Grandpa Adgate, my father's father, passed away this Wednesday morning of natural causes. It was really unexpected, but we know he was ready. I got a call from mom in Atlanta to tell us the news. I've never felt so isolated and far away from my family as I do at the moment. China is a very long way from home.
My first instinct was to jump on the next plane heading to any part of the USA and make my way west. I even booked a standby ticket and emailed the office to tell them I'd be out a few days. After a day of tough contemplation, I realized how hard it would be to really do this. Knowing how unreliable standby travel can be, I would probably end up stranded somewhere in the world and cause my dad to worry about me.
I'm learning firsthand how tough it is to grieve without others around. A funeral is, after all, really for those left behind.
So instead of journeying around the world to bid my farewell, I wrote a celebration memorial poem for my grandfather. He will be greatly missed.
Dear Grandpa,
Ninety-one years is a long time to live,
As you would have anyone know.
Your grumpiness I always expected
Though I know it was really just a show.
You were the one – a feisty man always
With a fierce bark waiting to emit.
But when we arrived for a visit or stay
Your smile I will never forget.
As a grandchild I always looked up to you
Partly because you were so tall.
And yet Andy, Stacy, Will and I
Today are no longer small.
As kids we played often outside in your yard
Climbing fruit trees or stacking wood blocks.
We explored the garage when you weren’t looking
And discovered the cans from your walks.
It took us many years to figure it out...
You knew the Knott’s Berry Farm man
The Cowboy who knew all about us
From where we lived to why we were tan.
You loved your coin collection so much
But when retrieving them we couldn’t peek.
I’ll remember the sparkle in your eye
When you told me “this one’s unique.”
Your hiding places for coins in the house
Will probably give Grandma many fits.
She’ll be digging them up like buried treasure
Under the bed, in the dresser, and throughout the closets.
I like that you loved chocolate
And always hit up a good sale
For candies AFTER the holidays
Even if it was a bit stale.
I’m happy that you knew “Deano”
As you so fondly called your great-grandson.
He has your blue eyes I’m sure of it
Since blue in mine - I have none.
My last memory of you two together
You played with him on the patio.
You pushed Jake’s ball with your cane for him,
And he giggled and laughed when you did so.
I am sad that you’ve moved on now
And left all of us behind
But you’re with your mom, dad, sister
And Christians of all kind.
I really wish I could be there
To tell you my last goodbye
But I know I’ll see you again someday
Up in that paradise in the sky.
Love you, Grandpa Adgate!!!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
The elevator holds 18
This morning, as often happens, I waited in a line to catch the elevator to Plaid's office on the 12th floor. When the elevator arrived, I wasn't sure if I would make it on or have to wait for another one. I was about the 10th person in line.
As I approached the door I saw one perfect Emily size spot remaining. What luck!
Or not.
My Asian counterparts, most much skinnier than me, continued to pile into the elevator, squishing everyone together like sardines in a can. There were no formalities or polite "excuse me's", they just kept barreling on in until there were 18 of us tightly packed in a space that would comfortably hold about 8 Americans. Even the sign on the wall said the person limit was 15.
I survived, made it to the office on time, and vowed to myself to start taking the stairs at least a couple times a week. I've been trying to think of a way to knock off 10 more pounds of post-baby weight, and I think this might be the ticket.
As I approached the door I saw one perfect Emily size spot remaining. What luck!
Or not.
My Asian counterparts, most much skinnier than me, continued to pile into the elevator, squishing everyone together like sardines in a can. There were no formalities or polite "excuse me's", they just kept barreling on in until there were 18 of us tightly packed in a space that would comfortably hold about 8 Americans. Even the sign on the wall said the person limit was 15.
I survived, made it to the office on time, and vowed to myself to start taking the stairs at least a couple times a week. I've been trying to think of a way to knock off 10 more pounds of post-baby weight, and I think this might be the ticket.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
From Hong Kong to Shenzhen
After spending 2 weeks in the suburbs of Atlanta earlier this month, we realize we really are living in a huge metropolitan city. It’s a concrete jungle surrounded with high rises where about 14 million other people hang out along side us. We live at the southern edge of the city and we’re fortunate to have a great view of Shenzhen Bay, part of the South China Sea.
To our left we can see a very large bridge that cars drive across the water to travel between mainland China and Hong Kong. Hong Kong Island, or more specifically, the New Territories portion of Hong Kong (HK), is directly across the bay from us about 3 miles away.
Even though HK is a part of China, it was "owned" by the British for many decades until 1997, when possession returned to China. We fly into HK when traveling to China, and travel by car for about an hour to get to our apartment. When we flew to Atlanta on July 1st, the driver that took us to the airport told us it was a national holiday recognizing 13 years since the British gave up possession of the islands.
From what I've read, a lot has changed in the past 13 years, and yet it still feels in many ways like Hong Kong and China are 2 separate countries.
One of the things you have to do in order to get from Hong Kong to Shenzhen is go through immigration and customs. It’s kind of similar to clearing customs and immigration at the airport in the U.S., although sometimes the process takes 20 minutes, other times it takes an hour and a half or more.
The actual customs process involves presenting your passport along with a white HK departure form to an agent who clears you to leave HK. Once your passport is screened, reviewed, and stamped, you then walk through an open area with a few duty free shops mostly selling alcohol. There are digital machines mounted on the wall that scan your temperature as you walk through. In Dean’s case, a woman wearing a surgical mask usually runs up and shoots a thermometer gun at his head to make sure his temperature is recorded properly. The process made me a little nervous the first time we did it, just because I wasn’t sure how sensitive the machines are or what they’re looking for. Officials will detain you or refuse to let you pass through if you have a fever over a certain number or if they suspect you are ill, but so far we’ve never had any problems or witnessed anyone else with issues.
After passing through the middle section, you get in another line to be given permission to enter China. You again show your passport along with a yellow China arrival form, and once permitted through, voila! You’re in what is considered Mainland China.
There are a few other quirky tidbits and differences we’ve discovered about HK vs. mainland China since moving to Shenzhen in April. Thought we’d share them here:
#1 Driving on different sides of the road. In HK, like in Great Britain, cars drive on the left side of the road. The steering wheel is located on the right side of the car, where the passenger seat would be in the U.S. In China, cars drive on the right side of the road.
#2 Cabs and anyone driving a car must have a special permit to drive between the two cities. That means that you can’t just hop in a cab in Shenzhen and ask them to take you to Hong Kong or vice versa. You catch a green Chinese cab to the border and walk through the border, then catch a red Hong Kong cab on the other side (or a bus, which is much cheaper).
#3 A working metro line exists in HK.“Mind the gap” – you hear this British phrase on all the metro lines in Hong Kong! There is one just now under construction in Shenzhen. We are told it should be up and running by the end of this year, but I am sure you won't be warned to mind the gap when getting on or off.
#4 Different Money. In HK you pay for things with Hong Kong Dollars, while in China you use RMB / Yuan.
I tried to pay for a drink at a Starbucks in HK once with the wrong kind of money and the woman behind the counter looked at me in disgust. I now carry 2 different change purses or wallets if traveling back and forth b/w HK and Shenzhen so I don’t get confused.
#5 You see a ton more international faces and hear English spoken much more frequently in HK than Shenzhen. People have never stopped us to oogle over Dean or get their picture taken with him while in HK.
We really haven’t spent much time in Hong Kong since it’s such a hassle and a bit expensive to travel back and forth. The cheapest way to get to downtown Hong Kong is by bus, which costs about $7.00 per person. Taking the bus adds some time to the commute, so it ends up being about 3 hours for us to get from our apartment to the Kowloon, the major touristy part of Hong Kong. A cab costs about $50 one-way from the Shenzhen border to Kowloon.
As we learn more fun facts about these two cities, we’ll be sure to pass them along via this blog.
To our left we can see a very large bridge that cars drive across the water to travel between mainland China and Hong Kong. Hong Kong Island, or more specifically, the New Territories portion of Hong Kong (HK), is directly across the bay from us about 3 miles away.
Even though HK is a part of China, it was "owned" by the British for many decades until 1997, when possession returned to China. We fly into HK when traveling to China, and travel by car for about an hour to get to our apartment. When we flew to Atlanta on July 1st, the driver that took us to the airport told us it was a national holiday recognizing 13 years since the British gave up possession of the islands.
From what I've read, a lot has changed in the past 13 years, and yet it still feels in many ways like Hong Kong and China are 2 separate countries.
One of the things you have to do in order to get from Hong Kong to Shenzhen is go through immigration and customs. It’s kind of similar to clearing customs and immigration at the airport in the U.S., although sometimes the process takes 20 minutes, other times it takes an hour and a half or more.
The actual customs process involves presenting your passport along with a white HK departure form to an agent who clears you to leave HK. Once your passport is screened, reviewed, and stamped, you then walk through an open area with a few duty free shops mostly selling alcohol. There are digital machines mounted on the wall that scan your temperature as you walk through. In Dean’s case, a woman wearing a surgical mask usually runs up and shoots a thermometer gun at his head to make sure his temperature is recorded properly. The process made me a little nervous the first time we did it, just because I wasn’t sure how sensitive the machines are or what they’re looking for. Officials will detain you or refuse to let you pass through if you have a fever over a certain number or if they suspect you are ill, but so far we’ve never had any problems or witnessed anyone else with issues.
After passing through the middle section, you get in another line to be given permission to enter China. You again show your passport along with a yellow China arrival form, and once permitted through, voila! You’re in what is considered Mainland China.
There are a few other quirky tidbits and differences we’ve discovered about HK vs. mainland China since moving to Shenzhen in April. Thought we’d share them here:
#1 Driving on different sides of the road. In HK, like in Great Britain, cars drive on the left side of the road. The steering wheel is located on the right side of the car, where the passenger seat would be in the U.S. In China, cars drive on the right side of the road.
#2 Cabs and anyone driving a car must have a special permit to drive between the two cities. That means that you can’t just hop in a cab in Shenzhen and ask them to take you to Hong Kong or vice versa. You catch a green Chinese cab to the border and walk through the border, then catch a red Hong Kong cab on the other side (or a bus, which is much cheaper).
#3 A working metro line exists in HK.“Mind the gap” – you hear this British phrase on all the metro lines in Hong Kong! There is one just now under construction in Shenzhen. We are told it should be up and running by the end of this year, but I am sure you won't be warned to mind the gap when getting on or off.
#4 Different Money. In HK you pay for things with Hong Kong Dollars, while in China you use RMB / Yuan.
I tried to pay for a drink at a Starbucks in HK once with the wrong kind of money and the woman behind the counter looked at me in disgust. I now carry 2 different change purses or wallets if traveling back and forth b/w HK and Shenzhen so I don’t get confused.
#5 You see a ton more international faces and hear English spoken much more frequently in HK than Shenzhen. People have never stopped us to oogle over Dean or get their picture taken with him while in HK.
We really haven’t spent much time in Hong Kong since it’s such a hassle and a bit expensive to travel back and forth. The cheapest way to get to downtown Hong Kong is by bus, which costs about $7.00 per person. Taking the bus adds some time to the commute, so it ends up being about 3 hours for us to get from our apartment to the Kowloon, the major touristy part of Hong Kong. A cab costs about $50 one-way from the Shenzhen border to Kowloon.
As we learn more fun facts about these two cities, we’ll be sure to pass them along via this blog.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Scooter
I have a confession to make.
I have to preface this confession by explaining that Matt and I cannot legally drive cars in China. In order to even rent a car, we are required to take a Chinese driving test first, which involves being able to read and write Mandarin, which we cannot do. If we could pass the test, we would then each be required to give up our U.S. driver’s license, which we do not want to do.
We get around Shenzhen mainly by taking taxies, which are cheap and abundant, walking, or calling Mr. Wong, a wonderful driver with a good relationship and history with Plaid (he keeps a log in his van of the business trips taken around town to various printers & factories and bills Plaid at the end of the month). We’re allowed to use Mr. Wong for some personal use, but he doesn’t speak English, so we usually have to rely on a Plaid co-worker to call and explain to him where we want to go. We have to plan in advance to call him to go anywhere, which at times is tough given Dean’s unreliable nap schedule.
Everyone at the Plaid Far East office knows (or finds out) where and when Mr. Wong drives us places, so there’s a lack of privacy if we want to have him take us anywhere. For example, one day Matt took Dean and his ayi Ms. Yiao to the international health clinic we use. We wanted her to be familiar with the place so she would know where to take the little guy in the event that he needs emergency care. The next day all of my coworkers were asking if Dean was sick, what was wrong with him, and why we had to take him to the Dr.
Now that you have a feel for what we do to get around town without a car, time for the big confession…
We own a set of wheels in China.
The Hog, as Matt refers to our it, is 125 cc’s of sheer scooting power. It’s not as sleek as the pale blue Vespa I dreamed of owning a few years ago when gas prices spiked to $4 a gallon, and it only has a tenth of the power of a Harley Davidson, but it’ll get you where you need to go.
The deep hum and high-pitched squeaky horn command attention on the road when approaching any pedestrian or man-powered bicycle.
Owning a scooter became Matt’s obsession within a month of living here. He carefully analyzed, researched and visited every retailer within walking distance of our apartment (at least 5 or 6) once he learned you don’t have to have a license to drive one on the streets of China.
Shenzhen, like most cities we’ve seen in China, contains a plethora of scooters and electric bike owners. They swarm the streets like gnats, averaging 2 to 3 people on each (they really know how to carpool around here). We’ve even seen families of 5 buzzing around town: dad in the front driving, kid in the middle, mom towards the back holding a baby, and kid on the very back holding on for dear life.
It doesn’t have much storage, but it will hold 138 diapers if you stick 3 packs in the bubble dome “trunk” and 2 under the seat.
For now, our pimped out grocery-getter is fully in Matt’s control. He’s mastered driving on sidewalks, zooming to the front of traffic stopped at red lights, and making a left hand turn from the right hand lane.
OK, not really on that last bit, but it wouldn’t surprise me if one day he follows after the locals who do this. I haven’t been brave enough to drive the scooter (we’ve owned it about 6 weeks), and we haven’t taken Dean for a ride yet, but the day will come for both eventually.
I have to preface this confession by explaining that Matt and I cannot legally drive cars in China. In order to even rent a car, we are required to take a Chinese driving test first, which involves being able to read and write Mandarin, which we cannot do. If we could pass the test, we would then each be required to give up our U.S. driver’s license, which we do not want to do.
We get around Shenzhen mainly by taking taxies, which are cheap and abundant, walking, or calling Mr. Wong, a wonderful driver with a good relationship and history with Plaid (he keeps a log in his van of the business trips taken around town to various printers & factories and bills Plaid at the end of the month). We’re allowed to use Mr. Wong for some personal use, but he doesn’t speak English, so we usually have to rely on a Plaid co-worker to call and explain to him where we want to go. We have to plan in advance to call him to go anywhere, which at times is tough given Dean’s unreliable nap schedule.
Everyone at the Plaid Far East office knows (or finds out) where and when Mr. Wong drives us places, so there’s a lack of privacy if we want to have him take us anywhere. For example, one day Matt took Dean and his ayi Ms. Yiao to the international health clinic we use. We wanted her to be familiar with the place so she would know where to take the little guy in the event that he needs emergency care. The next day all of my coworkers were asking if Dean was sick, what was wrong with him, and why we had to take him to the Dr.
Now that you have a feel for what we do to get around town without a car, time for the big confession…
We own a set of wheels in China.
The Hog, as Matt refers to our it, is 125 cc’s of sheer scooting power. It’s not as sleek as the pale blue Vespa I dreamed of owning a few years ago when gas prices spiked to $4 a gallon, and it only has a tenth of the power of a Harley Davidson, but it’ll get you where you need to go.
The deep hum and high-pitched squeaky horn command attention on the road when approaching any pedestrian or man-powered bicycle.
Owning a scooter became Matt’s obsession within a month of living here. He carefully analyzed, researched and visited every retailer within walking distance of our apartment (at least 5 or 6) once he learned you don’t have to have a license to drive one on the streets of China.
Shenzhen, like most cities we’ve seen in China, contains a plethora of scooters and electric bike owners. They swarm the streets like gnats, averaging 2 to 3 people on each (they really know how to carpool around here). We’ve even seen families of 5 buzzing around town: dad in the front driving, kid in the middle, mom towards the back holding a baby, and kid on the very back holding on for dear life.
It doesn’t have much storage, but it will hold 138 diapers if you stick 3 packs in the bubble dome “trunk” and 2 under the seat.
For now, our pimped out grocery-getter is fully in Matt’s control. He’s mastered driving on sidewalks, zooming to the front of traffic stopped at red lights, and making a left hand turn from the right hand lane.
OK, not really on that last bit, but it wouldn’t surprise me if one day he follows after the locals who do this. I haven’t been brave enough to drive the scooter (we’ve owned it about 6 weeks), and we haven’t taken Dean for a ride yet, but the day will come for both eventually.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Goodbye cupcakes, hello octopus
We made it safely back to Shenzhen last Thursday afternoon after a 2 week (well, really it was just 10 days) visit to the U.S. It was so wonderful to see friends and family. We wish we'd had more time!
Dean enjoyed playing with his cousins and he learned a few new words such as hi, uh-oh, and (according to our nephew Will), ogre. It sounds like "oh guh" when he says it and we think it might mean something, but we're not sure yet. We don't think he's asking for Shrek.
We celebrated his first birthday with a party on the 11th. He wasn't as excited about eating his cake as I thought he would be, but he did seem to enjoy mashing his fingers in and watching the icing ooze through.
We had a small disaster the morning of the party when I dropped the cupcake "cake" sideways on the floor after walking into the house. It looked totally ruined, but fortunately there was enough time for Matt to run it back to the store for a do-over. Thank you SO much to the wonderful women at the Publix bakery at Eagle's Landing who dropped everything to make the cupcakes look beautiful again. A huge thanks to Matt's parents, too, who let us host the party at their house.
We've been back in China almost a week, and I'm happy to say I think we're adjusted now once again to the 12 hour time difference between here and Atlanta. The first couple of nights were rough, and we all three spent most of Saturday in bed (we slept from 10 am to 4 pm). The journey itself to get here is exhausting. I had forgotten how sore and achy I was afterwards from the first trip over in April. Dean sat on my lap, slept on my chest, or beside me in the seat when he wasn't wiggling or fighting to crawl away down the aisle of the plane.
We flew the same route as before - ATL to LA to Taipei to Hong Kong, then an hour ride to Shenzhen. All together the travel time was about 30 hours counting layovers. We don't plan to be in the U.S. again until February 2011, so we have a long stretch of China time ahead of us.
Today at lunch I was already craving comfort foods from home, especially cheese. I spent the day at a printing factory reviewing boxes for a new product for Plaid. We went to lunch at a restaurant with a wide variety of foods to choose from, and I was excited to see the menu included English descriptions. One page had a list of personal size pan pizzas. I wasn't feeling adventurous enough to try "countryside" style or the "bonus meat" version, so I settled on "Hawaiian".
Instead of a hot steaming pie filled with pineapple and ham, I ended up with a super lumpy seafood pizza. When I started to pick and pull the white cheese away, I uncovered chunks of crab meat, a few purple pieces of squid, several shrimp, and something white that looked like a small soft spiral seashell. The real kicker though was the set of bright red tentacles curling over the side, as if a mini octopus with a bad sunburn had tucked himself into bed with a soft fuzzy blanket of mozzarella. Unfortunately for him - but thank goodness for me - he was headless when I pulled him out and set him to the side.
Ahhh China. How I missed your unpredictability while we were away.
Dean enjoyed playing with his cousins and he learned a few new words such as hi, uh-oh, and (according to our nephew Will), ogre. It sounds like "oh guh" when he says it and we think it might mean something, but we're not sure yet. We don't think he's asking for Shrek.
We celebrated his first birthday with a party on the 11th. He wasn't as excited about eating his cake as I thought he would be, but he did seem to enjoy mashing his fingers in and watching the icing ooze through.
We had a small disaster the morning of the party when I dropped the cupcake "cake" sideways on the floor after walking into the house. It looked totally ruined, but fortunately there was enough time for Matt to run it back to the store for a do-over. Thank you SO much to the wonderful women at the Publix bakery at Eagle's Landing who dropped everything to make the cupcakes look beautiful again. A huge thanks to Matt's parents, too, who let us host the party at their house.
We've been back in China almost a week, and I'm happy to say I think we're adjusted now once again to the 12 hour time difference between here and Atlanta. The first couple of nights were rough, and we all three spent most of Saturday in bed (we slept from 10 am to 4 pm). The journey itself to get here is exhausting. I had forgotten how sore and achy I was afterwards from the first trip over in April. Dean sat on my lap, slept on my chest, or beside me in the seat when he wasn't wiggling or fighting to crawl away down the aisle of the plane.
We flew the same route as before - ATL to LA to Taipei to Hong Kong, then an hour ride to Shenzhen. All together the travel time was about 30 hours counting layovers. We don't plan to be in the U.S. again until February 2011, so we have a long stretch of China time ahead of us.
Today at lunch I was already craving comfort foods from home, especially cheese. I spent the day at a printing factory reviewing boxes for a new product for Plaid. We went to lunch at a restaurant with a wide variety of foods to choose from, and I was excited to see the menu included English descriptions. One page had a list of personal size pan pizzas. I wasn't feeling adventurous enough to try "countryside" style or the "bonus meat" version, so I settled on "Hawaiian".
Instead of a hot steaming pie filled with pineapple and ham, I ended up with a super lumpy seafood pizza. When I started to pick and pull the white cheese away, I uncovered chunks of crab meat, a few purple pieces of squid, several shrimp, and something white that looked like a small soft spiral seashell. The real kicker though was the set of bright red tentacles curling over the side, as if a mini octopus with a bad sunburn had tucked himself into bed with a soft fuzzy blanket of mozzarella. Unfortunately for him - but thank goodness for me - he was headless when I pulled him out and set him to the side.
Ahhh China. How I missed your unpredictability while we were away.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Happy 4th of July
We survived the journey back to the U.S. (all 26 hours of it) and arrived in Hartsfield International Airport Friday morning. I've never felt so giddy with excitement to be in the airport, but I couldn't stop smiling all the way to baggage claim. When we walked outside, the cool morning air smelled so sweet. We'll be in Atlanta until July 12th, then we head back to China the morning of the 13th.
On Saturday, with the help of cousins Will and Elizabeth, Dean had his very own USA chariot to ride around the neighborhood in.
This 4th of July meant more to me than those in the past. I have a newfound sense of pride and happiness to live in the USA. After living in a concrete jungle of a city for the past 2 and a half months, every patch of green grass and tall tree I look at around here is such a welcome sight.
On Saturday, with the help of cousins Will and Elizabeth, Dean had his very own USA chariot to ride around the neighborhood in.Did you know that Radio Flyer wagons are made in the US? We bought one for Dean as a 1st birthday present. Amazon should be delivering it one day this week since the one in the picture belongs to Dean's cousins. Hopefully it won't be considered oversize luggage when we check it at the airport.
Right now Dean is taking a nap, I'm sitting at the kitchen table of my mother-in-law's house enjoying the cool air conditioning, and Matt is in the living room watching The Price is Right with his parents. I just heard him exclaim during a commercial break "Jerry Springer still comes on?!"
God Bless the USA!
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