Images of China

Rebecca and I decided to go through our China photographs and we have pulled out some of our favorites during the 3 years we have been here:

Steaming dumplings in Shanghai

Lion guarding the Jade Buddha Temple entrance in Shanghai.

Student Monks at a Tibetan Monastery near Lijiang.

A round doorway in the Master of Nets garden in Suzhou.

 

A vegetable vendor's wares laid out in a back alley market.

Burning incense at a temple outside of Hangzhou during Qingming Festival.

A young girl dressed in Yi minority tribe traditional clothes at Stone Forrest near Kunming.

Rice noodles drying in the sun in Dali.

Eating lunch in a small village in Fujian province.

Wuzhen water town outside of Shanghai.

Minority women dancer who was fascinated with the girls in Yunnan Provence.

Local Temple caretaker welcomed us to drink tea and rest from our hike near Wasa.  

It is no surprise to me that so many of our favorites are of the Chinese People.  During our stay and travels, almost without exception, the People of China have been overwhelmingly eager to meet us and have showed us such patience, generosity, and hospitality that it is difficult to describe.  We have been welcomed into their homes, religious temples, weddings & ceremonies with open arms as their distinguished guests.  We have appreciated their kindness very much and it has been our great honor to meet them.



Cruising In China

2 1/2 years ago when we started our China experience, I would not have predicted that we would venture out into traffic, but here we are on my CJ750 Sidecar.  The bike is a restored 1957 Chang Jiang 750cc 24hp bike (very nearly identical copy of the 1930's vintage BMW R71).  Riding around on this bike has been an absolute blast.  Not only is it entertaining to ride, it also catches the attention of nearly every Chinese and Foreigner we pass on it.  So many thumbs up I cannot count.

My friend Tim Peat and I decided that we would both go and get sidecars this summer.  The process started with him and I test driving the bikes at the sidecar shop.  I was the first to test ride, and I pre-warned Tim that the last time I rode a bike was a mini 50 when I was 12 yrs. old.  At the time, the only thing that prevented me from driving into the lake was the campsite grill that I rammed shortly before I jumped off and ran away.  This ride would be my second attempt and directly into Shanghai city traffic.  Tim bravely hopped into the sidecar and off we went.  As we returned from the successful ride, I commented to the mechanic that I was surprised how the bike was able to lean so effortlessly into the corners.  After hearing this, the mechanic ran into the garage and quickly installed the securing nuts for the sidecar.  Turns out the sidecar was not attached completely and we were probably lucky that Tim didn't peel off for his first solo sidecar run.  But, he didn't and with our first successful ride completed, we ordered the bikes.

Next step was to obtain a motorcycle license.  After getting a medical check, taking a written test, and passing two separate on road driving tests with a police officer I was all set.  The entire process took about 2 months and required about 7 seperate trips across town.  Here are a few of my favorite test questions:

5.7.2.2 When the driver senses he will inevitably be thrown out of the vehicle, he should violently straighten both his legs to increase the force of being thrown out and jump out of the vehicle. Answer: Right

5.9.2.3 When a vehicle falls into water, the driver should in no way panic. In particular, those who cannot swim should first manage to escape through the windows. As long as they reach the water surface, they will have more chances to survive.  Answer: Right

5.6.2.2 When a head-on collision is unavoidable, the driver should free the steering wheel, raise the legs and lie sideward on the right seat at the moment of the head-on collision. This can ensure his body is not stuck by the steering wheel.  Answer: Right

Some of the questions were obviously nonsense, but I made it through anyway.  Since I got the bike this summer, I have put on about 500km so far and always look forward to nice days when we can explore Shanghai from a new an unique perspective.

For those who travel to Shanghai and are interested in a sidecar tour let me know and I can hook you up with a ride on my bike or you may also ride as part of organized tours of Shanghai by sidecar.

Signs you're in China...

The following signs are some of the best ones that we have seen on our travel throughout China. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

 

5-Star Ratings and Polite Conversation

Anyone who travels or talks to people that travel knows that one of the most popular topics to note and discuss after a trip is the state of the bathrooms. Whether you are staying in fancy hotels and marvel at the impressively outfitted commode, or traveling to a third world country and peeing in a trough, it is a rare thing to not comment on the facilites you have encountered. The Lundy family certainly fits that mold, and have appreciated some of the best and worst during our travels in the last couple of years. I recently had a new and unique bathroom experience that has prompted me to take a moment to capture a few of our favorite toilet-themed memories, but I'll come back to that...

We knew, of course, that we would need to be prepared for some rough potty-stops when we moved to China. Jeff and I had both visited China for work and had experienced the China-standard squat toilets. For those of you that haven't had the pleasure, allow me to explain. Traditionally here, they do not use the standard Western-style stool that most of us are accustomed to. Instead, they squat over an opening in the floor. Nicer bathrooms have a porcelain ring with foot pads directing you where to stand and a flush feature similar to a Western stool. Kayla, bless her, has adjusted to these toilets quickly and is a regular potty-pro, tolerant of even the roughest of conditions. McKenna, at just under 4 when we first arrived, has had a slower, and more difficult learning curve. The first issue is maneuvering your clothes - this is easier if you are wearing a skirt, but you still have underwear to deal with. For an adult, this can be a difficult question of positioning, but it is complicated for a small child. McKenna often can't pull her pants around her ankles and still straddle the hole - the clothes are too small to cover the span. Therefore, a simple potty break often requires a fair amount of undressing. (And if you are a 4-year-old who has to go, it can exceed the amount of time and movement your bladder can manage. McKenna and I speak from experience on this front.)

Next, clothes properly positioned, you must assume the squat position. Actually, once you get accustomed to it, this is not too bad. For you ladies who have "hovered" over a less than clean public stool, squatting is less strenuous on your quads and an easier position to hold for any length of time. McKenna, however, has never quite gotten the hang of it; and I have yet to find a good way of supporting her. For this reason, I rarely escape these trips without getting pee'd on. In fact - I will offer this recommendation - do not accompany a small child to a pit toilet with open toed shoes - it never ends well.

Finally, getting back up to a standing and fully clothed position without anything touching the floor can feel like mission impossible. If you think public bathroom floors in the US are nasty, well, you ain't seen nothing yet. Another unusual, and rather unpleasant, feature of the Chinese ladies room is the fact that they don't flush anything that didn't originate from them. So used toilet paper is stowed in the garbage. This is a bit...well... icky even if the bathroom is well maintained and lightly used; and a well maintained and lightly used public bathroom in China is a rare thing. I leave the rest to your imagination on this front.

Things get fun when you leave the big cities and head out into "real China." We have learned that communal troughs are the norm in most places; if you are lucky there are small dividers demarcating individual space and providing at least a small amount of privacy. Usually there is a trickle of water running down the length of the trough, but not always. In many places, the trough is actually just a shute, headed for the back of the building. What has made Jeff and I nearly laugh out loud is the fact that many of these public facilities charge a fee for the pleasure of using them!

Of course, discussing the state of the bathrooms is a regular part of China adventures, and as those of you who have worked in GM's test groups will understand, Jeff and I have been known to apply a "GMUTS" rating to them. But one of the funniest sights came from our first trip to Beijing, in May 2009. During our visit to the Forbidden City, we happened upon this sign:
It was the first and only time we have seen an official government-sanctioned star rating; and of course we had to evaluate it for ourselves. It was on par with the average "modern" (porcelain floor ring and flush) bathroom, but except for the sign it wasn't anything to write home about.

And so, we get back to the event that prompted me to record this topic. Last week, the Lundy family ventured out to Nanjing to do some China sightseeing. Needing a pit stop, I ventured in to a public bathroom downtown. It was of the communal-trough-with-doorless-divider variety; and while waiting for an open slot, I was befriended by a young boy (I'd guess about 4 or 5 years old) who wanted to practice his English on the only Western in sight. We traded "Hellos" and "How are you's?" and then my turn came up. I went through the various stages of getting into position (refer to text above) and then was startled by a little voice from the edge of the divider saying "You're pretty."

And so I challenge each of you to fill me in -- what exactly is the proper response to this lovely compliment when you are squatting over a trough with 15 other ladies and your pants around your ankles? And how exactly do you extricate yourself smoothly from this scenario at the end of your task?

Spring 2011

It's been a while since the last post, and we have been quite busy with work, school, and trying to cram as much travel as possible in.

In August, the girls returned back to school. Kayla started 4th grade, and McKenna started Kindergarten. They continue to excel in school don't complain about it too much. With Yew Chung being an international school for primarily Expatriate children, the turnover rate is quite high (as many parents are on 2-3 year assignments). This year, Kayla's good friend Claren returned with her family back to Australia. The girls spent a lot of time at each others houses and they both were not looking forward to having to separate. Kayla is missing Claren and continues to keep in touch through email. There are a couple new girls who arrived, one from England and another Japan and they all are spending more time together and Kayla is helping them with the transition to Yew Chung.

We caught some great days in Shanghai in September (which is an excellent time to visit Shanghai in addition to April-May). The 1930's architecture of the Bund area near the river continues to impress and with new roof deck bars and restaurants opening it is an active and fun place to hang out and enjoy the city lights. A couple of our favorites: Ritz-Carlton roof deck bar, Lost Heaven roof deck patio, Stiller's roof deck, New Heights roof deck. (Yes there is a pattern there).

In October we travelled to South Western China (just north of the Vietnam border) to Yunnan Provence. Yunnan is home to a large majority of the Minority Tribes in China. We spent time in the Stone Forrest near Kunming, hiked through local villages during the rice harvest, visited Tiger Leaping Gorge & Shangri-La. We were there about one week and it is impossible to include here all of the amazing sights, scenery, & people we saw there. Probably the highlight for me was walking near the rice fields watching the farmers cutting and thrashing the rice by hand. No mechanisation at all and felt a bit like travelling back in time to what it must of been like in the US in the early 1900's I'm guessing. We also dropped into a local temple and was treated to tea by the temple caretaker (above). Quite a memorable experience!

We celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving at home and invited some of our close friends to join us for the festivities. Both holidays are uniquely American and it is particularly entertaining to watch the other non-American foreign kids embrace Halloween to get free candy. I think that we had maybe 200-300 kids come to the house for candy (because we had American candy: Smarties, candy corns, etc. hand carried in- thanks Ed & Adam!). US Candy is the best (German Kinder eggs a close second).

We took holiday vacation during Christmas time (which is not celebrated in China) and flew to New Zealand for a two week Camper Van spectacular. We rented a camper van and drove over the South island of New Zealand from Christ Church across and down the West Coast to Milford Sound, Queenstown, and back again (camping the entire way). NZ is an outdoorsman Mecca. Mountains with glaciers to oceans & whale watching within a very short distance. Unbelievable outdoor opportunities. We spent Christmas on a overnight cruise through Milford Sound in the South Western part of the Island sharing a British Christmas with some Germans, Australians, British, & Americans. Kids enjoyed the "crackers", but the British Christmas cake should be avoided (like fruit cake - just not as good). Here is a brief montage of NZ: Beautiful Christchurch architecture, climbing Redwoods, Whale watching...no whales but dolphins...too rough and a lot of really sea sick people, seals at the campsite, ocean 30 ft. from camper, spectacular sunset, new screensaver, playing in waves, pancake rocks, one lane bridges shared with trains (really?), 3 walking suspension bridges, 2 glaciers, kayaking, so many sheep, wine, drenched by waterfall, bungee jumping 10 yr old (not mine, but McKenna cried that she couldn't do it at 6), stars, couple thousand pictures, 4 happy campers.

Unfortunately, in February an 6.3 earth quake hit Christchurch again and leveled many of the buildings and severely damaging many others. Much of the church steeple shown here has been completely destroyed since this picture was taken in December.

Early February was China's traditional "Spring Festival" which is a week long holiday that marks the beginning of the New Year based on the lunar calendar. As we have learned from experience that one should never travel in China during a Chinese Holiday (crowds), we went to Boracay, Philippines for some warmer weather. The week consisted of basically sitting in a beach chair, drinking beer, and basically doing nothing. It was everything that I hoped it could be. We were joined by a couple of our friends: The Peats and the Ihlens. We used the time as a last hurrah with Lars and Anna as Lars has accepted a new job and will move with the family to Paris.

So that pretty much brings us up to date. Obviously, we have done a lot of travel, but our philosophy is to travel absolutely as much as possible to take advantage of the opportunity that we have by being located on this side of the world. I think we have given it our best shot.

Summer 2010

Well, summer is officially winding to a close as we start our new school year. Our summer plans ended up changing unexpectedly and quickly at the beginning of June, when Rebecca, Kayla and McKenna returned to the US to allow us to address McKenna's recurrent UTI's. The doctors we were working with here in Shanghai were all great, but we were getting some inconsistent lab results and decided any further testing and diagnosis would be much easier in the US. So, Rebecca took a leave of absence and the girls returned to Michigan and bounced between Grammy Pammy and Papa's house and Ms. Teresa and Mr. Dan's house (Thank you again!!!!) We are so blessed to have such loving and supportive friends and family. For those of you that were following our McKenna saga on Facebook, please know that she is doing fine and that we are using antibiotics to temporarily control the infections. The hope is that in the next year she may outgrow, or at least partially grow out of the condition. We hope to be able to postpone any further actions until next summer or until we move back to the US at the end of our assignment.

Anyway, after reducing the trip planning time from 6 weeks (originally we weren't supposed to travel until mid July) to 6 days; getting everything ready for our 8 week summer break was a whirlwind of jewelry shopping, work, packing, and saying goodbye to friends who were leaving Shanghai this year. And then suddenly, we were in Michigan. The girls did fantastic on the flight, and we made it through the airports and customs with no issues. Grammy Pammy picked us up at the airport, and 3 hours later we were in Kohls (no joke - 3 hours..., you can't pass up a good sale :) )

Over the next 5 weeks, we spent countless hours in doctor's offices, waiting rooms, hospital labs, administrative lines, on hold waiting for the appointment desks, etc. But we also got to to see Lizzie and Jared get married (beautiful); ride horses (thanks Sarah!); go speedboating, tubing and jet skiing (thanks Gavin family!); ride on Papa's sailboat and go camping in the motor home; go up to the farm to spend time with Grandpa Wayne and Grandma Betty; attend Monica's baby shower (Monica looked great and the baby is beautiful!!!); visit all of our friends in Brighton including school friends we hadn't seen in 18 months; have a great BBQ with the McLean clan (thanks Tracey for hosting); and just really enjoy extra time with the people we love. While unplanned, it ended up being a great time.

The downfall of all of this, for all of us, was that Jeff had to stay in Shanghai alone for this time and continue working. We have learned that we really do not like being apart. The girls missed Daddy terribly and Jeff was frustrated by the distance and time between us. Mid-July he finally took the flight we were all originally scheduled to come in on, and joined us in Michigan. We joined the rest of the Scramlin clan in Hillman, and attended Erin and Jared's wedding (another beautiful day!); and then headed to Nebraska to visit with the Lundys and attend Jeff's 20th high school reunion.

We had a great time in Nebraska, and after weeks of running around like over-scheduled crazy people, it was wonderful to soak up quiet time in Alliance. The girls enjoyed swimming in the city pool, playing with Grandma and Grandpa's dog, Missy, and the fact that Grandma and Grandpa's morning coffee at Dairy Queen guaranteed that they got to eat ice cream every morning at 10:00! Jeff and Rebecca had a great time at all the reunion activities and Jeff thoroughly enjoyed not only catching up on what everyone was doing, but watching their reaction when he said that he was now living in China!

While we were in Nebraska, Jeff's brother Brian and his family joined us from Norfolk, NE and his brother-in-law Earl and niece Tara surprised everyone and drove out from Forrest, VA. The mini-family reunion was fabulous - it had been 6 years since we had seen Tara! We packed in two big barbecues, some games of pool at the Eagles club, and the guys played golf. We also got to spend some time with the families of two good friends - John Hall and Janice McCall Kresin. The three families met up at Fort Robinson State Park for jeep rides, stage coach rides, mammoths, pony rides, buffalo tacos, old fashioned pictures, and horseshoes. Fun was had by all!

The last week in Michigan flew by, and then, suddenly, we were back in China again! The weather here is HOT. Really, really, really hot. We are thankful for our air conditioning and the Vizcaya pool. We are enjoying seeing our friends and neighbors and meeting new neighbors. There has been a big influx of Ford families this year - 14 Ford ISP families, primarily from the Detroit area just arrive in the last few weeks. After a week of summer camp, school started this week for the girls. We can't believe how big they are getting! McKenna started Year 1 (kindergarten) and Kayla is now in Year 5 (4th grade). They are old pros at the morning routine and the bus now, of course, and the first day went off without a hitch. We are sad to see summer end, but the school year promises to be a fun and exciting one, and after our great summer break, we are look forward to the year ahead.

Easter Break - March 2010

China does not celebrate Easter, but this year Easter weekend coincided with Qing Ming (Pronounced "Ching Ming" - Chinese Tomb Sweeping Holiday which is similar to our Memorial Day in the US). We took this opportunity to travel to Xi'an (pronounced "She-on") and visit the famed Terra Cotta Warriors housed there.

A local farmer dug up pottery fragments digging a well in 1974 and ultimately around 8000 life sized pottery warriors and horses, are believed to have been buried as part of a Chinese Emperor's mausoleum over 2,200 years ago. Probably around 2500 warriors, horses, and chariots have been painstakingly restored over the last 36 years. Only a small portion of the total site has been uncovered, and much of the remaining site will remain buried until technology advances are found to allow better preservation of the paint on the soldiers as they are removed. Most of the extremely bright colors flake off during the excavation. We took about 4 hours to tour the site and museum with a tour guide. The whole thing was quite unbelievable. At the end of our day we met the local farmer who originally found the site and who now works at the museum. Kayla was excited when he signed her Xi'an picture book just as we were getting ready to leave.

Xi'an itself is an ancient city and we spent one afternoon riding atop the city wall on tandem bicycles. The weather was good and the kids were excited to "pedal" with us. McKenna couldn't really reach the pedals so she mainly just went along for a ride. Kayla was able to help though. The city wall completely circles the city and is around 8 miles long. We did it in about 1.5 hours then found some ice cream.

Other activities we enjoyed included watching kite flying in the park, visiting an ancient pagoda, and walking through a Muslim mosque and outdoor meat market. We saw our share of Cow liver & hearts heaped up on tables for sale. Needless to say, we opted for a Japanese restaurant that night. I'll take sushi over goat intestines any day.

A Great shot of the girls

Air pollution index raised from "Marlboro lights" to "Silk Cut"

We recently read a website (webzilla.com) that equated the pollution index to the brand of a pack of cigarettes smoked during a 10-minute walk in downtown Shanghai. In other words a ten minute walk in downtown Shanghai currently has the same effect as smoking a pack of "Silk Cut" cigarettes and is approaching the levels of "Benson & Hedges". You don't have to be a smoker to understand that no matter the brand, the smog here is bad.

Most mornings the smog hangs low over Shanghai as a result of the use of low grade coal as the primary fuel for cooking, heating, and running the factories. Close to 70% of China's electrical power is generated from coal, and most of it appears to be blowing right into the cities that they support. Much of the pollution consists of particulate matter, including concrete dust from the massive number of construction projects, ash, etc. For reference, particulate matter usually ranges from around 60 to 200 (Dec. 26th it was 175). For comparison, US cities usually range from 10-30. So Shanghai has around 10-15 times more particulates than a typical US city. In addition Sulfer Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide are also significantly worse, due primarily to the extensive use of coal fired power plants.

The most noticeable effect of the pollution is the thick brownish haze that coats the city. There are some clear days when the wind blows the smog out, but in the year that we have been here I can count the number of clear days on two hands. Additionally, we never see the deep blue sky that we are used to in the US. In fact, that was the first thing we noticed while on vacation in the US this summer was the blue sky.

Another effect that we notice often is that anything which sits outside overnight is coated with a fine layer of dust (like charcoal). You cannot walk in bare feet outside, because even a few steps will have the bottom of your foot blackened from the soot. As a result of this, we have become very regiment about removing our shoes before walking through the house. The car windows must be cleaned every morning as well to keep them clear.

It took some adjustment to get used to the levels of pollution. For Jeff, he no longer wears his contacts and wears only glasses now as the air is causing too much irritation in his eyes. Additionally, he discovered that the smog exaggerated his seasonal allergies and needed Claritin to fight back. For a while he suggested that he was allergic to China, but it really only turned out to be the smog.

The 20 million people who now live in Shanghai are also contributing. I recently learned that the number of people who use their own personal vehicle to commute to and from work is around 15%. This number is growing rapidly as the people are buying more vehicles at a incredible pace. GM sales were up an unbelievable 60% this year! This year will mark the first time in which China will sell more vehicles than the US, somewhere around 13 million vehicles.

All of these factors combine to contribute to the poor air quality. Hopefully, we will see improvements during our time here, but I would be very surprised due to the rate of growth. For now, we will take every vacation and holiday opportunity to get away from the city to get some fresh air.

Daily Life In Shanghai

Attached in our blog are some great photos from the typical Chinese Tourist hot spots as we have begun to explore inside and outside of Shanghai. After re-reading some of these it kind of gives me the impression that we are all on an extended vacation here. Some of the next blogs we will write will get into our typical daily experiences. Some are quite surprising.

Grocery Shopping: A couple of blocks from our house (walking distance) is a French shopping store called Carrefour. This all purpose store is a lot like a Super Kmart. It has clothes, appliances, food, and all other sorts of things. The first floor is like a mall with flower stores, shoe stores, a Pizza Hut, and Subway. Take an escalator to the second floor and you enter the grociery store. One of the things that is most evident when entering, besides everything written in Chinese, are the crowds, especially in the evenings. Lines can quite long.

A quick note on lines: In the US, people tend to be quite orderly in lines. Line up and take turns. In China, not sure if it is because of the sheer number of people or what, but if you wait in line, you may find yourself waiting forever. Pushing is not uncommon, and I seen my share of Grandmas who have moved in front of me in line because I didn't move fast enough. I am becoming more aware of these sneaky ones and I am no longer afraid to box out Grandma if she gets to assertive.

The scariest thing in the store is the meat department. The butcher area has pork, chicken, beef, snake, turtle, frogs, and other 4 legged creatures no doubt. Plucked chickens are stacked in coolers, and the beef are sliced up in front of you with raw meat unpackaged in the the coolers. People pick through the meat like produce. It's not clean, and it smells. We don't get our meat in this store as a result. Instead we buy imported meat, typically from New Zealand or Austrailia at specialty meat stores. The picture here shows live turtles and frogs which are considered a delicacy.

We do shop at Carrefour for most staples like, bread, juices, milk, eggs, etc. They also have a nice import goods section where we can get cereal (about $10 per box), Chips and salsa, & pickles. Availability of import food is not guaranteed, so foreigners tend to stock up when they see things that they like, because it may be a while before it comes around again. For instance, this week, we could not get tortilla chips (grrrrr!). The imported food is expensive, but trust me, it is worth every penny.

Another interesting note is that no one store has all the food we want. Not like the supermarkets in the US, where you get everything in one place. Here you begin to learn that there are 3 or 4 shops that you need shop at to get everything you need. Part of it is the fact that we are more particular about what we eat and the other part is availability.

One recent frustration that I had at Carrafour was that I went in with Kayla to purchase an electric scooter. As usual the place was packed and many people were buying scooters. I found the one I wanted and after about 1/2 hour of trying the clerk took pity on me and found someone who spoke english to tell me that the one I wanted was already sold to someone else. No big deal, I just picked another one. I knew that I needed to take the tag off the bike and pay for it then return for the bike, however, after I waited in line at the checkout for another 20 minutes, only to find out that I was in the wrong line, I finally gave up. Kayla cried the whole way home. The next day, Rebecca tried, and found out that you had to pay at the cosmetics counter. Not very intiutive.

Back Online - July 7, 2009

Ok, so it has been since April that the Blogspot website has been blocked within China. There appear to be other ways to access it though :).



The end of May Rebecca and I took a day off of work and flew with the kids to Beijing for a long weekend - The Dragon Boat festival holiday. We had great weather up there with the exception of the first day which was our day on the Great Wall. There was light rain, but virtually no crowds so the rain was bearable. We saw all of the typical sights in Beijing and will post photos or links to them soon. Both of the kids continue to attract a rediculous amount of attention when we are traveling together or just walking together downtown. It reminds me of the papparizzi at times.



The kids finished the school year about 2 weeks ago. They both did fantastic considering the circumstances. We were concerned with school placement especially Kayla, because the school operates on a British School system which would not typically allow her to be in Year 3 (2nd grade equivalent) even though she was 2nd grade in Michigan. It was tough on her for the first month. The school system here was about 1/2 year ahead of Michigan plus the new language. By the end of the year, she caught up to the class in Chinese Proficiency and will advance to the next class this fall.



For me work at PATAC (Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center) in Shanghai has been demanding and extremely challenging for me. My first semester in college shortly before I dropped German 101 was the only experience that has come remotely close. Unfortunately, this time, a foreign language is required. Anyway, between the new names, faces, organization, etc. I have easily consummed one years worth of information in the first 5 months. I told Rebecca that I literally cannot remember the first 3 months of being here and only now am I beginning to recognize the neighbors.



In other news, two weeks ago I severely sprained my ankle running down our outdoor steps (not advisable). No broken bones, but my foot and ankle are only now returning to normal size and colors. Then to top it off, I all of a sudden woke up with about a 30% loss of hearing in my right ear. It's all good now, but I was honestly about one broken chopstick away from limping my sorry hard of hearing self to the airport so I could board the next plane for home. The good news is that it's too far to walk to the airport and since I still cannot communicate with the taxis drivers, we're all still here.

Pictures of Hangzhou and Suzhou

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=tz2looq.9znzfddi&x=0&y=ns0pwh&localeid=en_US


Attached is a link to our album of pictures taken on our recent trips to nearby Hangzhou (about 3 hours from Shanghai by car) and Suzhou. We took the train to Suzhou; the train ride itself was only about 30 minutes and the kids loved it. Hangzhou was an easy trip for us and a great way to break in to traveling in China. We went with Jeff's coworkers, and they had planned the trip, made hotel reservations and selected the restaurants. All we had to do was show up! Suzhou, on the other hand, was completely our gig. Mr. Wong helped Rebecca buy the train tickets and made sure that we made it to our train in Shanghai, and they we were all on our own. Rebecca was able to test her Mandarin skills, and learned that she has a lot left to learn! We stayed in a beautiful hotel and the weather was wonderful. In the end, both trips were roaring successes.


There are captions with the album. Sorry if there are too many - we tried and tried, but just couldn't filter out any others. We took several hundred pics on these trips, so we were glad to get it to where we did! Enjoy!

Shanghai in the Spring

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=tz2looq.c9r05y3q&x=0&y=5jdh5z&localeid=en_US

The link above will take you to a photo album of some of the photos we have taken in Shanghai since our arrival in January. The bulk of the pictures were taken by Rebecca during a tour of "Old Town" - an area of the city that dates back to the 1920's and 30's. Life here is much different from what we are all used to - cooking outside over hot coals in a bucket, using public toilets and chamber pots, homemade bamboo and straw/grass brooms, shopping in the alley markets, etc. The tour was an amazing window into another lifestyle. At the end of the the album are a few shots of some of the skyscrapers in Pudong (the "new" side of town, on the east side of the river.)

For those of you in touch with Rebecca through FaceBook, many of these are already in FB and may be familiar to you.

60 Day Mark

As of today, we have been in China for 60 days. The honeymoon period is over, and now when people ask how long we have been here, we will describe it in months instead of days or weeks. Everyday life is getting easier and our routines are becoming familiar now. Here are few of the major milestones (family, personal and transition) we have passed:

• McKenna turned 4 years old on February 23rd! Hers was our first "China Birthday" and we celebrated by sending Rice Krispie Treats in to school and blowing out candles on a chocolate cake in the evening. McKenna elected to eat supper at a restaurant known for their dim sum and dumplings, so we had a wonderful meal! (Kayla may beg to differ on that opinion, though! She is still not sure about all this Chinese food.)



• Our sea crate from the US arrived on February 26th. It was such a relief to get the bulk of our personal belongings! The kids have enjoyed riding their bikes and scooters through the neighborhood. Rebecca is thrilled to have her kitchen tools and supplies on hand, and we all feel a bit more at home now that we have our pictures and books and other personal items around us. The crate also contained our vast assortment of food, medicines, toiletries, and cleaning products that we had sent over - both for ourselves and for other GM ISPs. Wheat Thins anyone...? Rebecca didn't understand exactly what was being said, but it became clear that the amount of boxes strictly containing food became a bit of a running joke with the guys that were bringing the boxes in. The picture here shows MAYBE a third of the boxes containing food items.


• On the same day, in the US, the sale of our home in Brighton closed. As of the end of February, the Lundys are pretty liquid - with no home or cars to our names, we are a regular bunch of vagabonds now. The sale went fairly smoothly, but we owe a HUGE thank you to the Loman family who spent a lot of time and effort getting the house ready for the sale. They took care of all the details we had run out of time for and then Teresa was kind enough to be at the house when the movers came to take the remainder of our stuff to storage. It was a good thing she was there too, as the movers inadvertently set our kitchen table on fire! Teresa alerted the movers when she saw the smoke - come to find out, they had set the table upside down on the flat-top stove to wrap the table top with cardboard. At some point, two of the burners get turned on; then everyone went on break. By the time the smoke was rolling out of the kitchen, the cardboard was flaming and the table had been singed badly in two spots. Luckily, there was no lasting damage to anything else in the house, and after a couple of good cleanings by a professional, there was no evidence left of what had happened. (Except the scorched table of course!)


• Rebecca had her first (unofficial) day of work on February 27th. Her manager was visiting from the US and invited her to a team meeting. it was a great introduction to the team and to the business. She has been to the office a couple of times since, but still unofficially until the paperwork for the work permit is ironed out. The picture here shows the view out her window at work - pretty awesome!! During the evening of the 27th, Jeff and Rebecca had supper with the work team and then experienced another first - KTV! The Chinese take their kareoke very seriously, and we went to a very nice club that was a maze of private rooms of varying sizes. Each room had their own bar and table and couches and their own kareoke equipment. We sang for a few hours and had a great time hanging out with new friends. Jeff dazzled everyone with his rendition of "Puff, the Magic Dragon" and the evening ended on a rather embarrassing note when the video for "Meet the Flintstones" was a bit more racy than any of the Americans remembered!


• Kayla lost her first tooth during the night on March 2nd. She had been worrying about it for a while - most of her friends were way ahead of her on this milestone, and she was beginning to think it was never going to happen. She first started noticing it during the week before, but wouldn't let either of her parents anywhere near it (especially Dad!) We learned that the tooth fairy does indeed visit China, and pays out in local currency!


• Rebecca started her Mandarin lessons on March 6th. The first 3 sessions were focused on the phonetics used in the Chinese language. There are 21 initial sounds (or consonant sounds) and 39 finals (vowel sounds). Many are straightforward, some are a bit difficult for a westerner with little experience in foreign languages to pick up. Rebecca graduated to whole words and phrases during her last lesson and can now say "Hi, my name is Rebecca. I am an American." - at least she thinks that's what she's saying!
  

Overall, we are settling in easier than we had expected. It is hard to be so far from family and friends, but we are continuing to enjoy the adventure.

School Days

After all our time off, everyone was ready for school to begin here in China. Kayla and McKenna started at Yew Chung International School (YCIS) on February 2nd, just as the other students were returning from the Chinese New Year break. Kayla was excited about getting back into the school routine, about being with other kids her age (as opposed to just her annoying little sister), and about the opportunity to learn to play the violin. Violin is a standard part of the music program at YCIS for student in the four-year-old preschool group through the equivalent of second grade. It was one of the many things we were really excited about at YCIS. McKenna was excited about making new friends and about getting to RIDE THE BUS!! This is a big deal to a little girl who has had to watch her sister get on the school bus without her for 2 1/2 years. The pre-school buildings are on a separate campus from the primary school, so the girls are not together at all during the day. They take the same bus from our neighborhood to Kayla's school, and then McKenna gets on a smaller bus to go to her school. The buses are very nice, have seat belts and bus monitors so the kids are all very safe. We also have school uniforms, which takes the fight out of the "what should I wear" stage of the morning routine!

During the first week at school, Mom and Dad drove the girls to school, making sure they got in okay and settled in their classrooms. The drop off and pick up process these first few days was slow - we stopped to talk to teachers, pick up information, and meet other parents - but it was very helpful. The girls have great teachers who are really going out of their way to make sure that we all adjust to life and school in Shanghai.

Kayla's teachers are Ms. Mac (Macwilliam) from Australia and Ms. Mei from China. Ms. Mei is also the beginner Chinese instructor, so she has been working with Kayla on her Mandarin. Kayla's class had just started a science segment on rainforests, and is tying that topic into many of their other subjects as well. Kayla selected Hermit Hummingbirds as a topic for research - using books and internet to find information in Science and Computer class, taking notes, writing drafts, and a final report about hummingbirds during English class, even putting together powerpoint presentation for an oral presentation to her class. In addition, her art class is focusing on decorating their room and hallway to resemble a rainforest, and draw and paint some of the selected wildlife. When they were studying symmetry in math, they identified animals and foliage in the rainforest that demonstrates symmetry and drew those.

McKenna's teachers are Ms. Esther and Ms. Rainbow. They are both wonderful ladies who have made us feel right at home from the very beginning. McKenna has had lessons about fruits and nutrition, the weather, and fish (in preparation for her first field trip to the aquarium!) She enjoys singing her new song "What's the weather" (to the tune of "Oh my Darlin' Clementine"). She was very excited about the field trip, and proudly returned home to tell mom that "I stayed with my adult ALL day!" Apparently they had made a big deal about safety on the trip and that was the lesson she had really learned on her first off-site adventure.

The two major adjustments that we are making for school (especially for Kayla) is the Mandarin lessons and the homework expectations. We knew that the Mandarin was going to take some work, but the homework has caught us a bit by surprise! In Michigan, we didn't see much homework, and when we did it was usually something interactive to be done with the parents and we had a few days to do it. Here at YCIS, we were told to expect 1 hour of homework every night. Because so much of this is new to us and we don't have a good homework routine down yet, we have been spending closer to 2 hours a night on it. We hope to streamline our process and reduce the time, but this is going to be a big change for us and has been a bit painful during our first two weeks. We have found a great tutor to help us learn Mandarin; Nina comes to our house two nights per week to help us practice our vocabulary and pronunciation.

Overall, both girls are really enjoying school here in Shanghai. While YCIS is a bit more dramatic a change from our schools at home than we would have had if we had selected one of the American-based international schools here, we are very happy with our choice. The girls are exposed to a significant level of Chinese language and culture here. Also, the student body is very diverse and we have many friends for whom English is a second or even third language. We are playing with children from Australia, England, Norway, Finland, Korea, Japan, France and Germany in addition to our Chinese and American friends. It is a wonderful way for our children to experience the differences and similarities of people from all over the world.