Tomb Sweeping

Up today at 6 am on the Tomb Sweeping holiday to get everyone out the door for a most unique invitation.  We were so honored to be welcomed to attend our Chinese family's annual trip to their ancestral tombs.  About one hour out of town, we came to the first village. The adult children (in their 50's and 60's) were taking us to return to the tombs of their father's family.  Their father, killed 25 years ago, after being hit on his bicycle by a truck, his ashes also there.

Our teammates were also welcomed to come along.  Below is a picture of our crew in the rental vehicle...

Below:  Upon arriving at the first village, in a steady rain, we made our way out through the flowering fields of rapeseeds, to the tombs.

Below:  Another villager, going to tend to his wife's tomb, and the other ancestors buried there.  It is customary to take fake paper money to burn (so that those in the next world can use it to spend there), to place flags and ornaments at the tombs in memorial, and to shoot off lots of fireworks to scare off evil spirits.  This man carries the broom made of twigs that he will use to sweep the tomb's area.

Below:  On to the second village, the adult children's mother's ancestral village.  Daddy and Ezra stroll down the bumpy, wet road, while Bub and Mr. V make haste, too.

Above:  Nai Nai (the oldest woman now left in her ancestral village, and the mother to the adult children with us) walks with a cousin to the tombs.

Below:  Mr. S and The Singer use the "buddy system" to travel down the road.

 Below:  The family bows to honor the ancestors.  I understand that in these series of tombs there are more than 60 some ancestors.  Some notes were written and burned in the fires set at the tomb doors to send the well wishes, along with the paper money, off to the ancestors in the next world.  What an incredible privilege it was for us to be present during this important holiday for our Chinese family.  Magpie and The Bug look on quietly as they experience this centuries old custom, up front.

Below:  A front view of the tombs we visited...the smoke makes it difficult to see clearly.

Below:  Our team, plus the two new guys, on this unique day.

Below:  After the sweeping of the tombs, we were invited to a cousin's house in the village, who is himself a brother (notice the cross painted prominently on the wall in the last photo)  Daddy was the honored guest bringing his entire tribe to this home.  The village family members all wanted their photo taken with this "lucky" father.

Below:  One of our tables inside the house where we enjoyed garlic shoots, fish, wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, lotus root soup, chicken feet, and green peppers and liver.  In our fourth year here, I can say finally that it was delicious!  An incredible feast given to us...we were so amazed by the hospitality.

Above:  How sweet it was to sit in this room, well into the countryside, and greet a brother. We marveled at the opportunity that we should be blessed enough to experience it.  How encouraged we were to see that the

 good news is present here in this ancestral village very near Mr. H Taylor's base of operation so many years ago.

Our first day of school tomorrow as a family of 11.  We're praying the Nehemiah can calm down and settle into the routine of the classroom.  We praying that Ezra can enjoy the experience of school and begin a journey of development and healing for his future.

Will try to continue posting!  Thanks for those of you who read!  ;)

Computer Failure...and update

At the end of October, Magpie was enjoying checking her personal email on my laptop.  Apparently, something caused her to rise suddenly to depart from the desk and her foot caught in the cords and the laptop (new in January) went flying/crashing to the ground.  It was evident immediately that the LED was cracked and the computer is not usable until we can get funds together to replace the screen.

That computer has our special "access" and connection to the web that allows us to write this blog.  Without it, we cannot access the blog on any other internet computer.  Today, I prevailed upon some teammates to allow me to use their personal laptop that also has the special access ability...so that I could simply report that we are still alive!

Now and update, in a flash:

1)  The last weekend of October, we celebrated four birthdays (Magpie's 12th, The Singer's & The Bruiser's 4ths, and our soon-coming 5th son's 5th birthday.)  Four cakes in 7 days...intense.

2)  Our English department took 19 students this year to the City-wide English competition.  (Our first year I think we took 5)...and this year, ALL of our groups took top honors and have advanced into the finals, to be held on December 10th.  If they win on Dec 10th again, we'll be invited to the Nationals in Beijing to compete in February.

3)  QQ had his surgery on Nov. 5th!  He is back home in his province and we are overjoyed!  Now his lip and palate are closed and he can go on with a normal life in his family!  Praises!

4)  We baked 600 oatmeal raisin cookies (thanks to a fabulous recipe from Eva G. back at GNF)...for a fundraiser and street fair held in our apartment complex.  We sold out entirely and are using the money as seed to buy a series of gifts for children who live in the local orphanage and in foster homes.  Our students will use this money (adding to it some other money I'll tell you about soon) and will themselves buy the gifts for the kids!

5)  We hosted a Harvest Party for the school complete with trick-or-treating in our "crazy hats."  The whole school participated as we played games led by our teammate Mr V and Daddy, a lesson on harvest festivals by Mr. S, Snacks served up by myself, and a craft overseen by Mrs. V.  (Pictures of our beloved new teammates coming soon to the blog!)

6)  A co-worker "entered" our family into a national competition here that was gathering personal stories that "move" others.  Our co-worker entered us, without out knowledge and confessed it all the day before a  TV crew showed up to interview us about our family.  Then a few days later the first TV spot about us aired...and it would seem that it began an avalanche of media interest in our family.  It has been overwhelming these past 10 days as we have been interviewed by 4 TV stations, had 5 newspaper articles published about us, a "broadcast" of our story on the national social media source here called Q Q, and a radio interview later today.  We have spent well over 25 hours in interviews and photo shoots since the first show came to the school to interview us.   We have no idea when it will end, but we need your prayer to support us for protection and stamina.

7)  We received some local gov officials here who represent people with special needs here in our city.  They brought us a cash gift meant to express their appreciation for our story in the local papers.  We're so excited because we are adding that money to the school's project to buy things for the orphanage and foster kids mentioned before.

8) We have a school-wide English competition to be held on December 22 that we must ensure ALL of our students can perform various songs and dialogues in English for their parents. 

9)  Today we were told that I would be singing an aria from the opera Carmen with a colleague, while Daddy dances with the Principal of our school, in the company of ALL the other teachers, also paired up to dance around the two singers...all this before the company's Chinese new Year party on January 6th...about 1500 people will be there...and yes...full costume and make-up.  You just cannot take yourself seriously here...

9)  Today I was asked to perform on Friday, another solo, for our school-wide talent show.  No idea what to do for that yet...but it is only Tuesday...

10)  Oh, we also had parent's day at our school. last week (simultaneously with the news interview period of time)...standing for comments and suggestions from the highly involved and interested local parents...just after we administered our Mid-term exams.  (All our students did well.)

11)  We served 33 lbs of turkey on Saturday cooked in our two over-sized toaster ovens...with all the other good stuff that goes with it...thanks to Mrs. S and Mrs. V who brought many key ingredients into the feast.

12)  We have put up our Christmas tree...and have exchanged names with the children to determine who will give a gift to whom in just 26 days.

13)  We are involved in a huge row over some adptn paperwork that involved what we believe to be highly unethical behavior on the part of one group stateside (not our agncy)...that has led us to talk with the top officials in BJ here and soon with gov't parties There, too....

14)  This Saturday Daddy and I are compelled to attend the "teacher's field trip" to Mu lan mountain (about a 12 hour day).  We will climb the mountain...unfortunately, the field trip is a little late this year, so we're expecting temps in the 40's as the highs on that day...

15)  By His grace, no absenteeism yet this year...we've made it to school/work everyday.

Sorry for the bullet-point info...but time is short and I must get to some other responsibilities now...

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!  We praise Him for all of those who care for us and read about our crazy life here!

Cat Drama

"Momma, Euphrates has been missing for two days!" said Magpie, nearly breathless with emotion on the eve of my return to the Middle Kingdom.

"Did you leave any doors open to the balconies?  To the hallway?"

"No Momma, we are always so careful!  But, today I saw that the screen had ripped away from the corner of the frame in the door!"

I assured her that perhaps he was just "hiding" somewhere in the house as the big tomcat sometimes likes to do.

When I arrived more than 24 hours later, he was still missing.  Full of excitement to see the kids, organize the house, and prepare for the reunification events when Daddy returned from Beijing...I thought only a bit about poor, missing Euphrates.  His mate, Tigris, meowed and continued to search the apartment for her love.  (We got the kitties while we were doing a unit in World History on Mesopotamia, thus the names.)

Daddy and the kids had canvased the 12 stories of our apartment building, door to door, and had gone around the outside of the building looking for any sign of him in the days following his initial disappearance.  But, he had, quite literally, vanished.

Just as I was posting my last post here, an excited Nai Nai (grandmother) in our building came to the door exclaiming that she thought she had seen our "big cat."  She informed us that they had seen him outside and that he had crawled up into a tight spot in the building, but that one of his legs was definitely hurt. 

With our fears confirmed that he had indeed fallen eight stories, we went down immediately to try to confirm that it was our cat.

He had crawled up into a cement housing where the huge industrial air conditioners are located on the building.  He had gotten behind a slatted covering for the cement alcove and we could not see him.  We heard him growling a bit and hurriedly opened a can of clams in an attempt to draw him out.  He did not respond to the food.

Daddy was to return that afternoon from Beijing so here I was, all seven kids in the pajamas, outside at 7 am, trying to figure out how to get our injured cat out of his hiding place.  The kids were alternating between excitement, fear, and tears as I tried to get them to settle down enough so that I could think.

Luckily, the slatted covering, while having some 25 holes where it should have been affixed to the building...only had 4 Phillips-head screws holding it in place.  Unable to find a Phillips-head in the mayhem, I settled for a regular screwdriver that could manage about a half a turn of the screw before it would fall out (the head of screw was smaller than my screwdriver.)

By the time I got to the fourth screw, a crowd had gathered and one of my students brought me a proper Phillips-head which dispatched the remaining screw in record time.

As we drew nearer to the cat, I realized that it could be a scene of gore...or perhaps the cat was a great flight risk...and I could have 7 screaming kids to contend with as well.   My cooler head prevailed and I sent two of the H Fam knocking on one of our new teammates' door.  Mr. & Mrs. S, from our hometown, graciously answered the door and Mr. S hurriedly came to our aid.  Upon moving the air conditioner slightly and he and I making a positive ID of the cat...our next concern was that his back was in fact, broken, as he was folded up in a very awkward position.  Given that it was now the 5th day since he had gone missing, I assumed that we were in for a very sad day for the children.

Mr. S swooped in with a towel and brought out our half-dead cat into the light.  We put him in a box and called our school bus driver and prevailed upon him to come pick us up so that we could take the cat to the vet.

With bizarre clothing selections, a pair of mismatched shoes, and un-brushed teeth, we loaded all the H family (minus the traveling Daddy) into the yellow school bus with our half-dead cat...and another student who lives in the apartments who could not resist the draw of being a part of our sideshow.

The vet clinic, ripe with the odor of urine and sickness, was just coming alive for the day.  An enormous, I mean, ENORMOUS barking German Shepherd greeted us at the door.  (I am certain that The Singer and The Bruiser were the perfect size for a scooby-snack for that beast.)  The young "vet" (who probably went to a veterinary training program at a technical college of sorts) greeted us with his plan of action.  X-rays first, then we would decide if there was anything that could be done for poor Euphrates.

When I touched that poor cat he felt like a hairy prune. There was absolutely no water left in that poor guy...5 days with no food or water had taken a terrible toll on him.  I wanted them to give him an IV immediately, but no, the x-rays HAD to be done first.  (Here, when you have any illness, even the common cold, you go to the hospital and EVERYONE gets an IV.  The joke is that we foreigners are always trying to avoid the hospital because we KNOW that we will be given an IV for treatment.  The irony of this event is that I actually was ASKING for an IV for Euphrates and couldn't get it!)

The x-rays revealed that there was a bad break in his left back leg.  His back was spared any damage, but the vet said that the x-ray revealed an "enlarged heart." Hmmmmm....

I then had to sign a waiver that the IV might cause sudden death of the cat due to his enlarged heart...but I reasoned that given the 5 days no food or water and the glassy, unfocused stare of the poor guy...he was on his way out anyway...what did we have to lose?

The IV did not kill him.

Some 4 hours later, the cat showed interest in eating and drinking and so we gave him soft food and water that he lapped up vigorously.

The leg has still not been set.  The thinking Here is that we need to get him "balanced" with his health before we cause him to endure the surgery to set the leg.  Today is 7 days since the break.  It doesn't really go with the Western medical thought I'm accustomed to...but then...I'm not in the West, am I?

Each day we must go to the hospital and pay for his daily IV, food, and Ibuprofen injection for the inflammation and pain (about $10 USD).  His cage has no bedding (the thought Here is that it is better for him to sleep on the hard surface for his health) and he is next to a pig (that someone apparently decided that they don't want and the vet keeps asking ME TO TAKE HOME!)

We hope that surgery will be tomorrow.  Then they may want to keep him in the torture chamber pet hospital for 15 days.  (I think I may assert my opinion at that point and bring him home to convalesce in a more comfortable surrounding.)

It is likely that he will never really be able to use that leg again.  I can't imagine that with the break as bad as it is (involving a joint that punctured through the skin) that this vet will possess the skill to really "save" the use of the leg.

Daddy, when considering the situation and the cost to repair the cat (which by Western standards is really slight, but a great deal for our budget nonetheless) suggested that perhaps Euphrates just not come home. (His suggestion was really in jest as he would never dream of such a thing)  But we both agreed that such a position is not really congruent with our family's position on those with special needs...so what...he'll only have three legs... he'll fit in better with our tribe anyway. (I am smiling as I type that.)

I promise to have some photos of the above drama posted here soon...I did get some taken on the student's phone who accompanied us to the vet hospital.

On a stroke of good favor...the vet clinic turned out to be next door to the glasses shop that we had to go to that day to replace Brownie's red glasses that were flushed down the toilet the night before...

Ah yes,  life is finally getting back to normal...

Striving for Grace

Within our host culture lie several complicated cultural minefields.  We do try, as often as possible, to avoid them.  When we stumble upon them, we freeze and try to determine the most delicate and grace-inducing manner to back out of the mess.

For instance, when dealing with a problem, a mediator should always be enlisted.  Within the employment realm, contracts mean nothing.  They are suggestions of how the relationship MIGHT work out, but there is nothing to hold either party to a signed contract.  In fact, there are boiler-plate contracts we have signed at various levels of  official approvals and we're told plainly that it is simply a form.  Usually it is fully in Chinese, many pages long, and goes into some file system somewhere to show that a "step" in the multi-step system was completed.

So when you have an issue at work, generally speaking, there is no guarantee of how it will resolve (no contract to fall back on really.)  You enlist someone to help you with the problem, for foreigners, sometimes it is someone entirely outside of the specific employment environment, to contact your boss and to have a chat about you and your problem, indirectly.

This is also true with relationship issues.  Often if there is a problem you go to a third party to help mediate the situation, immediately.  For the Western mind that seems complicated and so indirect!  Surely you could just sit down an TALK about it, right?  If you have a good relationship with your boss, or with your friend, my first instinct would always be to talk about it with them directly to see if we can "work it out."  Time and time again we've seen this work out to a poor end.  There simply are more ways to skin a cat, and to live Here, means that we must adapt our communication and relational skills to the cultural norm.

All this is well and good, UNLESS you are the foreigner and your boss or friend needs to tell YOU something.

So as a Westerner, I know that items that are "not-personal" in the West are dealt with head-on, directly.  But items of a more personal manner, things relating to your health, your marriage, your family...anything personal...and certainly anything that could be considered offensive/hurtful to the other party...we Westerners just DON'T GO THERE!  Am I right?

We are taught, culturally speaking, to tell little "white lies" when something personal that could offend of hurt the other party comes up...ie. it is not the most darling baby you've ever seen, but you say it is...she really has gained weight, but you comment that she looks well...you see him drink too much at the office parties, and think he might have a problem, but you keep it to yourself...you think that they are doing something inadequate in the raising of their kids, but never in a million years would you tell them so....(I'm not advocating this practice, just relating the example for communication purposes.)

But it would seem that when living Here, and being the foreigner, there are no limits on the "direct help/comments" you might receive from your acquaintances...even a stranger you cross on the road!  This has taken some getting used to!

Lots of people in the adoption community talk about visiting Here to pick up their children and having old ladies on the streets wag their fingers at them, shaming them, for not having the child bundled up to the local standard.  But, when you live here awhile...that is a walk in the park!

We've been told outright that:

1)  We're too fat (several times, in front of various crowds)...true, but painful...recently Daddy had his stomach patted when he left our regular lunch-time restaurant...
2)  Americans are terrible in Math and they hope our kids can measure up (at dinner parties, at school assemblies)
3)  That we don't have enough money to have so many children. (we've been questioned about our earnings in groups, we've been asked if we live on government assistance from the US,  we've been asked how much money we have in the bank, etc.)
4)  We've been told that we cannot possibly take good enough care of our children, given the number of them. (at a dinner party, several times one on one by a "concerned" friend!...mind you they think everything is going well with the children now...but just wait...doom must be around the corner!)
5)  We've been told that we're just "lucky" that our kids are well-behaved, that parenting has nothing to do with it (at a school meeting with other teachers & parents)
6)  That we (I) drink too much Coke (I'm sure it is true, it is my vice, but I'm talking about one friend who connects everything in my life to drinking Coke...if my neck hurts, if I have a cold, if I'm having a hard day...then she tried to get her children to counsel me against drinking Coke...just got another email last night apologizing that she had to correct this flaw in my lifestyle again!...she also told me last week that we were getting sick because we had a few struggling/dying plants in our home)
7)  That we, under no circumstances, should adopt anymore children...because it makes no fiscal sense.
8)  That we should not consider adopting (adding to the family) without the express permission of our chancellor of schools...we've been told this a few times.  (Consider this in your US school settings....you must go to the Superintendent and see if he/she is in agreement with your family expansion plans.)
9)  We've been told that we are endangering our kids when we don't take them immediately to the hospital when they have a fever, cough or sniffle...(we have done this to avoid potentially other more serious exposures at the hospital, and the perfunctory 3-5 days worth of regular IV infusions...even for a common cold!)
10)  That if we allow our children to wear sandals in May, no matter the weather (80-90 degrees), they will soon be really sick.  (This may be true as most of our kids are not fighting some sort of a stomach thing...perhaps transmitted through the toenails?)

Each time we have one of these direct/personal comments...we have to handle it in a way that shows grace...

I have nearly bit my tongue in half so many times!  But we have to remain calm, and remember why we came...

Just last night, after reading another (by Western standards) very pushy health warning in an email...I took a breather and composed a "thank you for loving me" email response.  

 My normal nature, when I face these comments, would like to point out the dozens of things I see that I think are crazy about this person/culture that are far more health-threatening, medically incorrect, philosophically incorrect...but then, what would I accomplish?

Remember us in this area as we strive for Grace in all our responses.

And, don't be surprised this summer when we're on furlough,  if we let you know of some areas that you should make some improvements...

Hope you have a nice start to your week!

Meeting Confucius

I had an unexpected meeting with Confucius on Tuesday.

Well, truth be told, with several of the devout followers of his teachings.

I hustled out of the school at 2:30 on Tuesday, hopped into the yellow van which serves as the school bus (and often our private car that we hire when we need to get somewhere with our big family.)  I fought a horrible case of nausea all the way into the twisting, narrow roads of the inner city.  It would seem that the longer I live the pedestrian lifestyle I am terribly susceptible to car-sickness.  (I remember this being the case, especially for Potato when she came home so many years ago...she HATED to ride in the car...felt car sick and very anxious about how fast we drove in the West.  Now I have a much deeper understanding of this matter.)

Anyway, off I was jostling side to side through the twists and turns in the van with no shocks...bouncing and shifting all over.  Finally we pulled up to an impressive building, 30 stories tall, and Uncle (our local family friend) met me to be the translator.  Up to the 26th floor we were ushered into an interesting scene.  An office, several gentleman wearing traditional mandarin-collared jackets smiling warmly, welcomed us into the honcho's office.  The door said, "Confucius Academic Studies Association."

I was drawn to the windows that offered an easterly and westerly view of our city.  Two lakes in view, one East and West, were proof that the mega-city I looked over at one time was a natural landscape.  I am certain that no one remembers that time Here now.  No matter how long I live Here, I don't think I will ever get used to the head-scratching, sheer magnitude of the population and its effect.

We sat down on wooden couches, that sling you back into a semi-reclining position.  I always feel unsettled in those chairs, a bit like a turtle on my back.  They eagerly brought in other chairs for the meeting attendees to swarm upon.  The tea kettle was switched on (thanks to electricity this standard element of culture takes so little time to produce.)  Tea leaves were sprinkled into 6 plastic cups...and soon the red light told us that the water was boiling.

Then the dance began.

First introductions.  Second a display of important, we're- worthy- of- your- respect-type items to show that I was not meeting with unimportant people.  Third, exchanges of warm, yet a bit forced in their flowery-ness, pleasantries to establish good will.  (I am so thankful that I'm learning tiny elements of how to do this ritual, though I'm not very good at it, I'm at least not so "foreign" to it anymore.)

Finally, after about 40 minutes of preliminary chat, the heart of the matter.

These dear souls are eager to address kids who do not get families, to open a center where they could live, go to school outside, but return for intense education in traditional, Confucian teachings.

Furthermore, they wanted me to come an speak at one of their seminars.  To speak about adoption, why we have done it, what our experience has been, and why we would agree to adopt children with special needs.

They desired a mutual exchange of thinking...East and West...to address this worrisome matter of children without families.

I have no idea what will come of this meeting.  Perhaps we will establish some relationship in which I can learn more about key philosophies that have shaped this mighty nation...and even our city...so impressively seen outside the two windows at 26 stories high.

As I left, I used some Mandarin to dazzle them...and rode off into the hazy sunset, through the warren of streets, the smell of ripe fruit in my nostrils, the challenging presence of people undeniable, and the persistent nausea in my blue, tin-can, taxi.  The view from the street is a very different sight to behold.

These high-minded men, who devote their lives to the teachings of filial piety, honor, respect, duty see the answer for the questions of the populace at street-level...in returning to traditional culture.  They were so ambitious, so engaging in conveying their purpose.  I respect them greatly and am so honored they considered talking with me something to be desired.

As I rode around at street level, I kept looking for Him, in the eyes of the people.  Amidst the daily struggle to survive...where would I find Him?

Then I remembered the man I'd seen the day before.  Face down, missing his leg, filthy and lying on torn papers...

We gave him some money, and he looked up and caught my eye...and in just that instant, I saw Him again, staring back at me...inviting me to love Him more.

It is true that the view up above is amazing.   And the thoughts I think up there are involved, my mind stretching to contain new concepts...it is a lofty place to visit.

 But the sights to be seen in the eyes of those around me down here on the ground...divine.

Random Photos

We are simply buried under life at school right now.  Trying to get paperwork wrested out of the hands of service providers for adoptions is also a daily struggle...but, we have been living, though not writing.  Here are some shots of the gang over this past little while...

Below:  The Bug shows her "glam" side on Retreat in January

Above & Below:  More shots of cool cats...in a Thailand-style taxi

 Below:  Another Thai-style taxi...the Tuk Tuk...we LOVE to pile into these! (note: we cannot ALL fit into one! ;)

Above & Below:  The Bug turned 9 - she had a cake on Retreat with Grandma J & one with classmates when we returned home

Below:  the going away party for our Indian friends (also see one of my worst cultural faux pas in history detailed in an earlier post)

Below:  Magpie shows her funky-style in this self-shot portrait

Below:  Brownie is CONSTANTLY mugging these crazy poses and wacko faces in shot after shot...this is proof that the apple does not fall far from the tree!

Below:  Pre-K Field trip 2011 - a visit to the Cherry Blossom Garden park...just our little group and 10,000 others for a relaxing Tuesday - Daddy stayed behind to do teaching duties and I got a rare morning with The Singer and The Bruiser

Below:  This photo is out of order...but it is a shot of Potato with one of the Kindergarten teachers (who is only slightly taller than Potato...so this endears them to each other)

 Below:  The Cherry Blossom Garden Park...a delight for adults...not sure why we take the P-K kids there...but it was fun to get out in a little Springtime!

 Below:  The Singer and the The Bruiser on a rock...it's sort of a funny smile on The Bruiser...but is shows how much he LOVES his brother...they have really become close...

Below:  The guys making crazy faces in front of a pagoda...no caption was really necessary on this, I know

 Below:  A random kid I took photos of... I call this shot... "suspicious and bored at the Cherry Blossom Garden."

Below:  Yes, he was wearing "split pants" - a favorite for many babies Here - they can be bundled with 10 layers of thick, thick clothing in the winter...but their "parts" will still be out in the breeze

Below:  Obviously...these pants, split from the front to the back, would allow a little breeze on the cheeks...

 Below:  Kindergarten teachers with us

Below:  apples for our picnic

Below:  The Bruiser - running - he LOVES to run, even though his feet cause him trouble...how FAR he has come from the boy who could barely walk just 8 months ago

Below:  The Singer...showing those dimples...

I will attempt to post some recent stories, soon.  Must finish writing the school play that has to be performed by all our ESL kids in just a few weeks...you should hear the re-write of R.O.C.K in the U.S.A that Daddy has done for our kids (using our school name)...I promise videos!

Hope Spring has come wherever you are!

It wasn't broken!

Everyone needs a little excitement, just to feel alive...right?

On Sunday afternoon, I'd just been "chatting" with my Mom via IM, and had ordered everyone to the baths/showers for their pre-bed clean-up.  About 5 minutes into Magpie's shower she's yelling, "Momma, come here, quick!"  A few bounding steps had me in the bathroom where the water was coming up over the tops of my slippers.  (A "Life Here" note:  the Chinese bathrooms are so clever, in that they have TWO drains.  One in the shower/bath...and if there is a toilet...one on the floor somewhere.  Usually the floor of the bathroom is several inches below the level of the floor in the rest of the house too.)  We'd encountered an epic fail of our drainage system...neither drain was draining...and soon the recessed floor was going to overflow in the rest of the house.

I ran to find a chopstick to start pushing through the drains and told The Bug to get our "plumber extraordinaire" aka "Daddy!"

Apparently, once she located said plumber on the other side of the house attending to some bathing monkeys (also see Bub, The Bruiser & The Singer)...she came running through the apartment...judged that the corner of the couch an impediment...and attempted to leap over it.  Something tragic happened with her calculations...and instead she flew threw the air and landed fully on her left elbow (onto our tile/concrete floor.)

It was a crazy 30 minutes as she suffered badly from it and for Daddy who was certain, after seeing the crash, that it was damaged significantly.  We determined that we'd better go to the hospital (enter emotional feelings of being out of control, fear attempting to course through the veins, stomach flip-flopping.)  So Daddy stayed home with the rest while the Bug, our teammate Mrs. Wu, and myself loaded up into a rented van to make the trek.

I determined before we'd left however, that I was missing ALL our insurance cards (which is NOT like me)...and The Bug's passport (which is required at the hospital admitting)...was currently in the possession of the Gov officials getting a new Visa in it!

(We determined that we've got to get ourselves in much better order in case of an emergency...so, I will undertake that effort this week!)

Once again though, I was encouraged by the safety net He's put around us.  (Teammates who go with us to the hospital, our Chinese family, Uncle, who dropped his plans to meet us at the hospital to lend any translation help, and private cell number contact with the Chief Doctor of the ER who personally called me 3 times to ensure we were getting good care at his ER.)

It was also funny that I wasn't surprised anymore by any conditions that I saw there...or the smoking of people in the hospital building...or the lack of amenities in the rooms.  I guess, in year 3, I've got a sense of what to expect.  It was surprising that we saw not a single person in the ER beds though...for such an enormous city...I thought, it must be that so many could not afford the "cash up front" demands without insurance.  I said a prayer of thanks right then again for this blessing we have via the school (insurance.)

A first x-ray was inconclusive.  A further CAT scan was ordered.  And the result was all good...it wasn't broken...and we were home 5 hours after the incident.  What a relief.

I'll take a quick moment here to update you also on Little Kevin.  I wrote about him in September and October (he was the classmate of Bub's that was hit by a truck outside of our Living Quarters Gate and then subjected to 4 months lying in bed in traction, in an attempt to fix his broken pelvis.)

We saw him not long ago.

He hasn't returned to school and as far as I knew...in January...he was to finally be let out of bed. (He is 3.5 years old and has spent the past 4.5 months tied down in a bed.)

We were on our way to a wedding of a colleague.  And, Kevin's family brought him along.  He was in a stroller.

Because, he cannot walk.

I was absolutely devastated.

Bub, saw him too.  Remember, Bub was his best friend at the Kindergarten.  When Bub approached the stroller, Little Kevin wouldn't even make eye contact with him.  This is a MASSIVE change from the bubbly, playful and outgoing Kevin before the accident.

I was SO PROUD of Bub though...he was NOT daunted by Kevin's lack of response.  He kept trying to get Kevin to respond.  Darting around behind the stroller, trying to play peek-a-boo....but Kevin would just hide his face.

It was so sad, I looked away.

Then I heard it.  LAUGHTER...GIGGLES...Little Kevin was laughing at Bub.

Bub, in fast and fluent Chinese was playing a peek-a-boo game, hiding behind the stroller, looking through the "window" in the sunshade above.

Over and over Bub's enthusiasm produced peals of laughter.

They told us that they planned to take Little Kevin to some new doctors in Shanghai...in hopes that now...something can be done to...to restore their son.

Please, keep lifting that little guy up...it is such a tragedy...it is what we feared.

Must get the tribe to school...

Everyone's on the move...

Officially next Thursday begins the "Spring Festival Travel Period"...at least according to the national Railway system here....that will carry a staggering number of people to the far reaches of our massive host nation. 

As a Westerner, truly, I have nothing in my experience to compare to the magnitude of this holiday period of time.  I chose the words "period of time" intentionally because many people will spend 2 -4 weeks away from their jobs, with their families, celebrating the New Year.  (I can remember when one time I took 5 days off work around Christmas and New Years and I felt like I'd won the lottery...living as a person of leisure!)

While our host nation punches the clock and goes on holiday, this is the time that our family also goes on retreat.  It has now become our only down-time in the year, and as we continue living cross-culturally, our spirits and bodies ache for some refreshing. 

We will head out on a "sleeper train" next Friday (with thousands of other happy home-goers) as we head to the South on the first leg of our trip to SE Asia.  Our train tickets, that were purchased after a 2 hour wait in line, offer us the first of many challenges on our trip.  We are holding the only tickets in the "hard sleepers" that we could get...unfortunately, our 6 sleeper berths are on three different cars of the train!  So, we will go to the train, heavy-laden with gifts and perhaps some small money, to try to "swap" berths with others so that our family of 9 can get on the same car (at least) an in the same compartment (at best.)  As no one buys 6 berths at the same time, our purchase was greeted with speculation after an initial refusal.  Ticket scalping during this frantic time is at an all time high...so the ticket office usually sells a MAXIMUM of 3 tickets together (One family-One child...as is still the policy in most of the country.)

Once we'd purchased berths on the getaway train...we realized that we needed to replace a few of our carry-on sized bags, that are simply beat to thunder after all the traveling they've done.  So, I headed into town with Magpie, Potato & Brownie (as The Bug is still in the US for Grampa's funeral.)  As we traveled the main road from our apartment I realized that the exodus from the city had begun.  Each bus stop along our path was overstuffed with anxious-faced and eager souls spilling out into the road, arms burgeoning with burlap bags or the occasional spiffy suitcase at their sides, eyes intent on seeing the next bus that might allow 1-2 people to squeeze on (leaving the hundred others to wait, and wait, and wait for their turn.)

When we made it to the major shopping mall we went to the big K-mart/Walmart-type store in hopes of finding suitcases.  As we rounded the corner in the store, our eyes took in an amazing sight...literally 100 other people in the suitcase section, shopping for the bag that would take home their possessions as well as the precious gifts for their family members living in the the distant countryside villages of their birth.  Suitcases, all with wheels, starting at just 87 RMB, about $15, all the way to slick-sided, four-wheeled bags labeled "Tokyo Chic", selling for 800 RMB.  We were lost in a sea of people...college students...young families with their new babies ready for their first introduction to relatives...young professionals, shopping for that bag that would show that they are on their way to achieving the dreams of their parents...wealthy men shopping for the best bag to accessorize their BMW, Lexus, or Mercedes that will prove to everyone in their hometown that they are as rich as God.

Every eye I could catch revealed the mood of these days...joyful anticipation. 

I thought of our colleagues at the school.

Teacher Linda who was married in October, took 10 days off work to help pack her husband's belongings and send him off to a "new/better" job in the South that will keep their time together to twice a year.  Spring Festival is one of those times...they will have three weeks to live as husband and wife...and then 6 weeks in the summer.  This scenario is so common. 

Teacher Li who was married yesterday, will spend them time taking his new wife to meet his relatives, receiving "hong bao" or red envelopes stuffed with cash to wish them "double happiness" in their new life together. 

The Principal who will host many (15-20) out of town relatives in her 2 bedroom, 1000 Sq ft. apartment (the family is originally FROM our city, increasingly a rare situation.)  All this entertaining around helping her daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law get settled into the new flat she purchased for them.  

Teacher Maggie who will travel with her new husband to her hometown.  The last trip they took, one year ago, they could only get "standing" tickets on the train for the 20 hour train ride.  She will finally get to see the new nephew born this year to her sister.  She has been preparing for her trip to see her mother, who she missed dearly, for months.

The excitement is palpable. 

When I reached the check-out of the store, our two new modest suitcases in tow...I had a monumental experience....

In our first two years Here, I had suffered several embarrassing moments at the check-out of this store...mis-translating the amount of money required, forgetting that I had to BUY the sack to take my purchases home, my bank card being refused for some unknown reason, and two or three times...trying to use a store-issued coupon to save money on my purchase, but always being told that I had it wrong, that it wasn't valid, etc.

As we were nearly done with the suitcase transaction, I remembered that I'd been given one of those coupons on my last visit.  Since I am illiterate, I can't read the rules/regulations on the coupon, but I sheepishly pushed the crumpled paper across the steely, cold check-out counter...avoiding eye-contact for the inevitable barrage of rudely-delivered "you are an idiot, this coupon does not work in this situation" Chinese monologue...

but something magical happened...

she TOOK the coupon, and reduced my bill 60 RMB!  That's $10!

While it was simply luck...I was ecstatic!  I had successfully used my FIRST coupon Here!  In year 3! 

The high carried me home...though the buses had stopped for the night and we had to wait one hour in the freezing, windy night for a taxi...

We're just a few folks enveloped in the masses, headed out of town on holiday...

"There will not be any blood to see"

Last week the school held the annual "Chinese Competition."  I have written extensively before about the drive for competition here...EVERYTHING is made into a competition...even things that are not remotely connected in my western-mind with competition.  Weekly our students compete for the best "behavior" award, our teachers compete for the best teacher award, our classrooms compete against each other to be the winner in a category that includes tidiness, punctuality, and lunchroom behavior.

In our third year we've been a few rounds through the Math Competition, English Competition, Chinese Competition, Sports Day Competition (with enough pageantry to rival the Olympics), Handwriting Competition, Music Competition, Art Competition, Talent Show Competition, Crazy Hat Day Competition, Christmas Decorating Competition, Best Behavior on the Field Trip Competition, Reading Competition...the list goes on an on.  Of course, we support and participate in the competitions as we are needed.

We were tremendously surprised however this past week by the apparent, "reinvention" or perhaps "enhanced version" of the Chinese department's competition for the students.

The first rumblings about it came from Potato and Brownie...they needed costumes...they were a part of a mass reciting of some Chinese poetry about the seasons.  Potato was the "group leader" for the Spring reciters, and Brownie was to wear white as she was part of the winter cadre.

Then, one afternoon, The Bug came to my desk at school weeping.  She wanted to sit on my lap and be hugged..."it was so terrible, so sad"...she blubbered.  "WHAT?"  I demanded.  "The video of the earthquake. All those people crying and moaning.  Parents searching for their children.  Children crying out for their Mommas!"

My first thoughts...why would ANYONE show actual earthquake, graphic footage from the major earthquake in Sichuan in 2008,  to primary school kids?

The Bug said that the 5th and 6th Grade students were using it in their "Chinese piece" for the upcoming competition.

Mrs. Wu on 4 and I talked about it...from our western-biased thinking...we were shocked that such graphic material was shown to our 5th graders...we discussed the cultural differences, and resolved to talk with our kids about the things they saw, to help them with any residual fear.

I thought about the fact that newspapers here are things that would never make it anywhere near the "family friendly checkout" at the US's "sensitive to parent complaint" grocery stores.  In fact, as an adult, I have recoiled several times at the brutality of images published in the newspaper, or those used on the fleeting news clips I see at the local restaurant.  Vivid, bloody, with no redaction whatsoever...the details of a terrible accident or crime scene are published for all, young and old, to see.

My mind flashed on photos and images I'd seen in the past three years...the woman just before she jumped from the building downtown,  then in the process of falling, her arms and legs apparently flailing, then the bloody heap of her on the pavement afterward.  The gunshot victim, from some distant place or country, half naked, the mortal wounding vividly captured in the still shot.  The toddler smoking the cigarette, the report telling that the parent was in trouble...but the child's image offered for all who yearn to stare.  The accident victim, nearly decapitated, the car mangled around him...disturbing beyond measure.  My foreign mind astounded at what is permissible for publication.  But, after all, we're not in Kansas anymore...so this way is just different from what I was exposed to as a child...and so now, my children have to deal with the reality of graphic images, and I must help them through it.

So then at the teachers' meeting, some 3 days before the "Chinese Competition" when I heard that the final presentation, by the 5th and 6th graders was poetry and images from the massive earthquake...I inquired if all the students (from 1st grade-4th) would be in the room to see it as well.  I offered that the images had been disturbing for my 5th graders (who were not involved with the piece directly)...so I was concerned that it might really be too much for the younger students (including our two first graders who to my knowledge have NEVER seen anything like that.)

At first, as the translation of my concerns was offered, I watched the faces of my Chinese colleagues around the conference table.  Questioning looks...no, looks of disbelief...and a ripple of nervous laughter rolled around the room.  An answer was given by our dean of students, that yes, all the students would be there to see the pinnacle presentation of the event, but that "there will not be any blood to see."  That the aim was to "be touching on their hearts," but not to frighten them.  Then some of the younger teachers began to whisper among themselves.  I saw two definite eye-rolls and clear looks of at the very least, confusion and perhaps even mockery, passing between them.

I reminded myself that it must seem silly to them, recalling the commonplace images I'd seen in news publications...and that I'm not in Kansas anymore...and that it is our job to adapt, not to change or criticize.

The day of the big event brought costumes, make-up, and of course the perfunctory glitter on many faces.  "Safety Boy," aka Daddy, was horrified when for the finale (the earthquake piece) some teachers lit some 50 tea light candles and moved them to the stage on pieces of flimsy copy paper!  Can you say, "fire hazard?"

The gala was amazing.  We were astounded by the 15 minute long, memorized poem that our 1st graders recited in Chinese!  Our 5th graders did a special presentation of poetry they've learned in their CSL (Chinese second language) class.

As the lights were dimmed and the LCD projector began to show the images of the after effect of the earthquakes, we were all riveted.  It was so disturbing...I felt fear rising in my throat as I saw the images of parents who sent their children to school that day, who never came home, holding photos of their ONLY children in frames, wailing.  Or the backpacks that had been pulled from the rubble of decimated school buildings, left now in a long, pathetic row.  I wept as I took the photos required of me by the Principal.

We've had numerous discussions about what we saw on that day now.  Potato and Brownie commenting at random times about how sad they felt watching the presentation...asking questions about earthquakes...about injuries.

It was an experience in cultural differences for sure...but it was more than that.  It was a vivid reminder that the childhood I had in middle-class America is not the childhood of my children.  In fact we are very far, not just geographically, from it.  Our children are living with the daily awareness not only of epic tragedy, as they were introduced to on the video screen, but they see "reality" all around us.  Upon further reflection I realized that our children see with their own eyes, often, the truth of life. When we see those who beg, when we're on our way out to try and buy some bread flour...they have to process poverty, suffering, discrimination against special needs, social inequality...it is part of their daily lives.

When these harsh realities surround us...how truly foolish I was to try to shield them from the video of the earthquake...no wonder my colleagues thought me a silly, privileged foreigner who must have grown up in a fairy tale land.  In truth, I was...I am.

To debate whether shielding them from these sufferings would be "nice"...and allow them to delay the inevitability of reality...to give them a sweeter childhood...is not the life He's called us too.  In fact, there exists only a tiny portion of children on the earth today who can abide in this innocence and ignorance of suffering.  I was one.  My children, by His grace, now only SEE the suffering...but even still...they do not have to bear the suffering.  Their awareness and sensitivity to it is a part of them now though.  They grapple at their tender ages with social injustice, poverty, and suffering...it is this path He's set them upon.  Our work is to help them understand these realities within a worldview that we hold...while encouraging them to seek out, all the days of their lives, what He is calling them to do to answer these needs.

Life is bloody...and we can see it all around...

Wow...it's cold.

Now for the perfunctory complaining about the winter cold that has finally slowed the blood in our veins...and made our existence a frantic search for more layers of clothing...

I was telling someone yesterday that for me, I have isolated the worst part of this weather. 

Going to the bathroom at the school. 

While it is true wherever you are, your potential for feeling really cold exists, there is no more uncomfortable place in my existence than the school bathroom!  The school keeps many windows wide open during the winter.  We are committed to fresh air!  The women's bathroom in the school is outfitted with two stalls offering the finest in western-style toilets.  And a significant (seems enormous to me in the winter) window that is just behind the ceramic fixtures.  When you reach a point of dire need (and believe me, this is the ONLY reason one would go to the bathroom) you must peel off your many, critical layers of clothing, sit on the seat that doubles as an ice-skating rink...and then expose the skin of your backside...to the ICY wind.  There simply is nothing like that feeling with the wind from the North flash-freezing your rear!  In an effort to avoid it, I have been known to do the "4 year old Potty Dance" for extended periods of time...in hopes that I could hang on long enough to get home!

We do enjoy some heat in our classrooms and in the office where we work...but I can not say that I ever think..."wow, I'm warm today"...but that bathroom situation...that's the worst!  It makes seeing your breath at the restaurant, in the school hallways, and in the shopping mall, seem like a minor issue!

In our third year we've come upon an invention that has given us new hope however...the electric hot water bags!  They cost about $2 and you plug them in, then they get HOT, HOT, HOT and you can use them to warm your hands, legs, neck...wherever the chill has settled upon you!  How we made it through the last winters without it, I'll never know!  We plan to have some new teachers joining us next year...without a doubt...this will be in their (literally) house-warming gift packet! ;)

Got to knock the frost of the blankets of the kids...and get them up to start the day...though it is nearly 7 and you'd almost need a flashlight to make it to school today!  (slightly exaggerating here...but NOT about the bathroom conditions!)

Final exams for the term are next week, so we're so busy with that...planning our retreat escape in just 2.5 weeks to sunny SE Asia....

Due to write a culture post soon...constantly discovering more things...

Hope you are warm today, wherever you are!

Short Days and Long Nights

Perhaps it is the chill in the air that came from the North two days ago.

Certainly the limited daylight is contributing to it...

The blog author, who is most assuredly a "morning person" cannot drag myself off the mattress these past few days.

This is particularly disastrous when one considers the chain of events required to get seven children, one "non-morning person" husband, and oneself off to school each morning.  Our concrete floors (with tile over them) are frigid.  So I spend the first 15 minutes of the wake-up bell shouting orders to "find your slippers."  Here it is a mortal sin to allow your child to get cold.  Cold equals illness, in the mind of my neighbors, it is an infallible equation. 

Then the scrambling thoughts of breakfast...what will we eat this morning?  For a few brief weeks at the beginning of school, an intrepid peddler planted himself just outside our LQ gates to sell noodles and baozi each morning.  My kids (but greater still, I) acted like we had heard the music from the ice cream truck come to town!  I practically ran each day to the peddler's cart, (as I'm not one for running...this is notable), with high hopes that he would still have enough to feed my brood.    For the equivalent of $1.50 USD, I could have a hot breakfast for all 9 of us!  But alas, the peddler has shuffled off to greener pastures, and I am left in the daily panic of how to make a hot breakfast each day.  Mortal sin, #2, feeding your children cold food...especially on short winter days!

Once fed the real fun begins as we assemble three layers of clothing per child.  That is, for those of you keeping track at home, 27 layers of clothing in one day!  While each year I have curious questions from blog readers as to WHY we wear so many layers, even though it is only say 30 degrees....I'll try to get ahead of that now by mentioning again that we have no central heat.  When it is 30 degrees outside (think of this as you hustle into your climate controlled car tomorrow and feel impatient waiting the 5 minutes for the heat to begin to blow on your chilled hands) it is only 40 degrees inside.  Living in 40 degrees, with no escape, demands multiple layers.  I fought this valiantly when we first arrived.  I so longed to prove that my western-idea of dressing was adequate...secretly disdaining the layers...but I have fully succumbed to it now.  It simply is a necessity. 

(It is Mortal Sin #3, to allow your children to go out with at least 3 layers on...you are subject to periodic, random checks from any party such as the school nurse, school parents, teachers or the principal...if a child is found without layers, the parent is branded with the scarlet letters NP for "negligent parent" on their foreheads and forever within the hearts of the community that brand is remembered!)

 So, we rush about finding the thinnest, warmest layers each morning, work up a sweat trying to pull them over each other, until finally putting on our down coats...that often will not be removed all throughout the work day.  Soon the days will be here when I'll wear my gloves, even at my desk, as it will be too cold to type on my keyboard. 

The final backpack hunt, homework recovery, shoe matching and donning, gloves, hats, thermoses full of hot water, dance shoes for dance class, guitars for music class, snack for snack time, towels for hand washing...and SWEAT TOWELS for our Kindergarten boys who will inevitably work up a sweat while running and playing and will wear them down their back to absorb sweat (another cultural thing I fought to no avail)...teacher name badges, cell phones, lights off, doors closed....and then the DASH to the school building.

Yesterday the wind was blowing so hard, freezing wind from the North, that it took us twice as long to walk to school in the face of it...The Bruiser nearly knocked off his feet a few times by the gusts...

Then we all settle into our different rooms, in the same building, and go about our daily life...until 5 pm...

when the dinner rush, homework press, bath time, bed time by 7:30, parents collapsing...event begins.

Must begin to gather the layers for Tuesday...we leave in just 50 minutes...

Out on the town...for Christmas shopping...

Spent today, a completely a-typical Saturday, running about town...just the two of us.

Kids hung out at the apartment with a kind colleague and her husband...and we took to the streets to start some Christmas shopping.

This time of year is usually terribly cold and uncomfortable.  But something wonderful has happened with our weather pattern these past few days.  It has been sunny and unseasonably warm.  The last two years we've holed up for the most of the month, waiting impatiently for the days to come when we could enjoy our pedestrian/public transit lifestyle again.  Numerous times today we remarked to each other "it is December 4th!"  The warmth and sunshine gave rise to great ambitions to press into the crowds and travel far and wide this little berg of 10 million.

Our first stop, after standing 30 minutes on a bus jostling against the several bodies therein, was the major shopping mall nearest our outpost.  Throngs of joyful city folk joined us in walking about window shopping and taking in the sights.  We watched as the massive Christmas tree was being erected outside the center.  A shiny gold, purple, blue, and red attempt at a seasonal decoration...still surrounded by layer upon layer of spindly bamboo scaffolding. 

Stepping inside the enormous complex we became aware of "Jingle Bells" being sung from some sound system unseen.  I chuckled as I realized that it is the same version of Jingle Bells we hear at every, I MEAN EVERY, store around the city that is attempting to recognize the season.  The version has a trio of ladies singing sprightly...I always envision them dancing in elf costumes.  "Jingle Bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the way.  Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open SLEE."  Again and again...the song drones on from store after store (as though it is the ONLY Christmas song in existence) over and over again the pronunciation of sleigh butchered as "slee."  We're not in Kansas anymore.

Another bus ride further into the metropolis brought us to yet again a Christmas tree in the final stages of construction.  This one, a mammoth, decorated in sparkling silver and white bands circumnavigating its girth...and horses...silhouettes of charging horses...from base to apex...

Nothing says Christmas like charging horses on your Christmas tree!

Then, after running down a busy road, chasing a few taxis before catching one...we headed over the river and saw our prize Christmas tree of the day...

It was very big, in front of a shopping mall that advertised Armani and Gucci on the exterior...this one was made of glass...but inverted...upside down!

Daddy said..."what sort of statement are they trying to make with that?"

I was reminded of the time we visited a registered fellowship here in the city many years ago...it was June...and there was a faux brick mantle on the back wall, with painted on stockings hung with care...just behind the pulpit.  Next to the communion table?  Frosty the Snowman, of course!  Apparently a year-round cheery sight that was to represent the western-idea of Christmas.

Of course, two years in a row we participated (as a school) in a Christmas concert...where our little school sang "What Child is This" and portrayed the nativity...but nothing else resembled anything close to the holidays at home...nothing says Merry Christmas like hip-hop dance crews and belly dancers!

It's a challenge to bring our Christmas traditions Here...to preserve some of the sweet things that mean "Christmas" to us.  We have brought over Christmas ornaments from our family tree in the States...and we bought a "new and improved" tree this year that's quality is so poor you could drive a truck through all the open spaces (where boughs should be.)

The actual day of Christmas is the biggest sale day of the year Here.  Everyone goes out shopping on the western-holiday that most people know nothing about...it is simply the greatest shopping day annually.

We decorated the tree tonight. 

There are two Christmas trees in the whole of our apartment complex.  Ours and the Wu's on four.

In a few days we'll have the 3rd annual "Teach All the Chinese Friends You Have How to Make Christmas Cookies" baking event.  Maybe 30 or so will come to decorate Christmas cookies, shapes of which they will have absolutely no context for...a wreath?  a snowman? a stocking?

We may go Christmas caroling on Christmas Eve.  Though in truth, nearly everything we sing, no one Here will have ever heard before...and will have no idea why the crazy foreigners are going around disturbing the peace on the night before the biggest shopping day of the year.

On the 21st we're hosting a Christmas party at the school.  We're going to have a gift exchange.  It was decided however that we could not ask for the gifts to be wrapped...because no one knows how to wrap gifts...and there is no such thing as "Christmas wrapping paper" anywhere Here in our city.

And then...there was that sweater I saw today being sold on top of some cardboard boxes on the sidewalk out front of the spicy duck neck restaurant...it was purple, with white and red snowmen on it...and suns...yellow, happy sunshines...

good grief!

...everyone knows that even with the magic hat...Frosty starts to melt in the sun...

So sorry...no internet

Well, finally, it is Monday morning and we're back online.

I really don't know what happened...why suddenly our internet connectivity was interrupted (even though others in our building were not)...but a quick visit from a kindly computer tech fixed it.
(Okay, truth be told, THREE visits...the first was from a guy working for the wrong ISP...translation issues; the second was from a guy working for the right computer company...but he couldn't fix my English only computer...translation issues; the third visit from the second tech who brought a buddy along with him who could read English.  That's just how things go Here.  When I lived There, I used to think waiting in line behind 3 people at Walmart was a MAJOR slowdown in my life.)

Thanksgiving is this week.  It is also a milestone birthday for myself.  I've always LOVED birthdays as my family will attest.  However, I feel a bit glum this year about entering this new decade.  I think that is probably shameful to say...but it is true.  They say 40 is the new 30...so, perhaps , although my 30s have been the busiest decade of my life, I'll think on that when Thursday comes!  ;)

Speaking of Thanksgiving...

 We nearly had to call it off.  The past two years we've held very big dinner parties with turkey and as many American trimmings as we could achieve.  The first year, I even made mashed potatoes for 45...without a mixer!  (I thought that was a real hardship...now I've live Here longer so I don't think of it as so bad anymore!)

Anyway, this is the time of year that a few, VERY SELECT turkeys fly over from the US and must clear customs.  No kidding, at least not about the clearing customs...they are supposedly quite frozen for their entire sojourn to the Middle Kingdom.

As has been my custom, using money we've saved up for the purchase of the bird (no joke, turkey here is $3.50 per pound!  For a frozen turkey!)...I would make the trip one hour away to the major Western-food market.   But alas, this year...no turkeys appeared in the freezer section.  Several desperate phone calls revealed that the turkeys were stuck in Shanghai...that they had not cleared customs!  Worse yet, they MAYBE would clear in time to arrive in stores on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day)...but we were not to know until THEN!)

Mrs. Wu, our teammate,  and I began frantically "shaking the bushes" of any possible contact we might have that could provide us with turkey!  You can't imagine how ridiculous this is to our neighbors, desperate for a 7 kg bird to eat...and how utterly hopeless it is to not have access to the key element of the Thanksgiving Feast!

(Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday.  In part because it was always my birthday and all my family gathered for games and food...but it is during this next month that my longing for family back There really peaks for the year.  My heart feels heavy and sore from the missing...but I've been blessed to busy myself with this huge Thanksgiving feast as an outreach...which has given me little time to pine in my heart.)

Finally, after contacting an American woman who owns a restaurant here in our city...she texted back after several tense hours..."WE HAVE TURKEY ON ORDER FOR YOU!"  Oh, the joy of it!  ;)

Daddy joked that the distributor supplying the restaurant (and now us) must have a contact in customs in Shanghai...asking that buddy to DELAY those turkeys' clearances just a few more days...so a few more scalps can be taken! :)

Mrs. Wu graciously took a big trip across town to pick it up as freezer space big enough to house our two turkeys is hard to come by!  Then under cover of night, with heads shaking by the security guards at our complex, 30lbs of turkey in her little pink roller cart,  they let her into the school kitchen so she could store the prizes in their freezer... and I breathed a sigh of relief.  Thanksgiving has been saved!

On a quick Qian Qian note...we hope to see him return to the hospital this week, recovered from his fever, and ready for his surgery.  I promise, I will post more as I know it.

There is more news to tell...but, the sun is rising Here...and we have each 3 layers of clothing to put on...more tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving dear ones!  May our hearts reflect genuine gratefulness for all He has blessed us with each day of our lives!

The Weekend

This past weekend was a trifecta event.

Magpie turned 11 years old on Saturday...The Singer reached 3 years of age on Sunday...and we tried to do a little "Trick-or-Treating" in a community that knows nothing about the custom.

I apologize that 3 of these photos are turned on their sides.  I have made 5 attempts to correct the error...but blogger, or my photo editing program is on strike...so, I'm posting them anyway and hoping you don't break your neck trying to view them!

Below:  The Singer on his big day...he and The Bruiser were costumed as frogs.  They were not so thrilled about it.  The Singer was especially traumatized by another boy who wore an "Incredible Hulk" costume.  Come to think of it, I was sort of traumatized by the Hulk back in the day myself.

 Above:  The Bruiser shows you his dental work...while this picture shows him with the frog eyes on top of his head...most of the day he was using the aforementioned teeth to chew on the eyes, instead.

Below:  Magpie at her birthday breakfast.  She loves the raspberry/white chocolate scones that I make for special days. Since we'd had such illness, her sleepover had to be rescheduled until next week so we did a low-key breakfast and then we took a sick cat to the vet. A birthday dream for Magpie, I'm sure.  (In the photo you see our nifty plywood table top that Daddy fashioned a few years ago to accommodate the dozens of dinner guests we often have.)

Below:  Now you can return your head to the upright position and see a bit of Magpie's personality as she opens a gift from her Gramma J and Pendy...

Below:  The Singer's birthday cake...complete with trucks and fake rocks (actually chocolate candies)...thank heavens I remembered to bring some cocoa with us this year...we've got LOTS of cakes to bake!

Above:  Mrs. Wu on 4 organized a "Trick-or-Treat" event that was a BIG TREAT for the kids!  Since no one here is really familiar with the custom, we decided to visit the pre-arranged apartments (who were handing out candy Mrs. Wu provided them with)...at 2 in the afternoon...instead of some nasty evening hour.  It was most pleasant that way!

Above:  Magpie reads a birthday card.

It is a funny thing when you try to "import" a tradition like Trick-or-Treating.  Especially here in a "warm culture" (read Foreign to Familiar book for clarification on what that means)...

Here when you are doing something, everyone just joins in.  There really is no such thing as an invitation.  For instance, once some friends of ours who live across town heard about the trick-or-treating...they just showed up, for lunch at our house, and went along with their daughter.  Kids and parents from other floors just came into our apartment when they realized that there was "something" going on for Graham's birthday.  They entered, pulled up chairs to sit down in the dining room...and enjoyed the cake we served them.

In my home culture, we would never think of coming into some one's home, and especially to a party they were having, UNLESS we were invited.

But we don't live There anymore...and I have to remain flexible and fluid EVERY TIME we have something planned...the additional guests numbered nearly 10...but we did our best to be welcoming and happy with whomever showed.  It truly is a constant learning (and stretching) exercise. 

We've got a sleepover with at least 15 girls this Friday in our apartment.  I've got a dinner for 30 that night (parents and extra students from school as well as the passerby neighbor who will come, of course)...and then breakfast for all the girls before they leave the next morning.

But in the midst of all that craziness...we'll have the chance to show love to more children and their parents (and interested neighbors)...and to tell more of our story...of the miracles we have seen...so that they might hear and believe.