Green, green grass of home

Wow, I have been back home in Beijing for almost 7 weeks now.
A much as I enjoyed being back in South Africa for home-leave, the 7 week period was way too long and I experienced Reversed Culture Shock, much to my disbelief.

It was bizarre. I would accidentally bump into someone without saying 'excuse me'; bargaining with a guy in a shopping mall in Johannesburg; freaking out about living behind a trelli-gate; arming alarms when I left the cottage. I would end up on the wrong side of the escalator; going down steps on the right instead of the left? The folks were driving way too fast on the freeways and I felt like a weirdo in my own country.

Pretty much how I first felt when I came to Beijing in July 2009.

I did enjoy being at the ocean again; breathing in fresh air; not checking up on the latest air quality index and allowing the boys to walk barefoot. I loved the sunsets, the mountains of Plettenberg Bay, the sanctuaries that we visited and flying through the trees of the Tsitsikamma Forest. The boys had surfing lessons in Jeffrey's Bay during the Billabong and ate prawns until they were stuffed. I loved buying washed potatoes, going into a 'vegetative-state' in the produce section of Spar; being able to have 2 trolleys next to each other in the same isle, having endless variety from which to choose from...yes, a Beijing housewife's dream grocery store.




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I did not enjoy the lull in my days. Rain, rain, rain and more rain. The 2012 winter season had the second highest recorded rainfall since recording started. Seriously?! On my Summer/Winter break?!




It did get better - when I finally saw my South African, ex-Beijinger, now Hamburg-er friend. I found an ally . We had shared similar experiences, laughed about the same weird things, discussed politics, the economy, the kids, our aging families and finally I could exhale.



Yes, it was a great feeling walking back into my home in Beijing.
And yes, the grass is all green in Beijing at the moment...and we've had about 10 beautiful days in a row...








Although I am relieved to be back home in Beijing, and being surrounded by folks who are in a similar boat, I know that one day that boat will have to dock and I will have to just get on with life wherever the grass has been mowed, weeded and mowed.




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I'm Blue (da bee dee da ba die)

I think the husband is going to have a fit when he sees the very blue bench out front.


I LOVE IT!


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Over the mountains and the sea...

Your river runs with love for me...
Yesterday we vroomed up the new Avis car and meandered on to a farm situated somewhere between the mountains and the sea, next to the Sundays River, Colchester.

Colchester is best described at http://www.madbookings.com/southafrica/guide/colchester-south-africa.htm

As a kid, all Colchester meant to me was 'where the cops like to put down speed-traps'. 

I vroomed the shiny, new Kia onto the farm of a guy named Rossie and we had ourselves some good fun! 

Diego, Rossie, AMP, Shiny car and my Sister

Diego handled the Quad all by himself. My nerves were toast on some parts of the 'adventure'.

Dante and I

 I had Dante-koala as a passenger and at some parts of the drive some unsavoury words slipped from my mouth. My guess is that he didn't hear it over the revving engine because if he did hear, he would have called my out on it.                                                                                            

I loved every moment of the ride-out. The adrenalin, the revving and even the sore right thumb -that is where the accelerator was. At some spots I even forgot that I had Dante as a passenger as getting up and down those hills and keeping my eyes on the leader were all I could think of. Getting down was also crazy: huge boulders, crevices, thorn trees and sheer drops, but staying focused on the leader got me to the bottom and I could enjoy the ride with cows, sheep and horses, and prickly pears to look at. The farmer sometimes had to stop to open and close some gates because of his animals on the farm. 

I had to 'let go' and allow Diego to ride on his own; and at the difficult hills, he got a ride with his dad. I crashed into the big white thorn trees and kept going.

I realise that this is so much like my 'usual, crazy' everyday life...all I concentrate on is 'just get up and down that hill and try not to crash'. Allow my boys the space they need to figure things out for themselves and still be 'around' when they need help.

And everybody's hill is different. We all have different kinds of bikes, gear, leaders and mates that help us get to the top of that hill. We all face shut gates at some point in our lives, and if we just look for the leader, he is there ready to open another gate leading onto another road. Our Dad is right there next to us to give us a ride when things get tough...we just have to ask.

And most times we enjoy the calm and beauty of the journey. The journey is not all just uphills and crazy downhills.

Just one question remains...who is your leader?

Steven Curtis Chapman: The Great Adventure (re:created) - Official Lyric...

Saddle up your horses

Often, and I mean OFTEN, when I ponder our move to Beijing, this song comes to mind.
Back in early 2009 when Marek and I had to make the decision of whether or not to leave our comfort zone and move to The Middle Kingdom, a friend told me this over a cup of coffee. He said,'Come on, saddle up your horses' and I responded with, 'this is the great adventure'. 
These are the lyrics to my 'theme-song' that keeps me going through the craziest of crazy days.
The Great Adventure by Steven Curtis Chapman
Started out this morningIn the usual wayChasing thoughts inside my headOf all I had to do todayAnother time around the circleTry to make it better than the last
I opened up the BibleAnd I read about meSaid, I'd been a prisonerAnd God's grace had set me free
And somewhere between the pagesIt hit me like a lightning boltI saw a big frontier in front of meAnd I heard somebody say, "Let's go"
Saddle up your horsesWe've got a trail to blazeThrough the wild blue yonderOf God's amazing grace
Let's follow our LeaderInto the glorious unknownThis is a life like no otherThis is the great adventure, yeah
Come on get readyFor the ride of your lifeGonna leave long faced religionIn a cloud of dust behindAnd discover all the new horizonsJust waiting to be exploredThis is what we were created for, yeah
Saddle up your horsesWe've got a trail to blazeThrough the wild blue yonderOf God's amazing grace
Let's follow our LeaderInto the glorious unknownThis is a life like no otherThis is the great adventure
We'll travel over, over mountains so highWe'll go through valleys belowStill through it all, we'll find thatThis is the greatest journeyThat the human heart will ever see
The love of God will take us farBeyond my wildest dreams, yeahOh, saddle up your horsesCome on, get ready to ride
Thanks Mr Chapman for these lyrics

Just a Cafe Latte, PLEASE

We are currently on 'Summer Vacation'. Summer in the Northern hemisphere. The boys and I are in South Africa for the last 4 weeks of the 'summer' break. 3 weeks to go before we return to Beijing. 

After having the boys with me 24/7 for 4 weeks, I thought I deserved a break...what's wrong with that thought. Nothing. I dream of watching a movie that does not have animals that talk and I dream of sitting at my favourite coffee shop, Mugg and Bean, and drinking a latte. 

So last night I begged the boys to give me 3 hours of freedom. Diego, being older, says sure...you can have some time-out. Dante, on the other hand is not so easy to convince with questions that sound like he's my father and I'm a delinquent teenager. I beg, nag, manipulate, bribe - and I cry out, 'JUST for a Caffe Latte!' My darling Mother-in-Law (MIL) comes to my rescue. I think that after having raised 3 boys herself, she knows the signs of a mother about to turn manic and let loose on the kids. So MIL says, just go to the movies and don't explain anything to them. You don't need their permission. You are 37 yrs old and you are the mother, not the child. Basics, hey? How do we become so stupid?

So I leave. I get in my car and venture out in the pouring rain to the movies. 

I end up having 3 hours of freedom, and alas, no Cafe Latte. Mugg and Bean closes early in Port Elizabeth.

M2D2 Aliens landed in Beijing

We have arrived in Beijing!

 

Go make yourself a cup of hot chocolate before you start reading...

 

2 August:

 

Days in Beijing: 3

Weather: Today is the first day with blue skies! No haze!

 

We have merely swapped one Republic for another...No, not Banana Republic, but The People's Republic of China.

 

Thank you to each and everyone who have fervently been praying for us  - don't stop now.

 

We left SA soil on the 29th of July with 5 pieces of hand luggage and 6 checked in bags which came to 108kg.

Thanks Mandy F for suggesting Emirates to me.

First stop was in Dubai and then finally arrived 30th in Beijing at 14h30.

 

The Flight:

The boys did very well on their first long trip. Diego didn't stop playing games; and Dante, who looked like he was about to pass out at Jozi airport, was awake THE Entire flight to Dubai (7 hours) and only passed out as the plane landed in Dubai!

A sleeping child and 5 pieces of hand luggage between only 3 people was rather tricky, but hey, you just have to do it. Plus all the prams were taken.  We soon discovered that Dubai airport was rather busy at midnight! Plus, Marek made the mistake (by now Dante had woken up) that we will find a McDonalds! He used it as a trick to wake Dante. There was NO Way I was going to trek around Dubai's terminal looking for McD's, so, we settled for Burger King. Not that we were hungry.

 

Flight from Dubai (6 hours to Beijing) we had 2 babies infront of us. The one family was Chinese and the dad was singing off-key lullabies very audibly. I found it quite endearing that he actually didn't care...then, he was filming his wife as she was changing the baby's nappy.

The boys slept (finally). I warned Diego that his brain will get fried from all the video games. He slept the whole flight - and we woke him 30 minutes before landing.

 

The Arrival

 

The pilot mentioned that it was a hazy day - he didn't say HOW  HAZY!!!

Let's just say that as the plane lands, you don't see any green - just grey!!! Grey, Grey, Grey!

 

Touch down found me quite emotional, but only for a few seconds.

Then it was going through all the screening for H1N1.

At one stop, Diego coughed, Marek quickly told him not to cough (thank goodness for Spanish) and I noticed an official giving Diego a 'look'. I just smiled...smile and wave.

We walked through 3 of those thermal detectors.

 

A porter spotted us...all very official - no funny ones waiting to rob you.

He charged us RMB30 for all the bags. Then we found the Driver MArek's work at arranged to pick us up.  He saw all the bags and looked VERY worried.  He fetched us in a Buick GL8, brand new, and the boys loved it!  Dante wanted to know if it was our new car...not quite.

Then on our drive to River Garden, Dante had questions:

Is this China? Where are the Chinese People? Where are the Chinese sharks? 

 

Arriving at River Garden (RG), Marek announces for the 1st time that our temporary apartment is on the 1st floor!

He also leaves right away to the CBD to get his bag at Tom's house. Tom is the guy he is taking over from. So, he leaves us alone within the 1st 2 hours!

 

The sun goes down quite late here in summer, so boys and I will have to figure out a routine that works for us.

 

Zim beatles! Even in China we can't escape Zim! Walking around on our first day/evening, I was wondering about a very strange, loud noise that seemed to be coming from the trees. Marek tried to convince me that it was from the aircons in the compound...well, eventually I asked a friend and I was told it's some sort of beetle and that they are all over Zim as well. So,the Sibandas are here too!

 

The first night...

was as expected...Dante woke at 2am and asked for cereal. So, the coco pebbles came in handy. Dante was happy and proceded to wake Diego - who was not impressed and I woke in the morning with Diego in our bed.

 

Friday, 31 July...

 

Well, my dear hubby wastes no time in getting down to work. So, we had to wake early to get a taxi to go into the CBD.  He had a meeting at 11am and decided to take us with to meet the rest of the people he'll be spending all his time with.

 

Driving in to the city, I realised how pretty the freeway is...

They have flowerboxes on the freeway! Pretty pink flowers in flowerboxes! And everything is so green ( if you can see pass the haze)

 

He left us at the China World Mall and proceded on to his office with the promise to fetch us after the meeting.

Boys and I then watched kids iceskating...small little tykes and their tutors...

They are now very enthusiastic about learning to iceskate. We have a rink at the compound, so, I'm pretty sure that they'll be on the ice in no time. Dante, true to form, then decided to try some moves out in the mall! We definitely attracted attention. We got stared at just for being there and with Dante 'skating' around like a fairy...well, we quickly became the attraction for the moment.

 

Even the taxi driver kept looking back to see me putting sunscreen on the boys!

 

I've been told that being stared at is something to just get use to.

 

We proceded on to a grocer...just to check things out. A lady was in an aisle, offering some green strips of something...I politely declined (using body language), don't think Dante understands body language either, because he proceded to take from the lady, shoved it into his mouth and with the biggest grin told me that it's nice.

A few minutes later, we walk pass the lady again - though I must admit that it must have been another one - and this time she had Maki! Well, both boys grabbed a slice! Diego licked (always the cautious one) and decided it's not good; Dante again shoved the whole piece into his mouth and started chewing...well, I left with a child covered in pieces of Maki...so, seaweed is not great without the fish!  At least they are adventurous.

 

Then Marek phones and says that he'll get us at 12h30 and we're going out for lunch with a posse of seniors from JOY! If those men only knew...the boys had just about zero table manners - they were on such a high about everything; they ordered noodles and insisted on eating with chopsticks. The men didn't seem too phased and were impressed by their adventurous natures and that they weren't asking for McD's. Whatever business ideas they thought they were going to discuss...they hardly got in 2 words!  A word of caution...do not take your kids to lunch with the boss - I don't think much can embarrass my dear hubby again!

 

The apartment:

 

The apartment is very nice. 3 big bedrooms; 1 we have turned into a study; 3 big walk-in closets.

I now have a study! no more a shelf against the wall :)

Our house is also not too far from the apartment - about 500m.

The park is 6 houses from our house - not across the road and not 2 houses from our house - as I was told. Marek has become very vague regarding details (much like the Chinese). So, if you want details - I'm the one to ask.

The current tenants moved out yesterday, so I am hoping that we will be in our house sooner than expected. I think the landlord just told them to go as it is costing him money to have us in the temporary apartment.

 

Our first visitors:

Came bearing carrot cake! The wonderful Bailey family - Kyle and Meryl, fellow South Africans who have been living here close on 2 years. When I say that that Carrot Cake is the best ever - it's not because I am deprived and missing woolies (it's only been 3 days) it's because it is just simply the best!  The Baker has quite a story too...he is an American who takes in destitute Chinese kids, trains them in baking and cooking and they eventually go out on their own and get jobs at hotels, etc.

The bakery is not far from us,so I'll definitely find it.

 

Meryl also brought me the most thoughtful 'Survival Kit'.

She even taught Diego to count and Dante how to greet in Mandarin.

 

River Garden:

 

Definitely NOT the real China...more like a holiday (except without the beach).

This is the name of the Compound we will be calling home. There is no river, but definitely lots of Green!

It is a very molly-coddled lifestyle and one I welcome - especially after almost 9 years in jozi.

It is safe, secure and a guard on almost every corner...

Peach trees, guava trees, rose bushes, conifers, willow trees! Beautiful shrubs with purple flowers! Just green everywhere!

 

We spent the morning and late afternoon at the pool today.  Boys are loving it and I think that the pool will be our hangout for the next 2 weeks until school starts.

 

 

 

Transport:

Marek went to RG management to buy tickets for the shuttle to get to work for the week. The lady who helped him thought it rather strange that we do not have a driver! She looked at him as if to say:' you sucker! why didn't you negiotiate a driver!' So now I've been given the task to find a driver...they are quite handy and oh such a luxury, but very handy! I am still getting a bicycle though.  I cannot get pass the thought of having someone sitting in my driveway the whole day. I'd prefer someone take Marek to work and bring him home; the occasional evenings we have to be at school and the odd times I will have to go into the city.  Will let you know how it all works out...

 

Finally...

I hope to soon figure out how to insert photos into mail without crashing your mailbox.

Unfortunately Facebook is blocked in China, so, I can't even upload it onto facebook!

I also can't get onto my Skype until Marek un-installs his and installs mine onto this pc.

So, if you have a Skype request from marek, please it's me!

 

Well, we are anticipating our first week in Beijing. Marek has month-end this week, so next few days we will only see him in the mornings. I will be a housewife figuring out the next supper using only a wok and 1 deep pot (that's what's available in the apartment) and spending time at the pool! The cold December we had here last year is still very fresh in my memory, so, I'm making the most of the sun...

 

Until next time...

GB (figure this one out)

 

M2D2