We just heard an update to the Political Register. Remember that Dave has a 5.6. Someone with a 5.5 just added the register at 109 out of a total of 222 people. Such a long list! She passed the Mandarin language test, and receiving her extra 0.4 points. That brings her up to 5.9, and makes her #13. Each class brings about 20 people off of each register, so her 5.9 practically guarantees her an invitation to the next class.
Should Dave pass the Mandarin language test, he will have a 6.0 and be right near the top of the list. However, at this point he's not feeling good about his chances. He doesn't feel able to begin meeting with a tutor again until his job falls into a routine - probably in about 2 more weeks. He plans to take the test at the end of November, and that leaves around 6 weeks of study. Looking forward, that test could go either way.
The other option would be a great score on his interview in December. He will receive that score in the Economic Register, which is shorter and less competetive than Political.
A friend recently asked me if waiting for the Foreign Service is like always waiting for the last show to drop. Its not quite so unstable, as it has been clear so far that we would not be invited to an upcoming class. But all the same, I would love to have this waiting period fall into our past. Then we can focus on waiting for Mei Mei - another crazy uncertainty with major implications on all of our family choices. Every family goes through different seasons of life - and this one sure is a whopper!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Kicked Out
We live in China on Residence Permits, which must be renewed annually. The current permits expire on Sep. 30. That is, they expire on Thursday. Usually, Uncle H-- takes care of these things and we think nothing more about them. Human Resources asks for our passports and some phots, we hand them over, and then we get them back a week later with our permission to stay.
This time, not so much.
Because China suddenly requires original and authenticated birth certificates for the girls and marriage certificate for me. This takes over a month to obtain in the states, on top of being mailed to China. We won't have those until next month.
Because we moved a month before our expiration, and a few important documents sad in boxes in a warehouse in Guangzhou for a few weeks, postponing our application.
The reasons are not so interesting, really. Interesting is that we've got to get out of China, and fast. Interesting is that our visas expire on Thursday, and Friday begins a week-long national holiday. Interesting is that Dave has no work and the girls have no school for one week. And also interesting is that Hong Kong and Macau, although both part of China, do not require visas to visit, can distribute tourist visas to China easily to anyone who happens to ask, and are a simple ferry ride from our home.
And so, we are off. Thursday evening, we will head out for a few days in Macau. Sunday we will head to Hong Kong. And Wednesday we will return as tourists, until our Residence Permits can be fully processed.
A journey is always exciting. A last minute journey, all the more exciting. And the best? A journey prompted because you've got to get out of the country!
This time, not so much.
Because China suddenly requires original and authenticated birth certificates for the girls and marriage certificate for me. This takes over a month to obtain in the states, on top of being mailed to China. We won't have those until next month.
Because we moved a month before our expiration, and a few important documents sad in boxes in a warehouse in Guangzhou for a few weeks, postponing our application.
The reasons are not so interesting, really. Interesting is that we've got to get out of China, and fast. Interesting is that our visas expire on Thursday, and Friday begins a week-long national holiday. Interesting is that Dave has no work and the girls have no school for one week. And also interesting is that Hong Kong and Macau, although both part of China, do not require visas to visit, can distribute tourist visas to China easily to anyone who happens to ask, and are a simple ferry ride from our home.
And so, we are off. Thursday evening, we will head out for a few days in Macau. Sunday we will head to Hong Kong. And Wednesday we will return as tourists, until our Residence Permits can be fully processed.
A journey is always exciting. A last minute journey, all the more exciting. And the best? A journey prompted because you've got to get out of the country!
Coming Home for Christmas
Dave just scheduled his Oral Assessment. For those trying to keep track of all of these exams, this will be the final step of his second candidacy. Should he pass the Oral Assessment, he would be added to a second list of ready-to-hires. Should he pass with high marks, he will be called to the next class. His original candidacy was in the Political track, where he now sits at around #70 in the queue. We do not expect to ever receive a call in Political at this rate, unless he should pass a Mandarin test. This new candidacy will be in the Economic track.
We've scheduled the test for January 3rd.
The girls are off school from Dec. 16 - Jan. 4, and so we expect to be in the states for all of this time and then keep them out for the first week back.
We'll be spending Christmas day in St. Louis with my folks; Dave and I will spend a few days in DC around Jan. 3; and we'll also fit in plenty of time in Chicago. We're shooting for 4 weeks total, and looking forward to every minute of it!
We've scheduled the test for January 3rd.
The girls are off school from Dec. 16 - Jan. 4, and so we expect to be in the states for all of this time and then keep them out for the first week back.
We'll be spending Christmas day in St. Louis with my folks; Dave and I will spend a few days in DC around Jan. 3; and we'll also fit in plenty of time in Chicago. We're shooting for 4 weeks total, and looking forward to every minute of it!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Worth Loving
We have generally settled into our new house. Our pictures hang on the walls; our blankets lie strewn about the couches and floors; our blocks and small toys hide underneath large pieces of furniture. The last of the boxes will disappear tomorrow morning. It feels like home.
Someone asked me recently if I just love the new house. Well, no. No, I don't love it. I feel blessed that a house which so perfectly meets our needs was available in our price range - in fact, was the only one available in our price range. I feel happy and blessed by this house. But I've got no love for it. However, the house does hold a few very lovable things. Please indulge a quick tour:
1: A full sized washing machine and dryer.
These two machines are both fully functioning, leaving all of our clothes, sheets and towels feeling soft, clean and dry after every washing. We no longer need to run two loads of laundry every day, and we no longer need to hang out our clothes to dry. I've a friend in Iowa who sings the praises of not using a dryer, and I can see how the fresh Iowa air and bright Midwestern sunshine could brighten her clothes. As neither of those ingredients have become available in my kitchen, I am loving my dryer.
2: A full sized refrigerator.
We've had one of these before, just over a year ago. Oh, how quickly I forget how lovely this machine is! It holds 5 boxes of milk, a box of juice, 6-packs of both Coke and Tsingdao, a drawer full of produce, and still has room for an entire chocolate creme pie! The chocolate creme pie makes me happy, but I am loving the space in the refrigerator.
3. A dishwasher
It has been far too long since I've had one of these bad boys in my home. Even our dishwasher in St. Louis was old and malfunction-y. We regularly found water leaking out the back and had to check out the pipes and connections (and we know nothing about dishwasher pipes or connections - hence the frequency of those checks!). But this machine... goodness me! It can hold the dishes from prep and serving of two full meals for our family. At the end of the day, the sink sits full of dishes to wash by hand - but nowhere near overflowing. And within 1 hour, poof!, all of the dishes in the machine become clean! Sad that domesticity causes so much of my happiness, but I am loving the dishwasher!
4. The Terrace
It is time to leave the kitchen, and guide each of you out the doors and onto our terrace. Wide and smooth, flooded with light in the morning and gently shaded in the afternoon, this terrace pulls the whole house above the crowd. Poised on a hill, the terrace looks down over steep growth all the way to a small driveway at the bottom. Small enough that I've never seen anyone walk or drive along it. If we try, we see the back of an apartment building through the trees. But otherwise, we can convince ourselves that we have near complete privacy sitting on our terrace. Now if only the temperatures would fall to where this space become comfortable! But even in the heat, I am loving the terrace!
5. The Garden
This house is not horrible, but simply unremarkable. Western tract housing copied in the East, and simply maintained for 25 years. Built for renters, the walls and the furniture are blank and lifeless. Nothing stands out or calls to be loved. But the garden surrounding our house, that is something else. Neatly fenced, I feel safe allowing my children free reign of the yard. They regularly choose to play outside rather than in - something which has never happened in our 3 years in China. They climb over the terrace, down into the "howl" (a cave-like space so named because of an echo), tramp through the mud, and play under the banana tree. I doubt we will be so lucky as to harvest these bananas when they turn yellow. A gardener enters every morning to trim the bushes and sweep the leaves - no doubt those bananas will disappear before they ever make it into our banana bread. But the sheer fact that they grow in my space leaves me excited. I love the garden, and I am loving the banana tree.
Someone asked me recently if I just love the new house. Well, no. No, I don't love it. I feel blessed that a house which so perfectly meets our needs was available in our price range - in fact, was the only one available in our price range. I feel happy and blessed by this house. But I've got no love for it. However, the house does hold a few very lovable things. Please indulge a quick tour:
1: A full sized washing machine and dryer.
These two machines are both fully functioning, leaving all of our clothes, sheets and towels feeling soft, clean and dry after every washing. We no longer need to run two loads of laundry every day, and we no longer need to hang out our clothes to dry. I've a friend in Iowa who sings the praises of not using a dryer, and I can see how the fresh Iowa air and bright Midwestern sunshine could brighten her clothes. As neither of those ingredients have become available in my kitchen, I am loving my dryer.2: A full sized refrigerator.
We've had one of these before, just over a year ago. Oh, how quickly I forget how lovely this machine is! It holds 5 boxes of milk, a box of juice, 6-packs of both Coke and Tsingdao, a drawer full of produce, and still has room for an entire chocolate creme pie! The chocolate creme pie makes me happy, but I am loving the space in the refrigerator.3. A dishwasher
It has been far too long since I've had one of these bad boys in my home. Even our dishwasher in St. Louis was old and malfunction-y. We regularly found water leaking out the back and had to check out the pipes and connections (and we know nothing about dishwasher pipes or connections - hence the frequency of those checks!). But this machine... goodness me! It can hold the dishes from prep and serving of two full meals for our family. At the end of the day, the sink sits full of dishes to wash by hand - but nowhere near overflowing. And within 1 hour, poof!, all of the dishes in the machine become clean! Sad that domesticity causes so much of my happiness, but I am loving the dishwasher!4. The Terrace
It is time to leave the kitchen, and guide each of you out the doors and onto our terrace. Wide and smooth, flooded with light in the morning and gently shaded in the afternoon, this terrace pulls the whole house above the crowd. Poised on a hill, the terrace looks down over steep growth all the way to a small driveway at the bottom. Small enough that I've never seen anyone walk or drive along it. If we try, we see the back of an apartment building through the trees. But otherwise, we can convince ourselves that we have near complete privacy sitting on our terrace. Now if only the temperatures would fall to where this space become comfortable! But even in the heat, I am loving the terrace!5. The Garden
This house is not horrible, but simply unremarkable. Western tract housing copied in the East, and simply maintained for 25 years. Built for renters, the walls and the furniture are blank and lifeless. Nothing stands out or calls to be loved. But the garden surrounding our house, that is something else. Neatly fenced, I feel safe allowing my children free reign of the yard. They regularly choose to play outside rather than in - something which has never happened in our 3 years in China. They climb over the terrace, down into the "howl" (a cave-like space so named because of an echo), tramp through the mud, and play under the banana tree. I doubt we will be so lucky as to harvest these bananas when they turn yellow. A gardener enters every morning to trim the bushes and sweep the leaves - no doubt those bananas will disappear before they ever make it into our banana bread. But the sheer fact that they grow in my space leaves me excited. I love the garden, and I am loving the banana tree.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Typhoon Fanapi
I went to bed last night convinced that school would be canceled. Like a child, I eagerly anticipated that early morning phone call telling me to go back to sleep. I looked forward to a quiet day in the house with the girls, doing art projects and watching movies, and staring out the huge windows of our living room to watch the gale force winds and the lashing rains.
Alas, by this morning Typhoon Fanapi had turned into Tropical Depression Fanapi. As near as I can tell, a tropical depression is much like a human depression. It seems that the sun climbs back into bed, pulls the covers over its head, and cries a little bit. Rather than the excitement of flash floods, we sometimes had enough raindrops to warrant an umbrella. Probably nice in the end - I was still able to see some friends, get Annika and I out of the house, and allow Lilly her regular Tuesday playdate with Michael.
The weather here is taking some getting used to. While Shanghai felt suitably foreign when we first arrived (and to this day, for that matter), the weather never felt particularly strange. Weather in Shanghai seemed not unlike the weather in St. Louis or Kansas City. The middle Mid-West may receive a bit more snow and Shanghai may be more damp in the winters, but the temperatures and general amounts and times of rainfall remained constant. April showers brought May flowers, July and August brought high temperatures and thick humidity, and October made you want to spend all of your time out of doors.
The climate in Shenzhen is sub-tropical. I will allow you weather crazies to do your own research on what exactly that means. But from what I can tell, it means that we have two seasons. We currently reside in typhoon season, which I will describe as super-hot (temps generally in the upper 80s to mid 90s), amazingly humid, and with an intense sun. Our new house sits on the top of a small but quite steep hill, and I have yet to finish that climb without making my shirt smelly and having sweat drip from underneath my sunglasses. Rain falls nearly every day, and in bucket-fulls. You can always tell when it will rain, though. The clouds move in and the wind picks up noticeably. At that point, you've got about 5 minutes to take cover. The rain will last between 5 and 60 minutes, so either have an umbrella or a book with you at all times. On weekends like this last one, no rain falls and the temperature continues to rise until even a drink outside at 11:00 at night becomes nearly unbearable. No surprise to learn that we were in the path of a typhoon. Today, the temperatures were quite comfortable - I'd guess in the mid-70s. But no sweaters, please. That humidity still rides high.
I understand that summer here will eventually end, probably in another month or so. And at that point, the rainfall will drop to next to nothing but temperatures will fall only into comfortable to cool range. Apparently, winter in Shenzhen is lovely and provides ample time to use the lovely terrace on the back of our house.
Alas, by this morning Typhoon Fanapi had turned into Tropical Depression Fanapi. As near as I can tell, a tropical depression is much like a human depression. It seems that the sun climbs back into bed, pulls the covers over its head, and cries a little bit. Rather than the excitement of flash floods, we sometimes had enough raindrops to warrant an umbrella. Probably nice in the end - I was still able to see some friends, get Annika and I out of the house, and allow Lilly her regular Tuesday playdate with Michael.
The weather here is taking some getting used to. While Shanghai felt suitably foreign when we first arrived (and to this day, for that matter), the weather never felt particularly strange. Weather in Shanghai seemed not unlike the weather in St. Louis or Kansas City. The middle Mid-West may receive a bit more snow and Shanghai may be more damp in the winters, but the temperatures and general amounts and times of rainfall remained constant. April showers brought May flowers, July and August brought high temperatures and thick humidity, and October made you want to spend all of your time out of doors.
The climate in Shenzhen is sub-tropical. I will allow you weather crazies to do your own research on what exactly that means. But from what I can tell, it means that we have two seasons. We currently reside in typhoon season, which I will describe as super-hot (temps generally in the upper 80s to mid 90s), amazingly humid, and with an intense sun. Our new house sits on the top of a small but quite steep hill, and I have yet to finish that climb without making my shirt smelly and having sweat drip from underneath my sunglasses. Rain falls nearly every day, and in bucket-fulls. You can always tell when it will rain, though. The clouds move in and the wind picks up noticeably. At that point, you've got about 5 minutes to take cover. The rain will last between 5 and 60 minutes, so either have an umbrella or a book with you at all times. On weekends like this last one, no rain falls and the temperature continues to rise until even a drink outside at 11:00 at night becomes nearly unbearable. No surprise to learn that we were in the path of a typhoon. Today, the temperatures were quite comfortable - I'd guess in the mid-70s. But no sweaters, please. That humidity still rides high.
I understand that summer here will eventually end, probably in another month or so. And at that point, the rainfall will drop to next to nothing but temperatures will fall only into comfortable to cool range. Apparently, winter in Shenzhen is lovely and provides ample time to use the lovely terrace on the back of our house.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Normalizing
Things have fallen into fast at breakneck speed here. We have settled comfortably into our house, and every box is now opened with contents in good condition. Pictures still lean against the walls, and the contents of the guest room sit in towering piles on the bed, but we otherwise look moved in. I cooked a full dinner tonight from scratch - the first time that has happened in over a month. The kitchen is comfortable, and it felt nice to eat home cooking again.
We are beginning to find our routine, which makes everyone more comfortable as well. Mornings work rather smoothly, and all within an hour. Annika and I run errands or try to accomplish small projects in the morning, until I return to school to pick up Sophia. We lunch together, everyone naps, and then we return to school to get Lilly. Playdates may ensue, I prepare dinner, we eat, we clean up, and we go to bed. The day disappears in an instant, it seems. And I rarely accomplish anything in all of that time - nothing beyond keeping three young children fed and reasonably clothed, that is.
I am finding my place in the social world here as well. In such a small town environment, finding my place feels more like high school than adulthood. I feel as if I should attend every social event, to show that I am making an effort to make friends. I should join friends whenever they do anything, to keep invitations coming and to stay a part of the crowd. I wonder why I wasn't invited when a group of friends goes to lunch or out shopping. And at the same time, I feel sad that my life has become nothing more than feeding my children and hanging out with my friends - it feels empty and rather boring.
This is life with a baby - frustration at not being able to accomplish more.
This is life in a new place - empty pursuits and shallow conversations.
This is a season, which shall soon pass. Happily, we are comfortable and surrounded by a friendly community of adults. I remind myself that no one expects me to act like a teenager, and that I have no desire to join every lunch and manicure.
On the other hand, I have met some quite interesting people and enjoy taking those friendships to the next level. Dave has Thursday and Friday as holidays, with more coming next week. I look forward to the chance to explore town outside of walking distance.
So, my apologies for the lack of posts recently. You now know what is in my head, a normal mixture of nerves and comfort in this new place. And you now know how I spend my time, doing absolutely nothing blog-worthy. But coming soon... photos of the new house, tips on moving, and if you're lucky you'll get a story about the typhoon we're expecting tomorrow.
We are beginning to find our routine, which makes everyone more comfortable as well. Mornings work rather smoothly, and all within an hour. Annika and I run errands or try to accomplish small projects in the morning, until I return to school to pick up Sophia. We lunch together, everyone naps, and then we return to school to get Lilly. Playdates may ensue, I prepare dinner, we eat, we clean up, and we go to bed. The day disappears in an instant, it seems. And I rarely accomplish anything in all of that time - nothing beyond keeping three young children fed and reasonably clothed, that is.
I am finding my place in the social world here as well. In such a small town environment, finding my place feels more like high school than adulthood. I feel as if I should attend every social event, to show that I am making an effort to make friends. I should join friends whenever they do anything, to keep invitations coming and to stay a part of the crowd. I wonder why I wasn't invited when a group of friends goes to lunch or out shopping. And at the same time, I feel sad that my life has become nothing more than feeding my children and hanging out with my friends - it feels empty and rather boring.
This is life with a baby - frustration at not being able to accomplish more.
This is life in a new place - empty pursuits and shallow conversations.
This is a season, which shall soon pass. Happily, we are comfortable and surrounded by a friendly community of adults. I remind myself that no one expects me to act like a teenager, and that I have no desire to join every lunch and manicure.
On the other hand, I have met some quite interesting people and enjoy taking those friendships to the next level. Dave has Thursday and Friday as holidays, with more coming next week. I look forward to the chance to explore town outside of walking distance.
So, my apologies for the lack of posts recently. You now know what is in my head, a normal mixture of nerves and comfort in this new place. And you now know how I spend my time, doing absolutely nothing blog-worthy. But coming soon... photos of the new house, tips on moving, and if you're lucky you'll get a story about the typhoon we're expecting tomorrow.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sleep Goes First
And once we sacrifice sleep, patience quickly disappears as well, followed by good sense and kindness.
Overall, we have had a successful weekend. We have left the hotel with everything we brought in - although Sophia's purple blanket stayed longer than any of us intended, necessitating an emergency evacuation. We have received all of the boxes which left our house in Shanghai - although not all in prime condition. We have found the onsite. The moving process is going entirely as one would expect.
Which is to say, it is progressing very slowly. It seems that moving in China with two children, an infant and a borrowed dog takes some extra time. The children amuse themselves quite well with their newfound toys and books, and enjoy climbing over and under the boxes or playing hide and seek in all of these new spaces. But the baby still needs feeding and rocking and sleeping every so often. And it may not have been the best weekend to care for our friend's year-old golden retriever. We do a lot of splitting up, take a lot of walks, and Dave and I are exhausted by 9:30 at night. We run out of patience, run out of time, and grow frustrated and the frequent breaks. We see no late nights knocking everything out. Lucky, because we see the entire house awake by 6:30 in the morning.
The girls are back in school this morning, Dave is back at work, and ayi is back in the house. Possibly we will see some progress over the next few days. It is my goal to have the kitchen fully operational by Tuesday evening. And am I too optimistic to think the last box could leave the house by the weekend?
Overall, we have had a successful weekend. We have left the hotel with everything we brought in - although Sophia's purple blanket stayed longer than any of us intended, necessitating an emergency evacuation. We have received all of the boxes which left our house in Shanghai - although not all in prime condition. We have found the onsite. The moving process is going entirely as one would expect.
Which is to say, it is progressing very slowly. It seems that moving in China with two children, an infant and a borrowed dog takes some extra time. The children amuse themselves quite well with their newfound toys and books, and enjoy climbing over and under the boxes or playing hide and seek in all of these new spaces. But the baby still needs feeding and rocking and sleeping every so often. And it may not have been the best weekend to care for our friend's year-old golden retriever. We do a lot of splitting up, take a lot of walks, and Dave and I are exhausted by 9:30 at night. We run out of patience, run out of time, and grow frustrated and the frequent breaks. We see no late nights knocking everything out. Lucky, because we see the entire house awake by 6:30 in the morning.
The girls are back in school this morning, Dave is back at work, and ayi is back in the house. Possibly we will see some progress over the next few days. It is my goal to have the kitchen fully operational by Tuesday evening. And am I too optimistic to think the last box could leave the house by the weekend?
Friday, September 10, 2010
Moving Day, 4
I am far too exhausted and smelly to string together many coherent words this evening. I'll stick to the basics. I received the keys to our house this morning, and the movers dropped our boxes off at 2:00 this afternoon. We will finish packing the hotel tomorrow morning, and be finished with this place by noon. Begrudgingly, they did verbally agree to pay the movers cost - but this evening we find our room smelling heavily of smoke. Its hard to tell if we're being punished, or if we should simply be glad to leave a place with such poor ventilation.
Either way, I'll be sleeping well tonight, and breathing clean air in my own house for the next few months. I walked home through the nightly thunderstorm, and am about to collapse into my chair.
Either way, I'll be sleeping well tonight, and breathing clean air in my own house for the next few months. I walked home through the nightly thunderstorm, and am about to collapse into my chair.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
An International Upbringing
This week in school, Lilly's class celebrated both Rosh Hashanah and Eid. At her birthday party, each family came from a different country. Canada, Pakistan, Israel and Austria were all represented inside our Chinese hotel room. I am only just beginning to meet Americans; so far I have gotten to know Scottish, German and British families as well as those attending Lilly's birthday party.
The instability inherent in this life may not be good for kids, but the diversity they see as normal is truly exciting.
The instability inherent in this life may not be good for kids, but the diversity they see as normal is truly exciting.
Progress
We're seeing progress today, although some of it on rather surprising fronts.
The U.S. Foreign Service:
As you will recall, Dave began the testing process a second time this summer. We had already learned that he passed the test. Today we learned that he also passed the essay section. At the end of the month, he will schedule his interview in DC. We're rooting for December, and to include the interview in our family's journey home for Christmas.
Shenzhen:
A house is being readied for us as I type, with furniture moving in and bugs hopefully moving out. Our shipment will arrive tomorrow, and I will have keys to the house to let everything in. By Saturday night, we will sleep in our new home.
We have also managed to localize our phones, although we had to sacrifice our phone numbers. We began the first steps toward our new residence permits, although we may need to leave the country to finalize them as the process seems longer than the time we have available. Luckily, Hong Kong counts.
In an ugly step backward, our contact at the hotel where we currently reside and had originally planned to stay has again begun to cause us problems. You may recall that postponing the movers cost 5,000 RMB (nearly $1,000 USD). The hotel eventually agreed to pay that cost, knowing that they would have to incent us strongly for us to continue living here. They have now returned saying that they can only return the moving cost should we continue to live in this hotel. In essence, should we choose to leave, they can not be held responsible for their own mistakes. If we stay, they have offered our friends and colleagues 5 free nights at the hotel in lieu of paying the movers. My guess? This charge comes straight from the pocket of the employee who made the mistake - this would explain his wiley moves. He has also asked housekeeping to move us out while we were away (lucky for us, ayi was here and stood our ground). But, in a rush of endorphins while I pounded the elliptical in the gym this morning, I prayed and regained some peace over the situation. No matter how inexplicable or how unjust, I need to trust that God is in control. The end.
Career Change:
When it became clear that the foreign service may not work out, Dave sent out a flurry of resumes to non-profits. A flurry may be the wrong term, and most jobs posted asked for someone vastly more qualified or someone vastly less qualified than Dave. Dave needs to make a lateral move at this point, because he supports a wife and 3 (soon to be 4) children. This week, one of those resumes turned into a phone interview for a position with an exciting non-profit in Chengdu. Dave's excited about the opportunity and the president of the board seemed excited about him. Of course, a process remains. But please keep this in your prayers - the girls and I have undergone a lot of change, and would be quite happy to settle here for a few months before the next move. Pray that God's will is done overall, and that we can trust in His providing for us wherever we are.
Kids and Family:
Lilly comes home from school talking about a new friend nearly every day. Yesterday she told me that she plans to marry Sepi, a boy who I believe she only began playing with the day before. Relationships move quickly in these types of places, though! She is happy, and I have faith in her teacher.
Sophia comes home from school hungry, tired and often grumpy. I have yet to figure out if she is simply exhausted from going to school every day and being the oldest in her class, or if she is simply not feeling settled yet. Either way, I hope to see her become happier over the next few days and weeks.
Annika is as easy as ever, and needs another trip to Hong Kong for her 4 month doctor visit. She has gained a reputation her as well as in Shanghai as a blessedly easy baby. Praise God for that!
I am thrilled to say that I have some good friends here - people I am looking forward to getting to know better, and feel quite comfortable calling and asking to meet for coffee right now. We've fallen into the simple life, and that suits me fine.
Dave just saw much of his travel canceled for the next month, which thrills all of us to no end. He spent the last 3 weeks in Shanghai, and having him around for the next 3 will be absolutely lovely. He will begin working as the on-site consultant (the position we moved here for) in about 2 weeks time, and it will be interesting to see how that lays out. He still has some transition ahead of him, making it hard for him to feel settled here and now. The new job possibility doesn't make that any easier on him.
The U.S. Foreign Service:
As you will recall, Dave began the testing process a second time this summer. We had already learned that he passed the test. Today we learned that he also passed the essay section. At the end of the month, he will schedule his interview in DC. We're rooting for December, and to include the interview in our family's journey home for Christmas.
Shenzhen:
A house is being readied for us as I type, with furniture moving in and bugs hopefully moving out. Our shipment will arrive tomorrow, and I will have keys to the house to let everything in. By Saturday night, we will sleep in our new home.
We have also managed to localize our phones, although we had to sacrifice our phone numbers. We began the first steps toward our new residence permits, although we may need to leave the country to finalize them as the process seems longer than the time we have available. Luckily, Hong Kong counts.
In an ugly step backward, our contact at the hotel where we currently reside and had originally planned to stay has again begun to cause us problems. You may recall that postponing the movers cost 5,000 RMB (nearly $1,000 USD). The hotel eventually agreed to pay that cost, knowing that they would have to incent us strongly for us to continue living here. They have now returned saying that they can only return the moving cost should we continue to live in this hotel. In essence, should we choose to leave, they can not be held responsible for their own mistakes. If we stay, they have offered our friends and colleagues 5 free nights at the hotel in lieu of paying the movers. My guess? This charge comes straight from the pocket of the employee who made the mistake - this would explain his wiley moves. He has also asked housekeeping to move us out while we were away (lucky for us, ayi was here and stood our ground). But, in a rush of endorphins while I pounded the elliptical in the gym this morning, I prayed and regained some peace over the situation. No matter how inexplicable or how unjust, I need to trust that God is in control. The end.
Career Change:
When it became clear that the foreign service may not work out, Dave sent out a flurry of resumes to non-profits. A flurry may be the wrong term, and most jobs posted asked for someone vastly more qualified or someone vastly less qualified than Dave. Dave needs to make a lateral move at this point, because he supports a wife and 3 (soon to be 4) children. This week, one of those resumes turned into a phone interview for a position with an exciting non-profit in Chengdu. Dave's excited about the opportunity and the president of the board seemed excited about him. Of course, a process remains. But please keep this in your prayers - the girls and I have undergone a lot of change, and would be quite happy to settle here for a few months before the next move. Pray that God's will is done overall, and that we can trust in His providing for us wherever we are.
Kids and Family:
Lilly comes home from school talking about a new friend nearly every day. Yesterday she told me that she plans to marry Sepi, a boy who I believe she only began playing with the day before. Relationships move quickly in these types of places, though! She is happy, and I have faith in her teacher.
Sophia comes home from school hungry, tired and often grumpy. I have yet to figure out if she is simply exhausted from going to school every day and being the oldest in her class, or if she is simply not feeling settled yet. Either way, I hope to see her become happier over the next few days and weeks.
Annika is as easy as ever, and needs another trip to Hong Kong for her 4 month doctor visit. She has gained a reputation her as well as in Shanghai as a blessedly easy baby. Praise God for that!
I am thrilled to say that I have some good friends here - people I am looking forward to getting to know better, and feel quite comfortable calling and asking to meet for coffee right now. We've fallen into the simple life, and that suits me fine.
Dave just saw much of his travel canceled for the next month, which thrills all of us to no end. He spent the last 3 weeks in Shanghai, and having him around for the next 3 will be absolutely lovely. He will begin working as the on-site consultant (the position we moved here for) in about 2 weeks time, and it will be interesting to see how that lays out. He still has some transition ahead of him, making it hard for him to feel settled here and now. The new job possibility doesn't make that any easier on him.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Slowly Coming Together
In the grand scheme of things, I suppose everything is coming together quite quickly. We learned only one week ago that we would be changing house, and we expect to be out of the hotel within one more week. Still, I feel as if I am constantly sitting and waiting for confirmation of one thing or another. We finally have verbal confirmation of nearly everything, which has me waiting for that last shoe to drop.
Should all go well, Uncle H-- will finalize our lease tomorrow. The landlord will move furniture into the house and make any last minute repairs on Wednesday and Thursday. We will receive the keys on Friday morning, as well as our boxes from Shanghai and the bunk beds we ordered for the girls. It seems that we have our room here at the hotel until Monday, although Dave wants to start sleeping in the new house by Saturday. Bunk beds need to be built; sheets and towels must be unpacked; kitchen counters and bathroom sinks must be scrubbed; toilets must be flushed multiple times. Shekou urban legend has it that rats do sometimes come through the pipes and up into the toilets in these houses, when the pipes have sat empty of water for too long. Lots and lots of flushing over the next few days. I can't get excited about Saturday, but it may be the most practical. Dave wants to get settled, and I can agree with that.
It is funny the things I am looking forward to. Although I know I will appreciate simply living in a home with everything I need around me, there are just a few items I miss on a daily basis:
- Q-tips
- a soft throw blanket
- Annika's floor blankets
- my kitchen ingredients
- hair clips
Honestly, that about does it. Often, time spent in hotels makes me realize how simply I could live. With the exception of those five things listed above (well, and baby formula), I could comfortably live without the rest of my boxes. But I am looking forward to falling into a regular routine, where I eat healthily, exercise on schedule and don't feel like I'm rushing everywhere.
Next post: Moving Day #4 - hopefully the final moving day. Then we'll need to figure out our internet connection, so be expecting a spotty connection over the next few days and weeks. But we will appreciate your prayers as we finally try to settle in.
Should all go well, Uncle H-- will finalize our lease tomorrow. The landlord will move furniture into the house and make any last minute repairs on Wednesday and Thursday. We will receive the keys on Friday morning, as well as our boxes from Shanghai and the bunk beds we ordered for the girls. It seems that we have our room here at the hotel until Monday, although Dave wants to start sleeping in the new house by Saturday. Bunk beds need to be built; sheets and towels must be unpacked; kitchen counters and bathroom sinks must be scrubbed; toilets must be flushed multiple times. Shekou urban legend has it that rats do sometimes come through the pipes and up into the toilets in these houses, when the pipes have sat empty of water for too long. Lots and lots of flushing over the next few days. I can't get excited about Saturday, but it may be the most practical. Dave wants to get settled, and I can agree with that.
It is funny the things I am looking forward to. Although I know I will appreciate simply living in a home with everything I need around me, there are just a few items I miss on a daily basis:
- Q-tips
- a soft throw blanket
- Annika's floor blankets
- my kitchen ingredients
- hair clips
Honestly, that about does it. Often, time spent in hotels makes me realize how simply I could live. With the exception of those five things listed above (well, and baby formula), I could comfortably live without the rest of my boxes. But I am looking forward to falling into a regular routine, where I eat healthily, exercise on schedule and don't feel like I'm rushing everywhere.
Next post: Moving Day #4 - hopefully the final moving day. Then we'll need to figure out our internet connection, so be expecting a spotty connection over the next few days and weeks. But we will appreciate your prayers as we finally try to settle in.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
The Ferry to Hong Kong
Should Dave get into the foreign service this year, it could be quite amusing to look back and count how many places we will have called home within a 12 month period. But this evening, it just feels unsettling. Dave has left again, flying to Shanghai to spend the work week - just as he has the past few weeks. Most of our things sit tightly packed in boxes in a warehouse in Guangzhou, much akin to life in DC when most of our things will sit in inaccessible boxes in a storage unit in Maryland. I'm becoming unnerved at having my home so close at hand, but so entirely inaccessible. We managed to borrow birthday candles, but I had to buy new wrapping paper. And we ran out of infant milk formula entirely, and had to purchase some Chinese formula.
The latest report on the ongoing milk powder crisis in China was published on August 21, 2010. This is not one story that the media will not let die - infant formula continues to be randomly unsafe for young children. And with tears in my eyes, I bought a box of it on Thursday.
One of the biggest benefits of our life in Shenzhen is our proximity to the Hong Kong Ferry. We are a 3 minute bus ride from the ferry terminal, and a 1 hour ferry ride to the heart of Hong Kong - where they sell infant formula imported directly from the United States. So, to add to an already festive weekend (Lilly turned 5 years old yesterday!), we took the ferry to Hong Kong today. Dave and the girls spent some time in Hong Kong Park while I checked out the import grocery store. Then we met at Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill for burgers and nachos, and headed home. Dave even fit in a quick shoe fitting before we headed back to the ferry for an afternoon ride home, still in time for our weekly movie night. We came back with two cannisters of Enfamil, a few jars of baby food, a relieved mom, and some tired and happy girls.
The latest report on the ongoing milk powder crisis in China was published on August 21, 2010. This is not one story that the media will not let die - infant formula continues to be randomly unsafe for young children. And with tears in my eyes, I bought a box of it on Thursday.
One of the biggest benefits of our life in Shenzhen is our proximity to the Hong Kong Ferry. We are a 3 minute bus ride from the ferry terminal, and a 1 hour ferry ride to the heart of Hong Kong - where they sell infant formula imported directly from the United States. So, to add to an already festive weekend (Lilly turned 5 years old yesterday!), we took the ferry to Hong Kong today. Dave and the girls spent some time in Hong Kong Park while I checked out the import grocery store. Then we met at Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill for burgers and nachos, and headed home. Dave even fit in a quick shoe fitting before we headed back to the ferry for an afternoon ride home, still in time for our weekly movie night. We came back with two cannisters of Enfamil, a few jars of baby food, a relieved mom, and some tired and happy girls.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Small Town Life
On Sunday, we went to church. I walked Sophia to Sunday School, and could not leave her alone in the room. A woman named Olivia was leading the class for ages 1 through 4 years old. Most of the kids sat on their mom's laps, as if by design. I sat in the corner and Sophia sat next to me. We listened as Olivia called the roll for about 10 minutes, and Sophia remained remarkably well behaved. We listened as Olivia lectured on listening well, and scolded the children for not answering her questions. At this point, I told Sophia I needed to go to the bathroom and we walked out. We did not return.
On Monday, I went to the local Women's Club breakfast at Starbucks. I chatted with a few friends, and was introduced to a few more. Everyone was friendly and conversational. Except Olivia from Burma. She was a sharp looking lady, and rather quiet. She answered my questions, but she didn't ask any of me. So with a quick Nice to meet you!, I turned around and spoke with someone else.
This morning, I visited a women's Bible Study hosted by Zoo and Olivia. As it turns out, Zoo is not a typo from Zoe. And (you saw this coming), Olivia is the same woman I met twice previously. I remembered her from Sunday School, she remembered me from Starbucks.
Bible Study left me underwhelmed, and disappointed at my prospects for a strong Christian community of women.
And reeling by how small a town this is.
I have a bad habit of writing people off when they've made a bad impression. I think I'm going to need to learn some small town manners, because there will be no avoiding people once we've met in this community.
On Monday, I went to the local Women's Club breakfast at Starbucks. I chatted with a few friends, and was introduced to a few more. Everyone was friendly and conversational. Except Olivia from Burma. She was a sharp looking lady, and rather quiet. She answered my questions, but she didn't ask any of me. So with a quick Nice to meet you!, I turned around and spoke with someone else.
This morning, I visited a women's Bible Study hosted by Zoo and Olivia. As it turns out, Zoo is not a typo from Zoe. And (you saw this coming), Olivia is the same woman I met twice previously. I remembered her from Sunday School, she remembered me from Starbucks.
Bible Study left me underwhelmed, and disappointed at my prospects for a strong Christian community of women.
And reeling by how small a town this is.
I have a bad habit of writing people off when they've made a bad impression. I think I'm going to need to learn some small town manners, because there will be no avoiding people once we've met in this community.
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