Happy Thanksgiving from China!

Wednesday, November 23^rd

Happy early Thanksgiving!  I never used to get so excited about a holiday as I am this year.  I want to share this unique part of our culture with others and we get to because Bill and Caroline ordered a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people!  There are only 4 of us in the dorm, so we’ve invited a few other teachers, principals, etc.  It will be quite a party – our first since being in Beijing.  We’re excited.  I’ve also decided that I am only going to play games and do crafts related to Thanksgiving… if you all aren’t working, why should I?!? 

Last Sunday we had a gift bazaar at church and I heard a saleswoman speaking French so I went to her booth.  There was another girl there speaking French as well, but I could tell she had an accent.  When we walked away, I asked her where she was from, she told me Vancouver B.C.  So close to us!  Then she told me she lived in France, in Strasbourg, about an hour from where we lived at BFA.  And now we are both here… small world.  I was excited to make a new friend who I have a lot in common with; now more than ever I treasure connections with people with common backgrounds – it is quite rare around these parts since most people are Chinese.    

It is officially not warm anymore.  It is, in fact, freezing.  There is a wind that comes from who knows where and it cuts through to your bones and man do you ever feel like your face just got frozen off.  Our clothes are not nearly warm enough for this weather, we’re going to have to invest in some serious down coats. 

I got sick (again) this last week.  A co-worker described the viruses here as never hitting you full on, like you never get a full on cold but your energy is totally zapped.  Can’t get off the couch zapped.  I’m doing better with the help of some Chinese medicine – I think I will start an import business for that stuff when I get back to the States, it is that good.  Chris didn’t get sick, which is totally unfair but since nobody asked me what’s fair in the world of immune systems, I don’t have much of a say in the matter. 

Hans and Howard, two men from our organization (Teach Beyond) came to visit us last week.  It was so great to have people here from BFA (my high school, Hans is my old principal).  We got to introduce our world to them and they brought a bit of past with them as well.  When they left it felt kind of lonely and reminded me how isolated we are from things and people we know.  Sigh.  We are making the best of being here even though it doesn’t feel like home yet.  We are very familiar with the McDonalds around the corner (hey, gotta do whatacha gotta do to get comfort food!), on Saturday we explored our neighborhood more and found a bookstore and a clothing market nearby.  We went to church on Sunday which felt like a breath of fresh air and we have things to look forward to, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, a trip to Taiwan (we bought the tickets, yey!), and warm coats.  Very very warm coats. 

Since I’ve done all the talking, here is Chris. 

Hm, well then. First off, my take on the cold is a bit less severe than Grace’s. It is certainly cold, but nothing we wouldn’t experience back home in Washington; it’s probably in the 40s during the day. I still walk around campus with my sleeves rolled up. The thing that does get me though is that the school leaves all the windows and doors open, making it 40 degrees in the cafeteria and all the hallways, too. I don’t mind feeling cold when I’m outside in November — I expect that — but I expect to escape from the cold as soon as I step inside. Supposedly the doors stay open to let in “fresh air.”

Second, I must announce that I’ve found myself a guitar. It’s nice. That is all.

Ok, it’s Grace again.  I just have to say, that Chris is the ONLY person on campus that walks around with his sleeves rolled up.  I don’t know what’s wrong with his heating system, but it seems to be on overdrive. 

Chris’ words: guess I’m just hot.  Lucky you. 

Grace’s:  ….  

Okay, we should let you all go.  Hope this was a good glimpse into our lives in China.  Thanks for reading, and your thoughts, and encouraging emails – we love it all (even though we’re terrible at responding, it’s not you!).  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Saturday morning to all. We are siting at Bill and Carolyn's, with worship music in the background, 2 of their boys having a nerf war, warm wonderful cups of coffee, and Bill getting into an argument about morality with Chris. It is great to be out of school, no dorm, no kids yelling outside our window and good food. You'll notice that so much of what I talk about is food, and as I think about it, a bad day is always made better by good food and a good day only made better by good food. Right now, I seek comfort food. I found scones at Starbucks last Sunday, and while Chris and Veronica (our floormate) went hunting for food, I sat and enjoyed my scone and green tea latte. We had just been to church where no one introduced themselves to us, people barely even smiled at us and I left with a chill down my spine. Therefore, scones and tea were a good comfort for the lack of human contact. I mean, you'd think that in a country where people are so unfriendly to foreigners (at times), that foreigners would stick together. Nope.

Just to confuse you, I'm sticking with this blog!

Staying connected to the outside world is not anything I take for granted anymore.  I miss the days of a single click and  voila, you're on to any network containing hundreds of people just dying for your latest update.  Now , I'm using a remote computer in the States while sitting in Beijing and it types about 4x slower than I am typing.  Frustrating?  Don't even get me started.
Other things that are frustrating...  let's see.  Getting ripped off at the market when trying to bargain because we don't understand the language.  Although , I have to say that for our first time bargaining Veronica and I did pretty well and had a good time doing it.  The merchant pulled out her calculator so we typed in our price.  We even walked away once thinking that she wasn't going to come down any further, but she called us back and gave us the rug at the price we asked.  we were pretty proud of ourselves! 
Other things like buying yogurt instead of milk and not finding out about it until the yogurt is in the coffee...The mosquitoes here are terrible and the water is only hot at night.  Kids just pee on the side of the road or one the sidewalk.  The garbage man is an old guy who picks up garbage on his bicycle.  So many new and different things.  Okay, I've got to run!  

China promotes creativity...New Web address found here!

Due to extremes of the Chinese mafia, our contact has been limited. ;) We have acquired an undercover aid skilled in words and illusion. She-code name "Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo"- in the USA has found a way for us to report activity her directly to you!... :P :)

Posting under direct assignment of myself, Grace Caudillo ...please continue to follow our adventure at:

http://ohheychina.wordpress.com

Photos can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohheychina/

Toda! (Hebrew for Thanks!)

and Shalom (peace) to you!

And so we go

Well, our phones are officially disconnected and I feel quite vulnerable. Not a fun feeling. After 6 years with 206-498-1538 ringing by my side, to tell me you all were calling, I bid it adieu - not without a little bit of sadness.

On the upside, we got our work permits! We got them yesterday, which was exactly what we'd hoped for. Having the actual papers in hand, I now feel caught in a whirlwind of things to get done before we leave. Our departure date is still up in the air, but the reality that we could be leaving this weekend makes me want to do a crazy person dance. I'm not sure what that looks like exactly, but I have a really good idea of what it could be in my head, only I won't do it in real life for fear of people thinking I'm really crazy. I'll try to post a picture - not the crazy person dance, silly, the work permits - but the technology evades me at this point in time. Actually, it usually does, that's why I married Chris. That's pretty much the only reason... just kidding hun :)

In the meantime, we've change our Skype name to Chrisandgrace2 and we have a free (206) number that can receive texts and calls from the US to China: 206-745-2924. The calls will go to our iPad for now, until we get a phone over there. Isn't technology amazing? Just please don't forget the 15 hour time difference, something technology has not yet conquered. We'll be 15 hours ahead.

Ok, I better start getting things done around here... Just wanted to let you all know how much we have loved sharing the beginnings of our adventures with all you - whether it's been afternoons in parks or dinners or little notes, we've really felt blessed as we go out to face the unknown. So thanks. You guys rock.

edit - 9:54 am:

Well, we found out we could be flying out as soon as sunday or monday! When I first read that I just about peed my pants. I mean, we thought we had another 2 weeks at least. We're excited and scared, but at least I got my haircut scheduled! now we all know where my priorities lie!

We spent about a week with my family in Portland, and are now with chris' family in Seattle where we get to see our niece and play with our new iPad :) thanks aunt Janae!

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible before leaving, if not, please stay in touch. Also, please be careful with your language in comments as most everything is censored by the Chinese government. This means not using words that sound overtly religious, be creative :)

Our Skype name is Gracieboettcher, feel free to call to stay in touch!

First Post!

Gosh, I don't even know how to start this thing.  First off, I'm totally intimidated by anybody and everybody being able to access my word and thoughts as well as our journey.  But in an attempt to keep more than a few people up to speed on our endeavors (we all know that I am not the best at staying in touch!), here we are.  First post.  So far, this morning I've made scones (thank you Smittenkitchen.com), spent a lot of time catching up on emails and eyeing our new guide book for Beijing.  Do I dare to look through it, get my hopes up, then dashed when we don't get our visas?  I think I'll dare.  I mean, our stuff is stored in my parents' garage (thanks mom and dad!), our cat has a home and we're down to a car and 3 suitcases.  How could our visas not come?  Doesn't China know that we are ready?

Part of me is so excited for an adventure: new foods, new places, new people and culture.  Another part of me is scared to death that I'll never have a stable home and I'll be moving from place to place till who knows when.  I think that's part of why I haven't gotten rid of all our stuff -- having stuff and a cat keeps me grounded, gives me roots and helps me to establish an idea of home.  And I have Chris.  He's pretty awesome (eye roll permitted)! 

During our last week at camp, Chris had the brainwave that we had to pack for China then.  This was it, our stuff was going straight into storage after camp.  "Yeah, of course I knew that" I responded with a slight eye roll that in fact meant I had no clue and was not planning that far ahead and was freaking out.  So what the heck do you pack, leave behind, store in certain places, and where did my blue shoes go, dang it?!  It's all upside down and topsy turvy right now.  My clothes don't match - I know this is a signature style for me, but it's gotten a little excessive with this new packing job.  There are many apprehensions and doubts, and this adventure will only seem more real when we have our visas in hand.  We're just waiting right now.  Spending time with families, trying to see friends, recovering from camp.  It's all a waiting game.  By the way, do you know how hard it is to plan a hair appointment when you might be leaving the country in a week?!