Out with a bang

Our friends, the Royals went out with a bang .

Literally.

The farewell crew

Last Saturday, a bunch of us gathered together with enough fireworks to make our Chinese neighbors jealous, and set them off as a farewell for our friends, Donna and Kyle.

As I have noted before, fireworks are an every day occurance here. In fact, just about 5 minutes ago, my sky lit up like the 4th of July--and it's 9:00p on a Thursday here. No reason, whatsoever. No national holiday--just an average Thursday evening in Wuxi.

Most new expats learn about fireworks within their first 24 hours in China.

Usually at some inappropriate time..like 5:00am on a Monday.


Mr. Royal is ready to set this place on fi-yah!

View from above. Front row seats on our balcony.

What better way to send a bunch of expats home, than ending it the way they arrived.



Grateful: Day 17: 5k Monday group

One of my favorite things living here is the friendships I have made.

 

Every Monday, a group of ladies make a round trip walk to Starbucks and the vegetable market together. This is Sal's and my Monday activity, as we leave around 9:30a and return around 11:45a..just in time for lunch and a nap ( if he doesn't fall asleep in his stroller on the way home first).

 

Instead of calling it what it is--a walk to Starbucks so some of my friends can feed their fix so that we can enjoy a nice warm beverage with friends--it's been dubbed "5k Monday" because that is roughly the round trip distance from our complex to Starbucks and back.

 

We get a lot of walking in around these parts.

 

A lot.

 

Like, every day.

 

 

Walking home from the vegetable markt on a sunny morning

I can't think of a better way to spend our Monday mornings..Exercise, Starbucks and getting vegetables and fruit for the week with friends. 5k Monday ladies, I am so thankful for you all!

Sweaters & socks

Fall has arrived in China.

 

Thank goodness!

That summer heat was NO joke.

Sweltering, I tell ya.

I whole heartedly welcome the cooler, slightly crisp mornings we've been having. In fact, I've even started running with Sal after NZ leaves for the office. I use the term "running" loosely..it's more of a run, jog, speed walk, gasp for air, flail my arms kind of outing..but I do it, and that's all that matters, right? I suit up in Capri leggings and a short sleeve T, and Sal usually sports a long sleeve onesie and some athletic pants. Perfect for the weather.

It's quickly become apparent to me, that Sal and I (and some of our expat friends) are the only ones who find this weather enjoyable.

Looking at any Chinese out and about, it's obvious they believe otherwise.

We're talking winter coats on adults, children in layers upon layers, and babies dressed up in fleece suits and covered with blankets.

Clearly, it's cold in their eyes.

So, as with anything here that's different, or out of the norm, we get stared at on our daily run. I get stares, glares, and even yelled at.

Why are they yelling at me?

Because Sal needs a sweater.

Yes, I've been flagged down more than once to be reprimanded for my child a) not wearing socks, and b) not wearing a jacket.

People, we're talking high 60's, low 70's here.

Not cold. Comfortable.

I usually charade back and forth ( or just keep running) that he is okay. He's not cold ( the sweaty nape of his neck seems to be sufficient evidence-my kid's a furnace), he's not going to get sick ( Chinese culture believes that cold weather makes one catch colds), and we're just fine without the unsolicited advice.

Most of the time I let the looks of disgust roll of my back, but every so often it really gets to me. I have to remind myself that this is just a cultural difference between us and them...and that neither way is wrong. Just different.

I can't wait to see what happens when true winter rolls around. I picture little Chinese boys and girls wobling around like the kid in "A Christmas Story", barely able to move in his/her snowsuit..all the while, we finally cave in and put sweaters on.

Cause you know, we don't want to catch a cold or anything.

Week in Pictures

With NZ gone last week, Sal and I filled our calendar with outings and playdates. I can't remember what we did on each day, so here's our week in pictures...

Such a big boy holding his bottle on the way to his friend Jan's house

He.gets.into.EVERYTHING. But just look at that face. How can you get mad?



 

Monkey bridge at the Park by Lake Taihu

Sal & his bud test out chairs at B&Q
"Hey mama, I think I neeeeed one of these. Aren't I cute?"

Where'd all the fishies go? Our complex drained all of the ponds this week.

My favorite find this week. 11 RMB for 24 fresh eggs. That's like $1.50

We caught wind that NZ was going to be returning with a case of the flu...
so Sal & I found a pharmacy and some US made cold & flu medicine.

We shopped at the baby stores by the Hospital and got picked up on by the ladies.

And by far my favorite thing...morning walks with the boy.

Oh, and before I forget....Sal has added two more chompers to his grin. He cut his top two teeth this week!

One Month In

In our first month as Wuxians? Wuxiites? --whatever you'd call us, we've managed to learn quite a bit. By no means have we got it all figured out. I doubt we ever will. Some things have worked just the same as we were accustomed to, and others, well--let's just say there's a learning curve and the need for a high level of patience around these parts.

An open mind is also like, totally necessary.

Here is a top 10 list of things we've learned this month:

1. Papa johns has our address linked with our home phone number. We only had to struggle once with the pronunciation of our address, and now all we do is call, and 45 min later our lukewarm pizza arrives at our door by way of the bike delivery guy.  We've called them at least once a week since moving in. 

  

2. When shopping for produce at the markets ( Carrefour , metro) you must get your produce weighed and priced BEFORE going to the checkout counter. I had actually read about it prior to our first shopping experience, and we did really good on our first trip..I felt so proud of us for not being those dumb americans at the checkout holding up the line...that was, of course, until our second trip when a lone avocado made it to the checkout counter without first being weighed and priced..boy oh boy did we get an earful at the checkout register. Needless to say, that avocado did not make it home with us.

3. There's a whole lot of honking that goes on. Each honk has its own meaning. There's the " I see you" friendly double honk; the "get out of my way" multiple long honks, the "I'm right here, and I'm not moving" long single honk, and then there are a handful we're still deciphering. When lane lines are just suggestions, and you've got a woman walking down the middle of the street texting (between busses, mind you), honking is a way of life. It works for them. I'm so used to honking in America meaning one of two things. Either, "hey, @$$hole, you just cut me off", or "heyyyy, there's my neighbor". Such is not the case here. Chinese people definitely utilize their horn to its fullest capabilities. 

4. Fireworks. Daily. No kidding. Morning (7:00a wake up call, anyone?), noon and night. We had some let off just across the canal tonight. Someone had reason to celebrate something. It's like the 4th of July here everyday. 

5. Lost in translation. Read the "store name" at the top of the stroller add. 

6. Texting. Our bank, UFH (medical clinic), and many other places we deal with all offer to text us confirmations. This my friends, is extremely helpful. Especially when were dealing with a language barrier and difficulty translating addresses etc. We've depended on NZ's phone for everything. My phone is still stuck in customs. The update today was that we might see it by the end of next week although it's been in Shanghai customs since Tuesday. I'll believe it when I see it. Anyhow, back to the whole texting confirmation thingy...we love it. Our Chinese bank will notify us when any charge is made with our card--that doubled with a dynamic verification code each time we use the card, would help alert us and the bank to any credit card fraud that could potentially occur. 

7. The sidewalks have directional braille to assist the blind navigate a straight course. However, they must take care not to get snipered by the uneven sidewalk, missing tiles and random scooters that might also be on the path to their destination. I think the Braille is great and all, and perhaps when it's time to cross the street, they're better off not seeing every car, bus, scooter and rickshaw headed their way. I, on the other hand, have to get over my fear of playing human frogger each time we cross. 

8. Special cleaning powers...not mine. Our ayi's. I never knew how shiny marble floors could be until she started cleaning them. She also does dishes, laundry, irons, picks up dry cleaning and makes faces with Sal who adores her already.  I'm in love. 

9. Expatriate love. We've been fortunate enough to have met a few other expatriates who have shared every ounce of knowledge they have since they'd arrived here in Wuxi. We're still having to learn things on our own, but their advice is much appreciated and we've been able to cheat the learning curve on a few things with their shared knowledge. 

10. We can make a home anywhere. Right now, Wuxi is home. Of course there are some things we miss, like our family, friends, conveniences (Target, I miss you!), and our bed (oh how our extra firm feel-the-springs-through-the-mattress is no match to our tempurpedic that we left  back in the states), but all in all, things here are similar, yet not quite the same. We've gotten enough to get by, and in time, we'll muddle our way through new challenges until we've got this town mastered. 

Bring on month two!

Koi ponds

I'd love to do a video tour of the grounds here, but everywhere I go, there are signs specifying "NO cameras", "NO laying", "NO sitting", "NO skateboarding", "NO rollerskating", " NO swimming", that makes me envision this eye in the sky keeping tabs on us, because people around here really do follow the rules...Well, sorta, I did catch a little boy peeing in the planter outside block 14 yesterday--in his defense, there is no sign that clarifies "NO peeing"..Why does this not surprise me?

Anyways, aside from the pee anywhere acceptability (did I mention the police officer we watched pull his scooter over on the greenbelt behind our complex to take a leak one afternoon? ..Anyways, yeah--we watched him pull over, drop his drawers and pee in the trees)..Back to the point--the tour--and the "NO camera" policy. I guess it's to keep privacy for those of us who live here, but I wish I could just snap a few pictures to share back home.

Well, it's your lucky day--because this morning, NZ came along on Sal and my morning walk.

With iPhone in hand.

And guess what? He got a picture of Sal and I about to feed the koi.

Sneaky husband. He's so cool.

We have 5 koi ponds in our complex, and many of the first floor apartments actually have yards that open up out onto the ponds. Some have decks, some do not. Although we think living in a first floor apartment with a basement and yard sounds pretty cool, I do have reservations about it--seeing as I have a rather curious little boy to raise. I can just picture a mobile little one year-old motoring out the door, straight into the pond. He'd be the kid whose mom made him wear floaties24/7 "just in case".

Anyways, Sal and I take a few walks each day, zig zagging through our complex, and sometimes we get really wild and go out onto the greenbelt on the other side of our gates, but that means I have to have our passports in hand, and well, that's a nuisance, and I am lazy. Carrying Sal is enough.

We stop and look at the Koi, and on a few of our walks, we have passed by an older gentleman who plays the flute for the fish. I call him the pied piper. If he is out playing music, we usually have a seat ( where allowed, of course..don't want to break the NO sitting rule either..apparently some benches you CAN sit on, and others you can't. Go figure) and listen to him. All of the fish come his way-- there are literally hundreds at his feet.

This morning, NZ grabbed a bag of oats and we got to feed the fish with Sal. We may not have musical talents, but a bag of oats works just the same!

From the 25th floor

With so many things to see from our birds eye view, I decided that each Friday I will write a post titled "from the 25th floor" and  blog about something that we witnessed from the balcony  or windows of our 25th floor hi-rise apartment. I promise to try not to make anyone who is afraid of heights get sick (:

Starting off my Friday series of "from the 25th floor", I bring you a photo taken around 6:30 p.m. On a weeknight. There is a public green belt that runs along the outer gates of our compound, and every night between 6:00 and 8:00p, there can be anywhere from 50-100 people exercising out there. The first time I looked out and saw it, I thought it must be some sort of organized group walking class, but then when I looked further, it was just a bunch of individuals, couples and families exercising on their own accord. It's really nice to see so many people taking care of themselves, and it inspired me to do that same green belt walk with Sal each afternoon before it gets crowded with people.