Grateful: Day 26: Water Delivery

Yup. Our "sparkletts" is delivered by moped

NZ and I have done our are trying our best to adapt to living less American, and more Chinese the best we can. I shop the local market for everything from bok choy & carrots, to seedless grapes, eggs and live chickens now. We're learning what Chinese flour etc looks like, so that we can stop spending $7 a bag on Gold Medal imported flour. We're learning, and we're trying. Trying being the key word.

It's difficult coming from a country in which everything has to pass a zillion inspections, meat has to be USDA certified, and the level of sanitation is eons beyond where we currently live. It's hard to trust that anything is "clean". When a native Chinese person is telling you that you need to rinse your dish with hot tea before dishing out dumplings at the local jiaozi joint, you know that shht's not sano.

We rinse our produce and eggs with a vinegar and water mix as soon as we get them home. We use bottled water for EVERYTHING.

I don't know what I would do without our Nestle water...or the delivery guys who deliver it with a simple call to let them know we're out. Beats heading to the store every day--at the rate we drink water, I'd be lugging a half dozen cases a week. Whether it's legit or not, who knows. They have a safety seal on each jug--and neither of us have gotten sick, so we'll go with the idea that it is totally legit.

Grateful: Day 25: Healthcare

Every Monday morning, I pass by one of the local hospitals on my 5K run walk to Starbucks with the ladies. We pass by, and I'm still astonished at the sheer magnitude of people who are waiting in a line ( or sitting in the back of parked vans out in the lot) to be seen. I have no idea how long these people wait, or what ails them, but for me, it equates to too many people, not enough physicians...and socialized medicine. No one who is waiting seems bothered by the fact that they will be parked in a line most of the day--because this is all they know of healthcare.

Hard to see, but behind me stand about 100  people waiting in line

Speaking for myself, I appreciate private healthcare, where I might pay a bit more, but am assured care by a physician who has access and ability to further testing and medical intervention at the drop of a hat. So, today, I am extra thankful for our international healthcare coverage here in China, which allows us to bypass the socialized system and access quick and thorough care through a private facility if the need arises. Granted, the hospital tied to our insurance is a 2 hour drive away in Shanghai, but for most things, the local satellite clinic is sufficient for taking care of our needs during the weekdays.

I hope to never experience the inside of a local hospital Emergency Room.

( Did you hear that Sal?)

Grateful: Day 24: Stroller(s)

Remember how, before we moved...I was all about living minimally while in China?

Yeah, well, having a kid, somehow makes living as minimally as we would have liked impossible.

For the most part, we're succeeding at keeping the excess and non-necessities down. Clothing (for NZ and myself), kitchen supplies and linens ( I'm a recovering linen addict, remember?) are all things we have been successful in keeping pared down...but when it comes to Sal and his "gear", we have done our best, but sadly, China has made it impossible to allow us to survive with just one stroller.

So, we Zentils now own two.

In a small, storage-less apartment. On the 25th floor.

One for running/walking, and one for grocery and mall shopping.

I am grateful for both of my strollers today. They allow me the freedom to explore our surroundings.

NZ & Sal "off roading" on a walk

I love our Quinny Buzz because it has got tires paired with a high cross bar, allowing for a good stride while walking. The tires and suspension allow for us to take it many places where the streets have potholes, or there are staircases we must climb. Handicapped access ramps are not mandatory here, so we do a lot of stair climbing. There's also a comfy memory foam seat for Sal that reclines and can be turned to face me, or to face the street. With the colder weather setting in, we use a Quinny bunting bag that Sal's great grandma got him for Christmas. It's nice and cozy and he seems quite content even when I'm freezing my booty off.

snug as a bug in his bunting bag

Our Quinny is my most-of-the-time stroller that I take whenever we head out on foot. The extra special thing about this stroller was the cost. I picked up this lime green beast on Craigslist for 10% of its original cost. SCORE!

 I have to admit I ran into some problems when I was somewhere alone with the larger stroller. Here in China, most shopping areas are blocked off by cement or metal barricades. These have been erected to keep the electric bikes out of the stores. But the problem is, they also keep mothers pushing jogging strollers out as well.

on the count of three. yi. er. san
( We've got it down)

Barricades in our own apartment complex

Unless I have a friend with me to help lift his stroller over the barricades, I am unable to get to where I need to go. So, after much deliberation, I walked to our local baby store and bought the cheapest, ugliest umbrella stroller they had. It's narrow footprint, and light weight allow for me to get in between the barricades when out shopping alone. I tend to use this one when traveling by car as well, because I can balance our carseat and diaper bag on it while we take the elevator down to my driver.

the "Happy Dino" stroller loaded with our gear to head downstairs to
meet our driver

This girl can do it all!

So, yeah-I'm thankful today for having two strollers which allow me access to the places we go.

Grateful: Day 23: The Office

It might sound stupid, but we are so thankful for this show. When we were in the states, we watched this show on Thursday nights for the past few years. We even went back and purchased the first few seasons that we missed, and watched those.

Well, we brought those, along with some newer seasons back with us on our last trip, and have been watching them again--and I have to tell you, it feels like home. We get so into the show, that it's like we "know" them. It's been a wonderful taste of home, since television here is lacking.

A good laugh is good for both of us at the end of a long day.

Grateful: Day 22: WIC Play Group

Oh how I love play group.

Ladies, let me show you how it's done.

The last Wednesday of each month is a WIC play date at Mrs. Georgia's apartment. She lives in the same complex as we do, and has a wonderful first floor apartment, complete with a large basement perfect for entertaining.  We are so grateful for her generosity and for organizing play group.

The WIC play group usually brings out a dozen or so children and their moms from all over the World.  Sal gets to play with children from India, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, the UK and America while I spend a lovely morning with adult conversation, my diet coke (thank you Heather!) and plenty of activity to get a good nap out of Sal when we go home.

It's been really fun for me to be a part of this group, because I get to converse with other moms--all in the same boat as us. Living far from family, while our husbands are here for business. It's  fun to see the differences in parenting styles from country to country, and learn more about our friends from other places.

With all the expat babies being born around here, this group is sure to grow in the next few months. I can't wait!

Grateful: Day 21: Fishbowl Living

I keep blogging about the unrelenting stares, and our panda status over here.

Most days I can brush it off, or even laugh at it, but some days, I don't leave the complex just because I am not in the mood to have the attention. It's like, I just want to go to my corner market and buy some bananas without the finger pointing and paparazzi ninjas.

Leave us alone.

Thankfully those days are few and far between. Otherwise, I would totally fail at living here.

On the flip side, I am also thankful for our "fishbowl" living experience here.

It's made me more patient (for the most part), more self assured  in my abilities as a mother (try convincing the Chinese grandmas that your child does not need a hat on every.single.day, over and over), and more outgoing and adventurous.

Being in a country so foreign to me, I knew I couldn't become recluse. I knew I had to get out and really make my way through the frustration of not understanding the language, not being able to read, and figuring out how things operate around here. All my life I've been a sit back and watch kinda girl.   I wouldn't try things unless I was quite certain I wouldn't fail.

Living here, and not having many options for communicating and meeting my/our needs, has made me more willing to step out of my comfort zone and TRY things. If I fail, who cares? So far, I have surprised myself with what I CAN accomplish, despite not knowing more than a handful of key phrases and no ability to read Chinese. I managed to arrange for a tailor to hem my dress and negotiate a price. ..All.By.Myself.

This is big, people.

Fishbowl living, and always having eyes on every move we make, has made me care less about what others think of me. I'm grateful for this because I have always wanted to be more confident at trying things that I could potentially fail at...and just go for it.

China has provided me the outlet to do so, and for that, I am thankful.

Grateful: Day 20: BFFS

Being as shy and quiet as I am, I am extra grateful for a good stock of longtime friends, who I affectionately, like any other woman, call my BFF's ( Best Friends Forever).

Three of my besties and I have known each other since 1995! Mathematically speaking that's  16 ,17 years a long time.

You see, Jen (Miss Jen),  Dawn ( Mac) and I all met on the first day of training at  UCDavis. With the dorms yet to open, we were shacked up with an older teammate for the week, and we quickly learned how to navigate the streets of Davis on bicycles and have had a special bond ever since.

Our sophomore year, Mac and I lived together with one of our Aggies teammates, and Miss Jen lived nearby. A room opened up in her apartment, and this is how we met Sara (ma'am).

We spent summer days at the gym and the pool, and nights rollerblading the greenbelt, hanging out with our tomato truck driving buddies, and making brownies.

Man, those were the days.

 After college, we stayed close, although we moved in different directions. A brief stint in Philly for ma'am, a  marriage for me in Oregon, while Miss Jen and Mac stayed in California. As time would have it, Ma'am and I both moved back to California with failed relationships under our belts, and we all reconnected once again, before Mac went and got her Masters on at Rice (go girl!).

We four girls have been through the ups and downs of college life, real life, and all of that stuff that happens in between. Our paths keep crossing, and even after months of not seeing one another, we can skype like nobody's business and pick right back up.


Miss Jen's Birthday ( Me, Jen & Sara)

Mac, Me & Ma'am at my baby Shower

And then I have another BFF, Liz. I met her while living in Oregon during my brief marriage to her husband's cousin. I am super grateful that she and I have remained close friends throughout the years because we are two of a kind when it comes to baking, crafting, decorating and all that good fun girly stuff. She and her family usually come visit once a year, and last year we went to the LA fabric market together. It's a seamstress's dream. We had a lot of fun. Now that her family is moving to Vegas, we are within driving distance, and I look forward to some Vegas weekend trips to see her once we return.

Sending off the Bride. Liz's wedding day.

Our last visit with Liz & co. Sailing in San Diego.

And finally, my last BFF.

Meet Swanson. Also a Jen. But I call her Swanson, or Swanny. I just always have. That's what living with boys will do to you--everyone has nicknames. My old roommates ( the boys that I met her through) called her Swanson, so it stuck.

Swanny & me. Dub-T shindig 2009

We met a few weeks after I returned from Oregon. She and I quickly became buddies with tons of inside jokes, and we rarely went out to the bars without one another. I guess we were wing-women for one another, except for we totally had my roommates looking out for us, but still...we'd like to think we were looking out for each other.

I love the way she makes me laugh, her laid back attitude, and all of the good memories I have from spending the summer together raising Cain. Like my other friends, she moved off to North Carolina and then to Pittsburgh for a few years, but eventually made it back to California.

And lucky me.

She moved within an hour of our house.

And we have been able to continue the good times together, once again.

Zentil Farewell Party 2012

 I feel so fortunate to have all of these girls who know me, and like me for me,  as do I with them.

There's no cattiness, no competition....and no drama. That's hard to find these days, which makes our friendship even more valuable to me.