Friday the 13th
So I'm now going to be jotting down my everyday experiences here in China~ some funny, some make me want to pull out my hair, and some aren't really fathomable! :) Nonetheless, I want to be able to look back and count my many experiences that I have here in this strange, but beautiful country.
Jason is gone. Traveling again. He has been traveling alot lately. Guess that comes with his job title. It's really not all that bad, but it does get a bit lonely and we do certainly miss him. He will be back on Wednesday. Jack will be grateful; I'm afraid that I just don't do the "male" bonding as well as Jason. Goes to say how much a son truly needs his father! :)
Friday was a rather interesting day. Of course it was raining. We left Thailand and it was raining, then when we returned to Shanghai, raining again! It has finally stopped!
I met one of my girlfriends for lunch. A very nice lady (actually from Dallas, Texas~ Texas is so large...they are everywhere!) named Kristy. She's been here almost 2 years and like many of the expatriate wives ("tai tai's") she really doesn't like it here. She tries to pass her days with making lunch dates and other sometimes pointless to-do's. Definitely not the way I'm wanting to live my life over here. Granted there are days that I really want to scream ( hello~ we are foreigners in an unfamiliar country!), but for the most part I am very grateful for the opportunity and am loving our experience over here.
I had arranged for a new tutor to meet me at my apartment. Well, of course I was running late. She calls, I can hear Jack in the background, obviously excited that someone new is at the house-running amuck showing himself off I"m sure. I hustle to get home and walk in on Jack running around showing all of his toys to our new guest. Her name is Wenni Wang. Sometimes I'm not quite sure where they come up with their names but it's cute and seems to fit her well. She's a little bigger; she did make a comment that she would be skinny if she could run around like Jack did all the time! :)
So we sit and discuss our future lessons. All is settled and I'm relieved that now (after a year) I am finally going to get started on learning some Mandarin! Then the phone rings, of course, it's the UPS guy! Mind you, I have only been waiting for my package (from my parents) for 3 weeks now. Not to mention, my Dad paid $240 to have it sent over quickly (should have been here the 27th; now is the 13th of March). Only in China. Customs asked me to provide my visa, passport and itemized list. My mother was quite enraged when I had to call and ask her; this was, of course, my birthday presents. Were supposed to be a surprise, but now my Mom had to tell me over the phone!
All delivers well. The courrier is lucky the tax (they asked me to pay!) was only 9.6 RMB. I might have pushed him out the door and grabbed the box if it had been expensive! :) I proceed to the kitchen with my box and start unpacking! Wenni follows me in and I think she's just as excited as I am to see what the box holds. My Mom had sent me some clothes, so as I pulled each item out, I got an "ah" or "nice" from Wenni. She was thoroughly enjoying this!
So Jack is bustling about, knowing that we are soon to leave for playgroup. He always notices if you do or don't have your shoes on. "Mama, you shoes". "Yes, baby, I'm going to get them". He then runs off down the hallway and comes back with a pair of my high heels. "No Jack, Mommy's not going to wear those". Continues this on, as I'm unpacking, he brings more high heels in for me to wear. Wenni picks one up and she says, "OH, your shoes big". Well, thanks. What an observation. Now anywhere else, I might have been upset but only had to laugh. Their feet are so tiny here so of course my size 10 feet are huge! Not to mention, the Chinese really speak whatever is on their mind. As per our later conversation...
So Wenni and I continue to chat. She tells me she lived in Germany for 3 years as an interpretor. She is glad to be back in Shanghai because she didn't really like it there. So we continue the conversation for another 5 minutes or so.
I hustle about, getting my shoes (the right ones!) on, getting Jack ready for playgroup. Wenni then comes up to me and says, " Now that we have talked a bit, can I ask you a question". Oh dear, what is it that she is going to ask me, I think. So she asks, "Are you Spanish". No, I reply, of French and American Indian blood, as per the olive toned skin (probably helps that I just tanned myself in Thailand!). So she continues on that I look like that because of my darker skin and dark hair. Then she says, "It's very pretty you know". I say thank you, look up, her skin has flushed a bright pinkish red, then she says, "It's hot". Referring to me. Now I just have to laugh and thank her again. It was too funny to see her get embarrassed because of a compliment that she had given me, then to hear the terms she used. Who knows if she was using Paris Hiltons' expressions that she had heard, or thought that was the way she should describe it. I just had to laugh~ only in China! :)
I'm looking forward to learning Mandarin from Wenni. She will be a delightful teacher and what's best about it is that she will be teaching me, and I her. Looks like a good deal.
Off to play with Jack today. It's finally sunny in Shanghai! :)
Jason is gone. Traveling again. He has been traveling alot lately. Guess that comes with his job title. It's really not all that bad, but it does get a bit lonely and we do certainly miss him. He will be back on Wednesday. Jack will be grateful; I'm afraid that I just don't do the "male" bonding as well as Jason. Goes to say how much a son truly needs his father! :)
Friday was a rather interesting day. Of course it was raining. We left Thailand and it was raining, then when we returned to Shanghai, raining again! It has finally stopped!
I met one of my girlfriends for lunch. A very nice lady (actually from Dallas, Texas~ Texas is so large...they are everywhere!) named Kristy. She's been here almost 2 years and like many of the expatriate wives ("tai tai's") she really doesn't like it here. She tries to pass her days with making lunch dates and other sometimes pointless to-do's. Definitely not the way I'm wanting to live my life over here. Granted there are days that I really want to scream ( hello~ we are foreigners in an unfamiliar country!), but for the most part I am very grateful for the opportunity and am loving our experience over here.
I had arranged for a new tutor to meet me at my apartment. Well, of course I was running late. She calls, I can hear Jack in the background, obviously excited that someone new is at the house-running amuck showing himself off I"m sure. I hustle to get home and walk in on Jack running around showing all of his toys to our new guest. Her name is Wenni Wang. Sometimes I'm not quite sure where they come up with their names but it's cute and seems to fit her well. She's a little bigger; she did make a comment that she would be skinny if she could run around like Jack did all the time! :)
So we sit and discuss our future lessons. All is settled and I'm relieved that now (after a year) I am finally going to get started on learning some Mandarin! Then the phone rings, of course, it's the UPS guy! Mind you, I have only been waiting for my package (from my parents) for 3 weeks now. Not to mention, my Dad paid $240 to have it sent over quickly (should have been here the 27th; now is the 13th of March). Only in China. Customs asked me to provide my visa, passport and itemized list. My mother was quite enraged when I had to call and ask her; this was, of course, my birthday presents. Were supposed to be a surprise, but now my Mom had to tell me over the phone!
All delivers well. The courrier is lucky the tax (they asked me to pay!) was only 9.6 RMB. I might have pushed him out the door and grabbed the box if it had been expensive! :) I proceed to the kitchen with my box and start unpacking! Wenni follows me in and I think she's just as excited as I am to see what the box holds. My Mom had sent me some clothes, so as I pulled each item out, I got an "ah" or "nice" from Wenni. She was thoroughly enjoying this!
So Jack is bustling about, knowing that we are soon to leave for playgroup. He always notices if you do or don't have your shoes on. "Mama, you shoes". "Yes, baby, I'm going to get them". He then runs off down the hallway and comes back with a pair of my high heels. "No Jack, Mommy's not going to wear those". Continues this on, as I'm unpacking, he brings more high heels in for me to wear. Wenni picks one up and she says, "OH, your shoes big". Well, thanks. What an observation. Now anywhere else, I might have been upset but only had to laugh. Their feet are so tiny here so of course my size 10 feet are huge! Not to mention, the Chinese really speak whatever is on their mind. As per our later conversation...
So Wenni and I continue to chat. She tells me she lived in Germany for 3 years as an interpretor. She is glad to be back in Shanghai because she didn't really like it there. So we continue the conversation for another 5 minutes or so.
I hustle about, getting my shoes (the right ones!) on, getting Jack ready for playgroup. Wenni then comes up to me and says, " Now that we have talked a bit, can I ask you a question". Oh dear, what is it that she is going to ask me, I think. So she asks, "Are you Spanish". No, I reply, of French and American Indian blood, as per the olive toned skin (probably helps that I just tanned myself in Thailand!). So she continues on that I look like that because of my darker skin and dark hair. Then she says, "It's very pretty you know". I say thank you, look up, her skin has flushed a bright pinkish red, then she says, "It's hot". Referring to me. Now I just have to laugh and thank her again. It was too funny to see her get embarrassed because of a compliment that she had given me, then to hear the terms she used. Who knows if she was using Paris Hiltons' expressions that she had heard, or thought that was the way she should describe it. I just had to laugh~ only in China! :)
I'm looking forward to learning Mandarin from Wenni. She will be a delightful teacher and what's best about it is that she will be teaching me, and I her. Looks like a good deal.
Off to play with Jack today. It's finally sunny in Shanghai! :)
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