Date Night

Last Friday, Alvin and I went on our first date by ourselves since Meliya was born. Alvin's mom has been super helpful with Meliya and she also has been pushing us to go out more and have a date. So last Friday, she announced that she wasn't going to provide any food for dinner, and that the two of us will have to go out for dinner. At first, we had a little of push back. Yet, after thinking it through, we finally planned out our date. We would go right after I fed her at night, and put her down for sleep. At night, she consistently can go for 2-3 hours without waking up, so we left for the date around 8:15. We went out for sushi where we really went overboard eating rolls. The people next to us at the bar even made comments that we went all out. We even gave the guy next to us some of our leftover sushi since we were full. At first I was a little nervous leaving Meliya at home, but as the time went along, we both started feeling better. We heard that new parents, when they go out, usually talk about the baby on the dates, so we tried not to talk just about Meliya (we also talked about Top Chef). We didn't even call home to check on the baby, because we knew that even if Meliya was crying, mom wouldn't tell us. We tried to find a fro yo place but two of the places we knew before closed down and one place was closed already at 9:55 at night. We got back at 10pm, and mom said Meliya never woke up. It turned out to be a fun night and we are very blessed to have a mom who would allow us to go on a date. Thanks Meliya for also letting us go out too!

Grandparents

We had a fun time going out to see my grandmother yesterday. My parents also were in town and Alvin's parents also came. Meliya had a fun time because she was surrounded by all her grandparents and even her great-grandma. So much love flowing around! (Thanks also to Carol for coming and taking the pictures!)

Dangerous

Today, we went took Meliya to the doctor for her 2 month checkup. The doctor said everything is fine, and then put her on her tummy.  She was able to lift up her neck and push up a little, which she just started doing yesterday.  The doctor said that was good, but it makes her "dangerous" because she could unexpectedly roll over anytime now even though she is young.  Alvin and I thought that was funny, and we started quoting, "I don't like you because you are dangerous."  Quiz: Where is this quote from?

We also told the doctor how Meliya is often gassy.  We often call Meliya the "gas man" and use the quote:
"Gas man. How the [heck] did they know that I got gas?" Extra imaginary points if you can name this quote too.

So Meliya is now 2 months old, weighs 12 lbs and 12 oz and is 23.5 inches.  Even though last month she figured out her days and nights, she is again trying to retackle that milestone.  She has been to four cities already and has been spoken to in many different languages. 

Food!

After being back for a couple days, I have had some good "American food."  Well the first night we had Chinese food, but over the last few days I had my Rubio's fish taco (unfortunately not on 1.99 Tuesday), a hamburger from The Counter, sushi, and Noah's bagel.  Mmm.  I was having some digestion problems the day we had sushi, so I didn't actually have any. 

I haven't had many other cravings for food.  We did get to a Trader Joe's and it was so fun.  Since Alvin and I don't eat pork out of respect for our Muslim friends in the city we live in, we had fun picking up some turkey bacon and chicken sausage.  Alvin really likes eating the candy cane Oreo's from Trader Joe's.  Delish!

As for jetlag, I was struck with it for 4 nights, only sleeping about 4 hours total from 4am.  Meliya and I would kind of stare at each other in the middle of the night since neither one of us were sleepy.  Yesterday, I was finally able to get some sleep, of course with some wakings from the baby.  She also was able to be tired at night.  Yeah!  Hopefully we are finally adjusting to the time zone. 

Back to the States, Jinx on Sleeping

We have arrived back to LA.  The plane trip was pretty uneventful, which is great when you have a newborn. She slept most of the flight and only had three short crying periods (two of them were in the beginning while the lights were still on.)

In Torrance and Palos Verdes, I sometimes forget I am not in China.  Yes it is a lot cleaner, and the cars actually allow you to cross the street first, but there are also a lot of Asians and Chinese writing around.  One difference is that when we went to a Japanese restaurant today, they had a sign that said, "Pray for Japan."  Oh, we are for sure not in China.

Of course, after you write about good sleeping, that night everything gets messed up.  The last few nights, she has been getting up 3-4 times a night.  Last night, she was going through some jet lag, at least I hope we can blame it on jet lag.  Let us hope she can go back to her great sleeping at night schedule.

Advantage of Waking Up in the Middle of the Night

The last two months Meliya has been waking up about 2 times in the middle of the night.  For more than a week she has been only waking up about once in the middle of the night.

I have been getting enough sleep, about 6-8 hours a day, of course not continuous though.  Although it isn't the funnest thing to get up in the middle of the night, I try to think about the positives regarding the nighttime waking.

First, it is private, quiet time for Meliya and me.  Alvin has already been super helpful during the day, and so the nighttime feedings are just Meliya and me.    As we sit there in the dark while she eats, I savor the time together (although sometimes we both fall asleep in the rocking chair for a little bit).

Second, the internet is fast in the middle of the night.  After I feed her, I will go check the computer for email and also Facebook now.  Facebook is usually slow to load up here at our house in the daytime, but super fast in the middle of the night.

Hmm, I feel like I should have a third reason, but I can't think of one right now.  After all, even though there are positives, in the end I hope one day there will be no more need for nighttime feedings.  Until then, I will try to think about the positives.

Packing

As of  yesterday, I started to pack. We won't be bringing back that many items, since we are borrowing some baby stuff from friends and family back home.  It is exciting to be heading back to the states.

I am a little scared about the plane ride.  I think Meliya will be sleeping most of the time, but lately she can be a fussy during nursing because she has too much gas and won't eat, but is really hungry.  Well, we will see how she will survive the 12 hour plane ride. 

4 more days until we head back ...

Thankful

It really seems like these last 8 weeks have been a total blur.  I think about how much Meliya has grown and changed even in just the last few weeks, and it makes me excited to think about what she'll be like a month from now or 3 months from now.

We find ourselves very thankful these days - not just because it's Thanksgiving season, but simply out of a reflection of where He has brought us over the last few years.  Transitioning to life overseas has, I would say, been quite smooth - we're thankful for His provision and for the strong support of our friends and family.  We're thankful for Meliya, and just for how everything worked out throughout Bethany's pregnancy leading up to Meliya's birth in Beijing.  I'm thankful for my wife - it's amazing to me how she is able to take care of Meliya tirelessly each day.


We're thankful for the chance to head back to the States for a bit to catch up with friends and family.  There is a little bit of trepidation because of the new experiences we'll be encountering (traveling with an infant, seeing if she'll sleep well in new and different surroundings).  But, if it means being able to eat good sushi and have faster internet that what we're getting these days, then it's well worth it to me.

Oh yes, and we're thankful that Meliya is learning to smile ever so slightly once in a while...

Two Bears

Here is Meliya with her friend bear.


Ok, this is a little wrong, but sometimes new parents need a little humor in their lives.  

Ready to be Back in the States

I am really excited to be back in the states.  We will be arriving back to LA around Dec. 1st and I already want to start packing.  Alvin keeps telling me that it is a little too early, so instead of packing I made a list of what to pack.

I can't wait to see friends and family.  I think I am excited to be mobile in a car, although I really enjoy walking to places now.  I am excited to go to a Target and to be able to be out in public without being yelled at for being outside with a young child.  (The other day some strangers told me I should go home because the baby is too young.)

Some friends have asked what foods will I enjoy eating when I get home.  Alvin says he really wants sushi.  I am torn between Rubio's Fish Taco or Noah's sundried tomato bagel with lox schmear.  Mmm.  I also look forward to eating fish at home.  Hmm, it looks like the theme is fish.  It is definitely hard to get fresh fish out here in the desert.

I also would like some fro-yo, but I have heard there are some new trends these days for Asian style desserts.  Any new foods you would recommend me to try?  If you were living out East for two and half years, what food would you crave?

Best Meliya Pictures from Day 44

Yes, we're becoming the kind of first-time parents who take pictures of their baby doing the absolute most meaningless things - "Look!  She's lying down!  How cute!" - and we shoot 80 pictures in a period of 3 minutes just to pull out that one split second when she was looking at the camera with an expression that might be interpreted as a faint smile.  And those pictures are pretty much the only ones that we post to the internet, so that everyone in the world says, "She's so adorable!  I just want to squeeze her cheeks!  How did you get her to smile like that?  Ahhh, so much hair!"

But oh well... Meliya is only 6 weeks old once.  So, here they are.  Enjoy.  :)

She is gaining weight and growing taller.  And in the last few days, she has begun making sounds other than those of crying or uncontrollable bodily functions.  She's starting to coo and say things like, "oooooh..."  When she's calm and alert, I can maybe get about a minute of dialogue with her where I make that sound and then she repeats it back to me (most of the time).  That minute has become one of the highlights of my day.

Each day goes by really quickly nowadays.  There's just quite a bit to do to keep a newborn continually well-fed, clean, and rested.  Our days are lived out in something like 3-hour cycles.  And before you know it, it's already past 9pm.

We have less than 3 weeks before we head back to the States for a bit.  It has been good getting into a routine over the past few weeks here - good for Meliya, and good for us.  But, we're about to see that routine get disrupted as we travel and then spend a few months in a much different place.  Nonetheless, we are excited to be back in the States for a bit, and we're excited to see our friends and family in person again (and for Meliya to be able to meet them all too!).

Anonymous Facebook Fan?

As some of you may know, I never was a big Facebook person.  Every few months I would go on just to check on the latest notifications. Recently though, some of you may have noticed my Facebook page has been consistently updated with pictures of Meliya.  The reason is because I have been hacked.  My husband, Mr. Anti-Facebook, now has interest in having the world see pictures of his daughter, so he has now logged on and started posting pictures.  The other day, I looked on the Facebook page and showed him a picture of one of our friend's new baby, and I said, "this is cute."  Alvin said to me, "yeah I know, you already said you 'liked' it online," implying that he clicked the "like it" comment to that picture.  Hacked!

Thank You Grandma

Today Grandma Lee left after helping out for almost a month.  She, along with Grandpa Lee, and Grandma and Grandpa Tang all were super helpful in Meliya's first month.  We didn't have to go in the kitchen even once, and the grandmas cooked wonderful meals.  Grandma Lee also was there to hold Meliya and even changed a couple of diapers (thanks Mom!).  Meliya even gave Grandma Lee a souvenir all over her pants when Meliya decided to burst out of  her diaper. 

We really don't know how we are going to survive without the grandparents help.  Thank you so much!  We love you!

Colic Hold

Right now, we don't suspect that Meliya has colic, but we do know that she is very gassy. One thing that Alvin enjoys doing is getting her gas out either by laying her across his lap and patting her back, pumping her legs, or holding her in what parenting books call the colic hold (see picture below). It is funny how we all get so excited when she farts. Good job gassy!

Halloween Party

Meliya went to her first Halloween party over the weekend. Unfortunately, her parents were too busy trying to keep their heads above the water, they didn't prepare her a costume. She went to the party as a baby.

During the party, even though there was chaos, she decided to take a nap in people's arms.
Here she is before her nap:

One Month

On Oct. 30th, Meliya turned one month old. In one month, she has lived in two different cities. She weighs 9 lbs 4 ounces as of last Thursday. She likes to drink mother's milk and her newest milestone is that she has figured out her days and nights. Let us hope she doesn't revert back to her old schedule though.

She sometimes is a little gassy and really likes to poo, esp. in the morning. She can sleep through white noise, esp. jack hammers next door (neighbors doing renovations) during the day; this is when she does sleep in the daytime. She has a strong set of lungs, so maybe she will be a singer one day.

First Four Weeks

Meliya will be a month old in a day. The time really has gone fast. Sometimes though, when she is crying and not going down for a nap, I struggle with "am I going to make it?" It reminds me of when I was first learning how to drive, and I was having a hard time. I would watch other drivers and think, "wow, so many people know how to drive, why is it so hard for me?" It is funny; these days, when I see an older person on tv, I think, "look, they made it from baby to old person." Yes, I know the logic doesn't make any sense. I guess I should look more at other mothers and think, "hey, they have 2+ kids, and they made it, I can make it too." Right now, all I am thinking is, "why would you want 2+ kids?"

She's Asleep

It is an incredible feeling you get when the baby goes down for a nap. I think, "ok, I have 10 min to 2 hours to do things around the house." Good thing I have been only having small goals (ie. reply to email, blog, eat lunch, read). I gave myself to Monday to do these things (I guess I would have had to eat some more meals in between too), but was able to do it since she has slept for an hour.

Yeah!

Sanity Time

One piece of advice I received from my sister-in-law was that I should take some time for myself. She recommended to take a shower (and since I am not doing the yuezi, I have been partaking) to get some "me" time.

This advice has been invaluable. At night, when the baby is crying, I ask Alvin to just take over for the next 30 minutes, and then I take a shower. In the shower, I can't hear any crying, and am always surprised when I come out and then re-hear the loving noises of my daughter.

Do you have any other good advice to keep the sanity for both mom and dad?

Not Doing the "Yuezi"

In this country, new mothers do the "yuezi." This is a month long time whether the mother and baby must adhere to strict rules. I don't know all the rules, but I have heard some.

1) The mother and baby can not leave the house for one month after the baby is born so no one gets sick.
2) The mother cannot eat/drink any cold things or the mother will get lifelong diarrhea.
3) The mother and baby must wear warm clothes all the time.
4) The mother must drink soups such as chicken, lamb, fish, beef, soup.
5) The mother cannot take a shower and definitely cannot wash her hair.

Well officially I have been outside already about 7 times, I ate ice cream the other day, I am sitting around the house right now without socks, and I really enjoy my shower time.

When I got back to our city, I knew I only had one week before "yuezi" was over. I thought I could endure by not going out, but after two days I got stir-crazy. The whole family took a walk, where we were approached by a women who screamed that this baby is only three weeks old and shouldn't be out of the house. Still, the exit out of the house was much needed.

The sad part is that I heard that although the name officially means "one month," I heard that the proper time is actually 100 days for baby and mom. No way, we would all go crazy.

Getting to Sleep

We're all a little short on sleep these days.

We're new to this parenting thing.  Our friends who are veteran parents probably read our blog posts and think, "Heh heh, maybe they'll figure it out someday."  Our friends who are not parents probably think, "When will these people finally write a post about something other than Meliya already?"

These last 3 weeks have been filled with lots of joyful moments and lots of frustrating ones.  The joyful moments come throughout the day at various times.  The frustrating ones... have usually been sometime between midnight and 3am.  But as much as I've been tired and frustrated in the middle of the night trying to understand why in the world Meliya is crying instead of sleeping, or sleeping instead of eating... when I see her in the morning and watch her wake up and stretch, I tend to forget the frustrations from the night before.

First Two Weeks + 4 Days

It has been two weeks and 4 days, and things are going ok. She nurses very well, and she is gaining weight. She also sleeps very well, except that there is a period of 1-3 hours where she is active/fussy. The last few days, unfortunately, it was in the middle of the night. I am convinced she has her days and nights confused, and so we are trying really hard to give her some wake time during the day. But she seems so sleepy in the daytime.

The first two weeks actually were a surprise to me. I was so focused on reading about breastfeeding, that I didn't think about how we would react to the baby's sleeping and crying. I felt a little numb the first week we got back from the hospital. After two weeks, I felt like I finally snapped out of it. I still don't know the "right" thing to do for each of her reactions, but emotionally I feel a lot better. I am trying to enjoy my moments with Meliya because I know that she will grow up fast.

Meliya's First Starbucks

I'm sure everyone was expecting that this picture (and event) would come about sooner or later.  So, here it is.  Daddy is drinking a vanilla latte.  Baby already finished her beverage of choice just before coming in, so we didn't order her anything.

In the last few days, we've tried to take Meliya out for a short walk each day - just to get us all outside for a change, and to get Meliya some sun.  On Monday, we had to bring Meliya to the hospital, too, to get her weighed and checked by the pediatrician.

And so, Monday was a day of many firsts.  We took Meliya to a tex-mex restaurant.  She saw the peds wing of the hospital for the first time.  She had her first Starbucks experience (well, her first one outside of the womb).  And she rode on a bus for the first time.  Granted, she was asleep in the sling for pretty much all of these first-time events.  But it's alright... when she's old enough, we'll tell her about what a fun outing we had.

Let There Be No Illusions

Meliya has her moments...

Meliya is adorable.  I think she is so cute, especially when she is stretching out her little arms and legs right after waking up and being unwrapped from her swaddling blanket.  She's cute when she has finished eating and I'm burping her, and she's half-asleep but still looking around for something to suck on.  She's cute when she has her 15 minutes of alert time right before sleeping, when her eyes are wide open and she's looking curiously at all the new things around her.

But, let there be no illusions.  Meliya has moments of extreme un-cuteness.  Incredibly, unmistakably, downright un-cuteness.  Parenting has been a blast so far, but maybe about once a day or so I am dealing with my daughter when she looks a lot like she does in the picture above.  Meliya... has got a strong pair of lungs.  This girl can really cry.  She's not a screamer, so it's not high-pitched.  But she can be quite loud.  And quite persistent.  And quite irrational.

Sometimes she works herself into such a frenzy by crying that I'm sure that she's already forgotten the original reason why she started crying in the first place.  Yes, her diaper needed changing, so she cried out.  But, even after I've changed her diaper... she keeps crying!  It takes me 5 more minutes of speaking very calmly (and exercising a lot of patience) to convince my daughter that, if she would just stop crying and take notice for a second, she'd realize that she's got a fresh diaper on now.  It's hard to talk rationally to someone who is yelling in your face.  I can hardly get a word in.

But, for all those moments of un-cuteness, I'm pretty sure that Meliya's cuteness prevails.  The ratio of un-cute to cute is pretty well reflected by the number of un-cute pictures we've posted so far (1) compared with the number of cute pictures we've posted (all the others).  Nonetheless, I needed to make sure that the world got a balanced perspective.  Being Meliya's parents... has its moments.

Hospital Stay

We stayed in the hospital for 5 nights, not including the night we came in for labor. The midwives, nurses, and doctors were great. They pretty much spoke to us in Chinese, but some of them would use English if needed. They also had incentives at this hospital if you give birth there. They gave us a car seat/stroller, a free coupon for a manicure or pedicure, a baby towel, took a family portrait, and a candlelight dinner for the mom and dad during the hospital stay. On our last night, Alvin and I had our candlelight dinner which included steak and sparkling apple cider. We really enjoyed that time together even as I was dressed in a hospital outfit in our delivery room.

They also provided meals for the mother. It was pretty good hospital food, and the best was that they had sushi. Mmm, sushi.

Family Portrait from the Hospital

Grandparents with Meliya

Meliya had the wonderful experience of meeting both sets of grandparents.

Meliya with Alvin's parents:



Meliya with Bethany's parents:



Meliya with both sets:

Labor Days (2/2)

Meliya at 1 Week Old

On Thursday night, we arrived to the hospital at 11:30PM and they hooked me up to a fetal monitor. The monitor said that I was having intense contractions at 2 minutes apart, lasting for a minute and a half or more. The doctor also took one look at my two bump belly and said I had urine retention. That means my bottom bump was a sack of urine just building up. Alvin and I are kicking ourselves for not taking a picture, because although at that time it was completely painful, looking back it was really funny looking. The doctor then announced I was ready to be admitted. First thing I asked them to do was hook me up to a catheter and slowly the bottom bump went away.

So the next step was for the midwife to check how dilated I was. The dilation could range from 0-10cm, 10 cm being fully dilated. Since I didn't think I was ready to be admitted to the hospital because of the contractions, Alvin and I were expecting to be around 3 cm. I remember telling Alvin, if I really am at 3cm and I was in that much pain, then shoot me up with an epidural.

We were shocked when the midwife said, "you are fully dilated, you can start pushing now." Since I was already pushing, I wasn't allowed to have an epidural. But it was ok, since when they told me I was dilated, I no longer felt any pain and felt exhilarated. We pushed for 3 hours, and there were times when the baby's head started poking out. And then, "she got stuck!"

The doctor came in to give me an evaluation. He measured my pelvic bone and then looked at the most recent ultrasound for the head size of the baby. According to the doctor, he was 90% sure that the baby was not going to fit. I had a very small pelvic bone opening. His recommendation was that I have a c-section. Originally, Alvin and I really did not want to have a c-section. It has been a couple months where I pictured my perfect birth plan and it never included a c-section. Some of the reasons included being able to be with the baby right away and having the baby and mom alert right after the birth.

But as the doctor shared the news, I think both of us decided to follow his advice. They gave me a shot of epidural, and then immediately proceeded with the surgery. After an hour, Meliya was born at 6:11am.

I have had some time to think about the c-section and how I feel about everything. In the end, I actually feel like I have had the best of both worlds. I was fully able to experience a vaginal labor up until crowning, and then I was able to have a healthy delivery through a c-section. In the end, although I didn't get to hold the baby right way, it was only 45 minutes after she was born that I was able to hold her and breastfeed her. She and I were both pretty alert right after the birth, and although she was sleepy the next couple days after, but I heard that is normal with newborns.

Later on I found out that because of the small pelvic bone, that was probably the reason that I had urine retention and the reason I had such a prolonged labor. Although it was hard having labor for 5 days, and then finally having a c-section, I am thankful in the end everyone is healthy.

I have to thank Alvin for being a great coach that whole week. He gave me about 70+ back rubs, told me 10+ times I was doing a great job, and even held the tub while I was vomiting while pushing. Thanks Alvin, I love you.

Labor Days (Part 1/2)

The labor story is actually pretty long, well because the labor was pretty long. As I found out later, I was going through a prolonged labor that was a result of my small pelvic opening, which later resulted finally in a Caesarean.

On Sunday, Sept. 23, Day 1 of labor, I started contractions. They were coming at about 5 minutes apart, but only last 30 seconds, and they were not very painful. When the contractions started, we were really excited that today might be the day. By nighttime, the contractions were not increasing so we both went to sleep.

Monday, Day 2 of labor, the contractions continued. Alvin and I woke up and started taking walks. We walked about 2 hours on Day 2 to try to make labor go faster. The contractions were now 7 minutes apart, lasting for a minute, and continuing all day. Yet, by the recommendation of our doctor, we were not supposed to come in until the contractions were 5 minutes apart, lasting for a minute, continuous for more than an hour.

Tuesday, Day 3, the contractions continued. On this day we walked for 3 hours, but there was not much of an increase.

Wednesday, Day 4, the contractions continued. We went to the hospital to do something, and so we ended up having them hook me up to a fetal monitor. According to the doctor, some of the contractions were very strong, and some of them were just ok. Disappointingly, we went home. That day, I tried not to think about the contractions. I almost felt like if I ignored them, they didn't hurt. All of this positive thinking changed that night. That night the contractions got really intense. Yet, I didn't believe that it was enough to get admitted in the hospital. I was still counting at about 7 minutes apart, but the pain was starting to get very intense. Before, when I would have contractions, a shower would help ease the pain. Soon a shower didn't help, and I also started noticing that I couldn't pee. I actually couldn't pee very well since Day 1 of labor, but by Day 4, nothing came out all day, and I had extreme back pain. It even hurt to sit. Yet, since the contractions were still far apart, we stayed home.

On Thursday, Day 5, the pain became intense. I could hardly walk. That night, even sitting on my bum hurt. So for four hours, I sat in "Child's pose" doing breathing exercises. I told myself not to move at all, because every time I moved, I would want to pee which I couldn't do because of the pain. The contractions were still about 7 minutes apart, lasting for 1 minute and a half, and they were very intense. I wasn't sure we should go to the hospital, but when I went to the bathroom, I asked Alvin to come in too, and after he saw how much pain it was for me to try to pee, we decided to go to the hospital. There also was this weird phenomenon. My pregnant belly started looking like a huge kidney bean. Instead of one big belly, I had a bump on top, another bump on the bottom and a dip in between. We weren't sure what was happening, so we packed up and went to the hospital.

(story continues tomorrow)

My Girls

One of the most frequent comments we've received - from friends, family, nurses - is just how much hair Meliya has right at birth. Yeah, I guess it is quite a bit of hair. We're just leaving it, though, to do its own mohawk thing. And we think her head might be a bit big too... every little hat we put on her seems to shoot off the top of her head within a few minutes.

I shot this picture earlier today during one of Meliya's 10-minute alert times. She enjoyed lying next to mommy just to watch her.

Meliya Comes to China

And so... we are parents. Our baby girl, Meliya (rhymes with Maria), was born on Friday morning. The doctors say that everything looks good, for her and for Bethany. We're thankful that everyone is healthy and well.

Our parenting journey now begins. The last 60 hours have been about learning rhythms. For these first few weeks, it seems that daily (and nightly) life for us will be viewed in terms of 2.5 hour blocks - sleeping, waking, feeding, changing. This has been tiring for us so far, of course, because it's all so new. But not overwhelming or discouraging, and for that we are also thankful.

So far, Meliya has been absolutely adorable. She doesn't open her eyes much, except for maybe 10 minutes of alert time near the end of each 2.5 hour cycle. These precious few minutes give us some time to interact with her, study her, and just look at her in wonder.

39 Weeks and One Day

Yesterday, we went to the doctor for our 39 week check-up. The doctor said everything is good, and she looked to see if she can tell when the baby is coming. She said that there was slight dilation and she gives it a 50% chance that the baby will come this week. At first, I thought, "wait, that isn't saying much since most likely the baby will come in the next two weeks anyway." But the doctor did say that sometimes she looks at other women, and there is no chance that the baby is coming that week. So at least there is a chance.

She recommends walking. I am taking it to heart and will increase my walks. I walked an hour and a half today, maybe I will walk 2 hours tomorrow.

Here's a picture of us at 39 weeks:

The Waddle

I have been trying to walk at least an hour each day, to get some exercise and the rumor is that it could help get labor started.

Lately, I have been getting a lot of stares on the street. Sometimes I get a person giving me a double, triple take. I think, maybe I am very big. I often don't feel big, but by the stares, I assume that usually someone this pregnant is not out on the streets. Everyday, I get at least one comment from a passerby-er. They usually range from, "look at her, she is very big," or "look how pointy she is."

I have been pretty proud that I haven't been doing the "pregnant woman waddle" and am able to walk "normally." But today, while I was walking, I got this weird "twinge" in my lower back. It wasn't pain so much, but a twinge in my muscle. I couldn't walk normally for a little bit without aggravating it, but I discovered that if I shuffled my feet and put my upper body forward, it didn't hurt when I walked. Yet, as I caught my reflection in windows, I knew I looked really silly. Also, it would have taken me a while to get home. The twinge would come and go, and then I discovered it: it doesn't hurt at all if you spread your legs wide and do the pregnant woman waddle. I looked like a cowboy walking into a western saloon ready for my shootout.

After my walk, the twinge went away after the walk, but I will use this technique again tomorrow if it returns.

38 Weeks Pictures

No news yet to report, but we have some pictures of us at 38 weeks. Tomorrow we will be at 39 weeks, so we will try to take pictures then too (that is if the baby has not come yet.)



We went to visit some friends that went to the Ikea in this city. This is us goofing off as we were waiting.

Harry Potter 哈利 • 波特

I went and bought my next Chinese reading book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I am currently on chapter 5 out of 17, but it takes me a lot longer to read a chapter in this book than from Chronicles. It is quite fun to read the book since I am a big fan of the English books. One thing I noticed is that I do catch different details when reading in Chinese. I must have skimmed through some of the details in English because I couldn’t wait to read what happens next. In Chinese, I am reading and contemplating each word more slowly, but absorbing more of the details.

There are some practical words I have learned through reading the first few chapters:
For example, I learned the word for “owl” 猫头鹰, “scar” 伤疤， and “lightning” 闪电.

I also have learned non-practical words such as “muggle” 麻瓜 (pronounced ma2gua1).

The funniest part is when they use a name because it just turns out to be a lot of characters that make it sound like the name. For example, Harry Potter is ha1 li4 bo1 te4.

So here is my Potter quiz: Figure out the English name for the following pinyin. (I left out the tone marks.)
1) A bu si Deng bu li duo
2) Fu de mo
3) Huo ge wo ci

While We Wait

Well, we've been in Beijing for about 3 1/2 weeks now. In that time, Bethany has been to the doctor for regular weekly check-ups. Everything is looking good so far. The only major unknown is when the baby will come. In a very Chinese fashion, the baby hasn't called or e-mailed to tell us a few weeks in advance exactly what day she'll arrive. Most likely, she'll probably just let us know on the day of. "Hi! I'm coming to the city tonight. Drop whatever else you have planned, and let's have dinner!"

And so, we have very little planned each day, besides waiting, resting, reading, and enjoying our hobbies. What hobbies, you say? Well, besides drinking coffee at Starbucks (mine), looking for rice porridge restaurants (Bethany's), and being on the computer (mine again)... we've decided to use this time to keep up our music skills.

We don't have a piano where we live. But we both love playing the piano. So, we found a piano center down the street that gives lessons, sells pianos, and - most importantly - has piano practice rooms which you can use by the hour. 10 RMB (USD $1.50) per hour. And so, since we found this place a few days ago, we've each been practicing an hour of piano a day. We might just do this every day until the baby arrives. The last time I practiced piano for an hour a day, 3 days in a row was... when I was taking lessons 20+ years ago. And I'm not even so sure that I ever did 3 days in a row back when I was taking lessons.

Having access to a piano has been so nice.

But in addition... I have also missed my erhu dearly. Figuring we would have much to carry - here and back - I decided against bringing my erhu, which means no erhu practice for 6+ weeks. Well, as of last week, I could take it no longer. So... we also found another place in town that sells and rents erhus. And I rented one for a month, for about USD $20. It's an ok erhu, but at least it allows me to keep it up while we're out here. I'm pretty sure that baby has missed hearing the erhu too.

Obsession: Rice Porridge

The place Alvin and I are subletting is conveniently sandwiched between at least 4 rice porridge places. Many of them are 24 hours and they serve rice porridge, Chinese breakfast items, and in the afternoon and night, noodles.

The porridge is very good. As the days are getting colder, I wake up and really would like some rice porridge. I have already tried two of the places already, but I talk about it a lot. I even dreamt that as I was eating the rice porridge, labor was starting. The next morning I went to eat the porridge, and nothing started.

One of the places, if you go in the morning, is all you can eat porridge for 2.5 RMB, which is a little less than 50 cents. They have quite a selection of porridge, but our favorite is the chicken and mushroom. I also like the vegetable one; it makes the porridge green.

Eavesdropping

Since most people here can't tell I am a foreigner just from my looks, the people around me don't curtail their conversations thinking I am foreign. Therefore, over the last two years, I have heard some pretty funny observations about foreigners.

At the hospital in our small city, a nurse ran in and reported to another nurse what the foreigners ate at the restaurant she went to: "They had spaghetti and ice cream." The other nurse thought that was very interesting information. Since our city is very small and we recognize most of the foreigners, my question in my head was, "oh which one of my friends had spaghetti and ice cream. I wish they invited me?"

Another time, I overheard a girl tell her boyfriend that foreign guys are better looking than Chinese guys. The boyfriend kept disagreeing. He said, "some are good looking, but some of them are a little obese."

And the funniest conversation was when a girl was comparing two American movie stars in looks: Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise. The guy she was talking to didn't have much opinion, but this girl was very contemplative and brought up the adherents for each star. But, really?? Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise are not even on the same scale. Hmm, ok, so just in case I ever run into this girl again, I can tell her what the blogging audience thinks: So, who is handsomer, Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise?

Happy Programmer's Day!

September 13th is Programmer's Day. Yes, this is a rather new "holiday" - and really, it is only officially recognized in Russia right now. It is celebrated on the 256th day of each year.

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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

One of the projects I was trying to do while waiting is to finish a book in Chinese.

So after 15 days, I finished my first book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I read a chapter or two a day, and spent from 30 minutes to an hour reading a chapter. Most people, could read a chapter in their native language in less than 10 minutes. I tried to read it extensive reading style, so I didn't check up any words unless it kept repeating itself. I pretty much understood the book, but it helped that I have read it in English before. Also, since it was a children's book, it was easier to understand.

This week, I think I will stop by a bookstore and pick out my next project. Maybe Harry Potter in Chinese?

Waiting

This next month, Alvin and I are in the country's capital waiting for the arrival of the baby. We had to get here so early because after 35 weeks pregnant, we are not allowed to fly. (We did have a little bit of a scare when we were flying out at 34 and 6 days. Even with a doctor's note, the gate agents almost didn't allow us to fly.) I think we cut it just a little too close for comfort.

When we first arrived, we were sharing a place with some friends who just had a baby. They live in the same city as us, and they also just came to the capital to have a baby. We spent most of the week studying, going to Starbucks, and cooking for us and our friends. Alvin and I were in charge of almost all the lunches and dinner, and I would say everyone was pretty much fed in the end (even the baby, but not by my food).

After our friends left, we have been focusing on studying here. We also have been reading a lot, taking walks, and watching some movies from the people we are subletting from. Basically, we are waiting.

So here is a picture of me waiting around. Sometimes it look like I shoved a basketball under my shirt:

1 Against 20+

Back at 20 weeks of pregnancy, the ultrasound technician at the international hospital, very assuredly told Alvin and me that we were having a girl. We even expressed suspicion, but he said, look, "here is one leg, and here is the other." The implication was that there was nothing in between.

Yet, the Chinese saying is that if the pregnant belly is "pointy" or "triangular" or "only centered in the front," then the baby will be a boy. I have heard that I was having a boy ever since I started showing.

These days, even strangers will walk by me and say, "wow, how distinct! It is for sure going to be a boy." Local friends do not believe that I could be having a girl. Friends actually pulled up my shirt, and one of them said, after looking at my belly, "no, it has to be a boy."

I have never had a single Chinese person tell me it is going to be a girl. As I look at all the clothes that have been given to us or passed down, sometimes I get worried if it turns out to be a boy. Well, game on. Let us see who is right: the one lab technician or the Chinese women.

Aw-k-ward

Alvin and I decided to go out to a rice restaurant right outside our apartment the other day. We saw that it might rain, so we brought our umbrella. It hardly rains in this city except very rarely in August.

When we left our building, it was lightly raining. In one minute, the weather changed to pouring. It was a little windy, so our pants were getting soaked. We were only about 5 minute walk away from our apartment, but we went for the first shelter, the atm area at the bank. This atm area is indoors and is a small room that can fit about 10 people.

This room already had about 6 people in it waiting out the rain. Alvin and I were in the back of the room, while everyone else was at the glass door looking out. As we were waiting, another guy runs into the room. A girl, who was already there, starts telling him that he didn't have to come. They were talking for about 5 minutes, but then I noticed that the crowd around them started backing away. I didn't think much about it, but 30 seconds later, the girl bursts. At first you didn't notice, but then she starts getting louder and louder, and she starts shaking because she is crying uncontrollably. She was actually very loud.

What I gathered from her monologue is that she just broke up with her boyfriend, (not the guy that was there), and her mom is mad at her. The whole place is silent, and we are all pretending we are unaware what is happening, but honestly we are all stuck in a cramped room, and this lady is not being private about her private life. Very aw-k-ward. The guy, not knowing what to do, and probably aware that everyone is feeling awkward, is just patting her shoulder. More aw-k-ward.

This situation lasted for five minutes, and then the rain subsided a little. Alvin and I took that time to escape from the awkwardness and run out to dinner. We both had a little laugh at the weird situation.

Split Pants

I have gotten one present from the butcher's wife here, one of my local friends. She has officially given my baby his/her first pair of split pants. She gave me four of them.

My question is, which side is the front? Do you think it is the pair on the right or the pair on the left that is supposed to face the front?

Ex-Pat Baby Shower

Last month, some ex-pats threw three of the pregnant foreign women a baby shower. It was fun, and very pretty. I also found out from many of the non-American attendees, that they have never been to or seen a baby shower before. We played some silly games, ate food,and opened presents. The three pregnant women basically received diapers, wipes, and lots and lots of Johnson's baby shampoo (since they sell that at our local grocery market). The big topic of conversation was where to find suitable diapers and which brand here is the best. They do have Pampers here, but what I found out is that not all Pampers diaper styles are created equal.

Thanks to all the hosts and for letting me attend my first international baby shower.

Internet Paradise

A friend just moved into the apartment near us, and was asking us how the internet speed is in the complex. He moved from 10 minutes away, and his internet used to be slow. He asked, "can you stream videos here?" Alvin and I laughed, "haha, stream video, yeah right!" You see, if we were to stream an hour video from YouTube or Hulu, it would take 4-6 hours to watch that show. We laughed all the way when we walked back home.

But then we thought, "oh wait, is there a place in the world where people can actually stream video without it buffering every 5 seconds? It must be paradise"

Pregnancy No-Niu (Chinese word for cow)

A couple weeks ago, I found out another pregnancy rule. Pregnant women should not see pregnant cows. The sight of a pregnant cow will take away the woman's ability to produce milk.

This would not be a rule that you need to remember often, but it just so happened that I was out in the countryside and I met a pregnant cow. The owner of the cow quickly ran outside and informed me that I needed to go inside because this cow was pregnant. My friend then explained the rule.

Hmm, I did not know that. So here is the picture of the pregnant cow.

Warning! If you are pregnant, look at this picture at your own risk.

Surprise Skype Baby Shower

On Saturday morning, Alvin and I had a scheduled Skype call with a friend in Los Angeles. As we started talking to my friend, all of a sudden Alvin hands me an invitation. It was an invitation to my surprise Skype baby shower. Six of my girlfriends in LA gathered together at my friend's house to throw a shower for me. They have been arranging with Alvin the logistics and sent a couple of packages. So Alvin led me into the baby room where he set up a display of food and decorations. The girlfriends sent the same food and decorations they were having at their party. They also sent some presents and so I had the opportunity to talk with each girl individually as I opened their present.

It was very touching and thoughtful; as I ate the dips and popcorn, I felt like I was there at the party. I really enjoyed the time with the girlfriends and it was an extra special time with them all.

School Project

Sometimes as foreign students, we get asked to do random things which, possibly because of the language barrier, we unwittingly agree to do. About two weeks ago, I got asked by our school administrators to learn to play and sing a song in Chinese to represent our school of international students. I agreed.

Later, I found out that the song needed to be recorded and shot on video, and that the video would be submitted to some national talent competition for schools with international students, showing off these students' embrace and learning of Chinese culture. Some show off their Chinese calligraphy. Others read Chinese poetry. Some perform classical Beijing opera.

But for me and one of my classmates here at the school... we decided we would cover a popular song by Jay Chou. Jay Chou, if you don't know, is super-popular in China. He recently also starred as Kato in The Green Hornet.

So here it is. 简单爱 ("Simple Love") by Jay Chou:



If you're interested in the lyrics translated, the Jay Chou Lyrics Blog has them. Personally, I think the lyrics seem a bit strange when translated into English. ("I want to watch baseball with you" and "I want to take you to my grandma's house" for some reason sound perfectly fine in Chinese, but sound kind of hokey in English)

Oh yeah, if our competition entry gets selected for the next round, we apparently get to perform live on some stage in Beijing. I'll keep you posted, but I think it's highly unlikely.

Rules I Have Heard for Pregnant Women

Now that I am showing more, I have gotten a lot of advice and Chinese words of wisdom for pregnant women.

Here are some clips of this "factual" advice I have gotten from Chinese people. Some of them make some sense, some of them are a little ... different.

-If you crave sour, you are having a boy, if you crave spicy you are having a girl.
-If your stomach is pointier, then you are having a boy. (Funny, I am craving spicy and according to Chinese people, my stomach is pointy.)
-Do not wear tight clothes, it hurts the baby. This includes stretchy shirts.
-Do not go down the stairs with your cell phone.
- No eating, drinking anything cold. This esp. means ice cream.
- Do not cross your legs.
- Do not wear your contact lenses.
- If you drink a lot of milk, your child will have white skin.
- If you eat things with black sesame or seaweed, your child will have very black hair (which is considered good).
- The best way to get calcium is to eat lamb soup. I asked, "how about drink milk?" The response was, "if you are not allergic to it, then milk won't hurt."
- Do not play ping pong, volleyball, bike, etc. The only thing you can do is walk.
- Eat winter melon and eggs, it is good for the body.

What funny pregnant advice/words of wisdom have you heard before?

"Gnocchi" and Cauliflower

This was another set of recipe I gave my friend who was cooking for his pregnant wife. We tried out the gnocchi recipe together and served it to his wife and Alvin. I have to confess it is only ok, I liked it when I was first learning how to cook western food. It is a recipe I got from Rachel Ray and tweaked it. If you guys try out any of the recipes, let me know how it goes.

Main Menu: “Gnocchi”
Side: Roasted cauliflower
Serves 4

Ingredients:
8 slices day old bread, chopped into bite size pieces
3 T olive oil
2 T butter, cut into pieces
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups tomato sauce
2 small plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Directions:
1) Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
2) Add olive oil, butter, and garlic to the skillet.
3) Add bread and season with a little salt and pepper.
4) Toss and cook the bread until brown, feels a little hard.
5) Add tomato sauce and the fresh tomatoes.
6) Turn to coat and cook for 2 minutes.
7) Top with basil and cheese. Turn off heat.
8) Serve on skillet, no need to transfer onto a plate.




Roasted cauliflower
Serves 2
Ingredients:
½ of a cauliflower, cut in ½ inch slices
2 T of olive oil

Directions:
1) Put cauliflower in oven safe pan; lay each piece flat on the pan without covering over other pieces.
2) Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F).
3) Drizzle olive oil over the cauliflower
4) Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper over chicken
5) Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender. Halfway through the baking, mix up the cauliflower to prevent burning.

Alvin, Ping Pong Silver Medalist

At our international school, we had an official school ping pong tournament. It was a singles tournament separated by gender and only international students could compete. There was about 20 guys entered, and 4 girls entered.

Alvin placed second in the tournament, but we laugh about it because he was clearly not deserving of such a high prize. It was that he was in a easier bracket. The winner deserved the prize because by himself he eliminated all the best players in the tournament.

Alvin first played against a guy from Kyrgyzstan. Alvin won 2 rounds to 0. Next Alvin played against another guy from Kyrgyzstan. He won, 2-1. In round 3, Alvin played against the lone Algerian representative. This guy was very good and Alvin barely squeaked by winning 2-1. In the finals, Alvin was playing against the representative from Mexico. Alvin lost 0-2. In round two against the guy, Alvin didn't even score any points. The guy he played against was very zen like; he didn't even break a sweat while playing.

Therefore, the final results by country for the men:
3rd place: Sudan
2nd place: USA
1st place: Mexico

Final results for women:
3rd place: Kyrgyzstan
2nd place: USA
1st place: Holland

Every participant received a set of markers. 1st place winners received a set with 24 markers, second and third place winners received a set with 18 markers, and all other participants got a set with 12 markers. The next day, I was talking with the Korean girl who received fourth place and she sadly commented, "did your husband get 18 markers, I only got 12." Oh, sorry about that.

Here is Alvin with his prize:

Farmers for a Day

Well, actually we were only farmers for an hour, and then we got kicked off the job.

Last week, Alvin and I stayed with our friend at a nearby country village. It is about 6 hours away from our house, up near the mountains. We stayed at our friend's parent's house. In this small village, all her neighbors were here relatives.

The community grows goji berries. They have acres of just goji berry trees. During our stay, our friend took us to help out in their field pruning the trees. Unfortunately, after an hour, her mom told us that our services were no longer needed.



The people in her village were very hospitable. One morning, we were invited to and had three lunches at different people's homes. The food was very good, the scenery beautiful, and we learned a lot about Chinese villages.

Conversation Expectations

We have learned quite a few things since moving overseas 2 years ago (that's right - yesterday marked the 2-year point of our arrival to this country). One of the things we have learned is how awkward-but-must-have conversations are to be conducted here. Learning this has helped us to have good expectations, preserve relationships, and avoid frustration.

What is an awkward-but-must-have conversation? Something like... discussing with your landlady about renewing your apartment lease for a year, and negotiating the rent for the coming year. That's the conversation that I had tonight.

In the States, there would probably be no conversation. You would get a notice on your door (or maybe an e-mail) that says, "Your annual lease will be expiring in 30 days. You are hereby notified that, if you would like renew your lease for the coming 12 months, your rent will increase by 14%. Please notify the property manager if you would like to renew your lease, or give proper notice of your intent to vacate your apartment. Thank you." There... that only took 2 minutes to read. Everything black and white. Choices are clear. Move along.

It's not like that here. Instead, it starts like this...

Two weeks ago, I run into my landlady while walking home. I say, "Oh, by the way, our lease is about to be up! We should talk with you sometime about renting for the coming year!" She says, "Oh yeah, that's right. Well, when the time comes, we'll talk." (Literally, she says, 到时候我们再说吧, which means, "When the time comes, we'll talk.")

Then a few days ago, I say, "Wow, look at that... the time has come! We should talk!" She says, "Ok, we'll connect sometime next week."

Then today she calls me and says, "Did you want to talk about renting for the coming year?" I say, "That sounds like a good idea. Thanks for bringing it up! Sure, let's talk!" She says, "Ok, come on over to our home tonight after dinner."

By now, we have had three conversations about the rent, but we have also had zero conversations about the rent. Tonight's conversation, at her home with her and husband... this would be the conversation. And I knew to set aside at least 90 minutes for this conversation.

I go over to their home. We all know why I'm there. We all know what we're gathering to talk about. But, we do not get right to the point. That's not how things work here. If I walked in and said, "Alright... so, let's talk rent..." - that would be awkward and disrespectful. What's more important is the relationship we have with each other, not how much rent they're going to charge. So, I sit. We talk.

We talk about where we all traveled during May 1st holiday. We talk about whether we're going to travel for the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival Holiday. We talk about how work is going, how the business registration process is going. We talk about looking for office space. We talk about how office space is a lot cheaper on this side of town. We talk about how everything seems to be getting more expensive these days. We talk about their daughter. We talk about how much homework she has. We talk about how learning Chinese can be pretty difficult at times for us.

We talk about a lot of things, but we all know what I'm there to talk about.

After about 40 minutes of chit-chat, my landlady says, "Oh... so, about the rent..." And then they refer back to the part about everything getting more expensive these days. They say that they did some calculations, and rent is going to have to go up this year. Up by 7.8%. "Oh, I see. Hmm...," I say. No quick answer. No visible reaction from me one way or the other. It is not yet time to end this conversation. So, we talk more.

We talk about the other apartments they're renting out, and how much rent has gone up or will go up for those apartments. We talk about how much the rent increase was for us last year (13.3%). We talk about the baby that's on the way. We talk about whether it's more of a financial burden to raise a boy or a girl in this country. We talk about the benefits of renting a home instead of buying.

My landlady goes to the fridge to bring out a bag of bamboo-leaf wrapped sticky rice (粽子), which she made for us. After all, next week is Dragon Boat Festival. I say thank you. We continue talking. I have now been at my landlady's home for 75 minutes.

When I find a good segue, I say, "Oh yeah, so... about the rent. I understand why it needs to go up this year. It makes sense. After all, the cost of everything seems to be going up this year. What do you think about a raise of only 5.8%?" (I'm using percentages here, but we were talking about RMB amounts.) The husband hears the number, asks his wife, "What does that come out to?" She calculates. He says, "Yeah, yeah... that should be fine. Close enough. After all, we're all friends anyways!"

There. The deal is done. But... you can't just end it there and say, "Alright. Well, we're all settled then. I'm off now!" That would make it look like the only thing you came here to talk about was the rent, and now that the rent's settled, you want nothing else to do with them. Come on, you should have learned that by now!

So, we talk. We talk for another 15 minutes. The weather. Raising children. Whether or not a woman should wash her hair for the first month after giving birth. Whether or not not washing her hair is linked to later-in-life arthritis in her knees. The standard stuff.

90 minutes in, I say, "My my, look at the time. Well, thanks again for letting me come over, and also for the 粽子 - these will be great! Oh yeah, I'll get that rent money to you first thing on Wednesday. I guess I should head home to the wife now...!"

And then, I walk home. 90 minutes well spent. The rent conversation is done. Rent went up, as expected, but only by a reasonable amount. Relationship is intact, if not even strengthened, perhaps. And, going in with the expectation that this would be a 90 minute conversation wherein only 6 minutes of the conversation would deal with the actual topic of rent... having this expectation definitely saved some frustration. All in all... a good evening, and a good conversation.

The Neighbor's Yak

After waking up this morning, I made my way to the outhouse squattie. Coming back, I noticed that there were two yaks in the yard, eating the grass.

Apparently, this is common. Just like how, in the States, the neighbor's dog gets into your yard and starts digging up your Azaleas, so also here the neighbor's yak can wander into your yard and start eating your grass. One of the boys here chased them off.

Looks like it's not going to rain or snow today where we are, so maybe it will be a good day to take some pictures of the local people and the local mountains...

Adventure Weekend

A friend and I are spending the weekend in a neighboring province to learn about some work that is being done in computer education and software development there.

We have both left our pregnant wives at home to fend for themselves.

At present, I'm blogging from something like 12,000 feet above sea level. I shot this picture while we were on our drive up the mountain. On our way up, we were talking about what adventurous things we've done in our past. For myself, I realize, I'm not that adventurous of a guy, not much of a risk taker. No cliff jumping, no river braving, no skydiving (in skydiving - my wife has already surpassed me in adventurousness). In fact, I don't even buy fireworks/firecrackers even though they're cheap and legal where we live.

Where we're staying this weekend, we are sleeping in sleeping bags on top of an unheated concrete kang. There is a furnace in the middle room which we have to keep going by adding yak dung and coal. Our bathroom is a wooden, outhouse squattie. It snowed last night. The family we're staying with has mentioned nothing about showers.

My friend and I have concluded that this weekend's pseudo-camping trip counts as adventurous.

Too Much English, Perhaps?

Recently, Bethany and I have been spending some of our Saturday afternoons at the city library, just to study and be in a nice study environment. In recent weeks, my Database Class professor has been coming too, to bring her 6-year old daughter to see me in order to practice English. This has been alright - it was something that I agreed to do. It gives Bethany about an hour of time to chat with my professor, which is great language practice for her. And my professor's daughter is totally adorable and smart.

This last Saturday, it turns out my professor was also babysitting a 6-year classmate of her daughter, a boy who has very little interest in learning English but has tons of interest in cars. So, this boy came along too for the English lesson. After about an hour of working through English together - me and these two 6-year olds - we called it a day.

The boy ran to the magazine racks to get magazines about cars, and then he came back to talk to me nonstop about this or that car... all in Chinese. I couldn't understand a lot of what he said.

My professor said to him (in Chinese), "Shao Ge, you have to speak slower to uncle when you are talking to him. Uncle doesn't understand all of the Chinese that you are speaking."

The boy looked at me curiously, and then looked back at my professor. "Is that because he spent too much time learning English?"

Yes, Shao Ge, you nailed it. That's exactly it.

Romanian Dinner

Did you know that the 1st of March is the traditional celebration of the beginning of the spring in Romania? The holiday is called Martisor. On that day, our Romanian friends took over a local restaurant and hosted a Romanian dinner for a fair price.

It was my first time having Romanian food, and it was delicious. Unfortunately, we forget to take pictures, but to find pictures and more about the dishes, check out this page.

First, Alvin and I shared a soup called "bors." It tasted like a hearty chicken, vegetable soup.

Second, we had "sarmale." This is cabbage rolls with meat inside served with sour cream, hot pepper, and bread or polenta.

For dessert, our table was presented with "prajitura," a plate of about 8 different desserts. All of them were very good.

Pasta with Tomatoes

One of our friends, when his wife was feeling nauseous around the first trimester, asked me to write up some recipes that he could cook for his wife. I handed him three simple recipes, and then one day we cooked together for his wife and Alvin. Many of the recipes do not include meat because the wife was feeling sick at the smell/taste of meat at that time.

The first menu was pasta with tomatoes and a side of roasted carrots. The pasta with tomatoes was a recipe given to me by my sister-in-law MSolari (but I did tweak it a little).

Pasta with tomatoes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
½ package of pasta
3 tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 T of fresh basil)
8 oz. mozzarella, diced (about a handful)
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 drops of lemon juice

Directions:
1) Boil pasta for 10-15 minutes, until pasta is soft. Remove and place pasta in strainer.
2) While pasta is boiling, sauté garlic in oil until garlic is soft but not burned.
3) Pour oil and garlic over pasta.
4) Add tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and lemon juice. Stir.
5) Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Optional meat: Chicken chunks
2 chicken breast
¼ teaspoon olive oil

1) Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper over chicken.
2) Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over chicken.
3) Bake for 15 minutes in oven at 176 C (350 F)
4) Remove, let sit for 5 minutes.
5) Cut chicken in large chunks, and add to pasta



Roasted carrots
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 carrots, cut in ¼ inch rounds
2 T of olive oil

Directions:
1) Put carrots in oven safe pan.
2) Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F).
3) Drizzle olive oil over the carrots.
4) Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper over carrots.
5) Bake for 20 minutes, or until tender. Halfway through the baking, mix up the carrots to prevent burning.

My Chinese TV Pet Peeve

When I am watching Chinese tv, I like watching foreigners come on the tv and speak Chinese. Some foreigners are very good in their Chinese; some of them even sound like native speakers. My least favorite part of tv is when a foreigner comes on to a Chinese game show, and the host decides to speak to them in "foreigner Chinese." Basically, the host is mocking the way foreigners speak Chinese by messing up the tones completely. I don't like this because often times the foreigner on television actually is pretty good with his/her tones, but secondly, I can't understand anything the host is saying. Yet, the host speaks "foreigner Chinese" to the foreigner thinking that he/she can now understand him better because he is speaking like them. It doesn't work because Chinese is a tonal language. If you mess up the tones, the foreigner has no idea what you are saying, and then he/she looks stupid.

I had this happen to me in real life too. I went to buy a bag, and the sales person used "foreigner Chinese" with me.

After this pet peeve started growing, I have been trying to convince Alvin not to do accents anymore, esp. accents that make fun of the way non-American speak English. For example, Alvin likes to speak to our Australian friend in "Australian English," and to our Cantonese friend, he speaks to him in "Cantonese English." In my opinion, it is the same thing. Alvin argues that it isn't the same thing because English is not a tonal language.

By the way, we have an Australian friend who does a very good American English impression. We also heard about a former French classmate who did an impression of American English by dropping the F-bomb a couple times. Interesting what our international friends think about us.

Pot Pie

Last month, I had an urge to make a chicken pot pie. Here is what it looks like:
Alvin can comments on what it tasted like.

Winter Clothes

Spring is coming. Last week the weather was warm, but the last few days the temperature dropped again. It is now around 50-65 degrees F during the day time. We are just itching to put away the winter clothes, but today I brought out my gloves, and Alvin wore his hat.

We noticed that in this city, the order of what winter clothes to wear is different from Alvin and my thinking.

We think:
Even if it is slightly cold, we wear jacket and boots.
If it is cold, the most important is gloves and long underwear.
If it is medium cold, then wear a hat.
If it is below freezing, then wear a scarf.
And when the lake has frozen over, put on the face mask.

Our locals friends here think:
If it is slightly cold, they wear boots and a light jacket.
If it is cold, face mask.
If it is medium cold, they wear gloves.
When everything has frozen, they finally break out the big jackets and long underwear. Some people wear hats. Yet we hardly ever see hats, and scarves are rare.

What Alvin and I don't understand is how their ears don't feel frozen. I think they know we are foreigners by our hats and scarves.

Kimchi Again!

This semester, we are in class with one of our Korean friends. She is an excellent cook, although she still laments how the last meal she cooked us (a year ago) was too salty.

She gifted us with a jar of homemade kimchi. Of all the kimchi we have received, this one has been the best.


In one weekend, we ate half the jar. We made bibimbop one day:


The next day, we made kimchi tacos.


Just yesterday, we had kimchi fried rice. Yummy!