HOT JOUT ZI

Yesterday was such a busy day....I knew it would be and had trouble getting out of bed and getting the day going. But the day did start and Jim took the kids to the school where we teach the children and I got Joseph ready for our outing. I had been invited to my new friend's home (the friend I met at the grocery store) to meet her husband who would fix us lunch.Yeah! Joseph and I headed out all bundled up and went to the nearest mall/market to buy something so we'd be very Chinese and not go to a home for the first time empty handed. I finally decided to buy fruit as my "thank you for inviting me to your home" gift but found all the fruit vendors packing up when I got there.....I'm not sure why they were boxing up all their belongings......but that's just how things work for me sometimes. So I glanced around and saw a nut vendor. This woman had every kind of nut and I remembered how nuts are one of the most favorite snacks, so a bought half a jin (similar to a pound) of pistachios.....who wouldn't love that! Joseph and I then headed for a taxi and began our journey across town. My friend told me to call when I got close, but because I've never been there that was hard to do. The taxi stopped in front of a building so I got out and called my friend. She came down from her second floor apartment and led the way for us.
This was my first time in a Chinese home. I was kind of surprised by the apartment. It was considerably smaller than ours and there were very few belongings. The furniture was old and simple and the kitchen had no modern conveniences. My friend's husband (a doctor at the city hospital) was busy making jout zi (dumplings) for our lunch. He carefully rolled out each piece of dough while sitting on a short stool at a table mayber 9 inches off the floor. They were very hospitable to Joseph and me and made sure we sat in the warmest part of the floor (everyone's heat is thru the floor) . My friend and I visited and waited for lunch. Her husband's English is not as good as hers, but I could understand his questions. When lunch was ready they carried the short table from the kitchen into the living area and we ate home-made dumplings filled with pork, celery and onions. YUM! My friend's husband showed me how to eat them, and even though I've had them many times, I watched him and did as he did. I, too , picked up a dumpling with my chopsticks (it took me a longer time) and dipped it in the soy sauce and vinegar mixture and popped it into my mouth and I wasn't done until I took a bite of raw garlic with a mouth full of dumpling. I was doing good until I realized how very hot the inside of the dumpling was. I tried to act big.....I didn't want them to think I didn't like what was in my mouth, but WOWEEE was it hot! And I still had to bite the garlic clove.......I did my best......but was not lady like at all! I had to prove I liked it and that I could do it the same way. My mouth was burned in several spots, but I it didn't slow me down too much. I ate all the dumplings given to me and some of Joseph's rice porridge (made especially for his visit). Right after lunch I had to leave. Joseph and I made it home in time for me to drop him off, touch base with Jim and the kids and get to my English classs.
Jim and I both now have busy teaching schedules. I get done at 3pm and he starts at 3pm. I go home and our helper leaves at 4pm. Well, when I got home, I got a phone call that a reporter was at the Foreign Language school and wanted to take our family picture for an article he was writing about our time in Hunchun. What a crazy request! I didn't have time to bathe the children, or even dress them in nicer clothes. We ran a brush thru our hair and headed back to the school When Jim got done teaching we were ready for the picture but the reporter was 45 minutes late. Finally he arrived and we ended up having a photo shoot with another American teacher and her infant son. The reporter posed us with Jim at a dry-erase board like he was teaching us and we looked at him like he was saying something profound......it sure was hard! We kept giggling and the reporter wanted us to smile or just look at Jim. I'm still confused why we got our picture taken this way. If you subscribe to the Tumen newspaper then you could see the picture of us.
We now have an extra child every evening from 5 to 8 pm. We babysit fellow team member's son (one month younger than Joseph) while they teach English each evening. The kids love having an extra baby to love......and Jim and I enjoy having the extra baby in the home, but both agree we don't think we would do well with two the same age for more than 3 hours at a time.
Last night was our evening at the orphanage. So we packed up both babies, bundled up the kids and took our bi-weekly walk to the orphanage. We had a good time, as usual and have made plans with the orphanage directors for lunch this Monday...just us adults (and Joseph of course). My nine month old friend ,Feng Sian ,was sick. He had a fever and cold and looked like he felt awful. He still didn't like me, but I think it was because he doesn't feel well....atleast that's what I'm telling myself.
Once home, and the kids in bed I curled up on my bed and reflected on the busy day. I'm concerned about Feng Sian, so I will make an extra trip to his home tomorrow to check on him (and take him a treat so he'll like me). I also thought about my home and my friend's home. We live so modestly compared to our US home, yet so extravagantly compared to a typical Chinese family. I think I need so much, but after visiting that home, realize I don't NEED anything......besides food, it's all WANTS. I'll never fully live Chinese, because we are not a Chinese family, but I did learn something. Our household is truly blessed. We live very simply and I like that. Too much stuff will bogg us down and we won't be able to stay focused on our tasks ahead.

A NEW FRIEND

Emma playing a game with the girls at the orphanage....she's doing so well with teaching English to anyone who wants to learn.

Joseph and his friend Thomas at the orphanage.

Yesterday Emma and I went shopping. She still had Christmas money from Grandma and Grandpa and was making me crazy about spending it. She had it in her head that she wanted a shelf for her room. When out without her, I found what she wanted so we ventured out together to try to buy it. We first went to a new grocery store (new to me not to Hunchun) so we didn't have to carry a large shelf with us to the grocery store if our shopping was successful. Emma and I were talking in an aisle when a woman approached me and asked if I was from America. Her English was very good and she was so excited to meet Americans. We visited a little while in the grocery store and then we exchanged phone numbers. I asked if she could come to our home the next evening for dinner (tonight) and we made plans for her to visit our home. Her name is Rose and she came this evening with her 5 year old son. Even though she is Korean/Chinese she has studied English for a long time and her profession is an English teacher. She teaches adults and a few children private English classes in her home. I was excited to fix dinner for them but was unsure what to fix. So I decided to fix the perfect American meal for a five year old boy. We had chicken nuggets, french fries and macaroni and cheese! The first time I've ever entertained with such an easy meal! We had Country Bobs, ketchup and mustard for dipping and lemonade with oranges. Rose and her son Allan really seemed to enjoy it.....kinda funny! I may just be giving good cooks in America a bad name....I hope they don't think chicken nuggets is the best we have. We enjoyed the company and next visit I promised to cook adult American dinner. Rose's husband is an emergency room doctor.....I hope that never comes in handy! And Rose helped me with my Chinese pronunciation. She will be a great tutor. She has time to help me and the excitement to also. Chinese women are never shy to ask me my age, so when Rose did I asked in return. She will be 40 this May.....how nice to make a friend close to my age. What a blessing and productive trip to the grocery store......Emma thought so too......we ended up carrying home a green free-standing shelf she bought with her own money.

Last night was our night to go to the orphanage. We love going there and I always have to play with the 8 month old boy, Feng Sian. It makes me crazy that he doesn't like me so I took cookies for him this time......and wouldn't you know......he just got done eating and wasn't hungry!! I can't win. But I still play peek-a-boo across his nanny and visit with her about this sweet boy. How my heart aches that he will be in an orphanage his whole childhood. Most of the children there have some type of family to visit and have lived with family at some point during their childhood, but Feng Sian has no one outside the orphanage. For our class time we played Go-Fish using phonics sounds and we talked about the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration. We try to teach a little English and then teach a little about our culture....so we introduced Sweetarts! No one spit theirs out, so they must have liked them.

Our days zip by and we keep very busy. We're amazed at how fast the days fly by....except I feel like we have been away from the States longer than we actually have. I feel like we've been gone forever....our past life seems so long ago.....and this life becomes more natural and normal to us every day.

WELCOME 2009!

A well-bathed Jameson sneaking a chicken wing from our New Year's Eve buffet.

Our New Year arrived with very little excitement this year. We ate junk food for dinner, buffet style and Jameson said, before he even took a bite, "This will be my favorite meal yet". We bought fried chicken wings from the restaurant near our home, leftover meatballs and potatoe soup from dinner the night before, assorted chips, cookies, fudge and french bread and cream puffs from our baker friends. I kept asking Jim what he would like to eat, but he wouldn't answer seriousely, so Jameson and I went to the store by ourselves and came home with the junk food. We settled in our living room with full plates around 7pm and watched the pilot of the 1970's Incredible Hulk with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferigno.....the kids found it....interesting. Emma wanted to continue, as we bought Jameson the complete first season for Christmas, but the rest of us had had enought. We then watched the movie "Hildago". We would have enjoyed it more if we could have heard it above the kids' constant talking and questions. By 11:30 I was so tired(and relaxed with Joseph asleep with me on the couch ) that I said my "Happy New Years"s" and went to bed. Straight up midnight fireworks....loud fireworks.......went off and the kids tried to see them out our windows. I don't remember anything after that.

On the first, we lounged around in the morning and then walked to a mall close by to try out their food court. We were clearly the only foreigners there, and we each had something different. I had cold noodles in a vinegar-based sauce. It was very good and I'd probably get it again.....reminded me of my mom's cold spaghetti salad....YUM! After lunch we walked to a nicer mall and Jameson and Emma used Christmas money to buy remote control cars.

Once home, Emma and I snuggled together on my bed and watched "Gone with the Wind" and Jim made sure we had few interruptions. She liked it, but had trouble understanding why some of the women were so frail and weak....Emma can't relate to that!! Like the scene where the women take a nap after the BBQ while the men talked politics and smoked cigars......Emma couldn't grasp that, but I wish we still did that on busy days! Anyway, a nice memory for me to treasure....introducing my daughter to Rhett Butler and being glad she saw the wickedness in Scarlett O' Hara.

Speaking of Emma, we didn't have internet connection for the biggest part of the day, and she is so disapointed that she couldn't skype Sienna at Sienna's midnight. When our computer is down, it's always a big bummer. We rely on it so much. We make all our calls back home thru the internet as well as keeping in touch with skype and emails. Although Jim and I are limited with our computer skills, we try everything when it won't work....tonight we must have done something right and I am now able to wish all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

HEATHER'S THEORY TESTED

Here is a picture of me and my assistant, Bernice, during one of our Saturday morning English classes. She is a huge help interpretting for me....sometimes the kids don't think I'm as funny as I do until Bernice says it in Chinese. I have 18 in that class and I'm expected to have more children join soon.

A few weeks ago I blogged about all the freebies I receive when I take Joseph with me shopping. Heather left a message asking if I needed Joseph to get the free items or if I could get them on my own. Well this evening I went to the bakery we love to visit alone. I chose the bread (french bread hot from the oven because Jameson requested meatball subs for dinner) and the owner proceeded to bag 8 dinner rolls (made from the same french bread dough) and long sweet danishes (hard to describe but very yummy). So as I walked home with a spring in my step, I thought of Heather and her doubtfulness that I can't get freebies on my own. So the the hypothesis is this. With or without Joseph with me, the bakery gives me extras and now I know it's not just because I let them see my blue-eyed boy.......Hey......I have blue eyes too......maybe that's the reason for the freebies.....now we need to test if Jim and his green eyes can get extras!!

We went to the orphanage again tonight. We enjoy our time there and the director always shares a little more of the ins and outs of the orphanage world with me. I'm learning a little each visit and the kids seem to enjoy the interaction with us. We play games with the children ages 11-15. One girl is there because she broke her hip at the University. She's 20 and can't walk and is becoming depressed. Emma met her tonight and Emma wants to go back to just visit with her. The girl speaks Chinese, Korean and English. I told Emma she could take her portable DVD player, games and cards and Emma liked that idea.....maybe this young woman can help Emma with language study and Emma can help her feel less lonely.....we'll see how that goes.

After getting an oven for Christmas, I am just now able to use it. When I tried to turn it on for the first time it wouldn't work. Jim and Sunny's brother took it back to the store and they fixed it. Tonight I made meatball subs.....and we loved them!! I also made potatoe soup, a favorite of ours. I enjoy cooking here because it's such a challenge. My oven is so small, but I'm so excited to cook with an oven again. I will find out how to buy flour soon and make brownies (the cocoa can't be found here, but I have a little) and cookies, quick breads, ect. My family also seems to really appreciate what I cook now because they don't have any other American food to compare it too......Even my well done meatballs were a hit!!!

JAMESON'S 11th BIRTHDAY

A STREET SCENE OF YANGI, CHINA

OUR 11 YEAR OLD BOY

IT WAS COLD, BUT LIKE ALL GOOD SISTERS , EMMA BRAVED THE COLD WHILE SHOPPING IN YANGI

"LOOK AT MY BIG KING CHEESEBURGER AND FRIES...WHAT A GREAT BIRTHDAY!"

Today we celebrated the birth of Jameson. Although Jim says because he was born on American time and that we're now on Chinese time, he wasn't really born until tomorrow and so it's not really his birthday yet!! We started our day running late. We have a mandatory meeting every Saturday morning at 7am. Jim woke me up at 6:32.....Ugggh!! We usually wake at 5:30 on Saturdays!! So after 30 minutes of me shouting out commands, Jay, Joe , Selah and I hailed a taxi and headed to the meeting. Jim and Emma were to follow after Jim got his act together! (He is always so slow when we're in a hurry.....I was a tad bit upset with his slow-pokey-ness and left without him thinking I was making a point). The taxi driver we got was not familiar with the location of our meeting place and took a few wrong turns. Eventually we arrived and walked to the third floor to our meeting and guess who greeted us at the door? Yep.....JIM!! His taxi driver knew where he was going and he arrived before I did......YIKES!....lessoned learned early this am not to be spiteful!!

After the meeting and breakfast, we said good-bye to team members who are returning to the States. After a few tears we went by 2 taxis to Yangi, the nearest big city. We met other team members at Ginna's Place, a restaurant specializing in Western food. Jameson wanted to go here in order to get a big American cheeseburger and french fries. He and I shared a Big King Burger with bacon and BBQ wings. He loved every bite. Emma enjoyed her tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich (we can't get cheese here, so the grilled cheese was quite a treat!). Jim and Selah shared a Big King Burger with bacon also and Jim had a bowl of Mexican soup. We had tortilla chips and salsa for appetizer and we enjoyed fresh brewed iced-tea (another treat we can't get here) With our bellies full, we went shopping. Jay had quite a wallet full of money and the girls had Christmas $$ to spend. Selah found very quickly Barbie accessories (a bedroom and kitchen set) and Jameson found a remote control spider-type robot. Emma couldn't find anything and the price wasn't right on the rocking horse (actually a giraffe) I wanted Josephto get. We walked from the mall to DVD store. We have heard of this store before because they have a wide selection of English movies and they are only 8yuan.....which is $1.32!! Isn't that crazy? Many are taped from a movie theater...totally illegal.....but it's all we can get.....and we love them. We came home with lots of movies......everyone got something they liked. I got a few chick flicks to watch late at night with Jim and I can't wait to pull out Gone with the Wind and introduce Emma to it. This store also sells tv show series, so Jim will be busy watching Star Trek Voyager whenever possible. The kids had a blast and it was fun not having to say "no" all the time. We finished our visit to Yangi with hot chocolate and coffee (I had mine iced---YUM!---but not as good as a Stevelatte!!) at a coffee shop that tried to make their logo look like Starbucks, but we weren't fooled....but still paid the high prices!! Joseph cried and screamed the hour and 45 minutes home. We were tempted to take him out of his seat but it was dark and the roads are very dangerous, so we just listened to him. He's just as stubborn as his dad.....you'd think he would have realized after the first hour that we weren't going to get him out of his seat but he continued to scream. Once home, I stripped him of his warm clothing and he has been playing on the floor for the past 2 hours, the happiest boy you'd ever meet. We're all home now and Jameson just opened cards from the States. Thank you to all who sent him a birthday message. It was fun for him to opend cards from friends back home.....he appreciates it more than most eleven year old boys. Thank you.

What a busy day.....we'll all sleep well tonight.....and YEAH! we made it thru the December birthdays again. We have a rest now until Joseph's first birthday on March 6!!

SHENG DAN QAI LE

Jameson opening Incredible Hulk videos on Christmas morning

Joseph being so helpful the night we decorated our Christmas cactus.

Selah and the present she received from Sadie Edwards on christmas morning

Emma and Joseph using the gift she was so excited to give to him...his first toothbrush.

Our unforgettable Christmas cactus with very few ornaments and too much garland.....but now we know why we use trees.....OUCH!!

Sheng Dan Qai Le....or .....Merry Christmas!!

Christmas evening 6:30

As I write this our living room is full of scattered opened presents and shredded wrapping paper. Mork and Mindy (season 1) is on our tv (a gift we introduced our children to) Selah is loving her new Barbies with fun clothes and 4 of us are in our new pajamas. Emma is using her new gel pens and Jim has just popped Chinese popcorn for a snack. Joseph is taking advantage of everyone being busy and trying to eat wrapping paper and spilling Christmas candy on the floor....just a relaxing evening!!

Our morning began as Christmas mornings always have with all the kids coming into our room earlier than we would like and we read The Christmas Story by Luke and then entered into the living room where we saw that we had a visitor during the night. The kids were really excited and of course it was fun to hear their laughter at what they got. Emma's favorite gift was her Marilyn Monroe tote bag, Jameson's favorite was his MP3 player (also a camera), Selah's favorite was a stuffed pink elephand and the barbies, and Joseph loved his duck that rolls around on the floors playing very obnoxious music and then stops and lays an egg....I must admit it might be my favorite too!

My hightlight this morning was the oven Jim and the kids gave me. We've been here 2 months now without an oven. I miss making cookies, quick breads, casseroles and brownies. Jim is already requesting a pot roast with potatoes and carrots this week. The ovens here are a little smaller than toaster ovens back home. It fits on top of my small refrigerator and is too small for a 9x13 inch pan.....but I feel like I've been given a fancy appliance! This will help me feel like I'm taking care of my family the way I use too.

We joined other team members for Christmas dinner at 1:00 at the theater at the Foreign Language School. I spent several hours at another team members home (she has 2 ovens!) and helped her cook. We made apple pies, pumpkin pies, green bean casserole, brocoli and rice casserole, 2 baked chickens and a pot roast. We also made fudge and pumpkin muffins and banana bread to give as gifts. We spent days cooking and it was all very delicious. The Korean team members brought Korean dishes and the Russian team members brought food they like as well. I only ate the American food because it's so hard to make here and we rarely eat that way. It was quite a treat. We all brought a present to open. We sat in a large circle (26 of us) and drew numbers. Number one chose a present and opened it. Then number 2 could choose one to open, or steal one that was already opened. We did this until all presents were open. It was so fun and the kids had a great time. Emma walked away with gel pens and black paper, Selah got matrishka dolls and Jameson got a dorky leather hat! We had a great day!!

On the walk to the theater we stopped at few places to deliver candy canes that I received from the States. In Chinese, I was able to say that today is Christmas and that we wanted to share our candy canes. We delivered them to our bakery family, our vegetable lady and her husband and the baker with the great biscuits and the taxi driver who drove us to the theater. It was such a blessing to see the smiles! Thank you to all who sent candy canes to us....you provided smiles in China!

I must admit it was a little hard last night as I got ready for bed. It's harder than I thought to be away during the Holidays. I miss our usual Holiday routine and we miss our families back home. We enjoyed skyping Jim's family on their Christmas Eve and we will set our alarm to get up in the middle of the night to skype my family. We love being able to see and talk to our families thru the computer....technology is great!

So Nar

Today was another busy day. Once again, I didn't make it to body shaping. After teaching the kids, I gave Jameson to his drum lessons and Selah went with Andrea to practice her part in an upcoming play for the Special Education School Christmas Party the team is hosting on the 23rd. Emma and I went home for lunch. I'm so proud of her. She can hail a taxi, tell the driver where to go, pay the correct amount and say thank you. She is just about ready to be able to come hom without an adult with her. She may be ready, but I'm not. She sat in the front seat today and I vegged out in the back. Sunny had lunch ready for us. We didn't care for the meat she gave us, but I think it was from a bag and not something she made. She said it was beef, but I'm not sure if I believe her. The side dish she ms ade was excellent. She makes it often for us. It is potatoes (VERY thinly sliced) with carrots and celery. It is sauteed in some type of oil and is way yummy!! We eat it with rice and all 5 of us like it, but Jameson only eats the potatoes. After lunch, Jim and I went to our Chinese class. I'm learning something new every day, but I'm thinking about getting my own personal tutor. I'll still go to the class, but I would rather work at my pace and not the classes pace. Tutors are fairly inexpensive, so Jim says it would probably be a good idea. Now the hard part....finding one. Andrea is helping me, but we haven't found one yet.

After class, Jim and I toured the newly renovated building that will house the children's English Department when finished. They are letting me make all the decisions about how the classrooms will be finished. Like what walls I want to keep and what walls I want taken out...pretty big decisions. Jim is the one doing the cabinetry in there and I think he hopes I choose for a wall to go down so he can get in on that. If you know me at all, you know I dream big so I'm dreaming in that building now. I can see some fun things going on in there. I even get my own office, which my kids think is really cool (and so do I!) There is also a room with a large window that leads into a hall....looks like a snack bar to me!! Those in charge want this program for the kids up and running and firmly established and they know when the orphanage is built, I will be busy with other responsibilities. But for the mean time, I'm giving my 2 cents on what I think the building should be used for.

I am so busy preparing for a Christmas party for my English classes and for the Christmas concert. Why did I think this Christmas would be any different? We are busy and of course, I have little shopping done. Emma reminds me daily of her upcoming 13th Birthday and then Jameson has his own countdown going on. This time of year is always crazy....

A quick, funny story before I close. When I got in the taxit this am to go to the school, I said hello to the driver and he said hello in return. Then he said "So nar" (not the real Chinese spelling of course) I have no idea what this meant (I kind of thought it was a greeting ) so I very proudly said "So nar" back to him. I then got out the card with the school address printed on it and showed it to him. I asked him what "So nar" meant and he answered me (but my Chinese is so limited I can only ask questions...I can't understand the answers!) When I got to the school I asked the receptionist what "So nar" means and she said it means "Where are you going?' So when the taxi driver asked me where I was going, I probably looked like a smarty britches and asked him where he was going!

So much to tell everyone....I'll write more later.
Hugs and Kisses.....Andra