Friday, June 15, 2012

Dad...

We just had to go buy another LARGE suitcase..I told him so :)

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Chips

I was in the store one day and I wrote down all the flavors of Lays potato chips:

Fried Chicken Flavor

Mexican Tomato Chicken

Italian Red Meat

Cucumber

We only ate the regular kind, and they're not as good as good old USA kind of Lays.

See ya soon!


I wrote her back and said they should bring some home, who doesn't want to try Mexican Tomato Chicken????

Monday, June 11, 2012

June 10th

Saturday we had a branch party at our Presidents house. He has a huge house on a lake. There were probably 50 people there and all sorts of food! We had hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken and all the trimmings! The boys (YM and older) played with remote controlled boats on the lake. The little kids had bubbles and of course there were water guns! We stayed longer to help clean up and then it rained! Their house is in a complex and there aren't any taxis nearby. We watch Karate Kid 3 and then decided we'd just have to walk in the rain to find a taxi. They don't have a car and their driver wasn't available. So we got ready to walk ..and it quit raining! We still had to walk a ways to get a taxi but that was OK. In our branch we have Joseph who is 30 yrs. old and single, and Brad who is in his 20's and on an internship here for 3 months. The branch always fluctuates with its number of members. Pres. Bakers nephew, in his 20's, is here for 2 months on an internship. Trevor is from SLC but is not a member of the Church. But he has come to church the last two Sundays and Joseph and Brad are very excited to have a new friend! Nelson teaches the Gospel Essentials class to which Trevor has been attending with Brad and Joseph. Today we had 5 young men, RM's, attend our branch. They will be here for 8 weeks. They're on a summer exchange program from the U of U learning Chinese. They also attended the Gospel Essentials class. Nelson had told Trevor to bring any questions he had and they would discuss them during class. And then 5 returned missionaries just happen to drop in! That is not an accident. What an asset they will be to our branch as 10 of us are leaving. Dad had a lazy birthday. We didn't do much, just the branch party and I'd baked a cake for him and took it to the party. Love you all. This week will be full of "last times". that's so weird! Mom XXOO

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

June 5th

Well, we are into finals. This time we are recording them each night so we won't have to do them all on the weekend or that last Friday. They wanted us to then take the grade sheets and then try and find the college site and the English dept, all in Chinese, then enter each final grade to each student with their student number. We said no. That is why you have assistants. And they have them. Can you see us trying to do that after we hand in our grade sheets for 1,000+ students, and then get ready to pack and leave? Anyway, at least everyone has shown up for their final time on time so far. There are to many to have them all come at once, so we have 1/3 of the kids coming each half hour. we have like 25 minutes between the 2 classes so that helps us. I've got kids taking pictures and giving me cards and pictures and crying and it was just the first day. We went on a neat boat ride with our FHE group last night and saw all the lights. They really like to light up things. Bridges, buildings, anything that will hold a light design. We did see some neat large kites before we got on the boat and as darkness set in, the kites had these neat lights on them as well. Gotta get some of those. Well, better get going and get my walk in. I just walk somewhere. Love you all, because you all love me, your mother, and each other. Dad

Monday, June 4, 2012

June 3rd

Paula Ferrel gave me a huge bag full of instant oatmeal packets in assorted flavors;more than I could ever eat. So I made granola bars out of them! They're really good! The oatmeal had pieces of blueberries, strawberries and peaches and I added chocolate chips (from Lori) and other ingredients. I sort of followed a recipe from the Internet. It made enough to last me for one a day for the rest of our stay! Saturday we went to the Little Italy area of Tianjin. Bodo and Elke went with us. We were not impressed. Just expensive restaurants and souvenir shops. Then Dad and I walked down "Walking Street";no cars allowed. Bodo said they were having markets on the street, but it was just high class stores with sales. We managed to buy a few things :) Bodo and Elke are here for 2 months. He's teaching Mechanical Engineering. They're from Germany and live in the next apt. bldg. He can not believe that we don't drink;not ever! Saturday he kept asking if I wanted a beer. I think his wife got mad at him! Dad told them a little about the Church. It's been so hard for Dad to not talk to people about the Church. I knew that would be the hardest part of China for him. But he's done quite well. He hasn't landed in jail yet. Today he wanted to pack a suitcase, but I restrained him. Everything in it would get wrinkled in two weeks. Our Branch Pres, is flying to Seattle next Sunday and has offered to take a suitcase for us. Johnathan will pick it up for us. It'll probably have our winter coats and other stuff we won't need for awhile. I bought some silk pants from a street vendor last week. They're nice but they wrinkle more than I thought they would, and they might be a little too big also. Tomorrow night for FHE we're taking a river cruise through Tianjin. I've heard it's very pretty. Love you all. Write to me!! I'm getting trunky!! And we check the e-mail ALL the time!! Love ya !!! Mom XXOO

Thursday, May 31, 2012

May 28/29

May 29th

I thought I'd get my hair cut one more time before we come home. My bangs were getting too long and bothering me. I just needed a trim and shaping. How to do convey that by pantomime? I wrote on a note card "just a trim" and I had a Chinese student write it in Chinese. I should have had grave concerns when she didn't know what "trim" meant. But she looked it up on her electronic dictionary and a boy explained it to her. Apparently boys get trims.
I walked to my beauty shop. There are beauty shops all over the place here - every other shop! I showed them my card with the Chinese writing on it. And they questioned me - in Chinese. That's never good. Then they wrote down, 30-50-80. What did I want to pay for my haircut? 30 is what I paid the first time. Then I had to wait for 15 min. and finally had a shampoo and "trim". I think something got lost in the translation of "trim". I only have a very small ponytail now, and I had to cut my bangs shorter when I got home. It's the last hair cut I'll need for a few months! Oh well, it's summer :)
Tuesday was my last day to teach Sophomores. Just two more days of teaching Freshmen and then 2 weeks of finals and THEN ...TA DAH !!!!
Love you all!!! Mom/Pat


May 28th

We had a "tremor" here yesterday after a 4.8 earthquake in northern China. I was hoping maybe they'd send us all home. no such luck :( XXOO mom.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

May 15th

I haven't given a full report of last weekend! So Friday we first went to the medical center in Tianjin. Dad had to pick up a perscription. On the way there the hospital in Beijing called and asked Dad to have some lab work done while he was at the medical center. No problem. The center here is just another office of the hospital in Beijing. When we were done they wanted full payment. Wait, our insurance covers it. Oh, but they don't have an OK from our insurance. If the lab work would have been done in Beijing that would be covered, but Tianjin doesn't have an OK from the insurance. So get an OK. That took several phone calls and about 30 min. At one point the girl asked for Dad's bank card! After that was finally figured out and we got to leave with the insurance company's blessing we went shopping! I spent 55 yuan, Dad spent a lot more! He bought a wooden carved warrior, about 2 feet high. It will fit in h is carry-on. Nelson teases him about having to put a rack on top of the plane! Then he bought 3 BIG kites and the string too. He did say he thinks he'd about done buying things. Saturday,my birthday, he got up early and went to Beijing with Wynn. Apparently Wynn needed company on his buying spree. Wynn bought a lot of pearls. Dad just bought a little bit, compared to Wynn. Dad also bought 2 suitcases to replace the two we sent home with Lori & Kari. They came home from Beijing full of Wynn's stuff. I spent the day as usual, laundry, ironing,etc. We were going to go out to dinner but Dad got home too late, so I walked down to KFC and then came home and made mashed potatoes, just in time for Dad to get home and enjoy my birthday dinner! Then we walked over and bought two ice cream bars! Dad did get me a beautiful shawl too. Sunday,Mother's Day, we were invited to lunch at our Relief Society Presidents home after church. She drove us there. She's a very cautious driver! She has a cook who made Pot Stickers and soup. It was very good. She kept bringing out more and more pot stickers. We were stuffed! Then we took the subway home and took a nap. That night we went to a student performance at the university. It was very well done. They had an orchestra and chorus and comics and dancing. We saw some of our students performing. It was a good show. Monday ,it was back to teaching. We met a couple here from Germany. They just live in the next apartment building. They're coming over tonight for dessert. I made an apple pie. Love to you all!! Can't wait to be home!! Mom XXOO

Monday, May 7, 2012

May 5th

We have a mouse in our church building. It has caused a few upset classes. Today Nelson brought some mouse traps and loaded them with peanut butter. Someone asked if Chinese mice like peanut butter? We'll find out tomorrow! -Dad The weather has been beautiful lately - almost too hot for me. We were visiting last night when we were out for dinner and it was brought up that there are 35,000 abortions a day in China! There is a large fee to have a second baby, depending on your social status. The higher up the ladder, the larger the fee. And after you have a baby you do not wash yourself, or your hair nor cut your fingernails or toenails for a month! Love you All !!!! Mom

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

May 1st

It was so great to see Lori and Kari!! Last Thursday after school Dad and I went to Beijing on the bullet train. Our travel agent had made reservations for us at at 2 star motel. It was a Korean motel where no one spoke English or at least not very good English. The carpets were filthy, but our linens were OK. We had an address for the motel in English and Chinese. We took a subway to get close to the motel and then looked for a cab to take us to it. We could not get a cab to stop. Finally a pedicab (3 wheeled enclosed scooter) stopped and offered to take us. It was a memorable ride; like a taxi ride down the bike lanes. And then he couldn't find the motel. Luckily we had the phone number. The motel was down a back alley. We dropped off our bags and walked a block to get another taxi to take us to the airport. This driver was in one heck of a hurry! We knew the girls flight would be an hour late but it was 2 hrs. late. By the time we got back to our motel it was 2:30 a.m. There weren't many taxis running so we had to take a "rogue" taxi. They set their own prices. Friday morning started with a Korean breakfast at 7:00. I took 4 hard-boiled eggs for us and we went and got another taxi to go to Alice's and drop off the girls' luggage and then get to the train to Xi'an. The train left at 10:01. Dad wanted to stop and have a real breakfast. Then we had to take the subway and a taxi to the train station. The station is huge and the signs that were in English weren't helpful. Finally a young woman led us to the train. We got on with 6 min. to spare! I was a little anxious. We had to sit up in the train for 9 hours. So we napped and talked and ate PBJ's. There is no food on the train. We got to Xi'an (pronounced She On) at 7:00 at night and took another taxi to our hostel. The hostel was really nice! Saturday we had breakfast at the hostel and then decided to take a tour to the warriors that was offered by the hostel. We're glad we did. It was easier than trying to do it by ourselves. Our guide spoke English and there were other tourists to visit with. You know Dad! The Warriors were amazing! We got back to the hostel and then took a bus to the train station ( we went the wrong way first) and this time we were on the overnight train in a room for four. It wasn't too bad. PBJ's for dinner. ( we bought peanut butter, jam and bread and I had a knife) The noise from the train was so loud that our sleep wasn't very good. We got off the train at 7:00a.m. We had arranged to take a tour to the Great Wall and the tour guide had a heck of a time finding us at the train station. Another English speaking guide and a small bus of tourists. We only got to spend about 1 1/2 hours at the wall but it was very impressive and steep! If you're in China you have to see the Terra cota Warriors and the Great Wall;so we did! When we left the Wall the road in to it had been closed because of too much traffic; it was a national holiday. Then we went to ta jade factory and bought trinkets and had lunch. Afterwards we went to a silk factory. We left the tour at this point because of the time and got on a subway back to Alice's house to retrieve the girls luggage.With their 4 suitcases and backpacks and shopping bags we got on the subway, made 2 changes and got on the bullet train to come home to Tianjin. We got home about 9:30 in the evening. We were tired! Jeanne had dinner waiting for us! Monday we relaxed and just went around the neighborhood. We went out for dinner and had FHE at the Boren's. Lori and Kari sung a song for us. Tuesday we went to the Tianjin bell tower and a huge local shopping center. It's so big that you get lost and pass the same stalls 10 times. We didn't find what the girls wanted and Dad went home early. His feet hurt. We had dinner out again at a local dumpling house with Jennifer Lee, our Relief Society president. She really wanted to meet our daughters! Then home, packing and crashing! Lori and Kari left for the Beijing Airport this morning at 7:00. I know they had a good time in China and we had so much fun with them! Now we miss home more than ever!! We will arrive at PDX June 16 at 2:55 on Alaska! Don't be late!! Love you ALL !!!! MISS YOU !!! Mom XXOO

Sunday, April 22, 2012

April 18th

Tuesday our clothes were ready to be picked up from the tailors. Becca wanted to go to to have some alterations done. So Jeanne and I ventured out to the street to get a taxi. First we wanted to go to Nankai University to pick up Becca and then go to the tailors. That is not easy to get across to a taxi driver who doesn't know what you're saying! But we did it and he did it and we got there safely. Jeanne said she'd pay the taxi if I sat in the front seat. She thinks I am her savior! The taxi ride over to the tailors was 26 yuan, the ride back was 13 yuan..go figure.
Anyway, we were very pleased with our clothes! Two of my skirts have to be fixed. They didn't hang straight, but that was the fabric, not the tailors fault. The rest of my clothes are great! I have two skirts and tops that match, two other skirts and 3 other blouses, all for 1000 yuan , about $165.00 U.S. Of course, Dad had a fit, but it's OK. It's not like I bought 20 kites!!
Now he's off to try and buy train tickets for the four of us to go to Xi'an to see the warriors when Lori and Kari come. He tried to buy them yesterday, but he forgot to take the money and then we had a neighbor go back , who speaks Chinese, and they said he couldn't buy them yesterday, so Dad and Joseph are trying today. Let's hope they're successful!
The weather is warming up..70's. and that's nice, but the wind still blows. It is very nice to see some green leaves and grass. And at 5:00 the primary school is out, parents are coming home and all the grandchildren are outside with their grandparents.The babies are so cute!
But not as cute as my babies!
Love you all! Mom XXOO

Can't wait to see the pictures of her "made in China" clothes!!

Monday, April 16, 2012

April 15th

We got back from Beijing today. It was a fun and successful trip. Our District President was called to be a member of the Seventy so we had to rearrange the District presidency. It was a good conference.
Saturday we got up at 6:00am to meet Marv and Becca at the train station at 7:15. We got there on time but Marv called and said they couldn't get a taxi. They wouldn't stop for them. Three times taxis did stop but then wouldn't take them. The train station is about a 20 yuan ride. They finally just got in the taxi and then told the driver where they wanted to go. So we all met and got tickets for the 8:10 train to Beijing.
Becca and I had a 10:00 meeting and Dad and Marv were going to buy a golf club and go shopping at the Silk Mart.We would meet again at the church at 7:00.
Because Becca has neuropathy so bad we were going to take a little longer route to our meeting, because it had less transfers. When you have a transfer you usually have to walk a ways. Well, it had less transfers, but we had to walk a long ways between transfers! We got mixed up a few times. Once a woman told us we were going to go the wrong way so we got off the subway and after it left we realized that we were not on the wrong subway. It only went one direction!
We were told it was a 20 min. walk to the house where our meeting was from the subway stop, or we could take a taxi. Luckily our friend sent a car to pick us up because there were NO taxis to be found at that subway stop! We got to the meeting at 11:10. At least they served us lunch!
Then we got a taxi and went shopping too. We had lots of fun and I spent all my money! We didn't take any more subways, we took taxis.
We had an adult meeting Sat. night for conference and then we spent the night with the Black's. They have 4 children, ages 4-12. He works for the U.S.embassy. They had a beautiful house,even a dog. They move about every 4 years to a different country or to the U.S. The have lived in Nicaragua and Romania recently. I don't think I could ever take my children to live in different countries like that. The children attend International schools and get a good education, but it is such a different type of life.
We had a good meeting this morning and then we were invited to Steve and Alice Quan's for lunch!
She had enough food for an army. We were joined by three youth from our branch, but even the two boys didn't make a dent in the food.
There was a youth fireside tonight but we came home in the afternoon.The subways were really crowded, especially with a suitcase.
...be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.... even if it's our little apartment.
Love you all, beautiful daughters of God and mine. Mom

Thursday, April 12, 2012

April 12th

We have District Conference this weekend in Beijing. We'll leave early Sat. morning and get back Sun . afternoon. I have a meeting at 10:00 SAt. Dad has a meeting at 4:00 and then the adult meeting is at 7:00. Then church on Sun. morning. We'll be staying with a family there. They live in an embassy compound with a fence and guards around it. Should be long and fun. I think I'm going shopping with Becca on Sat. between our meetings! That will break up the day. We'll be taking the subway around Beijing. Do you want to take bets on how many times I get us lost?
Love you all! Can't wait to see Lori & Kari!!! Mom XXOO

Monday, April 9, 2012

Happy Easter!

Dad invited a new guy upstairs for Easter dinner and then he thought that he had invited the Boren's but their 2 kids are here. Anyway, he hadn't invited them, but I invited all 4 of them, we had ordered a big ham. Then we invited Jean from upstairs also. So that was eight, we ended up with 13!
Borens' kids decided to go to Xi'an so Dad invited another couple to come and then the kids couldn't get tickets to Xi'an so they stayed on the guest list. And Dad had invited Joseph from upstairs, single, hungry. Then Joseph asked if his girlfriend could come!
As we were getting ready to eat Joseph called to say that a girl from our Branch had had her computer stolen from her backpack while she was waiting for a bus (they unzipped her backpack and took it. Not one of the 30 people around her said anything until it was over) She was a little upset. So Joseph and his girlfriend went to get her and brought her back to our house.
We have seating and plates for eight. So Nelson brought some down from their place and we were fine. We still have lots of ham left, but nothing is left of the mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing or deviled eggs! We had a good time and that's all that counts. Nelson's son said that he didn't expect to eat so well in China. They do have good pork in China, and other things too!
We ate dinner at a restaurant Sat. night. It was really good! It's advertised as a Cuban restaurant. The owner is from Portugal . The food was good and not too expensive. We went with the Ferrrels and Johnsons.
Sacrament was good today. As I listened to Shawn haltingly say the Sacrament prayer in English I was reminded to "always remember Him and keep his commandments". May you hear those words today too and take them into your heart. These are the covenants you renew each week; the same ones you made when you were baptized. These are the promises you made.
Then in Rel. Soc. we heard the words of Pres. George Albert Smith that "eternity doesn't begin after this life but that mortality is a part of eternity." Each day we choose to go towards eternal happiness or eternal disappointment. I hope you're all going in the right direction because I want you to be with me forever!
I Love You so much! Mom XXOO

Thursday, April 5, 2012

April 5th

On Thursday mornings there is a great street market, like a swap meet, that we've been to once. Nelson and Jeanne wanted to go so we left this morning at 7:15. I had a map with the market circled on it. But apparently it wasn't circled correctly. The taxi driver signaled for us to get out, so we did. We thought we'd just have to walk a block or two to the market. Not! And guess what? No one spoke English. Surprise! Plus we didn't know the name of the market we wanted to go to. We finally found someone who told us the name and then another woman pointed us in the direction. How many blocks left and then right? Finally a woman had us follow her to the market. We never would have found it by ourselves. It covers several blocks of just jammed packed vendors and buyers. None of us bought anything. I found some really nice beads. I thought they were 2 yuan for the bag of 50. No, they were 2 yuan apiece.Dad offered 50 yuan for the bag. They're still there.
We took a taxi home although Nelson wanted to walk. He walks miles everyday. And we got home about 10:30. It's a beautiful day. Maybe Spring is here! Love you! Mom XXOO

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

April 4th

Today Dad and I walked to the Water Park. Nelson said that it was just down the street. Yeah! - about 3 miles down the street! And the park is HUGE! There are lots of lakes and amusement rides and a zoo. We wanted to see the zoo because Jeanne had said that it was so great. Although the Humane Society wants to shut it down because the animals aren't housed well. And they're not.
The zoo is on the farthest corner from the entrance. We finally found it, paid our $3.00 entrance fee and eventually found the bears and lions and birds. The bear pit was open and you cannot believe all the food that the people were throwing to the bear!
We were very tired but we couldn't find the exit! We asked about 4 people and we had a map to show them. We finally found it and then we were going to get a taxi to go to a restaurant and eat. There was a man sitting in a van and Dad started talking to him. He offered to take us to the restaurant. He was waiting for his family and they hadn't come out yet. So we let him drive us to a restaurant! Always an adventure! He spoke English and he was very nice.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

April 3rd

We took it upon ourselves today to have an adventure.
First I got my hair cut - really cut. But he was having so much fun cutting it! Anyway, it'll grow back. It's probably my last hair cut in China.
Then we took a taxi someplace in Tianjin to see the home of our friend Rachel Yang, from Camas. She grew up in Tianjin and she gave us the address of her home, although we thought we were going to a museum that honored her father. It was in a tourist area and there were lots of homes that were historical. Althouhg they didn't look so great to us.
There was a park nearby that we walked through. People were singing and dancing.These old ladies invited us to dance with them, so we did! We drew a crowd. It was slow Chinese music no "Boot Scootin' Boogie".
Then we left. It was a little hard to excuse ourselves from her. We caught a taxi and came home.
I'm making Jeanne's No Knead Bread. Hers is a nice rounded loaf, mine is a blog about 2 inches high, but it tastes good.
Tonight we've been invited to go to dinner with Paula and Wynn Ferrell a couple from BYU that teach at Nankai University.
When you buy a train ticket you need to show your passport. A few weeks ago Wynn was at the train station but he forgot his passport, so he showed his temple recommend! The lady looked at it, wrote down the number and sold him a train ticket! Always carry your temple recommend!!
Love you all!!! Be good. Mom XXOO

Monday, April 2, 2012

April 1st

Next Wed. is Grave Sweeping Day in China - like Memorial Day. So the government gives everyone 3 days off.. Mon, Tues, and Wed!! Yeah!! Oh, but wait, you need to make up those classes you're missing so they'll be made up Sat and Sun before your "vacation". The freshmen were let off the hook, but I had to teach two classes of sophomores yesterday and today. Dad stayed home and made dinner for us!

I made Chocolate -chocolate chip muffins Sat. I was in a chocolate funk! They were good! I gave some away so I wouldn't eat them all :)

I hope you're all having fun!! We miss you and all your silly antics. Is my kitchen clean? LOVE YOU !!! Mom XXOO

Saturday, March 31, 2012

New Pics!

Looks can be deceiving!  Mom said they don't add SUGAR to their baked goods so even though it looks fantastic, the taste is a little disappointing:(





This is a local meat market, they don't buy their meat from this place, just wanted to show everyone what it looks like.  Yum?




And this is Dad on the back of Wynn's scooter, going to the market.  They call Wynn the "Terror of Tianjin!"

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

March 28th

We've been thinking about how we're going to exchange our Chinese money for U.S. money. When we came to China our credit union exchanged U.S. money for Chinese. No problem. But they won't exchange it back when we go home.
A local bank, The Bank of China, will exchange it for a fee, and only $500.00 per person per day. We don't have millions, but that will be a pain. So today we decided to try it. We went to the Bank of China to exchange our Chinese money for U.S. Oh, guess what! No one speaks English! We were actually doing quite well, filling out forms, getting our passport copied and getting a number to wait in line when along comes a Chinese man,casually dressed, and asks us if we our exchanging currency. We said Yes. He said he would do it for us. We had heard of him. He is distinguished by his gold necklace.
We stepped over to the side, in the bank lobby, and told him what we were doing. He whipped out the U.S. currency and we exchanged our Chinese currency! Just like that!
The couple who were here before us had left some information about him, and his business card, but Dad wanted to try the bank first. I guess Jason's exchange rate is better than the banks. He charged us $15.00.
I don't know what the bank charges. We never got that far. This is China!

Love you all Mom XXOO

Monday, March 26, 2012

March 25th

Saturday we celebrated Relief Society's 170th birthday! We had a luncheon at our branch building. Our Relief Society president made lasagna and I made "Banana Jell-o" and we had relish trays and Cake for dessert. Nothing fancy, but not bad for China.
Then we did a craft: vinyl lettering on a tile "Families Are Forever". Melanie made the lettering and mailed them to me. Jennifer Lee and I found the tiles for 1 yuan each $.16 and I bought easels to put them on for 10 yuan each $1.56. They turned out very nice and everyone was pleased with them. We had 11 sisters present, out of 17.
At the same time Dad and the Priests, two of them, cleaned out the garage at our building. We meet in a house. As they hauled junk out to the sidewalk the neighbors came to investigate. They were told that they could take whatever they wanted. They took it all! Even a portable baptismal font that had holes in it. Later we noticed some of the Christmas decorations that had been thrown out on the fence of the house across the street! And this is in a well-to-do gated community. Now you can park 2 cars in the garage!
Here when you rent a house the landlord doesn't fix anything. It's the renters responsibility if they want anything fixed, like the plaster that's falling off the wall, or the gap in the skylight that doesn't close tightly. TIC TIC TIC! Looking forward to a good week! Love you !! Mom XXOO

Friday, March 23, 2012

March 23rd

Today Jeanne and I went to the tailors. We took Venus with us, a local young woman from our church who speaks Chinese. What a God-send! The taxi couldn't drive us to the door of the tailor shop because the street was too narrow so we got out and walked. We had a business card from the tailors but there's no address just the street name and the name of the tailor shop. We walked down the street and didn't see anything that looked like a tailor shop. Venus asked someone on the street - narrow residential street 3 blocks long - and this lady said that the tailor was eating lunch so she took us to his apartment. He came out and told Venus where the shop was. We found the shop - no name on it- and walked right into the workroom. The woman was very nice - no English- Venus helped all of us understand each other and in about 20 days we'll go back and see how everything turns out! I'm having 4 skirts made and 5 blouses. Nothing fantastic but it will be nice. She had some beautiful coats there in the shop. They cost about 700 yuan to make, U.S. $110.00. While we were there a girl came in to pick up two coats and they looked great on her.
Dad walked over to a new DVD store with Nelson. They're not back yet. I hope I am spending more money than he will. :)
Love you girls...and boys! Mom XXOO

Thursday, March 22, 2012

March 19th

Every morning I peek through the curtains, as soon as I get out of bed, to check out the weather. Yesterday there was snow on the ground! About 2 inches! The streets were clear so it wasn't too hard to walk to the taxi, but we weren't sure how warm the church building would be so we bundled up. The building was OK. And the snow melted away. Today is clear and crisp! Nelson keeps saying that Spring is just around the corner. I think that corner is a long ways off.
Saturday Dad and Nelson and Joseph (YM Counselor) had to go to Beijing for training. So Jeanne and I had a free day to ourselves! We made arrangements with Paula to go to the Fabric Mart. She's been there a few times before. For some reason I was expecting a large warehouse-type place. No, it was a large, 2-story warehouse-type place with about 200 separate vendors! And no one spoke English! They had lots of beautiful material, but there were no prices or fabric content on anything. We both took blouses and skirts that we wanted to have copied so a tailor told us how many meters we needed to get. Then when I finally found some fabric that I liked we haggled on the price and she was insistent that it cost more than I wanted to pay. Then she spelt out "silk". I don't want silk. So the search continued.
As we plodded on we came to a stall that had a lot of very acceptable fabric. It was 20 yuan a meter, about $3.50. So I bought enough for 4 skirts and 5 blouses. Now we have to go to the tailors on Friday to discuss what we'll have made and that price. We're taking someone with us who speaks Chinese and English!
Dad had fun on Saturday too. They met in the home of the Stake YM pres. in Beijing. Dad said it was a fabulous house! It was in a compound that was well guarded by the Chinese. His wife fixed them a great buffet for lunch. When they returned that evening to Tianjin the taxi line was too long so they took a bus home. Nelson is very adventurous. I have taken a bus once and that was with a group of 5 of us and Joseph led the way. He takes the bus a lot. It's cheap. Nelson said he will take the bus to and from the train station from now on. It's only 2 yuan as compared to 20 yuan for a taxi. $16. compared to $3.50.
A new week has begun! Dad, Jeanne, Paula and I have all said, independently of each other, that we're ready to be done. less than 90 days now!
Love you ALL. and miss you too. Make good choices. Do a random act of kindness. Mom XXOO

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Funny stuff!

One of the first things I do in my classes is have my students write a question to me,anonymously.  I was reading them just now.  One of them is addressed," Hello my grandmother"!!!!! LOL
They are so funny!
Mom/Pat

March 12th

Dad and Nelson had an early meeting this morning so they went to church at 7:30. Then Dad called to say there was no electricity at the building. That means...no heat. Which means...wear long johns!
The other branch (Chinese) that meets in our building is responsible for the electricity. And they don't really understand why we want heat when it's cold and cold when it's warm. Anyway, one of the men came with the card (like a credit card that you pay forward on) about 8:45 and they got the electricity on. And about two hours later it was warmer. I think it was warmer outside than inside. This morning it said it was -6 C. outside, 22 F. I don't think that's right though.
Love you !! Mom

March 11th

Saturday,we took a long walk around campus and town. While we were out (it was cold & windy) we got invited to lunch at 3:00 by Becca & Marv from Nankai University. They were going to a new Western Cafe they'd discovered near them. We had previously been invited by our neighbors to meet at a new Burger King at 5:00.
So we went to lunch at 3:00. The food was OK. Marv and Becca said it had been very good the first time that they were there. Then we dinked around in a mall. It was expensive and all the clothes were size small. Then we took a taxi to Burger King and met our neighbors and had dessert. It was located in a VERY expensive mall; every famous name brand had a store there! There was a western grocery store also so we had to buy a few things there. They were expensive too!
We took a taxi home and watched a DVD in the evening. Today is Church and then our week end will be over.
Love you all and miss you too!!!! Mom XXOO

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

March 6th

It snowed yesterday for about a half hour. It didn't stick and it was mixed with rain, but at least the dirt got wet.
Tonight we ate waetrmelon for dinner! What season is this??
Dad XXOO

Monday, February 27, 2012

Feb 25th

About our bed...It is as hard as a rock. There is no cushion at all. Sort of like sleeping on a box spring. But it's big! About 6.5 ft. square. There is only one sheet, a duvet cover and two big pillow cases per set. The sheet just barely tucks in at the top and hangs about 3 inches over each side. It can't be tucked in at the side on the bottom. Then the duvet and two big pillows; like king size decorator pillows. I'm so glad we brought our own pillows.
So a few months ago I bought, what I thought, was another sheet to go under the duvet to keep it clean. No it was another duvet cover, but I liked the color better. The previous tenants were into neon green and such.
This new cover is a soft green. As soon as I zipped it open the zipper pull fell apart. You can't return anything in China. If it's broken, you did it. No returns. So the first time I used it I sewed it together. But I decided I should probably just have a new zipper sewn into it.
Today we took it to the tailor, who doesn't speak English, and showed it to him. He examined it, rummaged around in his stuff and came up with a zipper pull which he put on the end of the zipper. Then he changed the thread in his sewing machine and sewed the end of the zipper so the pull wouldn't come off. He charged us 4 yuan ...$.64.
I could have put a new zipper in at home. After I drove to Vancouver to buy a zipper that was long enough. And picked out the old zipper. Who would have thought to just put on a new pull?? Who would even have a zipper pull lying around??
This Is China!!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Pictures from the trip

 Ernie with an Eagle!

 Li River


Reed Flute Cave


 Yi Costume


 Pat's shoe repair
Stone forest

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Feb 21

It was so nice to attend church Sunday. We haven't been to church for two weeks because of our travels. In fact, almost everyone was back from their holidays so it was fun to see them all.
We had also had a "hot pot" on Saturday night at our Relief Society presidents house. It's a big bowl of soup that you put meat and vegetables in, of your choice, and then you eat it. It was OK. The cabbage was good and so were the desserts that everyone brought.
Last Wed. we went to Beijing to hear Elder Dallin Oaks speak. Did I tell you? Anyway we stayed with the Quan family. They're from America. He works for the U.S. embassy. They live in a 4 bdrm. 3 bath apartment in the embassy complex. It's not at all the kind of apt. that we live in! I told Alice she was the queen living in a palace! They even had real napkins! The napkins we but are like single ply, or less.
When I was talking to Mel the other day I realized that maybe I haven't mentioned our classroom situation.
My sophomores meet in a newer building. The class is made to hold 30 students. I have 37. So it's crowded and they have to go scrounge up chairs to sit in. There are enough desks , but not enough chairs. In front of the class is a chalk board (they have very nice chalk) and a big metal desk that's about 4 ft. tall. The desk is locked and I pick up a key on my way in, from a guard. The desk top slides open in both directions and that's where there's a computer and keyboard and a place to plug in my laptop. Of course, there are no directions to plug it in and the computer is all in Chinese so I can't use theirs.
I haul in my laptop and class materials in my shoulder bag. The students bring in their books in their backpacks.
Their classes start at 8:00 am and go to 9:50 with a 5 min. break in the middle. The next class starts at 9:50 and goes to 11:30. Then they have lunch and a rest until 2:00 when I have my classes.So my first afternoon class goes from 2-3:35 and the next one from 3:50 - 5:30. Then the students have a dinner break and then more classes and homework. They are really loaded down with work! They don't hold down outside jobs and there's not much time for other activities, like basketball or ping pong. But we always see the boys playing basketball on our way by the dormitories.
They take a national test in sixth grade to see where their aptitudes lay and in high school they are pigeon-holed for their vocation and college according to their national test scores again. They also take tests in college to see if they can go overseas to a university. Their English has to be pretty good. Besides the oral English that I teach, they also have an English grammar class and a writing class. And their English classes are taught by Chinese teachers. They're so excited to have a real English teacher!
I've got to hike over to the printing office to pick up some materials. It was so fun trying to order some cards to be printed when no body spoke English! Pantomime is universal!
Love you all! More later...Mom XXOO

Friday, February 17, 2012

Feb 9th

Thursday we are in Lijiang, northwest of Kunming. It's still cold. I'd expected it to be warmer since we're so far south. We walked around the Black Dragon Pool Park and walked through the old town. The streets are paved with big rectangular stones with a small canal with clear water running down the side. Often, because the stones are so old, they were shiny from being walked on so much.
On one street a man was standing outside his gate, as we looked in at his courtyard he invited us in. All 36 of us. His 84 year old mother came out to greet us and he offered us candy and oranges. In the middle of the courtyard was a cinder block pig sty with 3 pigs in it. In the corner was a corral with a few more pigs in it. There wasn't any pig smell. Their house and yard were pretty with beautiful wooden gates. Just down the street an 85 year old woman was working in her garden. She was widowed and lived with her son and daughter-in-law and two grandchildren in a stone and mud-block house. I love the old people. They are so withered and yet so agile.
Here we visited an embroidery school. They have always been well-known for their beautiful embroidery but it hasn't been kept up by the younger people, so now they're trying to carry it on. It was truly beautiful. They use very fine silk thread. Ernie bought a picture and I bought a scarf. It was just pretty!
We also visited a flower mart with fake and real flowers. I wished I could have bought some.
We enjoyed a hot pot for dinner. At another dinner I was digging down in the soup to get some vegetables and I scooped up a whole fish. He was looking me in the eye. They claimed that the broth was good for you, but you were not to eat the fish. Everything in China has a good purpose for your health.
Friday we took a long bus ride to Dali. On the way we made a bathroom stop. You had to pay 10 yuan ($.16) to use the bathroom which was a trough with waist-high partitions. I didn't have to use it. Dali was very nice. Our hotel had lots of character with flowers growing all around. Because we were so far south there was lots of foliage. Tianjin is very dry and dirty and everything is covered in concrete.
On our first evening in Dali we again noticed the cobbled streets with a small canal, maybe a foot wide, flowing down the side. We also noticed a girl, about nine years old, going to the bathroom in the canal. The next day we watched a woman wash her hands in the canal and later another little girl used it for a toilet. Then we saw a woman with produce to sell, washing her produce in the canal! It's China!
Saturday we visited the Three Pagodas. Very big and very gold and about 10 million steps to the top of the temple area. We didn't make it to the top, but almost. We also visited a marble factory. They cut the marble in slabs and the shading and whirls look like mountains and trees. It's really pretty, but very heavy; not conducive to hauling it home.
As we were walking down a street in the town a man came up to me and pointed to my shoes. They are splitting on the side and the shoe man on our street went on vacation. This man wanted to sew my shoes so we agreed, but we didn't agree on a price. He sewed both sides, glued the sole on one side, added some more sole to the heel and glued it and polished my shoe, and then he did the other shoe! When he was done he asked for 120 yuan. Dad gave him 100 yuan ($15.50) These shoes better last another 5 months!
We had a tasty lunch in Dali and later we found a restaurant that advertised brownies! We went there for dinner and ordered our dessert the same time as our entree. They brought our dessert first. It was a square of warm chocolate cake with ice cream! Yum!!
We had to get up at 5:30 Saturday morning to get to the airport and go to Kunming from there our group separated to fly to their own airports. We had a four hour layover and a four hour flight. When are flight was boarding there was a tour group of about 30 indigenous people. They were short and dark skinned. They had obviously never been on an airplane before. When the plane took off there was a collective "ah-h-h-" from the back of the plane, and when we hit some turbulence there was another collective "ah-h-h" from the back of the plane. They were very glad to get off.
Our flight wasn't non-stop and when we stopped everyone had to get off the plane. They gave you a ticket and then the cleaning crew went to work and 15 min. later those of us who were continuing on got back on the plane again.
Somethings that happen in China would just never work in the U.S., but they're coming along.
It was nice to get home. Even our hard bed was welcoming.
On Wednesday we went to Beijing to listen to a Beijing China International District Devotional with Elder Dallin H. Oaks, quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We went early to do some more shopping. We stayed with Steven and Alice Quan and their two daughters, Sarah and Emily. Steven works for the U.S. embassy and they live in embassy housing on the 19th floor. I told Alice her apartment is like a castle and she is like the queen. It's very different than our humble abode! It was a great devotional.
We spent the night, had lunch with Paula And Wynn Ferrell at Peter's Tex-Mex and came home.
We have another week of vacation and school starts Feb.27th. I'm looking forward to it. We'll be on the downhill slide!
XXOO Mom

Feb 6th

Sunday afternoon we left Hong Kong by bus and drove to Shenzhen where we flew northwest to Guilin. Monday we took a boat trip down the Li River. The boat was like an enclosed ferry. It was cold and rainy but the scenery was beautiful and three little girls Lily , Molly and Fiona made the trip entertaining. Nelson helped entertain them with finger tricks.
Jack and Carolyn Theler were sitting across from us at a table. There were some water buffalo on the banks of the river and a man in a traditional Chinese hat sitting there too. Jack slid open the window to take a picture, just as someone in back of him slid the window towards Jack and it hit his elbow and his camera fell in the water! They had gone home for Christmas and all of those pictures were on their camera.
We were bussed back to the hotel and that evening we took another boat to watch the cormorant fishing. The Chinese have used tame cormorants to fish for thousands of years. Fishermen set off on bamboo rafts after dark, with cormorants wearing collars to prevent them from swallowing their catches. The birds swim just below the surface alongside the raft that has a light hanging from the bow. When the bird makes a catch, it gets on the raft and the fisherman pulls the fish from the birds throat.It was so cold here I had to buy a fleece jacket for 80 yuan ($12.50)!
Tuesday morning we're off again. We visited the Reed Flute Cave. They were huge! We sang a hymn,"Firm As The Mountains Around Us", when we were inside. Our U.S. Forest Department would have a fit if they saw how the Chinese ran electricity and decorative lights all through this beautiful natural wonder! I bought a black over-blouse here. Supposedly hand-made. It's cute. Several women bought them.
That afternoon we flew west to Kunming. Everywhere we went we shopped. But there's only so many scarfs and trinkets you can see before they all start looking the same! Our breakfasts were advertized as "Western". There were always eggs, scrambled and wet or fried, bacon that looked like it was boiled, french fries, toast, fruit and cereal and a lot of Chinese stuff, like fish, rice, vegetables, congee (rice porridge) and other weird things. Lunch and dinner were Chinese style food. By Wednesday it was beginning to all look the same too although there was some variety. The bus rides were getting boring too!
Wednesday we visited the Stone Forest, a massive collection of limestone pillars in fanciful forms. The guides were in traditional Yi dress. Of course we had to buy one. I'll have Halloween costumes for several years.XXOO Mom

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Pictures

Pictures from the last few months:

Mom with the lady that sold her the scarf she didn't want.


 A typical fruit cart


One of their classrooms


This is where they buy their paper goods from, literally the back of a car!

Feb 15th

Had a great fireside with Elder Oaks. Got to talk with him twice.
What a great man. Mom got to sing in the young adult choir for him as well. Ha,ha
The family we stayed with in Beijing had the cutest girls. One
played the violin great and accompanied the choir. The other, 11,
played the piano. Their mom played for the choir. It was great.
The Quans live in Housing for the Embassy workers. Nice place.
Mom will write more.
Love you,
Dad

Rock at Victoria's Peak

Hong Kong Temple

Feb 15th

On Friday we went to the temple with our China Teachers Group. That was a good time. We also met in the chapel across the street for a short meeting.The temple is about a 15 min. subway ride from Hong Kong.
That night we went to the Night Market in Hong Kong. Dad stopped to look at something (silver dollars) and I kept walking with the group. Then I stopped to look at something and when I looked up the rest of the group had gone on. There was no one around who looked familiar! I was pretty sure Dad was still behind me. I walked on and crossed a street and decided to wait there for Dad because it was a clear area. I was pretty sure I could get back to the hotel if I had too. I probably waited at least 10 min. before Dad came out of the crowd and crossed the street. He didn't even see me, but I was sure glad to see him!
Saturday we had to do presentations during the morning at the church offices in Hongkong. After that we went with a group to McDonald's for lunch and then to Victoria's Peak. We took a bus and then we took a cable car that goes almost straight up the mountain at a 45 degree angle or more! The view from the top was pretty. We also found a rock where it has the date 7-14-49 carved in it. The Apostle Matthew Cowley and others prayed there to open China to missionary work. Brother Henry Aki was the only Chinese priesthood holder in a land of four hundred and sixty-five million people.
Sunday we returned to Kowloon and the temple and held a four District Conference in the chapel at the temple. That was neat! Then we packed up and got ready for our Southwest China tour.
In Hong Kong we stayed at the YMCA Hotel. It's a four star hotel. Beautiful! It's not like any YMCA you could ever imagine. And it's right downtown by the waterfront. Our group also went out for a Western dinner Friday night. It was the best food I've eaten here. The carrot cake was 4 layers! We saved it for the next day.
Hong Kong is clean and huge! So many skyscrapers. It was under British rule for many years and that influence is still there.It's a very international area. XXOO Mom

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Feb 14th

Tuesday Jan 31,2012 we left Tianjin at 7:00am to catch a 9:00 flight to Shenzhen. When we reached Shenzhen our directions said to and look for the shuttle bus to go to Hongkong.We were going to the temple and I assumed we'd tell the bus driver where we wanted to go and he'd drop us off close to it. On the plane we sat next to a cute young woman from Tianjin,Amanda, who lived in Hongkong. She wasn't familiar with our directions so she wrote out a diagram...airport - bus - customs-railroad to Kowloon. When we landed she took us outside the airport to get tickets for the shuttle bus. The bus made a couple of stops and then at one stop everyone got off, so we did too. No place was there any sign about " customs". I made Dad ask someone and they directed us to climb a hundred stairs and go over the highway to the pink building. We did that and when we got to the pink building there were no other signs about customs. Luckily we found an American and he told us to take the escalator, that was around the corner, and go upstairs and follow the signs that say foreigners. We did that. Filled out a card for customs and got in line. When we got up to the window we had to fill out another card. Then we followed the crowd to buy railroad tickets to Kowloon.Kowloon is actually part of Hongkong, but it's on the mainland and Hongkong is an island. Nothing like learning as you go. And we did have a map.
So we took the train and successfully got off at Kowloon. Then we got a taxi to take us to the temple. He charged 5 yuan for every bag he put in the trunk. We had three. Then he drove about five blocks and we were there. An easy walk if we'd realized how close we were! He probably thought we were crazy or disabled. Anyway, we had arrived safely!
We went into the temple to register for the patron housing. It's across the street on the second floor of some church offices. The housing was nice. It had a huge kitchen where we could cook for ourselves, but there were two Chinese women who were visiting the temple and they cooked for us all the time, even when we weren't hungry! The beds were as hard as ours here, but we had our own room with a bathroom. If they're busy the patrons are separated by men and women. Jeanne and Nelson showed up too. to stay in the patron housing you're asked to do two units a day. Tuesday we did an endowment session in English and some initiatory.
Wednesday we did an endowment and sealings. The endowment was in Chinese and we used head phones.There were 10 people in the session. The room holds 40. There was the cutest old Chinese man there. His cheeks were hollow and his hands all gnarled and arthritic, but he was at the temple. How neat! We also met another couple from the China teachers group and we went with them to Hongkong island and shopping at Stanley Park. We took a ferry to the island and a bus to the shopping area. What an adventure.
Thursday we did an endowment session that was full of missionaries.It was their "p" day.That was great too. Then we packed up and took the subway to our hotel where our workshop was held. I'll write more later. So much to write about!
XXOO Mom

Friday, February 10, 2012

Feb 9th

Hi All !!! We've seen wonderful things! And we've walked our socks off!! We are still buying things too. Pretty things and other stuff (you know dad). I'm guilty too. We are using the Nelson's computer so you can write to us still. Love you all and can't wait to get to our apt. This traveling is exhausting.
LOVE YOU MOM XXOO !!!!

We hope to skype you, some, Monday morning.
Mom is spending all my spending money. I have found some neat stuff
but getting it home is a concern.
We love our time here serving and learning about China.
We love you all and our boys and girl.
Say your prayers, read your scriptures, teach your kids what it means to love the church. Tell them that grandpa loves and misses them. Keep them close to you and the gospel.
Love you all,
Dad

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Jan 30th

Tomorrow we leave for Hong Kong and SW China. We'll return 2/12 sometime. I'm trying to pack for 8 days in two carry-ons. It's not easy!
Last Sat. we were invited by a friend,Henry, to go to his friends house to make dumplings and have dinner. The friends' son is 24 yrs.old and speaks English. His parents don't neither does Henrys' wife.
The table was spread with all sorts of fruit, nuts and candy before our meal. Then another English couple showed up. They work for the International School here and know the two young girls from our church. We had a wonderful dinner! There was so-o-o much food. At least 21 different dishes; fish, shrimp,chicken,pork, boiled bacon,lotus root and more!! And then they brought out the dumplings! There had been a dumpling making party earlier. The filling was shrimp, pork,cabbage, etc.We were certainly well fed. They were so excited to have us in their home ( 3 bdrm apt. of 4th floor) and so gracious.
Dad has succeeded in giving me his cold, but I'm fighting it like crazy. I don't want to go on vacation with a cold. I've been taking Airborn 3 times a day. We went out to dinner tonight so we wouldn't have any food in the refrigerator. We took two young girls with us and they took the left-overs home!
Take care. We love you all!! Be safe while we're gone!! Mom

Monday, January 23, 2012

Jan 22

Our total congregation was 21 on Sunday. We met in the Relief Society room again to stay warm. I conducted and taught Rel. Soc. There were 4 of us! But the Church is true, even in China!! "Wherever two or three shall meet in my name....."
We were all invited to dinner that night at the home of our Rel. Soc. pres. It was New Year's Eve in China. We left here at 2:30 and walked to the subway station and then when we got off the subway took a taxi from the subway station to her house. We arrived at 4:00. She has a very nice house in a gated community. She's from Taiwan and has been in China for several years. Her daughter goes to BYU Provo and her son will go to BYU Hawaii next Sept. Smart kids!
So her I.E. (maid) made about 12 dishes for dinner! There was shrimp cooked with the shell,eyes and legs still on it and they just eat it like that. I passed. I tried everything but I didn't go back for seconds. The dessert were OK. They don't cook with sugar, so even though it looks delicious it still tastes bland.
Then her son set off fireworks. The sparklers were about 3 ft. long and every thing that he lit was loud! The whole neighborhood was loud! There were some beautiful night displays too.
Then the subway ride home (she took us to the subway station) and then the walked home. It was -12 C(10 F )I had on earmuffs, a scarf wrapped around my mouth and nose and neck, my hood on and my glasses, besides my long johns, sweater and big coat and gloves. It was DARN cold! The walk is about 1 1/2 mi. unless it's freezing cold, then it's like 5 mi. Nelson didn't want to take a taxi, he wanted to walk!
All night fireworks were going off, especially at midnight. There's mostly old people where we live so it wasn't too bad. We slept through the 12-1 barrage. But they're still going off today. The celebration lasts for 15 days. The fireworks booths are huge. You wouldn't believe the packs of firecrackers they sell. And they let them off at 7:30 in the morning! We even see some of the things we used to sell at our fireworks booth.
Gung Hay Fat Choy! ( that's Cantonese and we speak Mandarin here, but I don't know it in Mandarin. You know what I mean.) XO Mom

Friday, January 20, 2012

Jan 20th

Yesterday five of us went to visit the Boeing plant that's here. Our Branch President is the General Manager and he gave us a power point presentation, pizza and a tour! It was very interesting. The starting wage for an assembly line person is about 1200 yuan a month, that's about $189.00 US. That's not very much. They employ over 800 people. In fact, most of the work we saw was being done by hand; smoothing fabric over shapes to be cooked and hardened into parts of the airplane. And then those parts have to be cleaned up and shipped out. Afterwards we went to another market place; full of watches, binoculars, knives, and phones.
I bought a few scarfs and Dad bought some matches that last forever.
It is definitely a holiday season. Lots of people were around.
I watched a man at one of the street vendors sample 6 different sauces that were out there in open pans and then he put the spoon back in the sauce each time!
There were a lot of fish out also. The shrimp looks interesting but we're just not sure where it was raised at. The water is so polluted.
The foreigners who live here, like our Branch Pres, are not allowed to drive. They all have a driver, sometimes two, one for the husband and one for the wife. It's probably safer that way too. Although the local drivers drive like crazy people!! I always make sure I sit in the back seat so I can't see.
Dad's in Beijing today with another BYU teacher, Marv Johnson. Marv's looking for golf clubs. Dad got a blood test. Heaven only knows what else they'll find!
Love you all!! Take care of each other!! Love Mom

Friday, January 13, 2012

Jan 13th

This is" The Great Subway Adventure" ! Jeanne Boren had a meeting to go to in Beijing at 10:00 Thursday. Nelson was going with her to lead the way so Ernie and I went along too. Actually, Nelson was going to a new shopping area while Jeanne was at her meeting :)
We left at 6:30 am, got the Bullet train to Beijing and then...Nelson led us to the subway. The Beijing subway has 10 lines and it's only 2 yuan ($.32) to ride as far as you want. He and Jeanne had tried it our a few weeks ago. In Beijing it was morning rush hour and the subways were packed! Jeanne, Nelson and I stepped on and Ernie was in the threshold. The attendant that was outside gave Ernie a push in his back(Nelson mentioned linebacker) and we were all in!!..like sardines! It was an adventure all day. We changed lines after about 3 stops and then changed again a few stops later. Every train was full, and then some. We walked Jeanne to her meeting and were invited back for lunch.
The shopping area was either a short subway ride or a 20 minute walk. We opted to walk. It was a beautiful morning, and a long 20 min. walk. But it was worth it! We bought some fun things.The building was 5 stories of little stalls. The salespeople were not too aggressive and they could be bargained with.
I bought a D & G coat for spring. Dark red ,short trench coat. After I got the right size ,XXXL ,we haggled the price. She started out at 880 yuan ($138.00) I said NO and then she asked me for my best price. I said 130 yuan ( about $20.00). She didn't like that, but that's what we've been paying for coats. We haggled for awhile and then we walked away. She quickly called us back and Ernie paid 135 yuan for it. I would have held out for 130. As I got out my money from my money belt she asked for "ice cream money". I refused.
We bought a few other things, but what we were really looking for were North Face coats. We were trying to haggle for some for 130 yuan when Nelson came up and said he found them for 100 yuan! His salesgirl was happy to sell us four of them.
We took the subway back to get Jeanne and enjoyed a delicious lunch with her hostess and the other 5 women from her meeting.
Then we got on the subway and went to the Pearl Mart. Ernie chose pearls while I looked around. It was a 5 story building and every jeweler only sold pearls. You've never seen so many different colors and styles.
Right around the corner was the Toy Mart. Luckily it was only one story!
On the way to the next subway station we passed a man selling kites. Did I say passed? Not before buying a few.
Now back to the train station. There are 3 train stations and I got us on the wrong subway going to the wrong train station. At the same time Nelson and Jeanne missed the subway that we were on, but they showed up 5 min. later. We got on another subway and went the other direction and eventually got to the right train station. We had to change subways 3 times. But it was only $.32!
Taking a taxi would have put us in hours of heavy traffic and cost a lot more.
When we got back to Tianjin the line to get a taxi was about an hour wait. So we decided to walk outside and try to find one. It was such a nice night. We walked for about a half hour before we found a taxi. We got home about 7:30. What a day!! We slept well last night

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Jan 10th

We were at our family home evening group and went over a story about a LDS pilot
who was shot down during the Vietnam war. He was a prisoner for 2 years and was listed as MIA. (missing in action).
His family did not know he was alive. He was finally allowed to write a letter to his family and had to write 25 words or less. We all got to try and write our family a letter of 25 words or less and see what we would have written. It was interesting.

Anyway, Elder Nelson, who Jodi got to shake his hand many years ago, said this and
I/we wanted to share it with you.

"When I see how carefully Heavenly Father has prepared for my present
circumstances, how can I be frightened about my future? Surely He is putting
into place today all that I will need to face the unknown times ahead."

We miss and love you all very much.
Have a good week and if it is not a good week, make it one.
Love you,
Dad

Monday, January 9, 2012

Jan 9th

I got snookered last week. I needed a scarf and I've been looking but,no luck. We were at a different marketplace and this old lady had some . They were 25 yuan, about $3.50. I know you can get them cheaper, but she was so sweet. So I chose two of them and offered her 40 yuan. She took it. All the while she is comparing her dark weather-beaten hands and face to my "white" skin. Then Ernie came up and I told him to take a picture of us. She's all smiles(even good teeth). Ernie starts admiring some other scarfs ,pashminas, that she had, and she puts one on me. She's still smiling and chatttering away in Chinese. I thought she wanted me to have it. Which I didn't want to happen. They don't make much money. So finally, she pointed to the price and Ernie pulled out his wallet and paid her 30 yuan for it. She was asking 35. So I got another scarf, and it's not even one that we were admiring! Maybe I should say Ernie got snookered!!
We just got back from a huge shopping trip. We went to Da Hu Tong for 5 hrs. It's about 5 mi. away. It is blocks and blocks of stalls in buildings that are 3 stories high, plus all the street stalls. We looked all over and didn't find any North Face coats! But we didn't come home empty -handed:)
My beautiful bag ,that was a Christmas present from Betty, was full, and Dad had two large bags too. I'm not sure what we bought, but it was fun. Chinese New Year is in a few weeks and everyone gets new clothes then, so for a Monday it was really crowded!
I took my own PBJ but Dad bought a hot dog (?) off the street. He still seems OK. Although he did trip in a store and fall on his knee! The one thing you cannot do in China is fall. Especially at our age.
Love you all. Mom XXOO

Jan 7th

Fruit and vegetables are so plentiful in China. Pineapples just came in season. Ernie bought one for 5 yuan,that's like$.90. Strawberries have been in , but we're told they'll be better next month. Of course, mandarin oranges are all over the place, for cheap. On our street the vendors drive little carts that are full of fruit. There is a wide variety of apples. I don't know what their names are but they're all good.They also have lots of oranges. Most of the vegetables I don't recognize. I thought I was buying zucchini the other day and it was a cucumber. There must be 5 different kinds of cucumbers at least.
I just went outside to take pictures of the vendors and they're all gone. Lunchtime is from 11:30 to 2:00. That's when there is lots of people out. Then the shoppers die down and the vendors go home or sleep. It will be busy again at dinner time.
The pictures show the mandarin orange vendor.
The pineapple man, he peels it and takes out the eyes.
The paper goods vendor, T.P., napkins,kleenex.
XXOO

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Jan 3rd 2012

So our finals are all over. Our grade sheets are turned in. We're free!!! Now what do we do??? We're sleeping better; not so much stress about teaching. In fact, We're sleeping longer/later !!

Last night we went to a Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert. A lot of Strauss and cartoon music.( You know, what you hear during the cartoons. Did you realize it was classical music?)The University bought us tickets.
We were so adventurous we even took the subway! Nelson & Jeanne had been on it before. Of course, we had to walk 2 miles to get to it, but it only cost $.16 each and it was fast. There was a lot of traffic last night. There's always a lot of traffic here. It's one of their biggest problems.

Today we walked over and bought an ink cartridge for our printer! It cost 100 yuan, about $15.50. The store is four stories of electronics. Every company you can think of has at least one stall there. I didn't know there were so many phone and computer and others things available!

Tonight we're having FHE at our house. I made lemon bars. The lemons say Del monte USA.They are big and wonderful and cheap. I will miss the convenience of walking across the street and buying fresh food at cheap prices. But I won't miss the dirt.

It is always dusty. I laugh at the women who shake their dust mops out the window. Isn't it just going to the sidewalk to be tracked inside again? But I've been doing it too lately. It's China! I don't know if rain will make it cleaner or worse. So far it's just been cold and windy.(I love my sunglasses Lori sent me!)

I need to mop the kitchen before our guests come. Dad's in there making something.

Camping at Cape Lookout July 16-19. Shellee reserved 6 spaces, no yurts available.

We will be done with our classes June 15th and then we have to do grade sheets.

Love you !!!!!!!! Mom & DAD XXXOOO