We are excited to say we think we've found a Chinese nanny for little Dean. She was referred to us by someone we met who knew someone who knew her. Gotta love networking.
With the help of two coworkers, we interviewed her late Thursday afternoon. The only negative we could come up with during the interview is that she doesn't speak any English. Nada. None. Zippo.
At the end of the interview we asked when she could start and she said Friday (as in the next day), so we decided to give it a shot. She is a very sweet woman, married with two kids ages 7 and 2. Her 7 year old lives in the city with her and her husband, but the 2 year old lives in her home province about an hour plane ride away. We're finding this happens often - it's very common for grandparents to raise the children while the mother goes to work in a big city.
I took half a vacation day from work to stay home and begin teaching our new Ayi ("auntie" in Mandarin) how to take care of Dean. There were a lot of hand motions involved, and when I hit tough spots that really needed to be explained in detail, I grabbed our Oxford Mandarin/English Dictionary.
Communicating became a game - how few words can I look up to convey what I'm trying to say to this woman? How many visuals can I give her? If I keep saying the same English words over and over, how long will it take her to learn what I'm saying?
In the end, I felt pretty good that she understood the bulk of what I wanted her to. Matt will be keeping a close eye on her for the next few weeks while she learns more, and during that time, our dictionary will be working overtime.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
3 men and a baby
It's day 6 of a week long trip for work - 1 more day to go. I had no idea how exhausting this trip would be, both mentally and physically!
My coworker Simon informed us yesterday that the Chinese government is trying to build up the transportation infrastructure so most places within China are accessible within 2 hours, either by train, car or plane. Right now that's not the case. We've taken all three almost every day, staying in a different hotel every night to get to a variety of factories. It was exciting at first, but at this point I am very ready to be back "home" in Shenzhen.
I've talked to Matt a couple times during the trip and he and the guys (Dean included) were doing good until today. Now Dean needs a woman. He's used to estrogen in his life: mommy, grandmas and Soumya at day care made sure he always had plenty.
I hope the three men and a baby make it through the next 24 hours. I'll be very upset if Dean is sold at an open market in exchange for a roast duck and a bowl of noodles.
My coworker Simon informed us yesterday that the Chinese government is trying to build up the transportation infrastructure so most places within China are accessible within 2 hours, either by train, car or plane. Right now that's not the case. We've taken all three almost every day, staying in a different hotel every night to get to a variety of factories. It was exciting at first, but at this point I am very ready to be back "home" in Shenzhen.
I've talked to Matt a couple times during the trip and he and the guys (Dean included) were doing good until today. Now Dean needs a woman. He's used to estrogen in his life: mommy, grandmas and Soumya at day care made sure he always had plenty.
I hope the three men and a baby make it through the next 24 hours. I'll be very upset if Dean is sold at an open market in exchange for a roast duck and a bowl of noodles.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Ikea and Walmart
Today is Sunday, and I'm in a car again riding for about 2 hours in northern China to get to another factory. Last Sunday I went with Matt to Walmart, and the Sunday before that it was Ikea. I'm happy to report that we survived trips to both, and they were very similar to those in Atlanta. That said, I would highly recommend to anyone visiting these stores AVOID THE WEEKENDS unless you enjoy wall to wall asian chaos.
Our IKea trip happened to fall on a May holiday similar to our Labor Day weekend. My coworkers assured me this was a great time to shop due to all the sales.
We started in the food court, which was like a giant restaurant that easily seats 300 people or more. Oh, and by "we", I mean Matt, Dean, myself, plus 3 coworkers and 2 of their children. They heard we were going and decided to hitch a ride with us (another story). So we had an entourage.
I believe it would have taken us about 45 minutes to make it through one of the 4 lines set up to purchase food. Meatballs (looked the same as Atlanta), noodle bowls, and fruit were advertised on banners. The most interesting thing I saw was that they sell beer - Tsing Dao. It's the same price as an herbal tea at 5 RMB, and they were sitting next to each other on the shelf. A dollar right now is worth about 6.8 RMB, so we're talking about $0.70 for either. Which would you choose?
We chose neither since the lines were so long, and we headed to the goods instead. We had just moved into the apartment a day and a half before, so we were in need of a lot of basics like bedding, a crib and mattress for Dean, towels, bath mats, trash cans, etc.
Ikea is set up with 2 floors, with 3 distinct zones - big stuff on display, little stuff in large dumps for you to pick up and add to your cart, and a warehouse of big stuff in flat boxes for you to take home and assemble. The 2nd floor is mostly "big picture" stuff, meaning there are tons of mini rooms (think dorm room size) set up to show Ikea products in use. You can buy a few things, but mostly they're showcasing furniture that you grab a number for and pick up downstairs.
There were so many people that it was really tough to fit through the aisles. Ikea back home overwhelms me, so I felt super stressed and paralyzed within the first ten minutes. I probably would have left immediately if Matt hadn't stepped up and become the decision maker. This is partly why we ended up with an electric blue crib for Dean which I would never in a million years pick out back home. I don't mean that to sound like a don't like it, because I really do, but it's very different.
I suspect this same neon blue crib is available around the globe. I was surprised to see that most of the products looked familiar - the same as what you can buy in Atlanta. Even the catalog we picked up is full of Caucasian people, not Asians, though it did have the prices all listed in Chinese money. I wonder - do they just use the same catalog worldwide, changing the prices based on the country it's shipping to?
When I say change the prices, I should clarify that they are really just converting it. Cheap beer aside, I don't think the prices were any different than back home, which surprised me. The stuff is flat packed to reduce shipping costs, but the majority of the stuff is made in China. Shouldn't they pass some extra cost savings on to the locals?
My coworkers kept telling us everything there was so expensive, which to them it probably is. We are used to those prices back home, so we wouldn't have thought much of it if they hadn't reminded us every time we picked something up to look at it. It was kind of like having a flock of birds fluttering around us the whole time chirping "too expensive! Too expensive!"
We made it through the store in about an hour and 45 minutes using sheer willpower, determination, and a lot of Cheerios for Dean.
One thing we couldn't buy at Ikea was a stroller. We had a stroller for Dean back home, but opted not to ship it over because it was so big and bulky. We chose to bring a nice kid backpack with us as part of our checked luggage instead of the stroller, which turned out to be a wise decision. We've seen strollers on every street corner, but not a single kid in a backpack, so I don't think they're common here.
We headed to Walmart to buy a new stroller and a few other basic things we still needed, like wash cloths. The Walmart closest to us is 2 levels, with an escalator connecting the two floors. It's a super center, with the ground floor dedicated to food and the second floor to goods.
Again we encountered a madhouse of Asians. I'm starting to get used to being a minority and having people stare at me, and especially at Dean. He's like a magnet, drawing strangers close to us at all times. Walmart was no exception, although we did find a really cool cart with a plastic car attached underneath that Dean could sit in while we shopped, so we were able to hide him from view most of the time.
The Walmart store, unlike Ikea, was full to the brim with local foods and goods. I don't eecall spotting any brands I recognized, although we were trying to grab what we needed and get out of there as fast as possible. No wait - I take that back! There is a section of the store dedicated to import items. We browsed it briefly and discovered things like Hunt's ketchup. Matt picked up a bottle of honey roasted peanuts, but other than that, we didn't buy anything from that area. If I'd seen some imported USA milk I probably would have paid up to ten dollars a gallon, but no luck.
Thankfully the baby section was at the top of the escalator on the 2nd floor, so we didn't have to look too hard to find it. We picked out a nice stroller that reclines all the way back so when Dean's tired he can sleep horizontally. It set us back about $60, but I think a similar model if we could find it back home would be at $100+
Matt was happy to pick up a few local items in the grocery level of the store, such as roasted chestnuts, pickled cucumbers, some kind of rice thingy wrapped in leaves, and a roasted duck. We also bought some cups of fruit gelatin, whale crackers, and several big bottles of water. I tried to buy some apples, but when we got to the register they wouldn't let us check out with them. We think they were supposed to be weighed and labeled back in the produce section, or at least that's what we took away from the checkout attendant's little rant in Mandarin. Matt just smiled, nodded, told the man we didn't want them (in English) and set them to the side.
They didn't accept our credit or debit cards at the register, but thankfully Matt had enough cash on hand to cover our bill. I am so used to swiping a card to purchase everything back home that this is still a little different, but we're not surprised by it any more.
We made it home in one piece and with little drama from Dean, which was nice. We only covered a small portion of Walmart since we were focused on getting what we needed and getting out of there quick, but I'm sure we'll be heading back again soon.
Our IKea trip happened to fall on a May holiday similar to our Labor Day weekend. My coworkers assured me this was a great time to shop due to all the sales.
We started in the food court, which was like a giant restaurant that easily seats 300 people or more. Oh, and by "we", I mean Matt, Dean, myself, plus 3 coworkers and 2 of their children. They heard we were going and decided to hitch a ride with us (another story). So we had an entourage.
I believe it would have taken us about 45 minutes to make it through one of the 4 lines set up to purchase food. Meatballs (looked the same as Atlanta), noodle bowls, and fruit were advertised on banners. The most interesting thing I saw was that they sell beer - Tsing Dao. It's the same price as an herbal tea at 5 RMB, and they were sitting next to each other on the shelf. A dollar right now is worth about 6.8 RMB, so we're talking about $0.70 for either. Which would you choose?
We chose neither since the lines were so long, and we headed to the goods instead. We had just moved into the apartment a day and a half before, so we were in need of a lot of basics like bedding, a crib and mattress for Dean, towels, bath mats, trash cans, etc.
Ikea is set up with 2 floors, with 3 distinct zones - big stuff on display, little stuff in large dumps for you to pick up and add to your cart, and a warehouse of big stuff in flat boxes for you to take home and assemble. The 2nd floor is mostly "big picture" stuff, meaning there are tons of mini rooms (think dorm room size) set up to show Ikea products in use. You can buy a few things, but mostly they're showcasing furniture that you grab a number for and pick up downstairs.
There were so many people that it was really tough to fit through the aisles. Ikea back home overwhelms me, so I felt super stressed and paralyzed within the first ten minutes. I probably would have left immediately if Matt hadn't stepped up and become the decision maker. This is partly why we ended up with an electric blue crib for Dean which I would never in a million years pick out back home. I don't mean that to sound like a don't like it, because I really do, but it's very different.
I suspect this same neon blue crib is available around the globe. I was surprised to see that most of the products looked familiar - the same as what you can buy in Atlanta. Even the catalog we picked up is full of Caucasian people, not Asians, though it did have the prices all listed in Chinese money. I wonder - do they just use the same catalog worldwide, changing the prices based on the country it's shipping to?
When I say change the prices, I should clarify that they are really just converting it. Cheap beer aside, I don't think the prices were any different than back home, which surprised me. The stuff is flat packed to reduce shipping costs, but the majority of the stuff is made in China. Shouldn't they pass some extra cost savings on to the locals?
My coworkers kept telling us everything there was so expensive, which to them it probably is. We are used to those prices back home, so we wouldn't have thought much of it if they hadn't reminded us every time we picked something up to look at it. It was kind of like having a flock of birds fluttering around us the whole time chirping "too expensive! Too expensive!"
We made it through the store in about an hour and 45 minutes using sheer willpower, determination, and a lot of Cheerios for Dean.
One thing we couldn't buy at Ikea was a stroller. We had a stroller for Dean back home, but opted not to ship it over because it was so big and bulky. We chose to bring a nice kid backpack with us as part of our checked luggage instead of the stroller, which turned out to be a wise decision. We've seen strollers on every street corner, but not a single kid in a backpack, so I don't think they're common here.
We headed to Walmart to buy a new stroller and a few other basic things we still needed, like wash cloths. The Walmart closest to us is 2 levels, with an escalator connecting the two floors. It's a super center, with the ground floor dedicated to food and the second floor to goods.
Again we encountered a madhouse of Asians. I'm starting to get used to being a minority and having people stare at me, and especially at Dean. He's like a magnet, drawing strangers close to us at all times. Walmart was no exception, although we did find a really cool cart with a plastic car attached underneath that Dean could sit in while we shopped, so we were able to hide him from view most of the time.
The Walmart store, unlike Ikea, was full to the brim with local foods and goods. I don't eecall spotting any brands I recognized, although we were trying to grab what we needed and get out of there as fast as possible. No wait - I take that back! There is a section of the store dedicated to import items. We browsed it briefly and discovered things like Hunt's ketchup. Matt picked up a bottle of honey roasted peanuts, but other than that, we didn't buy anything from that area. If I'd seen some imported USA milk I probably would have paid up to ten dollars a gallon, but no luck.
Thankfully the baby section was at the top of the escalator on the 2nd floor, so we didn't have to look too hard to find it. We picked out a nice stroller that reclines all the way back so when Dean's tired he can sleep horizontally. It set us back about $60, but I think a similar model if we could find it back home would be at $100+
Matt was happy to pick up a few local items in the grocery level of the store, such as roasted chestnuts, pickled cucumbers, some kind of rice thingy wrapped in leaves, and a roasted duck. We also bought some cups of fruit gelatin, whale crackers, and several big bottles of water. I tried to buy some apples, but when we got to the register they wouldn't let us check out with them. We think they were supposed to be weighed and labeled back in the produce section, or at least that's what we took away from the checkout attendant's little rant in Mandarin. Matt just smiled, nodded, told the man we didn't want them (in English) and set them to the side.
They didn't accept our credit or debit cards at the register, but thankfully Matt had enough cash on hand to cover our bill. I am so used to swiping a card to purchase everything back home that this is still a little different, but we're not surprised by it any more.
We made it home in one piece and with little drama from Dean, which was nice. We only covered a small portion of Walmart since we were focused on getting what we needed and getting out of there quick, but I'm sure we'll be heading back again soon.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
A better life
It's 9 am Saturday morning and I am an hour outside of Shanghai on my way to the first factory visit today. It will take about 3 more hours by car to get there.
Shanghai is currently hosting the World Expo 2010. I wasn't sure what this was before yesterday, and unfortunately there is no time for me to visit or explore while here.
From what I've gathered, it is a platform for countries around the world to come together and showcase unique features of their culture and landscape that will make others want to visit that country for tourism or business/economic purposes.
The theme for the Expo is "Better city. Better life." You can see this printed on banners that hang on metal light posts or bridges around Shanghai.
I've been in China just over a month, and every time I turn around the phrase "a better life" comes up again.
Before leaving the USA, I learned that wages are increasing in China. Not just a little here and there, but by leaps and bounds - 20 to 30 percent annually.
30 years ago the country was much poorer, and both men and women would do anything to earn enough money to put food on the table, shelter and clothes on the backs of their children. Working in a factory, or "sweat shop" as we know it, was accepted because it meant that they could provide a better life for their children.
Today, those children are now of working age. They see what the effects of long hours and hard working conditions did to their parents, and they are choosing different paths, or demanding more.
Factories which were once flooded with laborers who worked for next to nothing are now holding job fairs non-stop, working to sign up new workers.
Two weeks ago a factory I visited had a desk set up at the entrance. A few young people were gathered nonchalantly at the table looking at paraphernalia. The owner of the factory told us they were in need of new workers, as their current workers banded together to form a type of union and were demanding a 30% increase in wages.
Good for them! I thought at first. But in reality, it will mean a higher cost for goods, which I might not be so excited about in the future. I just witnessed inflation at its most basic starting point.
In other words, a better life for someone other than me.
I also heard this phrase about a week after arriving in Shenzhen. A coworker was telling me about her friend who bought very little for herself and spent bare bones on meals so that she could afford for her daughter to take English lessons. "She will have a better life!" my coworker exclaimed when describing the situation.
This is not the first time I have heard the equation that speaking English leads to a better life.
While traveling in Costa Rica several years ago Matt and I met a young man called "Maxi" at the surf camp we visited. We practiced our limited Spanish phrases on him, like "Yo quiero Taco Bell". He laughed and told us that he would prefer we speak English to him, because he wanted to learn to speak it fluently.
He told us later that the more fluently he could speak English, the better job he could get and the more money he could make.
Ahhhh - a better life.
Just last week Matt and I had a casual conversation about what we wanted for Dean in the future with regards to who would care for him and where he will go to school when he is older. We both agreed that we want him to speak more than just English. We would love for him to be fluent in several languages - Mandarin Chinese and Spanish topping the list.
We believe that speaking multiple languages will provide Dean more job opportunities when he is and adult.
Matt and I have both been blessed with opportunities to travel for pleasure thanks often to the sacrifices our parents made while raising us, and for work due to the good jobs we have. We realize how small the world really is, and that being able to fully communicate, empathize and understand people from a variety of backgrounds begins at a basic level - verbal communication.
I'll be curious to see how many other ways the phrase "a better life" will pop up in the near future. It's not just a marketing slogan. It's what we all really want.
Shanghai is currently hosting the World Expo 2010. I wasn't sure what this was before yesterday, and unfortunately there is no time for me to visit or explore while here.
From what I've gathered, it is a platform for countries around the world to come together and showcase unique features of their culture and landscape that will make others want to visit that country for tourism or business/economic purposes.
The theme for the Expo is "Better city. Better life." You can see this printed on banners that hang on metal light posts or bridges around Shanghai.
I've been in China just over a month, and every time I turn around the phrase "a better life" comes up again.
Before leaving the USA, I learned that wages are increasing in China. Not just a little here and there, but by leaps and bounds - 20 to 30 percent annually.
30 years ago the country was much poorer, and both men and women would do anything to earn enough money to put food on the table, shelter and clothes on the backs of their children. Working in a factory, or "sweat shop" as we know it, was accepted because it meant that they could provide a better life for their children.
Today, those children are now of working age. They see what the effects of long hours and hard working conditions did to their parents, and they are choosing different paths, or demanding more.
Factories which were once flooded with laborers who worked for next to nothing are now holding job fairs non-stop, working to sign up new workers.
Two weeks ago a factory I visited had a desk set up at the entrance. A few young people were gathered nonchalantly at the table looking at paraphernalia. The owner of the factory told us they were in need of new workers, as their current workers banded together to form a type of union and were demanding a 30% increase in wages.
Good for them! I thought at first. But in reality, it will mean a higher cost for goods, which I might not be so excited about in the future. I just witnessed inflation at its most basic starting point.
In other words, a better life for someone other than me.
I also heard this phrase about a week after arriving in Shenzhen. A coworker was telling me about her friend who bought very little for herself and spent bare bones on meals so that she could afford for her daughter to take English lessons. "She will have a better life!" my coworker exclaimed when describing the situation.
This is not the first time I have heard the equation that speaking English leads to a better life.
While traveling in Costa Rica several years ago Matt and I met a young man called "Maxi" at the surf camp we visited. We practiced our limited Spanish phrases on him, like "Yo quiero Taco Bell". He laughed and told us that he would prefer we speak English to him, because he wanted to learn to speak it fluently.
He told us later that the more fluently he could speak English, the better job he could get and the more money he could make.
Ahhhh - a better life.
Just last week Matt and I had a casual conversation about what we wanted for Dean in the future with regards to who would care for him and where he will go to school when he is older. We both agreed that we want him to speak more than just English. We would love for him to be fluent in several languages - Mandarin Chinese and Spanish topping the list.
We believe that speaking multiple languages will provide Dean more job opportunities when he is and adult.
Matt and I have both been blessed with opportunities to travel for pleasure thanks often to the sacrifices our parents made while raising us, and for work due to the good jobs we have. We realize how small the world really is, and that being able to fully communicate, empathize and understand people from a variety of backgrounds begins at a basic level - verbal communication.
I'll be curious to see how many other ways the phrase "a better life" will pop up in the near future. It's not just a marketing slogan. It's what we all really want.
Friday, May 14, 2010
2 am
I'm happy to report that Will and Brian made it to China, arriving around 2 am. Hooray!
After a very long, very late meeting at work yesterday (the sourcing meetings that last until 11:30 am in Atlanta are brutal on this side of the world), I got home around 12:30 am. I spent a few minutes visiting with Matt and then received a call that the guys were on the way, so we both stayed up to see them arrive and welcome them to China.
I think I got about 3-1/2 hours of sleep, and then Dean woke up at 6:30. He's the best alarm clock I've ever had. I never have to worry about the power going out or forgetting to set the right time in am or pm.
I said goodbye to all my boys and headed to the airport around 7:30 am. It will be stressful for the next few days, but I am looking forward to the work.
After a very long, very late meeting at work yesterday (the sourcing meetings that last until 11:30 am in Atlanta are brutal on this side of the world), I got home around 12:30 am. I spent a few minutes visiting with Matt and then received a call that the guys were on the way, so we both stayed up to see them arrive and welcome them to China.
I think I got about 3-1/2 hours of sleep, and then Dean woke up at 6:30. He's the best alarm clock I've ever had. I never have to worry about the power going out or forgetting to set the right time in am or pm.
I said goodbye to all my boys and headed to the airport around 7:30 am. It will be stressful for the next few days, but I am looking forward to the work.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Will and Brian
Tomorrow (Friday) I leave for a week long business trip to northern
China. I will accompany Plaid staff to several factories that make a
variety of products for us. I'm looking forward to it, but I will miss
my boys SO much! Matt and Dean = Home. As long as we are together,
home-sickness doesn't kick in.
I found out about the trip 6 weeks ago, and I was nervous at first
about leaving them alone for an extended period of time. We haven't
really met anyone outside of the Plaid office yet, and we haven't
hired anyone to help take care of Dean. We're still not even sure how
to do this.
To prepare for the trip, I started almost immediately begging my
younger brother to come visit us. And it worked! He is coming to
rescue Matt.
Before we left Atlanta, Matt's friend Brian came over to help us pack.
He heard us talking to Will about how great it would be for him to
visit us early on and help out a bit with Dean, and he wanted to come
as well. The timing worked for them to travel together.
The guys are flying standby via buddy passes on Delta Airlines to get
here, which is good and bad. Good = cheap airfare. Bad = if the
plane is full, they will be left behind. Anyone who has ever flown
standby probably knows how your heart sinks when the airline closes
the doors without you and the plane pulls away. Sometimes you can get
stuck for hours or days just trying to get on a plane going anywhere
closer to your destination. Sometimes you get stranded. Sometimes you
say forget it and pay insane amounts of money for a last minute ticket
home or to your destination. Sometimes, if you haven't been able to
catch an outbound plane, you give up and just go home, canceling your
trip.
Dad Adgate emailed us last night to confirm that Will and Brian
boarded a plane to Portland, OR early Thursday morning. We hope from
there they can fly to Tokyo and catch up with the original flight they
planned to take to Hong Kong. This flight arrives around 11 pm
Thursday, China time. The flights look very full, so who knows what
will happen or when they will really arrive.
To Will and Brian, wherever in the world you are, don't give up. We
can't wait to see you guys!!!!!
China. I will accompany Plaid staff to several factories that make a
variety of products for us. I'm looking forward to it, but I will miss
my boys SO much! Matt and Dean = Home. As long as we are together,
home-sickness doesn't kick in.
I found out about the trip 6 weeks ago, and I was nervous at first
about leaving them alone for an extended period of time. We haven't
really met anyone outside of the Plaid office yet, and we haven't
hired anyone to help take care of Dean. We're still not even sure how
to do this.
To prepare for the trip, I started almost immediately begging my
younger brother to come visit us. And it worked! He is coming to
rescue Matt.
Before we left Atlanta, Matt's friend Brian came over to help us pack.
He heard us talking to Will about how great it would be for him to
visit us early on and help out a bit with Dean, and he wanted to come
as well. The timing worked for them to travel together.
The guys are flying standby via buddy passes on Delta Airlines to get
here, which is good and bad. Good = cheap airfare. Bad = if the
plane is full, they will be left behind. Anyone who has ever flown
standby probably knows how your heart sinks when the airline closes
the doors without you and the plane pulls away. Sometimes you can get
stuck for hours or days just trying to get on a plane going anywhere
closer to your destination. Sometimes you get stranded. Sometimes you
say forget it and pay insane amounts of money for a last minute ticket
home or to your destination. Sometimes, if you haven't been able to
catch an outbound plane, you give up and just go home, canceling your
trip.
Dad Adgate emailed us last night to confirm that Will and Brian
boarded a plane to Portland, OR early Thursday morning. We hope from
there they can fly to Tokyo and catch up with the original flight they
planned to take to Hong Kong. This flight arrives around 11 pm
Thursday, China time. The flights look very full, so who knows what
will happen or when they will really arrive.
To Will and Brian, wherever in the world you are, don't give up. We
can't wait to see you guys!!!!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
We left Atlanta on April 12th, so we've been gone from home a month as of today. I think it's appropriate to mention that there are a few things we miss and a few that we don't. Let's start with what we miss first...
- Our friends and family. We wish we had a transporter to beam you all over!
- The ability to speak and understand what everyone around us is saying. Jumping into a cab to get across town is cheap and easy, but actually telling the cabbie where you want to go is impossible unless we have a Plaid coworker write it down in Chinese or tell the cab if we happen to be together. Which brings us to #3...
- The ability to hop in a car and drive wherever we want to go. We don't miss our cars and don't have a desire to drive here, but it would be nice to have the convenience of wheels.
- Milk. It's different here. Extra sweet. Usually not refrigerated.
That's the big stuff we miss.
Now for what we don't miss...
- Carseats (grandparents, you might not want to read this part...) It's so easy to jump in a cab or car with Dean in our arms. You don't strap your baby into a seat, or even yourself for that matter. The cabs don't even have seatbelts in the back to strap in a carseat.
- Junk mail. We don't get any mail right now, which is kind of a bummer, but on the other hand, we don't have to spend 10 minutes every day sorting through junk mail (or have it sit in piles all over the house).
- Ice in drinks. We thought we would miss this lots, and maybe we will some when it gets hotter out, but I don't think either of us have had a beverage served to us with ice in it since we've been here. Restaurants serve hot tea here in place of ice water when you are seated.
- Getting pulled in a hundred directions during the evenings and weekends. Life here is much simpler for us. Dean is our main form of entertainment. Well, that and trying new local Chinese restaurants. It's nice to not have a list of a thousand errands to run or things to get done, people to please, etc.
We'll probably have more things to add to both of these lists as time goes on!
- Our friends and family. We wish we had a transporter to beam you all over!
- The ability to speak and understand what everyone around us is saying. Jumping into a cab to get across town is cheap and easy, but actually telling the cabbie where you want to go is impossible unless we have a Plaid coworker write it down in Chinese or tell the cab if we happen to be together. Which brings us to #3...
- The ability to hop in a car and drive wherever we want to go. We don't miss our cars and don't have a desire to drive here, but it would be nice to have the convenience of wheels.
- Milk. It's different here. Extra sweet. Usually not refrigerated.
That's the big stuff we miss.
Now for what we don't miss...
- Carseats (grandparents, you might not want to read this part...) It's so easy to jump in a cab or car with Dean in our arms. You don't strap your baby into a seat, or even yourself for that matter. The cabs don't even have seatbelts in the back to strap in a carseat.
- Junk mail. We don't get any mail right now, which is kind of a bummer, but on the other hand, we don't have to spend 10 minutes every day sorting through junk mail (or have it sit in piles all over the house).
- Ice in drinks. We thought we would miss this lots, and maybe we will some when it gets hotter out, but I don't think either of us have had a beverage served to us with ice in it since we've been here. Restaurants serve hot tea here in place of ice water when you are seated.
- Getting pulled in a hundred directions during the evenings and weekends. Life here is much simpler for us. Dean is our main form of entertainment. Well, that and trying new local Chinese restaurants. It's nice to not have a list of a thousand errands to run or things to get done, people to please, etc.
We'll probably have more things to add to both of these lists as time goes on!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Moving Day
We are starting to feel settled in our new apartment. Moving day was
Thursday, April 29th, so we’ve been in a little over a week. It was
raining that day and I was returning late from a business trip, so I
really didn’t want to try to gather our suitcases and rush to the
apartment (the 29th was the first day we could move in).
However, Simon at the Plaid office said that 4/29 was a very lucky day
to move based on the Chinese lunar calendar, and it was very important
that we at least start the process that day. In the cab on the way
back to the hotel from the airport I told another coworker, Kathy,
that I thought it was too late, too dark and too rainy to move that
night, and we would wait until the morning. She was very concerned,
saying something along the lines of “if Simon said today is the day –
I think you might regret it later if you don’t move today.” How could
we argue with that?
In addition to being a lucky day, Simon recommended we light a fire at
the hotel and bring it with us to the apartment to light the stove.
Huh? We weren’t so sure about this, although I did enjoy a chuckle at
the thought of Matt carrying an Olympic torch-like device down the
streets of Shenzhen.
After digging deeper, we discovered it is a tradition when you move to
a new home to light a fire in the fireplace of your existing home
before you leave. You then take some of the burning wood - or maybe
just smoldering wood - and relocate it to the fireplace in the new
home to light a fire.
In modern times, and apartments without a fireplace, it’s seen as
acceptable to light a candle in your old home and move it to your new
home while it is still lit. I was curious about how you do this while
riding in a cab or car, and Simon explained that you set the candle
into another container and watch it carefully throughout the ride to
make sure it doesn’t turn over.
We did not have a candle on hand, but my coworkers were not worried.
The opposite natural force of fire is water, so it was seen as
acceptable to take water from the hotel to the new place and sprinkle
it in all of the sinks. The water had to be from the SINK at the hotel
– unopened bottled water would not suffice since it came from a source
outside of the hotel we lived in for 2-1/2 weeks.
We were also instructed to drink tea the night we “moved” into the
apartment. Matt bought a bottle of Lipton iced tea and we all took a
swig of it (Dean included) that night. I doubt that’s the kind of tea
he was talking about, but since we’re from Atlanta, we figured it was
a good compromise between cultures.
After walking around the apartment in awe (it is so beautiful!),
dumping several boxes on the floor, sprinkling water in the sinks, and
drinking tea, we headed back to the hotel for our last night.
The next day we checked out and officially moved into our new home. It
was late in the afternoon, so by the time we finished, it was
dinnertime. We took a cab to a place called “Seaworld” (more about
that to come in another post) for a family dinner together - just Matt
Emily & Dean.
When we got home it was around 9:30, and we realized we didn’t have
any sheets for the bed. Eek! We’d packed a few beach towels, so we
slept on the mattress without sheets using the towels as covers.
On Saturday, May 1st, we headed out exploring. We walked to the
closest grocery store, about 15 minutes away. The place is like a
small WalMart, and we were able to purchase a fitted sheet and pillow
shams. They don’t match and they look like something sold in the 80’s,
but we were more concerned about function over style at the time.
The grocery store is filled with so many mysterious and new things.
Some are a little scary and will take some getting used to, especially
the meat aisle. So far we’ve been pretty successful deciphering what
is inside the package we’re buying. Don’t worry mom and dad – we’re
NOT going hungry.
In fact, we have all fallen in love with Chinese food, especially the
noodles. Dean’s new nickname is “noodle bowl baby.” He’ll scarf down
so many noodles that his little “Buddha belly” pokes out.
Little noodle bowl baby is down for a nap right now, but will be
waking soon. We’re heading out for a Saturday afternoon walk when he
gets up. There’s much more exploring to do in our new neighborhood.
Thursday, April 29th, so we’ve been in a little over a week. It was
raining that day and I was returning late from a business trip, so I
really didn’t want to try to gather our suitcases and rush to the
apartment (the 29th was the first day we could move in).
However, Simon at the Plaid office said that 4/29 was a very lucky day
to move based on the Chinese lunar calendar, and it was very important
that we at least start the process that day. In the cab on the way
back to the hotel from the airport I told another coworker, Kathy,
that I thought it was too late, too dark and too rainy to move that
night, and we would wait until the morning. She was very concerned,
saying something along the lines of “if Simon said today is the day –
I think you might regret it later if you don’t move today.” How could
we argue with that?
In addition to being a lucky day, Simon recommended we light a fire at
the hotel and bring it with us to the apartment to light the stove.
Huh? We weren’t so sure about this, although I did enjoy a chuckle at
the thought of Matt carrying an Olympic torch-like device down the
streets of Shenzhen.
After digging deeper, we discovered it is a tradition when you move to
a new home to light a fire in the fireplace of your existing home
before you leave. You then take some of the burning wood - or maybe
just smoldering wood - and relocate it to the fireplace in the new
home to light a fire.
In modern times, and apartments without a fireplace, it’s seen as
acceptable to light a candle in your old home and move it to your new
home while it is still lit. I was curious about how you do this while
riding in a cab or car, and Simon explained that you set the candle
into another container and watch it carefully throughout the ride to
make sure it doesn’t turn over.
We did not have a candle on hand, but my coworkers were not worried.
The opposite natural force of fire is water, so it was seen as
acceptable to take water from the hotel to the new place and sprinkle
it in all of the sinks. The water had to be from the SINK at the hotel
– unopened bottled water would not suffice since it came from a source
outside of the hotel we lived in for 2-1/2 weeks.
We were also instructed to drink tea the night we “moved” into the
apartment. Matt bought a bottle of Lipton iced tea and we all took a
swig of it (Dean included) that night. I doubt that’s the kind of tea
he was talking about, but since we’re from Atlanta, we figured it was
a good compromise between cultures.
After walking around the apartment in awe (it is so beautiful!),
dumping several boxes on the floor, sprinkling water in the sinks, and
drinking tea, we headed back to the hotel for our last night.
The next day we checked out and officially moved into our new home. It
was late in the afternoon, so by the time we finished, it was
dinnertime. We took a cab to a place called “Seaworld” (more about
that to come in another post) for a family dinner together - just Matt
Emily & Dean.
When we got home it was around 9:30, and we realized we didn’t have
any sheets for the bed. Eek! We’d packed a few beach towels, so we
slept on the mattress without sheets using the towels as covers.
On Saturday, May 1st, we headed out exploring. We walked to the
closest grocery store, about 15 minutes away. The place is like a
small WalMart, and we were able to purchase a fitted sheet and pillow
shams. They don’t match and they look like something sold in the 80’s,
but we were more concerned about function over style at the time.
The grocery store is filled with so many mysterious and new things.
Some are a little scary and will take some getting used to, especially
the meat aisle. So far we’ve been pretty successful deciphering what
is inside the package we’re buying. Don’t worry mom and dad – we’re
NOT going hungry.
In fact, we have all fallen in love with Chinese food, especially the
noodles. Dean’s new nickname is “noodle bowl baby.” He’ll scarf down
so many noodles that his little “Buddha belly” pokes out.
Little noodle bowl baby is down for a nap right now, but will be
waking soon. We’re heading out for a Saturday afternoon walk when he
gets up. There’s much more exploring to do in our new neighborhood.
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