How to cool off...Dalian style (by Michael)

Summer is here and temperatures are starting to rise.  I think this Friday the local weather team has predicted a high of 87F!  After living most of my life in Arizona I thought I had all the tips down for keeping cool in the summer, but while here in Dalian I have learned a new way to beat the heat.

You don't need any fancy devices or gadgets, just lift up your shirt.  I have included a few examples as a quick training guide:

You find yourself on a job site and getting too hot...just hike up your shirt (check out the name of that place).

You are working a wedding photo shoot and you get too hot..just hike up your shirt.

After a long day you decide to go out for a few drinks with the fellas and you get too hot...that's right, hike up your shirt.

Now that you have been trained, I encourage all of you to take this tip from Dalian and give it a try!

Visit our website to see some new pictures!

web.me.com/fendog

It's not right or wrong...just different by Michael

We have been in Dalian for a little over a month and here are some of my thoughts so far... 

Living in a country that is roughly the same size as the US and has over 1,000,000,000 more people, you quickly discover that there is always a crowd.  

Here is a photo at Olympic Square.  You can find Walmart, McDonalds, a huge electronic market, several soccer fields, and a lot of people.

Dalian is a “medium city” with about 7 million people living here (more than the entire state of Arizona) and I am pretty sure that all of them are where we want to go on the weekends.

We have been successful in finding places to eat that we are accustomed to like:

McDonalds – We have only been there once, it tastes the same.

Pizza Hut – We have not eaten there, but they do have “clean” bathrooms that the girls will go into.

Subway – Either it is better than in the US, or I was REALLY hungry that day.

KFC – The Chinese LOVE this place.

Dairy Queen – Hey Shoes, ask Louis if he can transfer you to the An Sheng DQ…you can move here and get a job!  A medium Blizzard™ is only $2.30US.

We have started to get more adventurous and try some local places to eat.  On Friday we went out to eat with two other families at a really nice place called the Modern Coarse Grain Restaurant.  Before we went up to our private room the wives ordered dinner by going to a section of the restaurant where the chefs have prepared uncooked plates of all of the choices for the day and you simply point and tell them how many you want.  In most places in China you eat “family style” meaning that you order a dish and the entire table eats from it. They also had several aquariums with live creatures including fish, octopus, shrimp, crab, and turtles that you can pick from as well…you can’t get any fresher than that!  We had a lot of great dishes (some new to us) and we all walked away full.  The bill for the 15 of us came to about $3US per person.

If you are seeking even more "adventure" there are street vendors selling items ranging from rotisserie duck…

Here are the girls next to a local place selling ducks.  From what I can tell you can get a whole cooked duck for about $2US (neck and head are included).

…to people cooking skewers of meat - beef, chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp, or squid.  We had a BBQ at work a few weeks ago that featured the above items and I have to say that it was one of the best BBQs I have ever had (including the squid)!

Another place where locals get food is the street vegetable markets.  This is where you will find the freshest and best priced items (and weirdest smells).  

On this visit to the market we purchased green onions, lettuce, garlic, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  We bought about 2 pounds of large ripe tomatoes for about 45 cents US.

I will leave you with this funny part of our China experience.  We are often amazed at signs that are misspelled or how they are labeled.  Here are a few that we ran into in the past two weeks:

You would think that a place owned by Walmart could afford to hire someone that knew how to spell chicken (this was spotted by Emma).

This ride was spotted in Xinghai Square (supposed to say Viking).

We spotted this cake at a local bakery.  With Emma's "bithday" coming up, I wonder if I can point out the mistake and get a discount!?!

The One-Month Mark...

It's hard to believe that four weeks has passed since we made our move to China.  We have enjoyed some beautiful weather, met lots of wonderful expats, and learned a thing or two about what it's like living in the PRC...

• Western food is available in some restaurants and grocery stores.  It costs a bit more for the comforts of home but it's worth it.  So, no - we are not eating like "locals"...yet.
• A driver who speaks VERY minimal English can still get you where you need to go - IKEA, Subway, and the beach for example.  
• Words cannot describe the driving here...right turns from the left lane, running red lights (honking the horn as you drive through makes this okay apparently), and no matter what crazy move is made you can be sure to see a BUS bearing down on you...
• Having an Ayi (maid) is inexpensive and wonderful...I may have to find someone upon my return that will iron my pajama pants :)
• Smells...so many, many, stomach-turning smells...please take a moment to appreciate the sweet smell of a mall bathroom or the produce section at Fry's and know that you are blessed.
• My Chinese language lessons leave me with a headache and sweaty pits...learning Chinese may turn out to be one of my greatest challenges and hopefully one of my greatest accomplishments.
• In  a matter of a few weeks, Emma and Erin, who used to be able to play for hours alone or with each other must now constantly have a non-familial playmate.  Not sure what will happen when we don't have a neighborhood of open doors and safe streets and playgrounds.

Despite some of the less-appealing China-isms, we feel grateful to be here and know that this is absolutely the opportunity of a lifetime.  If you've ever thought of visiting the far east (or even if you haven't) we would love to have you visit.  We are making plans to begin our travels within China and would enjoy nothing more than showing you around!  

Now I'm off to cram for my Chinese lesson...teachers are always the worst students, aren't they?

Keeping up with the Fendricks...

I know what you're thinking...a driver, an ayi (maid), blissful unemployment...and no blog updates in weeks!  Truly it's not for lack of trying!  There are just some things we are unable to access here - good TV shows, clean restrooms, Pam cooking spray, Starbucks chai lattes (had to throw that one in), and Blogger. Mike installed some techy-type thing on our computer so now it thinks we are in Lake Tahoe instead of Ch*#@ and we can get to our blog.  

We received our shipment on Friday and after a weekend of work, we are nearly "resettled".  I considered saving some unpacking for the ayi but decided that I would like to put things away the way I want.  We have learned that if you leave anything out, it will get put away but most likely not in a logical or convenient place.  Sunglasses...books...keys...they must all have A PLACE.  If not, have fun looking in every drawer and cabinet.  

As I watched the moving company unload the 62 pieces in our shipment, I realized how ridiculous it was to have so much STUFF.  We have lived in utter cleanliness for the past three weeks with what we could fit into six suitcases and five shipping boxes.  Choosing what to wear was a snap and there was very little to clutter our lives.  I actually feel embarrassed about the sheer volume of what I thought were the things I had to have to live a happy life.  It is a good lesson, I think, and definitely confirmation of how blessed I am.  I am fairly certain that our driver only owns two nice shirts because that is all we have seen him wear and we have seen him every day since we arrived.  I would never want him to see what's in our closet.

The girls are doing well.  They have lots of friends and can run and play every day in our complex.  School has been an adjustment for Erin - she is in a montessori-type preschool and the head teacher speaks a little English and the helper, only Chinese.  She cries a little less each day so I am sure she'll be fully adjusted by next week when school lets out for the summer (ugh). She will be in a full-day Pre-K program next year and we're already working to build that up - I can't deal with tears every day.  Emma is doing great with school which is really fantastic. She was an 'asteroid' in Friday's community time presentation and she had so much fun.  She was thrilled to finally get her scooter in the shipment - now I just have to convince her that she needs to learn to ride her bike!

Michael is keeping busy with work and has dreams of becoming a ping pong player extraordinaire.  I intend to support that dream whole-heartedly :)  He gets a weekly massage right here in Campus Village and is trying to get me to try the hour-long foot massage (which costs about $9US).   I am going to start language lessons on Monday and I am actually quite excited about this - I have renewed motivation for learning the language - I will meet one-on-one with an instructor twice a week for an hour and a half each lesson.  Wish me luck!

Well, that's the update for now.  Please also check out our website - there are new pictures!  web.me.com/fendog.  Now that I can get to the blog, I will try to write at least once a week...check back and keep us in your prayers!  Thinking of you and wishing you well...