I decided to go to our little bird and flower market and buy a plant. The problem is that I have killed every plant ever purchased here in China. In the US I did okay with really hardy plants, but here--nothing doing.
I looked around a bit, saw some worms for sale, some really cute dogs, lots of plants, stone carvings, some birds,and then started my discussions. I chose the older lady who was by herself instead of the younger-than-me crew who were sitting around playing cards. She was really kind, and I am sure she thought me strange. Here is what I told her:
"Please tell me which plant is the easiest to take care of.
I am scared I will kill it. I am serious. (she shows me some, we talk about differences, sunlight, water, etc.)
"I am stupid, please tell me how to take care of it." (she shows me a book with complete chinese instructions, I can read a few characters, but seriously? not about plant life)
"Are you sure this is the easiest one? when should I water it?"
"how much water?" (she is not rolling her eyes at my stupidity, but rather smirking a little like she is enjoying it, I, of course, am laughing the whole time. I want her to know that I know I am incompetent and able to laugh at myself, so she can laugh too)
She takes the plant down and actually shows me how to water it (hilarious), I was incredibly grateful.
We continue talking for a bit, when I hear a 'nihao laoban' (hello boss), this was in a weird voice and no one except foreigners ever say 'nihao,'I turn around and find a black bird on a lady's shoulder that repeats 'nihao laoban.' I am really laughing out loud now and looking for the camera in the bushes to see if I am on candid camera or something. You can't make this stuff up.
I ask her if the bird speaks English, she says it would need practice.
So, as I finish my transaction with the plants, the bird lady stands there moving her shoulder, getting her bird to talk.
I leave satisfied with my purchase, and seriously loving this country and the fun things I get to experience.
This was two weeks ago, the plant is still alive, and still green.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Recent and not so recent phrases from Sophia
'this pen does not work very well mommy' (I thought this a particularly well developed sentence)
This sticker is really sticky, isn't it?
Good night, darlin' (copying her daddy)
Her feet are tiny and cute (about Isabella)
Bless you (after a sneeze)
I am going to play for a few more minutes. (matter-of-factly, she is not asking but telling...)
I am missing daddy right now (when he was out)
Thank you mommy for making muffins (she also tells our helper thank you when she cooks us a meal, in Chinese of course)
Oh daddy, cool shirt! poppy gave it to you. (it is a cool shirt, she has good taste)
I am not disobeying now
Hey Isabella, I miss you so much (after getting up from a nap)
See you later alligator, after awhile crocodile, see you soon babboon
Mommy and Daddy are Isabella's authority
This sticker is really sticky, isn't it?
Good night, darlin' (copying her daddy)
Her feet are tiny and cute (about Isabella)
Bless you (after a sneeze)
I am going to play for a few more minutes. (matter-of-factly, she is not asking but telling...)
I am missing daddy right now (when he was out)
Thank you mommy for making muffins (she also tells our helper thank you when she cooks us a meal, in Chinese of course)
Oh daddy, cool shirt! poppy gave it to you. (it is a cool shirt, she has good taste)
I am not disobeying now
Hey Isabella, I miss you so much (after getting up from a nap)
See you later alligator, after awhile crocodile, see you soon babboon
Mommy and Daddy are Isabella's authority
Monday, September 28, 2009
Five things from Five years
As promised my 'five years in China' post. Not nearly as creative and fun as I originally intended...but it is what it is....
Five things I eat regularly that I did not in the States
-rice
-garlic
-ginger
-hot peppers
-soy sauce
Five things I do...
-walk four flights of stairs a few times a day (not for exercise)
-buy butter and cheese from far away places and freeze it
-ride my bike for transportation
-eat out at least 3x/week
-cook from scratch
Five things I still miss (besides people of course)
-sweet tea available (the Southern US kind)
-traffic patterns (order)
-Air condition
-Sonny's BBQ
-clean public restrooms
Five things I still struggle with
-lack of personal space (in markets, airplanes, etc)
-cooking from scratch
-the language
-public restrooms/ squatty potties
-my trust in local products (ie, that they are what they say they are, most everything here is 'faked' in some form or another, you never quite know what you are buying), I have become a cynic, not a good thing.
Five things I love (besides the people of course)
-the ability to have something break (water line, wiring, big deal stuff) and get it fixed in an hour for about two dollars
-the mountains that surround us, the scene will never grow old
-the interesting finds in the market
-the local food
-THE FOOD, yummy
Celebrations
This week China celebrates its' national holiday, and the 60th anniversary of the communist party. October 3rd also happens to be mid-autumn festival. This will be a festive week here. Go here for incredible pictures of the preparations for the festivities which is said to way out do the Olympic ceremonies.
We will travel to our helper's village on the first to celebrate with her family. We have no plans for Mid-Autumn festival, but we are sure to receive some moon cakes (absolutely NOT the same thing as chocolate moon pies) and hopefully eat some pomelo and chestnuts as the farmers celebrate the harvest of their rice. I hope to get some good pics....stay tuned.
We will travel to our helper's village on the first to celebrate with her family. We have no plans for Mid-Autumn festival, but we are sure to receive some moon cakes (absolutely NOT the same thing as chocolate moon pies) and hopefully eat some pomelo and chestnuts as the farmers celebrate the harvest of their rice. I hope to get some good pics....stay tuned.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Mama should get the cookie
We are in trauma. A bit of an exagerration. but not really. It is about time I blog this phenomenon going on in our household: Sophia's poop problem. She did great at potty training. Sort of. Now she holds #2 for days on end and when it is time to go, she will run a hundred times to the potty all to say she can't go. Eventually she goes in her underwear, unwilling to sit and wait and relax on the potty. This morning, with food all prepped for a potluck after Sunday group, Sophia had to go number 2. She does her dancing on her toes, her grimacing faces. And when I put her on, she always starts refusing. It comes to screams and legs flailing, more screams. I try to reason with her about what is 'best' about how to do this, and nothing appeases her. We threaten all manner of things, then switch to all manner of comforts. We go back to a diaper she steadily refuses this, we hold her down and put it on, she is really up a couple octaves now. If I heard the screaming coming from our neighbors house, I would have gone to make sure the child was okay. Sophia was fine, just reveling in her defiance and discomfort. It certainly was a sad scene. I send the food with someone else, and we miss group time.
About every other day (or every 2 or 3 or 4, depending on how long she holds it), we spend 4-6 hours in this exhausting effort to get poop in the potty. And we fail most times. I, of course, thought it was all my fault, her diet. But even after changing that up, that is not the problem, it is her absolute, resolute, stubborn will. Wow. During that 4-6 hours I am sometimes sane, and handling it okay, like a loving mother should. And then there are those other moments....complete frustration, anger, hopelessness. I am certain I fail at handling this correctly most of the time. But as we say here: Zenme ban? How do you handle it?
In the middle of all of this morning's events , she was laying on the couch, I sitting in the chair across from her. David was out on the town looking for a suppository (which we do not have in this town). I started to pray: head down leaning on my clasped hands.
Sophia: 'mama, what are you doing'
Me (despairingly): I am praying honey.
sophia: mamma don't pray
Me: Sophia, I must pray, I need so much help.
Sophia gets down off the couch, says nothing, and comes over and gives me a big sincere hug.
Finally today, after going once in her panties, she had to go again, ran to the bathroom, hesitated, started to refuse, I literally picked her up and almost threw her on as she went to the bathroom. Then she looked up at me, smiled and: 'I pooped in the potty, I get a chocolate cookie.' I replied:
'honey, you only pooped in the potty because I put you on in record time, Mama should get the cookie.' She was relaxed, said it didn't hurt, and went to eat her cookie.
About every other day (or every 2 or 3 or 4, depending on how long she holds it), we spend 4-6 hours in this exhausting effort to get poop in the potty. And we fail most times. I, of course, thought it was all my fault, her diet. But even after changing that up, that is not the problem, it is her absolute, resolute, stubborn will. Wow. During that 4-6 hours I am sometimes sane, and handling it okay, like a loving mother should. And then there are those other moments....complete frustration, anger, hopelessness. I am certain I fail at handling this correctly most of the time. But as we say here: Zenme ban? How do you handle it?
In the middle of all of this morning's events , she was laying on the couch, I sitting in the chair across from her. David was out on the town looking for a suppository (which we do not have in this town). I started to pray: head down leaning on my clasped hands.
Sophia: 'mama, what are you doing'
Me (despairingly): I am praying honey.
sophia: mamma don't pray
Me: Sophia, I must pray, I need so much help.
Sophia gets down off the couch, says nothing, and comes over and gives me a big sincere hug.
Finally today, after going once in her panties, she had to go again, ran to the bathroom, hesitated, started to refuse, I literally picked her up and almost threw her on as she went to the bathroom. Then she looked up at me, smiled and: 'I pooped in the potty, I get a chocolate cookie.' I replied:
'honey, you only pooped in the potty because I put you on in record time, Mama should get the cookie.' She was relaxed, said it didn't hurt, and went to eat her cookie.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Our 3 month old
Isabella is over three months old now....what is she doing????
She has been smiling like crazy for a while now.
She laughs and coos and baby talks a lot, so incredibly sweet.
She still loves to spit up (Sophia did this too).
She is grabbing at things hanging from her play gym.
She sucks her thumb.
Her schedule most days:
7 a.m. eat
8:15ish nap
10 a.m. eat
11:30 nap
1 p.m. eat
2:15ish nap
4 p.m eat
5:30 nap
7 p.m. eat
8 p.m. bedtime
10 p.m last feeding
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
five years ago today
Our plane descended on this land.
This is certainly a blogworthy occasion.
And I lack the words or wit right now to come up with anything.
This has been a very 'China' week, so many things have come up, so many hurting people with needs, the wickedness of man confronting us in diverse ways including our own hearts.
Resting in His goodness and hope for tomorrow.
I will do a 'five years in China post' some other time, possibly some time in the next five years...who knows?
Until then...we stay clinging to the vine, holding on by our fingernails at times.
This is certainly a blogworthy occasion.
And I lack the words or wit right now to come up with anything.
This has been a very 'China' week, so many things have come up, so many hurting people with needs, the wickedness of man confronting us in diverse ways including our own hearts.
Resting in His goodness and hope for tomorrow.
I will do a 'five years in China post' some other time, possibly some time in the next five years...who knows?
Until then...we stay clinging to the vine, holding on by our fingernails at times.
Isabella's new friend
Some dear friends of ours who live a few hours away (actually more than just a few as it turns out) came to visit and brought their new son, Elijah. He is a CUTIE! He is almost two months older than Isabella, they had a great time playing together. We also had an awesome time catching up with our friends, thanks guys for making the trip, we know it wasn't easy, we LOVED having you, it really meant a lot to us.
Look at that pure cuteness
sharing her play mat with Elijah
chillin' out
Look at that pure cuteness
sharing her play mat with Elijah
chillin' out
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The actual wedding
the bride and groom
The 'wedding party,'
The walk to the bride's house
it was a very sunny day
the wedding meal
before the 'elders'
receiving their blessing
Friday, September 18, 2009
A village wedding
The week turned crazy on us when David received a phone call last Saturday that a family he is close to has a daughter who was getting married this week. This family considers him like a son, so he would need to go out to the village for every day of the wedding (total of three), and one day the family would need to go. This was our first trip as a foursome out to the village. I really love to go even though I cannot speak the minority language, it is fun just to sit there and watch David thrive in his element and for me to sit with the ladies and try to communicate. Some of them speak a little bit of Chinese, but not much and certainly not standard. This used to be quite frustrating to me. But it is okay, it is their world that I have entered, and so I press on to try; what little I say and understand in their language does help. But the children help us to relate even more. Sophia and Isabella move me to common ground with them in many ways, and though the parenting is utterly different, we all love our children and want them to be healthy and wise...
When I say 'used to be frustrating' I am talking about the language barrier, what still is frustrating is the way people try to tell me how to parent (unending in this country), when I see all around me children left completely unsupervised and now left with scars from burns, less than ten fingers, high fevers untreated and brain damaged, and on and on. We hear so many stories of such preventable tragedies. So, when they say 'don't fear' let Sophia cross that really busy street with a five year old, I say, 'no.' Sophia cries and starts to throw a fit, all the fun is 'over there.' I do not budge, sometimes Sophia is leading the charge and the other kids follow-- scary, she is not looking for the car, tractors and motorcycles flying by. Finally an adult takes them and I am appeased.
Next I am told (through charades) that both Isabella and I should have on long sleeves (I thought they were asking me if I had cut my hair, but then I got it). I just smile, this one is not new to me, ninety degrees and we need sleeves...no thanks.
The day is most tiring from watching Sophia, making sure she avoids the really sharp knives and huge cauldrons of boiling hot liquid. David was pseudo photographer for the wedding so he was occupied for a little while. In the end the three hours we spent out there seemed too long with two kids in tow, and we came home exhausted but very glad we went.
This is one of the boys who had a fever when he was little and is now brain damaged. He is incredibly sweet. He is chewing on a chicken foot, very common in China.
with her friends
these kids were constantly eating, Sophia also stole their snacks
see what I mean? She loved the shrimp flavored chips
what in the world? (and how did I catch this on film?). He kissed her on the cheek first and we all said 'ahhhh' then she kissed him right back (quite aggressively I might add), and then they went for the lips....whoa nellie. It was a very cute kid moment. She hung out with this boy the whole time, he takes care of her.
When I say 'used to be frustrating' I am talking about the language barrier, what still is frustrating is the way people try to tell me how to parent (unending in this country), when I see all around me children left completely unsupervised and now left with scars from burns, less than ten fingers, high fevers untreated and brain damaged, and on and on. We hear so many stories of such preventable tragedies. So, when they say 'don't fear' let Sophia cross that really busy street with a five year old, I say, 'no.' Sophia cries and starts to throw a fit, all the fun is 'over there.' I do not budge, sometimes Sophia is leading the charge and the other kids follow-- scary, she is not looking for the car, tractors and motorcycles flying by. Finally an adult takes them and I am appeased.
Next I am told (through charades) that both Isabella and I should have on long sleeves (I thought they were asking me if I had cut my hair, but then I got it). I just smile, this one is not new to me, ninety degrees and we need sleeves...no thanks.
The day is most tiring from watching Sophia, making sure she avoids the really sharp knives and huge cauldrons of boiling hot liquid. David was pseudo photographer for the wedding so he was occupied for a little while. In the end the three hours we spent out there seemed too long with two kids in tow, and we came home exhausted but very glad we went.
This is one of the boys who had a fever when he was little and is now brain damaged. He is incredibly sweet. He is chewing on a chicken foot, very common in China.
with her friends
these kids were constantly eating, Sophia also stole their snacks
see what I mean? She loved the shrimp flavored chips
what in the world? (and how did I catch this on film?). He kissed her on the cheek first and we all said 'ahhhh' then she kissed him right back (quite aggressively I might add), and then they went for the lips....whoa nellie. It was a very cute kid moment. She hung out with this boy the whole time, he takes care of her.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Cherished rain
It rained last night. It was the most wonderfully refreshing rain...utterly grateful.
I had just posted that the rains had stopped. And let me tell you what happens when that happens...90 degrees plus indoors, not kidding, that is what our thermometers tell us. Our fourth floor apartment is the top floor of our building so it is by far the hottest floor from the day's sunshine just pouring onto the roof. Clear, sunny skies, every day. Too hot to go out, too hot to stay in....fans blasting from the ceiling from the floor...this makes it bearable enough to sleep....until
the power goes out.
Yep, Saturday night, perhaps one of the hottest nights we have had all year, the power went out from 1a.m until 7a.m. Sophia woke up right when it happened. Our fans were silenced, and the noise from the street filled our house, indeed the silence was deafening. Sophia was a little scared, I slept in the extra bed in her room, she would talk every now and then. from 2:30 a.m. to 4:00 she kept asking for water, I obliged willingly, she was dripping, seriously dripping with sweat. Poor girl. what a night.
And for all our grumblings, the next day rain fell from heaven. So undeserved, so sweet. Grace flowed down, and we cherished it.
I had just posted that the rains had stopped. And let me tell you what happens when that happens...90 degrees plus indoors, not kidding, that is what our thermometers tell us. Our fourth floor apartment is the top floor of our building so it is by far the hottest floor from the day's sunshine just pouring onto the roof. Clear, sunny skies, every day. Too hot to go out, too hot to stay in....fans blasting from the ceiling from the floor...this makes it bearable enough to sleep....until
the power goes out.
Yep, Saturday night, perhaps one of the hottest nights we have had all year, the power went out from 1a.m until 7a.m. Sophia woke up right when it happened. Our fans were silenced, and the noise from the street filled our house, indeed the silence was deafening. Sophia was a little scared, I slept in the extra bed in her room, she would talk every now and then. from 2:30 a.m. to 4:00 she kept asking for water, I obliged willingly, she was dripping, seriously dripping with sweat. Poor girl. what a night.
And for all our grumblings, the next day rain fell from heaven. So undeserved, so sweet. Grace flowed down, and we cherished it.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Neighbor friend
"Gege (big bro) come outside and play". The interesting thing about the toddler brain is that she knew to say all this to him in Chinese.
umm....I think I will stay here.
they have a chat of sorts
she is saying 'wo wo shou' 'shake hands'
he is completely uninterested...
With Mommy
Bella is not cooperating in these photos (smile)
Sophia had just screamed and scared Bella
love her silly face here
The Coker girls
Sophia had just screamed and scared Bella
love her silly face here
The Coker girls
With Daddy
Our photo shoot started indoors, moved outside and did not last long. Which left us still without a family photo, maybe tomorrow....It is a hundred degrees in the shade these days (I am exaggerating, but only by 10 degrees), and who knows how hot it is in the blazing sun. It gets pretty unbearable by about 10:30 a.m., the rains have stopped, it is almost harvest time, we are dreaming about AC. Sophia also was not super cooperative and has been quite cranky today. We then discovered she has more teeth coming in, three more! Ouch. But she had a good long nap...
Let's start with the daddy pics
Let's start with the daddy pics
Friday, September 11, 2009
Our Piano!
We got a new piano...sort of. It is a yamaha 'portable grand' piano, so it looks like a keyboard, but has weighted keys and all sorts of other features that make it look and feel like a real piano. David played piano for almost ten years and wants to get back into it to help serve our family, he is really excited! (yes my man has another hidden talent, mechanical engineer, great soccer player, linguist of sorts...piano player...who knew?)
I have zero musical ability, except to sing off key, which I will be doing as we enjoy this blessing. Did I mention Sophia loves it too. LOVES it.
open it up already!
thankfully our friend J and David had just come back from running so he could help haul it up four flights of stairs. The post work out cool down.
hauling the trash away, what a big help she is.
while we wait for daddy to put it all together (no small feat)
Awww.....
here we go...
I have zero musical ability, except to sing off key, which I will be doing as we enjoy this blessing. Did I mention Sophia loves it too. LOVES it.
open it up already!
thankfully our friend J and David had just come back from running so he could help haul it up four flights of stairs. The post work out cool down.
hauling the trash away, what a big help she is.
while we wait for daddy to put it all together (no small feat)
Awww.....
here we go...
Thursday, September 10, 2009
little of this...
my aim this weekend is to get more pics of 'us' with our children, we do spend time with them, I promise, just a little lackluster on the photo shoots. Though she is shadowed here, Bella is smiling at Daddy, she smiles huge now and it is so adorable!
too cool, that girl, never quite know what you will find around here
she looks like she is rapping or something, she is actually talking to her JieJie.
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