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Thursday, July 1st, 2010

We have some big news. But, I had to tell some important people first before I could share it with everyone…

We're staying in Nanjing longer. From now, it will be three years till we return to Coppell. So, Maxine will graduate in China, and Sydney will return to Coppell for 11th and 12th grade.

Rory has been promoted and will be setting up a shared service center in Nanjing City. The office could, over the next three years, triple in size. It's a huge accomplishment for him to take this role, both personally, and professionally, since he had the backing of all his peers and every one of the upper level management.

Neither Maxine nor Sydney want to go back to Coppell schools so that was a huge factor in our decision to stay, even though Sydney will have to graduate there because we have to return in three years for our Citizenship requirements. That was also another factor - we'd received inaccurate information from the lawyers about our Citizenship requirements, which meant we either had to leave now, which was just not possible, or at the end of the next 2-year IB Diploma Program. It's been a very stressful month or so, not knowing where we stand, and how the fallout will not only affect us, but others too.

Aside from missing our friends L, coffee mornings with Randi-Sue and Sharrie, our garden and pool, good Tex-Mex restaurants and the occasional shopping trip to TJMaxx, I think it will be a good decision for us all. I have to confess that I'm really enjoying being here and look forward to working more with Hopeful Hearts.

Admittedly, living in China definitely has its challenges. It's not easy making friends, only to loose them a year or so later when they leave to return to their home-country. There are a lot of things you can't get here, there's the language barrier, website restrictions, and the general cultural differences. But, overall, the benefits still outweigh the negatives.

We'll be returning to Coppell in October and December to make sure our citizenship requirements are met and all paperwork completed, and to visit with friends.

One of the benefits is that y'all now have more time to plan a visit to China! So, get your passports sorted, check your calendars, and let us know what time of year suits you. Your Asian Destination awaits! We promise to give you an authentic Asian experience - no wussie tour-group stuff here!

The last few days have been spent trying to avoid the heat. We now have a 24-hour Chinese News Channel on TV, in English! It's awesome! We get to see all sorts of news we would never had known was happening, including International news that never makes it to CNN or BBC. We even get weather! It seems that many parts of China are experiencing a heat wave, which makes me feel a little better knowing that it's not just me. Rain has been predicted for tomorrow, bringing an end to the heat wave, but no doubt adding to the humidity. Not sure if we fall into that category but it's looking rathe rgloomy already today.

Yesterday I got to use my new stamps and made some greeting cards. I need to buy some old Chinese coins for decoration, but will probably continue to put together the "paper" parts of the cards.

Last weekend on our way back from getting Toby we passed by a small store / workshop that sells cleaned up driftwood pieces. I'd been looking for something different for all the coffee tables in the Teachers Lounge so I thought that would be interesting. I found a wonderful piece and the guy is going to clean it up and wax it for me. I'll post some pictures when I get it back.
There's quite a collection of furniture and things at the school now, waiting for the lounge and kitchen area to be completed. My wrought iron mirror arrived yesterday morning as well. I'd seen a picture of some intricate gates in a book and took the picture to them and asked them to replicate it as a metal frame for a mirror. It looks great. It's huge, and heavy. One-and-a-half meters wide by one meter tall. Thank heavens the walls are concrete!

We also drove by some of the buildings that Rory was looking at for moving the Celanese Shared Services Department into, but we decided for various reasons that they just weren't the right one. So the search continues. It's quite difficult finding a place that can accommodate 400 people without having to spend too much money reconfiguring the space. It's also got to be close to the Metro train lines, the bus routes, and have an adequate selection of eating places close-by for everyone to get lunch.

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Happy Birthday Tracy!

Rory's at home today, not feeling well. Running a fever. Feeling grotty. Got him dosed up on meds and parked in front of the TV. Toby's also not well. The kids and I shipped him off to the vet this morning. I think he has kennel cough, so they put him on an antibiotic to stop any secondary infections. I think he picked it up when we were there last week! He hasn't been out of our yard at all, so I don't know where he would have picked it up otherwise…hmmm, maybe Rory gave it to him?!

He had to have a breathing treatment which he did not like! He wriggled and whined and cried. It was quite funny though - when he whined it sounded like he was laughing, or like one of the chickens that are frequently in our backyard. Then when he coughed he sounded like a duck! Poor thing. He's slept the whole day, which is quite a relief for the rest of us! Just to clarify, I'm talking about Toby here!

His potty training is really coming along well. He's had hardly any accidents inside the house that haven't been our faults for not getting him out the door fast or often enough. He knows as soon as he goes outside he runs to the "poop patch" and does his business. He's not allowed back inside until he does so I think he's figured that he'd sooner get it done with so he can get back to playing!

The girls are fairly bored. No friends here at all besides Ben and he leaves on Monday. He practically lives at our house…here by 9am, and stays till about 9pm! Maxine is really going to miss him. I think we all are. They bought some of the latest series and movies on DVD which we've been watching during the day because it's been so hot.

We went to the school again today to check on the remodel project. It's coming along nicely - tiles are up in the kitchen (they tile before they put the cabinets in). The floor tiles are also in and look great. The wood flooring should start to go in tomorrow. I'm hoping that they work really fast and get it done before I go to South Africa on Thursday next week, or that they work really slow and I can get the furniture delivered and set up when I get back.

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

It looks like Rory's getting better. No more fever. Toby is still battling but seems to be a bit better today as well.

Toby loves to play soccer. We caught him on video today when he ran straight into the tree while chasing the ball! Poor thing L He's grown so much already. It's not surprising considering the amount of food he devours daily! Buster is playing so nicely with him now. I think he feels more comfortable with him now that he's a little bigger.

I'll be baby-sitting him the whole day tomorrow. The kids are all going to the amusement park in Wuhu. It's almost a two-hour drive so they'll be gone for most of the day, along with Michael, so I'll be stranded. I have to pack all our things away so they can move the furniture out to replace the wood floors next week when we're gone. So, I think tomorrow might be a good day to get a head start on that chore.

Today I found a wonderful art supply store. Actually is a small shopping center full of art supply stores, across the road from the Art University. They have EVERYTHING you could ever think of, and more! Behind the center there's and arts and crafts market too. Most of the stalls were closed today so I think we'll go have a browse around on Saturday. It looked like the kind of place you could find some interesting bits and pieces.

The tailor came tonight to drop off the skirts he made for me, and the shirts he made for Rory. They look so good! He charged 80RMb to make a long-sleeved shirt, plus the cost of the fabric. So each shirt cost about US$16 in total. My skirts were even less - 50RMB per skirt, plus fabric. So about US$12 per skirt! It amazes me how inexpensive it is to have things made.

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

Yesterday, Rory came home early. He's still battling to find the energy to get through the day, which I think is more frustrating for him than anything else right now.

The kids and some of their friends went to Wuxi yesterday to the amusement park. We called to check on them and they were having a great time, Michael included! He'd decided to join them and I think ended up riding the most roller-coasters! They came back and all went to Ciao Italia to eat supper. Maxine brought me home my favorite pizza for supper. It has artichokes, ham, olives, and mushrooms on it, as well as fresh basil, and it's delicious!

This morning Rory and I went back to the art and crafts market that I went to earlier in the week. It was raining so a lot of the stalls were packing up, but under the awning side, everyone was doing some good business! Although I couldn't find old coins, I got some old Chinese postage stamps for my greeting cards. Some are very beautiful with scenery from around China, some are of Chinese Operas, and some of flowers, plus many more different types. I got 50 in all, for 25RMB. I've already sorted through them and put some on cards I'd already made and they look great. I found some spray adhesive so I can start using the red Chinese paper-cuts for my cards too. They're very delicate so much so that you can use regular glue, or glue dots without tearing them. They'll look great on a bright white card though.

As I mentioned, it's rained all day, and all of last night. No surprise since we left the sprinkler on the front lawn the whole day yesterday! Typical!

On Friday morning I went to have my annual check-up with the doctor. It's a pre-paid service and since I wanted to have blood-work done the doctor figured I might as well get it all done. So, after fasting from the night before, I went in at 9am, had the ECG done, had about 4 liters of blood drawn, peed in a cup, and then had to drink 5 big glasses of water so I could have an ultrasound scan done. I'd asked the day before whether this was all done on the premises and how long it would take. The answer was "yes" and "about and hour". I was at the doctors for 8:45am, and got home after 12:30! After drinking the water I had to wait for it to "filter down" before I could have the scan done, only to find out that I had to take their shuttle to the hospital to have it done. Grrrr. So, after a half-an-hour in traffic, another half-an-hour waiting in the crowded hallway, I got to spend no longer than 15 seconds lying down! No kidding. Now, usually they leave the door open so anyone can just walk in and stick their head around the curtain. Luckily the nurse who came with me shut the door. Although that still didn't stop someone from opening it and sticking their head in to see if the doctor was actually busy! She had the little hand-wand thing pushing down on my tummy, did a few nods, a few ummms, and said in Chinese that everything was there and it looked normal. Fifteen seconds. Done. By this point I was glad to just be done though. We went downstairs to wait for the driver and I think I almost lost my life a few times just standing there. People would come speeding around the corner, wheeling hospital beds, with patients on them, probably clinging to life in more ways than necessary! I'm sure they weren't hospital staff, just family members as they weren't wearing uniforms like the rest of the staff. I had to jump out the way a couple of times - they apparently steer beds like they drive cars!
I waited about 20 minutes for the shuttle to come pick me up, return me to the doctors rooms, and then I still had to get a taxi home! And I needed to pee. Badly! By the time I got home poor Toby had been inside his crate for 4 hours! It was a tough decision figuring out who should get to pee first! I won. He sniffs around too much.
I took it easy the rest of the afternoon, suffering a really bad headache, probably from not having anything to eat or drink.

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

Just after we finished supper last night Ben got a call from one of their friends, Annie. She and her boyfriend, Sven, had an accident on their moped, and they weren't wearing helmets. Maxine and Ben rushed off in a taxi but by the time they got there he'd been rushed off to hospital in Chinese ambulance. The thought of that alone was worse than the actual accident! Eventually they all got to the hospital and could see how bad his injuries were as they had no idea up to that point. I was frantic because Sven was here alone. His mother had already left for Germany. He's just graduated high-school and getting ready to leave for college so it wasn't a big deal to leave him on his own, until this happened! Maxine called Rory, who then rushed off in a taxi, because they needed payment before they would do anything. Ben's mom called the emergency Global Doctor, where most of the expats go for treatment. So after finishing up at the hospital they went to the doctor's clinic for a more "western-style" check-up. Thank Heavens, besides a few stitches, being heavily bruised and covered in scratches, he should be okay. Annie has some scratches, but Sven was pretty beat up. It seems a car cut them off, turning in front of them at the intersection, causing them to swerve and the moped to skid out from under them, colliding with another car waiting for the green light at the intersection.
I think it was a bit of a wake up call for Maxine. She's always harping on at us because we make her wear a helmet when Ben gives her a ride on the back of his moped. And even then, they're not allowed outside of Top Regent. We're just all thankful their injuries weren't more serious.

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

What a day! Yesterday was crazy! In the morning I went to the school to check on how things were coming along only to find that they were painting the walls the totally wrong color! It looks awful. I had a 30 minute-long argument with the construction guy, explaining, via Michael who was translating, that this is not the right color. I showed him on the paint swatch which color I'd chosen and it seems the paint store had mixed the paint wrong. It's like a bright yellow with a touch of dark green added. Yes, it's that bad. He argued with me that the company had printed the color swatches wrong. I tried to explain that it was the paint shop that is supposed to match the color, not the other way around. And, that I chose that swatch because that was the COLOR I wanted, not the number on the card. That part is irrelevant. If it's not the right color - STOP! aaaaaargh!!!!

Then, Buster had hurt his leg on Sunday and couldn't walk. We left him to see if it was something simple. But he still wouldn't let me near him so Rory had to come home at lunch time on Monday to get him to the vet. Nothing is broken so he's just torn a muscle or something. He's on pain killers and muscle meds. Then, while all this is happening, Maxine's boyfriend, Ben, was leaving. So she was at the station saying good-bye. She's very upset. My heart is breaking for her. We all boo-hooed last night. I have a list of at least 14 things I need to do before Thursday. Usually you're lucky is you can get one or two crossed off in one day so it's going to be a miracle if I get through them all.

Toby is a terror. He's found his voice and is barking now. He seems to have found his legs too. When I take him outside to pee he darts back inside before I can catch him, darting around the plant pots and chairs. Little bugger. It was pouring rain the whole day yesterday and all he wanted to do outside was play. No pooping. No peeing. Just rolling across the lawn in the mud and wet grass. Running around like a crazy fool. Pouncing in the puddles trying to catch the splashes. Meanwhile, I'm standing out there with the umbrella, waiting for him to produce something.

At least it's not pouring rain, yet, this morning. It looks like it will at some point, but it's not yet.