by Amy
I'm a little sad to say this, but most of our friends are English speakers.... We have a few friends that don't speak English very well, but we tend to attract (and flock to) English speakers. Since our home is very near two university campuses, we're able to find many people to befriend. But, we have a couple of neighbors, that do not speak English, that have pursued the crazy foreigners, with three munchkins, living in their building! Both have invited us to their homes, so we decided it was time to return the offer. On Thursday evening, (before our wonderful date) we went to see these two families and invite them both to eat lunch with us on Sunday afternoon....
We knocked on the first door, and the man of the home, came to the door in his long underwear. I felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to mind. He seemed thankful to get our invitation and said he'd get back to us after checking with his wife. (They later told our babysitter that they'd see us on Sunday.) Whew, one invitation down, one to go....
So, we went to the 4th floor of our building and knocked on the door. No answer...Then, beep, the elevator door opened. Some people got off and went to the door we had just knocked on...too bad they weren't our friends....good thing we didn't get there five minutes later.... So, Brad then consulted his trusty treo (palm-phone) ~ our friends actually live on the 9th floor, not the 4th. We live on the 13th. 13-9=4. That's why Brad got the 9th and 4th floors confused....He assures me it's a very logical mistake. I'm not sure I get it....
So, we find the right door on the right floor, and behind it -- we find our friend! We invite her and her family to come to our home for lunch on Sunday. She gladly accepts our invitation.
During these two conversations, in the local language, I decide Brad and I make a great team! Brad can speak well and be understood by the locals (ie-invite them to our house). His pronunciation and vocabulary far surpass mine! But, my listening comprehension is a little better than his since I listen to Leigh everyday. So when the long-underwear guy says he'll talk to his wife when she gets home and get back to us, I follow it, tell him that's great, and tell Brad what he said when we get in the elevator.
As the day approaches, I decided to ask Leigh to come to work on Sunday since we're having company and I don't know how to cook Asian food. We've invited people to show up at noon, so I ask Leigh to have lunch ready about 12:30 or so. Brad usually has a meeting on Sunday afternoons, but he moved it to Sunday morning since we were having company that afternoon. As he walks out the door, I ask, "Will you try to be home before noon?" "Of Course!" he responds. So, I have three kids, a clean house, and a couple of hours to kill. So, we get dressed and head to a little market. We buy some gloves for the kids, some little stools, and 6 pairs of indoor shoes that I need to have since we're having 6 people over. We return home about 11:20. Savannah enjoys lining all the new shoes by the door, Peter and Alex play on the new stools, and I head to the bathroom to put on my make-up and do my hair. It's 11:30, Brad should be home any minute.... Ding Dong, there's the doorbell. I ask on of the boys to let Daddy in, and one minute later, they come running, shouting, "They're here! They're here!" Sure enough, our neighbors (the long underwear guy and fam) have shown up 30 min. early! But, even though I don't have on my make-up yet, I feel fine because, at least I'm dressed....The wife, on the other hand, is wearing her PJs. Yes, they are white with small pink hearts on them. She's in her pajamas--at my house--at 11:30am! I don't get it! (Even my not-so-observant-husband noticed the jammies!)
I invite them in, introduce them to Leigh, and try to think of things to say...Where's my husband?!?!? He can handle the conversations, not me!! Well, thanks to my kids, the 20 mins we are hanging out without Brad go pretty smoothly. Savannah entertains them by showing off her room and saying all the colors on her new gloves in Asianese while Peter and Alex keep breaking parts off the new little truck our neighbors brought them. Brad shows up at 10 min. before noon -- as promised, and gladly takes over the conversing. At noon, our other neighbor show up. Soon there after, we sit down to a great meal. Leigh went all out! She spend almost 4 hours preparing the 7 or 8 dishes she sat before us. Our neighbors seemed to really enjoy it.
After lunch, including a cake that our second neighbor brought in honor of my birthday, we taught them how to play UNO. It's one game that's simple enough Brad can explain it in Asianese. After laughing quite a bit and playing a few hands, everyone went home.
Although we couldn't explain the true meaning of Christmas to our guests, we did read our Advent book (in English), and pray that they notice a difference in our home. Being with them was really motivating.... I want to study and learn this language well so that we can have more meaningful conversations and I don't panic when Brad's not here to ask questions and keep things going.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
My Wife's Birthday and My Crazy Little Girl
From Brad.
Okay, direct quote from my Savannah, "Mom, when you were a little girl, did you ever wish you could start your whole life over?" Oh my, is our home that depressing of a place to live? She's 5 1/2 and ready for a 12 step group.
My lovely wife turned a young 32 today. I can't say I had a ton of great ideas since over the last 7 months we have been busy finding and purchasing everything we need/want for our new home. So I figured the best thing I could do is give her the morning away to read her new book in a relaxing spot. She did just that and then met us for lunch where we showered her with presents. Later while the kids slept, we watched a movie, and then a babysitter came over to give us a night away at an Italian restaurant. The evening was full of deep, meaningful conversation where I shared my innermost feelings and connected with my wife. :)
Only for a brief 5 minutes did I mention the Astros latest shakeup where they gave away their minor league system for a known steriod user who is on the decline. Ah, but I digress...
It was a nice day. Pictured is my troubled little girl and 20 roses I bought for my wife today for about $6 (the vase is a good 10 lbs and a gift as well).
Okay, direct quote from my Savannah, "Mom, when you were a little girl, did you ever wish you could start your whole life over?" Oh my, is our home that depressing of a place to live? She's 5 1/2 and ready for a 12 step group.
My lovely wife turned a young 32 today. I can't say I had a ton of great ideas since over the last 7 months we have been busy finding and purchasing everything we need/want for our new home. So I figured the best thing I could do is give her the morning away to read her new book in a relaxing spot. She did just that and then met us for lunch where we showered her with presents. Later while the kids slept, we watched a movie, and then a babysitter came over to give us a night away at an Italian restaurant. The evening was full of deep, meaningful conversation where I shared my innermost feelings and connected with my wife. :)
Only for a brief 5 minutes did I mention the Astros latest shakeup where they gave away their minor league system for a known steriod user who is on the decline. Ah, but I digress...It was a nice day. Pictured is my troubled little girl and 20 roses I bought for my wife today for about $6 (the vase is a good 10 lbs and a gift as well).
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Recent Happenings
From Brad.
A good local friend of mine invited me and my family to an English Salon he was hosting the other night. In my worldview, a salon is a place where you get your hair cut, but apparently not so here. This was a get together with about 200 students at the university and a strange American family of 5. At first, two hosts sat us all down in front and began asking us questions similar to a talk show. People there were interested in hearing a native English speaker and learning about the American culture. It was a very interesting night. Amy and I were geared to be cautiously bold.
The very first question was, “Who is the authority and final decision maker in your home?” Wow, I thought. Then I asked Amy if I could answer the question first. She denied my request and articulately shared the Christian worldview of the home. :) Then I got asked, “oh, you’re Christians…have you ever gone on a trip and shared your beliefs?” Uh…well…you see…Amy, would you like to take over again??!! I shared that when you really love something/someone, you always tell others…the same is true in one's relationship with God. As a follow up, they asked who I loved more, God or my wife. Wow…I was expecting questions about George Bush and the Houston Rockets. But they were providing exciting and meaningful questions which we were delighted to answer.
Then the one that made my wife cry (tears of laughter). One young man stood up and said, “I hope this isn’t too personal.” (That is not a good start…) “I couldn’t help but notice that when you (Brad) walked in you had a beautiful, shiny, bald head. Please tell me what it is like to be bald.” I must admit, I was laughing pretty hard too. I proudly shared that God made me just the way he wanted me, I’m content with that, I’m thankful that I’m already married, and not a single one of my dollars has ever gone to the $5 billion dollar industry of hair growth for men. Then I sat down and pinched myself because “this can’t be really happening.”
In other news, we had a short business trip to Beijing that we enjoyed. I couldn’t resist putting in the goofy picture of Savannah, Alex and me on our way to the pool (that we later found out was closed for renovations). I went bowling for the first time in years and actually scored a 161…not bad!
We’ve now been here for almost 8 months and I must admit I’m a little discouraged that my language ability is not better. I do sense a lot of improvement in reading, pronunciation, a little in speaking, very little in hearing. Hearing a second language is a little like that children’s game at Chuck e Cheese where you have a big, padded hammer and the little moles (maybe groundhogs) shoot up out of their hole for a split second. The goal is to see, react, and slam the hammer down on them before they retreat. I feel like when people speak to me, each word is like a mole that jumps up for that split second. I might hit 5 or 6 in a row, but inevitably I eventually freeze, don’t react in time and find myself staring at a hole where the mole has already retreated to while others are popping up elsewhere. What causes the freeze? Sometimes a word I’ve never heard before, but more often a word I’ve heard, maybe even studied, but can’t put a finger on it because it is not familiar enough. By the time I figure it out, or decide to move on, the speaker has already completed another 10-15 words…oops. So much for listening comprehension. So, I am trusting that if I keep pressing on, using all the tools/resources at my disposal (and I do have plenty), I’ll continue to improve. But truth be known, I was hoping to be a little further along right now that I currently am.
Well, that’s enough for now, sorry for such a long blog. Hopefully I won’t wait another 2 months to do another.
A good local friend of mine invited me and my family to an English Salon he was hosting the other night. In my worldview, a salon is a place where you get your hair cut, but apparently not so here. This was a get together with about 200 students at the university and a strange American family of 5. At first, two hosts sat us all down in front and began asking us questions similar to a talk show. People there were interested in hearing a native English speaker and learning about the American culture. It was a very interesting night. Amy and I were geared to be cautiously bold.
The very first question was, “Who is the authority and final decision maker in your home?” Wow, I thought. Then I asked Amy if I could answer the question first. She denied my request and articulately shared the Christian worldview of the home. :) Then I got asked, “oh, you’re Christians…have you ever gone on a trip and shared your beliefs?” Uh…well…you see…Amy, would you like to take over again??!! I shared that when you really love something/someone, you always tell others…the same is true in one's relationship with God. As a follow up, they asked who I loved more, God or my wife. Wow…I was expecting questions about George Bush and the Houston Rockets. But they were providing exciting and meaningful questions which we were delighted to answer.
Then the one that made my wife cry (tears of laughter). One young man stood up and said, “I hope this isn’t too personal.” (That is not a good start…) “I couldn’t help but notice that when you (Brad) walked in you had a beautiful, shiny, bald head. Please tell me what it is like to be bald.” I must admit, I was laughing pretty hard too. I proudly shared that God made me just the way he wanted me, I’m content with that, I’m thankful that I’m already married, and not a single one of my dollars has ever gone to the $5 billion dollar industry of hair growth for men. Then I sat down and pinched myself because “this can’t be really happening.”
In other news, we had a short business trip to Beijing that we enjoyed. I couldn’t resist putting in the goofy picture of Savannah, Alex and me on our way to the pool (that we later found out was closed for renovations). I went bowling for the first time in years and actually scored a 161…not bad! We’ve now been here for almost 8 months and I must admit I’m a little discouraged that my language ability is not better. I do sense a lot of improvement in reading, pronunciation, a little in speaking, very little in hearing. Hearing a second language is a little like that children’s game at Chuck e Cheese where you have a big, padded hammer and the little moles (maybe groundhogs) shoot up out of their hole for a split second. The goal is to see, react, and slam the hammer down on them before they retreat. I feel like when people speak to me, each word is like a mole that jumps up for that split second. I might hit 5 or 6 in a row, but inevitably I eventually freeze, don’t react in time and find myself staring at a hole where the mole has already retreated to while others are popping up elsewhere. What causes the freeze? Sometimes a word I’ve never heard before, but more often a word I’ve heard, maybe even studied, but can’t put a finger on it because it is not familiar enough. By the time I figure it out, or decide to move on, the speaker has already completed another 10-15 words…oops. So much for listening comprehension. So, I am trusting that if I keep pressing on, using all the tools/resources at my disposal (and I do have plenty), I’ll continue to improve. But truth be known, I was hoping to be a little further along right now that I currently am.
Well, that’s enough for now, sorry for such a long blog. Hopefully I won’t wait another 2 months to do another.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Thankful Hearts
Well, Thanksgiving is coming! And, even though we are living half way around the world, we’ll be celebrating all day tomorrow! Two other American families are coming to our home around 10am. Our plan is to eat lunch around noon, put kids down for naps (there are 7 kids in these three families), play games in the afternoon after a devo, and eat round two for dinner! And, even though we are far, far away from America, we will still be enjoying turkey and stuffing. Actually, we will be enjoying quite a feast….for starters we’ll enjoy apples with caramel dip, deviled eggs, and a veggie tray with ranch dip. Our main course will consist of turkey, stuffing, gravy, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, mac’n cheese, and rolls. Then, we will complete the meal with a pecan pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate mousse pie, hot blueberry strudel, and a cheese cake ball. So, all that to say, I think we’ll pretty full by tomorrow evening!
Sue and I have been talking to the kids about what we’re thankful for the past few days, so I thought I’d share their list with you.
Peter:
Apples
Choo-choo trains
Our home
Cars
Ayi (Auntie, what they call Leigh, our househelper)
Tickling
Bananas
Kisses
Chocolate
Pedo (yes, he's thankful for himself!)
Papa & Nana
Trucks
Cake
Hugs
Sour chicken
Alex
Alex:
Movies
Airplanes
Lighten McQueen
“Little Man” (a game Daddy plays)
Aunt Rachel(s) ~ both of them
Grandma
Daddy
Superman
Our home
Ayi
Mommy
Jesus
Savannah:
School
Jesus dying on a cross
Daddy
Christmas
School
Mommy
Friends
Bible
Pie
Ice cream
Amanda (her doll)
Sunshine
Oranges
Crafts (we’ve done a few turkey crafts this week)
We enjoyed making those lists with the kiddos so I thought I’d share them with you! I’ll post Thanksgiving Day pics in a few days! Happy Thanksgiving!
Sue and I have been talking to the kids about what we’re thankful for the past few days, so I thought I’d share their list with you.
Peter:
Apples
Choo-choo trains
Our home
Cars
Ayi (Auntie, what they call Leigh, our househelper)
Tickling
Bananas
Kisses
Chocolate
Pedo (yes, he's thankful for himself!)
Papa & Nana
Trucks
Cake
Hugs
Sour chicken
Alex
Alex:
Movies
Airplanes
Lighten McQueen
“Little Man” (a game Daddy plays)
Aunt Rachel(s) ~ both of them
Grandma
Daddy
Superman
Our home
Ayi
Mommy
Jesus
Savannah:
School
Jesus dying on a cross
Daddy
Christmas
School
Mommy
Friends
Bible
Pie
Ice cream
Amanda (her doll)
Sunshine
Oranges
Crafts (we’ve done a few turkey crafts this week)
We enjoyed making those lists with the kiddos so I thought I’d share them with you! I’ll post Thanksgiving Day pics in a few days! Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 16, 2007
A Really Boring Post.....
by Amy
Here's a quick update of what's been happening in our world for the past week:
Sue was a little chilly today ~ that's because she's a Texas girl!
Here's a quick update of what's been happening in our world for the past week:
My world has been a little more crazy than normal these past few weeks.... Last weekend Sue (Brad's mom) and her two friends came to town. One slept in our house and two slept in a hotel across the street. They arrived Saturday afternoon in time to find Savannah having breathing issues, similar to what Alex had. So, thankfully, I had medicine on hand and knew how to treat her! It still made for a long evening, though. Yet, she was almost 100% on Sunday! What a blessing! That morning I took Sue and one friend to a local market to do a little more shopping. After eating lunch at Pizza Hut, we came back to our house and enjoyed a wonderful game of Mexican Train (a dominoes game) that I won! Monday morning, Brad took Sue's friends to the train station at 6am! Sue slept a good part of the day, trying to catch up after her fun, but exhausting tour. Tuesday, we took her to the "pretty park" down the street. The kids loved showing her their favorite places there. Then, on Wednesday, Alex woke up struggling to breath and Sue woke up with a stomach flu. So we all stayed in. By Thursday, Alex was doing better, but Sue was not. So Brad and I took the kids out for a few hours so Sue could have some peace and quiet. And, by today, Friday, she was feeling much better. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so we packed a picnic lunch and spent a few hours at our favorite lake park. Here are a few pics for your viewing enjoyment:
We all enjoyed eatting some Cheetos Xs & Os that Sue brought from the States for us! What a treat!
Sue was a little chilly today ~ that's because she's a Texas girl! 
Monday, November 5, 2007
A Fun Day
By Amy
Yesterday was Family Day in our world. So, after we got up we went to the "Lake Park", as my kids call it. It was a beautiful, cool, sunny day, so it was a great day to be outside! Usually when we go to this lake park, we don't ride any of the carnival rides, but this time, we decided to play on a few. So, the first thing we did was the bumper cars. Brad and I each had a boy and Savannah got to drive her own. It was tons of fun. Peter and Alex hung on for their dear lives while Brad and I crashed into tons of other cars. Savannah pretty much stayed in the middle and spun round'n round!
Then, after the bumper cars, Savannah and I rode the roller coaster. It was a real, go fast,turn up-side-down twice kind of roller coaster. It was great...well at least I thought so! Savannah was a little pale as we got out and didn't want to do it again. I loved it!
Yesterday was Family Day in our world. So, after we got up we went to the "Lake Park", as my kids call it. It was a beautiful, cool, sunny day, so it was a great day to be outside! Usually when we go to this lake park, we don't ride any of the carnival rides, but this time, we decided to play on a few. So, the first thing we did was the bumper cars. Brad and I each had a boy and Savannah got to drive her own. It was tons of fun. Peter and Alex hung on for their dear lives while Brad and I crashed into tons of other cars. Savannah pretty much stayed in the middle and spun round'n round!
Then, after the bumper cars, Savannah and I rode the roller coaster. It was a real, go fast,turn up-side-down twice kind of roller coaster. It was great...well at least I thought so! Savannah was a little pale as we got out and didn't want to do it again. I loved it!
When we left the park we ate lunch at Pizza Hut and headed home for naps. Then, after eating a dinner of fruit and popcorn, we had plans to head to a nearby college campus for a Halloween party sponsored by an English club. So, even though our kids don't have much of a concept of Halloween, we told them we were going to a special party where they got to wear some special clothes. So, Savannah wore her princess dress, and looked lovely and attracted quite a crowd!
While we were in the big city last week, we found some Superman outfits for Peter and Alex. They love Superman! We recently have shown parts of the movie Superman Returns and now they often run through the house with their arms up high claiming to be Superman. So, when we saw these outfits, we couldn't pass them up! We planned on saving them for Christmas, but when we got invited to this party, we decided to pull them out. Our boys were thrilled, to say the least! So here are a few pics:
Clearly these are not authentic Superman outfits, but Pedo and Alex loved them just the same! They also were a big hit at the party. I often looked up to see them running through the room with their arms in the air being followed by a group of college students pointing and taking pictures. It was a fun night, but we were all super tired when we returned home!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
The Rest of the Story....
by Amy
After we got all of our medical details worked out, we had a blast in the big city! The most memorable thing we did was eat! Our city (several hours south of this big city) has a Pizza Hut, McDs, KFC and Baskin' Robins. So if we want to eat western food, it's homemade or one of these fine eating establishments! The big city, on the other hand, has a TON of options! These are the ones we hit: Outback, Subway, Starbucks (several times), Peter's Tex-Mex Grill (not true Tex-Mex, but not bad), TGI Fridays, Grandma's Kitchen (where we ate a fantastic breakfast -- even better than Steak 'n Shake!) and Hard Rock. Oh, it was delightful!! And, Brad and I even got to go out for a quick dinner while Sue and her friends watched our kids! I'm sure I returned home a few pounds heavier than when I left, but it was worth it!
It was so great to see Sue, Brad's mom. Our kids had a great time with her and her two friends. Each night Peter thanked God for "the three Grandmas." And, they came bearing many gifts! Sue made each of her friends pack in one suitcase so she could use the second suitcase they were allotted to bring us stuff! So, now our pantry and medicine cabinets are stocked with all kids of goodies! I'm also using a new cell phone she brought and my kids are enjoying lots of special gifts and clothes they brought to us!
On Tuesday evening (10-30), Sue and her friends started a 10 day tour of our country, that originated in the big city. Therefore, before the tour, we didn't do any of the "touristy" stuff ~ I'm sure my kids were not disappointed! So, besides eating, we shopped! There's a huge 9+story building that is full of JUNK! All the vendors are divided based on what they're selling. There are two or three floors full of people selling clothes ~ for men, women, and children. There's an entire floor devoted to selling knock' off purses; another floor where you can buy and/or design your own jewelry with pearls being the most common jewel. So, since Sue and her friends all had an empty suitcase to take back to America with them after delivering us so much stuff, they decided they needed to shop! It was so much fun! I was told that we should bargain with the people and end up paying about 20% of their original asking price. So, even though most of the vendors could speak a little English, I did most of the bargaining for them in the local language. It was so funny! First of all, they were all surprised when I didn't speak to them in English, so right there, that qualified us for a "special local's price." Then, since I had Savannah with me for part of the time-- and since she's so cute-- we got even a better price! It was so funny to hear the reasons they came up with to give us a "special price!" One chica even told Sue she could have a special price since her daughter (me!) was so cute! Ha Ha!! We had so much fun shopping there two afternoons in a row that Sue and her friends headed back for one more round the afternoon before the tour began. (We were on the train heading home!) Then, they had soooo much stuff, they had to leave some of it with the hotel concierge. Since they'll be flying out of this big city back to America in a week, they'll swing by that hotel and get their loot!
So, that about sums up the rest of our time out of town. It's been good to get back home and back on a routine again. We all are looking forward to this weekend when Sue and her friends will come to our city and visit our home.
After we got all of our medical details worked out, we had a blast in the big city! The most memorable thing we did was eat! Our city (several hours south of this big city) has a Pizza Hut, McDs, KFC and Baskin' Robins. So if we want to eat western food, it's homemade or one of these fine eating establishments! The big city, on the other hand, has a TON of options! These are the ones we hit: Outback, Subway, Starbucks (several times), Peter's Tex-Mex Grill (not true Tex-Mex, but not bad), TGI Fridays, Grandma's Kitchen (where we ate a fantastic breakfast -- even better than Steak 'n Shake!) and Hard Rock. Oh, it was delightful!! And, Brad and I even got to go out for a quick dinner while Sue and her friends watched our kids! I'm sure I returned home a few pounds heavier than when I left, but it was worth it!
It was so great to see Sue, Brad's mom. Our kids had a great time with her and her two friends. Each night Peter thanked God for "the three Grandmas." And, they came bearing many gifts! Sue made each of her friends pack in one suitcase so she could use the second suitcase they were allotted to bring us stuff! So, now our pantry and medicine cabinets are stocked with all kids of goodies! I'm also using a new cell phone she brought and my kids are enjoying lots of special gifts and clothes they brought to us!
On Tuesday evening (10-30), Sue and her friends started a 10 day tour of our country, that originated in the big city. Therefore, before the tour, we didn't do any of the "touristy" stuff ~ I'm sure my kids were not disappointed! So, besides eating, we shopped! There's a huge 9+story building that is full of JUNK! All the vendors are divided based on what they're selling. There are two or three floors full of people selling clothes ~ for men, women, and children. There's an entire floor devoted to selling knock' off purses; another floor where you can buy and/or design your own jewelry with pearls being the most common jewel. So, since Sue and her friends all had an empty suitcase to take back to America with them after delivering us so much stuff, they decided they needed to shop! It was so much fun! I was told that we should bargain with the people and end up paying about 20% of their original asking price. So, even though most of the vendors could speak a little English, I did most of the bargaining for them in the local language. It was so funny! First of all, they were all surprised when I didn't speak to them in English, so right there, that qualified us for a "special local's price." Then, since I had Savannah with me for part of the time-- and since she's so cute-- we got even a better price! It was so funny to hear the reasons they came up with to give us a "special price!" One chica even told Sue she could have a special price since her daughter (me!) was so cute! Ha Ha!! We had so much fun shopping there two afternoons in a row that Sue and her friends headed back for one more round the afternoon before the tour began. (We were on the train heading home!) Then, they had soooo much stuff, they had to leave some of it with the hotel concierge. Since they'll be flying out of this big city back to America in a week, they'll swing by that hotel and get their loot!
So, that about sums up the rest of our time out of town. It's been good to get back home and back on a routine again. We all are looking forward to this weekend when Sue and her friends will come to our city and visit our home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)