Final week at the Chateau

We will continue on our journey with this week’s top 10 observations from Suzhou.

10. We have completed our first 8 weeks of Chinese language lessons. Our teacher, Wu Yin, was EXTREMELY patient with us throughout the course. Many times we would “get distracted” during the class and head off in a tangent direction and he would wait as we blew off some steam and then pull us back on track. As an example; this week we were learning the lesson when somehow we came to a point where we spoke of Balloon Boy (you know, the family that has “allegedly” created the hoax about the boy in the homemade balloon. I don’t understand what’s going on with the culture in the US but it seems that everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame regardless of what they have to do to get it.). So Yin asked us “What is balloon boy?” and so we spent then next 5-10 minutes explaining the story. At times you forget that they don’t have the same life experiences so when certain classmates (they know who they are) break into the chorus for “Conjunction Junction, What’s your function….”; he sits back and takes it all in. I know there had to be times where he wondered if he had chosen the correct career path. Are we now fluent in Chinese……HECK NO!!!! We’ve got a long way to go but we’ve started on a path of learning and we’ll continue as long as we can. It’s a difficult thing to learn a language but nothing ventured, nothing gained right?

9. We are finding that we are doing things differently here than back in the US. As an example, we stopped by a Neighborhood Center (a shopping area, like a really small mall) to look around. It’s the one closest to the apartment we will be moving into next week. There is a Subway shop there and we stopped and ordered lunch for the kids. While we were there, we wanted to check out a small grocery store in the center. What did we do? We left the kids at the Subway shop and walked the 50 feet to the store and walked around for 10-15 minutes not even thinking about the kids. It’s something we would NEVER do back in the US but here, it doesn’t seem to be an issue to us. Why? I guess we don’t have the fear of crime or anything shady happening here. Perhaps it’s the saturation of the news media in the Atlanta area where every day, murder, rapes, gang violence, etc. Here, there may be the same things happening but since we can’t understand the news, we don’t feel the fear. I’ve not been anywhere in Suzhou that I felt threatened, perhaps it’s one of those things that my eyes aren’t fully open but I just don’t feel it.

8. Jacob had his 11th birthday this week and his trip to Anjie (same place as Warren but not the same activities). He had a really good trip since he basically went to a small amusement park and got to spend 2 nights in a hotel. We’ll try to have him blog his trip but he’s still in recovery mode (returned home on Friday). I’m not certain he slept well while he was away from home so we’ll give him time so we don’t get the “I went to Anjie. I had a good time. I ate fried rice. The end.” We’ll have to pry the information out either way and perhaps add a few “creative edits” to the story but we’ll try and get his blog done sometime this week.

7. Jacob also traveled to Shanghai on Friday last week to play pickup soccer games against other international schools in the region. Tammy went along and took many photos of the experience. We have been used to being a part of a youth soccer league and this brought home that although at times it was very difficult, it was a rewarding thing. We miss our “peeps” that shared this experience with us and have now continued on without us. We made strong bonds with others that served as directors for the league and with many, many of the coaches through the years. It was difficult to leave that, it was a part of who we were and the league was like an extension of our family. You missed them when the season was over and sometimes during the season, you couldn’t wait for the season to be over (just kidding….maybe). We were just regular parents for some of the year but when soccer season started, we turned into soccer parents, spending much of our time at the soccer fields. Saturdays were pretty much soccer from 7:00 am until field cleanup after the final game. We found a home there and appreciate the hard work and effort that goes into running a youth program. You can’t really understand all that goes on behind the scenes until you’ve done it. Once I got involved, I gained a new respect for those who volunteer to be a part of these programs.

6. We are extremely pleased at how well the kids have adapted to the new location. They have done far better than we could’ve imagined. It may sound really odd but up until this past week, Jacob had never spent the night away from us where he wasn’t with relatives, never. Warren wasn’t too far away from that either, he had just done the sleep over stuff just a few months before we left the US. Now they are going to a new place to spend several nights away without a hitch. Jacob was even upset that his mom was a chaperone for the Shanghai soccer trip. He told her he didn’t want her to go (nothing like being needed huh?) but she was asked to go and she went despite his objections. I was really surprised he would say he didn’t want her to go but in a way, I am very happy to see it from him.
5. A quick note on sports. We have watched more soccer in the past 6 months that I ever have in our lives (it’s fun to watch but we have no idea who these teams are, it’s always a different league so we’re lost and just sit back and root for “that team”). We were able to watch some baseball and we even get to see it live with American commentators BUT there’s a catch. During the regular season, it was always those damned Yankees. Growing up in New England, you had a couple of rules (of course there are always exceptions). First, you would root for the Red Sox but you never got too excited over how they were doing. If you know anything about the New England people, you understand that they are generally pessimists (at least when it comes to the Red Sox, since the Patriots are now a top team, they don’t count. Believe me, when they have that down year, it’ll be back to the same feelings about them as it used to be.). You didn’t want to get overly excited since you knew that every year; after the All Star break the Sox would suck (Seriously, check the books. They would be a solid team for ½ of the season and then the wheels would come off). True the Red Sox in recent years have won the World Series (twice) and broke the “curse” but it doesn’t change the way the Sox are watched. It’s engrained into the psyche. Second, you HATE the Yankees (Bucky Freakin’ Dent)! You rooted for the Sox and anybody who was playing the Yankees on that given day. Now it’s the playoffs and since the games are shown in primetime in the US, we can watch them live here. We’re rooting for the Angels (and if they don’t win, then we’re rooting for the Phillies).

4. Have you watched this program on National Geographic channel called Meet the Natives? I don’t know what the program is rated but it seems to me to be a little too much. Tonight’s program is basically the first program setting the premise for the show. Too Much Information going on here, not just on the clothing optional tribe wear but showing (very graphically) the artificial insemination of pigs (anyone else hungry for some bacon?), the snapping of a live rabbit’s neck (ask him about a rabbit’s foot being good luck). It’s a little too much, interesting concept but stick to the purpose of the show (natives going to England to learn some of the culture) and leave some of the other things on the editing room floor. The tribe leader on the trip indicated that the insemination should be done in private….who says we’re all that different anyhow?

3. Mike Rowe…..we miss Mike Rowe. We saw him the other week on a replay of a Larry King Live (with Howie Mandel replacing Larry) and realized that we really miss watching the Discovery Channel. Dirty Jobs was one of the kids favorite shows that we could all watch. Mike also was the voice behind The Deadliest Catch show, another one of the good shows on the Discovery Channel. We had DC for a short time but then it was taken off from our cable for whatever reason. The show was educational and very funny and it’s too bad we can’t watch it anymore. Our English channels are CCTV 9 (Chinese News channel), CNN International (CNN with even more blatant agenda), BBCA (CNN International but with bad teeth), NatGeo, HBO (edited) and Cinemax (edited). We also get ESPN but it’s not ESPN like in the US. It’s a sports channel and that’s about the only connection to ESPN. It will sometimes show college football but it’s always a Big 12 game. I don’t understand the connection, Big 12….China?

2. The kids started Touch Rugby on Saturday morning. It’s part of the SSIS Saturday Sports program. We wanted to get the kids involved and active so we signed them up. Since there were few kids at the event, I also got involved. It’s a sport we never play in the US and the teacher running the games is from New Zealand so at least he understands the sport. Since there is no tackling, it’s not as rough but you have to be constantly moving, no breaks can be taken or the other team can grab the advantage while you are hunched over trying not to die (or is that just me?).

1. Customer service takes on a new meaning when searching for rather mundane items like a mop or bedding. Sunday, Tammy and I went to Carrefour (the kids stayed home by themselves, yet another example of #9) to get a few items in preparation for our move. (I must make a note now that this area of the blog will be written under some duress. Tammy has decided that she must “review” before this can be posted to ensure it doesn’t embellish certain facts.) She wanted a mop, not anything spectacular a mop. In this area of the store was a man who was there to “assist” in our selection process. Let’s just call him the Chinese Billy Mays (or if you prefer Birry Mays. I know, I know it’s not PC but c’mon live a little, everybody has quirks and people make fun of them. It’s not mean spirited, it’s an observation [much like the observation that I’m skinny and am losing my hair, who makes more fun of me than me?]. I mean we actually found a collection of movies from action movie “star” Steren Segal….it’s not me, this is the actual spelling on the label so you tell me who is being insensitive?). So Billy starts picking up the various mops and talking in Chinese about them and demonstrating them. I actually stood at a distance and watched (plus I couldn’t make it through the crowd with the shopping cart) this interaction. Tammy was totally disinterested with his presentation and was more interested in looking at the product names so she could determine if she knew the company. He continued to show the items and indicate the “quality” aspects of the products. It seemed to me that he was pushing a specific type of mop over the others but perhaps I was mistaken. So she continues to look at the other mops while he is indicating the one to choose. (Look lady, this is the best mop. I’m being paid to sell this one so if you would just do me a favor and buy it I can tell my boss that I met my quota and I can get my promotion from “mop guy”. I can move on to brooms, now that’s when the big bucks start rolling in.) I work my way over to her and chuckle as the guy shows us how to change the mop head, flip the mop head, etc. It was sooo strange, it’s a mop, leave me alone will ya. Tammy just keeps looking, every once in awhile looking at the guy and nodding. After about 5 minutes (and one of her patented eye rolls), he gets frustrated and finally walks away. Ah, some peace and quiet to finally pick a mop. As we make our final selection, along comes a Carrefour employee (she was wearing the blue vest) to “assist” us. HOLY CRAP PEOPLE…..IT’S A MOP!!!! We’re not buying a car, we’re buying a mop. They weren’t going to leave us alone to choose. This lady decided to take a different tact with us, she spoke Chinese and demonstrated the features (oh wait, this is the same method as Billy was using, this must be the “Annoy the Westerners into buying” technique). We finally gave up and took the one that she recommended (or at least the one she pointed at the most. For all we know, she was saying “Don’t buy this one, its crap.”). We moved on and a few moments later were looking at bathroom cleaners, trying to figure out which product was best (it’s all in Chinese so you look at the pictures and then give it the thoughtful stare at the words with a very thoughtful expression on your face, all the while thinking to yourself “I wish I knew what this says”.). Mr. Muscle seemed best (although he looked nothing like Mr. Clean, I think Mr. Clean could kick his butt in a fair fight) but what do we know. All of a sudden, along comes a Carrefour employee to point at another brand to indicate that’s better (or perhaps she said “Don’t buy this one, the fumes are toxic”). So we forego Mr. Muscle and go with the recommended brand. Then it’s on to bedding. 3 ladies in this area to assist (darn it!), when we stop to look, they pick up a sheet “kit” to indicate what is best. (or they could be saying “These sheets are made from dried camel dung.”) We give them the polite smile and wave them off. Tammy says “No”, they repeat “No” and laugh as we continue to look. Here we don’t buy because the sheet sets don’t match the size measured for the bed (strange, they sell 200 x 180 matress pads but they don’t have the same size for sheets, the sheets are 200 x 230.) Then the locals step in to “assist”. As Tammy is looking and touching the pillows, a lady comes over to touch the pillow and indicate it’s good (or she was telling her not to squeeze the Charmin, I don’t know). We’ve had enough “help” for one day so we move on to the food section (which always makes my day, the sheer chaos that ensues in this area makes a mosh pit at a heavy metal concert seem like a tame get together of friends for tea and crumpets). We get our stuff and head for the checkout. We discussed our experience with the “help” while waiting to check out, it was so strange. I can see it for major purchases but it seemed that no matter where we were, someone was there to point us towards something else. I appreciate the help but sometimes I just want to be left alone, especially for simple things.

Final note of the week

This is our final week at the Chateau Regency. We’re moving to Horizon apartments, about 4 km North of our current location. When I arrived in March, the Chateau seemed like a good place to be because there are people there to assist you in getting cabs, getting train tickets, and basically getting assimilated into life in China. I was also by myself so my personal needs are different. Several months back, the Chateau came under a new ownership and things here began to erode. It started with some small things but over time, it became obvious that the new ownership was more interested in the bottom line than the people that live here. The Chateau is perhaps 6 years old but you would swear that it is much older by the condition of the buildings. Recently, there has been a dramatic overhaul to the staff, most (there are still some that do what they can but you know their hands are tied when it comes to many things) of the people that cared and were helpful have left the Chateau which really changes the atmosphere of the place. I won’t get into all of the problems encountered by us (not everyone has had the same issues) but we have experienced more problems with our apartment in less than 3 months than most experience in 3 years so it was definitely time for us to move on and find something “new”. This should be better for the kids since there are more kids at Horizon and hopefully it will be better for us. We won’t know until we run into the first problem with the apartment, when that time comes we’ll really know if we have made the right decision.