Watch, Read, Listen

August 16, 2012- After a brutal yoga session on Thursday these lovely ladies suggested we go on a little shopping excursion to Shu Gong Li.  But after that yoga session we're going to need some lunch before we attempt shopping.  A friend said there was a restaurant across the street from Shu Gong Li so…

August 23, 2012-   Happy Chinese Valentine's Day!!!!!!! Ava, my little helper! Annika and Mark were out riding their bikes (and getting cash from our local ATM). 🙂 Check out the sweet bouquet of lilies, red, pink and red roses Mark surprised me with last night!!!! (he said he was coming late….and I thought it…

August 6, 2012- Annika, Ava, Marko and Juandre got busy one morning (before summer vacation ended) and painted the cardboard house we'd brought with us from the USA.    Debbie and I were busy being turned into pretzels by our yoga instructor. (oww, oww, owwwww!!!!)  And the kids were busy painting and coloring! I LOVE…

July 19, 2012: Lynda and Jade are moving back to Germany.  They're here for only a few days to sort out all their stuff before heading back to Hamburg.  Let's celebrate with a wonderful lunch at a Korean barbeque restaurant….let's celebrate instead of being sad.  I'm sure we'll see each other again!!!  We had a…

August 4, 2012: Yes, it's still Saturday!  I think you might agree that we had a whirlwind adventure today seeing the Hanging Monastery and all those carvings at Yungang Grottoes.  We've also had some time to chill out and take naps. Now, let's head out in search of dinner!!!!  We spotted a road that was…

August 8,2012- A few days left before school starts! Marko and Juandre came over with their toy car collection.  The kids all decided they wanted to create their own race tracks or road maps for the toy cars to drive on.     Marko's road map         Juandre's road map- complete with…

August 4, 2012 continued….. As  you'll remember we had just left the hanging monastery for another location. The hanging monastery was about a one-hour drive from the hotel with our taxi.  We have absolutely no idea how long it'll take to get to our next destination.    Enjoy the scenery…   I'm curious what these…

And so we've been in China for a little more than seven months…. and I had hoped that once we had past the six-month marker I would start to feel better about being here in China.   Now, don't get me wrong- I do love being here. I love meeting and making new friends.  I…

July 26, 2012 Apparently on Thursday, July 26, 2012 Tianjin experienced the worst rain fall and flooding in 40 years.   We were home all day on Thursday and while it did rain all day long it just didn't seem to me to be an extraordinary rain…. I've seen plenty of rain storms that last…

July 21, 2012: As a way to say "THANK YOU!!!" to our Chinese friends who helped Mark get our homemade Chinese smoker built we invited them over for a home cooked meal….featuring smoked RIBS and ice cream!!!   David and Lynn are both Deere employees and they're also a husband and wife team.  And they're…