Dinner at the Park

So, last night we were driving home from a dinner we had thoroughly enjoyed with a family from church. We are not out at night too often, so I am always very interested in watching people and what they are doing - my inquisitive nature gets the best of me! I think it is better to say that, than I am just plain nosy!! Anyway, I look over at a park and I see this fire. At first I am alarmed that there is a fire at the park, but upon closer review, I realize that there is a man standing there cooking his dinner in this bonfire. I wonder if I will ever get used to the things I see out my window? You see we are very shielded as expats. We enjoy cheap manicures, pedicures, and massages, help in our homes, homes with more than 2 rooms, and an inexpensice cost of living. Looking out the window and watching how many people here lives makes me want to do something. I guess you could say I am on a soul searching journey trying to figure out what my place is here. One thing I would like to do is help in an orphange - Danny is terrified I will want another child, but really all he needs to do is put me on a 12 hour plane ride with our three and I'll promise to be done! I'm also thinking about helping Chinese students with their English. I think this would be very interesting and I could possibly get to understand the people here better and understand China on a deeper level! I'll keep you posted on this journey!!

As I mentioned above we were able to get together with a family that we met at church last week. We had such a good time over dinner and dessert! They have 4 children so our kids had a ball. Ellie especially enjoyed their hamster - I am just going to pray that I do not have to get a hamster!!! Of course, we can't have a quiet night wherever we go, so I'll call last night, the night of a bunch of water! Coop found and dumped water everywhere he went. First he sat at the table and insisted on using a big boy cup. I hesistated, but let him try it. Bad idea - onto the floor it dumped! Next after playing with the hamster, I insisted that my children scrub their little hands. I realized after a bit that I have not heard Cooper for awhile. Danny finds him in the bathroom washing his hands like he was told, only he had pushed the stopper down so water is now trickling over the sink! I'm not sure if we will ever be invited back, but we had a really good time!

The family we were with last night is here with a Christian company. One of the schools here is part of the company and they also have a business entity. The thing I found most interesting about this company is that no matter what your position, you are paid the same, everyone lives in the same complex, and other requirements, like language training and health insurance are the same. It is communal to say the least! The people that come here basically give up very good jobs in the States to come here with their suitcases. I was inspired by their ability to start fresh in a new country! I don't know if I would have the courage to do what they are doing! I wish I could say that I would.

We are now the proud parents of a daughter who can ride a two wheeled bike!! Yippee! After a week of many falls and a few scrapes, El has finally mastered her new pink bike! I was thinking just two days ago that I was going to have to call my mom and beg for her to send me some training wheels, but El surprised me and now my mom can send more practical stuff like baking soda to neutralize the smell in the fridge!!! I have to say that Danny was extremely patient and loving with Ellie during the learning process. I think the patience needed to live in China is wearing off on him a little!!!

The kids and I visited their new school yesterday! The school is still not put together from all of the summer work, but it was fun to look at their classrooms and see where they will eat and play!! El is most excited that she will have her very own locker! I am most excited that the two first grade classes only have 12 students with 2 teachers in each!! As a teacher, I know what a wonderful learning opportunity this will be for her! Eens is most excited that there are scooters and bikes to ride around the garden outside his room. I am excited that his teachers have been in early childhood education for years! He will have about 20 children in his class and 3 teachers! El and Eens start school the week of September 1st. El goes Monday and Eens starts on Wednesday. This will give me a little time to ease into the school year!

Today we went to an amusement park that is not far from our house. It was much more fun than Danny and I could have imagined! We were a bit nervous about the safety of the rides, but were pleasantly surprised. I've found that if you go into something here with not many expectations, many times you have a good time! Of course, we had the usual chaos when we tried to buy the tickets. We ended up with the wrong ones, but figured it out pretty quickly and I was able to explain to the lady what we needed! The kids loved the rides as you can see from the pictures! They also loved fishing for some real live goldfish. I guess fish are better than hamsters!!

Last week I said that I would post some pictures of the inside of our house. Here they are. I'll post more when I get all of the paint done and we receive our sea shipment. Then I can show you before and after - how exciting!! The last picture is of the washer/dryer - it does both! I have no idea how to use - thank goodness for ayi!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! We are off to our Saturday night destination - TGIF!! Afterwards we may go on a jaunt and try to find Coldstone Creamery (we heard they just opened downtown!!)! We miss everyone a ton!