A Winter Wonderland in Shanghai

This is a view this morning of our street! The kids are home for their first snow day from school and probably their last! It was the first snow day to be called in the school's 10 year history. It actually started snowing heavily on Saturday but did not stick on the ground. It snowed again on Sunday and again on Monday with more predicted today. We have been in a cold snap hovering around freezing for several days and so it began to stick Monday. We have had snow, rain, sleet and freezing rain for three days. It has been reported in the paper that this is the worst storm to hit Shanghai in 24 years. Later today the sun came out for a while and melted quite a bit of the snow. Something like this here really stirs things up for travel because they don't have plows or salt trucks. People were on the streets sweeping the snow with handmade brooms and shoveling with construction shovels. There have been countless accidents as the people here do not know how to drive in the snow. Also, the airports have had numerous delays and cancellations. The train service has halted for several days because many provinces have been hit by blizzard like conditions. The train stations have 10s of thousands of people stranded who were traveling home for the Chinese New Year holiday. It is very sad. Our maid is supposed to travel to her home province, Anhui tomorrow by train and I don't know if it will happen. She hasn't been home to see her husband, a farmer for almost a year. What is such a disappointment for many was such a great thing for the kids who all were at sleepovers last night and spent the day with friends today. Once again the picture of contrasts in China...

Likes and Dislikes about living in China - Elise

Elise has done a lot of growing up since moving to China, including getting braces (they are pink) on her teeth and growing at least 2 inches. Lance is getting nervous as she is about to catch up to him in height!

What I like about China

• My new friends like Maggie, Katie, Sidney, Leia, Karis, Belita, Megan, Sophie, Sabrina, Katana, Mikayla, Moi, Renee, Valerie, Abby and on it goes...
• My school and the brand new elementary building that I get to be in
• That we get an Ayi and a driver
• Our new church. I like the children's church.
• Living in a new house
• Eating yummy foods like fried rice, chinese-style and dumplings
• I like the new sports center in our neighborhood - its so big!
• The playground across the street where me and my friends play
• That we learn a new language and when we go back they won't understand us
• I like using chopsticks and I'm pretty good at it
• That we can visit other places in China and that it doesn't take long to get there
• That you get more money because you get 13 yuan for 1 dollar
• My new principal Mrs. Weber (she reminds me of Mrs. Huntsman)
• The new soccer program that I play in - I like the people who run it

What I don't like about China

• Smoking!!!!!!
• Pollution
• Animals on streets
• Disgusting fish and stuff
• That you try to talk to people and they don't understand you
• People try to talk to me because they think I'm from China and can speak Chinese
• Missing all my family and friends
• So much traffic on the roads when we ride our bikes to church
• It takes a long time to learn all the tones in Mandarin
• That they don't have the same stuff as in America like different plugs on electronics. I can't use my boombox here

All Conference Player

Well we just returned from the Shanghai International schools High School basketball tournament and Stacia's team from Concordia dominated the court. She was chosen by her coach as an all conference player. It has been a fanatastic season with their only loss to a specially arranged game with the Chinese High School basketball national champions. Stacia has played starting point guard this season and has continued to develop her game beautifully. What a joy she is to watch. She provides excellent leadership for her team and is highly respected both on the court and off. Rich and I are very proud of her. In fact, she has been asked, along with another of her teammates to practice (and possibly play some games) with the Chinese national champion team. What an exciting possibility for her to continue to improve both her basketball skills and her Chinese! Next weekend is the season ending tournament with teams from Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. Concordia is anticipated to win once again. Go Lady Phoenix!

Interview of myself - Sue

What I like about living in China

• Meeting people from all over the world


• The great Chinese food - I'm with ya Lance! The sweet and sour pork and Mandarin Fish are at the top of my list.


• Travel both in China and elsewhere in Asia. My next adventures include going on a field trip with the 8th grade to Nanjing to learn about the massacre that happened there in WWII and a trip for all of us to Thailand to work in an orphanage the first week in February.


• Having a full time maid - no, I don't miss scrubbing showers or ironing. Thanks Gui Lin! (see above picture)


• Having a driver - I hope driving is like riding a bike and I won't forget how! I can get a lot of reading done in the car scooting around Shanghai.


• A more toned down family schedule - less running around for sports and more time together. When Rich is here he doesn't have to take care of the honey do list - the service center does that!


• Walking around the incredible gardens here in our complex with my sweetheart.


• Flowers around my trees and flowers on my trees in the middle of winter.


• Hearing the ship horns blow at night instead of the trains in Plymouth


• Speaking Chinese and actually being understood (only a little).


• Speaking English and actually being understood.


• Using sign language and actually being understood.


• Welcoming visitors like Rich's mom, Friend Dawn Hall and Flat Stanley - Come on over!!


• Our church and our wonderful small group.


• Buying the biggest head of nappa cabbage I have ever seen for 25 cents. Fresh fruits and veggies are abundant and cheap! They even have Michigan Gala apples here.

What I don't like about living in China

• Being so far from all of you!!!


• The smoking everywhere you go - I have become a second hand smoker.


• The pollution


• They don't have a Meijer Store. I have to shop a few times a week and at several different stores to get what I want. Do you know they haven't had block cream cheese available anywhere since Thanksgiving? It was readily available before then.


• It is hard to find whole wheat anything - so long Sugar Busters!


• Taxis don't have seat belts in the back seat and the drivers drive like maniacs.


• Everyone else drives like maniacs - hence we have a professsional driver to take us around. Even that didn't prevent the accident I was in on Monday where I was creamed by a large truck in the back. Thank goodness for Ford's safe cars with safety glass and good headrests.


• The incredible crowds in the stores and the rotten carts that I have to push around full of groceries.


• The summer heat and humidity.

Lance Interview

My friend Sybille suggested that I interview everyone in the family about what they like and dislike about living in China. So here goes number one and its Lance!

LIKES

- Using the brand new I-Macs in his classroom

- The Chinese food like the dumplings, sweet and sour pork, fish, and other meat and vegetable dishes with white steamed rice

- Our vacations in China to Beijing and the Yunnan Province

- Being close to other Asian countries to visit like we did to Borneo at Christmas

- My new friends; Cory (Utah), Ryan (American moved from Germany), AJ and Eric (twins from Wisconsin), Timmy (Calif.) and Seth (Illinois)

-Being part of the QiLin Football (Soccer) Academy (competitive play)

-Skating at the largest skate park in the world right here in Shanghai

DISLIKES

-The pollution

-The smoking

-That I can't understand other people

-Weird smells

-That you can't get good ice cream like moose tracks here and that my favorite cereals like Wheaties and Wheat Chex cost $10 a box and my mom won't buy them

More Malaysia Pictures

Christmas in Malaysia

We enjoyed a wonderful time in Borneo over Christmas.

Here are some of the things we did....

Took an evening city/riverboat tour in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei while on a 6 hour layover to Sabah

-Saw a city on stilts in the river complete with school, store, police station

- Had a lovely "steamboat" dinner where you cook everything in a broth fondue style

-Saw the most elaborate Muslim temples ever built and the palace of the Sultan of Brunei

Stayed at the Shangri-la Rasa Ria Resort in Sabah, East Malaysia for a week

-Had lots of good pool time but had to protect the skin from intense sun so close to the equator

-Went jungle trekking in the nature preserve with a ranger so as not to get lost

-Saw young orphan orangutans in their natural habitat in the sanctuary as well as monkeys

-Went to a great Christmas worship service with english speaking locals in Kota Kinabalu

-Rich, Sue, Stacia and Lucas went on an ATV safari in the muddy jungle and on the beach

-Rich, Lucas, Lance and Elise took a banana boat trip

-Took a boat cruise out to an island where the kids had their first snorkeling experience and it was a great one with warm, calm water and lots of coral and colorful fish

-Went boogie boarding in the South China Sea

-Had wonderful family walks along the 3 km long beach

-Ate wonderful international food and decided the Indian was best!

-Took a day trip to Mount Kinabalu Park to hike. Stopped at a hot springs park where locals were having the time of their lives in these little baths where the sanitation was interesting

-Took a lot of pictures of our friend Flat Stanley enjoying Sabah

It was a great experience on our first Asian adventure outside of China. The next trip is in the planning stage and will take place the first week of February for Chinese New Year. It is looking to be either Vietnam or somewhere in the Phlippines. We'll keep you posted!