1/29/08
Hi fam and friends!
I (Linda) haven't put a post on here yet so decided I would journal some here for you and me. So you may hear some of the same things James wrote about only through my eyes. We are having a great time. It seems like we have been here 2 weeks already because of how busy we have been. We got here last Friday and have been taken care of ever since by Wes who recruited us here for our jobs and Pat, his wife. They fed us dinner that night and breakfast the next day and brought us to buy food and essentials the very first day we were here. They had prior to our arrival made our apartment homey with eggs, milk, bread, tp, kleenex, an alarm clock, dishes for 2, and even a plant in a blue and white pot on our coffee table. The apartment for all you girls who are wondering is really kinda nice. It is 2 bedroom and they are good sized, about 16x 14 or so. There is a stand up wardrobe with some drawers and shelves in our room and we recruited another smaller one for the other bedroom which will be an office later for our coats, etc. (and spare bedroom if we can get another bed). There are large windows in both rooms which face south so there is lots of sun coming in every day. There is a LR/DR combo that is about 14x20 or so also facing south. There are sliding french doors to a sunporch area off the LR and a smaller one facing west off the kitchen. The kitchen is galley type with a long counter on one wall and the cupboards and sink/stove on the other wall. We have microwave but not an oven. We plan to get a toaster oven later but have been making toast on the stove like for grilled cheese sandwiches -pretty good. The BR is small but adeq with a shower and the washing machine is in there. It has a small capacity but cleans quite well. We always use fabric softener since there is no dryer so no hard towels. Wes helped Jim put up a close line in the spare room that we can take down when not in use. The clothes dry quickly there in the winter because of the steam heat. It is nice and cozy in here (warmer than our normal 60 degree house!) We don't have the down comforter here, though so we need more heat. It has been very cold here about 10-20 and gusty today. We're outside walking more so are learning to dress warmer. Lots of the businesses are not heated or keep the temp at 60 degrees or so, probably less the way it feels. And, there are tons of people on bikes even in this weather. Jeane, you asked about bikes here - yes, lots. You see people hauling people and big stuff on them and then there are the kinds with a small cart on back (3 wheel). These people are pretty rugged and really work hard. You don't hear them complaining about the cold like I feel like doing.
We went out to eat at a restaurant with no English on the menu and no forks offered with an American that speaks very good Mandarin. We wound up with some good dishes to share and I mean share. The custom is for everyone to eat off the serving plates in the middle of the table. Very few take food for their plates. It seemed to work well, we got plenty to eat and we were not sick the next day! The lady, Naomi is a friend of Pat and Wes's who has lived here for about 8 years, studied Mandarin full time for a year and plans to make Tianjin her home. She is adopting a Chines baby girl and will receive her soon. We were invited to her apt which is on the 11th floor with a great view of the city, a very nice apt, 2 br, 2 bath, small kitchen and large roof top garden area. It has the same refrig and washer as we do in our apt and no dryer.
We got the leak fixed in our shower, or at least we will know if the caulk worked as soon Jim takes his shower tonight!
We did some cleaning one morning but have lots left to do. There is a fine smog dust that collects on everything and is still in the corners and around the edges and on the windows and the balcony's. We will be glad when it is done so we can completely unpack. We want to buy some small area rugs since the floor is covered in large tiles throughout - nice but not cozy. Plus I need something to do yoga on since I had to leave my yoga mat in the airport because of the weight, along with my swimming suit and a pair of shoes and 2 pair of Jim's jeans. Joe took the last few items which he may mail to Tom!
Another custom is to take your shoes off at the door and put on slippers (you even provide them to guests) because of the dust that you carry on your shoes. I came in tonight and put them on and was walking around awhile before I realized I had Jim's on! The jet lag is not completely gone.
I met with the Dean of Nursing yesterday morning with Wes along to assist. I also met 2 young ladies that help the instructors in the department with paper work, etc. They are all so humble and nice. I will have 4 groups of about 25 students, all girls, to teach. I will be teaching 2 groups about the NCLEX exam and 2 groups a type of conversational English. This will be the 3rd level for them in this class. MY assignment before class begins is to make a syllabus of sorts and an outline of content for my classes. Wes tried to get me out of it with no luck but I talked to Pat who instructs the 2nd level of the English class to the nsg students and she said it would not be difficult. I really don't have to follow them word for word, just need a structure and a paper for their files. Not new, huh? It will also be a way for me to get organized.
We went to the security bureau yesterday with Xue, the lady that takes care of foreign teachers, to get our resident permits. They took pictures of us which was a treat for me and took 3 times because my hair is so full of electricity here. It is very dry and I have not pumped up the amt of cream rinse I am using yet........... The new ponytail hairstyle I adopted right before we left is coming in handy. That took from 2:30-5:00 and then a visit to Wes and Pat's for coffee. We got home late and made stir fry with fresh vegetables from the market. It is like a farmers market only inside with no heat and they have other foods that they prepare right there. I saw some flat bread that I want to try soon. Pat brought me there the afternoon prior and I bought some pears, bananas, oranges, dried dates or plums (not sure), a couple apples and some great roasted salted almonds, walnuts, and macadamia nuts in the shell. Also bought some really good veggies. That is about 2-3 blocks from here and open every day. Some people go out 2-3 times a day for food to prepare. We also have about 3 cafeterias on campus that are open every day except during holidays. We tried the Chinese and Indian ones and they were really good and cheap! - about 60 cents each for a meal. There is also one with Persian food that is not open during break that we are looking forward to trying. The lady I mentioned earlier that we met has a housekeeper that cooks her meals on weekdays. It is very reasonable. She also takes a cab to work everyday. She told us there are stands everywhere that have breakfasts to go. They have really good fresh soy milk for a type of porridge and an egg sandwich. We are yet to try that.
Today, I met with Xue at her office which is about a block or less from here and got a bank acct with a debit card and a cell phone for James and I. Mine is red, his white. That was an experience! Their plans are different than ours and it was hard for Xue to get it through to me how it worked. We will find out eventually what plan I chose when the phone runs out of minutes. That is how it works, you pay for a certain amt and when you are out, the phone says not working and you go buy more. You can actually buy minutes at the post office.
Tomorrow morning we go for a physical at 0830. No eat or drink in the am so it must mean lab work. Pat said it will be good experience for us - I hope she's right. You may or may not hear about it in another entry!
We love getting emails and promise to be good at replying to them. Our time should be less busy soon once all the technicalities are done and our apt is clean. One more thing, we get to start taking lessons to learn Mandarin next week. James and I will have a teacher for 2h a day, 5 days a week for about 7 dollars a week. It sounds like it takes a LOT of time to learn the language but we will give it a try. We want to at least be able to get around.
If you haven't noticed, I am eating more and thinking about food alot - must be my form of comfort, although I guess it's not new for me!
We love and miss you!
Linda and James