Thursday, December 2, 2010
Happy 10th
Kevin's birthday was 11/11 and he celebrated with a homemade Rubik's Cube cake and a trip early the next day to Xi'an.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Water
Water. Sometimes in China you have it, sometimes you don't. Last time our water went out for 24 hours, we had advance notice so we were able to fill the bathtub to use to flush the toilet (you take a bucket of water from the tub and pour it into the toilet tank). This morning the water is out again, but with no notice. Luckily I'm showered already! And I have 4 clean toilets to use until it comes back on. And I have bottled water to drink.
Kevin left for school this morning hoping that they would cancel school because of the water outage. But the school seems to have things under control:
"Meanwhile, the housekeeping team will try to set up one set of bathrooms on each floor with a bucket of water, using the remaining water we have in our basement water tank. Hopefully you will be able to direct to student to the restrooms that is nearest to the library stairway soon."
Last time we flew out of the domestic terminal at the Dalian Airport, at first I couldn't figure out why the staff was hauling buckets of water down the hall. Then I used the restroom and realized that the airport didn't have water.
Life goes on.
.
.
.
Kevin left for school this morning hoping that they would cancel school because of the water outage. But the school seems to have things under control:
"Meanwhile, the housekeeping team will try to set up one set of bathrooms on each floor with a bucket of water, using the remaining water we have in our basement water tank. Hopefully you will be able to direct to student to the restrooms that is nearest to the library stairway soon."
Last time we flew out of the domestic terminal at the Dalian Airport, at first I couldn't figure out why the staff was hauling buckets of water down the hall. Then I used the restroom and realized that the airport didn't have water.
Life goes on.
.
.
.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Halloween
The farmer and his pumpkins:
Families who don't live in Campus Village came to
Trunk or Treat:
The jester and the Jedi:
Right into the ghost's mouth:
Still cute on Halloween even though they are big:
.
.
.
Families who don't live in Campus Village came to
Trunk or Treat:
The jester and the Jedi:
Right into the ghost's mouth:
Still cute on Halloween even though they are big:
.
.
.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Living in China, the Second Year
Lately, I've decided that what I like best about living in China is discovering new things. I'm now in the phase where I know how to find all the normal stuff I need, so I have more time and energy to discover and enjoy new things. I tend to shy away from the touristy stuff, but enjoy the learning about things that are a part of Chinese life.
What Have I Discovered Lately?
1) There is an endless supply of red shoes to buy. My new "Nike" sneakers.
2) Good bread is vital. We have been devouring bread from our new favorite bakery, Euro-Bake. And last Sunday we drove into Dalian to make our own pizza at the bakery. YUM YUM YUM!
Our driver, Liu, is not only a great driver, but a great resource for discovering new things! So even though he knows only a little English and I know only a little Chinese, he is a great teacher. Some things that he's helped me discover...
3) That sweet potatoes cooked in big baking kettles on the street taste way better than sweetened ones at Thanksgiving. Moist, sweet, hot, delicious. Just break them open and eat them plain. And, even purple sweet potatoes are good. Did you know there were purple sweet potatoes? I didn't.
4) Listening to Chinese pop music is fun, even if you don't know the words. Liu and I spend a lot of hours in the car together. Sometimes we listen to his music, sometimes we listen to mine. Luckily, we have similar taste in music, only his is in Chinese, and mine is in English. It turns out that one of my favorite Chinese CDs is a very famous Chinese singer - Jacky Cheung (Zhang Xue You). One time I was wondering why I couldn't remember the words to the song I was humming in my head, then I realized it's because it was Chinese and I don't know the words! Here is a video of one of my favorite songs (song starts at 2:30).
5) There's a really good "fast food" here that's a fried egg wrapped in a thick tortilla. Kind of like a Chinese breakfast burrito.
I've been considering doing a China "home-stay"....finding a way to spend a day with a Chinese family to see more about how their life is the same and different than ours. I have 7 months to figure out how...
.
.
.
What Have I Discovered Lately?
1) There is an endless supply of red shoes to buy. My new "Nike" sneakers.
2) Good bread is vital. We have been devouring bread from our new favorite bakery, Euro-Bake. And last Sunday we drove into Dalian to make our own pizza at the bakery. YUM YUM YUM!
Our driver, Liu, is not only a great driver, but a great resource for discovering new things! So even though he knows only a little English and I know only a little Chinese, he is a great teacher. Some things that he's helped me discover...
3) That sweet potatoes cooked in big baking kettles on the street taste way better than sweetened ones at Thanksgiving. Moist, sweet, hot, delicious. Just break them open and eat them plain. And, even purple sweet potatoes are good. Did you know there were purple sweet potatoes? I didn't.
4) Listening to Chinese pop music is fun, even if you don't know the words. Liu and I spend a lot of hours in the car together. Sometimes we listen to his music, sometimes we listen to mine. Luckily, we have similar taste in music, only his is in Chinese, and mine is in English. It turns out that one of my favorite Chinese CDs is a very famous Chinese singer - Jacky Cheung (Zhang Xue You). One time I was wondering why I couldn't remember the words to the song I was humming in my head, then I realized it's because it was Chinese and I don't know the words! Here is a video of one of my favorite songs (song starts at 2:30).
5) There's a really good "fast food" here that's a fried egg wrapped in a thick tortilla. Kind of like a Chinese breakfast burrito.
I've been considering doing a China "home-stay"....finding a way to spend a day with a Chinese family to see more about how their life is the same and different than ours. I have 7 months to figure out how...
.
.
.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Dolphins!
The kids and I spent the day at Ocean World in downtown Dalian yesterday (think SeaWorld, China-style). It was a perfect fall day, not too hot or humid and the park wasn't very crowded. We were very impressed by the shows and the aquarium. It was a fun, fun day!
This would never be allowed in the US! (a 4 year old from the audience being towed by a dolphin)
Dolphin show.
For only $4.50, you can meet the dolphins!
And kiss them! (Well, they kiss you...)
And feed the sea lions!
.
.
.
This would never be allowed in the US! (a 4 year old from the audience being towed by a dolphin)
Dolphin show.
For only $4.50, you can meet the dolphins!
And kiss them! (Well, they kiss you...)
And feed the sea lions!
.
.
.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Safety (?) in China
After being used to the very regulated worker safety in the US, sometimes seeing the risks the workers take here is a little bit shocking.
Driving with his feet so he can smoke.
Walking the wall, about 2 stories up. He did this all day!
Only the guys in blue are tied on - more than 2 floors up.
Tied on...but only by a clothesline tied to a small pipe.
Driving with his feet so he can smoke.
Walking the wall, about 2 stories up. He did this all day!
Only the guys in blue are tied on - more than 2 floors up.
Tied on...but only by a clothesline tied to a small pipe.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Happy 13th
Kiana's 13th birthday started with her in stitches and ended in flames....
The morning of her birthday started great, with a friend bringing over a present first thing in the morning. At noon, during a neighborhood gathering on the community patio, she cut her leg on a sharp metal box. Luckily the medical clinic is right next to the patio and 30 minutes and 3 stitches later she was home resting on the couch. (Her leg is healing nicely).
Later that day, she did manage to get up and help make her planned "smiley" birthday cake with fondant icing. It was a huge success for our first fondant cake!
Her birthday celebration ended a week later, with a bonfire at the beach with her classmates. We roasted marshmallows "this is China"-style. . . we used mini-marshmallows because we couldn't find big ones and we roasted them on chopsticks because we couldn't find wire hangers or skewers.
This will definitely be a 13th birthday to remember!!
Double click on the album to view the pictures.
.
.
.
The morning of her birthday started great, with a friend bringing over a present first thing in the morning. At noon, during a neighborhood gathering on the community patio, she cut her leg on a sharp metal box. Luckily the medical clinic is right next to the patio and 30 minutes and 3 stitches later she was home resting on the couch. (Her leg is healing nicely).
Later that day, she did manage to get up and help make her planned "smiley" birthday cake with fondant icing. It was a huge success for our first fondant cake!
Her birthday celebration ended a week later, with a bonfire at the beach with her classmates. We roasted marshmallows "this is China"-style. . . we used mini-marshmallows because we couldn't find big ones and we roasted them on chopsticks because we couldn't find wire hangers or skewers.
This will definitely be a 13th birthday to remember!!
Double click on the album to view the pictures.
 |
| Kiana - 13 |
.
.
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
