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Jennifer's Corner

Jennifer

Welcome to Year of the Ox - China

Hello Everyone,

Thought I'd check in and let you all in on the past 5 months. Sorry Grandpa, I know it's been awhile. I was hoping to have our website up by now but as usual only the best laid plans…. Anyway, once that is up and going you can check in anytime you'd like and see what's happening. I'm really excited about it and wish I'd done it sooner.

We're all realizing our life in China is now on the backswing so we've really been busy seeing as much as the area as we can. We're scheduled to leave China next June which doesn't leave a whole lot of time. So as you read this e-mail and I talk about our trips, keep in mind we're trying to experience as much as we can while we're here. It's amazing to me the adventures we've been on and things we've seen just from our limited travels to different parts of China. The cultures and the people are so different depending on the part of China they live. A lot of that is because the culture in rural china is not transient as the bigger cities and the U.S. You are born and then you die in the same house therefore keeping the same customs generation after generation. Our goal for the next year is to learn more about the different types of people living in China and their completely different customs and cultures. Should be interesting.

Christmas in Cambodia:
So let's digress. Last e-mail we were on our way to Cambodia. Cambodia is by far the poorest country we've visited. Our sobering experiences in Cambodia showed us how difficult it is for a country of fun loving people to get back on their feet after facing the horrible devastation caused by Pol Pot's rule over Cambodia leaving more than 1.7 million people slaughtered and buried in mass graves. The first day we flew into Phnom Penh and visited the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Museum which became the largest center of detention and torture in Cambodia. It was here between 1975 and 1978 that prisoners were tortured then taken to the killing fields to be killed and buried. The 17,000 people that actually died at Tuol Sleng while being tortured were buried on the prison grounds. Needless to say, Sean and Sophie stayed at the hotel during these visits but they were given a full lowdown on the history and Sean especially spent many hours on the internet before our trip looking at pictures and reading about the country he was going to visit. After our day in Phnom Penh we went to Siem Reap to see the ancient city Angkor and the capital of the Khmer kingdom from 802 until 1295 A.D.

Angkor Wat is a mythical city that wasn't discovered until 1861 and it is here that some of the world's largest religious monuments ever uncovered exist. The kids spent 4 days exploring the city and all the temples. They were in their glory as they got to climb all the ruins, explore the tunnels and caves and basically have a free run of this ancient city. We in turn had a major history lesson on Buddhism, Hinduism, and how the two religions merged during this period in Angkor Wat. And, again we learned and saw the complete devastation caused by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge to the city. The bullet holes did it for me. We saw thousands of them which was really sad because I imagine the monuments were mind blowing when built. Anyway, I could go on and on about this trip but don't want to bore you. If you ever get a chance to see this amazing country you should take full advantage of it, stay a week and really get to know the area. One of the highlights of the trip was going for $8.00 foot massages each day. Sean and Sophie got to experience it for the first time in Cambodia. It was hilarious. Sophie is so ticklish she laughed the entire time. Sean really enjoyed it. We also found this awesome Mexican restaurant (impossible to find in Shanghai) which I think we ate at for three nights and one lunch. Oh, almost forgot the fish!! We were visiting this night market, spending way too much money, when we passed the fairly large pool in the middle of the market. We walked up to it and about 7 people had their feet in the water while these little fish were nibbling at their toes. The fish were eating the dead skin off of peoples feet and legs right there in the middle of the market. Well, we all tried it and let me say it was very odd having about 100 fish feeding on my skin for dinner! Our friends went with us and she was in desperate need of a pedicure. When she put her feet in the pool 99% of the entire pool of fish went to feed on her feet. We all felt cheated as she was getting all the attention. The good news is she didn't need a pedicure after that! After a very long red-eye flight home we arrived back in Shanghai on the day after Christmas and Santa had come as scheduled. We opened up our presents and went to bed.

Then two and a half weeks later us and 2 other families were boarding another plane to Harbin, China. Harbin is north east of Beijing close to the Russian border and about a 3 hour flight from Shanghai. It is here that showcases China's annual International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. I'm not sure where to start here, let's just say it was as cold (-12 degrees Celsius) as it was spectacular. I've included pictures of this because it is impossible to do it justice in a short paragraph We also visited the Siberian Tiger Park which is the largest park of its kind in the world. The endangered Siberian Tigers were huge and all very hungry! When we arrived at the park we purchased our tickets and also bought food to feed the tigers. You do this to make them come out so you can see them. We decided to start small and bought a couple of chickens (live of course!) to feed to them. We all boarded a bus and took off for the wild with cameras in hand. When we arrived in the park another smaller car pulled up beside us and let go one chicken at a time. The tigers jumped on the car and caught the chicken and proceeded to eat it. These tigers are very large and to see them killing another animal was a little unnerving at first but then became great entertainment. By the time the chickens were done we were ready to move on to bigger and better things. We decided to add a goat (we could have bought a cow but that seemed a little in-humane) as a final desert for the tigers. We all pooled our money and the next thing I know, there is a truck pulling up beside us with a live goat inside. The tigers circled the truck immediately knowing exactly what they were about to receive. When the truck released the goat the tigers circled around the goat and then one went in for his prize. The tiger got the goat and dragged it to a quiet area where he licked it before killing it. I hope Sophie doesn't need too much therapy after that one. It was a little traumatic for her!! Needless to say the kids all had a grand time playing in the snow and taking advantage of the many ice slides. Sophie said her favorite part was horseback riding on the frozen river and making snow angels. We haven't seen that much snow in a very long time. After 2 days we were all freezing and ready to come back to Shanghai.

Chinese New Year in Boracay, Philippines:
We'd heard one of the best beaches to visit is Boracay so that seemed like a logical stop after freezing our !#!!!** off in Harbin. We flew into Manila, took another small plane to Cebu then a boat to Boracay. Boracay's beaches are indeed beautiful with lots of fun activities for a fraction of western prices. My friend Lean and I enjoyed nightly full body massages on the beach for $8.00 per hour. The kids snorkeled and parasailed, and we went island hopping and out for a sunset cruise on a catamaran. We ate fresh lobster and other seafood every night. It was a nice relaxing trip. Ironically (but not really) there were about 5 other families we knew staying at the same hotel all with children in the same school as Sean and Sophie. We hardly saw the kids the whole week! This happens frequently on holiday trips as all the expats seem to travel the same circles. Personally, I'd go back but would like to stay at a quieter beach that is not so touristy.

When we arrived back to Shanghai, Chinese New Year was in full swing and once again it sounded like WWIII outside our apartment. There were fireworks and firecrackers going off everywhere and the smoke was so thick we could smell it inside our apartment. It was pretty loud here every night for the last week of the holiday, but the last night was especially festive. Sean and Sophie were trying to sleep as they had school the next day. I told Sophie "how cool is it that you get to watch fireworks in your own bed!" she agreed. Sean and Sophie have the best views as their floor to ceiling windows face the city where most of the action takes place. I think the Chinese people did a good job scaring away the evil spirits this year. Welcome year of the Ox. The symbol for hard working tireless people, which only seems appropriate in this economy.

Girls trip to Jingdezhen:
Next stop Jingdezhen, China where high quality porcelain and pottery are manufactured and sold. We were told this is a fun shopping experience that we shouldn't miss while we lived in China and Jingdezhen is in the province Sophie was born so I was excited to see the area. In order to make the most of it we sent Mr. Lin in the van (only 7 hour drive) ahead of us so he could meet us at the Jingdezhen airport. He picked us up and we had him for the whole 2 days to follow us around and take our purchases for us. This worked out great as we didn't have to pay for shipping the goods back to Shanghai. When the van was full he headed back to Shanghai and we flew back that night. Jingdezhen is 100% Chinese so I was glad I had been taking lessons as we really needed them there. We only met one person at the hotel that spoke English, that was it, in the whole city of Jingdezhen. It was a really fun trip, no one came home with food poisoning, we all mastered the squatty potty, and believe it or not Scott and the kids managed just fine.

Moganshan Mountain:
After returning from Jingdezhen, our family along with another family took our first road trip to Moganshan, China. The adults in one van and the kids in the other van. Gotta Love It!! Anyway, Moganshan is a beautiful mountain filled with Bamboo forests and amazing hiking. One day we hiked for 8 hours stopping only in a little town for lunch (another time I was very glad to know some Mandarin!). Sean, Sophie and the other kids were huge troopers and did a great job. They love to hike and really enjoyed being outdoors in the fresh air. The bamboo was simply beautiful and the mountain hiking gorgeous. Sophie stopped along the way to help the tea pickers and Sean loved getting lost in the bamboo. Moganshan is known for two things, bamboo and tea. Both were plentiful out there and the tea was excellent. I've never seen so much of it in one place.

This brings us to today, where we're getting ready for a visit from Grandma (my mom). Last time she was here was last Christmas ('07) when it was very cold and rainy so we're hoping to do outside things this trip. There are a lot of water villages I have yet to explore around us. I'm looking forward to checking them out and getting some good pictures.

Sean and Sophie are doing well. Everyone is starting to look forward to our trip home this summer. We do miss our friends and family. Sophie (age 7) finally lost her first tooth on the same day her great-grandfather turned 103 years old. It was a good day. She had a birthday party at Shanghai's Barbie store which was definitely a dream come true for her. She was in her first fashion show there and they did it right. She and her friends had a blast. Sean is playing baseball now and in countless other school activities. That boy has a very hard time sitting still but is definitely loving life. He has said on numerous occasions how perfect his life would be if he could move all this N.C. friends to Shanghai.

Scott is chugging along at Lowe's. He's very busy now and traveling more. We can see a big difference in his workload since the economy started going south. Next weekend he's going to Hong Kong for a much needed boys weekend with some old friends. I'm excited for him.

I've decided to run the Beijing Wall 1/2 marathon on May 16th so have been training for that since February. Haven't lost any weight, what's up with that??? Funny story, I run around a big park close to my apartment and after running 15K one day, I desperately needed to stretch. I found a rail to stretch my very tired legs on and mid-way through I looked up and saw 6 Chinese workers circled around me staring at me. They had the strangest looks on their faces as if they'd never seen an American woman sweat before. I know they've seen men as I run in a fairly popular expat area. I was never frightened just irritated they cut my stretching time short. I said to them in Chinese "What?!?" and they just continued to stare as I walked off. I have no idea what they were thinking but I think next time I'll just ignore them and stick with my schedule. I wonder how to give them the middle finger in Chinese? Hummmmmm. Or, is it a universal language type thing? So anyway, I'm still taking my web design, mandarin and photography classes and volunteering at the kid's school. I'm busy but, I am happy to be doing things that I couldn't do in N.C. It's much easier when you don't have to do laundry, cook or clean. I'm amazed at how much time at home is spent each day doing these meaningless chores, and why aren't Ayi's more common in the States? And, having a driver allows me to have him pick up the kids or run other errands if it doesn't fit into my schedule which also saves a lot of time. I guess the trade-off is pollution, dirty water, occasional food poisoning and heavy dependence on other people due to language constraints and cultural differences.

Next stop and our most favorite - Huntersville, N.C. and boy are we excited!! Can't wait to see everyone in mid-June. I truly hope you all are doing well and know we love getting your e-mails and hearing from you.

Jennifer

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