OUR FIRST VISITOR!

Late April my good friend Brian (aka - Shep - toast/roast at our wedding) made a swing up to Beijing to visit. He was in the area (Shanghai) and decided a weekend in Beijing was better then some 5-star hotel in Shanghai. His idea of camping I guess. We have been anxious to gain the opinion of someone who once shared a similar prospective when we lived in the States. "Is this place as cool/strange/bizarre/dirty/developed/contradicting/etc. as we think? The only way we were going to find out is to take him around to our favorite digs and of course, hit up the sights.

Friday night, Shep and I just took in a few pints of TsingTao and YanJing... Beijing's finest brews.

Saturday, Shep and I made the pilgrimage to the wall. It was a holiday weekend in China, and we went to the most popular section of the wall just outside of Beijing. You can see in the pictures the ant trail of people up the wall. Not to mention all the vendors on the wall harassing you to buy straw cone hats, postcards, jewelry, glow in the dark spinning whirling tops, you name it.

Every inch of the wall was covered in graffiti

A smile for the dedication of the photographer to capture the essence of the moment. This was take #4

Afterwards, we had the driver take us to the Birds Nest (National Stadium) in an attempt to snap some photos. The driver works for Nadia's school and was insistent on stopping on each side of the stadium. Unfortunately, there was still construction going on, so we could not get too close to the Bird's Nest or the Cube (Swimming arena).

Working hard or hardly working?

After a hot day climbing the wall and scouting the Olympic venues, we were in need of a cold beer and some good eats. After spending a week in Shanghai, Shep was hurting for some Western style food. We hit up a local favorite on SunLiTun'r, a strip of bars, restaurants, and huge stores filled with individual vendors. Think a swap meet in a department store. We needed to fuel up before playing the negotiation game with the hawkers.

Sitting outside a local favorite sandwich shop

Finally, after securing some souvenirs and flexing our bargaining prowess, we headed back to the apartment for a little R&R before painting the town. Unfortunately for Nadia, our little growing alein prevented her from joining us on a bar crawl, but it did afford her the opportunity to catch up on some chick flicks. Fortunately for us, it meant lots of beer, lots of whiskey, and of course, a couple fine Cuban cigars. It started off with a few Stella's at a favorite young European hang out. Feeling old, we headed to a hobbit style pizza shop for some 'za and the finest selection of single malts & Belgium beers I have found yet.

The Tree, Grolsch, & Montecristo's

We followed the The Tree, with one more bar that confirmed we are old. Picked up a chicken shawarma wrap for the hangover, and called it a night.

A good time was had by all. It also provided Nadia and I the confirmation that despite its faults, Beijing is a pretty cool town. Hopefully this makes you thirsty! Your are all more then welcome! We would love to show you around OUR TOWN!

Earthquake

WE ARE FINE! We have received numerous inquiries in the wake of the tragic earthquake that struck S.W. China. The epicenter was WenChuan, a town approximately 100 km from the capital of Sichuan providence, ChengDu. Beijing is 1,000km form ChengDu. We did feel the earthquake. It was registered as a 3.9 just outside the Beijing city limits. It felt like a sudden case of motion sickness, as if I were dizzy suddenly. However, there was no reported structural damage in Beijing. The real tragedy is the loss of so many school aged children. As we had mentioned in previous blogs, the one child policy has created "baby-centric" society. The loss of generations and bloodlines, further emboies this tragedy. Although a very tragic natural disaster, it still is minor in comparison to the Cyclone in Burma. The Red Cross is now estimating up to 128,000 people have died as a result of the damage, continual rain, disease and famine. Equally devastating is the Junta's response, or lack there of, which in my opinion is in stark contrast to the response and openness of communist China. Specifically the amount of TV coverage, detailed reports, & acceptance of outside support & media. This is unprecedented, specifically given the PRC's historic reluctance to air dirty laundry and protect the country's image at all costs.

35 weeks & counting...

Sorry for not updating this sooner, things have been a little busy between travel, work, & anxiously awaiting our baby's arrival.

I was fortunate enough to have a business trip home at 32 weeks pregnant. I spent most of the week on MSU's campus. Both weekends I was in Saginaw, and was able to see both Zach's and my family. I also met my Mom's newest addition, a Husky Chow mutt named Marley. He is SO cute! I really miss Sadie, and and all of the family pets. It was nice to visit with them too. Zach and I have had family dogs our entire lives. Just another aspect making it difficult living overseas, quarantine is a long process that would be unfair to Sadie. Plus Becky loves her (proof in her new sausage shaped body).

I stayed with Eric at our house in Lansing during the weekdays I was recruiting. As many know, I LOVE Buffalo Chicken salad aka Wing Salad. My wonderful brother, being the manager at BW3 aka B-Dubs, showered me wing salads every night with a H20 on the rocks. I hope he works at B-Dubs forever!

It was great being home, the weather was perfect, and campus was in bloom. However, I was also very busy working on teacher recruitment, which it took up all of my time in-between wing salads. I even went to Western's career fair to solicit teachers. I discovered this to be a very difficult and frustrating activity. Many of the recent college grad's think that they will be able to find a teaching job in MI, and their parents discouraging them to leave the safety of home. Some grads showed up with their parents at the career fair. WHAT?! If you are a parent reading this, DO NOT REPEAT THIS BEHAVIOR!

Traveling pregnant was not fun either. I had a unfriendly encounter with an unsympathetic woman during the long leg from Tokyo to Detroit. Plus, I never quite got over the jet lag once in MI. This was the first time I had this problem with jet lag. It sucks.

I did squeeze in some time for myself and did some shopping with my Mom for baby stuff. I had my first Babies-R-Us experience. Let me tell you, it was overwhelming to say the least. It took one hour to filter through the first two aisles. They have tons of lists and resources, but how the hell do I know which breast pads to select from the 20+ options??? My mom was not much help either. Her response to everything was "I don't know, they didn't have that when you were born." Which lead me to believe that the things on the "must have" list, really aren't "must haves." It was worth the time spent, because I was able to put together a registry and purchase some true MUST HAVE things that we can't get in China. I must thank my Mom for putting up with me and my Dad, for sending me back to china with the things we needed. I also want to thank Sam & Jo, our siblings, & extended family for your gifts. It was truly wonderful to have one suitcase full of baby stuff to take back with me!

Upon my arrival to Beijing, I was so excited to share all the new baby stuff with Zach. However, in our current 1 bedroom apartment, we have literally no where to put it all. We cannot officially move in to our new 2.5 bedroom (2 bedrooms + Ayi quarters) apartment until May 20th. This makes it difficult to satisfy my nesting instincts. That has been one of the more challenging aspects of pregnancy in China. Having a bigger apartment is not as important as being able to arrange our boy's nursery as we would have done in the States. I feel as though I am missing out on that experience. I'm trying to remain positive about the nesting.

Other than that I am hungry and thirsty all the time. I feel really big and I am EXHAUSTED by the end of my day. I also have noticed that my patience is running thin (poor Zach). Despite these feelings I have been able to stay mobile and content. I still walk half a mile to work, and with Zach at home more frequently, we have been able to meet for lunch and take walks in the parks.
Our boy has progressively become more active. In fact, we got in our first fight last week. He was moving around for what seemed like hours, and was SO ROUGH, I really thought he was going to bust THROUGH my belly! We needed to have a little heart-to-heart. Based on his activity level, I am pretty sure we are going to have a wild child on our hands. I can't wait to meet him! Next week we have our first ultrasound since week 20. We are hoping he is still a he, since I came back from the States with all boy stuff. Stayed tuned to the blog for more updates.
As for work, things have been busy beyond the teacher search, trying to complete all my major tasks before the baby is born. However, things keep popping up, like the Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease scare (HFMD). So far our school has not been affected, not to mention, we run a very hygienic program. So it is not a big issue. However, there have been some cases in Beijing, which obviously has concerned some parents. Some just want information, other are making outlandish recommendations. One such recommendation from an Asian family was to use PEAR JUICE instead of water to wash the children's hands AND feet throughout the day. HUH!?!? That sounds MUCH more sanitary then antibacterial soap and purified water!

I have actually had children in the US with this virus. I feel its just like anything else, you need to take precautions, follow the day to day health and safety procedures, (standard in all programs I have been associated with) and encourage parents to do the same. We spoke with our doctor about it. The fact that there is an outbreak does not make me or the baby more at risk. The doctors recommendations, breastfeeding & limiting our baby's contact with young children, are practices we already planned on. Pretty common sense stuff. The doctor said (verbatim) "Just don't allow another child to lick your baby." Overall we feel very comfortable that we will not be impacted by HFMD.

Jet setting

Sorry again for the delays, Nadia and I both have been travelling. I spent 2.5 weeks on business trips in S.Korea & Hong Kong, and Nadia made a trip back to the States to hire teachers for the fall semester.

I flew into of Pusan, South Korea, for a brief supplier visit then received a ride to Changwon, South Korea. There we had a chance to walk around downtown a little after dinner. Snapped a few photos...

Cherry blossoms in full bloom

Typical city corner in Changwon, stacked upA sign without explanation

Next was the city of Jinju for another supplier visit.
Korean Steakhouses are a common, frequented for business dinners. I ate at one almost every night in each different city with each different supplier. Traditional Korean fare is primarily seafood, vegetables, and of course Kimch'i. The process: you take a lettuce leaf, put a piece of grilled steak from the hibachi along with a grilled garlic clove, some spicy bean and peanut paste, a few marinated onions, and any of the various toppings on the table. Fold & eat in one bite. Chase with a sip of Hite beer, & a shot of Soju (Jinro), the "world's best selling spirit." Primarily because a 375ml bottle sells for 5,000 Won, or $5. Jinro is the small green bottle in the photo.

We had a weekend in between our next stop, so we stayed in downtown Seoul. We met up with the daughter of one of our engineers who is stationed at the US Army base located in downtown area. She served as our tour guide around Itaewon, a street in Seoul littered with shops, restaurants and bars. It is a popular destination for tourists and soldiers on R&R. Another crazy destination in Seoul was the COEX Mall. This mall comprises the "basement" of several city blocks in downtown Seoul. It is 58,000 sq. meters. It includes an aquarium & megaplex cinema.

Our last stop in Korea was Pyongtaek, where our Eaton facility is located.

Next flight was to Hong Kong. I needed to stop en route to Beijing in order to secure a visa that would allow me to gain permanent residency in China. So I had a couple evenings to see the sites (sights?). I took the Sky Tram up to Victoria Peak to get a good look at the skyline.I walked or took the subway everywhere. You don't have to be in Supply Chain Management to appreciate this logistic marvel. Each subway station has several exits at various points on a city block. All entrances feed one stop on the route. Also, there are elevated walkways everywhere connecting all the hotels, office buildings, restaurants, bus stations, ferries, and subways. It is so easy and logical, I had no problem getting around. The cost of real estate dictates this. Real estate in Hong Kong is some of the most expensive in the world. Average cost of a condo is $10,490-$ 14,780/sq.meter.
Next I took the Star Ferry (Hong Kong icon) to the Kowloon (north) side of the bay. There I got to watch the buildings light up to a choreographed laser/light show.
Finally, I was going home. However, Cyclone Nargis tried to stop me. I escaped before Nargis made land fall in Hainan, and eventually made it's way up the cost to Hong Kong.
I arrived in Beijing at the new terminal. Another show piece for the Olympics. It was only open a month before I arrived. Pretty amazing, like all the other new iconic structues, the terminal is enormous and spectacular. Everything is glass, all the walls the ceiling, even the elevator shafts, showing the inner workings of the lift.