Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Gotta love the widgets!

I noticed this bookshelf widget on my friends blog and well...I thought I would give it a try! Reading and writing are two of my favorite pastimes and they will become my "job" when I get to China - I plan to settle in a bit and begin my book reading marathon.  If you have any recommendations, I will gladly take them!  

Just a note: Mike thinks I have crossed the blog-geek line with my "bookshelf"...maybe I have...

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Oh my...

Just wanted to share a sweet and rather comical moment that must be documented as part of our future lives as "alien residents" of China: As Emma and I were driving home from school today she said, "Mom, there are only two Chinese kids in my class." To which I responded, "Oh, who?" Emma, with all sincerity said, "Me and Mailan".

If you are a parent or even anyone who has spent any time at all with kids, you know the feeling of wanting to burst with laughter and then run to tell the first person you see! I promptly turned up the radio in the back (so Emma wouldn't hear me repeat the story) and called Mike to say, "See what you've done!??!" So there you have it, our 6-year-old now thinks that she is indeed, Chinese.

I guess in some ways I am grateful that she does not get caught up in the physical features that make us all different. Rather she sees people, in all their diversity, as essentially the same. Priceless, huh?

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Our home away from home...

Well, we have completed the main objective of this trip - finding a home to live in during our two-year stay in Dalian. Campus Village is the housing development located very close to the Dalian American International School. Without know too much about the housing, we were kind of hoping to live there simply for the convenience factor of being within walking distance to school - also this community serves as kind of "mini-America" in our minds.

Mike and I and our friends, Yukiko and Damon, have secured the last two units in the village and we are thrilled! We will live literally across the hallway from each other on the second floor of a beautiful condominium. The building and its furnishings are designed with the westerner (American) in mind. In fact, the home we will have in China will be bigger and more lavish than the one we have in Chandler... It has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a den. The kitchen is big and spacious with lots of storage and an adjoining maid's quarters. Emma thought she might like to have the maid's room (since we are not going to have a live-in maid) but now that we have seen it, that's pretty much out of the question. The room is no bigger than a prison cell - it has a shower, sink and toilet, and there is room for a small cot but that's about it!

Intel is providing us with "basic" living provisions including beds and start-up bedding, couches, tables, two 42-inch flat screen TVs and a jacuzzi tub...like I said, just the bare necessities! There is a gym on the grounds and a restaurant. The only drawback to our living location is that it is out in the middle of nowhere - about 20 minutes from the closest shopping/dining area. This just means that I have to be a little more organized about meal planning since I will not have easy access to stores, etc. It's a small price to pay to know that we are in a safe, quiet, clean place where our kids can ride bikes and play at the playground that is right outside our kitchen window.

We spent time at the school and it is a wonderful place. Emma's classroom has only 14 kids so far and they are waiting for four ex-pat kids to arrive, including Emma. They already have her cubby marked with her name so they are ready for her! Her teacher, Miss Lisa, seems great and we just have a really positive feeling about the whole set up. We have lots of pictures but I will have to wait until I get home to add them to the blog. Stay tuned...

Thanks for reading our blog - I know it's lengthy but there is so much to share!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Day 4 - Medical Exam

Michael's take....

Ahhhh, my turn to take this Blog out for a spin! Today we partook in the medical “exam” required for immigration. We were met in the hotel lobby at 8am by some folks from the company that handles our immigration and an English speaking nurse from ISOS (I am sooooooooo glad she was there to help out).

The clinic was walking distance from our hotel and once we entered we realized that we were no longer in “Kansas.” The waiting room was full of people filling out forms and waiting in lines with no sense of order. Once our chaperones completed our paperwork we got into a line to start the “exams”.

Exam 1: EKG
One by one we were ushered into rooms that offered little privacy and when it was my turn I was immediately told to lie down and pull up my shirt. The “nurse” then applied suction cups to several parts of my body and she attached these to a “machine” via something that I can only describe as jumper cables for a car. The “equipment” in the room looked like it was state of the art in 1950.

Exam 2: Blood Pressure
Once I had completed my EKG I had to wait in another line for a blood pressure check. This “exam” had the newest equipment in the clinic. Basically I had to stick my arm into a blood pressure machine similar to one you would find in a Walgreens or a supermarket. Once the reading came out (it was a bit high) the “nurse” asked if I was nervous...”well YEA” I responded. She then listened to at least 15 spots on my chest and I was on my way.

Exam 3: Eye Exam
This test took me back to my days in grade school. I had to hold a stainless steel cover over one eye and point to the direction the “E” was facing. After several different lines and switching eyes I got a score of 1.0. I am not sure what that means, but I was then off to the next line.

Exam 4: X-Ray
I have to start this section by saying...I think I might glow in the dark now and I am pretty sure I will never father anymore kids. I followed the “nurse” into a room and had to stand in front of the X-ray machine while holding a – what I presume – shield over my backside. The machine was the type that the “nurse” had to slide in a film canister, I am pretty sure that many medical museums have this type of machine on display as “back in the day...”

Exam 5: Blood Draw
The blood draw was one of the best I have ever had as the nurse was a master. She found my vein right away and inserted the needle with no problem.

Exam 6: Ultrasound
Yes, all people are required to complete this “exam” and I am happy to say that I am not pregnant. I am not sure what the “nurse” was looking for but she checked everywhere and after she was done I was left to clean up a ton of gel off of my stomach as I left a room with the door busting with several others waiting for their “exam”.

Exam 7: Urine Sample
This was our last act in our “exam” and probably the funniest. We were handed a small cup that held maybe half the volume of a Dixie cup and a plastic test tube that held less than that. I had been warned about this part of the “exam” and was told to think a lot about the sequencing of my actions as there was no place to set the test tube once full.

Because the cup we were given was so small it did not take long to fill and I had to set it aside as I completed what I had started. After finishing, I looked over and realized that I had set my cup next to others that people had also left on the window ledge. My heart stopped as I had to think about which one was mine. I then filled the test tube and left the restroom (I did throw my cup away so that others didn’t have to see my sample).

I will say that the men were pretty lucky as the women had to complete the urine sample in a restroom with only a squatty potty. If you do not know what a squatty potty is...consult Google.



After all was said and done we all have some great stories to tell and are relieved that this experience is over. After having the rest of the day to think about it, this experience was not so bad. I think our fears and anxiety were heightened as we are in a place where we do not speak the language and don’t know the process...this is a great reminder why we need to learn Chinese and learn to roll with the punches.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Well, we are mid-way through our house hunting trip and everything is going well. It began a little rough as Super Shuttle was waiting outside our house at 3:40am and I was still in my towel and blow-drying my hair. Now Mike knows it IS possible for me to get dressed in 10.2 seconds! Anyway, the flights were all on time and smooth (agonizingly long, but smooth). I just kept thinking that the next time I have to make this trip, it will be with the kids and will be the beginning of our ultimate adventure...

On Sunday we went out in search of a 'fabric mart' that Mike had heard about. There was floor after floor of every kind of fabric you can imagine and you can literally have just about anything custom made. We will definitely go back to have jackets made - no sense getting them now to take home and pack up later. They will even make beautiful cashmere sweaters in any color or style you want for about $30 (and I am imagining you can negotiate the prices from there). Mike is totally into the "let's have it made" mantra - bedding, sweaters, jackets - I personnally, am a little bit more of the "let's keep it simple" mantra. I don't have to speak Chinese to purchase something off the rack!

On Monday we went with a guide to set up our bank account, visit the "gym club", and check out what will be our zillions of choices for shopping. There are the wet markets which means the local fruits and vegetables sold on the street (best deal for sure - just have to wash everything really well) - you can also by any kind of meat or fish there too but we're going to stick with meat that is refrigerated... Thankfully there are plenty of places that feel like home (minus good air conditioning) for shopping. Yukiko and I are preparing for the major shopping spree we will have to have to get our homes set up!

We will be heading out soon (it is very early Tuesday morning right now) to look at our housing choices. This is what I am most looking forward to. We will also be spending time at the school and seeing what it looks like when things are in full swing. There is lots more to share but it's getting long. I will write later after we have news about our house!