Beijing Summer

Bus Ride

2007-07-30T04:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, here it is, I am just going to post a whole bunch of pictures. This is my view out of the bus. We take two buses & a train to school. This is from the second bus #19.

Friends

2007-07-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

These are some neighborhood friends that Delainie has made.

Lama temple

2007-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today, we went to the Lama Temple. To tell you the truth, they had the cleanest public toilets I have ever visited. They smelled of inscence and candles.

Here Delainie and I are at the gate.

Here is one of the temple tops. Out of respect for their religion, I did not take any pictures in any of the various temple halls on the grounds.

Here is our lovely spokesmodel in front of a prayer wheel.

Here is our tourguide for the day Zhang Ping. She is a university student. She is very sweet and smart.

Here is a roof detail.

This lady was kind enough to let us take her picture with Delainie.

CCAA

2007-07-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

We went today to find the CCAA building. Here it is!

Here you can see Delainie outside by the sign.

Building signs

If there is anyone who wants the original of some of these please contact me and I will send them to you.

Picture of the Day

2007-07-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Western Mountains

2007-07-19T00:13:00.000-07:00

Here are two views of the mountains west of Beijing. It is a sunny morning. It will be very hot! These view are out of the apartment windows.

Rain

2007-07-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

It never rains in Beijing
The girls don't they worn you
It pours.

It rained sideways today. I have never in my life been that wet in rain. We left early to avoid the crowd and to get up the road thru the rain. The bus was full. But the subway was empty. The second bus was full but we were able to sit after a few stops.

The students did better today. But, I still wonder about the relevance.

Subway & Bus Tips

2007-07-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

So, this is the third day that we have traveled to the school by public transportation. I have observed & learned several things.

Do a dry run. Make sure to make your own notes with landmarks. If you can keep an eye on your watch so, that you know about how long your ride should be.
On this dry run, if you are going to be on the bus for longer than a few stops, count the stops.
If you are going to take public transportation, make sure you have a Chinese friend write, in characters, to your destination and from your destination. On the subway, it is not such a big deal. But, the buses get crowded & noisy and the announcements are hard hear at times.
Do not hesitate to sit in an empty seat. He who hesitates is left standing.
In Beijing, during rush hour, they have people with little colored flags at the major stops to marshal in the buses. They are invaluable when you want to make sure you are going the right way. The lady at the stop where we pick up the 19 remembers us. This morning, we nodded to the same lady. Bus 19 pulled up. Something was different about this bus today. We started to board and she said something in Chinese to let me know not to board. But, Delainie, knowing this is the bus we board everyday, started to get on and the lady stopped Delainie from boarding. We then got on the right 19.
When riding a subway or bus and traveling with a child or older person. People will give up their seat so that the ride for these passengers is safe. You may want to offer your seat to one of these types of people. If you don't the bus conductor, not the driver, will ask you to.
Bus conductors are also good friends. Your card with the route in Chinese, is also good to show them. They know the route better than you and can tell you exactly when to get off.
On the two buses hooked together get on in the back and , if standing, work your way forward because you exit at the front. Just make sure you are close to the door when you stop comes or you will watching your stop go by. Almost happened today. A lady refused to move and there I was pulling Delainie through the bus, saying excuse me in Chinese, there is this lady with a ipod on that would not move.
If no one moves out of your way then sometimes it is necessary to nudge your way through. I finally got to the door and it shut. The other passengers called to the driver to open the door. He did. All was well.
Standing on as bus or subway for long trips stinks. Esp in the summer it is hot and sweaty. With no air conditioning and 50 plus people in a tight space. It tends to smell a little funky.
Women conductors & marshaling people are always more helpful and friendly.
Be courteous. You will expect the same.

Picture of the Day

2007-07-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

Dripping with sweat

2007-07-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

I know I have mentioned this many times before but it is really hot! 99 degrees today. I got home from my almost two hour commute from the school dripping from my fingertips with sweat.

A shower didn't help much. It was almost unbearable. A tub would have been nice. I could adjust the temp and soak. I miss tubs. Showers are great in a small limited space and conserving on water. But a tub enough said.

Talked to Teacher Yan today. I tried to explain to her that the students just don't understand. I also can't find this oral test we are supposed to be taking at the end of the classes. She said I would just have to do the best that I can with them. I reccommend not to use this book for pre-teens. I did have a new student today. Her English name is Summer. She is 21 and a university student. She has pretty good English. She helped translate some things for me today in class.

Bakery

2007-07-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

Went to the bakery today and bought two pieces of cake. Mmmm. Delicious.

Sleepless in Beijing

2007-07-17T03:08:00.000-07:00

I didn't sleep well last night. I was very concerned about my students. They do not understand the relevance of the subject matter. As I said yesterday, the book is a bad book for 10-14 yr olds. They are never going to use this stuff at least not for many years.

I am going to talk to Teacher Yan today. There has got to be something we can do. I want them to succeed. I don't want them to think of English as boring "May I help you, sir ." Stuff

New friends

2007-07-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

Here are Delainie's new friends from school.

Teaching English 1st Day

2007-07-16T03:01:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of teaching English. I am sure it was frustrating for the students.

They are not used to a native speaker.
They do not know how to ask questions about the subject matter
They do not know how to answer questions when they don't understand
The book we are using is for adults ready to enter the work place, serve English speakers (and I mean serve as a shop girl, a bus or taxi driver) & are not 10-12 years old
My students are 10-12 years old When are they going to use this stuff?
By the time the book is relevant in their lives they will have forgotten it

I think this class should be centered around conversation. How to introduce yourself. Not some mindless "May I help you, sir?" Stuff.

Just my two cents.

Screaming II & III

2007-07-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

So, after I went to the language school. We rested. Delainie was continuing her rest and I moved the computer to the dining room table so that I would not disturb her. I closed it down being very careful with it. And, guess what? I opened it and there was visible crack in the screen. Okay, I thought, I can live with that small black crack. I finished my work closed the laptop to move it back to the desk in the bedroom. I opened it because I had forgotten something.

Guess what? A second crack and a large white space on 1/3 of my screen. I am not closing it again. I was only closing it to protect it from getting damaged further. I only have 3 weeks and would like to continue to use it. Something will have to be done when I get home. A new lcd is definitely in order.

I mean I have been very careful with it. It is my only personal link to the world outside China. I need it.

Teaching

2007-07-14T03:57:00.000-07:00

Well, this afternoon we went to the Beijing New Bridge High School

This is where I will be teaching 4-12 yr olds English for the next 15 work days. Starting Monday! Hmm 15 working days. Count it. Well, that puts me to the date I leave. But, don't worry, faithful readers, I will be doing one of the days on the Sat or Sun before I leave. So, my last day at the school will be 3 August. Whew! Just in time to pack and get on the plane.

I have a pretty easy schedule. 9 am - 12 pm however, there is 2 hours worth of public transportation on each end. So, yes, I will be spending more time on the bus and subway than in class. You are probably saying: What! That's crazy! But, I'll tell you why.

1. Delainie gets to go with me for free. She will be in her own class with kinds her own age learning Chinese & English. She gets the experience of being in a real class with real Chinese kids. A definite plus.
2. It gives me something to do. I have seen most of the fantastic sights in Beijing. Shu shu is probably tired of us staying around the house and being our tour guide. I don't really think this but it will give him some break.
3. We get a free lunch. Yea!
4. I am really excited about doing this.
5. The least important reason is that I am paid. Just like my substitute.

For all of those reasons and many more am I looking so forward to going on this new part of our adventure.

I'll let you know, Monday, how my first day went.

Getting better

2007-07-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Today we are feeling better. We went to the Bank Of China, to a shot outside of Wu mart put more money on my cell phone & to Wu mart. Got to love Wu mart. It is just a two minute walk from home and they have almost everything we need. We bought juice & peanuts. I have been drinking a lot of juice because I have been sick.

We also went to our favorite bakery and got crescent bread and two pieces of the best cake I have had in a while. Mine was chocolate cherry and Delainie's was a white cake with blueberries. Both cakes had this delicious fluffy whipped cream like icing. Mine had chocolate curls on top while Delainie's had a piece of kiwi, peach & white chocolate decoration. They were very delicious. I will take of picture of them the next time we go. But, we agree we need to go back and get another one.

Wolf Poison Flower

2007-07-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

So, we have been watching this series called Wolf Poison Flower. 集电视剧《狼毒花》It is great! It is about this guy that started out as a bandit and later joined the Chinese Army. He is a very happy guy who can shoot a pistol with each hand while jumping over a wall, has many female admirers and can talk himself and his comrades out many sticky situations. Last night was the last block of the series. They show three shows a night for eleven nights. Thirty -three episodes. Beijing tv channel 4 has these series on every ten or so days. Great channel! I wish we had it at home. I will miss it.

Here are some pictures of the series. These are the principle characters in the series.

I am trying to find it on yesasia.com but it is not released yet. It was made in 2007. To read more about this series or channel click here.

Still Sick

2007-07-11T02:57:00.000-07:00

Well, now we are both sick! Delainie has been sneezing all day. We spent the day watching videos and sleeping. Shu shu went to an appointment so, we were able to spend some time outside the room in our pj's.

Okay, I mentioned before that Delainie was reading the Princess Diaries, right? Well. I had nothing else to do so I read them. They are entirely inappropriate for 8 yr olds. I think they would be better for 16 yr olds. I bought them because we had seen the Disney movie. I thought it was safe for my daughter to read. NOT! The books spend too much time talking about french kissing, finding boy friends and Mia's father's private parts and his ability to produce another heir. Thank GOD most of what was in the book went over her head. Disney really sanitized the first book when they made it a film. I will put these books away until a more appropriate age. We have made choices as to what our daughter reads & watches. From now on I will read a review of the book before I buy it. I really thought these books would be safe. But they weren't.

I would rather allow her to read Harry Potter which by the way she has read all of them until now. Sorry to say, we will miss the release of the next book because we are in China. Maybe next time we will be able to go to one of those parties at Barnes and Noble.

Picture of the Day

2007-07-10T05:27:00.001-07:00

Here are two pictures of the day.

Sick

2007-07-10T05:25:00.000-07:00

Well, for the last two days I have had a horrible cough. I have slept most of these days. It is hard to be sick when you are not at home. Delainie and I have spent our time in the room. She has been a very good doctor. Getting me water and stuff. I have been taking two OTC Chinese medicines. One for cough and one for cold symptoms. The cough medicine has a lot of herbs in it along with honey and sugar. It tastes very good; better than any OTC cough syrup in the US.

Here are some pictures of a typical dinner we have here.

Tonight we had tomatoes with sugar, eggs and bitter melon & chicken and cucumber. It was all very tasty, hao chi. (good food) Delainie says Shu shu should be a professional chef. I don't know about professional but he could open a restaurant with home cooking and do very well. I would eat there!

Beijing Walmart Supercenter

2007-07-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

Okay one annoy thing has happened. I can't add titles to my daily blogs.

Oh well, continuing with SUNDAY. We went to one of three Walmart Supercenter's in Beijing. Let me tell you it was an experience. One, I have to say, I will not repeat on a weekend. Walmart's are different in China. And you should expect them to be. The one we went to had 3 floors. Bottom floor, and the busiest, was the grocery & household items. Second floor had cosmetics, stationary, music & books. Third floor: toys, electronics, clothing & sheets & towels.

Typical like most Chinese Department stores you pay in each department: books & videos, eyeglasses, jewelry. We had to pay for these purchases in the departments. All others were checked out on the second floor with everyone else. The lines were long but very quick.

I would recommend going just for the experience. It is a good place to get a lot of different things that the local Wu mart doesn't have. But, realize it is very crowded and best visited on a week day.

Sunday

2007-07-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday. We met a friend of Nan's. She has known him since she was 3 years old. His daughter came by to meet Delainie. He took us to lunch at a restaurant where we ate for the very first time. Beijing Duck. Not Peking Duck... Beijing Duck. It was one of the best things we have ate here.

Of course we ate many other things besides the duck. We had crispy potatoes, stir fried veg, cherry tomatoes, spicy chicken with peanuts, spicy beef & bacon and veg. This was all before the brought out the duck.

What it is is duck that is roasted hanging so that all of the fat drips out. They then slice the breast very thin. There are very thin like tortillas, sauce, thin sliced green onion and cucumber. How you eat is put the tortilla in your hand, pick up the duck, dip it in the sauce, put it on your tortilla along with the onion & cucumber. Then you roll it up like a burrito and make sure to tuck in one end so that the contents dong fall out. It was really delicious. The skin is crispy and the very moist.

South Beijing

2007-07-07T13:39:00.001-07:00

Today we went to south Beijing to see about me teaching at an English School.

We also stopped to buy gas.

4.36 a liter. roughly 56 cents a liter.

Temple of Heaven

2007-07-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Temple of Heaven. It was beautiful. I don't think I have gone to a park, palace or temple that hasn't been!

We were on out own today at the park. it was fun just the two of us.

Here is the sign at the entrance and the front gate.

This is the Hall for the Prayer of Good Harvests

For the first time today here is our spokes model Delainie.

This is the circular wall. It is said you can stand on one side and talk to someone on the other because the sound travels around the wall.

This is the circular mound altar.

So we get to the top. There is this round stone right in the middle. Everyones is posing themselves or their children on it and taking their picture. What can I say. When in China do what the Chinese do. I am sure it has something to do with good luck and we have ensured out good luck thus far so why jinx it. So, here she crowded with everyone else on this circular stone.

Happy Birthday

2007-07-06T04:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday Dear Sidney!
Happy Birthday to You!

Happy 12th Birthday

Independence Day in China

2007-07-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Independence Day came and went here with no fan fair. Well of course it did silly, it is not a Chinese National Holiday and it is not July 4th in the US yet. I wonder if it will make the evening news. Maybe tomorrow's news because you are 12 hours behind us and to see the fireworks it needs to be morning here.

Speaking of fireworks.

We hear them a lot here on Friday's & Saturday's. Nan says it's because someone was married and they set off fireworks before they enter their new home for good luck. They sometimes do it a second day to make sure.

Again we watched Madame White Snake. See a picture of Delainie watching it?

Delainie spends a lot of time reading. I bought her the Princess Diaries for her to read during the summer. She has read almost all of them and they were supposed to last the whole time we are in China.

Shu shu is very interesting. He will go to the store and come back with lunch sometimes. Today, he came back with the most delicious steamed buns I have ever had. They are even better than the Golden Delight Bakery on Bethel Rd. I think it's because we are in China and the ingredients are for these dishes are easier to get meaning readily available. But I haven't found a place where we can get strawberry cake like theirs. So, their reputation is safe.

I cleaned the room today and kicked up a lot of dust. We are both snuffing today. We took allergy pills to stop it.

Days at Home

2007-07-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

For the last two days Delainie & I have spent them at home. It is nice just to relax. I have done my first load of laundry by myself in the washing machine. They are now hanging up to dry. I will post a picture later.

This is a picture of me cooking lunch. It is fuzzy because it is shot through the glass in the kitchen window.

Delainie and I have been fascinated by this Chinese TV show called Madame White Snake. It is about these two sisters a white snake and a green snake. They have several companions a little boy , a mortal man and a large Buddha looking man. The sister are good swordswomen and they have magical powers one being able to transform from snake to human easily.

You can read about the legend by clicking here.

Or to see information about the tv series click here.

Views and Pic of a Day

2007-07-02T00:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know this isn't a pretty picture of Delainie. But, you have to admit it is a funny one. I guess I was the photographer. But, I don't remember taking it. It just goes to show you that no matter where you go or what you do this is it!

This is Princess Sheepies view of China. For some of you that don't know or haven't met PS. This is Princess Sheepie Cucumber. Princess Sheepie Strawberry (1st one) had a well loved life that ended when she accidentally took a tumble into the mud. We tried to wash her but because she has a music box, she was unsalvagable. PS Cucumber is the last of her kind. We can not find another like her. So, this one will continue to turn grey and be tattered. Poor Princess Sheepie. As you can see she spends a lot of her time sleeping. She is a very tired sheep. You see she is still on Ohio time. PS also sleeps because, I am told she comes awake at night to watch over her faithful friend, Delainie. She keeps Delainie safe from the things that go bump in the night.

Summer Palace

2007-07-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today, we went to the Summer Palace. It is sunny with a blue sky. A very hot day. Humid too with all of the rain. It is a city heat though. Cities are hot. The nights are a little cooler. We still haven't gotten used to the sun up at 4:30 however we are sleeping to 5:30 or so.

Here is a picture looking across Kunming Lake.

Same place just a different view. Stunning isn't it. Beihai still my favorite but SP is beautiful too.

View from the boat ride.

We rode across the lake on a boat like this one.

Here is another view of a pagoda.

This boat was made out of stone.

This is the first time today we have seen our spokes model Delainie. In the background you can see the same stone boat.

This is called the Great Corridor. It runs most of the length of one edge of the Lake. I asked Delainie "What would you think if you lived in a place like this a long time ago?" She said "It would be a very big yard. You could go swimming everyday in the lake. It would be cool."

I am guessing that this was the Emporer's Bedroom. It was the most lavish looking of them all.

This is Vivi our guide for the day. She wanted to practice English. She did a very good job. She can speak very well. Thank you Vivi, Libby & Nan for arranging this for us today. Libby was the driver.

Computer Screem!

2007-07-01T01:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I misspelled it but that is what I felt like doing. Screaming in terror. I woke this morn and turned the computer on. Guess what I saw. This weird ribbon like look on the right hand side of the screen. Here are two pictures I took of it. I don't know what happened or even how it happened. All I know is that it did happen. I can't do anything about it because I'm in China. I will just have to deal and hope it doesn't spread across my whole screen. Please say a prayer to the MAC Gods that that does not happen.

Saturday!!!!

2007-06-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today rained all day. We stayed in and did laundry. Later we went to dinner at Nan's Mother's home. We ate fish, greens, bread, soy beans and potatoes with carrots. As always dinner was excellent!

Bei Hai Park

2007-06-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

After going to the Forbidden City we visited on the the most beautiful parks I have ever seen. Bei Hai Park is lush and huge. I can't image the man hours it takes to create and preserve this parks. I had no idea that Beijing had so many parks.

It stared to sprinkle but still a beautiful view. It is a definite must see when in Beijing.

Again here is our lovely model Delainie. Showing us the proper rain gear. However, her mama forgot to pack an extra pair of socks and band aids for the wet weather. She later removed her socks where they rode around soggy in my purse for the remainder of the day.

This is the bell tower at the park only 3 Yuan each to go up and ring the bell. Shu shu went with us but did not ring the bell. Delainie and I did. We want to keep up the good luck.

More stairs and a little slick too!

Well worth the climb. Look at this beautiful pagoda!

Here is the view from the boat we took across the water.

Our model one last time. Look how large this loin is.

Here Delainie and I are at the Nine Dragon Screen

Delainie's views:

At Bei Hia park I got a blister on my foot. It hurt very badly. We got to go on a boat across
the lake. When we first came in Bei Hia park there was these pretty lily pads with the most prettiest flower I ever saw! I got to ring a bell three times for good luck. I couldn't do it my self because the swingy thing was to hard to push.

Forbidden City

2007-06-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well, today it rained. We braved it anyway. We took a long subway ride to the center of Beijing. Remember we live west on downtown. We visited the Forbidden City.

Here is a picture of Delainie and Chairman Mao. She was a great sport in the rain. I think she rather liked the rain. She wanted to run in the rain but it was too crowded at the FC. Yes, crowded. There were a lot of visitors even in the rain.

We entered in the city gate and it was raining. We borrowed Shu shu's umbrellas. We need to buy some of our own. I want one of the ones that also block UV. Maybe Wu mart will have them.

Here are the gates entering the FC. They are impressive even in the rain.

I don't know if you know this but the Olympics are going to be in Beijing in 2008. Everywhere you can see these green screens where they are renovating things. This was also apparent at the FC. Somethings we just couldn't see.

Here you can see the rain stopping. My main goal of this trip was to experience China with Delainie. I want her to see and have memories of her birth country. When we visit sited I have already been to I push her up front to see it while I hang in the background. Watching her as she see HER country's history come alive right in front of her. It is great to watch.

Here our lovely model, Delainie, shows you how large some of these sites are. She said to me. "My, Mama, China sure does have a lot of steps." I said "yes, sweetie. They do." "Mama, they are beautiful steps" "Yes, Delainie, they are." "Imagine actually living in some place like this." " But Mama, it is so big ." "Yes, Delainie, it is."

Don't we just love our girls! Here she is in the back garden of the FC. The rain had stopped by now and it was getting humid.

Don't you just love Chinese architecture! I could spend the entire day just taking pictures of the little details. But then I would miss they beauty of the entire place. This dragon is a great example on buildings all over China.

Here is a picture of Delainie with our personal guide Shu shu.

We went to lunch here. It was very crowded.

Picture of the Day

2007-06-29T00:38:00.000-07:00

Here it is the long awaited picture of the day. Got to love this girl!

Ba Da Chu

2007-06-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we went to Ba Da Chu park. Again we had a very hot day for walking up and down hills.

Is everything interesting on a hill? Well, we are doing well with all of this exercise. We are able to move the next day. Even in the heat we are able to walk great distances but water is an essential.

These were some signs we saw entering the park. I thought they were awesome statements!

It is good luck to hit the drum three times. So Delainie did!

This is a pond near the entrance.

Here we are on our climb up to the top of the steps.

Here are some things we found at the top.

This is the Famous Thousand Buddha Pagoda

Sculpture Park

2007-06-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

As you can see we visited the China International City Sculpture Exhibition & Symposium today. They have sculptures by artists from all over the world. It stared out to be a cool day but it was just tempting us to go out. By the end of the time at the park we were very hot!

Here is our favorite model showing us how big the owl sculpture really is.

Here are some ladies at the park. The one on the left is tuning her Chinese Erhu. Later we heard her play it.

Here is a little sweetie that we saw at the park

These students must have been having a field trip this day. They were everywhere in the park. I think there is only one more week of school. And you thought your school year was long!

Here are three more sculptures!

There were many other interesting things at the park. Like this giant praying mantis. But you see Delainie was able to tame it just for this picture!

Nan's parents with Delainie!

Here these pictures captured the whole day. Nai Nai & Ye Ye with their grandchildren.

Picture of the Day

2007-06-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

Okay. This is now officially my new favorite picture of Delainie. I love the little serene look on her face. She looks so sweet! What do you think Daddy?

Happy Birthday

2007-06-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday Dear Dena
Happy Birthday to You

Dena is 38 today!

Wu Mart

2007-06-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

We also went to Wu Mart the grocery store. We bought new inside shoes for me, notebook paper, and a children's Chinese book. On our way out we bought two bottles of green tea and two delicious sweet pastry thingies. I don't know exactly what they are called but they were good.

We stopped by the bakery and bought a small loaf of some bread. It looked good.

Shu shu met us at the bakery and walked us home. The electricity was back on. We ate lunch: steamed pork buns and a delicious cucumber. Chinese cucumbers are smaller than our cucumbers. They remind me of a cross between English cucumbers and the American ones.

We took a rest. During our rest it rained and still is. But the rain will not cool it down. It will make it hotter! We are getting acclimated to the heat.

Delainie's view:

Wu Mart is AWESOME! There is a upstairs. They have stationary. I got a note pad and a composition book for homework. When you walk in Wu Mart you see these delicious rolls, and lots of other good stuff like candy!

Hot

2007-06-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well today we awoke to no electricity. In China, you prepay for your electricity. We have been very busy and running fans, air conditioning, computers etc. Sorry Mom & Dad about not being able to talk to you this mornings but no electricity to run the modem. So, we used it up. I gave Nan 300 yuan and decided maybe all we need to run is the fan when we are in the room. I want to get a fan like Nan's. It is small, cheap, puts out a good breeze and uses less electricity. I will look for one this week. Delainie and I went out this morning by ourselves. We were looking for a bakery. We found it but it was not open.

Later we went to the bank to cash a few travelers checks. The bank opened at 9. We were there at 8:30 and the 4th in line. It took us 45 minutes. When you do business at the bank or the phone company you are handed a number and you wait until it is called and you go to you assigned teller. They filled out a mountain of paperwork. Well, maybe not a mountain but 5 different forms that were then checked by two different officials. They then gave us our money. I got enough to last a few weeks and to reimburse Nan. She gave me some money when we got here just in case we needed some right away. She said you can cash your travelers check and reimburse me when we go to the bank. So, I did. I got as little extra because I am going to be teaching soon and want to make sure I have enough to buy our neccesities for the school.

Walmart

2007-06-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to Walmart/Sam's Club. Beijing Sam's Club
158 Fushi Road,Shijingshan District. When Shu shu came to ask me if we wanted to go I thought he meant Wu Mart the grocery store. So, I did not take my camera. It was red large and had an escalator that carried people and carts to the second floor. There are 3 Walmart's and 1 Sam's Club in Beijing.

I would still like to go to the regular Walmart to shop. Here are some pictures of the Sam's Club from their website.

A lot of the items were labeled Sam's Choice but were Chinese Products. It was very nice. Thanks to Nan's Mom we were allowed to enter. I bought Delainie 4 books, some hangers, a hair turban from drying her hair and some house shoes. I wonder if my Sam's Card would have gotten us in as well?

Too Hot

2007-06-25T01:18:00.000-07:00

Today, we just stayed around the house. It is about 100 degrees outside and too hot to do anything. The rain last night did not cool it off any. Tomorrow is supposed to be as hot or hotter. I can't imagine. Shu shu and I talked about homonyms. You know the words that sound the same but are spelled different? Like four, fore and for. It was like a mini English lesson. The I started thinking. Depending on what age I teach, I could use them as an example in my lessons toward the end of my teaching assignment.

Beijing Department Store

2007-06-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the buy me a cell phone. We tried two different ones and neither worked. I was afraid of car sickness so, I took a motion sickness pill and slept most of the trip. We also one of many Beijing Department Store. Well, it was just like a mall but with many stories. We ate lunch and looked around. The things were very expensive. I didn't take pictures it was way too crowded and didn't want to look like too much of a tourist. I do know one thing,. I need a different purse/bag. The small back pack kills my back and it is too bulky. What I need is a slim short tote bag that I can put in my camera, purse, map and phrase book without being too bulky.

When we go to Walmart I will look for one.

Beijing Zoo

2007-06-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the Beijing Zoo. It was a two bus 1 hr ride from Shu shu & Nan’s. It was a nice walk. We saw all the regular creatures: snakes, turtle, penguins, monkey’s, marmosets, & two Giant Pandas. We had lunch at the zoo. Tammy had a fish sand, Delainie a “cheeseburger”, & Shu shu a hot dog and a sand. Delainie’s “cheeseburger” tasted nothing like beef. My sandwich tasted exactly like fish. They put a lot of ketchup on them. We were wiping some off Delainie’s. Look at the great pictures we took at the zoo. Delainie was the main photographer. We are back and resting. I hope to get this uploaded today.

This was a stone carving at the zoo.

Here are our tickets to enter the zoo.

Here we are at the entrance

Delainie eating ice cream.

Here are Shu shu and Delainie.

Here are the liang ge pandas.

For all of you who just wondered.
What do the squat potties look like?

That is all they had at the zoo.

Day time in Beijing

2007-06-22T05:37:00.000-07:00

Whew the days have flown by. I slept a little better last night. We had the fan on all night and put out mosquito traps. I woke 2 times. I was up with the sun again this morn. Delainie slept until 5:30. She is reading. We will take a shorter nap today.

They still have many bicycles in Beijing.

I couldn’t turn off my brain this morning. Yesterday, Nan told me that she talked to the Language school and they were wondering if I was here yet. She said yes. They have a position for me, a place to stay and my meals are taken care of. All we need to find out is what Delainie will be doing. Nan had mentioned her, Delainie, the first time she talked to them for me. We will go soon and talk to them face to face. I have a lot of questions. Nan said Delainie would probably not be in my class which is fine. We will find out soon and I will keep you up to date. We still need to get a wireless thing for the computer so I can stop monopolizing Nan’s. It is 6:19 in the morn. I don’t know what we are doing today yet! I can’t wait to find out. We are having the time of our lives. These days will create great memories!

Stone Sculpture Park

2007-06-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

We walked to a park where there were many carved statues of animals & women holding children

We also went to the supermarket: Wu mart. They have every imaginable things you could want to eat. We bought soy milk, yogurt drink, fruit, toufu & noodles
We got water too because it was hot.

Here are the bicycles outside of Wu mart.

Nan is going to call about getting the password and phone number so that I can use her modem. I took a nap while Delainie read. I woke up and then Delainie was asleep. I let her sleep another ½ hour. I woke her up and she was not happy.

We are still trying to adjust our sleeping patterns. I am not sick anymore at night. We had a nother great dinner. We had rice, chicken and veg but this time the veg was garlic shoots. Oh they were very yummy. I wonder if CAM has them. They were tender like green beans but not strong like garlic. They were a sweet and mild taste.

We went to bed at 9. Delainie watches a video to wind down. I hope we sleep better tonight.

Jet Lag!

2007-06-21T05:34:00.000-07:00

We woke up again at sunrise. I am feeling better. I will eat breakfast this morning. We had eggs, sausage with corn in the sausage. Instant coffee is awful but it works for now. Shu shu will take us to the grocery store and to get a sim card for my cell phone. After breakfast we had a shower.

The shower is in the bathroom, of course but is not a separate part of the bath. It reminds me of a camper, larger but still all together. We have a picture of it. They have a water heater that needs to be turned on before we shower. It is in the kitchen. There is a picture of it.

We hung out in the room this morning because we didn’t want to disturb Shu shu. We came out of the room and I brought out Delainie’s books: Zhongwen Level I. Shu shu helped her learn to count and we talked about animals.

The mosquitoes ate her alive last night. They didn't bother me but they did the three other in the apartment. Nan says the mosquitoes like Chinese food. Shu shu says the mosquitoes don’t come in thru the windows they use the elevator. He was pulling my leg of course.

The place where we are staying has 3 buildings that make a triangle. In front of each building is a circular area. In the morning you can see older people doing Tai Chi and talking with their neighbors. They bring out their cats, dogs & birds. Nan was right. The sky was blue and the sun out and it was very hot! We had fried rice and pickeled veg for lunch.

Did I say before … Shu shu is a very good cook. We went to the China Mobile store. Guess what? My phone I bought from eBay doesn't work with the sim card I purchased. What a waste. Shu shu's friend is going to send him an extra one for me to use with the sim card I purchased. Thank you Shu shu's friend!

Sunset early too!

2007-06-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

Did you know that not only does the sunrise earlier here but it is dark by 8 pm. Nan came home at 7. She has a 1 ½ hour commute from work. We had rice pork and veg for dinner. It was very delicious. We got our luggage at 10:30 pm. Yea! And there was much rejoicing. We stayed up until 12 am to put things away.

This is our bedroom.

Resting

2007-06-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

We spent most of the day resting. We watched some tv. Nan’s brother Feng (Shu Shu) and I talked about sports and I could actually communicate through my limited Mandarin, hand signals & limited English. I am learning a lot of Mandarin. TV is a great help and a very patient Feng. Feng is a very good cook. He cooks and we do the dishes. See kitchen picture and Delainie doing the dishes. I like this really simple living. We only have what we need without all of the extra stuff we don’t. For lunch we had meifan, chicken and veg. We had a nap, which was too long 3 hours. I woke up and was shocked that it was so late. We will have to stay up later.

Delainie likes to do the dishes. The sink is right at her height.

Here are some pictures of where we are staying.
This the living room view.

This is the living room view 2.

Sunrise and Registration

2007-06-20T05:31:00.000-07:00

Sunrise in Beijing: Funny thing. Delainie and I are up with the sun type of people. Well, guess what? The sun rises at 4:30 am. Way too early. It is a very cloudy day here at 4:30. I wonder if they see the sun. Nan says that you want it over cast because when the sky is blue it is very hot. I am still tired. I hope our luggage comes today. They are supposed to call this morning. We will take a nap later. Here are the picture of the place I am staying and the buildings around us. We are on the 6th floor. There is an elevator operator. She pushed the buttons for your floor and handles your mail. Delainie ate breakfast as my stomach is still a little queasy. She had eggs. This morning we went to the police station to be registered as aliens. We did that so that they know we are here and have a visa etc. We had to do this because we are staying in a private residence. If we stayed in a hotel then the hotel would register us with the local police dept. The neighborhood where the police station was is a ve ry pretty tree lined residential area.

Here are some pictures looking out the window.

Beijing Airport

2007-06-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

We landed at the airport to find that our luggage was still in Toronto. Imagine that! We traveled half way away from home and our luggage did not accompany us. I hope it comes tomorrow with the next flight. 4 passengers luggage was left behind in Toronto. We have no clothes or things to occupy ourselves.

Tired: I am very tired and was car sick on the way from the airport. I should have taken my motion sick pills. The drive from the airport was 45 minutes.

Nan’s family took us out to dinner. They have seals in a tank in the lobby. Real live seals. The walk from the apartment to the restaurant did me some good. . I was to ill to eat but I drank this great tea. Delainie ate well. We came home early and went to bed. I forgot how hard Chinese beds are. I hope we sleep well.

Here is Delainie getting ready to go to bed.

Toronto Airport

2007-06-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

Then it was on to the long flight. Guess what??? Our headphone jacks on the plane didn't work. So we could watch the movie with out hearing what is going on. We paged the flight attendant and they never came to us to see what we needed. Thank goodness I wasn't dying or I would have never got any help. We were basically ignored. The flight attendants weren't exactly personable either.

Meals: We had 3 meals on the plane. The first one was beef with rice, a roll with butter, carrot salad & carrot cake. It was pretty good. Delainie was not happy with the carrot salad but she ate the rest. The second meal was cup of noodle soup , turkey and cheese sandwich, crackers & apples. Sandwich was good but bread was hard. Delainie wouldn’t eat it. The soup was too hot and took a long time to cool. Delainie ate the apple, soup and crackers. The third meal was a choice lasagna (not very good & greasy) or pork and rice, roll with butter & melon. Delainie had the lasagna. I had the pork and rice. It was exactly the same as the beef and rice from earlier but pork. Delainie ate some of the lasagna, the roll with butter & some of the melon.

Sleeping: Thank goodness we had our masks. I think we slept maybe 6 hours on our flight. It was hard to sleep. It was cold even with a blanket. Sleeping upright is not very comfortable either. Delainie was a real trouper. Not only did our headphones not work but also we couldn’t turn on any lights. Coloring in the dark is very difficult. But she did really well on the plane

Plane rides

2007-06-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

Monday & Tuesday, June 18 & 19

Hello,

We took a very small plane from Columbus to Toronto. See the picture. Here is Delainie sitting on the seat. We landed at the airport in Toronto. It is a very nice airport. They have hook plug for computers & 2 cat 5 plugs as well. They are scattered in the waiting areas. We were able to send Mike a message. My ears took along time to pop.

Delainie's view:

The Toronto air plane was short ride. On the plane I drank soda pop, and Mama drank tomato
juice. I tried it and it tasted weird. Also I drew on my magic writer thing, read my Princess
Dairy's book.

Packing

2007-06-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today will be spent weeding out things and packing our things. We leave tomorrow at 10:30 am. We are very excited but very busy today.

Post from Delainie:

One more day till we go to China! I am excited. It will be a long plane ride. Mama says we will mostly sleep.

Battery woes!

2007-06-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well, the second battery is going to be sent back. It only charged to 58% after 12 hours. I wish it would have been a good one. I had to buy another from Microcenter. The Apple dude was very helpful.

We are just 2 days away. We did a lot of shopping yesterday. We still have more to do today.

One week away

2007-06-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

We are one week away from our big trip! Delainie and I are very excited ;) Today the fed-ex man brought our passports with our Chinese visa. Yea!!! Thank you to our courier in Houston Cindy Marut at My China Docs she was very quick and reasonably priced.

Now a note from Delainie:

We are going to China! I am a little nervous, but excited! This is my first time going to China since I was adopted.

School

2007-06-07T04:18:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of school. Delainie will be a third grade girl. They grow up so fast!

Battery Saga

2007-06-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

I bought a battery on Ebay. I put it in my powerbook and let it charge. Three days later it is only at 78%. I contact the company and they say to let it run down, take out the battery, reseat it and let it charge. This time it only charges to 53%. It is going back today.

Getting Ready

2007-06-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

Here we are two weeks to the day that we leave for China! We still have four days left of school. We have our tickets and I sent off for the travelers visas to enter the country last week. We should have those by next Wednesday, June 13. We still have a few things to do.

Tickets

2007-05-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

We leave June 18 and return August 4.

We have our tickets!

April 2007

2007-04-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 28:

We went to the post office to get Delainie's passport. Whew, I don't remember it taking so long when we got ours. I need to find mine or I will be getting a new one.

Monday, April 30:

Well, here we go. I have created a yahoogroup, an email and blog. I still have a lot of things to do. I am currently looking into ticket prices.