Sunday, November 29, 2009

WARNING.....Long Post

This week’s Top 10 list has been expanded due to the change in routine that happened last week when I took the space to write about the passing of Shadow. It was helpful to write about it, I don’t know why but I felt much better after writing and posting it. This week I’ll go back to the standard stuff so I hope I don’t bore you. So we’ll be covering a lot of ground so grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable for the MEGA TOP 10 (10……10…..….10) and then some.

10. It’s finally happened, winter seems to have arrived. You think it’s a coincidence that it happened around the same time that President Obama was visiting Asia (don’t worry, his teleprompter was here waiting for him when he arrived)? The temps have dropped into the single digits here and with the wind chill; it’s pretty darned cold outside. The temperature drop seems to impact about everything we do since more people are riding taxis now than we accustomed to seeing. It takes at least double the normal time to get a cab than it did several weeks back. You really feel for those that have the e-bikes and ride them everywhere they go. It’s darned tough to be outside with the wind chill but riding a bike in this weather? Now that is tough. The shopkeepers are also hearty folk since many shops are fully exposed (they have a garage door type closure so they are either open or closed, no in between) and they sit and wait for people to come by to purchase things. It’s not an easy life I’m sure but they are working and trying to make an honest living. What’s really funny is that Beijing experienced a huge snowfall the other week and the government took responsibility for the extra snowfall since they “made it snow”. Somehow, they have figured out how to seed the clouds and make it rain and/or snow, etc. Interesting isn’t it? I mean, the government made it snow. I guess they don’t worry much about climate change (if you believe in that stuff) since the government can control the weather. Perhaps this is an idea that the President can take back to the States with him. Don’t like the weather….call your Senator and complain, they’ll change it for you. After all, isn’t that in the Constitution? (if you just asked yourself what’s the Constitution….you must be a liberal [to paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy]) The other thing about the cold weather is that for the Chinese here, they hate to be cold. They will wear layer upon layer of clothing to keep warm and if you would let them in the office, they would crank the temperature up to around 80 degrees (in US measure). Some of the businesses will not turn on the heat probably to save money, for example the barber shop. Her shop is connected to her apartment, we walked in and she came out to cut our hair in a hat and down vest, her kids were wearing winter jackets around the apartment so you know they didn’t have the heat on at all. It was pretty cold to get a haircut; I didn’t expect to have to wear my coat while waiting. The kids took off their jackets to get the haircut and put them right back on afterwards to keep warm. It’s very strange given what I’ve seen regarding how they like to keep warm all the time.

9. In City Mall, the Wal-Mart place. We went to see the In City Mall on Saturday. It’s a very nice, new mall that has 5 levels with all kinds of shops. One level is pretty much a food court with restaurants of all types, but there are places to eat on all levels including a Burger King and of course….Starbucks. Some of the stores are a little odd with some high end Western stuff but it’s a mall, what else can you say. No Spencer’s, JCPenney, Macys or Sears but it’s got enough to cover just about all of your needs. On the bottom floor is my “favorite” store….Wal-Mart. Nothing like the US version, kind of scaled back but still enough stuff to get by. I didn’t see the “babes in curlers” (and you know who you are) and other oddities like the stores in the US so there wasn’t really much to dislike about it with the exception of the meat section. I can’t describe in enough vivid detail what happens in the meat area but it’s like that’s where everyone gets to do the touchy feely stuff. There was one area with what appeared to be intestines (based on the look of the stuff, I think I’m darned close to right) with people reaching into the bin to grab some, take it out, pull on it (like it was a taffy pull or something…perhaps that’s how you can tell the good from the bad ones, I don’t know. If you know how to determine the “freshness” of an intestine, let me know.), break off a section and throw the rest back into the bin. It happens the same way with the ground “meat” area. There’s a scoop (much like one of the plastic scoops for candy or nuts from one of those candy shops in the mall) that people will grab, scoop up some meat and place it in a plastic bag (like the bags for veggies or fruits from the local supermarket) and head to the checkout counter. Everything is exposed; no sneeze guard, no hand sanitizer, no gloves, no masks, no nothing. It’s a smorgasbord of “EEEWWW” that makes you wonder how many people experience “Mao’s revenge” after they make a visit to the local supermarket. You don’t know where their hands were before they touched the meat (or other pieces/parts) and you don’t know where they will go after. Perhaps they need to buy a toy for little Billy so they head to the toy section and touch a few items…the cross contamination opportunities are nearly endless. This isn’t a Wal-Mart issue; it’s at many of the major markets (Auchan, Carrefour are the exact same in the meat section only more crowded). When the food/meat is out to be touched, they touch it and aren’t shy about going in up to their elbows to see if the fresher stuff is at the bottom. You walk past quickly and try not to look because it turns your stomach to watch. Interesting….like a bad car wreck but sickening at the same time. The smells just add to the overall ambiance of the area (Ode de Nasty).

8. We finally have a dryer (and the people rejoiced!). It took some negotiations but we got it done and have a decent size dryer. One thing to note is that it’s not as large as the US brands and there is no vent for the dryer (for the Home Depot challenged, that’s the hole in the wall that you attach to the big springing pipe from the back of your dryer. It’s the one that falls off all the time whenever you move the dryer.). It seems very strange but since they don’t typically own a dryer (after all, they hang their clothes outside to dry….very environmentally friendly), why would they put a hole in the wall to vent something. It takes some encouragement to get them to understand why you need to vent the dryer but even then, no holes. We just open the window to vent the moist air. Luckily, it’s not a US size or else it would really be a problem. We also do hang our clothes outside to dry but on those really damp days, nothing dries and the dryer comes in extremely handy.

7. The kids got their first report cards from school. I have to say that these IB schools get a lot of good pub for how they incorporate teaching for the International community. BUT, I’m not really all that thrilled about the grading structure, mainly because I don’t understand it. It all seems a little, how would you say it, um…touchy-feely for me. The kids don’t receive failing or passing grades, more like just grades on their progress. Nothing really punitive about it, it’s all the encouragement route. Well, spare the rod and spoil the child folks but it is the way it is. I’d rather see where the kids really are in school but I have to be understanding and caring (imagine that) about the grades. On the positive side, the teachers take the time to write a few sentences about your child’s progress in the given subject and a few comments about their social skills, effort, etc. This is something that I like about the program since I know this takes a lot of time to get that done. They could be cutting and pasting sentences from a list of pre-approved statements but it didn’t come across that way to me. From our experiences at SSIS, we are happy with the way things are being done at the school. The grade system, well….that’s my hang-up so I’ve got to get past it (I guess I’m supposed to be Ben Walton and not Al Bundy).

6. Ah, for those that read my post on the swimming pool at the Chateau, here’s where it comes around to bite me (karma folks). Jacob starts swimming at school this week. Sooo, in preparation for the class we had to go to Decathalon and buy him a swimming cap. Yes, that’s right…a friggin’ swimming cap. All of the fun I made of the people in the pool and now I have to include my own flesh and blood into the equation. Sure it’s mean but c’mon….a swimming cap. What the heck for? It took all I had to keep from laughing at him while he tested the “one size fits all rule” for these caps. I know the Olympic swimmers wear them and all of that. Well, when he beats Michael Phelps then I’ll start wearing a swimming cap (and matching speedos….doesn’t that paint a pretty picture). It just seems odd to me that’s all.

5. And on the subject of sports, how about ping pong equipment? Warren’s PE class will be headed into their ping pong portion of the program very soon and therefore we had to go out and get him a paddle. You can get just about everything for ping pong, the paddles range from less than 20 RMB to over 300 RMB. You can get special balls (stop snickering) for just a few RMB more. AND you can buy a paddle cover, much like a tennis racket cover so you can sling your ping pong paddle over your shoulder to carry it to your next match. It’s kind of funny but they take it very seriously here so I watch them test the paddles and try to determine if they know what they are doing or if they are just trying to look like they understand how the darned thing works. What makes the difference in the paddles, is it graphite versus wood, the rubber coverings, dimpled versus non-dimpled, etc? I have no idea and I’m pretty happy that I don’t know so I’ll remain ignorant and avoid those “my paddle is better than your paddle” types of discussions. When I was growing up, the paddle had a totally different meaning (it could also be called “the board of education”).

4. We had to grab two cabs on Friday night to get out for dinner. When we hopped in the first cab that stopped for us, I told him Lindun Lu and he gave the obligatory “HUH?” look, along with the “Hmmm???” I said it again and I could see that he understood where we wanted to go. He then opened his mouth and pointed into it and made an “ahh” noise. I just stared at him trying to understand what he was trying to convey to me (I’m not a doctor but I would recommend some Tic Tacs) but then Tammy chimed in from the back seat. “He wants to eat and doesn’t want to take us.” So I looked at him again and he gives me the same mime routine. We decided to hop out of the cab and he actually says “Thank you” and drives away. Keep in mind, it’s cold outside and there aren’t cabs coming by every 5 seconds (this was after 10 minutes waiting). I guess we could’ve just sat there and said drive but what good would that do, so we got out. The next driver that stopped (about 10 minutes later) nearly pulled the same stunt. When I told him where to go, he laughed and hit his fist into the palm of his other hand. It wasn’t threatening; he was just indicating that traffic would be a problem (or that was my interpretation). He took off and headed for the area. He was right; traffic became a nightmare as he neared the point where they are building the subway line. He laughs and shakes his head but he tries to keep going. At one point, he points to a side road to indicate there’s a back way. It’s more expensive but he asks if he can take that route. We say OK and off we go down smaller side roads, encountering much less traffic. When we come to an intersection, he asks which way to turn. We think and say “Walking Street”, he shakes his head and laughs again but he takes the turn. We made it in relatively little time and because he gave us the ride, I gave him a generous tip for taking us to our destination. Sure, it’s his job but he was the first cabbie to try the back roads and he kept going regardless of how stupid he thought we were. We were appreciative of his efforts and let him know with the tip. I don’t tip often here because it’s not expected but every once I’ll do it (wasn’t that the original intent of the tip anyhow, for exceeding expectations?). I know that on Friday and Saturday nights, the cabbies seem to avoid the Westerners since we’ll want to go to Bar Street or Walking Street and they will get caught in traffic (which impacts how many fares they can collect). Perhaps by tipping, he’ll give the next Westerners the benefit of the doubt and stop. It’s strange but they would prefer to run the short routes all day long rather than take the more expensive fares.

3. Interesting and sad tidbit from last Sunday. When Tammy and the kids came home from church, they told me that a Chinese man had jumped from the top of the building and killed himself. They had the police there routing the church goers out other doors in order not to see the results of the jump (the building is about 20 floors high if that helps “paint the picture”). Some of you more astute readers (that are used to the blog going on and on and on…) may have noted that Tammy and the kids came home from church. Where was I you ask? Well, I was volunteering at the suicide hotline…..I know, I know it’s not something to joke about but it’s a good line, I had to use it (I’m going with jerk store….jerk store). It’s the only time I’ve heard anything about a suicide here, it makes me wonder how they view someone that takes their own life. I don’t know how to brooch the subject so I may never be able to find that out but if the chance comes up, I’ll have to ask a local about how the Chinese view this tragic ending to a person’s life.

2. A substantial fog rolled in on Thursday and I mean substantial. When I got up, you could not see as far as the other buildings around us which are about 50 meters away. In fact, you could barely see 20 meters in any direction. It was crazy. Since I have to cross a couple of major streets to get to my pickup point, it was tricky to ensure I didn’t become a statistic. I could see from the edge of the street across the 4 lanes on my side of the road and figured I saw enough to know just about when I should feel the pain from the car running me over. Do they drive any different in really dense fog you ask? Nope, they drive even worse. They would drive right on through the traffic lights, like they didn’t see them at all. It wasn’t pleasant to be on the bus for the ride so I just listened to my mp3 player and tried not to look out of the window.

1. For many weeks now, I have been watching The Sopranos. We didn’t have HBO at home so I heard all the talk but never saw the show. Tammy and I purchased the entire series here and have been watching it on-and-off for about two months or so (we’ve purchased a lot of the complete series of shows, The X-Files, 24 seasons 1-7, etc.). My one observation here concerns the hullabaloo that occurred from the final episode of the series. Everybody seemed to be up in arms that the show just ended without any real resolution as far as what happens to the family. My question is did they ever watch any of these shows before??? Every episode ends in a very strange fashion, nothing is concluded, no “wrap it up” moment that ensures closure to all of the things that happened during the episode. This leads me to wonder why anyone would believe that the show would end with any kind of final word on everything.

2. Yes, I know, we’ve gone from 1 back to 2, I told you, this is the MEGA TOP 10 (10….10….10). Someone near us has a piano. This may sound strange but there is some comfort in hearing the piano being played. Growing up, we had a piano, my mother plays and my sisters had to take piano lessons. So I grew up listening to the piano being played (sometimes very badly) and now when I hear it, it brings some comfort of home. I believe the person provides lessons to children based on some of the music being played but at other times, someone with more skill is playing. It’s not loud enough to bother us, I can usually only hear it in the study. The first time, I thought I was hearing things since it was very faint. I guess it brings me back to my childhood (it all started when I was 5 years old, I remember that my brother put a frog down my pants…..), it sounds corny but it’s just one of those things.

3. Finally, do you know what an abacas is? Well, look it up if you don’t’ but believe it or not, it’s still being used here. There’s an office supply place in one of the neighborhood centers near us. When I went there to buy a few items, the lady actually rang up my total using the abacas (and you think I have a hard time with Chinese, try looking at this and determining your total). She was a pro with it, and after calculating the tab, she typed in the amount on a calculator for me to see. I had never seen anyone ever use one of these things (it’s like a slide rule, I know of them but who uses them?) so it was interesting to see. Another one of those moments where you say to yourself “We aren’t in Kansas anymore Toto”.

Final note of the week

We had Thanksgiving dinner at SSIS with many, many other expats. SSIS is the kid’s school just to be sure we’re on the same page here, so yes, we ate Thanksgiving dinner at a school cafeteria. The school has held the dinner for the past couple of years and continued the tradition this year. It seemed to us to be a waste to try and fit in a turkey on Thursday since I had to work anyhow (no holiday here) so we decided to give it a try and see how it worked out. There were other options but we decided to go with the school since we knew the money they raised would go to a good cause (we hope). The meal consisted of the standards, stuffing (with chestnuts, a little different but not bad), rice (okay that is different but it had golden raisins in it so it wasn’t plain rice), potatoes, green beans, turkey, gravy and cranberry “gravy”. It was not cranberry sauce “ala Bart”; it was like cranberry gravy that you poured over the turkey. They even served beer and wine with the meal. Tammy and I dared Warren to get us two beers and walk by his teachers and pastor from our church, but he wasn’t going for it. Tammy brought along the camera and took many photos; some will even be published in the school newsletter. It wasn’t the same as being with the family, driving to SC, deep frying the turkey, etc. The only thing that was the same is that I wasn’t able to watch the football game while I ate (I know, what’s that all about). Here, I wasn’t able to watch the football game until early Friday morning. I got up about 5:45 and watched some of the Cowboys game online. They crushed the Raiders (as it should be, sorry Marybeth but they are terrible and are not going to get better anytime soon with the crypt keeper running the show) so it was a good day. Since Thanksgiving is the traditional time to reflect on those things we are thankful for (dare I say thankful to God….I dare say it!), we are thankful for the opportunity to come to China and learn about another culture. We have met many wonderful people here who have really helped us to adapt to life in China. We miss our families and friends back home (especially on Black Friday….Tammy would leave the house about 9 or 10pm and I would not see her again until mid-afternoon on Friday) and hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving. Keep checking in and see what’s happening on this side of the world.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

More than just a dog

Today we got the news we knew would come eventually. Our former dog, Shadow passed away (I say former because we had to give her up in order to come to China, one of the sacrifices we made for this journey. We feel very fortunate that we found a home for her where she would be loved and treated like a member of the family and not just a dog.). We looked long and hard to find the right breed and we found the right combination with the Boxer. We visited several places until we found the right puppy and we did with Shadow. We picked her up and she traveled home with us in Tammy’s lap, she was sooo little. She came from a lineage of show dogs but she didn’t have quite the right smile to be able to show but we didn’t care, she was our dog. On the way home, we took her to Petsmart and she got to tour the store riding in the small compartment of the shopping cart. Sitting on her sheepskin blanket, riding around like a queen as everyone fawned over her, she was in her element already.

Up until that point, we had cats so it was different with the dog. She was like another child, watching to ensure she didn’t pee on the floor (or worse). Getting through the teething of the dog, those little puppy teeth are sharp. Watching her start as a small puppy with big feet, growing into those feet was difficult. When she was still small the kids would tease her but running around the house with her chasing them and they would jump on the couch. She wasn’t big enough to make that jump but she tried and was denied. She never really seemed to bark very often except when she was playing. Someone would come to the door and she would run through the house and hit the door with her front paws (BAM!) trying to get a look at who was there. It scared the beejeepers out of many people, especially since many mistook her for a pit due to her color (she was a brindle and not fawn which is the more common color associated with the breed).

It took some time but we got her trained and everything became much easier. She always was trying to lick your face, it never satisfied her to just be there; she wanted you to know she was there. We tried to break her of jumping up on people but it was just part of her personality. She wanted to see your face, if you sat down, she was going to put her paws in your lap and get her face to yours. Her tongue was always working. She quickly became a member of the family and we took her just about everywhere with us. We kept to the crate training so she rarely ever slept outside the crate unless a special circumstance arose. But she didn’t seem to mind. First thing in the morning, she would go outside and then come in the house and make a running beeline for the bedroom (all of them, she would work her way from one room to the next to see who was up). If the door wasn’t closed, she would leap on to the bed to let you know it was time to get up. If I didn’t get up, she would start to gnaw on me through the blankets, sometimes she would give up and then just lay down or if it was a cold day, she would try to get under the covers (even if it meant she pulled the covers off of you while she was trying to burrow down to where it was warm).

We tried to keep her off the furniture but when one of her buddies came over for a visit, she watched and figured, “If he can do it, I can do it” so from that point on it was tough to keep her off the furniture (after all, she was a person…wasn’t she?). When we would visit my parents, if you turned your back….she was on the loveseat (which was a huge no-no) or on the bed. She would always sit “next to” (more like on top of) Tammy in the morning. She never seemed to realize that she wasn’t a lap dog; she would just climb up and then push up against you as she just dropped into place. She had to be next to someone, she just was a people dog…she wasn’t satisfied with being at your feet; she had to be right up next to you. Even in my recliner, she would climb up and lay down despite the fact that it wasn’t really made for more than one person. She was coming up to lay down either way…if I didn’t like it, I could always leave and just give her the whole chair to lie down. If you got up, it was going to happen anyhow.

We tried not to feed her people food but every so often, she would get a treat. Sundays, when I would make a fried egg sandwich, she would sit in front of me and just stare, drool dripped down her jowls, liking her chops. She looked so pathetic that I would always just give her a small piece. I knew she could eat the whole thing and more but it wasn’t going to happen. We learned that you couldn’t turn you back here either. One night, we cooked burgers and dogs and I brought the dogs to the table, placing on dog in a bun at each place and then went back outside for the burgers. I returned and we got to the table when Jacob asked where his hotdog was. We didn’t have any visible evidence of the crime but there was a strong circumstantial case against the dog. She never confessed but we knew. One Easter, we came home from church to find little pieces of colored foil littered all over the house. It took a little bit of time but we finally realized that someone had eaten Jacob’s chocolate Easter bunny (about 12 ounces of chocolate). We knew that this wasn’t good for the dog but when we called the vet, we found out that it wasn’t a problem due to her size. Again, we didn’t have a witness to the crime but I don’t think the cats conspired against the dog (“Hey Lucky, let’s frame the dog and see if they’ll get rid of her.”, “Good thinking, I hate that dog!”).

She never really outgrew the puppy in her. She would fetch balls and chase the water coming from the water hose (she would try to bite the stream of water and then drink from the hose). Those ears would be flopping while she ran around doing whatever. She had a habit of running around the loveseat in the living room like she was a small dog but she wasn’t. You could hear the nails just tearing away at the carpet as she tried to take the corner at full speed. She wasn’t much of a guard dog, she wanted to meet everyone, unless it was around me. I would play around with the kids or Tammy and she didn’t like it one bit. She would bark and then would get a hold of my arm in her mouth and just knaw away. She was letting me know that she was playing but if she chose to, she could hurt me. Sometimes all she could do was just try and get me with her front teeth, it made a funny sound that I can’t write but it was still funny as she tried to work on my arm like a kid with corn on the cob. She tried to keep the rabbits and squirrels out of the yard but many times she was so eager to get outside (when we said “squirrel”) that she would end up running right past it while she headed to another spot. I don’t know what she would’ve done with the squirrel had she caught it anyhow. Once the squirrel was outside of the yard, she would bark and just hop up and down in the fence letting the squirrel know not to come back. She would do the same at my parent’s place when the squirrel would come to eat out of the bird feeder. She would race across the yard, jumping at the fence to get that darned squirrel out of the feeder.

We learned that there are two inherent issues with Boxers. One was flatulence…need I say more (pppffffttttt….it wasn’t me). The other was heart issues. She collapsed at soccer fields and we thought we had lost her on that day as she was limp and didn’t show any signs of life as we rushed her to the emergency vet clinic. It was then that I realized how much this dog meant to the family (and how much an emergency vet costs….pay before you leave please). She pulled through and we had to hook her to a monitor for a couple of days (she really looked ridiculous and hated that thing strapped to her back) while we waited on test results. It turned out that this was common to the breed and in most cases; the first episode was the only episode. So she got put on heart medication and she went along just like nothing had happened.

The weekend I had to take her to PA and drop her off was a really tough day. Warren and I made the journey to try and make it easier on all of us. We knew she was going to a great home but it didn’t make it any easier. As she loaded up in Melanie’s van and sat down, she just looked at me as I said goodbye and closed the door. Perhaps she knew, or maybe I just wanted her to know that it was for the best for her, we would never have given her up under normal circumstances but this wasn’t normal. Taking a dog on a journey halfway around the world, living in a small apartment in the city just didn’t seem right. Instead she headed to PA (her own little journey) to live on a farm with a large family that was eager to have her. We would get updates and photos of Shadow fitting in to her new location just fine, we knew she was being spoiled even more now than she was when we had her. We knew that one day we would receive the news of her passing but it doesn’t make it any easier despite the fact that we haven’t seen her in months, we still talked about her often, and laughing about the “stupid dog”. We feel very badly that she didn’t have more time with her new family and know that this is just as hard on them as it is on us (if not harder). She had an episode while out playing with the kids and didn’t pull through this time. Although we don’t see her, we still will miss her (before there was some comfort knowing she was still around and doing well). She was a great dog, we were lucky to have shared our lives with her and we know that we will never find another one quite like her. You can say that she was "just a dog" but she was much, much more than that to us.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Here are this week’s top 10 observations from Suzhou.

10. If you read last week’s Top 10 list, you’ll remember that we happened to purchase an e-bike. Well, it’s takes some time to get used to riding these things. They aren’t like a standard bicycle, they are much heavier, wider and more awkward than just riding a bike. The battery for the bike weighs a good amount, somewhere around 30 pounds or so. Tammy took it out for a ride during the week without too much of an issue. BUT this weekend, as she was riding around the apartment complex with Jacob on the back they had a small “incident” with the bike. They decided to have the bike detailed by using on of the small, shallow ponds within the complex. They made it through pretty much unscathed, just a small cut and a bruised ego. Obviously, it takes time to learn to ride this thing and it will take more time (and that’s just to drain the water from the handlebars).

9. Alton Brown always talked about getting to know your butcher. Well, we know our butcher, even though we can’t really understand what he says or visa versa. The Korean butcher we use to obtain our beef and snitzel (that’s right folks, he sells pork, pounded thin that already has a breading on it. We just heat up a small amount of peanut oil in a pan and cook it for 3 minutes per side, mmmm). Two funny things about this; one, in the US we never saw the butchers at Wal-Mart or Kroger or wherever. Second, Tammy wasn’t much for beef with the exception of a steak on the grill every once in awhile. Now, she’s getting beef all the time and it’s the main thing we eat. In the US, we ate more chicken but now it’s pork and beef and a limited amount of chicken.

8. Vegetables. I wasn’t much for veggies in the US, neither were the kids. Now, we cook stir fry probably twice a week that consists of green beans, carrots, peppers (both hot and bell peppers), zucchini, and bokchoy (I know it’s not spelled right Mr. Spelling Bee, you know what I mean and that’s what matters). The kids will eat up many of the veggies, not all but most. What they don’t eat, Tammy will eat. It’s probably not surprising that we are getting the vegetables fresh from the local market (same place where we get the beef) and that seems to be what makes all the difference. Tammy has a good relationship with the butcher, the veggie lady and the fruit lady. All within the same area and all are very nice. They will tell us when something is not good and point us towards something better. It’s cheapa-cheapa to boot, we can get enough meat and veggies for three meals for less than 200 RMB total. It’s crazy to imagine but it’s true. Many told us that you won’t cook because it’s so cheap to eat out but those people are wrong. It’s much cheaper to cook in and make it yourself. Not surprisingly, we’re eating healthier here than back in the US.

7. Jacob went to SingHealth this week to check out an ingrown toenail problem that continues to be a problem for him. The doctor is from Singapore and therefore speaks very good English. You don’t feel rushed as he sits in his office with you to discuss your reason for being there and ask other questions. It’s different from the US where the notepad seems to be out right away as they prepare the prescriptions while you speak. Here, he isn’t in a hurry as he doesn’t have to fill a quota of patients in order to be able to pay his malpractice insurance premiums. I find it extremely disappointing that now in the US we are headed towards the government taking over the health industry. I wonder if people look towards Medicare and Social Security (both are hemorrhaging cash with costs exceeding projections by tenfold) and thinking “WOW! Those programs are so successful; I can’t wait until they fix the health industry”. I can only hope that people come to their senses, but it seems that envy has become the new mantra and success is the enemy. Ooops!! Sorry, almost got off on a rant, back to the subject at hand. Jacob has a return visit on Monday to see what is needed next, perhaps they will go in and cut the nail or we can continue on the current course of soaking the toe 3 times and day, followed by applying an antibiotic ointment.

6. We played touch Rugby again this weekend. I’m really out of shape but it’s a lot of fun. There’s a German couple with their kids that also play. Unfortunately, she doesn’t consider certain words to be swearing and has no problem shouting out those words when a mistake is made. The word rhymes with bit and is slang for feces. I’m not sure how the kids react to this but I’ve decided to let it slide in the interest of not making a big deal out of it. I know the kids have heard the word before (not from me of course! Tammy has the potty mouth in the family…) so making a big deal might make it more fun for them to try it out. Next week, we play people from other schools nearby so it’s time to show off our skills (and our oxygen masks) versus some competition.

5. The Korean’s are coming! The Korean’s are coming! Another fireworks extravaganza tonight that kept going for 15+ minutes. I’m not sure why but it was around bedtime. Jacob came out and said can’t we just close the windows, man. Why do they have to light fireworks all the time? Welcome to China young man, where have you been for the past 4 months.

4. One last note about the market. Today we went to the fruit lady and she offered us to try a Japanese apple. It is HUGE, probably the size of a large grapefruit. It costs 55 RMB…..55!!! That’s a ton of cash, Tammy told her it was very expensive in Chinese and they laughed. We went ahead and bought it anyway, another one of those experiences that we had to try. A Japanese apple, I didn’t know they had a special fruit. 55 RMB is over $8.00 US so it’s expensive no matter where you are from. Just so you know, it was very good but I’m not certain it was 55 RMB good. They have great fruit, mangos, pears, melons, etc. They always give you samples of the fruit to get you to buy more, which we do.

3. Okay, we kept the German washer. We found the English version of the instructions so we can use it AND they got it hooked up for us so we can wash clothes (our neighbors are very appreciative of this fact). Now, we need a dryer. The dryer they provided is about the size of a small cupboard. It can dry socks and underwear, but not at the same time. Put in a pair of jeans and you can expect that nothing else will fit AND it will take about one hour to dry. It doesn’t work on the same level as a dryer that we are used to so we’re trying to acclimate but when you do wash for 4, it’s much tougher. We are hanging wash out on the balcony to dry, just like the locals. We’ve asked for a larger dryer but the landlord doesn’t appear that she will budge on this request. She seems like a nice lady but it’s tough to really tell since we can’t understand what she says.

2. Now that we’ve moved, I’ve had to adjust to a new arrangement to get back-n-forth to work. Now, I ride the shuttle bus with the locals, rather than take the Chateau shuttle bus with just the expats and vendors. It’s kind of intimidating to get on the bus and not understand what is being said all around you with the exception of a few words here and there. I know I was the new toy the first day when at the end of the day someone had to sit in the seat next to me for the ride home. Although I wasn’t sure exactly what they were saying, I knew from the way things were happening around me that Patti was being given grief for sitting next to the foreigner. I really don’t mind, it’s no different than anything else. Everyone has to get used to me and I have to get used to them. It’s tougher when there is a language issue on top of just the interpersonal stuff, especially for me (you know, being a little bit introverted). It’s been one week, eventually it will be normal. I really want to put in my earbuds and listen to the MP3 player but I don’t want to seem like I’m aloof. It’s bad enough that I speak very little but adding that in might be rude. I try and focus on what is going on around me and just enjoy the ride.

1. One note about work since I rarely post about work. It’s not that I can’t, I just don’t. In two weeks we’ll be holding our Open House here in Suzhou. It will be the first time the Press division has been put on display for customers from all over Asia. It should be very interesting to hear directly from our customers and show off some of the new equipment that we have in this facility. Unfortunately, it comes at the time when the kids have a long weekend from school. It would’ve been nice to get out of Suzhou with the family for a few days but this comes as no surprise to us. We’ll have our chances to get away and see as much of China as we can while we are here.

Final note of the week

I know that in the US, the time has changed. Here in China, no change to the time so we’re now 13 hours different from the US. It makes it a little more complicated to remember what time it is but it’s not a huge deal. It gets dark here right around 5:00, the sun sets while I am on the way home on the bus. It seems really strange but it’s the way it is. Also, I have to point out that China is all on the same time zone, there is no separate time zone for Eastern and Western China. That makes it easy to remember what time it is anywhere you want to go in China.

Before I forget, Sunday night football, Cowboys at Eagles. GO COWBOYS!!! I'll be at work while this game is being played, so I'll be checking in every once in awhile to see the score and hope that the 'Boys can make it 4 in a row.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Horizon

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

10. We’re moved into our new digs at Horizon. It’s a decent apartment with enough space for everyone to have a little breathing room. I write this to you from the study, Tammy is at the other end of the apartment surfing the net. She just walked down the hall to tell me to turn on my Skype so she can talk to me without walking down the hall. She must think I’m easy or something, I don’t just chat with anyone on Skype (LOL!).

9. From a US perspective (or perhaps it was just my perspective…too many Kung Fu marathons on Saturday afternoons as a kid), I always thought that the Chinese were a very methodical, patient people. I think that’s an urban legend, especially when they are on the road. If the light turns green, they honk within a nanosecond and then will provide the obligatory honk-honk if the car doesn’t move. Then, if the car still doesn’t move, it’s the 5 second blast to wake them up. Back in the ATL, this is known as road rage, here….it’s just driving. If they pulled some of the stunts on the road that they pull here, it would not be pretty.

8. They didn’t really clean the apartment as well as they should have before we arrived. Warren was putting his stuff away in his room when he found a surprise in his end table drawer. A pack of smokes and some “booty lube”. I’ll let you insert your own comments here. If you don’t know what booty lube is, ask a friend or relative but not in a public place or across the room, it might lead to some snickers and staring. Please don’t walk into the local CVS with a small child and ask the store clerk where to find these items, unless you want to be questioned by the local authorities (don’t say I didn’t warn you).

7. Halloween comes and goes in China. There were some Western kids out doing the standard trick or treat but only in certain places. It was odd to see that but it brought back the memories of trunk-n-treat at CBC. The last several years the soccer league put out a trunk and we sat out for hours getting ready for the kids, eating burgers & dogs and then chowing down on the good candies as the kids came by. When the night was getting late, it was the candy fight in the parking lot. It was a lot of fun, although last year we were stuck next to the “High School Musical” themed area, so we got to watch the same dance routine and hear the same song played over and over. Since it was a church function, it didn’t seem right to “accidentally” cut their power cord but it would’ve saved a lot of agony. Of course, plugging my ears with Laffy Taffy was another viable alternative. I still hear that stupid song now, I can’t believe just by mentioning it I can’t get the song out of my head (oh the humanity!).

6. Speaking of Halloween, we were walking back to the apartment on the 31st when we actually saw a black cat sitting on the fence (or more appropriately, it was watching us). Jacob pointed it out, I’m not certain how he saw the cat but he definitely saw it. Granted, it was on Halloween so it was strange but even more odd is that we’ve not seen a black cat in China since we’ve arrived. Most of the cats are white or orange & white so it was really strange to see this black cat. We had a black cat for many years, Homey (de cat….ala Homey de Clown from In Living Color). Homey was a great cat, she would actually fetch and get up on her back legs and beg (or look out the window, over the top of boxes, etc). It was strange to see a cat do that but Homey wasn’t an average cat. She’s been gone awhile now but you never really forget a pet (especially here….of course I remember Homey, we ate her in a stir fry with the peppers & oil).

5. EVERYTHING here runs on batteries. Our water was cutting out for just a few seconds every 10 minutes or so. You know, you’d be taking a shower and all of a sudden…{bam}..no water. A couple seconds later, it would turn right back on. We thought perhaps a toilet flushing or something but it wasn’t. Turns out the batteries needed to be replaced. Batteries!?!? For the water? Yep, the water meter batteries were running low and so it would cut out on us. We’ve experienced this for just about everything, the lock for the door, the safe, my brain, everything. The water & gas meters also run on cards, so when you get down to a low level of remaining “stuff” you contact the company and they come out to “recharge” the card. Strange but the system seems to work for them. I guess it’s also easier to shut off the water or gas to a delinquent account if they don’t pay, eventually they run out on their own so you don’t have to fight it out to get it shut off.

4. This is one of those “be careful what you wish for” things. Back in the States, I was out of the house early and on my way to work before the kids left for school. I would eat my breakfast (you guessed it, a Pop Tart…the breakfast of champions) at my desk while sitting and drinking my coffee while I reviewed my e-mails and got ready for the day. It was always a bad start to the day when I was interrupted in my morning ritual. Now, I’ve been able to eat breakfast with the kids and drop them off at the bus stop. This may sound great but it has some drawbacks. Now I get to hear the kids go at each other from the first moment they get up until they get on the bus. “You take too much time in the bathroom”, “Hurry up, I’m done eating and want to go back to the room”, “You’re wearing my socks”….and on and on it goes. I know, they are kids and this is what they do. It’s not that huge a deal but some days…..ARGH!!!! (The battle cry of all parents)

3. Another quick note about the apartment, we asked for a larger washer since we have 4 people living here and the kids go through clothes rapidly. So, we move in and the washer isn’t hooked up, the plug doesn’t fit the outlet (and it isn’t even close). So we look at the washer and I’ll be darned if it isn’t in German. German! We’ve gone back to the landlord and indicated this isn’t going to work. First, the plug-in is for European plugs and not for a Chinese plug. Second, the water hookup is all wrong for the water inlet valve. Third (and you’re out!), it’s in German. In Chinese, we can get by with it since we can have people translate it for us to learn which cycle is which. In German, the landlady can’t read it and we can’t read it so there’s no one to figure out how the darned thing works. I know she’s going to have a fit since the washer is brand new but it doesn’t work. I’m sure she went the “cheapa cheapa” route on it and now it’ll come back to haunt her. We may decide to keep it if we can read it but it doesn’t look good right now. But just sit back and think about it, we’re in China and they get a washing machine from Germany (Farfignuten or whatever that phrase was, you know what I’m talking about). Now what does that say about their faith in their own stuff?

2. Ketchup must be worth a fortune in China. One of the four major food groups (is it still four? I think the food pyramid has been replaced but who knows….and really who cares. Did anyone really stick to that thing as for their diet plan?), at least for me. Anytime here when something comes with ketchup, they bring this tiny little bowl/plate with a dollop of ketchup. The bowl/plate is about 6-8 cm is width. I would put the amount of ketchup to perhaps one of those squeeze ketchups you get at the drive through. It’s just enough to know it’s ketchup but not enough to have some for all of your fries and burger. We’re always asking for more, especially for Jacob since he isn’t satisfied unless there’s enough ketchup to make his french fry look like a match stick with the big glob of ketchup on the end. That would be okay but he’s a triple dipper. One dip of ketchup for about 1/3 of the fry is his average. They need to see how Wendy’s operated; you fill your own little cups of ketchup, as much as you wanted. Now that’s the way it should be.

1. Look out Suzhou; the Dudley’s have an e-bike. Yes, that’s right, we purchased an e-bike from an Expat that is leaving to live in Shanghai. The bike is 3 months old and we got a really good deal. We took it for a test ride and it’s tough to get used to it but eventually we’ll be riding down the road just like the locals (oblivious to everything around us). We’ve got to be extra careful since we are Westerners there may be the temptation for the locals to try and get hit so they can get paid off. Kind of the ambulance chasers but in this case, e-bike chasers. See what the Westerner is willing to pay to you once he hits you (or your kid). We’ll try to stick to the non-crowded areas so there’s plenty of room to maneuver around. I think we’ll get a chance to perhaps see a little more of the city with it but we’ll have to get better on it first. Right now we look like kids with their first bike (pedal Jimmy, watch out for the bush….).

Final note of the week

The temperature has finally changed here in Suzhou. This morning it was into single digits, which is really odd since it has been in the mid-20s for quite some time. That was a good temperature, now…not so much. We’ve got the winter stuff so we’re prepared but it makes life a little different when you want to catch a cab and such. After all, it’s the big city and now we get to test ourselves and see what we’re made of when it’s too cold to go outside.