Fireworks

St. Louis knows itself some fireworks.

We lived in St. Louis for 6 years before moving to China, and we never left town for Independence Day. The fireworks over the Mississippi River, watched from underneath the Arch - that was quite a show.

But after the show our neighbors put on this evening, I realize.

Americans don't know fireworks.

China knows itself some fireworks.

We watched these from our home, and my photos don't do the show justice. Any direction we looked, we could see a show to rival St. Louis. The noise was so intense that Dave didn't realize I was yelling his name, 3 feet away from him. The smoke was thick, which explains the distortion on the photos. And the fireworks came from everywhere - our next door neighbors, high rise balconies, courtyards between two apartment buildings.

you can see the streak of the next firework as it leaves
the ground below, as well as its sister above.
these left from our lane, just 200m from our front door.

these fireworks are peeking out from between
two highrise apartment complexes.
they must have been set off in the small courtyard.

I'll share a primer on Chinese New Year in a later post, as its getting pretty late tonight. But I just had to share the show that we experienced off of our rooftop balcony, beginning around 11:50pm and only just now tapering off, 30 minutes later.

And still the rumblings continue, just not quite as close or as bright. They may well run until daybreak. Impressively, our girls slept through the entire show. We now have confirmed that we could live in a war zone, and at least our children would be well rested.

Adam's Epilogue

My brother just left on Monday, after 3 weeks in China, over which he traveled alone, walked a lot of Shanghai, and spent a lot of time being an amazing uncle. His email upon arriving back home simplified the differences between China and America, Shanghai and Kansas City very nicely.

The streets seem a lot emptier and the food not as good, but everything smells much cleaner, the sky is bluer, and the water is drinkable so its not too shabby either.

Anticipation turns to Anxiety

When Dave passed his orals and was offered conditional employment with the U.S. Foreign Service, we anticipated that his Security Clearance would take 6-9 months. That gets us to right now - 6 months later. We are now in the Any Day Now window, and easily foresee ourselves staying here for the next 3 months.

Should he receive Security Clearance sometime in the next 3 months (remember that Jake is due in mid-May), he would be invited to one of the summer classes and we would move to DC around June.

We like this idea. The girls can finish up their school year here, and begin a new one in Washington. We can blow through our 6 weeks worth of diapers and formula, and then leave the country rather than relying on substandard quality or expensive imports. Family can meet Jake while she's still tiny.

But I wonder if God is trying to lower my expectations.

We've been seeing posts lately from people who have been awaiting Security Clearance for around 1 year. And I am reminded of the conversation Dave had with his interviewer. The interviewer said something to the effect of... Whoa, you've got an awfully long list of Foreign Contacts. And you are a consultant? Who speaks to a long list of companies and seminars on a weekly basis? Wow - this will take a long time.

He may have been right.

But don't get excited, Shanghai friends. Dave's contract with Uncle H-- runs out this year, and they have no plans of renewing. We will be leaving Shanghai this summer, either way. Talk in the office at this point is that they would appreciate his skills in Hong Kong - and with the same boss over both Shanghai and Hong Kong, this would be a simple move to make happen.

Hong Kong is alright with me - no language issues, good doctors and access to high quality baby items, and I'm already connected to people there.

But stickiness ensues when we realize that sometime during that Hong Kong year, Dave will probably receive security clearance and have us shipped off to DC mid-school year. And then shipped off from DC to post, also mid-school year. That'd get poor Lilly to attending 4 different schools before she hits 1st grade at our first post. It would continue Sophia's practice of never living in a home for 12 months until she reaches her 6th birthday.

And to make things even more interesting, expedited adoptions have definitely begun again. It seems that families currently in China are picking up their child 24 months after being registered with the Chinese government. We registered in April 2009.

That pulls our number in the middle of next year - what could be shaping up to be a very interesting year.

Also, please note. As this post is pure speculation, you will understand why the posts have been sparse lately. With no news on the baby front, the adoption front, the Foreign Service front or any other major drama, I simply haven't much to say. Please excuse the long breaks... and pray for some news soon!

Conversations with Wendy

For readers not in the know, Wendy is our housekeeper, or ayi. She is Chinese and hails from Nanjing. Her husband is Shanghainese, and she often describes him as "horrible" or "very horrible." I feel comfortable writing about her because I am quite confident that none of her friends or family read this blog. Further, because Wendy is not her real name, but only her English name. She speaks wonderful English.

Bank of China
Adam asked Wendy last week whether or not the Bank of China is owned by the Chinese government. After a surprisingly long conversation to define the word "government," she confirmed that it is. The Bank of China is not privately owned, and thank goodness for that, she said.

As recent as the 1960s, the Chinese government has seized people's assets for no other reason than because they had a capitalist attitude. Most of our cash holdings lie in Chinese Yuan (RMB) in the Bank of China at this time - Dave's choice, because the RMB holds artificially stable, and because the dollar is falling against it at a faster rate than the growth rate of most US savings accounts. Still, we are American capitalists and I (the reactionary that I am) fear that the government will not allow us to take our money without a fight.

I told her in much fewer words, that a public bank makes me nervous. She laughed, and said that a private bank makes her nervous. Apparently, something akin to private banks here have opened, only to have the company accept deposits and then close their doors and walk with the people's money. I explained to her the public insurance system of FDIC in the US, which she found surprising and probably quite expensive. Either way, she was quite sure that no such system exists within China and felt much safer with the government owning all of the banks. Quite a different perspective from the debates over the US banking bail-out last fall!


Tap Water
Wendy asked me yesterday why we never drink the water from the tap. Under instructions from our doctors, our friends, and our guidebooks, we never drink tap water within China. We only rarely cook with it. My understanding is that the water purification system for the city of Shanghai is actually quite modern (unlike in most cities in China), but that the pipes are not. So, the water does not carry any sort of bacteria and will not make a person feel ill immediately. But the water does leech lead and other dangerous minerals off of the water pipes. I wonder at the levels of lead poisoning within China, and I worry about my children's levels after living here for 3 years.

Keeping it simple (her English is only so good), I explained the problem with the pipes. She countered that this was not such a problem. That she has heard too many stories about people buying bottled water that was very bad. Although she does drink out of the bottle at our home, she says that bottled water scares her much more than that from the tap. And further, that no doctor has ever told her to the public water could be dangerous.

Of course, her doctor also prescribed antibiotics and an IV on a nearly daily basis when her daughter had the flu, while mine told me not to call him until at least day 10 of the runny nose and cough.


Spanking and Beating
I am blessed to have well behaved children. But when Lilly loses control, she loses it completely and I have yet to find an effective form of discipline. Wendy, along with many others, suggested spanking. Well, she suggested beating. She "beats" her daughter, and says that it works very well. After a bit of discussion, we determined that she only spanks her daughter - aiming only for the hip - and would never otherwise try to hurt the child.

I told her to use the word "spanking" instead of the word "beating." I explained that beating is hurting someone very badly, like in a fight. Beating a child is irresponsible and not acceptable. She understood, and named a Chinese term for abuse. She asked if Dave has ever beat me - and I quickly said no! Then, to underscore the point, I said that my father had never beat me, and his father had never beat him.

Now, Wendy is not a woman to be crossed. She makes her opinion known, she stands up for herself, and she makes her own choices. She is a very strong woman. So, it was only for the sake of conversation that I asked if her husband has ever beat her.

Wendy: Yes, one time he hit me with a chair.

Lynne: He hit you on the head with a chair?

Wendy: Yes, one time. My baby was very young and crying a lot. I was angry, and I treated him with anger. He got very angry, and he picked up a chair and hit me on the head (she pointed to her temple). He made me bleed.

Lynne: What did you do?

Wendy: I think that if you forgive someone the first time they beat you, they will continue. So, I told him that if he ever does that again I will KILL him. He laughed - how would I kill him? I said, you have to sleep sometime. I will KILL you if you hurt me again.

Lynne: Has he ever hit you again?

Wendy: No.

At this point, Sophia needed to go potty and so the conversation sat on hold. But after a little bit, she picked up the trail again.

Wendy: I don't know what I would do if he beat me again.

Lynne: China and America are very different places. I do not know what kind of choices you have.

Wendy: Divorce?

Lynne: That's what I would tell you in America.

Wendy: But if I divorce, where would I live? And what about my daughter? I could not leave my daughter.

Lynne: I know. In America, your daughter would stay with you and your husband would have to help pay for your home.

Wendy: Oh! That is a very good deal!

Lynne: Well, not really. He would not have anymore money than he has now, but he would have to spend it on two different homes. It would be very difficult for him, and maybe he wouldn't always do it.

Wendy: Oh. (pause) I am a Nanjing person. My husband is Shanghainese, and so my daughter is Shanghainese. I could go back to my hometown, and my family would help me. I could change my daughter to be a Nanjing person, and then she could go to school in Nanjing. But the schools in Nanjing are not so good - not as good as in Shanghai.

Lynne: I just read that a person from Nanjing can rent an apartment in Shanghai - maybe this is new?

Wendy: Yes, I can rent an apartment in Shanghai. But how can I afford it? Apartments in Shanghai are very expensive. And who would care for my daughter? How would I work? (pause) I tell my brothers and my sisters in Nanjing, and they say I must bear it. (pause) I argue with him, and he does not beat me. But when he gets angry, I must stop arguing. I am afraid he will beat me again - and then what would I do?


I wish I could tell you I had sound advice for her. I don't. This would be difficult in America, where I understand the basics of the legal and social systems. I have no advice for her here. Further, she has explained that this is normal, and so no one feels bad for her. She knows that it is wrong, but most people she speaks to do not sympathize with her.

I told her that I agree with her brothers and sisters. If she can bear it, she should. I probably should lose my MSW for saying that, but I think its probably true. I also told her that if he hits her again, she needs to decide if she can bear it. That she must decide which is harder to bear - that maybe having her husband beat her and scare her is worse than anything else.

She said that if she saw a way, she would leave him today.

I doubt her situation is unique.

Peanut Butter Pie

My mom bakes, and always has. If I learned anything from my mother and grandmother, its how to roll out cookies. Sadly, I didn't pay very close attention, and cookies is as far as my baking expertise went before I left home. I had certainly learned to appreciate a good brownie, a moist cake and a flaky pie crust - but I had no idea how to make my own.

Well folks, lets thank China for leaving me with time on my hands and a total lack of good pie. For Dave's birthday, he asked for Peanut Butter Pie. I am not sure how I stumbled across this recipe, as most of this food blogger's other recipes are far too high in calories to be worth it. But Dave loves peanut butter deserts in any form, this somehow found its way into my recipe file.

And in the process of making the pie, I learned a few things.

1: I learned that the pre-Thanksgiving apple pie fiasco was less due to the dripping apples and more due to the drips of butter falling from my oh-so-flaky, buttery crust. The same quick remedy - turning off the oven, scrubbing it down with the fans on high, and then coating the rack with aluminum foil - went ultrafast this time.

2: Our oven is capable of reaching temperatures higher than 350.

3: It doesn't seem to hurt this pie crust to bake it at 500.

It came out of the oven feeling flaky, smelling good, and tasting wonderful. But presentation still must be learned. This is an awfully mottled and uneven pie crust:

Still, once you fill it with peanut butter custard and meringue, the appearance of the crust becomes less important.

And yes, that's an awfully flat meringue. Apparently, I need to practice my meringues as well as my crusts. My food photography could use some work as well. But the pie tasted so good that our small family polished off half of it in one sitting!

Here's the recipe. And although it is hardly a China-friendly recipe, it does rely primarily on ingredients I stock on my shelves and so worked well in our kitchen. Enjoy!

Pie Crust
Mix:
2 C. flour
1/2 C. ground almonds
1 t. salt
1 heaping t. brown sugar

Cut in:
1 C. butter, cut into 1/2" cubes and frozen at least 15 minutes**

Use your hands, if the butter is too cold to cut. But be careful not to overknead - those clumps of butter are what make the crust flaky (and the oven smokey!)

Sprinkle:
3-6 T. cold water

Add the cold water sprinkles or tablespoons at a time, and mix until the dough clumps together.
Form the dough into 2 round discs, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
After an hour, bring out one disc of dough and allow it to adjust to room temperature for 10-15 min. During that time, flour your workspace and your rolling pin. It worked well for me to wet the space just before flouring it.
Roll out the crust to a circle large enough to fill your pie plate.
Poke it with plenty of holes, and bake it at 350 until brown.

Peanut Butter Pie
Now that your crust is in the oven, begin work on the custard.

In a saucepan, combine:
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 C. milk
3/4 C. sugar
5 T. flour
1/4 t. salt

Stirring constantly, allow this to bubble and thicken.

Remove it from the heater, and add:
1/2 t. vanilla
1/8 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. cayenne
3/4 C. peanut butter - we used unsweetened, chunky and it was perfect

Your custard's done, so now move on to the meringue.

Beat:
2 egg whites
1/8 t. salt

When the eggs starts to get fluffy, add:
4 T. sugar

Now I've always been told that you should beat meringue until peaks form and it becomes glossy. With this meringue, that took me a crazy-long time, and it still came out of the oven flat. If you've got a good meringue, I may suggest you sub it in.

Assemble your pie - crust, custard and then meringue - and pop the whole thing in your 350 degree oven to bake until those peaks begin to brown.

Huangshan

Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) is actually a group of mountains in southern Anhui province. Anhui is just on the other side of Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces from Shanghai, but feels much farther - especially on the night train. This is a slow train, stopping almost as frequently as a local subway and taking a circuitous route to Tunxi, also known as Huangshan City. Luckily we had hard sleepers, enabling us to sleep away much of the 15 hour ride.



Arriving in Tunxi, we got off the train and hopped on one of the dozens of minibuses ready to cart us off on the hour ride up to Tongkou, the village at the base of the mountains. Dropped off at some random hotel where most of the others on the minibus (a tour group) were staying, we puzzled over how to begin the actual hiking. The minibus driver interrupted his smoking break to try to help us out with his scattered English and my scattered Chinese. He called his friend Mr. Cheng who took us to his restaurant (Mr. Cheng's Restaurant and English Tourist Information). Deciding we'd be happy to start our hike with a good meal, we tucked in to a great dish of bamboo, mushroom and chicken and some scrambled eggs and tomatoes. Mr. Cheng gave us advice on our hiking route, told us we paid too much for our pre-booked hotel on the top of the mountains, and got us a ride to the trailhead.

We walked through tea plantations (Huangshan is famous for its tea) until we reached a view of a waterfall working its way down the cliffs. From there it was climbing, now through bamboo forests. Snow began to fall, making for a very pleasant hike.

After about an hour and a half, we reached the main trailhead for Huangshan. Skipping the cable cars, we started the hike up more stairs. We climbed for nearly 3 hours, and my city legs only persisted because our efforts were constantly rewarded by spectacular views of the mountain cliffs poking through fog among the snow. We eventually reached the top, where a number of paths crisscross among hotels and shops. Every brick and bedframe making up these hotel complexes and shops had been carted up by hand at one point. In fact, the only people we saw that first day were a steady stream of stick stick men carrying their well-balanced loads of hotel refuse down the mountain on bamboo poles. This certainly made my pack seem simple and my steps light. I generally prefer to enjoy nature on its own terms, but this night I enjoyed a buffet dinner and a hot shower before crashing for a well-earned night's sleep.










The next morning, we spent a few hours putzing around the various peaks in this top section of Huangshan. We clambered across rocks and kept trying to "get to that next peak". We reached some rather precarious looking bridges, decided they were worth testing, and then decided to cross them despite their failing of our various tests (first step crashed through.... well how about the second step?). We survived a few bridges, and eventually reached the last peak in the line. The only thing marring the sense of adventure and accomplishment was the cable car support planted on the edge of this peak. It had ladders going part of the way up to the top of the peak, but we looked over them and chose to scale the short-ish (maybe 30 feet) open face cliff. It had plenty of ridges so seemed doable without equipment. And it was, for Adam; but he had to haul me up a couple sections, bless his Army soul.

It was worth the effort. That was the constant theme: every time, our efforts were rewarded with amazing views. Still, but we opted for the ladder on the way back down. Finding the trail, we came to a gate and realized we had been on a closed section most of the time. No wonder we had it to ourselves!

After a bit more wandering, we found the trail back down via a new route. Today we had a harder time avoiding crowds, and the views were not quite as spectacular. Still, it was pleasant enough, and we eventually made it back to Mr. Cheng's restaurant for another hearty meal. He got us on a minibus heading back to Tunxi, where we wandered their "Old Street" trying the local snacks (don't bother) before heading to the airport for my flight home and Adam's flight to Beijing.

The scenery on Huangshan was some of the best I have seen anywhere in the world, and it really makes those Chinese scroll paintings of mountains in the clouds seem a whole lot less abstract. Every view in every direction on the top section was phenomenal, and ever changing as the clouds and fog rolled through and up and around.

A Little Jealous

My younger brother arrived in Shanghai Tuesday night, right on time. We've been enjoying his company around the house, and the girls have especially been enjoying such a rigorous playmate. But last night, the girls and I bid him and Dave farewell. The pair took an overnight train to Huang Shan, where they spent the day today climbing the mountain. Tomorrow morning, they'll watch the sun rising over the peaks and then climb down again. Dave plans to catch a plane back home, arriving late tomorrow night. I look forward to posting some of his photos. Adam will catch a plane to Beijing, and begin a week of lone traveling through China. His path is simplified by the plans we've made - he has plan tickets and hostel reservations, as well as directions on how to reach each one. He will go to Beijing and Yangshuo, and then return to Shanghai after a week.

I set up the trip for Adam. Dave did most of the legwork for Huang Shan, but I was involved in the details. And the further involved I became, the more my jealousy grew. Such a trip I can not take with 2 such young children. Such a trip involves sleeping on trains, figuring it out as you go, and walking a lot. Such a trip involves dorm beds and midnight arrivals. Such a trip involves waiting until you can figure out the right answers, or seeking out someone who speaks enough English to point you in the right direction. Such a trip involves some trial and error. My goodness, such a description grows my jealousy all the more.

The backpacker days may well return again, although probably only after the youngest child has reached elementary school age, at least. For now, living vicariously through my brother, and tag-teaming weekend outings will have to suffice. As travel becomes more limited, I relish the life we have chosen - a new destination every few years. Not exactly backpacking, but no less an adventure.