seek shelter! Though the kids wanted to keep exploring on the rocks as it rained harder, but Andy I vetoed them. The day was a little indicator of the summer to come because it was downright steamy (think Louisiana summers)! :-)

This rock path led down to the pagoda and then through a rock tunnel - what a fun garden!

Tori loved the fish. She kept say, "Oh these are funny fishes! They have silly mouths."

Peeking out from a rock-room

After the garden, we went to Walking Street which is actually a 6 block area of downtown that is closed off to cars and has lots of shopping. We ate lunch at Pizza Hut (the kids' choice - Andy and I were voting for Chinese), and then walked around and did a little shopping. We bought several things at the silk market. After buying a dress for Tori and several tops for Becca, Tori wanted to wear her dress immediately. So, we stripped her down and put on the dress right in the store -- much to the amusement of the shopowner! We had a fun but tiring day. We didn't get home from our expedition until 5:30! 

Main area of Walking Street

Tori showing off her new dress. After she put her dress on, she wanted to be carried and then promptly fell asleep! She slept in my then Andy's arms for almost an hour!

What a long day! Josh fell asleep in the taxi back.

My favorite Chinglish

One of the things that humors me the most in China is English signs that are not quite right. You know, where things are lost in translation. Chinglish is everywhere! From menus to advertisements to billboard signs.... I will try periodically to include some of my favorites. Don't you love the sign at the top? I think that this is a restaurant. This really reminded me of Will Smith in the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" getting upset at the spelling of happyness. So, here are my top ones since arriving (there have been more, but these are the ones that stand out)......

An advertisement for a pizza place: (they were showing the special) "Suprising price!" - this was actually a great way to say this, just not something we would normally say so I enjoyed it.

A brochure for furniture: "Taste life, Enjoy our natural, High official the pinetree family" 

Our beach towels: one says "Peaceful" and the other "Enjoy life"

I just love the way that they communicate English! But when we wear shirts or have things with Chinese characters on them and have no clue what they say, are we any better? I am sure there are times we look equally funny. :-)

International Family Day

Today after church, we went to an International Family Day on the other side of the city. The event was sponsored by several restaurants that had a sampling of really good food. Our family favorite was the sausages from the German restaurant (one of the restaurants was TGIFridays). There was also a lot of games for the kids. Tori's favorite was the fishing pond. You know, inflatable kiddie pool filled with water and fish then you try to catch fish with nets. The fun part of this is that it was filled with REAL goldfish. Tori loved it (she could have spent the entire time there)! There was also a bouncing castle, rides and an inflatable climbing wall. Fun day, but the weather was unseasonably cool. One of those gray days were it looks like it can rain at any moment - thankfully, it didn't rain while we were there! We had a great time.

Becca climbing the inflatable wall. She did this several times!

Is it just me, or is she getting really big?

Tori at the fishing pond.

Each time she caught a fish, she would squeal, "Oh a fish! A fish!"

Tori caught all of these fish. Actually, she filled the bucket 3 or 4 times and then we'd dump them back in the pool. If we wanted, we could have taken some fish home with us, but we are inheriting several fish (with the house) so we opted to dump them back in.

Chopstick contest - pick up the ping pong balls with chopsticks and be the first one to empty your basket. Andy in a furious battle with Kevin (his boss). Andy lost by one ping pong ball. Andy claims that he lost because I distracted him by getting the camera out of his pocket in the middle.

Bag o' Meat and Red Onion Wine

Yes, you read that correctly. I bought a bag of meat at Tesco today. I rode my bicycle up to buy a couple of ingredients to make tacos tonight. It probably seems like I am going to the store a lot... well, I am! A big part of that reason is that most Chinese go to the store every couple of days so things are packaged smaller. They are also packaged smaller because most people BIKE to the store (see earlier blog). So I can't go pick up a gallon of milk or two (nor would I want to lug that back on the bike). Anyway, I digress. I wanted to buy some ground meat and another person told me that Tesco was the best place to buy it. I went to the meat section and looked for the packages of ground beef. Hmm, no packages. But there was an area that had meat piled in divided sections. Now before you get too worried, this was a refrigerated section that reminded me a lot of the meat counter at Kroger just set up a bit different. Instead of a man behind the counter getting you want you wanted, it was more self serve. Unfortunately, I was confused by the whole process. The man behind the counter was watching me as I pointed to the meat trying to indicate that I wanted some. He looked around and had another man come to help him. The second man held up one finger and then made his hands into an X. I took this to mean did I want 1 kilogram of meat or 1/2 a kilogram (because it seemed like he wanted me choose one of the 2). I indicated half. He then grabbed a bag and put A LOT of meat in. (Just for all those people like me that have no clue how much a kilogram is, it is a little over 2 pounds). I wonder, what exactly did he mean? I also was unsure what kind of meat it was. I was pretty sure that it was ground pork or chicken, but after eating it I am voting for pork. Can I just state for the record that I can't wait to understand and be able to speak at least a bit more Chinese!? Now onto the onion wine. Andy and I have been curious to try things that we couldn't get at home. I was in the wine section trying to choose a bottle of wine and I saw one labeled "Red Onion Wine" and couldn't pass it up. After tasting it, we can't taste any onions, but it is not our favorite either. I first wondered if this was just a crazy lost in translation moment, but there is a picture of onions on the bottle with grapes. Isn't that strange? Doesn't it seem like I am talking about food an awful lot? Speaking of food, Andy has gone out to eat with customers and the people from the local government and he's eaten some crazy things. Jellyfish, cuttlefish, and duck tongue to name a few! I consider myself a moderately adventurous eater, but I have been glad that it is him and not me. :-)

Red Onion Wine - can you see the picture of the red onions on the bottle?

Kiddo Update

I am sure that you are wondering how the kids are doing after being here for a couple of weeks. I think that they are getting used to the routine of life here in China (at least what it will be like during the summer). We had someone over for dinner last night and he was asking the kids what they thought of China. Becca replied that she LOVES it here and Josh piped up that he also likes it. They have also started picking up important words like bing qi ling (ice cream). Yesterday, Tori and I were running some errands on the bike while the older two played at someone's house. Just as a side note, she loves going with me on the bike. My bike has a child seat on the back and Tori chatters away as I pedal along. When we were almost back, she was talking about various things we had seen when she suddenly called out, "Look, Mommy, there's our HOME!" (She had spotted our apartment building). Wow, aren't kids resilient!? Andy and I are both so thankful that they are adjusting well. I think that being in our house will help us all to feel settled, but really the kids are doing great.

The Price of Home

I have had several posts where I have commented on how inexpensive things can be in China. While that is true for many things, that is not the case for some of our favorite things from home. I don't know if you remember but when I packed up our big ocean shipment, I included baking powder and cinnamon (huge things of them). Not necessarily because we can't find it here, but because it is so expensive to buy here. Syrup for example. We love to have pancakes or french toast one day on the weekend. In the States, you could buy syrup for a couple of dollars ($2-3), right? (Now just for clarification, I am not talking real maple syrup but the cheap imitation stuff.) I just bought a bottle of syrup today for about $5 (and we are still talking about the cheap imitation stuff). And I was excited just to find it because at the other grocery store, there is NO syrup! Last week, we had honey on our pancakes (which was actually quite good). I was also excited to find paper towels today. Ahh, it's the little things, isn't it? Tortillas are another thing that are very difficult to find. I have heard rumors that you can buy them here, but every time I go they are out of them. And this is going to Metro, the store that has lots more Western-type things. So, in just 2 weeks of being here, I have made several batches of tortillas myself. That is right, I MADE THEM! Are you impressed (or a little scared)? I have also come to the conclusion that if we want multigrain bread I will need to bake it myself. But this requires an oven, so I will need to wait until we are in the house before I have an oven. Our apartment is more Chinese-style: no oven, no dishwasher, and I have already described the laundry situation. But in all honesty, right now these things are just adding to the feeling of adventure. I am sure that at some point they might annoy me, butI am currently more amused than anything.

Rainy Season

Here in Suzhou, we have entered the rainy season. I have never lived someplace that has a rainy season. Sure in the midwest it rains a lot in the spring, but from my understanding it will rain every day for about 2 weeks once the rainy season starts (it officially started on Sunday, I think). Does two weeks count as a rainy season? I guess the word "season" makes me think of months of rain, so I am extremely grateful for just 2 weeks! Then after the rainy "season" it gets steamy! Apparently, that means that it gets very hot and humid during the day and does not really cool off at night. Doesn't that sound like fun?! Thankfully, we have AC in our house and the apartment! And I know that we will be going to the pool daily. :-) Today it rained this morning and cleared up. I took the opportunity to bike up to the store because we were out of the essentials - milk and toilet paper! One of the challenges of biking to the store is not buying too much because you have to get it all home with you on the bike! I was very close to having bought too much. I had the toilet paper strapped in the babyseat on the back and 3 bags piled in the basket. Though the Chinese can really pile things on the bikes (I could seriously take lessons from them)! I think though that I would feel off-balance. Anyway, speaking of bags, recently in China they have started charging for bags at the grocery store. I had actually brought several bags from the States (you know those canvas teacher bags? at least that is what we call them in the Wilcox household). They have been put to good use! I am not sure if the reason for charging for the bags is to promote reusing bags (good for the environment) or just to reduce costs. My vote would be for the latter. Well, I am off to do more laundry. I think that a challenge of the rainy days will be that it will take longer for my laundry to dry on these wet humid days. I suppose I will have to get creative on where else I can hang the laundry.

Tiger Hill

Happy Dragonboat festival day! Well, at least that is the reason Andy had today off from work. There are some of the best holidays here! Anyway, we did a bit of sightseeing today and went to see the #1 scenic sightseeing spot in all of Suzhou. The Chinese have a love of making lists (the 5 most beautiful gardens in China, the 3 most scenic spots, ....) and Tiger Hill is the most scenic spot in Suzhou. It is a really beautiful place with old gardens and buildings. One of our favorite things about it though was that it was kind of maze-like. There would be paths leading up hillsides and into gardens and you couldn't see where they would end up. In fact, the kids made kind of a game of it. We had a great time trying get to places we could see off in the distance from the top of the pavilions, and we ended up in some dead-ends along the way. I think that this is one of those games that will stick and every time we come back we will try to find new ways to get places. Even gardens can be fun for kids! :-)

The Olympic rings made out of flowers and plants. Things pertaining to the Olympics can be found EVERYWHERE!

These "keyhole" entrances (as the kids called them) were our secret pathways to help us find our way through the maze. They often led to another garden or pavilion. The kids loved looking out for these!

There are usually not signs saying "keep off the grass" instead they are much more creative. Andy and I really enjoy these signs! Here are 2 favorites we found today. In case you can't see the fine print, this one says "To appreciate scenery, you must learn to treasure the environment."

This one says, "Your health rests with your civilized behavior"

Tori kept finding railings and benches "that are just my size. They are just big enough for me." (Needless to say, they were rather short for the rest of us, but it delighted Tori!)

Andy and the kids are standing on an island. To get to it, you cross a narrow stone bridge. Can I just state for the record that this made me nervous?

Walking around Suzhou

After lunch and bike shopping, we walked to an older part of Suzhou. Suzhou is known for its gardens and canals. The Great Canal starts very close to Suzhou, travels through the city and then on to Beijing (hundreds of miles away). There are many smaller canals that feed into the Great Canal. The older section of the town we walked through had a smaller canal. We stood on a bridge and watched the boat traffic. You can also take a ride on one of the boats (something fun for another day). Then we wandered down a small street closed to cars with lots of little shops. We ended the afternoon with ice cream. Perfect for the hot and humid day! As we sat and ate ice cream, quite a crowd gathered to watch us eat. I wonder if we ever get used to being the center of attention. 

Looking out for boats on the canal

Wandering down the street

The crowd watching us - there were even more people gathered on the other side. Do you see the person taking our picture? Who knows how many photos are kids will be in?

Same but Different

We went shopping for bikes today. Afterwards we found a familiar favorite.... you got it- McDonalds's. The kids were excited to see the golden arches! However while McD's was very similar, it was not the same. No kids meals (at least not that I could understand), nothing grilled and not a salad in sight. While I am sure we will come here again, I greatly prefer PizzaHut. :-)

Chinese Restaurant - Take 2

We went out to a Chinese restaurant tonight with the current manager and his family. After our last experience, Andy and I approached this with great trepidation. But this was a much different experience! The other couple ordered the food, though Andy and I had eaten at this restaurant in January and we requested this certain fish. All the kids tried a bunch of different things. Tori's favorite was the tofu (I would have never guessed that one). She kept saying "More tofu! More tofu!" Becca's favorite continues to be dumplings. We were happy that Josh tried 3 or 4 different things. He is definitely taking small steps, but he is eating some things. Surprisingly enough, all the kids tried this fish and everyone (Josh included) liked it. I have to add that if you get over the head looking at you, this fish is wonderful. The photo at the top is Becca about to try it. Can you see the head and tail?

Day of Firsts

I feel like each day is a day of firsts. We have officially been here a week and are on the right time (though I am still waking up every morning at 6-6:30 AM at least though, I am the ONLY one up). Today, I had a couple more firsts. I rode a bike to the bank and the tailor. Now it may not seem like a big deal riding a bike, but the traffic can be a bit crazy! I was nervous, but thankfully we were on small streets at first. Since I hadn't ridden a bike in a while, that gave me time to get used to riding again! There is a saying in China: "When riding a bike, do what you like." I am never sure that I will be that brave, but feel brave (or foolish) enough to try it again! We also went to the tailor. Oh, my creativity started flowing! I had a skirt that I bought in the US that I wanted to have replicated (it is very hard to find clothes to fit us big Americans). The tailor is going to be a very fun experience. You can either take a piece of clothing and they can make another for you or you can come up with your own design. They have quite a few fabrics to choose from - in fact I liked so many of the fabrics that I had 2 skirts  and a shirt made (and have ideas for another one or two). Andy is even going to have several suits made! I also had several pairs of shorts made for Becca. The absolutely crazy part is that it is quite cheap to have clothes custom-made (cheaper than buying it in the US). 

Washing Machine

Today my goal was to catch up on laundry. I had done only one load of laundry since arriving and with the 5 of us you can imagine the amount of dirty clothes! I figured out the washing machine (with some help of translation of the Chinese characters on the controls), but the machine is significantly smaller than what I am used to in America. After plugging away at laundry all day, I am barely halfway done! I must stop and mention that I am really humored by the washing machine itself. It is a combination washer/dryer. Not a stacked up combo unit, but ONE MACHINE that both washes and dries. As Becca said, "That's really cool, Mom!" The downside is that is does not dry well. Thankfully, there is a drying rack built in above the washing machine (after using the dryer cycle one time, I figured out why). The other thing that totally humors me is that it is OUTSIDE! Granted it is on a covered balcony area, but the kids were so intrigued by it being outside. Becca had a good point, "How do you do laundry in the winter?"

Just outside of the kitchen ....

"No, ... we'll see"

We have a had a great debate about schooling for Josh. I know that I have shared this with many of you. In fact, you have probably seen and heard my great debate. We know that Becca will go to Eton House, the International school on our side of the city. The decision for Josh is proving to be much more difficult. The problem (if you could call it that) is that Josh is reading and reading quite well. At the international school, many children do not have English as their first language so kindergarten is spent on beginning sounds and early reading. We are concerned that he will be bored. Okay all this is a prelude to the story of the day.... we went to visit a Chinese school today. When we first arrived, they told us "The class is full. No room... but would you like to go look?" By the end of our visit, they were telling us "We'll see what we can do. We'll call you." Essentially, for a variety of reasons (they want more foreigners in the school, don't want to say "no") we got the impression that there would likely be a spot for Josh is we wanted him to go there. Isn't it funny how we were told something wasn't a possibly, but they made a way for it to happen? But the question of the hour is, do we want him to go there? I am still having this great debate. We visited another school yesterday that I like better, but he would be third on the waiting list. At the Chinese school, there are many factors against (he would stand out, the food would be a hard adjustment for him, very different teaching style) but a big positive is he would really learn Chinese. I thought that I had made the decision (that he was going to go), but seeing it again I am hesitating. And so, the great debate continues.....

One vs. Three

After having only been in China a week, I have noticed something about our family. I and others wondered if the Chinese would think it was odd to have 3 kids. From all that I had read, the Chinese love kids and would love to have more than one. But there are some things that prove to be challenging when you have three vs. one. Take bunk beds, for example. If we wanted to buy a bunk bed in the States, there would be no problem finding one. However, I was told by someone here that in China they are very hard to find (unless you travel to IKEA in Shanghai). But there is this thing called a mother-child bed. It reminds me a lot of a bunk bed that has a double on the bottom and a single on top. The mom sleeps on the bottom and the child on top (that way if the little one needs anything, mom is right there). But for us, it will be a great bunk bed! :-) Then today, we were at a mall near our neighborhood that has an indoor play area that you buy a membership to use. It reminds me a lot of a bounce zone-type place.  We saw signs for the membership and I assumed it was a FAMILY membership (which made the price look reasonable). However, it was per child and when I asked if we could get a family rate, I got a blank look. Now, I am sure that it was because I was speaking English. However, when my friend asked in Chinese we were met with the same blank look. The price of membership for each child made it way too expensive! I think that I will wait to purchase a membership until Becca and Josh are in school making this a special activity for Tori and I in the winter. I am intrigued to discover what other one vs. three differences I will find!

Negotiations

We decided on a house today. The way that housing works is that after you negotiate about the price you negotiate with the landlord  about all the furniture. The houses are furnished, but there is some flex room. We were fairly sure which house we wanted but had heard that this landlord was difficult to deal with and didn't speak English. Kind of a daunting combination for a couple of English-only Americans! But we went through our list of things we wanted and she agreed to all them. Kind of strange to tell someone you want bunkbeds for your kids rooms and then you don't pick them out. Some of the furniture we are going to pick out - we'll make a trip to the store with the landlord and she will agree or not to what we pick out (price-wise). Still strange, huh? Now mind you that we did all of this negotiating through one of the Chinese women that works at the company. No, scratch that, we would say, "we'd like 3 sets of bookshelves" then the two Chinese women would discuss it for quite some time and only occasionally asking us a clarifying question.We didn't really negotiate at all!  It felt a lot like we had a pitch-hitter negotiating for us!