1 Month

A 7 day holiday is starting on Saturday so everyone is decorating and getting ready to celebrate. We saw these huge lanterns being set up on the way to church last week. They are the biggest I've seen yet.

In a way it's hard to believe we've been here for 1 month already.... on the other hand it's hard to believe it's only been 1 month. It has been a month of adjusting and learning and growing... mixed in with some very cool experiences. I'm happy that we're here. I am amazed that life has brought us half way around the world. I always dreamt of going to China, and never dreamed I'd live here. I remember telling Jimmy that I really wanted to visit Asia some day and asking him if he was interested. I don't know if it was the frugal side of him or the calm side of him that caused him to not really react but here we are... living that once in a life-time experience.

I don't understand these people. I don't just mean the language. That's obvious. I mean the people themselves. They have so many interesting mannerisms. And while they all act very much the same, it doesn't make sense. For instance in Czech Republic, even though they did things differently, it wasn't hard to understand why they did things the way they did. I don't know if it was the gift of being a missionary and praying every day for charity (which I have started doing) or just that Europe is more similar to America than Asia is.

My goal for this month is to understand the culture a little bit more. I find myself getting frustrated by the way things are done here because it seems like there are no rules, or at least none of the rules are being followed.

I don't understand why even though the light is red, cars are still driving through the intersection.

I don't understand why even though the signal says walk, cars and scooters are driving and honking at pedestrians.

I don't understand why no one gives up their seat on public transportation for someone else who might be tired or need it more than they do.When the bus or metro is approaching the station and people stand to wait by the door, someone else will immediately sit in the spot. There are rarely empty seats on transportation. And the seats are rarely given up for the elderly. And if they are, it's usually by someone a few years younger than the elderly who could also use the rest.

I don't understand why no one moves to the side to make way for someone else.

I don't understand why people are honking outside at 4 in the morning when there is only 1 other car on the road.

I don't understand why the Snickers bars are behind glass doors with locks on them in the supermarket. (truth)

I don't understand why everyone has to hold my baby. (I actually do understand this a little bit)

Why do I find myself waiting for 40 minutes for a bus that is supposed to run every 10 minutes. And when I find someone who speaks English they tell me that they do run every 10 minutes. Huh?

I don't understand why the cleaning ladies don't use cleaners and they use the same rag and mop in every room in the building.You better believe I ask them not to clean when they come!

I hope this all doesn't sound negative, although some days one or more of these feel frustrating. These are just some things that don't make sense to me. And there are many things here that don't make sense. Even the Chinese people agree. And they will tell you that you will never understand it because they don't either. Jimmy had a seminar this week and the speaker is from here and said that even if someone gets run over, it's no big deal. He said:

1.3 billion - 1 = no big deal

So that's kind of the attitude here. Of course that is a generalization. Just like anywhere else, there are the Mother Teresas doing all they can and devoting their lives to making others happy. The general feel here is not what I expected. What I do expect, is that as time goes on I will understand things more and grow to love and enjoy the personalities of the Chinese people just as I have been able to do in other countries that I have visited. In the mean time I am looking for the fun, quirky things that make me smile and I am trying not to let the annoying things fester and spoil a great adventure. Overall it has been a fun month and we are looking forward to many more great times.

At some of the busier metro stations they have glass doors instead of just an opening to the tracks. Smart!

Before you get on any metro you have to put your bag through the scanner.

Good baby! Sometimes she falls asleep on the transportation. We love that!

There are TONS of delivery guys here. McDonald's and Pizza Hut both deliver. They also have a service called Sherpas that will go to any restaurant and bring the food to you. They all ride on scooters.

I love the yogurt here! It's very runny so you just stick a straw in the top (they all come with straws) and drink it.

I love how they carry stuff here. It always amazes me.

This is where we go to buy groceries. We ride the bus and then walk across the street to this big shopping center called Cloud Nine. It's like a mall but Carrefour is on the bottom two floors.

There are people pushing these carts all around town and depending on the time of year they sell different things. There is a big metal drum heating whatever is being sold. Since we got here they have been setting chestnuts and now it's time for the sweet potatoes and corn.

11 Months Old!!

Mary Alice is 11 months old!

We had no idea that babies were so smart at this age! She understands so much and wants to do so much already. She is VERY determined and wants to be walking around exploring all the time. It makes trips to the grocery store very exciting and entertaining.

Ali Loves:

Walking

When we're out and about she likes to hold your finger to walk, or if she knows she wants to go a far distance. At home she'll attempt walking by herself more than when she's out.

Elevators

We live on the 32nd floor so she has spent a lot of time in the elevator. Ours has a mirror on the ceiling and she will look up and laugh. She has started saying "up" when she looks up.

Stairs

We have three steps outside our building and she has to walk down them and then turn around and go back up them 1 million times, or as many times as we'll let her.

(This guy works at the tea house next door and I love him and his outfit in this picture. We didn't even ask him to pose he just whipped this out. I especially love his dragon boot/slippers! We are getting some of these for Ali and Baby Boy! They are awesome!)

Escalators

As soon as she sees that we are headed onto the escalator she starts to slide down so she can stand on them and then walk up or down the steps.

Baths

I ask if she's ready for a bath and she'll point to the bathroom. Actually it's the standing in the bathtub that she seems to like the most. She stands and we say, "No. Please sit down." And she does a little squat. Then she'll wait a second and pop back up. So we say it again and she squats again. I try not to giggle but the little look she gives us is so cute. And if she sees us grab the towel to get her out she sits down even quicker. So cute!

Shoes

(We got these when we were at Yuyuan last week. I love them so much! They are so random and Euro!... plus she loves them and they're comfy.)

She loves putting her shoes on when it's time to go outside. She will also hand you your shoes if she's ready to go.

Waving

She is still really into waving. Everyone is always talking to her and waving at her and she likes to wave back. She also likes to look over my shoulder and say "bye-bye" and wave to everyone behind us.

(at a birthday party for one of the boys in the branch. She loved these carrot cupcakes!)

Going to Bed

When it's nap time or bed time I will ask her if she wants to go Nigh- Night and she will immediately turn to Daddy, wave with both hands and say, "bye- bye". Then she'll grab my finger and walk into the room. It is probably the cutest thing in the whole world.

Nursing

I don't know how we're ever going to wean her. It will happen, but it will be really sad.

Animals

She moos when she sees a cow and growls when she sees a tiger or bear. (She also growls when she hears Jimmy burp. It's pretty funny!)

The pictures on our Walls

As she is sitting in her highchair she will point to each one and have you say what it is. "trees, Jesus, flowers" etc.

Oh, we LOVE this little girl SO MUCH!!

She is growing up so fast and is such a fun little thing! I'm looking forward to the next few months of change and growth.

p.s.- Is this little Chinese girl not the cutest thing ever!? We have seen her a couple times as we are waiting for our bus. Here she is sharing her motorcycle with Ali. We have to get one of these before we leave!

Yuyuan

Best. Day. Ever.

This place is a MUST SEE.

I have be so excited to go a Chinese-y part of town ever since we got here and this was just perfect! There was so much to see! We could go back 10 times and still want to see it again!


They sell anything and everything Chinese-y you could imagine... and more! Each shop has something different. This of course is the paper lantern shop...

The umbrella/parasol shop. I would just LOVE the hot pink one! So cute! And we didn't even go inside. I'm sure there are many more that I wouldn't be able to leave without.

The fan shop...

...and then we stopped taking pictures of the shops because there were just too many cool things to look at. We'll get more photos next time.

I can't get enough of these red lanterns. They're so magical!

Ali LOOOOVES the Chinese statues. She usually growls when she sees one. Today she was brave and wanting to touch them. In the past weeks, she would pull her hand away when we got close.

People were rubbing these things- it must be good luck.

These sweet ladies were sitting on this bench and loved that we came over to get a picture with them. The two closest to us tried to hold the baby but Ali wasn't having it. I love their costumes.

Nanjing Road

I met a girl at playgroup this week who arrived in Shanghai about the same time we did. She is here with her husband and 2 year-old boy. Besides the fact that she's super nice, she was also very inspiring. She said they have been out every day since they got here exploring some place new. I'm not sure if it's the fact that they are here for an internship and know they're leaving in a few months or what, but it made me realize that we need to get out! We've really been wanting to but it seems like something always comes up. So today we got out! We rode the metro to People's Square, which is also the stop that Jimmy will be going to every day for school beginning in 1 week. It was great! That part of the city was SO different from where we are. We went to a section of Nanjing Road called Pedestrian Walkway that is lined with tons of stores. They were all pretty modern and the shops were things like Prada and those kinds of fancy things.


Ali wanted so badly to be down walking and once we put her down she did not want to stop! I am telling you, it was the CUTEST thing! Jimmy would hold one hand but she had to have the other one free so she could wave! She would walk and wave at everyone and laugh and laugh! It was so cute! She walked so much, she actually got a blister. Sad! But she didn't even care!

Of course she found the one leaf on the sidewalk! Our little nature lover!

Lately I have been getting really frustrated with everyone touching her! It started a couple days ago, I just had had it. I don't understand the mind set of having to touch her! She and I were on the bus yesterday, and the two people standing next to us had a hold of all of her extremities! I had to switch her to the other side of me so they would stop grabbing at her. I'm sure it seems silly to be bothered by it, but it's just hard to explain how you feel when you can't be out in public without everyone grabbing at your child. While Ali was walking in People's Square today, Jimmy was on one side of her and I was on the other. As I mentioned, she didn't want anyone holding her other hand but I was walking along side her so no one would walk over and try to pick her up- they would do that. But it didn't stop people from trying to grab her hand. They would come right in between she and I and take her hand. As soon as I saw a hand coming in I would put my hand down to kind of block them from getting her. There was one lady who was just doing this over and over again. The last time I put my hand down to intercept she was already holding Ali's arm so I ended up grabbing the lady's arm and pulling it off of her. I think I grabbed her hand kind of hard but it was just instinct. She finally got the picture and left us alone. I have no problem with people admiring our darling baby but HANDS OFF people! I know you haven't washed your hands since you came out of your mother's belly, it's probably been 1 hour since you sifted through a bin of raw meat, and who knows what else you do! As mother always says, look with your eyes, not your hands!
Well, besides me getting a little aggressive with the locals, it was a fabulous outing and I can't wait to go out again and explore the city with my little family!
The is one of those cool pully cart things. We haven't really seen these in action, this one was just on display. Now they have things like this that are pulled by a scooter. I'll have to get a picture. A friend introduced us to these and they are delish! Pea Snacks! We all love them, especially Ali. And the best part is they are so healthy. It's basically a baked pea.

The Restaurant Downstairs

We have two restaurants at the bottom of our building. One advertises itself as a Chinese fast food, and the other seems more of a sit down place. The 2nd day we were here we still didn't have much food to eat and poor Jimmy was starving so we decided to check out the fast-food place. He got a meal with kung pao chicken, rice, broccoli and some kind of stiff, gelatin egg concoction. Ali and I just had a couple tastes. He said it tasted pretty good, but the aftermath was a little undesirable. It didn't sit well with the insides, if you know what I mean. The next day we were coming home from something and happened to look up in the window of the restaurant. We noticed this sign:I don't think we'll be eating there again.

Mary Alice's First Steps!

What an exciting day! Mary Alice took her first real steps today. We could tell it was coming sometime because she is so steady holding our finger and walking but it was still such an exciting surprise! I left her standing a couple steps from the bed to go over and get some books to read. I put them on the bed and when I turned to look at her she was walking over to the bed! I called Jimmy in and we watched her take little steps all over the room! I was so proud I almost started crying. I had no idea I would feel like this when she started walking. It's just such a cool thing.

(you can also check out our awesome carpet)

Week 2: Off to a Great Start!

A girl in our ward emailed me and asked if we wanted to borrow a highchair. YES! We were about to go to IKEA to buy one because Mary Alice just hasn't been eating the same without one.

We went over in the morning to pick it up and also got to ask her a bunch of questions. In addition to the highchair she gave us some baking powder, vanilla and cinnamon! YAY! Now we can eat pancakes and make some tortillas! I just cannot believe how much I took for granted until we moved here. It seems like an exaggeration to say that you cannot find these things here but you really can't. There is a store called City Center that has some imported stuff but it's 4 times the price. For example, they have a box of cereal there that is half the size of a normal box and it is $10. Outrageous! We were able to find some oatmeal at a local grocery store for $3 so that's what we're eating for breakfast.... but tomorrow we're having pancakes! =)

I could probably make a list of 20 items and that is what is in every store here, nothing more. That also seems crazy, but here is a picture to illustrate how this can be possible.

So this shop is pretty small. It has a total of about 6 aisles. 2 of those aisles contain home goods such as dishes, rags, toothpaste, etc. 1 aisle contains crackers and those sorts of things. The point is, is that there is 1 whole wall dedicated to oil! In a larger shop like Tesco there would be two long rows filled with oil. We went to the store several times before we were able to buckle down and buy one. There were just so many to choose from.

1 Week Anniversary!

Yesterday was our 1 week anniversary of moving to China and it was the best day ever! We finally collected enough ingredients to make a full meal, I talked Jimmy into getting ice cream bars, and we got Kung Fu Panda for under $1! Fun night! We have a favorite Asian restaurant back home and there are some particular noodles there that I LOVE... well we found what looked like the same thing in the market and it turns out, they are! Delish! I'm so happy we found them!

We're glad that Ali can still get her puppy fix.

A man outside of the tea house next door, entertaining the baby.

The glorious ice cream bar!!

Everyone had to have some because it was a big event!

We survived week 1!

Fat Camp

I know I have put on a little weight with these babies but fat camp? Really? If this is a joke, it’s not funny, and if this is a trick, it’s a dirty trick! This place has practically zero treats! How cruel. And these are the days I need them most! It’s a bit stressful and chocolate always soothes the soul… so do the scriptures, but chocolate soothes the chocolate side of my soul. Why would a country decide that it doesn't need sweets? I think that’s why they still have communism here. A piece of chocolate cake would do these leaders well.