Language training for Kelley and starts tomorrow. We were told that we will spend a few weeks just listening to the basic sounds of Chinese. We will be dedicating 3 hours each day to language study and then venturing out to use what little we know.
While we have been looking at apartments/offices and getting acclimated to our new environment, we haven't shied away from venturing out. We will often take buses ($.08 one way!) and taxi's ($1.50) to new places. Thank goodness for GPS and Google maps to get us out of jams. There are many times when trying to communicate that we and the Chinese people who are helping us just start laughing. It never fails that someone in the room/store always knows just enough English to communicate for you to others. We have found that smiling a lot and being willing to laugh (with others) at yourself goes a long way in getting people to help you. The Chinese people are wonderful.
Now that we have an apartment, Kelley has been busy going to markets for things like fabric for sheets, blankets, and curtains. Almost all those things have to be hand made. You bring the measurements, choose the fabric, and then they will sew it for you. It's really a neat culture, however, everything takes a little bit longer (okay sometimes quite a bit longer) than in the states, but, it teaches you to slow down a little.
Our apartment was a "fixer-upper"and so this past week I have been busy with many projects in an attempt to wrap them up before language classes start. Can you believe there is a Home Depot in Xi'an?!
We're on the 10th floor. The owner had new air conditioner/heaters installed. Check out this guy waiting to put the air conditioning unit on the little holder -- on the OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING!
Kelley and I are also getting adjusted to the very "stiff" style of Chinese beds. It's amazing what a 2-inch piece of foam can do to help you sleep better. We are told that when westerners go back to the states, they feel more comfortable sleeping on the ground rather than the ultra soft beds in the US. I'm not sure we'll have that problem....but we'll see.
Isaac is already in his third week of school. He has a bike that was given to us (and in pretty sorry shape), and just tonight he went on his own to the bike store and got the brakes fixed, a new seat, a bell (to warn pedestrians) and tuned up for just 35 Yuan (that's about $5.60). Way to go Isaac! Now he can ride bike to school.
We were excited to learn that our first care package is on the way!! We'll update the care package page soon to let you know if there is something else we could use (that we can't get in Xi'an).
Just this last weekend we learned that in the next 10-20 years there will be a mass migration from the rural areas to the urban cities. All the major cities are starting to ramp up for it. It is estimated that 300-400 million people will be moving into the cities. That's the entire population of the United States! You can only imagine the social needs that will create. We feel privileged to be here at such an important time.
Opportunity...
This summer there will be summer camps held in Fuzhou for the youth. The camps center on drug and alcohol prevention as well as aids awareness. It could be a great time for you or someone you know to come to China and be an extra set of hands to help with the camps. I'll share more info soon.
Our internet will be down for up to 10 days as we wait for our internet service to be installed. We'll let you know when we're back online!
Until then... Have a blessed week.
