Decorating the tree

The day after Thanksgiving we put up our tree and decorated the house for Christmas. The kids were so excited to get out their ornaments.... it was like seeing favorite friends. Of course, you can't decorate the tree without Christmas cookies so Tori and I made a batch of sugar cookies. Josh was still recovering from his cold, but he perked up enough to help.

My little cookie helper

Josh digging in his box of ornaments. You can tell by looking at him that he is still not feeling 100%

Getting the tree ready

Tori finding just the right spot. Notice all of the ornaments at the bottom.

Layers and layers

很多衣服! (hen dou yifu - so many clothes)

This is just the normal amount of clothes that Tori wears every day. Her school does not have heaters (and this is really normal) so each morning we pile on the clothes. On any given day she wears: 3 shirts with a sweater or fleece on top, and then tights, 2 pairs of pants and 2 pairs of socks. Now that it has gotten colder (usually just above freezing), she keeps her coat on in the school. My very own "Christmas story kid". I often feel like the mom in that movie as it takes 10-15 minutes to get her dressed each morning. :-D

The Wedding car

A wedding is a big deal. Each culture has unique traditions that surround this important day. While there is much that I am still learning about weddings and the Chinese traditions that go along with them, there are a few modern traditions that are common. When people get married in China, they often rent cars to transport the bridal party to various places on the wedding day. The cars are decorated with flowers and ribbons. The car containing the bride also usually has extra flowers on the hood. We have nothing on the Chinese when it comes to decorating cars -- they do it right! But the thing that humors us is that in the wedding entourage is a car that proceeds the whole assembly and video tapes the whole process. This car is usually one with a sunroof (or a convertible, though the sunroof is more commonly seen) and the person doing the video is standing up and sticking out the sunroof. And yes, they even do this on the highway. Can you see the man in the first car who is the video guy? (He is a little hard to see because of the trees in the background).

感冒了!

(Gan mao le!) Caught a cold!

This has been a week of sniffles and coughing. Josh stayed home from school last Thursday (yes, Thanksgiving) complaining that his head hurt. By the afternoon, he had a fever and was coughing. By Saturday he seemed to be doing better.... just in time for Tori to start feeling icky. A couple days passed and I am not feeling so great. Becca has a cough but I wonder if she will be next. Andy is traveling so he is missing out on all the virus fun. At least you can say this, we are a family who shares well.

Ironically enough, one of the lessons we are covering this week in class is "I have a cold". I can now write all kind of random characters like: snot (actually my book calls it nasal mucus) 鼻涕, cough 咳嗽, and headache 头疼. I must confess these are HARD characters!

Hopefully, next week will bring better health....

Thankful Turkeys

Last Sunday, we did a family craft to talk about what we are thankful for. We each made a turkey on each feather we wrote some thing for which we are thankful. Here is what the Wilcoxen are thankful for (these are in no particular order):

Andy:

Family

Airplanes

My job

Family vacations

People who are patient with me

Skype

Jesus

Health

Friends who love us

Church

Our life in China

Sarah

Becca, Josh, and Tori

Sarah:

Our good health

Becca, Josh and Tori

Andy

Family time

Xiao Lu Ayi

Life in China

Our wonderful family

Friends (near and far)

Date nights

Small group

Visitors

God's love

Opportunity to go to school

Becca:

Peanut butter

Mom

Josh

Jesus 

School

House 

Friends

Food

Tori

Dad

Josh:

Friends

School

Family vacation

Food

Family

Meat

Grandparents

Honey

Jesus

Tori:

Grandma

Daddy

Tori

My room

Josh

Mommy

Grandpa

Becca

My house

We truly have so much to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving #1

Last year, we celebrated Thanksgiving at a friend's house, but this year we will be celebrating 3 (yes, that is right 3) Thanksgivings at OUR HOUSE. Gracious, what was I thinking? But all of our celebrating will be done on other days than the actual day, because Thanksgiving is just another day here in China: Andy has to work, the kids have school, and I have classes. In fact, on Thanksgiving evening we will be eating Chinese food because I will be teaching English in the afternoon. :-)

We celebrated our first Thanksgiving on Tuesday and had friends over to our house. I skipped classes so that I could prepare. While people contributed food, I made the bulk of the traditional fare. We had  corn bread pudding, mashed potatoes, stuffing, dao dou (a kind of Chinese bean very similar to french-cut green beans), cranberry sauce (made from dried cranberries), pumpkin & apple pies, sweet potato casserole, and of course turkey. Since nothing comes from a can, box or bag, it takes a bit of time to prepare. For the first time, I made a pumpkin pie from an actual pumpkin! 

There was a total of 25 people (including our kids) and for many of them, this was their first Thanksgiving. I always find it surprising what people from other countries like/don't like of our traditional foods. One of the girls was at first freaked out by the cranberry sauce because she thought it was made from the blood of the turkey (I kid you not!). She tried it after much reassurances that it was a fruit and from no part of the turkey (and she really liked it). I asked one of the guys if he had eaten turkey before, and he answered, "Yeah, at Subway." Hmmm, not quite the same! And he agreed after sampling the roasted turkey yumminess. People's favorites were: cranberry sauce, corn bread pudding, turkey, and the pumpkin pie. All in all a successful Thanksgiving #1!

Some of the guys doing the dishes after the meal. I will happily cook if other people will clean up my mess! ;-)

Doing some final preparations

One of the tables (people sitting here are from: France, India, Sierra Leone, Hong Kong, ....)

Family Photo Shoot

Over the summer when we were back in the US, I had wanted to get some family pictures taken. We have had ones done of the kids in recent years, but it had been a while since we did a whole family picture. But somehow getting that done just wasn't high on the priority list during our short time back in the summer. Andy and I asked a friend who enjoys photography if he would take some pictures of our family here. He said that he had not taken any family portraits before, but that if we were game he was willing to try. He joking said that he found this site for inspiration. We went to the park that is right by our neighborhood. I don't know about you, but I think that he did an amazing job! I think the thing I like most about the pictures is that they reflect our life right now - much more than a studio (or even a park in the US) would have.

There is this random sculpture thing in the park and we wondered if this would turn out to be an "awkward family photo" (see the link above). We decided to give it a try. Turned out to be a fun one! Though we wonder what Tori was doing....

Same sculpture from a different angle

My little man (I think he looks so much like Andy in this pic)

Now I know that I am biased, but I think that they are a really cute bunch.

The kiddos amongst some really funky trees

omigosh, is she cute or what? no one told her to pose this way.... it is all Tori.

The Seat Game

Each day as I have ridden home I watch people choose their seats. People get on and seriously scan to find just the right seat. I find humor that something so small is a big decision. But as I thought more about it, I also have preferred seats. My faves are the middle section. I am back far enough that I don't immediately have to give my seat up, but can still study. The danger of these is that as the bus fills up (which it often does), there is a great risk that I will need to give up my seat. Now not everyone gives up their seat but I feel incredibly guilty as I sit there and people much older than me stand. I rarely if ever sit in the front because even though there are no signs, these seats seemed to be reserved for the older, disabled, and people with small children. The back is my next choice as I rarely have to give up my seat. But the risk of these seats is that I can only study for about 15 minutes (of my 40 minute ride) before I start to feel slightly carsick. On the way to school I never have to make this decision as I usually stand most of the way. Because the bus is PACKED in the mornings. My decision is pretty straight forward, but others will move to a different seat within the bus as more preferred seats open up. It seems that the middle seats are the most preferred, followed by those in the first row of the back section. Then if it is a warm and sunny day, the seats that are in the sun will fill up last and people will quickly move out of those as others become available. Who knew choosing your seat on the bus had so many factors? And these are only the ones I can observe, I am sure there are more that I am unaware of!

Haircuts galore

Last Friday the girls and I went and got our hair cut. I took all the kids one afternoon after school. This is one of those things that is so minor, but trying to explain exactly what you want using the little Chinese I know is a bit of a challenge. I felt up to the challenge for the girls, but I went with a Chinese friend later on Friday to get mine cut. For some reason, I can be a little more picky about my hair. Becca got 4-5 inches cut off , Tori close to 6, and they both look so adorable. Some before and after shots:

Before:

Tori screamed and howled as they were washing her hair. And since she speaks some Chinese, she kept pleading with them to be finished.  But she was all smiles once she was in the chair. 

After:

Admiring her new 'do. She wanted it cut as short as Josh's but we compromised on shoulder length.

Before:

This was taken almost a month ago but in all other pics of her, Becca has her hair back.

After:

Oh, my. Is my little girl growing up on me?

The Super Yummy

Andy was traveling some this week. One of the nights the kids and I walked up to Papa John's for dinner. We ordered this meal deal: 1 large pizza, wings, sodas, and then it came with soup. We really didn't want the soup, but the waitress said we could substitute this in its place:

It is Sprite and strawberry ice cream, and the kids have christened it "The Super Yummy". They even wanted to make the Super Yummy for Daddy's first night back. I think the best part is the glowing spoons! So tell me, does your Papa John's have these? 

Trick-or-Treat

Every year, our neighborhood here in China has trick or treat. There is trick or treating first followed by a party at the clubhouse. Here are the required pics of the costumes (though you will notice that Becca is missing. She went with her friends and I never did get a picture of her):

Tori as Minnie Mouse

Josh was a pirate. Though at this point he had discarded some of his pirate paraphernalia. Here he is sitting with one of his friends from school.

I got elected to go the party with the older two (Tori was tuckered out). But I won a prize at the party, oh-yeah!

Field Trip with Tori

Tori attends a local Chinese school and a little over a week ago, I went on a field trip with her school. Let me just say that it was quite an experience. Above is a class picture - aren't they cute? We went by bus to a combination farm/park. Kind of similar to how many farms in the midwest (of the US) put on quite the production for pumpkin picking. Though come to think of it, we didn't really pick anything though we did many other interesting activities. On the way to the farm, our guide described what were going to be doing. So I followed some of what she said. But as the day went on, there were clearly things that I didn't understand. Probably the craziest moment of the day: we went into this enclosure (like what they keep birds in at the zoo). We were supposed to do something or find something, I never did discover what. But Tori and I were just inside the enclosure when Tori spotted this man wearing a mask. I think maybe he was part of the "game" that was going on, but really don't know. Tori was totally freaked out by him and insisted we leave the area immediately. Of course, we did. I was concerned because her entire class was still inside the enclosure and I had no idea how we would find them again. Thankfully, we met up with her teacher just a bit later. We had such a great day together, but I was exhausted from speaking entirely in Chinese all day. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Our tour guide. And yes, she does have a microphone. And a flag. :-)

Getting ready to make candles

We made pearl rings. Yes, with real pearls. How often do you do that on a field trip? Here they are showing us what the inside of a oyster looks like. Do you see all the pearls?

Tori's pearl

Tori showing her completed ring (on her thumb) with the required peace sign, of course.

Tori with one of her friends in her class. They were super-cute as they walked hand-in-hand.

Random Snow White in the green house. Can you spot my girlie?

Hunting for our bus in the sea of school group buses

Adventures on the Bus

Each day when I return home from school, I take the bus and occasionally I take the bus to school as well. Let me tell you, there is nothing like a window into Chinese culture than public transportation. And often I have such interesting things happen.... so much so that I going to start a new category dedicated to my adventures on the bus. This week I had two amusing happenings. Early in the week as took the bus home, I had my textbook out and was practicing writing characters. I was covering up the characters to see if I could write each one correctly. As I was writing, I noticed there were several Chinese standing near me watching me write. Now I must mention as an aside that many Chinese find it humorous and intriguing to see a foreigner writing characters. So as these people were watching me, one of the men pointed to one of the characters and told me that I had it slightly wrong. After closer inspection, I spotted my mistake. I thanked him and kept practicing. A little while later, he leaned over and showed me another mistake. I again thanked him and kept studying. When I looked up he was getting off the bus and I bade him goodbye. A few moments later, a women leaned over and showed me a small mistake. This continued for the rest of the bus ride home. I think a total of 4 different individuals helped me study. :-)

Another day as I was coming home, I got a seat in the back of the bus. I sat down by the window and since I was not really in the mood to talk (after just finishing one of my tests), I plugged in my iPod. Pretty soon the bus began to fill up, but even as the bus got full no one sat down beside me. Granted I am often the only foreigner on the bus and people have told me that I am the first foreigner they have ever seen ride the bus. But I was humored as there were people standing and no one wanted to brave sitting by the foreigner. I guess I have been known to do scary things like speak English. One man finally sat down next to me and then promptly fell asleep. Well, he at least appeared to be sleeping, but every few minutes he would peek at me from the corners of his eyes. It was all I could do NOT to laugh. I was talking about it later to some Chinese friends and one of the women confessed to me that if she got on the bus and saw a foreigner she would stand rather than sit next to them. But really, aren't we all suspicious or uncertain of people who are different than us? Just makes me think how I have reacted that way to someone in the US. And what a humbling realization that is.

Midterms

Life is racing by. And in the midst of it, I am neglecting you, my loyal blog-land friends. Since I last updated there has been trick or treat (yes, even in China... well, at least in our neighborhood), I went on a field trip with Tori's class, and Chinese classes are marching along. I just finished my first midterm. I think that I did fairly well on the written part, but I feel like some of my tones might have been off for the speaking part. I have my second one tomorrow and I think it will be harder. We shall see.... I am seeing Chinese characters in my dreams. :-) So, I am off to study and write characters until my hand can write no more! It is my goal to update you all on the past couple of weeks tomorrow after the test. So, hang in there, my friends, more interesting news and stories are coming....

In the last post, you were right that is indeed a toilet. And really the thing that bothered me most was not the trough aspect, but the lack of a door. The whole time I was hoping that no one would come in! Maybe I should have labeled this, "did you really want to know?"

Can you guess?

do you know what this is?

Interesting hotel

In Yangshuo we stayed at the Rosewood Inn. It was a great hotel and our room was a family suite - which meant two bedrooms! Hooray, a separate room for the kids! The hotel was in a great location and only accessible by walking. But the thing that made it the most interesting was the bathroom. Look closely, do you see anything missing in our bathroom?

So, you might be able to see the shower head on the wall. Yes, this is the shower! You can't see it from the picture, but there was a shower mat on the floor with the outline of feet on it (maybe in case you couldn't figure out where the shower was). But possibly the funniest part was there was a squeegee to get all the water off the floor. Even with the interesting bathroom, this was possibly one of the best hotels we have stayed at in China.

Longsheng

On our last day, we took a trip from Yangshuo to Longsheng. The drive was long (3.5 hours) but oh-so worth it. Longsheng is home to one of the minority groups living in China called the Yao people. This area is mountainous and also home to some of the most famous rice terraces in China. We had yet another delicious lunch and then spent the afternoon hiking around the rice terraces. The women of the Yao people only cut their hair 3 times in their life - at 18, 36, and 54. We asked two of the women to show us their hair and how they arrange it on their heads. It was fascinating. I think one thing that surprised us was that they kept the sections that were cut and arranged it together with their hair. How they arrange it also tells if they are married and if they have had any children. So intriguing. But I will let the pictures speak for themselves....

You can see the village nestled among the rice terraces

Hiking along the side of a rice terrace

Look at how long their hair is!

Unbinding their hair. Notice the woman in the middle holding the hair that has been cut?

All of their hair arranged. I think that would be really heavy.

Yangshuo - Day 3

I am determined to finish telling you all about this vacation. Eventually. On our 3rd day in Yangshuo, we rented e-bikes and drove into the countryside. I think that this was one of our favorite days as a family. We got off the beaten path some and the scenery was beautiful. We meandered our way to a restaurant overlooking the Li River. After a delicious lunch, we took another path back to Yangshou. At one point, the country lane (which at this point was just for bikes and pedestrians) was so narrow that only one bike could fit. We had such a great time on the e-bikes that Andy and I have actually been pondering getting one.

Andy and his girls.

The road less travelled....

Me with the T. She was waving goodbye to some pigs. Tori adores pigs.

Tori making friends with the people at the next table. I personally think that she was after their grapes.

View of the Li River from the restaurant

The farmer's restaurant was located in a very old small town. Looking into one of the houses.

Part of the small path. What breathtaking scenery....

Finishing the day off with ice cream (gelato, or in Becca's words "that yummy Italian ice cream")