Day 10 of Thankfulness - Mandarin

Every new adventure that each day brings makes me more thankful for the chance to learn Mandarin. I think I am still kicking myself for not starting earlier in my journey here, but it all worked out and I'm learning exactly what I need for each day. 

I'm extremely thankful for June and Leo, my teachers. They are so patient with me and are always willing to teach me the things I want to know (above and beyond the normal lesson) and then answer all of my (way to many) cultural questions. I don't know what I would do without them. 

This past week we started working on calligraphy and learning to properly write characters. Wow. I didn't fully realize how intensive it is to do calligraphy. My wrist is still a little sore. I'm extremely impressed with people who can do this with ease. 

I still have a LOOOOOOOONNNNGG way to go in learning the language, but each day is better than before. 

So for today I say 谢谢 (thank you) and  再见 (good bye). 

Day 9 of Thankfulness - Visitors!

Today I am thankful for Donna Wheeler! She is our second visitor to come see us in China and we are super excited!

We love getting to show off our city to friends and family. Its such a new and wild experience and we love getting to see it through someone else's eyes.

Donna arrived today around 3:30 and we headed back to Wuxi. She loved looking around at all of the different building, especially the apartments. We had to make a stop by the grocery store on our way home, so she got to experience Auchon on a Saturday night. The first thing she really noticed is that people stare at us a lot.

This is going to be a fun 12 days! Thank you Donna for coming to see us! We love you!

Pushing the crazy carts around. 

Hum….what do we have here? 

Day 8 of Thankfulness - Expat Living

We had a fabulous day here out and about visiting a really cool cultural sight, the Dongling Academy. While we were there it dawned on my how thankful I really I for Expat Living.

What do I mean by this? Let me explain.

First of all the definition of expatriate is "to leave one's native country to live elsewhere." So, we are Expats. And all of the other people here that are not native to China are expats as well. Because of this we all share at least one thing in common. This is not our home. But I love it and here are my top 10 reasons why I am thankful to be an expat in China, specifically Wuxi.

1. Your friends become your family and you are always doing things together.

2. Grocery shopping is 99% of the time done with a friend, or you call around to see if you can pick things up for someone else. Or if someone else is going they are very willing to pick things up for you.

3. You are willing to loan things out or ask to borrow something much easier than back in the states.

4. You pile as many people as you can into the car so you can all ride together.

5. You can sympathize and empathize when someone is going through a "This is China" kinda day.

6. If you find cheese in town, you automatically let everyone know and buy it in bulk.

7. If you need to go out for a walk or to play, most of the time someone will join.

8. You make most of your friends by stalking them and then approaching them on the street to introduce yourself.

9. Life is not done alone. There are always people around to lend a helping hand or to just provide company.

10. Each new day is an adventure. You never know that you will find, see or get grossed out by. You have to be willing to accept the unknown and roll with the punches.

I'm thankful for the fact that being an expat has opened so many doors and this time The Lord has used to stretch me in ways I never would have thoughts. And so many of these things above will I miss when we move home. But for today, I will just be thankful for the day I am given.

Day 7 of Thankfulness - My AMAZING husband

Today is my fabulous husband's 36th birthday and in a few weeks we will be celebrating 6 years of a wonderful marriage. I couldn't possibly be more thankful for this amazing man that God has given me.

He works so hard to provide for us and still has energy when he comes home to play with Aiden. Aiden loves his daddy to distraction and they are inseparable when Jeffrey is home. He works hard around the house to keep things in working order, is always supportive of most of my crazy ideas. He is super smart and is a great problem solver. And can I just say that he is HANDSOME? Whew! So good looking. I love this man with all of my heart and I look forward to many more years and crazy adventures together.

Happy Birthday Jeffrey! I love you so much and thank God every day that He put you in my life! 

Day 6 of Thankfulness - Zhao!

As if I wasn't already spoiled enough, today I am thankful for Zhao, my coffee delivery man. 

Last year we had a company here in town called Folok that would deliver lots of different things, but you know me, I mainly ordered Starbucks. Then one day their website said it was down for maintainence and it never came back online. I was super bummed. I mean, come on….what was I going to do now that I couldn't have Starbucks during Aiden's nap time? NOOOO!!!!! 

Then one day my door bell rang and it was a Chinese guy there. I figured he had the wrong apartment so I told him what my building number and apartment number was and he was he was in the right place. He said "Hai de" which is my Chinese name and then Xing Ba Ke 星巴克 the greatest three words in all of Mandarin….Starbucks. Yes please! 

Between the little English he speaks and the little Mandarin I speak, I figured out he was starting a business (he had worked at Folok before they closed) and wanted to continue bringing me coffee. I was ecstatic! 

Zhao

So in honor of my complete coffee addiction, today I am thankful Zhao and the fact that I can now have Starbucks anytime I want. Whoo hooo!!! 

Day 5 of Thankfulness - New Adventures & Cookie Making

Its so much fun to have the chance to learn new things from other cultures. 

Today I am thankful for two dear friends from Spain who taught us how to make Panellets. 

This is a traditional Catalan dessert made with sweet potatoes and marzipan. Aiden joined me today and had a blast helping make them. 

Aiden ready to get started. 

Our lovely teachers. 

Have my dough divided and ready to start. 

Here we go! 

Aiden loved helping roll the cookies in the egg and toppings. 

Filling my cookies with jam! 

Here we go! Ready for the oven. 

Thanks Ladies for a great day and good cookies! 

Thankfulness Day 4 - 5K Club

Monday's used to be a day to dread, but now it is a day I look forward to with excitement. Each Monday a group of us walks to Starbucks and back. All in all it becomes about a 5K walk, so we call ourselves the 5K Club! 

I am very thankful for these ladies and they help my week start off right. We see so many funny and strange things on our walk, and of course…it ends with COFFEE! What could be a better day than this? 

Today as we walked, I took pictures of our journey so you can follow along and walk with us. 

We start off in front of my apartment building. Its about a 30-40 minute walk depending on how fast we walk that particular Monday. 

All smiles…ready for the day to begin! 

Here we go…this is the beginning stretch of the journey. 

Now this may not look strange unless you live here, but for the past 2 years this area has been nothing but dirt, but today they had put new sod squares down. Aiden, the Bob, and I took it for a spin. Whew…it was not flat or even. Even with my massive off road stroller it took some strength to get across this new patch. A friend of mine with a smaller stroller couldn't make it. We just laughed it off as "this is China!"

There is always one point of the journey that it never fails that we almost get hit by either a taxi or a bus. Kinda crazy and scary at the same time. Again…."this is China!". 

Lots of shopping, restaurants and salons that we pass along the way. 

Vendors selling all sorts of different items. 

Brand new shopping mall….when will it ever open? Its been 2.5 years in the making. 

Gotta fix your scooter along the way. 

And of course…you can always buy some fish and turtles to take home. 

and then we end at….you guessed it Starbucks! 

Thank you my dear friends for your friendship, laughs, and willingness to walk! I love Mondays.