Where Would YOU Go?

So I'm starting to think about my 5 week vacation, starting at the end of January. Because we want to see more than one country, I am thinking about this ahead of time because planning will have to be done in advance for sure - for one, I need to look into visas.

For two, I'm really excited!

So here is what's at the top of our list right now:

Thailand
Bali, Indonesia
Malaysia
Cambodia
Vietnam
Laos - we have a sponsored child here that we could potentially meet!

I don't feel a strong pull towards the Philippines or Taiwan so far, but those are options too. I came here wanting to go to Japan as well, but now that I have so many other options, I doubt we will go during our 5 weeks off.

Still want to see in China:

Honk Kong
Shanghai
Terracotta Warriers
Tibet

I want to do EVERYTHING!!!

Ideas, tips, suggestions? Where would you go??

Out and About

Here is an overview of some of what has been going on with us recently.

We attended our first Chinese Wedding a few weeks ago! I almost wore a red dress and gave them money in a white envelope before I was saved these catastrophes by a fellow co-worker.

We found a skating rink and manicure/pedicure place (Zac and I were both excited for different reasons). I got Zac a pass for the skating rink so I will bring him a few times - it's just down the road.

I survived midterms. That's 1/4 of the school year done and honestly, it was the worst. I am told it gets easier. So maybe next time only 2-3 mini breakdowns?

I've met some families from Saudi Arabia who live nearby and have kids at Zacs school. The ladies are very nice and we may get the kids together from time to time.

We went to a Thanksgiving Feast a few weekends ago and had pumpkin pie and it was sooo exciting! Most of the people there attend a church called Foreign Fellowship and Zac and I have gone a couple of times now and really like the atmosphere. The church is on the other side of the Yangtze River, as is Aloha's - a really great place that has western food and ROOT BEER FLOATS!

We found the movie theatre! But couldn't watch a movie. English dialogue is only on weekdays. We will try again this week :)

We found a store in the mall that secretly sells English movies for 10 qui! We will live on the edge for some English entertainment, thank you very much!

Zac was in a Chinese Recital at school and it was so amazing to see. He wore traditional clothing and had excellent pronunciation and I have been told he is one of the best students of Mandarin in the class :)

We had ice cream at Dairy Queen yesterday. Yes, that is exciting news.

We found an AMAZING street where I want to spend all my money called Han Street - there are these really cool old style buildings and stores from everywhere - back home, England (Marks and Spencers), Germany, France, wherever.

We had the most delicious pizza last night. Delicious pizza is hard to find here, trust me. Exciting!

It's funny because I feel like family and friends back home expect to see lots of pictures of, you know, being in China, but every time we find some Western food we get excited and I pull out my camera. "Look! Look what we found!" Now that is excitement. Yesterday we had our first Christmas drinks at Starbucks. Super exciting.  We are having a pretty great weekend :)

Please Slip and Fall Down Carefully

The English translatation of some of the signs we see are pretty awesome :)

The above is what we saw at the pool in our hotel in Beijing!

So, the internet situation here is really awesome. The reason I haven't been able to access my blog is because the Chinese government has been having meetings and my VPN hasn't worked at all. I heard a friend say that China had just elected a new president, and I asked in surprise, "elected??" And she modified.."well...selected." ;)

So, quickly, our time in the city of Beijing was really awesome. We had lots of chances to walk around the neighbourhood our hotel was in (I really liked where we stayed, right off a main street with lots of things to see and do - and right next to a Foreign Book Store...we were there for ages). There was different food to try and yummy bakeries to visit!

We also went to Chayong Theatre and watched an acrobatic show that was pretty spectacular. Even cooler was that back in Wuhan Zac was reading his Guiness Book of World Records and saw some of the acts we saw right in his book!

I fell *completely* in love with the art district. Lots of pedestrian streets to wander around in, little boutiques and art studios and galleries, some big, some small, some for clay, some for paintings, some for statues...there was everything here and it was all just so adorable and fun to go walking along with anticipation as to what the next corner would bring :)

We also did some "must see" tourist attractions like Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City (we walked all around it but opted not to go in - the place was ridiculously packed. Like you don't understand the term 'packed like sardines' until you see a Chinese National Emblem on a Chinese National Holiday. Oh my! Speaking of this, the subway system in Beijing was amazing and made us way more mobile than here in Wuhan, but boy was it crammed. Every once in awhile in crowded situations (like being in Carre Four yesterday - a store from France that has some of the things we enjoy back home. Or being in the washrooms at the mall - VERY different than the public washrooms I am used to at home! I won't ever complain on that topic again) we get poked and pushed and prodded as people brush by and it can be very frustrating because I'm not used to it. Everyone else around me seems used to it and has a higher tolerance but sometimes, I'm just not in the mood and I want my personal space back!

Anyways, tangent over. We also went to the Summer Palace, which I loved, the Temple of Heaven and the Llama temple (I think we'll take a break from temples for awhile - Zac gets bored quickly and though it is pretty to see, I don't think it's necessary to see one in Shanghai, Hong Kong, etc etc. :) I asked Zac what he wanted to do on our last day, and we spent one morning in the natural history museum discovering dinosaur bones we’ve never seen before, so that was pretty cool. Everything was in Chinese though, so it was mainly a visual experience :) 

One of the best spontaneous decisions of our trip was to go visit the Olympic Stadium one day after being out and about. It was really cool to see it up close, and the Aquatics Centre right next to it was also a really cool building. Even better, we went in and Zac got to go swimming where the Olympians did! The whole experience had a dramatic twist where I got ripped off outside by a couple of scalpers who followed me around for more money to upgrade and I almost cried in front of Zac and was advised in broken English by a very nice man to "please not to trust those guys" but it had a happy ending so it's all good! Zac was so happy to have this experience and I took a bunch of photos and a video before noticing the sign telling me not to (naturally, if I had seen the sign I never would have tried). 

We also went to the silk market where I bought a tea set! I am pretty excited about it still. Turns out I’m really good at bargaining, by accident. The lady asked for an outrageous price, way over 4000 qui (so over 68 Canadian dollars), and I told her I wouldn't pay more than 3000 qui. She went down a bit and then invited me to go up a bit, but I told her I really didn't want to pay over 3000 qui (and by told, I mean I folded my arms and shook my head. She understood. Body language can go a long way!).  So she finally agrees to that, and I start to have my doubts. Do I really want to pay this much for this adorable little tea set? I can see it on my coffee table in the future one day back home when I invite people over. I tell them casually, "Oh yeah, I got that at the silk market in Beijing." It's so tempting, but no, I tell this woman I have to consult my consultant (Jon - he lives in Beijing). I tell the lady I might come back (if my consultant approves), but I know that it is unlikely with time constraints, so I am a bit disappointed. The lady sees I am leaving, and offers it to me for 200 qui. I take it!

Out last night in Beijing we went out for dinner at Da Dong with Jon. This restaurant was recommended to me by multiple people as the best place in Beijing to eat duck, so we went for it. It was a pretty fun and fancy restaurant and Zac and I both really enjoyed the meal. 

In conclusion: It was super great :)

The Great Wall was Great!

Our last day of school was Friday, and Saturday morning at 4am we were up and ready for our flight to Beijing. We were SOOO excited!

After an hour and a half on the plane, Zac and I arrived in Beijing. The taxi driver outside the airport approached us and said the drive to my friend Jon’s apartment would be 500 RMB. I almost paid this but thought it steep, so I called Jon to double check and he laughed and told me it would be anywhere from 70-150 RMB. So I grabbed another taxi and we met Jon and promptly got McDonalds – Zac and I were starving!

The three of us then did something supremely exciting – we took the bus about 3 hours North East of Beijing to a tiny little village where we slept in an adorable hostel right next to the Wall. In fact, the hostel has a part of the Wall as part of the hostel itself, and after a 5 minute walk through this adorable village street, we were on the Wall itself!

We got there late Saturday night and seconds after our taxi dropped us off a couple of other guys arrived – Canadians from Ottawa on vacation. I decided I couldn’t wait until morning to set foot on the wall, and the five of us went to the “Small Wall” – a little part of the wall still intact. It was dark and at times dangerous and narrow, but we did it and I loved it. Jon brought out some moon cake and we all had some on the wall on the eve of Moon Festival. It was pretty awesome J

The next morning the five of us set out after breakfast (noodles, just like they do it here) and went on the longer trail – the Sleeping Dragon. It was AMAZING. We set out about 10 am and arrived after a day on the wall at 4 pm. Zac did great hiking for a full day! The views were absolutely spectacular – the most amazing I’ve ever seen in my life.

That night we had dinner and chatted with all the other travellers. There were men from Holland, a couple from France with their baby (living in Beijing), a woman from South Africa (living close to Beijing for the year) and a couple from Germany. The next day we met a couple from the UK and US, as well as a bunch of others. We really enjoyed meeting so many different people from so many different places!

The next day we got up at sunset to watch the sunrise from the Wall itself. It was incredibly beautiful and just such an amazing opportunity! After a delicious breakfast we had some time to hike up the Crouching Tiger (in the opposite direction) before leaving to go back to the city. It was a totally different hike and it was really amazing to get the experience of doing so many different hikes at so many different times of day, away from the tourist-packed areas of the wall. The nature was incredible, the scenery was amazing, the company was awesome, the walks were fantastic - we loved everything about it :) 

...And, We're Back!

As some of you may know, we have been having some truly annoying internet issues. Apparently, this is common in China. So awesome!

The two main points on my mind:

Butter. Do you really appreciate how good it tastes every single time you take a bite out of that toast? I bet you don't. Imagine if butter were taken from you. What a travesty! So much delicious bread from so many delicious bakeries, and no butter?! The horror.

But then imagine that after over a month of this reality, you discover butter, in the foreign aisle at a grocery store far far away. The cab costs? No matter. WE HAVE BUTTER!!! And it tastes soooo good.

Fish. Now I like fish as much of the next person, and have had fish on many occasions. I'm not a fan of fish that tastes like fish, but fish often doesn't and that works for me.

But now imagine yourself after a long day where lunch only allowed you to either eat or run to the bathroom, and you chose the latter and starved your way through the day. You're helping a student who is munching happily on her snack and, as so often happens here, offers you a "treat."

You see where this is going. It was dried fish. Salty, dried, fish. And I politely chewed and chewed and chewed (and chewed) until I swallowed every last delicious morsel. Apparently this is also common. It's the stuff in the plastic bags I always avoid at the store because it looks scary.

I swear they just have different taste buds over here. I asked some students in the cafeteria once to direct me to the most "delicious" drink. Do you know what it was? Not the coconut juice, the orange juice, or the milk tea. No, it was the lima bean juice. Yes, that's right. My students laughed at the expression on my face. I told them I prefer my lima beans on my dinner plate so I know what to expect! It's like the time Zac's babysitter spit out the jelly beans we brought over from Canada. Seriously?! I don't understand.

Anyways, I know I am suer behind with posts and I come back after ages and tell you about fish, lima beans and butter, but until you live in China, you don't understand how much the little things matter! :)

I'll be back soon to tell you about our amazing week in Beijing. For now, Zac and I are doing great. He attends a club after school every day (soccer, art, bingo and choir) and I am kindof working a ridiculous amount but I really do enjoy my students. I just discovered an amazing grocery store nearby and am getting more comfortable with what to buy, what to avoid, and how to cook (that was always a problem though!).

We celebrated Halloween at the high school today and Zac's school came by to trick or treat (their party is on the 31st). We dropped by the party and hung out with the other teachers and students for a bit, and I am now ready for bed! I don't care if Zac's bedtime is in another hour :P

Hope everyone is well! We hope to chat more now that the net is up and running. Cross your fingers that it lasts!

Too Tired to Think of a Clever Title

So Zac and I are starting to get into the swing of things here. A few things:

We're becoming more mobile. In fact, we've done something new every day this week! I'm more comfortable taking taxis and buses and walking, so we've explored a few new places: the Hot Pot (real name? Not sure) which is SO delicious. You choose a variety of delicious foods and they are brought to your table. Everyone shares, and throws the food into the steaming broth in the middle of the table, and when it's cooked you have your choice of dip. We've tried lotus, a yummy root that is popular out here, among a bunch of other things.

We've also discovered another market. At this one, we choose a bunch of food items and someone cooks them over a long narrow bbq. The food, again, was delicious, but extremely spicy, even for Zac. Coconut juice is just about everywhere, which we love.

I survived my 6 day work week and it wasn't all that bad. Actually, on the Monday, it was Teacher's Day, and they had a presentation for us! We each received water bottles that are marked with the school's information - I liked mine, but some of the guys wished they had colours other than pink :) The students sang "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban. Awww!

I went out with the teachers to a house party last weekend and then out for dancing by the Yangtze river while Zac had his first sleep over at the neighbours. It was super interesting and I was a bit nervous wandering so far from home, but I had some good people who have done this many times keep an eye on me so it was all good.

I've also been back to Metro - it's like costco and I was able to get burgers, and some other non-asian type foods. We came home so excited to make pasta only to discover the stove not working again! But it's all fixed up now...turns out I just had to push a button :)

This week the school clubs start, and Zac is welcome to go to all of them. There's probably about 30 clubs, so Zac will have more of a social life than I do! Tuesday I help in the Learning Centre, so Zac went to the Art Club and made me a cool card that says, "Thank you for bringing me" (to China). Yesterday he split his time between the bingo club and the basketball club while I worked with some of my students, and he'd like to go to soccer on Mondays. There's also a ping pong club, road hockey, etc etc. It's pretty great that he has all this available to him in his own backyard! Another mom and I are also looking into signing the kids up for piano lessons once a week :)

Next week is our last week until getting a week off from school, and it looks like we'll be going to Bejing where a friend of mine lives, and then maybe the Terracotta Warriers on the way back! I just need to figure out how to book this all and then we'll be set. Alright, back to this mountain of papers to mark...

Zac's 9th Birthday :)

Sunday was definitely an interesting day!!

Before I tell you about the actual day, let me just say that on Saturday, another mom watched Zac while I went out on my own to get a few things. I was pretty impressed with myself - again, I instructed the taxi driver where to go and arrived back in one piece with all of my items intact and the biggest grin on my face ever! Not only did I pick up a few other things needed for the apartment, I got some much needed flat shoes, birthday stuff, and most importantly, the CAKE! And I didn't drop it getting a taxi! :)

Buying things is still an adventure. I was in Walmart trying to buy paper plates. I thought I was so clever because I went to the kitchen section, held up a dinner plate in one hand and my piece of paper in the other, and proceeded to say, "PAPER...PLATES!" over and over again...but to no avail. GAHHHH! What else is there for me to do in that situation?? I also had zero luck in acting out wrapping paper. But at least a decent sized crowd formed around me as I tried to explain it. Candles were also a lost cause (in the end, the bakery gave some to me with the cake) - but I'm sure many people got a kick out of me blowing imaginary candles out over and over again. 

Ordering the cake was pretty funny too. The ladies thought I was trying to tell them my son was 29 years old! They looked a little confused. The cakes I got were so AWESOME! One for home, and another small one for school (it was a red angry bird. Zac loved it). 

Anyways, the actual day. In the morning, I gave Zac his presents (a cool robot clock and a small digital camera so he can document our trip) and Zac skyped with a variety of family and friends (who either did something in his honour, sang happy birthday, or baked him a pie! That he couldn't eat). Then we headed out to McDonalds for brunch. Not long after we sat down, a group of high school girls sat next to us and, clearly speaking about us, spent some time giggling and talking in Mandarin and looking at us before telling Zac they thought he was beautiful. They spoke English well enough so we spoke with them for awhile before they asked to sing Zac happy birthday. I got out my camera, expecting it to be sung in Mandarin, but they were showing off their English skills (though they couldn't pronounce his name). Next, they asked Zac to take a picture with them. Zac looked horrified and I thought it was hilarious. He agreed, and I took a picture of them taking a picture of him :P  However, I think from now on we will have to politely decline.

After McDonalds, we met with Sandy and her two kids and we all went on the look out for "the monkey park." Nobody at school knows the park's actual name, but many teachers recommended it and Zac wanted to go. We passed it and took twice as long getting there as we should have, but I was glad we found it for Zac. The park is beautiful, with plenty of walking trails and bridges and flowers. The monkeys were found in one specific spot, and the kids loved them. They had peanuts to feed them, and often the monkeys would take the peanuts right from their hand. Though there were cages, many of the monkeys were actually outside of the cakes, hanging around in trees. One surprised Zac by walking right up to him for a peanut!

I was immensely amused by one woman in particular who stared at Zac in fascination and proceeded to pinch and squeeze his cheeks...a lot. I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Zac's face. Later, when the woman was coming back along the path, I gave Zac a warning and he bolted in the other direction. Bahaha! I told him that he was free to politely excuse himself if he doesn't want random people grabbing his cheeks. At the same park, it was my turn to get asked to take a picture. So strange. 

When we left the monkey park, it was after 4pm, which was a problem. In Wuhan, between 4-6 it's difficult to catch a taxi because they're all switching shifts. We waited for about 30 minutes before walking for another 20 and finally got a taxi so that we could go get some sushi! The restaurant was awesome - we had to take off our shoes and sit on pretty little pillows. The food was delicious, and Zac had squid for the first time (well, the first time he knew that he was eating squid, anyways!).

We went back to the apartment and had several people over for cake. Sandy and her kids came, as well as Vicki (Mandarin teacher at school) and her twin daughters, who gave Zac three fish. Zac was also thrilled to get a hamster (on loan - while we are here). Molly, her husband Derek (another teacher at Zac's school) and their son Eli (one year old) also came over. Zac and Eli have become fast friends, and it's adorable to see them playing together :) James, another teacher, also came by - Zac bonded with James on the flight over. The kids played, we sang happy birthday, ate cake, and Zac got a few presents. 

It was pretty great :)

Back to School Time!

So, I'm like a real teacher now! :)

First let me tell you about Zac. He has his first male teacher, and his classroom combines grades 4, 5 and 6 - which I love. Zac has been doing higher level math and I'm all for it! Zac is the only grade 4 in his class - and at the moment, he has a class size of FOUR students! This is a huge bonus. Zac is getting a ton of one-on-one attention. I'm really happy with the set-up. Zac likes his teacher and his classmates, and generally the whole situation. There are two other classes in the school, and they combine classes often for group activities, which is nice. This week we have a SIX day work week, because a National holiday is coming up and rather than getting a few days off, we'll get a whole week, which is great for travelling (still contemplating where to go). This is Zac's first time having a school uniform and he looks so darn cute in it! Pictures soon, really!

As for me, I am really enjoying my students. There are a few challenges but mainly I have some really great kids. I was pretty pleased with myself when a student came by my class and told me she overheard some other students talking about me. When I asked what they were saying, she told me they said that,"you are pretty and A REALLY GOOD TEACHER!" Yes, that's right. You heard it. If that's their opinion on the second day, you better believe it's true! ;)

I have discovered just how time consuming teaching is, at least in the beginning. I don't think I've ever had more than the last 10 minutes of my lunch to grab a quick snack, and there's always so much to do! I gave out my first writing assignment last week and am now in the process of marking 90 papers. What's worse, is they're writing another one today and a third by the end of the week. So awesome. 

A really fantastic discovery when school started up was that I brought about 7 pairs of high heels, and zero pairs of flat professional footwear (I have many blisters. Ow). HOWEVER - exciting part!! - I have recently discovered that I DO fit into Chinese footwear and clothing!! So SO exciting. This is something I was told to be worried about...and I was worried. They definitely do not have western sizes over here! I think I just squeezed by. 

So anyways, Zac and I are starting to settle into a routine, which is nice! I'm pretty tired, so I go to bed at the same time as Zac. Now I just need to make his bedtime earlier! ;)

Hope everyone is well! Some people have had a hard time figuring out how to post comments on my posts, so if any of the experts want to share their tips, I'm sure it would be appreciated! :) 

Dodgeball - Only with Cars!

Oh, the madness. The absolute madness of drivers in China.

It's really prety understandable when you think about it. There are BILLIONS of people here. If they all obeyed the road laws, they'd never get anywhere. Basically, I've discovered - I think - that if you just throw out any idea of road laws and a sense of order, the system works. In fact, I do think it kindof works for them - because they all expect everyone else to throw rules out the window, too. Here, whoever is ahead, has the right of way. Pedestrians have zero right of way. And the bigger the vehicle, the more right of way you have.

Anyways, last night we ventured off campus with some fellow teachers, for the first time without the administration holding our hand off campus! I'm telling you, this is a milestone for me. After my walmart experience, it really hit home how much the language barrier is a part of this experience. I was never really concerned with it coming out here, but now I understand I need to learn Mandarin FAST! And always plan ahead. And get really good at acting :)

It took us awhile to get a taxi, and then we piled in only to discover that there are NO seatbelts in the back seat. The driver wasn't even wearing his! I thought that was a lovely combination - terrifying drivers and no seatbelts. Awesome.

Anyway, our school isn't very close to many stores or restaurants (just other schools and universities, mostly), but our road eventually turns into a very cool area. After a 30 minute walk you hit a McDonalds, Watsons drug store, and a bunch of other places I haven't checked out yet. The taxi passed that area and let us out across the street from our destination: Helen's Cafe, a place that serves Western food. When we got out of the taxi, I realized that we had to actually CROSS the street. That gave me pause! No street lights in sight in either direction of the long road - just lots, and lots of cars (and motorcycles, and scooters) showing zero desire to stop. I held Zac tight and we crossed with a group. I'm not going to lie, it was kindof scary!

I was feeling pretty proud of making our first successful cross by the time we sat down. I discovered a few things about eating in China that night:

• Food ordered at the same arrives at different times. I watched a few people eat before getting my own food.
• Food doesn't always come in order: whatever is ready first, comes out first. I ate chocolate cake before my pizza.
• The waitress or waiter gives you the menu, then stands at your table until you order.
• You pay when you order, not when you are leaving.
• The server doesn't come back to ask if you want anything else - they assume you ordered everything you need.

Another thing: Poor Zac couldn't handle it - we got to the restaurant just before 8pm and he slept on my lap through the whole experience. I'll take him back soon, now that I know where to go :)

Aaannnnnd, the entire night out (cabs, food, drinks) cost less than $10 Canadian. Woot!! :)

The Most Frustrating Day EVER…Until the Next One

Saturday was by far my most frustrating day so far. The uncertainty of what converter to use, and how, and knowing that if I mess it up, I could blow something, was pretty upsetting, because I couldn’t use ANYTHING! Including the ability to charge my laptop and ipad, which connects me to home. So I wasn’t too thrilled. It looks like Zac’s Wii got blown, actually. We’re not sure but it’s pretty sad! We used a converter but I have come to hate them. 

The lack of internet also sucked. It wasn’t available at my apartment until yesterday (I’m glad, though it’s still not the best, apparently it will work better when I get wireless), so we would take the loooong 2 minute walk over to my school to try to connect with the internet and write an email. But then, there was always the frustration of seeing someone across from me use a code and talk to her parents while I sat across from her in the same room, with the password NOT WORKING FOR ME!! Gaaaaah! I just got my own special password and username though, so life can resume. There was also the annoyance of using the principal’s computer for Skype and finding nobody ON! What’s WITH you people?! It’s only a 12 hour difference. Then there was the inability to figure out how to use our washing machine (still). Added to that was the amount of buttons we need to keep trying in order to turn the AC on or off (also still).  

Seriously, it was a tough day. I know days like this are part of it, but I’m just much happier with the internet situation now. In fact, it was the internet that kept me up past 8pm the other night, for the first time! Which lead to me not waking up between 2-4:30am, up for the day. I’ve slept in until 6:30am the last two mornings and I am soooo excited. But now I’m exhausted again. And to think I was cocky enough to think I had conquered jetlag in a day. Puh-lease. Jetlag is bigger than me. But I am working at it! Zac is pretty much on the same schedule, too. We went out for dinner last night and he slept through the whole thing :P

Trapped in a Walmart

So, our first official trip off of the school campus was to Walmart (exciting!). I very quickly regretted letting anyone who speaks Mandarin out of my sight.

Imagine going into Walmart tomorrow and not understanding a single word on any of the products you want to buy. Imagine there are different brands, no instructions, and the only people to help – and boy, do they want to help – cannot understand you, nor you them. It starts out cute and funny at first, but as time progresses, you become increasingly hungry, tired, and frustrated. It took me 10 minutes to figure out if my floor cleaning device would be good to wash the floor! It was too much to buy a converter – I had to go without (I have one, and that’s been another irritating experience, more on that in a bit). We got pillows, sheets, and extremely pretty towels, a wok (I'm going to cook...eventually), etc. However, before I could buy plates and utensils, and all sorts of other things (like CONDITIONER! I have multiple bottles of shampoo, and no conditioner! The agony), I tapped out. I was DONE! I just wanted to pay and get out. I struggled back with our overflowing cart to where we had come in and discovered quite painfully that I could not pay or exit there. I had to mime and gesture to my buggy and show my money several times and to several people, and – sometimes – I would be understood and pointed in a certain direction. Sometimes, I would just get an apologetic shrug. I made the rounds on the bottom floor before being told to go upstairs, and when I got there I was barely hanging on to my patience and trying to press down just how agitated I was when I discovered a food market. This was NOT what I wanted to discover when I arrived at the top of the escalator! I wanted to discover an exit sign (though not really - I have discovered the exit signs do not lead me to an acceptable way for a shopper to exit the building. Naturally!). I eventually found a wonderful girl who could tell I was at my wits end, and she held my hands earnestly and told me as best she could how to escape the dreaded department store. I thanked her profusely and wanted to hug her, I was so relieved. As we made our way to the checkout, we passed through the fish and meat department and Zac informed me that "his nose was sad." Bahaha. I thought that was pretty polite of him!

At the checkout, I was sooo excited to see a Snickers bar! That helped perk us up a bit. I discovered some fellow teachers at the checkout who declared this must have been a test of our patience, and then saw that here, they do not bag our items for us. I was ready to drop, but pushed my cart over to the wall after paying and began to bag all of my items (there was a lot, and they were big). Following that, we hit up a bakery and fell in love with everything. The place smelled amazing! We got some delicious treats for later and, surprisingly, still have some in our fridge.

That night the school took us all out to dinner, and we had a never ending supply of different dishes being continuously brought to our table. Much of it was delicious, some of it was spicy, and some of it was fish served in ways we've never really seen before. Zac made faces. The most memorable moment of the night was when Zac looked at the principal and another administrator, and exclaimed, “Wow! You guys are having a lot of beer!” From then on, they tucked the beer cans under their seats. 

The First Few Days

Hi everyone! The internet is not yet set up in our apartment so it has been difficult to post, but that should all be fixed up pretty soon. Where do I begin???

We had a loooong flight. I dreamed during our flight that we were landing - and distinctly remember being very pleased with myself for sleeping through that super long 13 hour flight and smiling in my sleep. I even remember thinking, “if that’s not us landing, at least it will be very soon.” When I woke up, I was extremely dismayed to discover that we had 8 more hours of flight left! It was right around that time that I became disgusted with airplanes. It wasn’t such a big deal in theory, but in reality, it sucked, big time. Landing in China was pretty cool, it was extremely humid getting out of the plane but customs and bag checking went really well. I was pretty impressed with myself because we got separated from the group and it was still pretty easy going. We connected with a fellow teacher while making our way to our gate and it was all good. Also, I LOVE TROLLEYS!!! They made transferring at the airport amazing. Zac wanted to push. I let him. 

We had the faculty from the school waiting for us at the airport even though we were several hours behind schedule and it was after 1am here, plus an hour bus ride back to campus. The staff are amazingly helpful and understanding because they have all done this for the first time themselves. It’s such a relief.

Zac and I love our apartment. There are a couple of things I would change but honestly, it’s pretty great. I’m not fully settled in and still find myself waking up at 2 am unable to sleep, so I just continue organizing then too. We’ve got the Wii almost hooked up, a games drawer by the t.v., a lengthy sofa, small but cute kitchen, and 2 roomy bedrooms. The closets are amazing! I want to bring mine home with me. We’re in the second floor, and it’s very convenient. 

I am so impressed with my son. He has come into a new culture and adapted very quickly. I know there will be ups and downs for both of us, but he has already made several friends on campus. Before I came over, I was in frequent contact with the vice principal, who is from BC and has two children, 8 and 6. His wife is from Dalian, China and their children speak both Mandarin and English. Blake’s wife, Sandy, is AMAZING. She helped me translate during an interview with an Ayi (Zac’s Nanny, who is soo nice and going to help us learn Mandarin!), offered to set up Mandarin lessons for Zac before school with her own children (he will also learn Mandarin for an hour each day at school, so that will be 2 hours/day plus his communication with the Ayi), and told me in no uncertain terms that if I need anything, I am to call her. She told me to send Zac over for pancakes for breakfast any time, gave me her phone number to call if I ever need help translating, and is just in general a very wonderful, helpful person who has further helped put my mind at ease. Her friend, who has twin daughters two years older than Zac, who will be in his class (he will be in a multi-grade classroom, grades 4-6 with approximately 10-12 students in his class), also speaks both Mandarin and English and was very kind as well. They live in the building right next to us and told me that, "they are very happy to have a new friend." Zac already enjoys the short walk it takes to find willing playmates to hang out in his new backyard, complete with a track, soccer field, basketball court, volley ball court, and an area to play street hockey. He has roller blades, a basket ball, and a soccer ball and is pretty content with those things so far. 

Anyways, I know there is TONS more to tell everyone but it's my first prep day before school starts so I'd better get to work! Thanks everyone for your patience as we get our internet communication on track! And Zac LOVES his emails. He hasn't been able to write back yet because of time constraints, but he is excited every time he gets a chance to check :) Lots of love, chat soon xoxo

A Change of Plans

So, I'm sitting outside of the Vancouver Airport when I should be on a plane right now. This, combined with outrageously long line ups, did not have me in the perkiness of moods. However all is not lost, because it turns out that we will no longer have to wait all that long for the connecting flight tomorrow, and we got $20 to spend for our trouble. All good!

Zac is a fantastic traveller. He is so impressed with having a tv in front of him for the whole flight, and really likes the moving sidewalks. It's all pretty exciting and Zac and I are  pretty excited to have started our journey after so many months of planning! He's sitting beside me right now playing a game on my phone as we munch away on some gummy worms.

We've already spoken with a few of the teachers that are traveling to the same international school as us, and for the flight coming up I believe there will be a total of 30 of us going up to Wuhan. I have been really pleased with the helpful staff at both our airports so far - I ask a lot of questions and didn't really expect them to be so nice about it. All in all, despite some extra wait time today and a change of plans, things are going really well. And if all my luggage arrives along with me, I will be one happy camper!

Just the Two of Us

It's all fun and games until a 27 hour travelling time to an extremely different culture on the other side of the world with your 8 year old son looms in front of you. But hey, I'm sure it'll be fun!

 

Seriously, I know it will be fun. Right? :)

 

So, it is almost 24 hours until Zac and I get on a plane that will take us, eventually, to Wuhan, Hubei, China for 10 months. Up until now, Zac has been unsurprisingly excited for this adventure. I've had many people tell me what an amazing experience this will be for an almost-9-year old, but in the last few days it's been tough watching Zac say good bye to everyone he knows and loves, and I can tell he wasn't prepared to feel as sad about leaving everyone as he does. It is rather daunting to know you are going to have to miss everyone you care about for such a long time, so I can't imagine what it's like for him when it's tough enough for me! But Zac is also excited...though I think a lot of that is just excitement for the plane ride. Hopefully he's still excited when we land in China, too!

 

I'm feeling pretty prepared in terms of what we need to travel (in fact, super excited that all my most important stuff fits into all our luggage with weight and room to spare! So impressed with myself!), but I don't think there's a way to be prepared for what it's going to be like for us in China. I don't think that it really matters how much I've researched or how many conversations I've had. I'm just going to have to experience it and take it as it comes with a positive attitude, and help Zac to do the same.

 

Before I sign off, I just want to say that the support, encouragement, kindness and generosity of all of our loved ones is extremely valued and appreciated as we take this big step. I really don't know that I have ever been as grateful for everyone as I have been these last few weeks and days, and I've been told that moving to another country will really deepen our appreciation for Canada as well. Great, we will be back just in time to celebrate on Canada Day next year! :)

 

I've still got lots to do, but it is my intent to try and journal as many of our experiences on this blog as possible, so come back soon! We miss you already xo

 

Party Day and a Soon-to-be Pretty Blog

So, it is 4 DAYS until Zac and I fly halfway across the world! Crazy.

Today we are having a get together with our family and friends before we take off. Zac and I are so excied to see everyone! In fact, if you are reading this, you were probably there. I am still trying to figure out how to make our blog pretty. Stay tuned!