The Friday 5

I read this on a friend's blog (which I enjoyed Missi),  but I thought I would change it a bit by posting a before and after.... Answer how I might have answered before China and then now that we are here.

First, before China:

1. Where's your favorite beach? Ocean City, NJ I just love exploring the boardwalk with our kiddos.

2. Where's your favorite place to spend money? Kroger or Meijer. I know that I am weird, but I really like to grocery shop.

3. Where's your favorite place to watch people? Any airport.... maybe its the traveler in me, but I love to think of where people are going and what they might be doing.

4. Where's a good place to be totally alone? The bathroom, though any Mom will tell you even that is not sacred.

5. Where's a place outside of work/school where you are likely to run into people from work/school? Either Kroger or the library.

Now that we are in China:

1. We haven't been to a beach since our arrival, but are planning to travel over Chinese New Year so I think I might have a new favorite.

2. My new favorite place to spend money is the Pearl market. Imagine a mall where all they sell are gems and the prices are amazing.... I have yet to leave without buying something. I definitely can have too much fun there!

3. For people watching, airports are still a favorite but I also like this park near our neighborhood. Lots of people gather there in the evenings.... there are couples dancing in one section, others doing tai-chi in another part, kids rollerblading. During the summer, we'd walk up get ice cream and just enjoy.

4. A good place to be totally alone.... hmm that's a hard one. I think that is one thing that is even harder to find here - a place to be totally alone. Though if I want a quiet moment in the midst of a crowd and a special treat then I love to go have a coffee at Starbucks.

5. I think that our city is too big to really run into people that I know. Once I did run into someone I knew at Metro (a grocery store). 

Now it is your turn. Either leave your answers in a comment, post them on your blog, or email me. ;-)

Voting Amazement

I take back all the doubts and wonderings I had about voting from China and am just impressed. Andy faxed our application in and that SAME DAY we had our ballots via email. Is anyone else impressed by that? Now we just print them off, fill them out and send them in! We are also excited that Indiana is a swing state this election and not the overwhelming red state that it normally is. As many of you know, Andy and I are swing voters and not tied to either party. As we are approaching 5 months of being in China, there are many things that I miss. But it has been rather refreshing to follow the presidential race from afar. We watch a bit of CNN (but it is the world version based out of Hong Kong) and have read a lot on both candidates, but still have yet to see a political ad. Yes, definitely a refreshing way to vote!

Voting

So, we are about to embark on the wonderful world of absentee voting. After a bit of research, I realized that we could fax in our vote but first we need to apply for a fax-in ballot. I filled out the form and AFTER it was filled out realized that we do not need your standard absentee ballot, but one specifically for military and those living abroad. I thought that the form I filled out didn't seem geared to us! We fill out our application, fax 'em in and then we should receive our ballots via fax. Then we can fax them back. This option is only for those living abroad (hence the different form). We also have the option of doing it snail-mail but I can only imagine how long that would take from China. ;-) We send off our applications tomorrow (Wednesday) as they have to be there 10 days before the election. So, I will keep you updated as to how it goes.... It seems straight-forward enough but with bureaucracy there is no telling! Truly, it cannot be as crazy as the last presidential election where I stood in line for over an hour!

Field Trip

This morning I went on a field trip to the Grand Canal with Josh's school. Josh and I had a lot of fun together! It was really a LONG ride - almost 40 minutes. Many of the Moms and Dads had brought along snacks and we ate as we enjoyed our boat ride. Some pics from the day....

Tour Guides

For the next several weeks, we will have various people visiting the company from the States. For many of them this is their first trip to China so we are acting as tour guides. Today we took our current visitor on a canal ride and to Tiger Hill. We had been wanting to take a ride on the canals as a family all summer, but were waiting for the weather to be a bit cooler. And finally, the past several weeks have been BEAUTIFUL!! Sunny (and I mean sunny where you can see the actual sun and not just the sun through a haze) and highs in the 70s to lower 80s. The only downside to this weather is that I am missing fall. You know, put a coat on in the morning but it warms up in the day, the leaves changing colors, pumpkins and apples. I have heard that the leaves won't actually change colors here, but there is a mountain nearby where they do. So, beginning of November, we plan to spend the morning hiking at the only place in Suzhou where leaves DO change colors. Wow, major digression! But with all the people coming to town and planning things for them to do and see, it has got me thinking about the city where we live. There is nothing like describing it to others to show you what you really think.... and I have just been realizing that I really enjoy living here (which is a good thing since we plan to be here for years). Yes, Suzhou has its faults - lots of people, so many stares, pollution, parts are dirty. But our family is really finding our niche here. For that, I am so thankful. I wouldn't trade the experiences that we are having for anything! ;-)

Aren't these "keyhole doorways" fun?! I am not sure if this kind of architecture is just found in Suzhou or also in other cities, but throughout the older parts of the city and in all of the gardens these are everywhere. This doorway opens to the Bonsai Garden at Tiger Hill.

Our flower children. I bargained for these cute flowers. I must confess a moment of Chinese pride. As I was walking by the stall selling these, the woman called out in English. I inquired how much they were (in Chinese) and she answered again in English. I responded with, "Name gui!" (so expensive - this is a typical response when bargaining). She countered again in English so I switched to English. She rapidly got confused when I was inquiring about how much for 2 or 3, as I tried to get a better price by buying more. When I switched BACK to Chinese, she understood me and we dickered over the price a bit more and came to an agreement - ALL in CHINESE! Woo-hoo! Score another point to Sarah in my ongoing battle with this tricky language.... (though seriously, not more than 10 minutes later we attempted to talk to our driver on the phone, had no clue what he was saying and had to call someone to translate. Ah well, like I've said before: nothing like learning a language to keep you humble!)

View of the canal from the boat.

Typical bridge

Taking a time out to eat some xiangjiao (banana). It is so funny to me how our kids' speech is becoming peppered with Chinese. Tori especially uses her own creative version of Chinglish.... a phrase in English, one in Chinese, all in the same sentence. I am sure this from hearing our aie (who speaks ONLY Chinese) and I talk to her all day long. They also are beginning to understand more and more.

An old friend moves to town!

I had heard a rumor that a family friend of ours had moved just down the street.... and was excited the other day to find it to be true! In the same building as Tesco (my main grocery store) and just a block away, look who came to town:

Yes, that's right the Papa came to town! To be fair, there is a Papa John's on the other side of the city, but they don't deliver. This is truly a Papa John's Chinese style. Yes, they have the familiar favorites, but there is one that we are quite scared of called Chinese Treasure. Let me read you the ingredients: grilled chicken, shrimp, mushroom, fresh tomatoes, PICKLES, and creamy alfredo sauce. They had me until the pickles! And it is not a Chinglish mistake because really they had a good translator and the English is quite good. Anyway, in front of the store, they have a small army of bikes with the pizza warmers on the back -- you gotta love that! Seems appropriate in a country that not only has almost as many bikes as people, but has the most electric bikes in one country. Yes, this friend will make frequent stops at our house!

Quite a Scare

Today Tori gave me quite the fright! She was running in our bedroom, when she slipped on a throw rug and skidded, hitting her head on a door handle as she fell. She cut her head right above the hairline and there was so much blood! I had heard that head wounds bleed a lot, but there is nothing like seeing it first-hand! I scooped her up, ran downstairs, and then tried to stem the flow. After a minute or two of applying the towel on the wound, the bleeding stopped. I was still concerned because she had bled SO MUCH and she looked kind of scary - I mean she had a 2 inch stripe of hair covered in blood from the top of her head to the end of her hair (and her hair is really long so that just added to the gruesome factor). Be thankful that I didn't take a picture at that moment, but I was more concerned that she might need stitches and obviously it wasn't really on my mind. I carried her to a friend who is a doctor and lives in our neighborhood. She cleaned it out, applied antiseptic, and said that the cut was small and not deep -- no stitches required. I was so relieved! She kept telling me, "Mommy, I am okay. I feel great!" I asked her to hold my hand as walked back because I was not feeling so great (you know, all that worry was still lingering) and she simply said, "Oh no, Mommy. You feel great, too!" But the best was in the midst of the craziness as I have a towel to her head to stem the flow and she was crying, she moaned to me, "I think that I might need a band aid!" Hours later, I can laugh about it.