Some pictures of our adventure in China! I will try to update regularly with some of the latest things happening in our lives.
A Night Out – International Style! We took some time to celebrate the diversity in the International Community with the Women’s Club. The event was LONG, but it’s always fun to have a night out on the town.
Malaysia For Chinese New Year this year, we headed to Malaysia. What a beautiful country. We loved it so much, I’m sure we will visit again.
School Happenings The kids continue to be active and happy in school. Robby continues with Boy Scouts – here he is working on his Pinewood Derby Car. Rachel tried out a school play and did a great job. I started going to Chinese classes and am even reading characters. I can (mostly) read the passage pictured.
BALI! One of our new favorite destinations. The people are great, communication is a breeze, and there is so much to do! We rode elephants, cooled off at an amazing water park, saw a Indonesian themed show, relaxed at the beach, went to a bird park. Whew – we didn’t want to leave!
School is off to a great start. The kids have participated in UN day, where they celebrated every nation represented in the school (40 countries!), Rachel opened a “one day business’ through a unit in school and both kids celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival with lanterns and mooncakes!
Rob was off to Singapore to work, so the kids and I went to Disneyland Hong Kong . We had a blast. There is even a dedicated subway line you can take to get there, outfitted with Mickey Mouse windows and all!
This spring, Robby enjoyed playing baseball in the AmCham league. His coach was from Canada, and his teammates from all over the world.
The kids are doing some really interesting things in school. This picture is Rachel’s class standing in front of a wind turbine in a ‘green’ building here in Guangzhou.
Robby lost his first tooth, finally, 2 months after his 7th birthday. We make traditional memories here too 🙂
We’ve been enjoying the outdoors while here in China, and China has a lot to offer! The first two pictures are of us on a family hike – we hiked up a huge mountain (again kids in better shape than me) then were rewarded with a beautiful swimming lagoon at the top. The third pictures is of the Girl Scout campout and the final one Robby and a classmate at the Guangzhou botanical gardens.
This is a snapshot of my Bible Study group – the ladies are from all over the world (Malaysia, Canada, US, Ethiopia, Congo) and are such an inspiration!
We had a great time at the school’s 35th Anniversary Gala! Here we are with Rachel’s teacher and with celebrity chef Martin Yan – I didn’t know who he was, but he is from the Guangzhou area and folks seemed excited:).
Our children’s school, AISG does a great job of interdisciplinary learning. This is a picture of Robby’s “Makey Makey” project. The kids combined, art, music, engineering and coding to create a musical instrument that uses circuits to play a song the kids composed. Neat!
Lots of folks help with my endeavor to learn Mandarin. Here is my Chinese teacher, Jiahui, on the left, she very good and quite patient. One the left are friends I study with – we were trying to order our lunch in Chinese:).
We had a long weekend for Chinese Labor Day , so we headed to Macau. I had never heard of it, but we will be back! It’s the Vegas of China, and only 1 hour from us on the high speed train. A former Portuguese territory, Macau has casinos, upscale shopping, character breakfasts and fantastic shoes, like the “House of Dancing Water” show – a unique show a bit like Cirque Du Soleil.
An absolute highlight while in Chengdu was the mask changing opera. Really less of an opera and more like a variety show, there were several acts that were great, like a lady who could make various shadow puppets. But the true highlight, and originating in Chengdu, was the mask changing folks, These dancers could change their masks, right before your eyes, without using their hands. I’m still not sure how they did this.
Chengdu is well-known for its Panda reserves. We spent 1/2 a day with the furry bears.
During our trip to Chengdu, we had an English-speaking tour guide, Green! She was fantastic, she was so knowledgeable about the area, was patient with the kids, and even took us to eat some authentic Sichuan food. The verdict – a little greasy, but great flavor.
Qingcheng Mountain is an absolutely stunning place. There are several Taoist temples built in the mountain, and it was the setting inspiration for Kung Fu Panda. We climbed the mountain on a foggy day, so we couldn’t see the views but it was beautiful anyway. That was the day that I also learned that my kids are in much better shape than I am as I think I died twice climbing up that mountain :).
The LeShan Buddha is the largest seated Buddha in the world. Lucky for us and the millions who visit, it survived the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The structure was amazing and we learned a lot about Buddhist beliefs and customs.
While the kids and I were in Chengdu, Rob was in Phoenix watching my Tarheels win the national championship, so don’t feel bad for him. Coverage for the NCAA Tournament is global – I spotted this while wrapping some of purchases in newspaper at Ikea!
This store in Hong Kong was like a mini Costco, complete with Kirkland brands and everything. A high five to all my brand builders for making our favorite brands bring us tears of joy!
One of the hardest things to get used to in China are public restrooms. In most buildings, especially outside of the Central Business District, women’s restrooms have toilets that are on the ground (see below). Rachel has dubbed them ‘squatty potties”, although I haven’t yet mastered the ‘squat’. Thus, our outings come with a lot of bathroom pre-planning!
Another #proudmommy moment. Rachel’s artwork was featured at the school’s Art show. She made a ballerina sculpture out of recycled materials.
A great afternoon visit to Huangpu Ancient Port. Its a small village that was the first port of call for many 17th and 18th century traders. There was a lot of traditional China to see!
More fun at school. The program at the kids school is based on International Baccalaureate program or IB. Within that, there are learning profiles – Robby won the “Thinker” award at a school assembly. If you know him, it fits perfectly! This is him and his teacher (who is from NJ)
Rob and Rachel danced the night away at the Daddy/Daughter Dance sponsored by the Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts (and Boy Scouts) have been a familiar comfort for all of us. I also found a hairdresser to hook Rachel’s hair up. #winning
Things you don’t even think of can be a challenge that you have to laugh off. For example, this is my washing machine, all of the settings are in Mandarin. After lots of Google translate, I know which setting I should use, at least most of the time :).
According to Rachel, Singapore was the ‘fun’ part of the vacation while we learned more in Vietnam. In Singapore, we went to Universal Studios and Kidzania – a city built just for kids where they can work ‘jobs’, earn money and spend it, like an adult! Here the kids are learning to be doctors.
In the North Vietnam, we cruised one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been – Halong Bay. We also spent time in Hanoi, the capital of the Vietnam, including the Ho Chi Minh complex. We realized how much history of other countries we don’t know!
In the Southern part of Vietnam we visited the CuChi Tunnels – used by the North Vietnamese to avert the American forces during the war (which is the ‘American War’ in Vietnam). The tunnels were extremely interesting and a highlight of our trip. We also toured of the Mekong Delta partly in a bamboo boat.
For our everyday food items, I can walk to the “Wet Market” (pictured on the left). This is like a farmers market with vegetables and little bodega-like shops in the basement and fruits and fresh meats on the upper floor. The meat selection is quite diverse, and lots of the meats are still whole, so I go just for the fruits and vegetables :). The second photo is Metro – it’s a favorite for expats and would remind you of Costco. They have lanterns up in the frozen food section to decorate for the upcoming Chinese New Year.
This is the Guangzhou Women’s International Club Cultural Exchange. We practiced some new Chinese words, learned about traditions associated with the upcoming Chinese New Year and nibbled on some yummy Chinese snacks. The women were from China, Norway, Finland, US, Panama and Colombia.
Rachel inside the “Bubble Tram” car; Rob and Rachel outside of the ride. They also did a “Sky Drop” ride on top. The view of the city in the background is real, not photo shopped.
Rachel and Robby were all smiles on the first day at their new school, AISG.
This is the crew on one of their favorite rides at Chimeline Paradise Park, an amusement park about 20 minutes from our home. It was a great day!
Thankfully most signs in the city center and popular tourist areas of Guangzhou have both Mandarin and English. The farther from the city you go, the less English you will see. This is an example from Chimelong Amusement Park.
I didn’t take this picture, but it shows the iconic Canton tower about a 7 minute drive from our house.
Our apartment surrounds a courtyard with lots of shops and restaurants on the ground level, including an import Grocery store. Lots of expats live here so the shops are English-friendly. This is the daytime view, all decorated for Christmas.
Our Local Library in GZ, in has 8 floors, already one of my favorite places.
We took 2 flights to get to Guangzhou – one to Paris (~9 hours) and one to Guangzhou (another 13 or so hours). Given the time difference, you lose a day in travel (we left on Monday and arrived on Wednesday in China). The company flew us in Business Class so while we were tired, overall everyone did great on the plane! I can’t figure out why Robby’s pictures is showing up upside down, but if you know him, it fits!
(Star) Transition 