School visit.

Suzanne went out with an English speaking Chinese friend of the family the other day to visit a local middle school that is near us. The school is one that Ivy doesn't teach at, so we didn't have to get permission from them to do this, so long as nobody was making money. It looks like it was a very friendly and fun visit for all. I think the lady in the close-up is a friend of our friends. The pics of the boy wearing purple is dancing. The school is in a different system than the public school I work at for Ivy. The school I work at is part of the cities school system and the one Suzanne visited is part of the aggreculturual system. They are both public schools but under different administration. I think it is a very new school and looks to be nicer than the one I teach at. This school has cameras monitoring the classrooms, overhead video projectors and a TV. The class size is also smaller than mine. I am down from 70 students last year, to about 60 students in each class this year.

Things list.

We sat down and made a list of things we miss from the states. We all miss our clothes dryer, dishwasher and soft beds. We all have some sort of food or drink that we miss. During the summer, we missed having A/C in our apartment. Deb and Suzanne have a lot of things in common that they miss, like: family, church, Wal-Mart, warmer weather, water that you drink form the faucet and TV. Deb also misses garage sales and dollar stores. Suzanne's list is a little longer. She misses Taco Bell, signs in English, school and even working odd jobs for extra money. I miss driving, my grill, a regular oven, hot water for the clothes washer and pizza with sauce. I think Spot misses running around the neighborhood and playing in his yard. There are some things we like better here. We all like the in-floor heating. Suzanne likes the steel door to our apartment with double lock (except for the time I locked them in the apartment). Deb and I like the inductive cooking we have. We also like food prices, my work hours and the fact that the summers are not as hot. I like the never ending hot water for the shower, free rent and the $20/month electric bills. This list will change when we get to Beijing, giving us easier access to more western things.

Fall count.

A few weeks ago, Suzanne fell outside Ivy. The next week, Deb fell in the stairwell. The other day, Suzanne fell off the couch. This time it was more funny than serious. D.J. likes to play with the back-pack and coats. The pictures of the kids are from my two older kid classes I have at Ivy on weekends. I really enjoy them.

Catching up.

It's been while since our last post. We didn't fall off the face of the planet. We have been busy doing the usual daily work, school and chores that are necessary. Deb has been attending a Bible study class on Tuesday's. She has also been getting Spot up to date on shots and paperwork. And she has been checking on details of traveling by train to Beijing if we get to go there in March when my contract ends here. I have been busy with school and job search. I even had an interview for a school in Beijing, but they aren't looking for positions in February/March right now. I hope they will keep me in mind when the time comes that they are looking. Suzanne has been busy with school work. Deb invited one of the ladies from her Bible study group over for dinner one evening, along with her husband and their son. I forgot to take a picture that evening. They are a Chinese family. Her name is Nicole and teaches English part-time. Her husband doesn't speak any English and works for the local agriculture college as a videographer. They have a ten year old son named Harold. That was last week. This week Deb invited The lady who host the Bible study class, and her husband, to come for dinner. They are from Mississippi. Her name is Sharon and she doesn't work. Her husband is Leroy and works for an American company that makes and sells electric motors. The company contracts out the large motor production to a Chinese company here in Jiamusi. His job is to oversee his companies interest at the factory here. They have lived here for four years. Their visa is only good for 90 days at a time and then they must leave the country to get another. They usually go to Hong-Kong but sometimes go back to the states or travel to other Asian countries. Today Suzanne went to the New-Mart kids zone to have a play date with Nicole and Harold. It looks like she had a really good time.

It's snowing.

Coal for the furnace that provides heat for our area of the city.

The flowers have been very beautiful and hearty but won't last long with the snow.

Goodbye grass.

Hello snow.

Getting ready for winter.

Our weather forcast is for snow this weekend so everyone is getting ready for winter. DJ is ready for the heat to be turned on friday so she can start crawling we hope. She is out growing the basket part of her bed the school provided for us. She has moved on to the actual crib part now. She likes having the extra room for her toys and to move around. The farmers are bringing in the last crops of the year, leeks and cabbages. Like everything else in this area of China, these are dried before storage for the winter. We went down today and purchased a new suit for DJ to wear when we have to get her out in the cold and snow this winter. She had outgrown her old stuff and we gave it away to someone else that has a baby so they could use it.

Last day of Autumn?

Yesterday and today were perfect days to get out in the afternoon. We all had a wonderful time. DJ made some more Chinese friends. Even Spot got to play with a Chinese police dog down by the river on the beach. The temperature was in the low 70's and beautiful. It is going to start getting colder over the next few days with some rain, and this time next week there is a chance of snow. There are a few things you can count on when it comes to the weather around here. Winter is long and cold, Summer is hot and Spring and Autumn are very short. I was offered to extend my contract with Ivy including an increase in pay but we turned it down and are planning on moving on. Maybe we will get Beijing this time.

DJ was a little scared at her first time in a swing but still liked it enough to smile.

The boats are getting ready for the long winter.

The river goes down in the Fall because there is as much run off from the mountains as the weather is getting colder. Soon all this will be frozen solid.

There are many places like this throughout the city, just like in all cities in China.

It is exercise for the young and old alike.

Suzanne is enjoying the day writing her stories.

Self picture with the cell-phone.

She still has a little growing to do before she can try it on her own.

It is still a lot of fun.

This was put up this year for the regional sports games that our city hosted.

This is a beach that is on our side of the river only a few kilometers down from where we live.

We sat here for over an hour.

There were many people that came by and commented on how beautiful our baby is and how we should put more clothes on her to keep her warm. It was around 70F with a light cool breeze and sunshine. There seems to be a certain time of the year that everyone starts wearing there winter clothes no matter what the weather is like.

Some of the people that came by had children. This little boy was the same age as DJ. They were the same height and had the same number of teeth. He was walking by himself and she needs help. 

They really were having a good time with each other.

You can see the split pants if you look close.

This was another cute boy that stopped to say hello.

He was a little shy.

This little guy wasn't all that interested but the parents made him come other to see DJ.

Usually people will ask if it is okay to pick DJ up, and usually when they try, she just screams until one of us rescues her. This lady just walkes up and takes her out of Deb's arms and is showing her off to everyone. DJ didn't seem to mind too much.

Colors.

I went with Suzanne and Sarah to the hair salon today to take pics of Suzanne as she was getting her hair done. She got five colored stripes, one each red, blue, black and two purple, for around $7.50US. Sarah had some very bad dreadlocks and had them removed along with some conditioning, a wash, a cut and a back massage for around $18US. Deb, DJ and I went down this afternoon to New-Mart and tried a new restaurant. We won't be eating there again as none of us liked the peanut butter spaghetti. We went upstairs in the mall to the food court and got stuff that we new we liked and then played a little at the video arcade before coming home.

A walk in the counrty.

Suzanne went out with Sarah today to the reservoir just 3.5 miles south of the city. They walked along the shore and into the hills. It was a beautiful day. They made some new friends, saw a big golden Buddha and went to a Buddha temple. It only cost less than $4.00 total for a taxi there and back for a days worth of fun. Deb, DJ and I took Spot down to a park. Some of the people there were interested in Spot, some in DJ and some were fascinated by both. We left that park and walked down to another park where DJ made a new friend, a Chinese girl just a few weeks younger than her. One of the ladies with her, maybe her mom; I didn’t ask; spoke English. The little girl’s English name was Candy. She could walk and was a little taller and a little heavier looking. She had only two teeth to DJ’s 7 ½. We were close to Ivy so we stopped there to go to the bathroom and I went into New-Mart downstairs to buy a space heater for the bathroom. It is getting too cold for the clothes to dry properly when hanging out now and the heat will not be turned on for a few weeks. It will also help keep it from being so cold in the bathroom when we take a shower until the heat gets turned on. Tomorrow I think I will go with Suzanne to see her get her hair colored.

National Day.

Today is National Day, China’s version of America’s Independence Day. I am not a Sinophile, although I am learning more living here and writing this blog. October 1st is the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and is celebrated as the National Holiday all over China (not to be confused with Double Ten Day, which is National Day for the Republic of China, Taiwan). On this day back in 1949, the Chinese people, under the leadership of Communist Party of China, declared victory in War of Liberation. A grand ceremony was held at Tiananmen Square. At the ceremony, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central People's Government, solemnly declared the founding of P.R.C. and raised the first national flag of China in person. 300,000 soldiers and people gathered at the square for the grand parade and celebration procession.

In recent years, the Chinese Government extended the National Day Holiday to one week’s time, which was called the Golden Week. It is intended to help expand the domestic tourism market and allow people time to make long-distance family visits. This is a period of greatly heightened travel activity. The other Golden Week is the Chinese New Year.

Susan has gone off exploring today with one of the other Ivy teachers and the rest of us are going to go for a walk to two parks with the dog and return home after going by New-Mart and the downtown area to see if there are any festivites. Tonight we are preparing dinner for Yen, one of the TA’s, who has been a great help to us in the past when taking DJ to the hospital or to see the doctor for anything.

All is well in the world.

Suzanne will soon officially become a teenager, although we have felt that she has been sprouting into a fine young lady for some time now. Ivy’s director, Mei Han, paid for a birthday dinner for Suzanne and our newest teacher, Sarah, whose birthday is today. I bought a big cake. I thought I was ordering a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Chinese really don’t do frosting. They do more of a whipped topping. And the cake wasn’t chocolate, but chocolate here isn’t exactly what we are used to anyway. We still have a chocolate cake mix sent from some that we will fix and enjoy at home. The dinner was for all of the Ivy staff and foreign teachers. It was a beautiful dinner and everyone had a great time. Even some of the kids from one of my public school classes got Suzanne some presents. We are very proud of her and love her very much. You can see pictures of Suzanne eating the longevity noodle. And I have tacked on some pics of DJ sitting in a high chair and one of her crib she is almost outgrowing since coming here.

364 Days.

Here is a picture of my newest shiny pajamas. It is supposed to be a suit I had made out of some material I picked out that had a very pretty and colorful design. I have been waiting for the weather to get cooler so I could wear it. It is 42̊F this morning and tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival.




Have you ever wanted an extra day in the week that you didn’t have to work? Tomorrow is one of those days for me. I do not get paid for the holiday and I do not have to work, nor does it count against my hours for the week. I also do not have to make the school day up on the weekend, although I do have two Friday’s this week. It is almost like there is only 364 days this year.



Deb and I went out last night to dinner but our favorite place to eat, Flolon’s Pizza was closed and out of business. We went to a little bar one street over that also serves spaghetti and pizza. It is a little more expensive but is still pretty good food and a really nice place. On the way there we stopped at a bakery and bought some Moon Cakes. None of us had ever tried any so we brought home a variety. They are very densely packed small cakes, much like fruit cake in the states. They have a pretty pattern on the outside and different kinds of fillings on the inside. The girls like the chocolate and I like the candy filled. Spot is the only one who likes the cakes with nuts.



There is also another holiday coming at the beginning of October that I will blog about later. I will have off three days then. Some of the other teachers are planning trips to other cities but it would just be too expensive and a lot of trouble for all of us to go somewhere. We will probably just stay home or go somewhere locally.

Budget.

I wrote down and took a look at our budget before we moved to China. All our expenses totaled $2,555. I wasn’t making that much because of reduced hours. I converted the budget into a percentage and also into what it would equal in Chinese money. I thought someone might find it interesting to look at our current budget.

BUDGET

TOTAL= $2,555/MONTH = 100%

INSURANCE = $330 = 12.92%

TAXES = $295 = 11.55%

HOUSE = $305 = 11.94%

UTIL. (ELEC, GAS, WATER, TV,) = $285 = 11.15%

CAR = $460 = 18%

PHONE = $175 = 6.85%

SCHOOL = $100 = 3.91%

FOOD = $535 = 20.94%

OTHER = $70 = 2.74%

ACTUAL

TOTAL = 6,000/MONTH = 100%

INSURANCE = 1,000 = 16.67%

TAXES = 0

HOUSE = 0

UTIL. = 400 = 6.67%

CAR = 0

PHONE = 400 = 6.67%

SCHOOL = 0

FOOD = 3,000 = 50%

OTHER = 200 = 3.33%

SAVINGS = 1,000 = 16.66%

My pay is 1/3 what I would need in the US. The school pays for insurance on me but I had to purchase insurance for the family before we left America at $1,780 for one year. We don’t pay taxes. Housing is provided. Water and electric are 1/4 what they would be in the states. We don’t have a car, but we do take taxis and buses when we don’t walk. Cell is 1/3 what it was before we came here because it is pay as you go and we only call each other usually. We purchased all of Suzanne’s home schooling materials before we came over here. The cost of eating out isn’t too expensive except at KFC. A big expense of our food budget is buying imported items such as pasta and cheese. We are trying to get used to not using them as much but it is a hard habit to break.

Following budget we should be able to save 1,000RMB each month. So far we have saved nothing because we have had extra cost moving here and getting settled. A single person could live comfortable and save money. A couple, even with a family, like our friends in Beijing, who both work, can manage to save money. Deb would like to look into getting ESL certification so she also can work after DJ gets old enough to go to preschool. Our budget isn’t in the red like it used to be but we still have to watch it. For what little we do have, we really enjoy ourselves.

New dress for Suzanne.

We had this dress made. Suzanne desinged it and picked out the materials herself.

Teacher's Day.

Today was National Teacher’s Day in China. The public school I work at in the mornings only had half a day today. I was presented with some flowers when I walked in and later received more gifts from my classes. I had one class at Ivy this evening at was given even more flowers. I never experienced Teacher Appreciation in the USA but I love it here. I never was recognized in such a wonderful way by my previous jobs.

Dinner anyone?

Tonight, Mei treated the teachers to dinner in honor of the new teacher Sarah and the returning teacher, Georges wife, Connie. Connie is the one wearing the black suit and she and George are from Canada. Sarah is the one with the red hair and is from Tennesse. It was a very nice night out for us teachers since we all have started working longer hours at Ivy on top of starting back teaching at public school. I brought home many leftovers for the family. Just before I left for the dinner, DJ was helping herself to some some red date and apple flavored rice cereal.

Just another day of laboring on Labor Day.

We had a going away party at Ivy this last Sunday for Rita. She was a very good T.A. and friend. She is going back to school in another city but will try to come back in January I think. We introduced a local pizza place to her and she had to buy pizza for everyone. It was a very nice party. The little boy’s name is Charlie and is the nephew of one of the Ivy workers. He was very fascinated with DJ and she was mesmerized by him. DJ also loves her big sister. Susan was trying to teach her how to crawl the other day. DJ didn’t learn to well but Susan passed with flying colors. I started my second week of public school this term today. We took a walk down to the river this afternoon to play with the dog and just to get out again before the cold weather starts.

Mei Han has been very good to us and has helped make life much easier here for us with the family. We are very busy on weekends at Ivy.

September evening walk.

I used to see my grandma and great-grandma canning when I visited them 30 to 35 years ago. I never did learn or practice canning because of the convenience of store purchased canned goods. Instead of canning over here, people dry almost anything. They dry fish, fruit and vegetables. Just walking down the street we can see all kinds of stuff laying out on blankets, sheets, window screens, on the sidewalk or just hanging up somewhere drying out. Yesterday was payday and Deb did the shopping today while I was at public school in the morning, which started back Monday. The weather is very pleasant here right now so we went for a walk in the evening around the block and along the river. We took Spot with us and on the way back we stopped at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants to eat. We had grilled bread, beef and chicken, and Susan had some beef fried rice. The total bill was less than $10US. Where in America can you take the family and dog for a walk around the block along a scenic river walk and stop in a restaurant with you dog and have a very nice dinner for less than $10? China is wonderful.

DJ's second 1st birthday party.

This scrapbooking design created with Smilebox

Destiny Jubilee's first birthday.

This digital scrapbook created with Smilebox