Three Month Reflections

   I was thinking the other day about how long it's been since I wrote here. And then it hit me. One fourth of our first year here is already gone! And I started to feel discouraged.  A fourth of a year and I still don't know any Chinese. I mean, I know how to ask how much something costs, but when they tell me the price I'm lost. I actually asked a little girl, "how much does it cost?' when I meant to ask her for her name. Duh!

   It's frustrating. I want to talk to my neighbors that I see all the time. I want to learn their names. I want to reassure them that I'm a normal person and I don't eat children.

   I have studied Spanish, Russian, and American Sign Language. Chinese is crazy. Thankfully I have a really great tutor whose English name is Abby. She is studying at one of the local universities here. She does so good at explaining her language to me in English, but I often feel my eyes glazing over and my brain freezing as I smile and nod.

Little Bear studying Chinese

   So I ask myself, what have I learned over the past three months? I've learned how to survive here in this "foreign" country. I've learned where to buy groceries. I've managed to feed myself and Little Bear gluten and dairy free in a land where I can't read labels. We've started to develop a routine. Little Bear is FINALLY sleeping through the night.

   So although I'm still far from conversational in the local language, I can see progress. I will be at peace with my learning process. I will press on.

Apartment Sneak Peak

   It hardly seems possible that we left the states over a month ago. And yet it seems like we've been in China for so long. The first ten days we were able to stay in our friends' house while they were out of town. I'm so glad we had that time to adjust and get over jet-lag.

Bonking on Petting our friends' very tolerant cat

   Since then we have been in a hotel. We've been living it up really, enjoying continental breakfasts and room service. Just kidding. But they do come and "clean" everyday and bring us fresh towels and a tiny roll of toilet paper.
   We are so thankful for the abundant grace we have been given to help us with this less than ideal situation.

Bath time!
I don't have to worry about him splashing since the shower drain is right there in the floor!

   We did find an apartment! We put a deposit on it, and we have the key, but we can't technically move in until we get our student visas and all the paperwork is signed and stamped by all the proper authorities. So we are able to spend most of the day over there, we just can't sleep there or we'll get in trouble. Hopefully within the next couple weeks we will be approved and we can move in and start to get settled. In the mean time we are working on getting "our" apartment ready.

Our new living room

   I love how bright and airy it feels. Living on the sixth floor with no elevator does have it's benefits; more sunshine, and less street noise and smells. We also have a lovely courtyard with real grass! We are looking forward to moving in and getting settled.

Little Bear Goes To China

Little Bear is such an easygoing, outgoing, happy guy and has done so well adjusting to life here. He is eating up all the attention he gets. And when nobody is paying attention, he will shout and wave his arms to try to get it.

We do a lot of walking, so he gets to ride in the stroller a lot. He loves it when he can hold someone's hand. It makes it a little harder to navigate the crowded streets, but it's so sweet!

His favorite way to get around

Proud Mama moment: Seeing my baby wave and say "how" (his version of Chinese hello)

Camel Milk

Mr. Adventure had to go down to the clinic for the health examination required for obtaining his student visa. This basically involves every kind of medical testing known to man, including ex-rays, ultrasound, and blood work. At one point he texted me asking, "An ultrasound? Really? Can't they just take my word that I'm not pregnant?" And then, "I hope it's a girl!" 

Anyway, while he was there, he ran into a guy from Uzbekistan. They struck up a conversation in Russian, and Mr. Adventure's new friend was shocked to learn that we do not milk our horses in Texas. "Well, do you at least milk your camels?" he wanted to know. When he found out that Mr. Adventure had never even tasted camel milk he insisted on taking him out to get some so he could try it!

They drove about 30 minutes out of town to a camel dairy(I didn't even know that was a thing!), sat down at a table right next to the camels, ordered a big pitcher of camel milk, and drank glass after glass while they chatted.

Mr. Adventure brought back a bottle of milk so I could try it. It's not bad. Similar to goat's milk but sweeter. But personally, I think I'll leave the camel milk for the baby camels.

Chicken Soup

What could be more comforting than a bowl of chicken soup? It warms your insides, makes you feel better, and is easy enough to make for yourself when you're sick. Right now we are stuck in a hotel for a few weeks while we wait for our visas to be processed. So, easy is on the menu. I have a crock-pot, electric teapot, and a blender. Here's what I came up with for tonight:
(I didn't measure anything, but I'm sure your guess will be as good as mine)

Chicken Soup

Ingredients: 

Chicken - Today I threw in one chicken breast
Vegetables - For simplicity I just used carrots
Garlic - Fresh cloves, roughly chopped
Salt - Sprinkle, sprinkle...
Pepper - A few turns of the grinder
Water - Pour it in till it's an inch or two above the other stuff.
   Throw all that in the pot and let it cook for a while. I did a couple hours on high, and a few hours on low. Once it's cooked, take out the chicken and shred it into bite size pieces, then throw it back in the pot.
Parsley - dried, sprinkle some on top and stir it in
Rice or Noodles -  I found some rice noodles at the store, so I'll just stir those in with the parsley and wait till they are soft. Tada! Dinner is served.

Can it get much simpler than that?

Variations:
- If you have a big family (or a fridge) you can use a whole chicken, or any amount or part of anatomy you prefer. Just be sure to remove all the bones!
- Any vegetables will work. I think carrots and celery are pretty classic. Chopped kale would be good too, just add it at the end so it doesn't get bitter.
- Garlic, if you don't have fresh, use dried, or powdered or whatever form you can get your hands on.
- Salt and pepper, add some then taste it. Or put the shakers on the table for everyone to add to their own liking.
- Parsley is really the key flavor ingredient. It needs to be added at the end or the flavor will disappear during the long cooking time. Fresh or dried will work.
- You can use cooked or uncooked rice or noodles. Just stir them into the soup at the end and wait till it's cooked or heated up. If you have a rice cooker, scoop some rice into the soup bowl and pour the soup over it.
- Chicken soup can also be made in a pot on the stove. Boil for 30-45 min. Longer for a whole chicken.

First Impressions

I love this place!

The weather is nice. When we arrived it was hot. They say the last few weeks have been record breaking hot for here, but it's not as hot as Texas. Then it rained a couple days and now it's actually really cool, feels like fall.  Don't ask me what the exact temperature is, it's all metric so I have no idea. 

There's hardly any bugs! Love this about our area. I don't know if it's because of the desert climate, or the extreme cold winters but there really are very few bugs.

I love riding the city buses. I get on and think, Wow, it would have taken me FOREVER to walk this far. Because pretty much you walk everywhere. You can also get taxis here but... We had to take two taxis from the airport to our friend's house where we are staying because all our six suitcases would not fit in just one. The taxi I was in with Little Bear had a minor collision. Nobody was hurt thankfully, but I was a little shook up. I'm told crashes are rare around here, and I remind myself that my driver didn't want to die any more than I did. But I'm still a little nervous in taxis.

The food smells soooo good. And it tastes good too (most of it). Unfortunately so many of the dishes involve noodles or bread which I have to avoid. But I'm sure as we continue to explore we will find more options. I did find almond milk at the Carrefour grocery store so that's exciting. At least I think it's almond milk but I can't really tell because...

I am illiterate. This might be ok except that I am a label reading freak. I like to know what's in my food. Now I can only look at the pictures on the label and guess what it is. We all know how reliable that is.

Saw this at the refrigerated section at the grocery store. Not really sure...

We Made It!

We are finally in China! After 48 hours of traveling it is wonderful to have solid ground under us again. Most of the trip went really smoothly with Little Bear sleeping most of the 13 hour flight. Once we got to Taiwan we were able to get a room in the airport hotel and get some sleep, a shower, and a couple hot meals. Unfortunately something in one of those hot meals did not settle well with Little Bear so we spent the last 12 hours trying to console his misery and clean up messes. Poor little guy, he is such a trooper. But we made it. And so did ALL our bags! We are so thankful to be here.

(This post is a little late now, but getting internet is a little bit of a hassle here.)