Shopping

Some interesting places to shop here. You can go to the department
stores if you want to, but you will pay at least US prices for things,
usually more. Or, you can go to the creative places.

Last Sat. we went to a crazy, dirty market. It was like going to a
swap meet in the US. Lots of cheaply made goods at low prices. We
mostly walked through the toy section where you can also find
parasols, and Barbie knock-offs. Cool wooden puzzles that you could
also paint. Most of the stuff you can find in the US, sometimes even
cheaper. One shop lady told us it is because her government will pay
her a subsidy if she exports to the US so that she can sell her things
easily. If she sells it here she doesn't get the subsidy so the prices
are about the same. Interesting economics.
Yesterday I went with some friends to a resturaunt supply district.
There you can get dishes, flatware, glasses, tablecloths (they will
make them for you and unfortunately I got mine made really big bec. I
was silly and didn't measure my table before I left), chair covers,
tea cups...chafing dishes...all sorts of things. Some of the pottery
you can get seems to be leftovers from what didn't get shipped to the
US. Really fun stuff.
Today a friend is taking us to a fabric place so we will see what it is like!
Michelle

Food

I mentioned some things in my last post about the food here but let me
share some more details. So far we have gone to some fun places. Last
Sat. night we went to an Indian food place complete with belly dancer.
The food was good and they had a red sauce there that was even too hot
for James (He may say it wasn't too hot, only that after one small
taste his mouth was burning and his brow sweating.) Anyway, that was
probably the priciest place we have been to. It was like eating out in
the US. There is supposed to be another Indian place in town that is
not so expensive.
Our favorite place for lunch is the jiao ci (dumpling) place. Talk
about a lot of good food for cheap. For 5 kuai (about 8 kuai= $1 US)
you can get 8 dumplings filled with pork or beef and assorted veggies.
They have like 20 different kinds but so far my language skills have
only helped me order the same 2 kinds everytime.
Another cool place we have gone to is what they call "hot pots". It is
like Chinese fondue without the desert part. You sit around a round
table with a burner in the middle. Then you order the type of broth
you want- mild, medium, hot- they even have a pot that is split down
the middle so you can get two different ones. Then they bring you a
large stainless steel bowl filled with broth and all sorts of spices-
garlic, chillies--not sure about the rest. You order what you want to
go with it- meat (beef or lamb), mushrooms, potatoes, noodles, greens,
of various kinds. You wait for the broth to boil and then you put
things into it to cook. As it cooks you spoon some onto your plate or
just eat out of the pot. The hot side is VERY hot....and the mushrooms
really absorb the flavor. That was really fun.
More later.
Michelle

Here they are taking a bow after the pupet show. There are kids in her class from Malaysia, Germany, and several other countries. 

Marlo and Natalie's class put on Little Red Riding Hood at the talent show. Marlo stepped in as the Wolf since the boy moved who was originally playing it, and Natalie played Red. 

Our wonderful new friends invited Zoe to sing with them at the talent show. This is Zoe, Luke, Grace, with Kate on piano singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Luke and Grace were a little shy, but Zoe had no problem standing right up in front of the group and singing. It was so fun to see her feel confident and excited to perform!!

Marlo and her new friend Natalie. They are in the same class together at school and they even get to go to church together. They both have younger sisters and it is scary how much they are alike! We are so happy Natalie's family is here. 

Fun statue of Confucious along that same under-highway walk. 

James and girls walking down the street. 

By chinese standards this is an expensive resturaunt. By american standards it is not too bad. They serve everything from a BBQ pork sandwich, hamburgers with fries, fruit or green salads and thick tall milk shakes. It just opened 2 months ago and is right around the corner from us. 

This is part of that same old-world recreation under the highway. 

This is on our way to school. The highway is above, and underneath they have created this cool recreation in miniature of some of the old architectural elements of Chengdu. 

This is an apartment building accross the street from the consulate. We live in a pretty nice part of town so I imagine that those apartments are not very cheap for the people who live in them. 

Typical traffic/construction etc. Notice how new the cars are... The green and yellow cars you see are taxis. 

View of playground from the patio. Note the large fence behind it. That fence surrounds the entire compound. There are a ton of cypress and ginko trees here. It really is beautiful. 

View of pool from patio :) We love the pool!! 

The patio... 

Marlo and Zoe's room. When our bunkbed arrives we will switch it so that they have more room to play. 

Teac's room/ office. 

One of the bathrooms. 

Master bedroom...king size bed. We have yet to make it interesting. Let's treat these as the before pictures. 

Laundry room with our water distiller and freezer. We also have a dryer on the other wall. 

Zoe in the kitchen. The door in the back goes to the dining room. 

Dining room that connects to the living room. That is the door to the kitchen on the left. If you walk to the right you go down the hallway to the bedrooms. 

Better picture of our livingroom and entry way. The door on the right goes out to one of the patios. 

This is our living room, Zoe, Teac, and Huang Ying who is helping me keep the dirt out of the house. If the floors are not mopped every day, the kids feet are FILTHY from just walking around in the house. 

They have many toys for the kids to use at the pool. Like our duck feet? 

Hanging out in the pool our first day. (Sorry Teac for showing off your belly :)) 

arriving in china

We made it to Chengdu. Our original flight was scheduled for Monday
May 15 at 11:45 am but after some problems with TSI (the people who
screen the bags) at the United terminal, not wanting to let us make
sure our bags were locked before they sent them to China, even with
our Dip. passports, and official orders...we missed our plane because
the flight time was changed to 11:15 and we didn't know.... Yes, it
took that long- we arrived at the airport almost 3 hours early and
still missed it. After running to the gate when we heard our names
paged, we were still too late to get there....but our luggage made it
on the flight- go figure. So, they booked us on the next flight ( the
next day..) same one connecting to Hong Kong instead of
Beijing.....When we arrived at the airport at 8:45 am we were standing
in line to check in and heard our flight being paged...the one we
thought wasn't supposed to leave until 11:15.....we asked them to call
the gate so they wouldn't give our seats away and we ran through
security--as best you can with 6 carryons and 3 small children all the
way to the gate...and they just closed the doors to the ramp. They
gave our seats away anyway, and the lady at the counter was less than
courteous to say the least....She sent us to customer service around
the corner.....almost 2 hours later, the amazing lady there got us on
a flight to Singapore then to Chengdu at 9 pm that night on Singapore
Air..We spent the afternoon with the kids in a hotel room since they
didn't want us hanging out in the club lounge with the kids. They also
gave us some vouchers to get some food. Let's just say that flying
with Singapore Air was like flying in a 5 star hotel...each of the
kids had their own seats that reclined almost completely
flat....gourmet meals...(somehow Zoe ordered fish porriage which she
had several bites of), so much attentive help it was an amazing relief
after the previous days.....
Then we switched to Air China....and for 4.5 hours we were sardines,
but at least we were on our way...The kids were amazingly good and
patient. Teac is the smiliest kid ever. He is constantly charming
someone with his smile and dimples...

We are mostly unpacked...well the things we have with us are unpacked.
Marlo started school yesterday and Zoe will start on Mon. We hired an
ayi (aunt/nanny) to help with the kids and cleaning. Today was her
first day and so far things are working out....She doesn't speak a
word of english and I speak only about 20 chinese words....everything
else wants to come out in spanish.

We are living on the consulate compound...there is a playground
downstairs, tennis court, swimming pool, and plenty of beautiful, huge
old trees. The people here have been great. Very helpful and laid
back. Marlo has an instant friend Natalie who is turning 7 at the end
of June and in her class at school. Her family are some of the only
other members here and we went to church at their house last week.
They seem to be two of a kind...both with younger sisters, into the
world of princesses and very smart.

We do a lot of walking- it takes about 20 mins for me to walk to
Marlo's school with all the kids..and 25 mins to walk back with just
Zoe and Teac...

This place feels just like any other big city. Crazy packed with cars,
bikes, mopeds, scooters--all trying to use the same sidewalks and
roads. Pedestrians have to be very careful as there is no such thing
as yeilding to anyone. I think that is the most dangerous part of our
day...me crossing the street with Teac in
the sling and Zoe and Marlo on each hand.

You can buy just about any american product here...even Kraft singles,
Honey Bunches of Oats, and philadelphia cream cheese (made in
Australia). Some things are more expensive, but for the most part not
too bad.

The vegetables and fruit are beautiful and most are grown locally--
celery, cilantro, mangos, oranges, watermelon, broccoli, green beans,
potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes...

Anyway...we have had sunny days since we got here--something everyone
says is very rare and we should not get used to. Thankfully it is
moving towards summer so the air pollution should not be as bad...Both
James and Zoe are taking allergy meds pretty regularly though.

--
Michelle Fowler
[email protected]

This is us in a hotel room waiting for our flight later that night. Zoe was asleep just before this picture was taken. 

While mommy was in Arizona, Grammy made these amazing crowns for our princesses covered in beads and "jewels". 

Some of you have been wondering where Teac is hiding all those extra pounds... well, maybe it's not that big a secret. 

Teac and his Grandpa. 

Teac cut his first tooth Friday May 12. We hoped the endless slobber was for something. 

We went and bought a flat of delicious strawberries from the fields and ate strawberry shortcake many times while here in CA. John is demonstrating how yummy it is :) 

Happy Birthday Aunt Jamie!! We love you!! 

Uncle Ryan is so cool. 

Because of all of the traveling, and the quantity of original art work can add up fast, we now take pictures with their creations as digital cameras make pictures much easier to save. 

Sand angels are good for getting sand in any place that may have been sand free up until that point. 

The beach is great fun. You are supposed to get all sandy and wet-- even Marlo loves getting sand all over her. 

Instead of complaining that their uncles were covering them in sand, the girls helped them do it. 

Just chillin' with uncle John. 

My first trip to the beach in California and my mom dresses me like a girl! 

Cousins Clay, Clara, and Teac. This is their first meeting and they probably won't remember. This traveling is going to make family reunions more important. 

Counsins are good to have around. We will miss not having them to make us laugh. The first time they met and they are already smiling at each other. 

Teac finally got to meet his Great Aunt Ora in Mesa!! 

Sophia and Teac. Sophia is 11 weeks older but I think Teac has a few pounds on her. They finally got to meet after all this time. Sophia can crawl and climb and get into everything. Teac can occasionally rolll over. :) 

Last time at the park with friends in Virginia. This was our favorite park in Arlington because of all of the great slides and bridges. It also has great trees for leaves in the fall and shade in the summer. 

This is Marlo after the performance and her primary teacher Michelle. I think the girls are going to miss having so many kids in primary. 

Sunday night the Falls Church ward had their 6th annual young musicians fireside. Marlo sang a solo "Did Jesus Really Live Again" and Zoe got up with a pre-school group who sang "Teach Me to Walk in the Light." Marlo did a fabulous job- James played for her. She goofed one of the words and all she said was "woops" and kept singing. She smiled the entire time and everyone made comments about what a great performer she is. She enjoyed it immensely! 

This is James' first cousin once-removed Sherman and his wife Cindy in Maryland, Grandma Fowler, me and the girls.