Long Weekend - Thank You Dragon Boat Festival!

As you may have read on my last post, Tim and I went to a co-worker's house last night for a get together.  We had a great time chatting and listening to people singing karaoke.  I didn't get on the mike as I was having a difficult time keeping my eyes open, at least until I started drinking some wine.  That seemed to perk me up but I still didn't bless the crowd with a song.  I'm not much of a singer.  I met a few more of Tim's other co-workers and enjoyed getting to know some more people.  I thought it was just us but it seems like a lot of the other expats, with the exception of Sam, still find it hard to believe that they are living in China.  At least once every couple of days Tim or I will say, "Can you believe we're in China?".  Even after two months (to the day) here, it still hasn't completely sunk in.  When I walk around the apartment complex I often feel like I'm on a vacation and perhaps that why I have had a difficult time slowing down.  I was settling in until our shipment showed up, we got the ayi, started looking at schools, signed up for Chinese lessons and got our new driver.  It's all good, just a little overwhelming at times.

Perhaps that is why I made a hasty call last week when I asked the ayi to start coming five days per week.  I really should have taken some time to think and talk to Tim about it, especially since I asked her to do some cooking.  The Chinese specialty here is dumplings and the staple ingredient in almost all the food is msg, two things that cause me a lot of grief when I eat them and, with the exception of Ryan eating a bit of rice, the boys won't eat any Chinese food here making it rather pointless for her to cook for us.  The cleaning really doesn't require five days unless she would do laundry which she won't unless I pay her extra.  So, despite feeling like a complete moron, yesterday I asked Ayi if we could go back to three days per week.  She probably thinks I am a bit of a nut-job now and may be more than a little annoyed.  I wouldn't blame her if she called and said she wasn't coming back.  Anyway, when we got home yesterday she was here making her dumplings and once they were done and she ate with us, she left.  The food was good, but not any better than what we make, just a little different.  The kitchen was a mess with dishes and food but since we were going out, it sat there until this morning.  So, we will see what happens. 

On a better note, Lina came yesterday morning and I had an absolutely lovely massage.  She doesn't come with a massage table or oils but uses the bed and you provide the oil if you want it.  The massage lasted an hour and she did around my eyes and head, shoulders, arms and hands.  Then I flipped and she did my back and legs and only a little bit of the feet.  It felt so good I set up appointments for every Wednesday and Saturday.  Next time I will get her to spend a little longer on my face and feet and less time on the back.  She is very friendly and accomodating and her price is more than reasonable at 70rmb (about $10.50) per hour.  I find it so amusing when you start shoping here and converting prices.  At the fabric market on Friday I saw a fake Louis Vitton purse (I thought of you, Erin!).  It wasn't a very nice fake but Debbie said, "The sign says 35rmb ($5) but I bet you could get it for less".  I thought for a minute and did the conversion in my head and said, "Yes, although it really isn't that much to begin with."  She said, "No, not in the real world, but this is China".  It's so true.  China is like some sort of fairy tale land.  Someday when I manage to get to Wu'ai market I will look there for a nicer fake!

After my massage yesterday we made a trip to IKEA for dark chocolate bars and hot dogs for Nicholas and Ryan.  This was Tim's first visit to the big store and although we skipped almost all the furniture, we had a nice time and spent about an hour and a half there.  After the kids had their hot dogs we went up to the showroom floor where the restaurant is located.  They have a little spot there with a television and since the boys wanted to stay and watch Tom and Jerry, Tim and I decided to have lunch there.  I had rice and a mushroom sauce while Tim had stuffed salmon, potatoes and vegetables. 

I also bought a couple of desserts, a chocolate mousse for me and a Princess Cake for Tim.  The Princess cake was so good Tim went back and bought two more, one for himself and one for Nicholas.  Ryan wouldn't eat it.  They actually sell these in a package in the grocery department but we didn't buy any.  Too dangerous.

After we ate Nick and Ryan played in the childrens' furniture area then we strolled through the marketplace.  In the end all we bought were the chocolate bars and ice cream cones for the boys.

Playroom where you can dump the children while you shop.

Restaurant at IKEA

Princess Cake - Delicious!

TV watching area

These are the escalators that the carts can go on.  They have automatic brakes so they won't move once you get them on it.

"NICK" Chair

IKEA grocery area - Notice the guy with his shirt up.  He stood in front of the kids staring at them and scratching his belly.

Dark Chocolate Bars!

Despite having had several drinks last night Tim accepted an invitation to go play soccer this morning.  He had fun and even though it is a gentleman's league, he managed an injury.

The kids played inside this morning while I cleaned and had a shower.  I never know where I might find them or what they might be doing.

When Tim got home from his soccer game we went outside to play but didn't last too long as it is quite hot today.  I made a quick trip to Riverside Garden for Kraft dinner and finally made it to the market that isn't too far from our house.  I found some very nice vegetables and Tian Ye bought some Zongzi, a bamboo-wrapped rice dumpling, for our family.  It is a holiday weekend here for Dragon Boat Festival and part of the tradition is eating Zongzi.  We will try it for supper. 

Coming back from the market Tian Ye drove through the area of the park I haven't seen yet.  It's really neat to see many families with picnics and barbeques.  They set up tents, chairs, tables and sometimes air mattresses and spend the day lounging in the park.  I even saw a couple of people with hammocks tied to the trees.  You can see this most days, not just the long weekends, and at the end of the day they pack it all up and go home.

Tonight we are going to relax and get the kids to bed early.  Tomorrow Tian Ye is taking us to a park for the holiday.  It should be fun!