Happy Halloween!

Where can you fully embrace Halloween for what it is (or what it should be): a child-centered excuse for playing dress-up, going door-to-door essentially begging for sweets, leading to what can only be described as blissful, massive, candy-consumption? Where can you enjoy all that Halloween has to offer without cowering under an umbrella of "political correctness" or fearing that you may offend someone, somewhere...CHINA, that's where! The girls' school spent an entire afternoon enjoying festivities - Halloween-themed games (ghost bowling, anyone?) in each classroom and a costume parade. Then we went over to Campus Village - where we live - and had more games, a petting zoo and hayride, a kids buffet of Halloweenish foods, and a costume contest (Erin won a free smoothie from the cafe!) Here are a few photos of our celebration...

I helped in the second grade station - ghost bowling! Good times...

My little "Super Girl" in the mummy wrapping station.

My little "USA Diva" in the costume parade. She is following her teacher - all of the teachers dressed up too. What fun!

Here is Emma on the hayride. They rode all around the neighborhood (she was itchy and cold but had a great time).

Erin is with her friends - they always divide everything by age groups here. Fine in theory, but it makes it hard to take pictures when the kids are split up.

They even made homemade piñatas!

There were about 100 kids trick-or-treating in our community. The girls received lots of Chinese candy (yuck) and some candy brought from the states - thank goodness for the "parent tax"!

Fortunately all Halloween activities were on Friday, a crisp, clear fall evening, because on Saturday we were hit with middle-of-winter type temperatures. It lasted through the beginning of the week. When we walked to school Monday, it was 27 degrees!

If you haven't checked our website in a while, go there now! (web.me.com/fendog) There are pictures from September (the girls in a Chinese wedding and our trip to Dandong) and from October (our trip to Beijing and more Halloween).

What a Life...

While zipping around a lake in the Hutong area of Beijing at a break-neck speed of 8mph, I realized two things: 1) my children have accrued many airplane hours in the last 6 months - I know this because as Mike was driving the boat, Emma and Erin recited the customary flight attendant speech: "...the captain has turned on the seatbelt sign...please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts low and tight across your waist..." This rendition includes hand gestures, perfect posture, and what I may describe as a rather "uppity tone" AND 2) even in the open waters of a lake, in a battery powered boat, there is no common sense nor etiquette in Chinese driving.

Here is Emma in "flight attendant mode" on our rickety little boat. Both girls got to drive - it was definitely one of their favorite Beijing moments.

Our near head-on collision with a fellow boater in the tunnel - we were in the tunnel first! After some bumping and scraping we came out the other side unscathed.

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We returned to our China home in early October after a wonderful visit to the states - it was two weeks of family, food, shopping, food, friends, food, laughter, and...did I mention food? Life is good in the states! Everything is accessible (food, clothing) and clean (bathrooms, restaurants). On our last leg of the trip to the US, Erin asked who our driver would be in Arizona - how soon they have forgotten about life pre-China! While I was sad to leave Arizona, getting back here has been good too. As mentioned above, we took a weekend trip to Beijing and had a great time. Here are some highlights:

Here we are at the Forbidden City where we hired an English-speaking guide. There is endless symbolism and legend in Chinese culture (colors, dragons, numbers), she explained a lot and made the tour much more meaningful for us. And she took our picture!

We toured Beijing's Hutongs - these are very old villages located around the Forbidden City. Lots of culture and history to be seen (if you want to know more about the Hutongs: http://www.chinavista.com/experience/hutong/hutong.html). We traveled as a family in a rickshaw - our driver sure earned his money!

Here are the girls with our rickshaw driver - he was wonderful - he was very friendly and spoke a little English.

I just love this picture of Emma! Every time the girls broke into a fight or whined about something, Mike would tell them that he would leave them in Beijing to drive a rickshaw or hawk t-shirts at The Great Wall.

Ah yes, we DID ride the Beijing subway at 5:00 on a Friday...it is not for the faint-hearted! Mike and I had to plant ourselves around the girls so they wouldn't get squished (literally).

We rode the cable car up to The Great Wall. Seeing it go on and on in both directions is breathtaking. The Beijing haze was present but otherwise, it was a beautiful day.

(Note: When all was said and done, in three days we had traveled by plane, taxi, bus, van, subway, rickshaw, and cable car).

Mike and his girls with an incredible backdrop, don't ya think?

After a gloriously non-Chinese dinner at The Outback with our friends, we hit an international bookstore and the night market. This is where you can get anything on a stick (chicken hearts, sheep testicles, baby shark, for example). We settled for strawberries deep-fried in sugar - yum!

Erin in the middle of the walking street (no cars allowed). She had just enjoyed a Starbucks hot chocolate and taken a few photos with some locals. Too bad she's not having any fun!

Next stop: Shanghai for Thanksgiving! Crazy life, huh?

If you haven't visited our website to see our September pictures, go now! web.me.com/fendog

Check next week for our October pictures - more from Beijing and Halloween!

Sweet September

As we look forward to our first home leave since we arrived in May, I look back on what has really been a terrific September for us.  The weather is fantastic and we have settled into a busy, fun routine.  Mike may beg to differ since his routine involves long hours at work but I know that he is happy when his girls are happy.  I have added hosting a "lunch club" to my weekly schedule - this involves me playing movement games with nine pre-K to first graders. Today was a success! You simply can't go wrong with the Hokey Pokey and Duck Duck Goose! Emma is now taking gymnastics one day after school and Erin has ballet and tennis!  Our ultimate highlight for the month will be our trip home to Arizona on Saturday but here are some of our September highlights from our China home...

 A Chinese Wedding

Going to a Chinese wedding is among the many things I knew I would like to do while we are living here. We got the opportunity when we received an invitation from Mike's co-worker to her wedding.  We received the invitation only eight days before the event.  I guess this is normal - no two month notice like we're used to.  Even more exciting (or stress-inducing) was she wanted Emma and Erin to be IN the wedding.  After a few moments of panic - what will they wear?  do they rehearse their parts?  will they actually do it when it's such an unknown environment? - I was put at ease by fellow ex-pats who have been there.  All I had to do was dress them in something pretty and show up - not too difficult.  

Erin carried the rings down the aisle (yes, she is wearing angel wings).  She nearly lost it but kept it together and was a hit.

I love this picture...

Emma carried a candle and it was used to light a unity candle.  She loved this experience and said she felt "very important".

The ceremony was officiated by an MC and at times it felt a bit like a game show.   We understood about 2% (that might be generous) of what was said but it was fun.  

We arrived at the restaurant about 30 minutes before the wedding - most guests arrived about 30 seconds before...

The ceremony, dinner, etc. was all held in a restaurant and we think that approximately 20 dishes were served.  We recognized only some of it but tried most of it.  Thank goodness the girls aren't picky eaters!

Our Visit to Dandong, China

This past weekend we visited Dandong, a city about 3 hours north of us.  The city borders North Korea and is home to the eastern end of the Great Wall.  We had a great time and really enjoyed experiencing a little more of what China had to offer.  I will post more pictures on my Facebook page and Mike will put lots on our webpage.  Here is a sample...

This is the view of North Korea from the other side of the Yalu River.  We walked out on the bridge that the US bombed at the start of the Korean War.  We were a spectacle too, of course, lots of photo ops for the girls and for me, a disappointing but not surprising realization of my 'barely there' Chinese skills. Notice the ferris wheel in the background...all part of the facade to make it look like a normal, fun place to live.  It's all very mysterious and creepy.

Here we are at the Great Wall of China...everyone should see it...

Erin and Emma amazed me with their climbing skills.  Many of the steps were like this - knee high for Erin and steep!  I followed the girls example and didn't whine even once!

Yep, we made it up and over the hill!  The weather was overcast and cool and the landscape was breathtaking (or was that the thousands of steps we climbed?).

We didn't whine, but we did take a few breaks!

Here is the view looking down once we made it to the top.  I can guarantee you that I was more nervous than the girls...the handrail is my friend.

We had heard that if you could make it all the way, there was a boat to take you back to the beginning...the locals pointed this way and so we went...  There is a "look" that I give Mike in moments like this...his reply is always the same, "It's all part of the adventure!"  That it is!

And just in case we hadn't had enough adventure, here is the luxury liner that returned us to the entrance...if only you could see it up close...again, I gave 'the look' and Mike added to the usual reply by saying, "It's no big deal, you know how to swim!"

Just for Fun

As for the normal, day to day stuff that makes up our life here in the PRC, here are a few fun pictures...

Emma saved some money and pitched in to buy herself a new bike.  Here she is ready to ride home after school.

Erin is taking ballet after school (the dance room is in the school).  I almost thought she wouldn't make the cut because she had to be tall enough to get her leg on top of the bar.  It's a stretch, but she can do it!

Ugh...this is a loooong blog...but there is so much I want to share! Check Facebook and our website in the coming week to see more pictures.  We will be home for a quick 2-week visit on Saturday and hope to see many of you!  If we can't see you this time, we will be home for a longer visit in December and we will get together then!

A Little of This...A Little of That

Emma and Erin have settled into school and are enjoying the many benefits that come with super-small classes, gifted teachers, and truly diverse peers.  Erin has made friends with a sweet little girl from Korea.  She doesn't speak much English but according to Erin, she is teaching her some every day.  The little girl just recently showed up to school with adorable curls in her chin-length hair.  I asked Erin about the curls and she said, "She has a permanent.  I really want a permanent too!"  Erin is already blessed with a little curl in her hair so that was pretty much the end of the discussion - just kinda funny that my 4-year-old now knows about perms.  I just want to know how she got a perm everywhere except her bangs.  I remember having that argument with my mom and the hair stylist.  I just wanted my bangs left alone but NOOOO...I suffered with the poodle bangs for a couple of weeks (a giant curling iron and some mega-hold hairspray helped too).  Wow, that was a little (somewhat traumatic) stroll down memory lane!

I am keeping busy even with the girls at school all day.  I have been reading, working out, Facebooking, shopping (although only for food/household stuff - not purses or custom made clothing yet).  I have been helping Emma's teacher with some administrative tasks which is actually kind of fun when it's not for my own classroom and when I can do it while watching my Two and a Half Men DVD.  I spent a couple of hours in the classroom this week and in the teacher's words, "It is teaching heaven".  ELEVEN STUDENTS... even at their noisiest it wouldn't qualify for noisy.  She never has to raise her voice and she has the time to make each child feel as though they are capable, wonderful, and worthy.  I remember at the end of some of my teaching days that I would feel sad that I didn't even get to chat with some students...they would get no personal attention because I was pulled in a million other directions.  Teacher friends...can you relate?  If you've ever thought of teaching abroad, I would recommend it although do your research - I'm sure they are not all like our school.

Speaking of teaching...I have been doing a little of that lately!  I am teaching English to newly hired Intel employees (20-somethings, just out of college).  They are learning through phonics so it is very basic but they are eager and fun to work with.  It makes me feel like I have purpose in my new life.  At the end of class they have a chance to ask me questions and today they asked about the phrases, "Who cares?" and "Who knows?"  They wanted to know in what type of situations were those appropriate to say.  Hmmmm...I did my best to keep the explanation brief and to the point - probably not a good idea to say them in a work setting.   I see now that pronunciation and explanation of English words is likely just as difficult for them as Chinese is for me.  Although we don't have the tones...what's with the tones?  Ugh!

The weather here is cooling down and fall is on its way.  You probably don't want to hear this, but I would say we really only had two, maybe three weeks when it was really hot.  Even then, it was only in the 90s but super humid.  Today it is overcast and rain is forecasted for the weekend.  I am still an Arizonan at heart because I actually like the clouds and rain!

Well, not the most exciting blog but well, life, even in China, isn't all that exciting.  We are going to a Chinese wedding tomorrow so I am sure there will be a blog for that!  Mike has updated our website with the August photos (although he left off the kids first day of school). There is also a link on the web that says "Good Luck Uncle Neal".  The girls put on their own muscle show to support my brother who will be competing on Saturday - wish we could be there!

21 DAYS UNTIL WE BEGIN OUR JOURNEY TOWARDS AMERICAN SOIL. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

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 :)