Our First Week

It is hard to believe that we have made it through our first week. I'm not sure it was the easiest week, but we muddled through and made the best of it! Of course, the hardest part about being here, besides missing family and friends, is the language barrier. I have been so thankful that everyone I have encountered is very understanding and helpful. Hand signals and my little Mandarin book have gotten me through. I now feel pretty comfortable shopping and going out to eat. I am excited to start my Chinese lessons - I would love to be able to communicate on a deeper level than I can now. I'm sure there are so many stories and information that I am missing due to my inability to understand!

The kids and I have been trying to come up with some sort of routine that works for us while Danny is at work. This week we have been doing some sort of activity in the morning, resting in the afternoon, playing outside, doing some schoolwork or games, then eating dinner. That pretty much sums up our days! Nighttime is spent playing some more and then tubs. It is pretty dirty here, so a tub is necessary every night!

Yesterday Ellie got to go over to her new friend Rachel's house to play. She had so much fun and I loved seeing her interact with someone her own age. I was over at Jennifer's (Rachel's mom) house also, so it was nice for me to get to visit and hang out for a little bit! It's so easy to relate to other mom's no matter where in the world you are. We all have the same stories, the same struggles, so there is that instant bond! I'm so happy I'm a mom!

After making sure El was comfortable staying at Rachel's, the boys and I went to Nan Jing Lu, it is a street that kind of reminds me of a Michigan Avenue (except you're in China!). Our driver came with us and helped push the stroller and carry packages. I love all of the help, but I am just not used to it. I will probably never get used to people bending over backwards so that I don't have to lift a finger. I think that is a good thing because once we are back in the states, I'm on my own again! I'll enjoy it while I can. After some toy shopping and playing, the boys insisted on Pizza Hut. Here, Pizza Hut is a nice sit down meal, not a quick bit to eat. It was fun spending the time with the boys. I was so proud of myself for ordering and paying the bill without any help! I ordered using some Chinese and even asked for the bill in Chinese!

Today I decided to take the kids to the zoo since we have been driving past it everyday and they really wanted to go. Let's just start off by saying I'm pretty sure the zoo would not meet the standards of a zoo in America. Danny had warned me about it because he had went before we got here. He also said that I may want to charter a plane home after going. Therefore, I went to the zoo with very few expectations and as usual left with plenty of stories and giggles. First, the zoo is huge and it is located right in the middle of the city. Just like at Lincoln Park Zoo, you look up and you are surrounded by skyscrapers! The walkways were as clean as they come here. So far so good. Then we get to the exhibits - oh my. I felt terrible for the poor animals. They do not do a good job at all of attempting to keep them in their natural environment. Most of the animals are in cages or behind glass with little room to move. There were a couple of exceptions, the deer were walking freely and the kids could pet them (don't worry mom, I drowned the kids in sanitizer afterwards!), the alligators were in dirty water, but they seemed very happy (how do you know if an alligator is happy?), and there were monkeys on the lose. I must clarify the monkeys, because I almost peed myself from laughing so hard! We go into this gated exhibit and Cooper and ayi stayed outside because of the stroller and Coop was eating a popsicle. I can't read the signs, so I just assumed we were going to see some monkeys in their natural habitat. We start walking down the path and I think to myself, "Oh, this is really cute, there is a play area for the monkeys and we can just sit and watch them up close." At first we didn't see them coming, but then I looked up and saw all of these little monkeys running out towards the path. Surely they cannot get out of their exhibit. Ah, but we are in China, so yes, the little monkeys are running down the path right at us! For those of you who know Eens well, you know he is scared of his shadow. I think him and I both realized what was happening at the same time because he started bawling and running the other way. El and I were running after him laughing hysterically and all of the workers were laughing so hard too. I'm not sure they had every seen a little American boy who was so afraid of the monkeys! Once we were safe, I thought to myself that we will probably skip that exhibit next time! After that adventure, we were very hot and hungry, so we headed home! Here are some pictures of our morning!

Here are a few more...the last one is the monkey exhibit!!

Where the green gate is open, is where those crazy monkeys just started running out!!!

In my first week here in Tianjin, I have convinced myself that laughter truly is the best medicine!