New Experiences…there seem to be plenty of those here in
Wuxi. I’m always learning something new…trying something new or seeing
something new. Its been quite an interesting experience, but one I’m thankful
for. These experiences are definitely stretching me way out of my comfort zone.
I’ll share some of my favorites/most shocking ones.
Split Pants!!!! I
can still vividly remember my first time seeing this and having NO idea what
the reason was or if this little boy just had ripped his pants. Once I finally
learned that this was their method of potty training and this started because
they have just recently gotten diapers here in China. This makes me EXTREMELY
thankful for diapers! I don’t think I’m QUITE ready to potty train Aiden…so
grateful for Pampers!
Constant Honking.
Now I know we deal with this in the states as well…but not so much. Trying to
figure out something to be thankful for in this area is a little (ok well A
LOT) tough, but I guess it makes me thankful for the quiet times on the road. That
and the fact that my heart is still pumping! There are days that I wonder if it
will after being scared silly by a horn. O the joy!!
New and Different
Food. There are a lot of different things that you can get here that you
can’t back home, or are just not very common. Jellyfish is one of them. That
was not a pleasant experience trying that…but check it off the list. Red Bean
flavored items is another. This one is just plain strange to me because it is
more of a “dessert” item here. Beans and dessert just do not go together in my
mind. But alas, I did try a red bean bun this week, thanks to Mabel. Not quite
my choice of what to eat. The bun part wasn’t bad at all and I would love to
try it again with custard, but no thank you on red bean. Things they do have
here that I love is white zucchini. Now we may have this in the states and I
just haven’t seen them, but I love it! I’ve found many different recipes that I’m
going to be trying soon with the zucchini! Another favorite that I have had at
a few different restaurants is strawberry, banana and pineapple bread. YUM!!!
Its more of a pita like bread but man is it ever yummy. I do think the
strawberry is my all time favorite.
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| The Red Bean Bun |
Baby Swimming Pools.
This is just extremely new for me, especially because they put babies as young
as 2 and 3 months in the water with a inner tube around their neck for
flotation. Quite interesting. I went with a friend to take Aiden and her son
swimming a few weeks ago but Aiden wasn’t a fan. I didn’t use the neck tube for
him, but requested a waist one. He wanted NOTHING to do with the water…such a
strange boy I have, but it was a neat experience. I did find that next door to
the pool place is an indoor kids play area that Jeffrey and I are planning to
take Aiden to this weekend. Should be fun!
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| The pool looks like a giant bath tub. |
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| Aiden would rather play with his socks than stay in the water. |
All in all these experiences make me more appreciative of
our lives back home and thankful too for the lessons we are learning here. I am
learning more and more that I really am NOT in control at all and I’m learning daily
to surrender that control to my Heavenly Father! I’m so thankful that HE is the
one in control!
