The First 100 Days...

One hundred days…that is how long we have been living in China! It seems like a good time to reflect, take inventory of my experiences - good, bad, and different.  Here is what I came up with: 

In the past 100 days I HAVE…

• met people from all over the world including Scotland, Australia, Korea, Germany, and the Czech Republic (of course China and the US too)
  
• had my picture taken with a dolphin
  
• spent over 36 hours in one-on-one Chinese lessons (and I am making SLOW progress)
  
• drank milk from a box – it has a shelf life of one year
  
• bagged my own groceries each and every time I have shopped
  
• have made my own sour cream and croutons and baked homemade banana chocolate chip muffins – how domesticated am I?
  
• figured out how to communicate almost entirely by pantomiming 
• had only one date night with Mike
  
• appeared on Chinese TV (seriously - CCTV interviewed me - I only agreed because I thought the lady at the event was asking if I wanted to 'spin the wheel' when she was actually asking if I wanted to be 'interviewed' - oh the horror!)
• driven (well, have been driven) to the beach - only 5 minutes from our home
• (on many occasions) seen four adults riding on ONE motorcycle
  
• walked my girls to school
• bought several boxes of Cheerios which cost 85 RMB - about $12 US!
• ordered dinner in Chinese
• read six books
  
• bought fruits and vegetables at the local street markets
  
• used a squatty potty successfully (this means I didn’t pee all over myself)
  

 In the past 100 days I HAVE NOT…

• pumped gas or driven a car
  
• done laundry or mopped my own floor
  
• watched a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond or King of Queens
  
• went through a drive through
• missed being a working mom
• shopped at Target, browsed at a Barnes & Noble, or sipped Chai at Starbucks (and unbelievably I have lived to tell about it!)
• received a piece of junk mail
  
• seen a single cactus or said, "Thank goodness it's a dry heat!"
  
• eaten my mom’s cooking
  
• found a good place to get a pedicure (I have a place but it's just mediocre at best)
• used a credit or debit card (just RMB baby!)
  
• went shopping for clothes or shoes
  
• had a haircut (dark roots, split ends, gray hair, oh my!)
  
• been to a movie
  
• gotten ready in a full-length mirror (I don't have one)
• seen my family :(
  

There it is...100 days and counting in our China adventure.  We are now in the process of counting down until our first trip home.  As of this posting, we have 33 days until we begin our journey home for a two-week visit!  

Here's to the next 100 days...a little adventure, a lot of friendship, and memories to last a lifetime!

Vacation vs. Real Life

We have lots to update this week!  We are now in our third month living in China and there are still times when I feel like I am caught somewhere between an extended vacation and the (sometimes luxurious, often stinky) reality of LIVING here.  We had experiences this week that illustrate that strange contrast. (I also have posted pictures on my Facebook page...and at the end of the month Mike will update our webpage with our August photos - sorry if you are overwhelmed by the duplication of efforts...)

Anyway, my friend Yukiko and I decided we needed to get our families out of town for the day and so we loaded up our vans and headed to Bing Yu Gou National Park last weekend.  It was about a two-hour drive north but unlike Phoenix, heading north does not mean cooler temperatures. All this beautiful green stuff comes at a price: moisture - ugh!  So it was hot and wet and crowded but fun nonetheless.  The pictures below capture a few of the highlights...

Trejan, Nicole, Emma, and Erin - they are all good pals and we are so thankful to have them right across the hall in our building!

The scenery was truly beautiful and to get from place to place we had to take boats.

These "hamster wheel" things are really popular and can be found at any beach.  Emma, Nicole, and Trejan tumbled around and laughed hysterically which meant they didn't actually get it spinning too much.

Erin went in with Yukiko and we told her she looked like she was in a washing machine - she never found her footing but she loved every minute.

Mike got to have his fun too...he rode the zip line from one side of the park to the other. (This also seems popular here). He has this on video so check the website at the end of August!

Seems like I always have to include some bathroom comment but if you lived here, you would understand...  The driver stopped here for us when we requested a 'clean' bathroom.  What we found is what I will call"a child swallowing" hole in the ground.  Mike wanted to take picture of it but couldn't hold his breath long enough and the gas station guys yelledat him when they realized that he had a camera.

So that concludes our recent vacation-like experience.  We have decided we will stay put until the fall to wait for cooler weather and smaller crowds...unfortunately bathroom conditions will not improve any time soon (luckily my children have rather sturdy bladders - neither of the girls went to the bathroom from 9am to 6pm!)

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On to the hard core reality stuff - life as a resident of China...the girls started school on Thursday.  They have had a really fun summer playing and going to the beach so Emma wasn't sure she wanted to go back to school.  But when the day came she was excited and ready to go. She had hoped her teacher would be Ms. Adams who is the mom of her friend Gracie.  So we are all thrilled that she will be in Ms. Adams's second grade class (which, I might add has 11 - yes 11 - students!)  Erin on the other hand has been excited all summer about going to Pre-K in the 'big kids school' BUT...when the reality of being in school all day every day came around, she was rather dismayed.  We have had tears the past two days but once I leave she does okay. She has 8 kids in her class with a teacher and full-time aide.  I think it will be a great year for both girls.  Here are some photos: 

Oh my...I know what you're thinking...

My little girl is so grown up!  

Here they are in front of their school which is a 5 minute walk from our condo.

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A couple of other quick notes...we are excited to have a new driver.  Mr. Teng (pronounced tongue) started this week after other driver was let go - it's a LONG story.  We are really happy that Mr. Teng seems super safe and professional.  Lots of people have said that the driver is pretty important in making your experience here successful - we are quite dependent on them, after all so that makes sense.

Also, we just booked our tickets for a trip home!  The girls have a fall break so we will be arriving in Phoenix on September 26th for a two-week shopping/eating/visiting tour.  Tell Starbucks to stock up and Andra, get those scissors sharpened - I need a haircut!

Blogger's Block - Take Two

It's true...I have what I have termed, "Blogger's Block".  If Webster's adds it to their dictionary, I want credit!  This is the third blog entry I have started and the second one entitled "Blogger's Block" (hence the 'take two' in the title). Here's an idea that might help: if you have a question for me about my life on the other side of the earth, send it to me...maybe I will do better if I have a specific focus for my blog entries.  Ugh...the teacher and aspiring writer in me is a bit disgusted by my lack of focus and motivation!  

And just so I don't ramble on about a million different things, here is my focus for today: Back to School!

Emma and Erin will begin their school year at Dalian American International School on August 13th.  After a 5-10 minute walk to the palace-like private school which is across from our condo, the girls will be at school from about 8:45 to 3:45.  Emma will be a second grader (gasp!) and Erin will be in Pre-Kindergarten (sob!).  Erin so far is thrilled at the idea of going to school with the big kids but I am having some issues with her being gone ALL day.  Class sizes here are, without exception, limited to 18 students.  Both girls will start with about 12 kids in their class and more will be added as more Intel families move to Dalian in the coming year. They will have Chinese class every day at school (they have been taking private lessons over the summer and are doing really well).  They also have music, PE, library, computers, art, and science spaced throughout the week.  

As for me, I plan to help at school and even substitute when they need me.  It's strange to have gone from being on-the-go-super-busy to...hangin'-around-wondering-what-do.  I have been cooking and baking more...working out some...chatting with the other moms lots...reading every day...trying to learn Chinese...but it's different - somedays I am grateful and at peace and other days I just miss being in a place where I can drive to where I'd like to go - my mom's, Target, the mall, Rigatony's, anywhere that speaks English and has a good bathroom.  I guess I'm longing for home a bit lately...the newness has worn off and I am a bit restless.

I think I will end here and publish this post before I have to start "Blogger's Block - Take Three".  Please check our website: web.me.com/fendog for the July recap in pictures.  Some are on Facebook but I think there are some new ones and the captions on the site are from Mike.

***Now...will somebody PLEASE go to Paradise Bakery and order (and enjoy) a Southwest Chicken Caesar Salad and giant Diet Coke with lots of ice?!  Do this and think of me :)