House Hunting Day #2

We met our realtor, Sherry Wang, at 9:00 a.m. for our second day of house hunting.  We went to the apartment complex where Tracy Crump, one of Craig’s co-workers lives.  The landlord was there yet to show us the apartment, so we went to see Tracy and his apartment.  He has a nice place and he showed us some of the decorations he has bought since he moved to China.  He is fascinated by the Chinese culture and has some nice things.  We then went to see the apartment.  The people were still living in it and we weren’t impressed at all.  Let’s just leave it at that.  I had a few adjectives I was going to use but decided I better not.  The second apartment was a little better but not much.  We were pretty discouraged by this time.  We really liked the third apartment.  It has been completely redone and everything is new in it.  It is located in the area I wrote about yesterday, by the International School.  The last apartment was new also, but is farther away from the Autoliv worker’s homes.  It was in a very nice complex, much nicer than the other ones.  I really didn’t like the furnishings though.  And I mean I really didn’t like them.  Could I just say purple velvet cloth headboard in one room and pink in one room—the list goes on and on.  We are going to go back with Cherie Sparks on Monday and get her opinion on the apartment, location, etc.  We are feeling a bit more hopeful today

After we got back to the hotel, we decided to go back to where I was yesterday so I could show Craig the area.  We went by taxi and it was quite the ride.  He got lost or was just driving around to make it cost more.  I think that is what he was doing, but Craig gave him the benefit of the doubt. Craig was trying to give him directions which was a disaster.  We finally got there and this time it cost 20 rmb or about $3.50.  We went to lunch at the Potato Bistro.  We decided to try their Mexican cuisine this time.  We both enjoyed our meals.  I showed Craig all the places Cherie and I went yesterday.  Our taxi ride back was uneventful and cost 13 rmb (go figure).

Sue Goes Exploring

Craig went to work and I decided that today was the day I was going to buck up and get out on my own and do a little exploring.  I left the hotel and headed out on foot to check out the surroundings.  I walked around the side of the hotel and down a little bit.  I found a bank and a little store right in the hotel complex.  I thought it was kind of funny, because when we asked at the front desk if they had an ATM they told us we had to go to the bank.  It was dark when we checked in and the clerk said we needed to go out the side door and down the street.  We thought it was like a block away or something.  The language barrier can be quite interesting at times (like most of the time).

After I came back to the hotel, I called Cherie and we made arrangements to meet down by the International School by the McDonalds.  This required me getting a taxi.  I went down and the bellboy got me the taxi.  I gave the driver a card with the address on and off we went.  When we got there, he handed me the receipt and I had no idea whatsoever how much it was.  I held up some bills and he pointed to one of them.  The bill was 13 rmb, which was about $2.50 in American money.  I waited for Cherie for a while.  I felt kind of inconspicuous, but I survived.  She rode the metro (subway) from her place.  We went to lunch at the Potato Bistro.  I wish I could adequately describe what it is like going to these places.  (Hopefully, soon I will figure out how to send some pictures.  The one picture I sent came from Cherie’s phone.)  We walked through a filthy entrance-way and got on a filthy elevator.  The bistro was on the third floor.  There was a patio and inside seating.  The place was really nice and the food was excellent.  I had a bit of an upset stomach earlier in the day and was a bit worried about eating too much.  I had pumpkin soup and a potato.  Cherie had pasta that looked good.

Cherie showed me the area.  We went through the open-air markets and then went to the Scugo which is a store like that Metro Store we went to.  Cherie took me through the grocery isles and pointed out the different foods.  She showed me what was good and what to avoid.  I don’t even want to discuss the meat department.  It makes me queasy thinking about it—and the smells, oh my!  When we walked past the meats that were cooked and for sale, I asked Cherie if she would eat any of it.  I won’t say what she said, but the answer is NO!  The bakery was right next to the cooked meat—poor choice of location because some of the baked goods looked pretty good.  Cherie bought a few groceries.  You bring your own bags and bag the groceries yourself.  You only buy what you can carry on the metro and then walk to your place.  We rode the metro to Cherie’s.  She has a nice home.  It is what they call a villa here in China.

Cherie downloaded some apps on my phone and showed me how to use them.  Craig and his driver picked me up on the way home from work.  They had a Western Bar-B-Que at the hotel and we went to that.  It was a buffet with Western food.  My favorite part was the European desserts. They had a band that was trying to play country music—Chinese style I guess.  When the band wasn’t playing, they played recordings of country music—a lot of Johnny Cash and some others.  It was a nice evening.

I felt like it was a good day.  I learned that I can do things that I never thought I would ever do.     

Dumpling Dive

This is where we had lunch today at the Dumpling Dive. It was a little scary, but good. House hunting went ok, but not great. The places we liked were a 20 minute walk to the subway. They say anything more than 10 minutes is not good. Craig and I tried walking it. It was about 85 degrees with 95 percent humidity. I can't imagine me walking that in the cold weather or the pouring rain. The subway or taxi is my only mode of transportation. We are going to look some more on Saturday.

The boy in the picture is Cherie and Lane's son Carson. He came to China right from his mission a few weeks ago.

Physical Fiasco

I am not sure how to describe the physicals that would do the experience justice, but here goes.  We left the hotel at 7:45 a.m. and picked up Cherie Sparks and Tracy Crump.  They were going to take their driver’s tests.  We drove to Chang Zhou, a city of about 3 or 4 million.  We arrived at the Chang Zhou Medical Center (I use that term loosely) at about 9:30.  We met Tony, our realtor/babysitter, there.  Cherie and Tracy went with Katherine and Sherry to take their tests.

The reason we need the physical is to get a Residence and Work Permit so we can live in Nanjing. First, Tony got us signed in. They needed our visas and a picture. Next, was the urine collection. They handed us a little plastic cup (emphases on little) and sent us to the restroom (if you could call it that). They were right next to each other. The woman’s had a squatter toilet, with a door that locked and sitter in the corner with no door. I waited for Craig and then had him hold the door. It was too early in the morning and I was way too freaked out to even think about using the squatter. There was one sink to wash up in with Kleenex to dry our hands. Nice. I wish I had pictures to describe this place. Don’t get it in your minds that it was like going to a health clinic in the States. Craig described it as a meat packing plant.

Next, we went to the blood draw.  I was really worried about this because we had to go fasting and I was afraid they wouldn’t be able to find a vein.  I have horror stories about blood draws.  There was a girl sitting behind a glass window.  I told Tony to tell her I needed a pediatric needle.  She just stared at me.  I then said to tell her a baby needle.  She pointed to a container with needles in them and there were pediatric ones, so I was in luck.  They were in sealed bags, so hopefully they weren’t contaminated.  I put my arm under the space in the window.  She grabbed it and wrapped the band around my upper arm and proceeded to look for a vein.  When she couldn’t find one, she started slapping my arm.  She was able to find a vein and I got this over with.  Because we had been fasting, Tony had a little snack for us to eat at this point.  Not sure what it was.

From there we were herded to the x-ray cubicle.  They wrapped a big thing around the abdomen and then took a chest x-ray.  The next cubicle was the ultra sound.  I lay down on bed with a cloth cover on it (which wasn’t washed between victims) and she did an ultra sound of my abdomen. We moved to the EKG cubicle and had EKGs on another bed with the same cloth.  Next cubicle was the blood pressure, color blindness test, eye test, and eye exam. The next place he took us was a room with 4 curtains around the cubicles.  I looked in one of them and saw a crude form of stirrups on the examining table and about had a nervous breakdown.  I thought, “Oh no, here we go!”  But they took us to the next cubicle where we were weighed and had our eyes, throat, and neck checked.  I left out that somewhere along the line they listened to our hearts (which probably wasn’t hard to find mine because it was beating so fast).

The ordeal was over.  That whole thing was completed in one hour!  We wait four days to see if we pass and then they will issue the permits.  Don’t know what to hope for.  If we don’t pass, they send us home with something wrong with us and if we do pass we stay.

Tony got word that they wouldn’t let Katherine and Sherry interpret the driver’s test for Cherie and Tracy.  This was bad news for them.  We ended up having to wait two and a half hours for them.  While we were waiting, we walked to the Wanda Mall.  It was huge.  It had seven floors with a cinema on the top.  We found a McDonalds and I was excited to see if I could get a decent soda.  No such luck.  I am officially just drinking water (warm I might add) now.  You have to ask for ice water or they bring warm. At this point I needed to use the restroom and was getting nervous about that.  I wrote an email when we were here before about the restrooms.  We went in and all of the stalls had squatters with no toilet paper.  The sinks had no soap or anyway to dry the hands.  I took one look at the situation and decided I would pass.  I couldn’t believe I had left my Kleenex and wet wipes in my backpack in the van.  I was so careful last time we were here and totally spaced it out.  Hopefully, that won’t happen again. We met up with the others at the Sheraton Hotel parking lot.  I noticed Cherie heading inside and quickly got out of the van to join her.  The restrooms in there were exquisite and very appreciated.  I couldn’t believe a mall as nice as the Wanda Mall had restrooms like that.We walked back to the mall and went to the Pizza Hut to eat.  It was a nice sit-down place.  Before I left Newton, I told the family I had had about enough pizza for a while.  Well, I was very glad to eat the pizza and it was delicious.  We even got ice water to drink!

We came back to Nanjing and went to the Metro Store to get a card.  It’s kind of like Sams Club, but near as nice.  We bought a fine items, including chocolate!  That was a treat.  We are heading out house hunting today and it is raining again.  Should be a drenching day.  I don’t think I will spend too much time getting ready. 

Welcome to China!

Greetings from Nanjing, China! We left Salt Lake City at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. On our flight to Seattle, I sat by an older woman from Beijing. We had a very interesting discussion. I wrote it all down on an email, but can't find it. I will send it later. From Seattle, we flew to Tokyo, Japan and then on the Shanghai. We got in Shanghai at 9:45 p.m. on Saturday night. We traveled from Tokyo with Lane Sparks. We were supposed to stay in Shanghai for the night, but when we got to the hotel they didn't have a reservation for us. So Lane called Cherie and told her we were coming to Nanjing and would get there about 2:30 a.m. So after all of that traveling, we drove another four hours to Nanjing. We got to bed about 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning. We spent the day at the Sparks' and then checked into our motel at 6:00 p.m. We hadn't had internet access, so the family hadn't heard from us for all that time. It was good to email with them and let them know we had arrived safely.

Craig went to work on Monday. He has a driver to take him where he needs to go. The drive to work takes about an hour. He leaves at 7:00 a.m. and will get home around 6:00 p.m. His hours will be better than at home, but it is still a long day. While he was at work, I spent the day at the hotel. We will be staying at the hotel for about two weeks. They have a breakfast buffet each morning. I was a bit overwhelmed by the food and wasn't sure what I dared eat. I settled for an omelet and some fresh fruit.

When Craig got back, we went to the restaurant in the hotel to eat. Our waitress was a girl from France named Lucy. I had noticed her when I ate breakfast. We were the only two blonds in the place. She was really friendly and helped us with the food. She was fun to talk to and very informative. She is doing an internship in China. This morning when I went for breakfast Lucy was there and explained more about the breakfast food. It was good to talk to someone in English.

When we got to the Cherie's, she told me I had already been assigned to go visiting teaching with her. She said we needed to go on Tuesday. One of the ladies we visit, Alauna Westover, had a baby three weeks ago and Cherie had arranged for us to take lunch to her. So Craig's driver, Louis, picked me up at noon and we went over and picked Cherie up. We went to a bakery and got some sub sandwiches to take. While we were in that area, Cherie showed me a couple of places she likes to shop and also the dry cleaners. We went to Alauna's. One of our other ladies named, Kim, joined us for lunch. She is about my age. She and her husband teach at the Kennedy Center. They have been here for a year and are going home to Provo soon. Alauna is from Highland, Utah. She just had her seventh baby. Her husband's relatives, the Westovers, are from Lewiston. We had a good visit. Alauna, Cherie, and Kim were able to give me some good advice and tips about living in China. It was certainly different from visiting teaching in Newton, Utah!

Tomorrow Craig and I have to get physicals in order to get a residence's permit (or something like that). I am totally freaked out by this piece of news. We are supposed to go fasting so they can do blood work. If finding my veins is anything like in the States, it should be a total nightmare--not to mention the other exams. Wish me luck on that one!

Thursday, we are looking for housing. It will be nice to find a place to live. Hopefully, our stuff will get here soon so we can get settled before I head back to the States.

It is the rainy season. It has rained so hard today that water is running everywhere. I am glad we had the driver today and we didn't have to walk to the metro (subway). Well, that's the report for now. Stayed tuned for the report on the physicals. I actually hope there isn't much to report about that.