Settling in, what does that truly mean? For me, that means having life (house, kids, routines, etc.) in order - a sense of peace. I am beginning to wonder when this will happen.... We moved into our house on Saturday. For two days prior I spent a good portion of the days cleaning - no laughing please!!!! Let's just say that their definition of clean & mine are TOTALLY different. For those of you that know me well, you know that I like a clean house, but I don't clean - my rules: wash your hands when you come in & after eating, take your shoes off, clean up spills immediately & keep the house orderly so it looks like you clean - pretty simple. Well, I have cleaned more times since we have been here than I care to count. The house has never been occupied (plus on many levels) so there was lots of settling dust, worker's fingerprints on drawers/doors, etc. The downside to this is that there was never an Ayi, one who takes care of the cleaning. Sidenote - I am interviewing an Ayi tomorrow (Friday) - I hope all goes well so she can gets thing in order so the settling process can occur quicker & before the sea crate comes (mid February)!! Also, with this being a new house, we have had many people in to 'fix' things. Along with the fixing comes more for me to clean - the cycle continues. About the fixing part - it takes them all day to fix something that would take the 'normal' worker a short time. They have to diagnose the problem - which is always fun beings they are trying to tell me what is wrong in Chinese - they must not realize I don't have a clue as to what they are saying...... Once they diagnose the problem, more people have to look at the problem. They all leave, come back, look again, bring some tools (I think they are the one's our kids make in woodworking class..) & then start to work - but of course, they have to take multiple breaks. Once they are done, they try to 'clean' up by using your supplies, that you happen to leave lying around, or half a box of tissues. I do give them an 'A' for effort though! We have multiple things that are being worked on so it is an adventure to see what type of mess I will have to clean up once they leave. The sad part is, I have worked so hard to get the house in some sort of 'clean' state & it is being undone daily - please work out Ayi!!! Enough about that......
With cleaning, I have had the opportunity to inspect the house on many levels. I am in awe of some of the details. Many rooms have tray ceiling, some with multiple ones. The curtain rods are recessed, switches are abundant with multiple functions, the wood floors are heated, space is used wisely (built in closets, etc.) - to many details to mention & I know I am not doing the descriptions justice. As much as I am complaining about the cleaning, I have really enjoyed getting to 'learn' about my house. Building a house over here is much different then the US, but they do put a lot of thought into the design.
Amanda started school on Monday. She was signed up for the English class but on Monday night the school called informing me that they had an opening in the Mandarin class if I wanted to switch. So, on Tuesday, she started the Mandarin class. They are taught, the whole day, in Mandarin.
They do translate for those who are just beginning but the emphasis is on learning Mandarin quickly through emersion. She has made several friends & even has her first birthday party on Sunday!!! It has been cute listening to her talk in Mandarin - makes this whole experience even more worthwhile.
The boys had their school orientation today. Justin has a male teacher & his class seems very nice. A few of the students even made him welcoming cards. I think he will really enjoy school once he gets into the routine. Tanner's teacher is a female & she actually reminded us of Katie - Tanner's former teacher. She is very energetic & the class gave him a warm welcome - to which Tanner stood pretty quiet - don't pass out old teachers at Orion Oaks!!! He told us later that he felt shy - I am sure he will loosen up real quickly - however, the quiet Tanner may be a nice switch.... The school is great & all the staff were very friendly & helpful. I feel that this school will be a good fit for our family.
Some funnies to end with:
1) Going to the store with Amanda is like going to the zoo when a new animal is born. Many people trying to talk to you, in Chinese, & you have no clue what the are saying. They are also enthralled with the boys & if one more person rubs Justin's hair I might just scream.... The nice thing is that they are all so friendly! We have 'talked' to more people in the stores than we ever have in all of our visits to the stores in MI. I am sure we will all get used to the attention or the folks will get bored of us & move onto some other unsuspecting family.
2) We decided to eat out (I have cooked 1 meal in - I think that is pretty good..) at the Noodle place - imagine Ramen noodles but longer & with a different broth. We order, which is a challenge beings noone speaks an ounce of English - it is called point to the picture on the menu. When they delivered the food, they put Justin's dish in front of me. I went to move the dish & dropped the whole bowl all over the table. So, here goes 5 Americans jumping up from the table - not like we don't stick out enough.... Once they cleaned up the mess & we settled back in, we waiting for a new bowl - which never showed up. Of course, we couldn't explain to them that we wanted a new dish so we just all shared - the boys were not fond of the food - which is very funny beings it is a very plain food. As my friend Traci says, "They will eat Calamari but they don't like noodles" - go figure - especially since it is the cheapest place to eat at....
Well, off to go & see what kind of mess I have in store for me & to figure out which place we are going to eat at. I will fill you in on the Ayi tomorrow. Until then - goodbye!!!
