I’ve been trying to get settled into my new place.  Shopping in China presents some challenges.  For example, if you buy something you have to be able to get it home.  We take our vehicles for granted in the US.  If I go grocery shopping in the US, my groceries just have to fit in my car. That’s easy, right?  Here, if I want to get groceries, whatever I buy needs to be small enough to be carried in some way on my bike.  This makes a person much more creative.  I’m forced to think of new and interesting ways to strap stuff to my bike (which, by the way, currenly only has front brakes) and try to balance on my way home. 

I’ve been discovering my new neighborhood and found a METRO, which is similar to Sam’s Club in physical size and warehouse style, but with much less stuff…  I spent a good hour wandering around the METRO searching for things I need for my apartment…keeping in mind that whatever I buy here I have to carry home on my bike.  After shopping for a few (random) items, I loaded up my bag and hung it from one handle bar of my bike. (This causes balance issues…)  Sometimes, if my items are too big, I’ll take a taxi. 

After getting home, I decided it was a good time to wash some of the rugs that have been sitting on the floor all summer and try out my washer also.  This “adventure” took way longer than it needed to due to some language difficulties.  The instructions on my (front-load) washer are all in Chinese.  You’re probably thinking, “she doesn’t know how to use a washer?”  I know. Pathetic, right. 🙂  I spent a good 15 minutes translating the characters for each of the 10 settings.  Then, I figured out that there were really only two different “settings” and that each of the 5 parts was just a cycle in that setting.  Great!  I turned the knob to the correct setting, added the detergent and voila!  Piece of cake, right?  Well….

I decided that it was a good idea to check on the washer periodically (like every 2-3 minutes) to see if things were going the way they were supposed to.  After a couple ‘checks’ I discovered that there was water all over my bathroom floor.  (Now, this in itself is not uncommon for this country.  A person’s showerhead is usually directly over his/her sink/toilet so a wet floor is commonplace.)  My water on my bathroom floor was not.  Isn’t there supposed to be a tube that connects the washer to some sort of drain?  Nope. My drain is now my bathroom floor.  We’ll see if I can get this one fixed… A little while later, the washer is on the spin cycle and it is LOUD. I mean, I’m wondering if my neighbors are concerned about me.  The machine was literally jumping around.  (no wonder it is tied to a pipe with a piece of STRING… good grief. 🙂  So, yes people, the best way for me to keep my washer quiet (and in one place) is to sit on it during the spin cycle. I may get a lot of reading done and not much else…

Today, (Monday) I went to my ‘first’ Chinese class.  I was successful this time because I was up really early and left my apartment really early.  Actually, I left early so that I could Skype with my niece at a location that has internet.  I got to a little coffee shop, ordered my coffee and proceeded to not get online because they eliminated their internet.  🙁  That’s not cool.  I didn’t really have any qualms about taking my coffee with me and heading out to find a different internet place.  I walked to the new place and ordered a pastry and sat down to get online.  The man gave me the ‘password’ that didn’t work.  Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!  It took this man 30 minutes to attempt to solve this problem. I was very annoyed.  I finally got online and had to tell my niece that I was unable to chat with her because I had to go to class. 

I found my classroom and looked over the first two lessons (because that’s what the lady at the counter told me the class got through the first week–the week that I missed).  The teacher came in and proceeded to ask me some questions in mixed Chinese-English.  The other four students came in and class began.  The class was just beginning lesson two, which I was thankful for. I can understand a lot more if I know the context of the conversation.  I would say that I understood about 70-80% of the class.  This isn’t too bad and will definitely be a challenge for me.  There is one woman in the class who is pretty good but the other three are very close to the same level as me. 🙂  I’m planning to enjoy it a lot! 🙂  Each 90 minute class is 30元， if you pay for at least 10.  So, my first two weeks of class costs me $47.  🙂

So, here I am, after my class enjoying lunch before I go to the bank and get on the bus back home.  I have much unpacking to do and a book to read while I wash some clothes.  Until next time…

I woke up at 3:30 this morning.  Of course I knew this would happen because I’ve done it before.  There’s a lot that can be accomplished at this hour of the morning. (Not to mention lots and lots of games of solitaire on the computer–can you tell I don’t have internet in my apartment yet?) Lot’s of really good thinking happens this early. For example: topics for the new B study I’m starting with my Chinese friend this year. She and I are going to try to branch out in my neighborhood.  I now live by myself in a community about 20-30 min away from where I was living last year.  Our idea is to co-teach this study and make it bilingual for now.  Hopefully it will be a way for me to improve my Chinese too! 🙂 

That brings me to the next event of the day.  Since I was up since 3:30, I had tons of time to get ready for my first Chinese class of the year!!  I’ve decided that I have enough time to take a 90 min class each day.  (We’ll see how long it lasts.)  I went to the school yesterday to see what they had available and there was a class that started on Monday. I have only missed the first two lessons.  The woman said that I can try the first class for free. After that it is 30元 per class. So cheap! 

I decided to leave my apartment at 8:00 for my 9:00 class so that I could get there with plenty of time to spare.  I walked out to the bus stop and checked the sign to find a bus that goes to that area.  There are TONS of buses near my apartment and it’s a little jam-packed.  The buses drive in the bike lane so the bikers kick the walkers off the sidewalk.  I found the appropriate bus and proceeded to wait….and wait….and wait.  8:23 comes along and finally my bus shows up.  It’s packed.  I don’t even know why they try to pack more people on the bus. It’s a battle of the wills as the people getting on try to shove their way into the stairwell of the bus in hopes that the door won’t close on them.  Being the lover-of-personal-space that I am, I decide that it’s not worth it to sit there and wait while someone gives in and gets off the bus…I was the “someone” that gave up.  I said to myself, “I’ll just take a taxi. It’ll be faster anyway.” (since it is now almost 8:30 and it’s a 20min-ish drive there.)  I begin walking in the direction of my destination, making frequent glances over my shoulder to check for available taxis. Clearly this is not a popular taxi part of town.  I’m a mess because I’m sweating and wearing dress shoes while trying to walk quickly (with my computer on my back) all while checking for taxis.  (did I mention that it’s humid here?)  I made it to the subway at 8:42 (a 1.2 mile walk according to the pedometer that I’m wearing)  I got on the subway and made it to a friends house at about 9:10. I’m enjoying the AC and internet.  I probably would have gone to class late had the woman’s last words to me not been, “don’t be late tomorrow.”  Ah, 中国，you never cease to amaze me. 

Long story short: I missed my first Chinese class.  I’ll try again on Monday. 

In other, more pleasant news: I still have my bike. It has a super rusty chain and a spider took up residence in my right handle bar and decided it was a good place to lay her eggs. I hope I got the whole egg sac or I could be in for a lovely surprise some morning in the not-so-distant future.  I only felt bad for about 3 seconds before I squashed her.  So, now, I must leave you and get some oil on my bike chain so I don’t have to wait for buses and taxis anymore. 

Until the next adventure…

During my travels in the midwest, many of you told me I should update my blog with what I’m doing stateside. Here goes:

Arrival in the US:  spent a good share of time in Airport Limbo. 
Time spent in WY:  hung out with the family, cooked/baked up a storm (I think I might have missed it a little), purchased a new camera, camped in the mountains. (I also missed this!)
Traveled to SD:  stayed with my godparents, Chris and Linda Schumacher, for a couple days.  Geocaching with Chris and some much needed pinochle time, too!
Traveled to WI:  stayed with friends, Paul and Meghan Kuckhahn (and little T).  Had a great time catching up, being introduced to JW, losing at Clue, and just hanging out.
More WI:  stayed with friends, Collin and Sarah Mayer (K and E, too!).  Had some much needed geek-out-music-app time and enjoyed delicious margaritas. (It was right around this time that I lost the AC in my car…conveniently, this was the hottest week in WI to date…and, yes, adding refrigerant to your own car is considered illegal in this state.  Good thing Iowa understands my pain.
N. WI:  stayed with friends, Sam and Darla Smith (with Rob and Lexie there too).  Saw HP7 pt. 2 for the first time! Loved it!
More N. WI:  stayed with friends, Dane and Joanne Mattes (C and H, too).  Great to catch up with these dear college friends. Saw HP7 pt. 2 for the 2nd time! 🙂 Loved it again!
More N. WI:  more quality time spent with my niece and nephew, cooking, swimming, Wii dancing and other fun stuff.  Miss them already.
Back to S. WI:  visited other friends in the area, played trumpet for the synod convention opening service, general relaxation while visiting dearly missed people.  I was able to attend a concert given by some of my lovely Chinese students in the Milwaukee area.  It was great to see them and definitely re-energized me for China. 🙂
Traveled to IA:  stayed with friends, Craig and Gretchen Fiemeyer (A too).  Fixed my car’s AC (because it’s not illegal in Iowa).  Loved the catch up time with these guys!
Traveled to KS in sweet cold bliss:  and this is where I am as I update.  I’m staying with my awesome brother, Marc.  We’re enjoying some good food and some crazy hot weather. (It was 111 yesterday.)  We are going to see HP7 pt. 2 at 3D IMAX tonight! (yes, this will be the third time!) 

Below are some pics from the summer so far. Enjoy!

At the 4th of July Parade in Gillette. It was fun to be in the US for the 4th this year.

Just a bit of the baking that I did while staying at my parent's house. Everyone loved these monster cookies.

More baking. Red velvet cake with homemade whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries. They liked this one too! 🙂

Meadowlark Lake in the Bighorn Mountains.

On our way to the trailhead we saw this guy. He didn't seem afraid. 🙂

Part of the trail. Beautiful.

Not-so-little-B. What a handsome guy!

Beautiful T. 🙂 She makes me smile!

I didn’t take too many pictures while in Wisconsin.  My next update will come from China.  🙂  “See” you later.