Where Are We?

We are on the top floor of IKEA...there is our family and if I turn a full circle, I see one other family and a well dressed couple only....the rest of the store seems empty. "Apologize" by OneRepublic is playing over the store speakers. Are we really in China??? Yes, we are.

Also at the grocery store today, I heard "Hotel California," a song from the 60s that I can't remember the name of, and "Waiting for You" by Bryan Adams. These were mixed in with Chinese songs (which I can only assume are pop songs by the beat).

I used my iPod today to translate the word "pork" to verify that I was actually buying pork. What a great program! Kiana and I have decided that we like the challenge of living in a country where we don't speak the native language. It really is quite easy, once someone shows you the basics of how to navigate. For example, to pay at the store: the lady shows me the total on the cash register, I hand her my ATM card, she hands my the keypad so I know to input my PIN, she hands me a reciept and a pen (I sign), then she hands me the final receipt. No English needed.

The kids even went into KFC by themselves today to buy ice cream. We had already been there, so we knew they had a picture menu. They pointed to the ice cream, the girls rings it up, the price shows on the cash register, they pay, get the ice cream and they are on their way. I was very proud that they were willing to go in by themselves (I was outside with our grocery cart watching them). It's funny that the manager came up to talk to them so he could use his English :)
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