Ready, Set, Go!

By Joann

Life is in full-swing for us in Nanjing. Jim is working like a dog, going into work early every morning by car and biking home most nights (about an hour ride--or 51 minutes if he is trying to beat his personal best!). He has conference calls with the USA usually 2 nights a week. This week, Emerson is being visited by a group of Rosemount employees from Eden Prairie, which means alittle socializing and alittle ping pong.

The kids started school last Wednesday, August 13! (Check out http://www.nanjing-school.com/) So far, so good. The kids at the international school are really international. Our kids' history of living in Africa and then China is really no big deal; most kids and teachers have lived in numerous places in the world. They have new friends from all over: Austrailia, Germany, New Zealand, England, Brazil, South Africa, Holland, and Korea. The school is made up of about half Korean kids. In the older grades, esp., the percentage of kids from Korea is high.

Jesse's teacher has taught all over the world, including Jesse's birthplace: Nairobi, Kenya. They had an instant connection. Rachel's teacher is from Canada and she is really enjoying each day in his classroom. She is also loving the drama and art classes. Levi and Grace have homerooms, then move from class to class like in the US. All of the kids have started Chinese and Levi is taking French as well. Grace had the choice to take 2 languages or 2 sciences. Her parents encouraged her to go with Biology and Chemistry.

Some after-school activities have started. Grace is trying volleyball 2 nights a week and Levi just signed up for touch rugby. (His mom is happy with the "touch" part! We'll see if it is truly non-violent!) The word is there are competitions with other international schools so they will get to travel some throughout China. Each day we learn alittle more information...communication is not always clear.

We moved again! Jesse told me it was our fourth move: Roseville to Hong Kong to Nanjing Crowne Plaza to Villa #26 at Dongjiao to Villa #21 at Dongjiao. (I think Hong Kong was just a visit, personally.) We are now in our "real" home--at least where we will live for the year. We have ordered furniture, including 2 sets of bunk beds for the kids and the largest table we could find in China. I searched high and low for a large, affordable table--not an easy task in a country with small families. We ended up asking a manufacturer to special order a table for 10. In the meantime, we have furniture on loan from the hotel.

(Dongjiao Guesthouse, where we live, is a state-owned hotel property with villas, townhouses, and apartments for residents. They regularly host government staff, so security is tight. In fact, soldiers live and train on the property. Because it is a hotel, we have the benefit of towel and linen service (a huge perk in a very humid place with small dryers!) and a choice of furniture to use while we wait for our own furniture. From what we have heard, we have a very good situation. Many of the properties that ex-pats live in are managed by individual landlords and experiences vary widely.)

Our house is set against thick woods. There are 9 other villas in our "community." It feels very much like how Jim and I grew up--all the kids go to school together and then run together after school and bounce from house to house. The moms gather at two central picnic tables once in a while and the dads drive-in (or are driven-in!) around dinner time.

I am working on getting my schedule in order. Grocery shopping is more time-consuming here. I need to rely on our driver, Li Min, and I can't find everything I want at one place. There is a Sam's Club-type place and I have yet to visit one of the "western" grocery stores where you can buy cheese and canned items and cereal! Most grocery stores have a small section of imported foods, which helps us find familiar items. Mostly, we eat Chinese every night. My new rice cooker is in use almost daily! I think Friday night will be our night out to visit one of the pizza or sandwich or burger joints in town, although we did find a wonderful Chinese restaurant that advertises that they don't serve animal parts and they have English menus!

I am planning to meet with a group this week called "Hopeful Hearts." They mostly raise funds for Chinese children that need heart surgery. One of the women involved is fluent in Chinese and she visits with the doctors and the patients in the local hospitals. I am hoping to join her and get some exposure to local hospitals. I am also pursuing contacts in a medical and nursing school and an orphanage. Everything takes time as the process unfolds. August, esp. is a slow month as many people go on holiday until the beginning of September.

I am also checking-out my options for language learning. I will probably take an organized class geared for adult-learners. It is called "Survival Chinese," which seems to be what I need most days!

We assume you are all enjoying the Olympics! China is making itself known, for sure. We have many stations that broadcast different events throughout the day. We just found the one Chinese-run station that is in English, so now we will get more of the drama. The hotel management is planning a closing ceremony party for all of the residents on Sunday. It will be a good time for us to meet all the neighbors.