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.