Ah! Back in the land we love. Although I didn’t love it so much earlier this week. I’ll tell you all about that in a minute. But let me start at the beginning. We were crazy trying to get out the door and on our way to the airport. The van was loaded – thank you Red Oak family for letting us use the van – and we were still finding little things, like my piggy bank full of quarters that I forgot to deposit and Grace’s toys. We were sticking stuff into every place you can imagine. We got to the airport in plenty of time despite our delays and the attendant was very pleasant. She did all she could to help us get our 11 pieces checked without too many extra charges. And she checked it all the way to the mainland. So, Matt, Grace, and I with our 6 carry-ons lumbered through security. We were warned that Matt would not get through with his guitar because of new regulations, but they never said a word about it. All the officers cooed at Grace and that was that. In L.A. they shooed me through ahead of everyone because I had a baby, and in Hong Kong – same thing. I think we only had one question about our carry-ons, and they just wanted to know if we needed to check our luggage. I guess they thought that was all of it and we had forgotten to check it… when we told them no they said ok. Once we got to the mainland we had to get all our bags and go through customs. We weren’t sure how we would manage, but a nice guy helped Matt teeter one bag on top of another and we filled 3 carts. The only question the customs officers asked was if we had a video camera, the professional kind. We really got some looks when we rolled up to recheck those 11 enormous bags, and the man behind the counter asked if they were overweight. Matt said yeah, but we paid in the States. That was good enough for him. Let me just say that that has never happened before. Even with just 2 bags I always had to pay for overweight luggage. And I mean you only get 40 pounds in country. We had 11 bags, at least 6 weighing over 50 pounds, and not a hitch. That is favor! Oh, and on the flight from L.A. to Hong Kong we ended up getting the bulkhead because Gracie’s seat wouldn’t fit in the seat we were assigned. We got the bulkhead for the rest of our flights too.
When we arrived in our city it was raining and cool. I had anticipated the heat wave so I dressed Grace in a cute little outfit. Of course I was harassed by all the ladies in the airport. “Too cold! Not enough clothes!” But they were enamored with the little lao wai (foreigner). There were no seat belts in the mini van so Gracie rode on my lap. The driver was very kind to drive carefully, which is very unusual. The taxi drivers have put my heart into my throat several times since then. Anyway, we got to our apartment building and it was pouring. We wondered how we would get our bags up to the 6th floor since there’s no elevator. The school called some locals to come help and in no time our living room was filled with heaps of luggage. I wanted to beat myself for bringing so much stuff.
It took quite a while to get everything unpacked. Our apartment is really nice – it has recently been renovated, but we didn’t have many hangers and there was no furniture in Gracie’s room. We also had to do a lot of shopping the first week because we needed things to set up house. It takes an extraordinary amount of time to do anything here. So, we decided we would try to have one victory a day. Now we have AC, a water dispenser, a dryer, a microwave, a mini oven, a baby bed, and a walker. Oh, and we got some shelves for Grace’s clothes and hangers for ours. Our house looks more like a home now.
Gracie is finally sleeping in her own bed again too. She slept with us the first week. The first night the balcony door didn’t lock, so that was too creepy to let her sleep alone. The next 4 nights we had to huddle in front of the only fan in the house to keep somewhat cool. Then the guys who installed the ACs made a big mess and I had to wash her bedding. Finally, this past Tuesday we decided it was time to let her cry it out. And boy did she. Actually though she did better than expected. Tuesday was actually the roughest day I have had yet. Bad China day we call it. It was raining – again – and we were going to meet some folks for lunch. We were late because we couldn’t get the stroller in the taxi, so we had to walk. Then I almost dumped the baby onto the street trying to get the stroller onto the curb. Not real easy with an umbrella in one hand. All I can say is that it is a good thing I didn’t have a return ticket that day. The dirt, the pollution, everything was getting to me. Culture shock! Thankfully our friend Billy came over that night and brought us dinner. He reminded me why I love this place so much. He is now Billy Li MD – and we are so proud of him. He hasn’t changed much – a constant in an ever changing city. Some of you may remember Billy Bob. He did an internship at Ellis County Diagnostic and was also in our wedding. He’s a mess!
We also experienced our first bout with constipation during that first week. Did you know carrots can cause that? Well, since they have jarred carrots here (one of the 3 things I am willing to feed my baby) she was eating them everyday. Oh, about day 4 of no poopies I called my nurse friend who checked the internet for a remedy. Caro syrup… it works. I was pretty concerned so I asked her what to do if that didn’t work. “You have to go up there and get it out” ‘How?’ “With your finger” ‘Yikes! I’m not doing that to my baby – it will traumatize her!’ But when she strained and nothing came and she strained again and again and cried and curled her little lip I knew I had to help her. I remember my neighbor saying she used a thermometer and someone else saying they used a Q-tip. I chose to use a Q-tip and I helped her get some out. Gross, I know. When she poopied on her own the next day we had a little parade and Matt and I both wanted to change her. Now she takes a dose of apple juice everyday to keep things moving.
Being here with a baby makes things a lot different. Matt bought a bike, but since Gracie isn’t big enough to ride on the back we can’t go on rides together. I did borrow a bike from a friend and have been on one excursion across town. It is difficult not being able to go about freely. We take the baby out daily for lunch or dinner, and we plan to stroll around the campus today, but we can’t get around too quickly. Everyone wants to touch her – they play with her hands and of course she sticks them right into her mouth. A few people have taken her away from me, but I keep a pretty tight grasp on her. She is a magnet though and we know she will be key to us making new friends. Before it was easy to make friends who spoke English, the danger in that is that is what they usually want to do – speak English, when we really need to speak their language. Of course we are willing and happy to be friends with as many people as we can.
Oh, Grace can also sit alone now, although you have to get her into the sitting position. She is almost crawling too, she can get onto her knees and rock, but she only moves backward. We bought her a baby bed, her very first one, and as soon as we get the mattress situation solved she’ll be sleeping in it. I am sure she’ll be pulling up within a month as soon as she has something to hold on to. Are you wondering about the mattress? Well it has one, but it is just a board covered by a cute little piece of Pooh fabric. I bought an egg crate and cut it to size, but now the cover needs to be altered to fit. Our bed also had to be adjusted. The first few morning Matt and I would wake up and ask one another how the other slept. “Like a rock” More like on a rock. I will never understand why the Chinese like to sleep on such hard surfaces. I mean the mattress is brand new and it looks normal, but it feels like cement. The funny thing is that one of the corners had the mattress cover unzipped and folded down so one could see the inside – like it was super comfy or something. I guess it has some high quality filling?
Well, that is about it. We are hopefully going to be able to start classes this next week. We think Dora will be able to keep the baby, but we haven’t nailed that down yet. If not, we have another young lady in mind. I think that will work out ok.
I’ll try to make short updates about once a week or so… so come back for more.
Until then – Bless y’all! Jenny
P.S. – They don’t have any grits here! Or dryer sheets!!!
