Thailand!

On the boat ride to the islands off of phuket.

The staff on the boat took a liking to the girls.

Eli and Mia swimming and snorkeling.

Eden is getting ready.

20 thai baht to use the bathroom.

A Beach on one of the islands we snorkeled at.

Eli is ready to feed the fish and snorkel.

Here they all are...even though they aren't underwater yet, they have the mouth piece in...

Eden isn't too sure yet, but later, she does get into it.

Eden and her hair braided.

Mia and her braids.

Tuk Tuk...taxi in Phuket. kids loved riding in them.

We saw Ronald a lot and Eden and Eli decided they needed their picture taken with him wherever we saw him.

Elephant riding.

Saying Hello to our ride.




We are so grateful we got to see God's creation in Thailand! It is so beautiful! nothing short of amazing!

Being freed from Fear

Ahh, once again it has been while since I have been able to blog. I knew coming to China was going to be an adventure, and an adventure it has been. We laugh a lot here. We have not only been learning about the culture, but I have also been learning about myself. This story isn't quite the same as my other posts. I try to blog the fun stuff that people will enjoy reading, but I thought this was blog worthy as it chronicles individual growth I have experiences as a result of our move to China. I warn you it is a deep realization for me, but God is so good. He is so good that I could not let His goodness to me go without sharing.

So here it is:
After learning that we were moving to China, I began to have a lot of anxiety, which would turn into panic attacks leaving me at times incapacited. I would be gripped by the fear of something bad happening, and the fear of death. I soon realized that I needed professional help. Through God's goodness to me, I was lead to a naturopathic college in Scottsdale, which started my journey into overcoming my anxiety. I thank the one true God for meeting me where I was at. As I acknowledged what was causing me to be fearful and going to the naturopath, the frequency and intensity of my anxiety decreased immensly. I would go months panic and anxiety free. I recognized that the move to China was a source in bringing on my fear, and was able to deal with that, thinking that once I got here, I would be done with fear and anxiety forever. What I failed to realize is that moving to China was a catalyst, but there was a deeper cause lying within. So, after moving here, and living here for 7 months, my anxiety had not left me, but continued to rear its ugly head. God is a provider though, and through a neat little invention called Skype, I am able to continue talking with my naturopathic doctor. But He is also a God of abundance, and has provided a Doctor of Chinese Traditional Medicine for me here in China. About 2 1/2-3 weeks ago I started feeling very anxious and went to the CTM doc for help. He was able to calm me down physically with acupuncture, but told me there was an emotional part that needed to be dealt with as well. We set up an appointment to see if we could unlock this emotional hold. The appointment itself was a source of anxiety, but I went, afraid to find out what would be discovered.
As he asked questions, he learned something I already knew, I have a fear of death and dying, which I have had since I was a little girl. What he knew, but I didn't, was that it is not normal for little children to be afraid of dying, not like I was. It astonished me as I realized that there were no other children I knew that were gripped by that fear like it gripped me. As long as I could remember I have had this fear. I would sit on the steps, the only place in the house where you could not see any windows, and I would be afraid. I would tell my parents, and they would try to encourage me saying I would live to be 100. I would tell my twin sister at night time, and she would tell me to think happy thoughts, and even help come up with happy thoughts to think of, yet this fear has always been with me. I believe and know that Christ conquered death on the cross and we have victory in Him, but still I carry this fear. It has become a bag that I have always had, almost like forgetting your glasses are on your face, or your hat is on your head.
So, we dug deeper, and began to uncover when I picked up this bag as a child and started to carry it. Up came memories, specific moments appeared as snapshots in time.
I remembered being a little girl, not sure of my age, and a family friend had died. She was older, and we had visited them frequently. The exact snapshot in time was at her funeral, as I stood by her casket, I touched her. Her body was so still, and very cold. I remember at the moment I touched her, fear entered my heart. This was a picture of death.
We dug deeper still. The next memory: I was a little girl in elementary school. My grandparents were visiting and I was sick. I had to stay home from school, but I had a choice. I could either go visit people with my grandparents, or go deliver papers with my dad. I wanted to go with my dad, but I knew the smell of the papers would make me nauseous, so I went with my grandparents. That very day my dad was in a serious car accident.
The snapshot moment: He was lying on the floor in our house, scraped and hurt. I can even see him lying there now. But then I heard it..."If Vicki had been in the car, she would have been sitting where the car got hit. She would have died." There it was, staring me right in the face, the moment I picked up the bag. It is amazing the kind of people we are. We can have something significant happen to us, and pack it away, and we get used to carrying it. This fear became a part of me. It was the way I was, and it never dawned on me that it could be different. It never dawned on me that I didn't have to carry this fear.
I think we carry so many things with us, that they become our normal load, and we don't even realize we can put them down. We have permission to put the bag down and continue on. We have permission to leave it behind. But first, we have to acknowledge we are carrying it.
God brought me to China, a trip that was a catalyst of so many panic attacks, to help me see a bag of fear that I have been carrying. He is now helping me to put the bag down and we are emptying together. I see that little girl sitting on the steps afraid, but it is becoming more like a movie to me. I also vividly see the two walls, the only place in the house where there are no windows, and I know there is significance behind that, but at this moment I am just so glad to have one less bag to carry.

The Bible says the truth will set us free. I have faced the truth of a fear and I am becoming free. There is another freedom that is much more significant. John 8:34-36 "Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, anyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." If you are a slave to sin, you don't have to be. In God's family, you are forgiven and free. You can't free yourself though. If you are guilty, the punishment is yours to bear. Here is where the freedom comes in Jesus paid the penalty, took your punishment, when He suffered and died on the cross. If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!

Traveling in China

I haven't been able to blog for over a month....We have been on the go. This is a long one, so buckle down and enjoy:)


Hong Kong: "Where's Mia?"


Hong Kong: If only I could find where they sold some H2O.



Hong Kong Disneyland: It only took getting onto the Grand Marshal carriage in our Mickey Mouse hats to give the surprise away to the kids that we were actually going to lead the parade.





Benxi: Proof that we beat the raft of Chinese men. They were great sports though!

Benxi: I don't think Eli will have a problem of ...oh slipping out of his life SAVING jacket, if he falls out of the raft going over the little rapids.

Benxi: Everyone asks to see a squatty potty...here is a pretty decent stall. You don't flush the tp here, you throw it in the garbage, or on the floor, whatever...it's all pretty go with the flow, willy nilly here with things like that...no rules.

Benxi: I always knew elephants hid out in caves hugging each other...I just never had the evidence, until now. (I don't think they are in any danger of the tiger lurking behind them)

Benxi: Our fish being cooked behind our table at the restaurant by the Benxi Water Caves. My mom was wondering about health codes or cooking standards....that is just too much paper work and red tape...do what you want.

(notice the rusty tank behind him....I'm pretty sure that is okay, because I also see an up to date fire extinquisher under the table)

Benxi: Here the cook is slamming the fish on the ground, while Mia watches in horror. I think she thought he was going to put the fish back into the little pool...unfortunately the fish's life took a turn in another direction.

Benxi: The kids having a fun time fishing:) (before the little...killing of the fish incident)

Hong Kong

What a great trip that was. The first night we were able to stay down a dark alley in a condo with metal bars on the windows and a sliding metal door. After we hiked up 7 floors with our luggage and found a very small condo with the bathroom in the kitchen and very small rooms, we kind of decided it wasn't quite where we wanted to spend the next 5 nights. You could say it really wasn't a "family friendly" place. I guess with Craigslist you win some and you lose some. We chalked that one up as a loss.

So the next day we were off to a hotel. So we had a long walk to the MTR (train/subway) station, 5 million people bussling about and all we can hear is the clacking of feat. Three kids, luggage and grandma in tow, we make our way to the hotel. AFter a bad start to our experience in Hong Kong, it did in fact get better. You can really only go up after being in the first place.

The next day was Disney Land, where we were able to be Grand Marshals in the Disney parade. Our kids didn't know until it was actually happening. Even Mia thought it was pretty cool. She is kind of above "characters" now that she is in 3rd grade, but being part of the parade ranked on the coolness factor. You could kind of view it more as "Hey everyone, look at the Americans we found." That is okay though, we enjoyed it and everyone got Mickey Mouse ear hats with our names embroidered on the back, even grandma.

We also got some Hong Kong shopping in. Just a few ....million people...in one place. I just wish they had signs advertising what they sold.

On the WAY to Benxi

We took a Saturday day trip to the Benxi water caves. Matt couldn't join us, so after dropping him off at work at 730am, we hit the road for Benxi. A little confusion on how long it would take. I heard anywhere from 2.5 -5 hours. Maps are a little difficult to come across here, but after a long time googling and surfing the web I did come up with a main road express way route. Our driver hadn't been there before, so was a little unsure of exact directions. Since they don't really do maps or mapquest here, their way of handling it is pulling over and asking for directions, as many times as needed. This adds time the trip...so I'm guessing it is going to be more along 4-5 hours. Around 1 pm we are very close the caves, but still haven't eaten lunch. Not many fast food restaurants in rural China, so as we are driving through a little village part of outer Benxi we decide we should eat lunch before actually going to the caves. I tell my driver and he pulls over. Their way of advertising is having people stand outside and wave for you to come to their restaurant. We pull up and as soon as they see me, a foreigner in the front seat, they call for others to come out. Many people come out to greet us and I know as soon as I open the back door to 3 kids, they are going to go wild. Sure enough, they see Eden and one of the ladies grabs her and starts carrying her into the restaurant. Eli and Mia are not wanting to exit the van. After we coax them out we end up going around back of the restaurant to eat outside. To our delight there is a little pool with fish in it... and the kids can fish. Perfect distraction from a 5 hour car ride. There is a nice seating area and they set a table up for us.

The kids are having a blast fishing and catching fish. They are proudly displaying one of their fish when a man comes and takes it...and slams it on the ground to kill it. It still is flopping a tiny bit, so he slams it on the ground again. Mia and Eden kind of went from smiles to a little bit of a shocked look. Next thing, they bring it behind our table and grill it. A whole New meaning to "fresh fish".

Benxi Water Caves

We finally make it to the caves at 2pm. After getting tickets we head to the caves. Inside is cold and damp. Thankfully they supply warm long jackets to wear. As we near the jacket bin, we smell that, well... sweaty body odor smell. We reach the jacket bin and I can only think of sweaty, smelly locker rooms. It kind of seemed like that smell penetrated my skin and clung to me, even long after the coat was off. The caves were very amazing and well worth the 5 hour drive. It is so neat to see this natural phenomenon. I have even begun to appreciate the effort put into making it even more appealing and am getting used to the cute little animal statues that they like so much here. Two cute little elephants hugging each other, lions and tigers, a woolly mammoth...all living together harmoniously inside of a water cave. It is funny, because they put these statues there, and of course we have to get pictures in front of them. The natural cave itself is worth it, but the animal statues found inside are the stamp of China.

We also got to go rafting as part of the entrance ticket. We head to the river rafting area. We all put on our well fitted life jackets. I think, boy I really hope Eden doesn't fall out of the boat...that would really be a predicament. There is a man with an oar helping us get into the raft. I am thinking, it is a good thing this man is going to raft us down the river, because we wouldn't get far if me, my 3 kids, grandma and driver had to do it. Well, evidently, he was just helping us get into the raft and that is exactly what was going to happen, me, my 3 kids, grandma, and Mr. Xia, our driver, have to raft ourselves. At the same time another group of Chinese men are in another raft, and it is kind of turning into an unsaid "race". Who can get to the end first, this group of foreigners with little kids and a grandma, or all men. We didn't exactly raft in a straight line, and after running into their raft (and trying to grab onto the rope so they could pull us) we were laughing so hard my poor driver was doing all the work. It looked like they might be waiting for us at the end. It turns out they didn't really know how to raft and row either, and we passed them...and won!:) They were all good sports...although I almost told them they were too slow in Chinese, but didn't want to accidently say anything else.

Way home from Benxi

So after all of that, we decide we are going to head home and not stay the night. My driver is one of the best drivers out there and one of the hardest working and most honest people I have ever met. He tells me it won't be as long because now he knows the way. Unfortunately, there are no maps easily available (not sure if I mentioned that yet), and their signs are not always clear, even to the Chinese. So we end up on the wrong express way, and go the 6 hour route home (the way there was the 2.5-5 hour route....) I've always liked sitting extra hours in a van with three tired kids and no where to stop to grab a bite to eat, in the pitch dark on roads with no signs indicating that you indeed are heading the right direction, Especially when the express way ends because of construction and you get to take little side roads through small villages on roads with no names. We did make it back. Matt waited up for us and had dinner waiting. So around 11pm we finally had dinner. My mom and I walk in and all we could do is...well...laugh.

Such is traveling in China.

o

A "China" moment

We are coming up on the 4 month marker and I think we are doing pretty well. People ask if we are adjusted... and I feel like we are. We can get around, negotiate prices at the markets, have conversations in Chinese and are able to enjoy activities, especially living less than a mile from the ocean beach and Discoveryland. Then we, or maybe I should say "I", will have a day, or a moment. I think it is an accumalation of all the little things that are fustrating that can be handle on a daily basis, but then they sort of build and build and build, until they accumulate...and then you go crazy. I had one of those last week. Here in Dalian, we have a few choices of chain type "American" food...Starbucks, Subway, KFC, McDonalds, DQ and Pizza Hut. I was at Subway and although it sometimes takes 20 minutes to get a sandwhich made and I want jump over the counter, make my sandwhiches, and be done, we endure the at times 20 minutes process, with people taking cuts at times. But this day, we were enduring the process and I as am paying, I didn't think the total was right. They always charge extra for cheese, and although I know this, for whatever reason, I disagreed and told them I didn't want to pay the 2 RMB for cheese on Mia's sandwhich. I said I thought it should be free and did not want to pay for it. The poor gal behind the counter was trying to say that they had to charge for cheese and I ranted about not wanting to pay for it. People in line behind me stopped and were watching me argue over paying for the cheese. Another staff came over to help the gal... Then, well, it hit me. I was arguing over .29 $ at one of the places that DOESN'T negotiate prices. Yes, everywhere else, you can ask to pay less, but at the American chains, they don't do that. So after I paid the total, I apologized, smiled, said "God bless you" in Chinese, and walked away. Yes, this poor little chinese gal watched me go through a roller coaster of emotions, and then smile and give her a blessing. I'm not sure if she thought that was odd at all.

View from the top. Either side is a long way down.



Crevice to fit through on the left...and yes, this is part of the hike.
I opted to stay with the little kids.


Not sure if I would fit through here. Did I mention this is a
one way hike...and once you start you have to finish.



Top of one of the peaks.

On Father's day, Matt did the Phoenix Mountain hike in Dandong, but I personally would refer to it as the "don't slip and fall or you will plummet thousands of feet to your death and we don't want you to die because we love you and it's Father's day" hike. I don't think pictures do it justice. This hike involved, going through a dark cave, fitting through narrow crevices, pulling yourself up stairs on the cliff side of the mountain and walking across a balance beam tip of a mountain holding onto railings, that who knows how are attached to the mountain. It was a 4 hour hike that he will always remember. I think he is amazing and I am very proud of him for not only attempting it, but finishing it. I am also very thankful he didn't slip and fall off the mountain.

Our first weekend trip

The right side of the river is Dandong, China, and the left side is N. Korea.

The half of the bridge leading to N. Korea that was destroyed. You can see the ferris wheel that never turns on the other side.

Portion of the great wall in Dandong that we hiked.

The boat we rode back to the beginning of our hike. The other side of the river is N. Korea.

The bridge connecting China and N. Korea that the U.S. bombed. We are at the very edge of it where it is all twisted.

If you visit or live in China, the one thing you have to see is what China is most famous for...the Great Wall. So we took our first weekend trip to see a portion of the Great Wall in Dandong, which is about 3 hours north of us on the China/North Korea border. Dandong not only boasts the Great Wall, but it also has a lot of history, including the Korean War. A part of this war included the U.S. bombing a bridge over a river that connected North Korea to China. China and North Korea were allies during this war, and Americans were not. Now there is a musuem in Dandong and the name of this musuem is really easy to remember. It is called "Museum Commemorating the War to Resist American Agression and Aid Korea" Needless to say, it probably isn't the wisest thing to admit that your an American in this particular area. Not that anything bad would happen, but with a museum commemerating American Aggression, I wouldn't mind being associated with, oh let's say, Canada, for the weekend. Our friend's driver said if we were asked where we were from, we shouldn't say America. The thing is, one of the first questions Chinese people learn to ask in English is "Where are you from?" The first night there, we are out walking near the bridge, speaking English, and people stop to watch us. One man then asks Matt, in English, "Where are you from?" Matt, not wanting to say he is American, replies in Chinese "Wo ting bu dong," meaning, "I don't understand." The one question people learn how to say perfectly in English, and Matt replied in Chinese that he doesn't understand the question. I think they thought it strange that Matt wouldn't understand ...but, it gave us a good laugh.

The contrast between the two countries today is amazing. The China side shows big city buildings with bustling night life and lights...and across the river is North Korea, with few buildings and going completely black after the sun goes down. North Korea does have a ferris wheel, we have been told has never turned.

After hiking the Great Wall, we took a return path on the ground, which we didn't know lead to stairs going up the cliff side of a mountain and across a suspension bridge. So with little ones in tow, we took the option of getting on a little boat on the river bordering North Korea. The boat didn't appear to be the most sturdy, but the 13 of us piled on. Eli wasn't getting on and when I told him to get on, he said he wanted to be the last one. I asked him why and he said he wanted everyone else to get on first because he wanted to make sure it wasn't going to sink. Letting other people go first to make sure it safe... now that sounds oddly familiar to me.

Have you ever fed a leopard through a chain link fence?

Zoos are universally fun, especially when you can see the animals up close and personal. We were able to buy food and feed brown bears, polar bears, wolves, leopards, and black leopards. All in all we bought 2 cups of dead fish, 1 live fish, 1 cup of fruit, and 3 dead chickens, well worth the $9.The only thing between us and the wild cats was a chain link fence. We heard a black leopard purr from inches away. I don't know of a zoo in the states that would let us get this close...granted if fingers went through the fence, they may be bitten off...so the safety standard is a little different. The worker shoved the chickens through the fence, so we were well out of dangers way. The bears danced for their food. The kids threw the fruit and dead fish to the bears, but unfortunately not all the food made it across the chasm. All 3 kids also got to sit on an elephant's trunk as it went onto its 2 back feet. Matt and I could have as well, but we opted to let the kids go first...just to make sure it was safe. After our eventful time at the zoo we continued to explore the City of Dalian and went to a beautiful scenic road by the ocean. We saw some very Chinesee pagodas on a cliff right on the ocean, and thought we would hike to it. We pull off the road to the park, which ended up being a "wedding park." It was a good thing Eden wore her beautiful fancy dress. She also wore knee high purple socks and tennis shoes, but a fancy dress worthy of wedding pictures none the less. Wedding parties wanted her in their photos, purples socks and all.

There was an audience...where?

Line is starting to form:)

This past weekend we decided to go to the Cherry Blossom festival in Lushun, which is about an hour and half drive. I prepared snacks and water bottles, we had the camera ready and we were off. Lushun was just as we expected, beautiful cherry blossom trees, vendors, ice cream... ...and people wanting to take pictures with the kids. As we allow one person to take a picture, quickly a line forms. It doesn't matter where we are, people will want pictures with our kids. Some people have tried to be discreet about it, not asking, but following us and having their friend take their picture with our kids "in" the picture, but for the most part they will come right up and ask. Our kids have been so gracious and only on a couple of occassions has it become too much and we had to break through the crowd and leave. I tell them they are like celebrities here, and I guess we are getting a small taste of what it is like to have to deal with the popparazi. I told Matt it will be nice to be somewhere and not stand out, and no one cares that we are american. So after pictures here and there, we get an ice cream snack and then have to use the bathroom. I know I have blogged a lot about the bathrooms here, but this just, well...it made me laugh. What do you do? The bathroom at the festival was one with out doors. In these bathrooms, we always go to the very end, so no one is walking past us to get to ones further down. So we go to the end one and are waiting, and it is a little akward, (for us anyways), because there are no doors and you are trying to look at different things, with out watching. So the lady finishes and sees that we are next. The stall is actually quite big and she steps aside to let us in, so now all four of us are in the stall. We think she is going to leave, but she stands there, smiling and trying to talk to Mia, and Mia is asking me if the lady is going to watch. The lady realizes Mia doesn't want her in there, so she steps down outside of the stall, only to stand and watch from there. I stand in front of Mia and Eden as much as I can as they do their business, but in the meantime, the lady is telling the other ladies in the bathroom that there are "meigouren" (Americans). So more and more ladies start coming our way, standing outside our doorless stall to see, and peeking their heads over the half height wall. By this time Mia and Eden have done their thing and it is my turn. I am thinking I will just hold it, but I have to go kind of badly and I am not sure where my next option will be.... So... for the first time in my life, I squatty potty with a crowd of Chinese ladies watching. I finish, smile and off we go. As we walk past the crowd of ladies all I can hear is "meigouren, meigouren". (For me, I am kind of proud of myself, I did what I had to do, and might add that I did it quite efficiently.) These ladies make me smile though. For whatever reason, it gives them great joy to see Americans. I think they don't get to see the variety of God's creation, that we in America are so blessed to have. Maybe we even take for granted, the array of skin, hair and eye color that is so abudant in America. My God is Creator God! (and I might add, He was very good to me, because just the night before, I had a lesson on the correct way to squat...Thanks God!)

Schooling

Before we left for China, I had bought some books for the kids to have while living here. I bought a nonfictional educational set that included books about the planet, weather, robots, recycling, (very exciting titles) etc. One day Eli brings a stack of books down and plops them on table and tells me he is going to do some reading. He is reading out loud to me and telling me about the ocean and how deep the deepest part is and showing me pictures of the planet. He finishes the book and I ask to look at it. He hesitates and slowly gives it to me, and then says, "but Mom, I wanted to read to you about trash and recycling." (I'm thinking he takes after Matt) He starts to read to me about trash and landfills and what can be recycled (if you ever want me to pick a series for you to read, let me know). Half way through, he stops and sees the next book is about weather. He asks me if I know how rain can sometimes be red. I tell him I don't know and ask him how. He then tells me I am going to have to wait and I can learn that when he reads me "Weather" but right now we have to finish reading about the trash and recycling. He is good at giving those "hook" questions to keep you interested and excited to hear more!

Mia loves her 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Adams. The second week we were here was conferences, so there wasn't a whole lot Mrs. Adams had to show me, but she did say Mia is a very funny little girl. They were lining up to wash their hands for lunch and Mia told Mrs. Adams "we don't wash hands at our house." Mrs. Adams told her that they wash them at school though and she still had to wash them. The next day, as they were lining up to wash hands again, Mia put her arm on Mrs. Adams, and asked, "do you remember what I told you yesterday?" Yep, washing hands is overrated and we don't think it prevents illness, so we are boycotting handwashing, even if we are here in a new place, where we aren't used to the germs they have... and besides, if it really does kill germs, wouldn't killing be breaking a commandment? Mia has also told her that her stomach feels like it is melting and going to burst open, and should she see the nurse. Well, in AZ, Mia saw the nurse regularly and we knew her well. I guess we should get to know the nurse here also, especially if we are opposed to hand washing.

Using our Chinese phrases

Matt's Chinese is coming along quite well. One phrase he learned how to say is "climb a mountain". So we are at a park in the neighborhood and an elderly Chinese couple and a 3 year old boy come to talk with us...in Chinese. We establish that we are American, have 3 children, their ages...and we are actually understable. At the park there is a huge hill...pretty much like a verticle wall. Matt, anxious to show off his Chinese, tells Mia to go climb the hill so that he can use his phrase. Mia is scaling (like spiderman) this verticle hill... only to have the couple run over to the hill fearful that she is going to fall...while we stand back and watch. The man quickly calls Mia down, speaking in Chinese and motioning she might get hurt. I guess we just didn't think of her falling off the wall like hill. It did give me the opportunity to practice how to say "to fall" though. Nothing like putting our children in danger's way, just to practice our Chinese. I guess you could say we are giving it our all to learn the language.

Culture shock?

I'm realizing that we see things much differently than the Chinese people do. Instead of seeing the cup half empty, or the cup half full, they throw the cup out all together and take apart the faucet as well. Just when I think we are on the same page, I realize not only are we not on the same page, we are reading completely different books.
Let's see, we have "The bathroom scene"
Western toilets are considered unsanitary because if your bottom touches something and someone else's bottom touches it, that would be gross.
So, to overcome this, they choose to go with other options. Option 1) using a functioning flushable squatty potty...which leads to at times human waste on the floor and on your shoes (things tend to splash). These stalls could be with or without doors, or they could also have half doors that are easily seen over (very creative). I should add that the privacy standard is a little lower or maybe even non existent to what I am accustomed to...(still working through that.)
Option 2) Having a padlocked room that is seemingly without any sort of working plumbing, with not only squatty potties, but all different sizes and shapes of buckets used the same as the squatty potty would be used... and no ventilation. This renders a very wet and slippery floor and a smell that smacks you in the face like -70 degree winds coming at you full force as you walk out of a warm building. Eden and I were able to experience this option. Thankfully she didn't slip and I didn't pass out.
Option 3) Doing your business outside in the open...which surprisingly to me seems to be the MOST sanitary at this point. I actually find myself considering this option.
I now realize that there is a lot to think about when trying to overcome the issue of bare bottoms not touching the same toilet seat or urine getting on the toilet. It is funny that the western option is not sanitary to them and all their options seem quite unsanitary to me. I guess, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
"Wow, I never would have thought about that being a job"
A couple of examples:
-A parking garage floor mopper. The parking garage floor is being mopped, with a mop and bucket, so you need to find a different place to park.
-Walking Street sweeper. The street gets dirt on it, so people sweep it with a broom (no dust pan though...maybe it would be considered a dirt mover?)
The ironic thing to me is that to my knowledge they haven't created a bathroom cleaner position. It seems they are concerned with things being clean, they just aren't the same things I would necessarily be concerned about being clean.

-Construction work: I just haven't quite figured out their methodology. Behind our house is a cement slab fenced off for a playground, without the playground equipment. One day I see people busy jackhammering the cement. I think "Oh yeah! they are putting in the playground equipment." I come home later in the day and see that those men worked so hard getting the ENTIRE area jackhammered and crushed and the cement removed. The next day I leave and come home to see that the entire area has been recemented...and no playground equipment installed. I wonder if they had to recement because the grading wasn't quite right, but then I remember that I don't think they are particularly concerned with grading (our bathroom shower has a drain, but the water leaks all onto the bathroom floor and into the bedroom). So here we are with a freshly cemented play area, and still no play equipment.
(Side note: If there is a shortage of cement, you might want to look in China...they like making things out of cement here.)

I am trying to take off my American glasses and put on my Chinese ones, (oh but the way we do things is so much better).


I remember a verse that God gave me when I lived in Ecuador
Psalm 139:14 "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" Once again I find myself going back to that verse. I claim that verse for His creation here in China. "They are fearfully and wonderfully made. " The rest of that verse says "Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
They may do things differently here, but they are His creation and His works are wonderful. I will look for and I will see the "wonderful" God has made here in China.

I'm in China

We have been here a month now and received our sea shipment from the states today, affirming the reality of our move. Yep, we are living in China. 1 month down, 20 to go. Our things that were on the slow boat to China have arrived, and I have never been more thankful for our bed than I am now. After sleeping on a table with sheets for the past month, feeling the softness of our bed is probably comparable to recieving life sustaining bread and water, basic nutrients needed to exist. You can only go so long without them before your body gives up. Not an exaggeration in the least (my neighbor got bed sores...true story). The people who unpacked our shipment went to great lengths to get our belongings where we wanted them, risking their very lives. Yes, they climbed over the stair banister, which if you fell from you would end up in the basement, to help get our life sustaining matress to our bedroom. I pray blessings and protection for them, because I just don't see service like that in the states (but I also don't see a lot of things in the states like I see here).
It was like Christmas here, I started going through our boxes, and literally there were our Christmas decorations. I found a clock and pictures, but unfortunately we also have cement walls, and we can't hang anything on them unless we have the management company come and do it, which sounds easy, but is actually a very interesting experience in itself. The kids were thrilled to get their bikes, so now we can bike to the boardwalk by the ocean, which will hopefully become a regular memory making activity.
So here we are and it looks as if we will be staying for a little while. I miss home, but am becoming thankful for the seemingly small things. Right now, in this very moment, I am very thankful that I get to sleep on a soft bed tonight. I will survive.

language mishap

I think one of the biggest challenges of living in a different country is learning the language. I have prayed and continue to pray, that God would help me hear the different tones and remember words. My vocabulary is increasing daily and so my driver is very fortunate, because I practice my new words in the car with him. I learned how to ask how someones mom and dad are and "if they ate the meal?" (which I guess is like us asking about the weather) So yesterday I asked my driver how his mom and dad were. I asked him if he had a cat. I asked if he had a little white dog. I asked if his dad had a little white dog. I asked if his dad had a cat. (Can you tell I learned animal names?) Our Ayi was in the car with us and since she speaks some English she was doing some translating. When I asked if his dad had a cat, it turns out that his dad had many cats, and cats of different colors. Using my words...I said he must like cats. The driver then explained (and my Ayi translated), that people would move and leave their cats behind, so his dad would take them in. I then thought, using my stellar Chinese, I would exalt his dad and say that he was a good person. I am not sure my Chinese came across exactly right, because both the Ayi and driver started laughing. Later, I found out that I either told my driver that his dad was a "good woman"or what would be equivalent to calling someone a "good catch" or a "hottie" in the states. So begins my speaking of the Chinese language...

Pictures

Here is the other part of our kitchen that is separate from the kitchen with the shower like doors. The cupboard on the left was a fake one...I didn't realize it and forced it open...and broke it. Only the right side was supposed to open...

The church we have been going to had an Easter egg hunt/picnic after church on Easter Sunday. We got a great picture of the group and then the kids off on the hunt. Yes, it was quite chilly:) Here is a bathroom in our house with security locks...just one of the doors with the 3 keys.

Now a picture of the empty space white room that two windows in our house look into. Eli's bedroom window (which has a hutch in front of it) and a hallway window look into this empty abyss. Maybe a tree would look neat in there...but how to get it through the windows.

An Experiential journey of our new house

We are so blessed and our cup runneth over! We were able to move into our new townhome on Thursday night. Once we got the go ahead to move in, I went shopping all day with a friend and then had our Ayi come over and cook dinner. I guess I wasn't as prepared as I could have been, but nevertheless, we moved in. So about 6pm on a Thursday night we start bringing loads over. Thankfully it was only about a mile away and took only about 4 trips as our neighbors had their 2 drivers help as well. I just need to say, the drivers here are some of the most hardworking and kind people I have ever been able to meet. They would not let us carry anything and if they saw me trying to carry something, they immediately took it away. (again, I am not sure how I am going to acclamate when we return to the U.S.)
Okay, so back to moving in... of course the kids are so excited and bouncing off walls and running all over the house, while Matt and I are trying to find the sheets and blankets that we brought with us. I might mention that the heat wasn't turned on, so the temperature in the house was about -5 degrees F (okay, maybe not that cold, but Matt wouldn't take his jacket off, so it was pretty cold) We turned the heat on and it only took about a day and half to heat up the house. We then had to make the beds, and to give you an idea of what it felt like...here is an illustration so you too can experience a bed in China. Bring your kitchen table into your bedroom, stretch your sheets out and nicely pull them over the corners of the table, put the blankets and pillows on and lay down (remember it is about -3 degrees F). I wouldn't say it was the most comfortable nights sleep, but if you like camping in the winter on the ice, this might be right up your alley. Thankfully we have western toilets in the house, and to let you experience what it like using those, you could go to your freezer and get about 4 frozen icepacks and lay them on your toilet seat. Then try to sit down and relax and do your business, in -12 degree F heat.
I am a "take a hot shower daily" kind of a person, so in the morning after sleeping in -15 degree weather on a table, I was kind of looking forward to a hot shower. I go into the bathroom and to help you really understand what this was like, you could go to your freezer, get a bucketful of ice, put it in the blender and then dump it on your head. I turned the knobs every possible way and it seemed like it only made the water colder and colder. I put my clothes back on, and decided to pass on the shower. I then realized that each water area in the house (sink, shower etc) has its own water tank and you have to turn the heat on each individual tank. So the thermometer said the water was 11 degrees C (which I think translates to -10 degrees F or something like that) So at 6:30amI turn the water heater on for that shower and on in the bathroom by the kids room. By 8pm that night, the temperature was at 68 degrees C... Yes, I will have a hot shower the next morning. :)
The first day in the house was quite fun. They provided BEAUTIFUL new furniture for us. Just so you too can experience what this new furniture is like sitting on, go to your nearest park, put a blanket over the bench so it looks all soft and fluffly, and then plop down on it like your going to be sitting on the softest most plush couch ever. I am really getting used to this new "hardness" factor that seems to be prominent here.
We have a lot of doors throughout the house. Even our kitchen had shower like doors on it (which we had removed)...not quite sure what the purpose for that was...they said to keep the cooking smell only in the kitchen, but if you open the doors to come out, won't the smell come with you? If there is a room, there is a door. If there is a door, there is a lock with 3 keys. So doing the math, just inside our house alone, we have about 15 doors and about 45 keys. Can you imagine our key ring? So each door has it's own key, and if you get the keys mixed up, a different key won't work on a door it wasn't made for. Unfortunately I didn't realize this until I had taken the keys out of about 5 doors and hadn't been keeping track to which doors they were for. (whatever happened to the little key you put above your bathroom door and could be used on any door?) The odd thing is...the door leading to the backyard, outside the house, doesn't have a lock or key. If you go outside into the back yard, the door won't stay closed, because in order to close it all the way you have to turn the handle down on the inside of the house, and that locks it so you can't get in from outside. You can't unlock it from the outside at all. The other odd thing is that the windows don't have locks or screens and one of my concerns was my kids opening a window and falling 3 flights to the ground. Eli already discovered that he can open the kitchen window and crawl through it to the porch outside in the back yard. That looked pretty fun. We also have windows inside the house that look to other rooms inside the house. Two windows actually open up to a little white space inside the house that isn't used for anything, maybe it will be my happy place.
We have a beautiful little kitchen, but not one drawer. Thankfully we still haven't gotten dishes, so we were able to use ALL the storage space we have in the kitchen with the little food we have. We are planning to buy dishes today at IKEA, so perhaps we will pick up a little shelving unit to put them on while we are there.
We have a washer and dryer in the basement and so in keeping with the whole Ayi thing, I thought I would show her how to use it. Since everything is written in Chinese and only a few things are translated, I thought her ability to read Chinese would come in handy. We put some laundry soap in different dishes (since we didn't know which one the soap was supposed to go in, we just put soap in all of them) We guessed on a setting and hit start. We waited and nothing happend, so we pushed some more buttons. Eventually the washer started turning, but there was no water. I then verified that yes indeed we were using the washer and not the dryer. No water. I started looking for the water supply to this area, and couldn't find one. HMM...well, I called the lady that works in the neighborhood office and she came over and then used her walkie talkie and called a maintenance man. He came over and as they were downstairs, my neighbor came over so she could learn how to use the washer as well. We were talking upstairs when we heard a thud. We looked down over the banister and didn't hear or see anything, so we continued our conversation. Up came the lady holding her limp arm. Yes, the poor girl fell on the steps and we later found out, broke her arm. The worker stayed and worked on the washer and then came up and told my Ayi something. She told me that he had to go get something, implying to me that he was coming back. Well I didn't see him the rest of the day, and I still don't know how to get water to the washing machine. Now that the girl is gone because of her broken arm, and I don't have a walkie talkie, I am not sure how to get in touch with the worker.
It may seem like our house is lacking...but we are soo very thankful. I will say, it does have a nice red panic button on the wall in living room right about my 4 year old Eden's height...and we didn't have one of those in Arizona.

I was very thankful yesterday that we had pack two 72 oz bags of chocolate chips. I found myself repeatedly going to the freezer and getting handfuls of choc. chips throughout the day.

We laugh a lot here over different things and I think our mighty God has a great sense of humor. He brought our family over the oceans to a foreign place and I am coming to terms with being an alien in a foreign land. One thing that has been constant is His presence. Although I knew He was here in China, I am so thankful to experience and see His hand at work myself. I told Matt one night that I wanted to go back to Arizona. He asked why and I told him because I didn't know why God brought us here. He laughed and asked me if I had asked Him why. Although I know it is for our growth and His glory, I want to know specifics. I guess if He told me, I might try to "help" Him out and I don't think He needs that kind of help. We want to keep a kingdom perspective and be moldable and useable for HIS purpose. I continue to say "here I am, send me." We love you Jesus, and want to share what you did for us on the cross with the people of China.

And now for some idiosyncrasies of living in China...

Idiosyncrasy: Peculiarity of constitution; that temperament, or state of constitution, which is peculiar to a person.

Eli and Eden started their kindergarten and are so far enjoying it. They go all day, for about 6 hours. They tell us new things about it every day. So one day after getting picked up they were telling us about naptime. They told us that they have to take their pants off and sleep in their underwear. I started laughing so hard I almost peed my pants. I asked if the other kids had to do that too. They said some do and some wear their jamies underneath their clothes. Eden even said she saw one girl with THREE pairs of pants on. After naptime, they put their pants back on. They also said that if they have to go potty during naptime, Eli has to go in a bucket and Eden has to go in the potty chair. They can't use the restroom. I love China.
Today just Eden came home with a "baby bank card" It looks just like a credit card and has her name written on the back.
Here is what the note that came with it said. "Note of baby bank card"
1. Bank: Dalian Bank
2. Saving Date: Before the 3rd work day
3. Save the enough money according to fee list
4. The first code: 11 11 11
5. The methods of changing the code:A Atm B. Go the bank with the ID and household register
6. to use it the same as other common card.
Now the questions Matt and I have are:
What is and where is the fee list and do we have to pay it?
What is the 3rd work day? Is the code the pin #? and do all the kids with these bank cards have the same pin? If we decide to change the pin and go the Dalian bank, what is a household register and whose ID do we need. What are the other common cards? As far as we can tell, you have to pay cash with everything...
Eden asked if she can use it to buy things. I guess I don't see why not.

Matt started work and since we didn't bring our alarm clocks because they wouldn't work here, I had to go out and buy one for him. I did think how easy this would have been in the states, but the common phrase here is "Everything takes longer in China" and this was no exception. After communicating with our driver what I needed, we were off to "New Market" where there are a ton of little kiosks and individual vendors. After asking someone where they were, our driver led me to a little kiosk which had the circle clocks with bells. I then indicated that we wanted an LED alarm clock. He then took me to another kiosk and showed me my choices. Well, I thought to myself, is Matt more of a Winnie the Pooh kind of a person, or a Mickey Mouse person? Not quite what I was thinking of, but it did meet all the requirements of what I had asked for. Thankfully I saw a very small little silver one with no characters on it and I even negotiated $.75 cents off of the price. I had inadvertently said that $4.47 was "tai gwi" too expensive. So they knocked .$75 off. Yep, even alarm clocks are negotiable. So, after paying about $3.73 for the alarm clock we were off.
I love how they love cartoony kind of characters here and it really doesn't matter what it is, you can find it with a cartoon character on it.

I am learning how to cross the street here. After stepping in front of a vehicle that wanted to move in a parking lot and going deaf in my left ear because of the horn...I didn't think I was going to be able to cross the street. It is in all respects "Frogger" I stayed right by Xia's side and we crossed the first lane and I literally said to myself..."oh my gosh I am going to die"...It was those exact words. But, I did it, I made it across 3-4 lanes of moving traffic without a cross walk. I am alive and I am very thankful!
Traffic infractions here are many or I guess there is no such thing... you can turn left from the right lane or right from the left lane, or do a u turn where ever you want, or go around barracades to get 10 cars up...you name it...here, in a car, you can do it.

A side note about the women's bathroom: after learning their little "game" the next time I had to use a public restroom I was with Mia and Eden, and we walked in, and yes WE went into the next open stall. I will say I got very nauseous at the smell, but never the less, we are acclamating. I just hope I can reacclamate to the U.S. when we return

Pictures

Here are some pictures of our town home. Hopefully we will be able to move in within the next couple of weeks. There is a little kitchen with sliding glass doors, an atrium room that opens up to a skylight (the kids are sitting in that room being silly), and a cool attic area that the kids want to be their bedrooms. The town house will be about 10 minutes to the school, and 10 minutes to the beach. It is interesting because it is a gated community, but there is also a gate just to get onto our street. Matt and the kids and our driver are skipping rocks on the ocean water.