It's been a while....

It's been a while since I have blogged, there has been so much going on. I'll try not to bore anyone tonight with the longevity of this post. It may be separated into 2 different sections depending on the length, you will have to read on to see....

The boys and I have been here for 3 months as of today. How time flies. It's been an interesting 3 months. The boys have adjusted really well, not too many issues. They are making friends and enjoying school (so far). Warren goes on a 3 day, 2 night trip next week to an Outward Bound China camp with the entire 8th grade. He's going to take the camera and hopefully take some pictures. Jacob will be going to Shanghai the middle of October. The 5th grade is participating in the CISSA (China International Schools Sporting Association) soccer tournament in Puxi, Shanghai. Jacob will also be going on his camp the end of October (details to follow).

I have been getting out and participating in "TaiTai" activities. TaiTai is Chinese for wife. Sometimes, the word is used in a not so nice way (like, let's say comparing an Expat wife to that of a Jewish princess (sorry my Jewish friends)). Me, I'm not a princess, so the activities are a way to meet other wives and build relationships. This week we went to the Fabric Market. The area was pretty interesting (I describe a lot of things this way, need to find another adjective). It was like a Chinese mall. There were many vendors with all sorts of fabric on the second floor, while on the ground floor there were generic stalls and other fabric related vendors. It was funny, we walked into one stall and there were spools and spools of ribbon and lace trim on the wall. I had a major flashback to when I was a kid. My Nana used to make all of my dresses when I was little (yes, I used to wear dresses ~ imagine that!). I took a picture of the wall of trim so she could see it. I told one of the other women that if my Nana was here (in China with me) she would have thought that she died and gone to Heaven with all the lace trim that was there. I didn't buy anything that day, but when I get ready to have my cashmere jacket made this winter I will definitely return to get a bargain on material.

While I'm on the topic of relationships.... I have come to one conclusion about them during my short time here. Friendships in the Expatriate world are very different than in the home culture world. Let me explain... friendships "home" take a while to form, real friendships, not just the ones that meet once a month. When I was still in the US, I could count on one hand the number of really close friendships that I had/have. I admit that I take my time building these relationships, but once my walls are down then it's friends for life. I'm reading a book now that explains all friendships have a 1-5 level of communications. Level 1 is the casual, "hey how are you" friend. Level 5 is the "let me confide my deepest thoughts to you" level. Most people don't get to the level 5 friendships. Here in the world of Expats, friendships move at such a super speed rate. This is mostly due to the fact that contracts are short term and if you want to have a "real" friendship with anyone than you must bypass that superficial B.S. and move straight on to marriage (not marriage, but you get my drift). People come and go all the time and if you want to get to know them you have to make the most of your time and get right to the point. There is no messing around with courting, it's straight to the 'wam, bam, thank you mam' stage. This is kind of hard for me to accept, but I must admit that I have gone with the flow and really been blessed by the people that I have met and become friends with.

Back to the update.... We are in the process of looking for another apartment. Oh the joys of apartment hunting. It's almost as bad as house hunting only you don't have the 30 year commitment of a mortgage. We have found a couple of places that would fit our family needs for our time here so now it is time to negotiate the monthly rent. You heard me right, negotiate. Here in China you negotiate EVERYTHING! We met with our agent this afternoon and told her what our amount for a 3 bed/2 bath + study would be. Now she goes to the landlord and "negotiates" on our behalf to see if that is acceptable. I don't expect to hear back from her until Monday, I'll be sure to let you know what we find out. It is a very nice apartment with a nice view of 2 lakes, on the 16th floor. Funny thing, after the kids went to bed Scott and I were discussing it when he said, "should we look somewhere where there would be more children for the boys?" "WHAT???" Ok, deep breath, I'll call the agent on Monday and keep looking! Actually, we have an idea where our kids would be with other kids. It is fun to see the different "compounds" and what you can get for 1RMB (what can you get for a buck?).

We are taking Chinese language lessons twice a week, the boys have it in school for 240 minutes per week. They are learning much faster than we are ~ the older the brain is the less absorbent the brain is! If you read this far you are in luck, I'm going to teach you the phrase of the week. Because this is football (college and NFL) and coming up on MLB playoff season, I'm going to teach you a phrase that boo-birds from around the globe yell and scream! "TAI CHOI LA" Say it like "TIE CHO (WITH LONG O SOUND) LA". It means, "man you really stink/suck" (when referring to an awful play that your favorite team just did) OR when the toilet is really stinky (quite often here in the Middle Kingdom).

Hope you enjoyed the post! Remember to use the phrase of the week! Peace out.....