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!