Getting Settled

(I wrote this awhile ago, but just now was able to get all of the pictures transferred to Larry's computer)

So we now had a place to live, but now came the time to make it livable. Evidently, having a maid in China is standard practice. John (our relocation guy) helped set up one for me. Her name (in English) is May and she speaks VERY little English, but she is a work horse. The townhouse hadn't been occupied in almost three years and I'm not sure it was cleaned when it was occupied. All of the floors are either marble, wood or tile; the walls are tile, glass or cement stucco. So much humidity and rain makes carpet an impractical choice. May spent the first week she worked scouring from the basement to the top floor...lots of stairs (better than stair master). Last week, I managed to put together a coherent Chinese sentence and asked her if she would teach me to cook. Well, it wasn't completely coherent because she took it as I wanted her to cook for us. She now cooks three meals a week and probably would do more, but I just feel too guilty

Larry had to go to Dalian the following week. It was a bit of a struggle, but we managed. He is going to be travelling a lot in the coming months, so best to jump right in...like pulling off a band aid. I spent the week searching for essentials for the house. Our shipment won't be delivered for a few more weeks and we didn't even have a pot or silverware. Several trips to the various supermarkets filled my days, but I still felt like I didn't have the right things for May. I asked John if he'd ask her to come shopping with me and pick out what she needed to clean and to cook. This past Monday, my driver, my maid and I went shopping. It was surreal, there really is no other word to describe it. I texted Larry and his response was, "welcome to China".

The meals she's fixed are amazing. I'm astounded that the dishes she makes actually come from the food that is in my cabinets and fridge. She bought some interesting spices, of which I still don't have a clue. I attempted to make rice in my brand spanking new steamer...well, it turned into something resembling porridge. It tasted like rice, but it didn't look like it. Guess I need to pay better attention to how May prepares it.

We went this past weekend to buy bicycles. The girls each found one they liked, along with helmets. The twins had training wheels put on their bikes, but Katie's was too big for training wheels. I envisioned bloodied knees and screaming heard across the city, but once again, she suprised me. Tell that child she can't do something or it's too hard and she won't quit until she proves you wrong. By God, if she didn't peddle off down the street on the second try. She's had one scraped knee and a couple of tears, but she and her sisters are wheeling around the compound like Lance Armstrong. The guards got a big kick out of raising the gate for them...or rather they did get a big kick the first dozen or so times, but finally told them to just turn around.

Larry is in training this week and goes to Shanghai tomorrow. He will fly to Korea next week and then the following week will be holiday. My big plans for the week are to go to the girls' school to attend Parent Day/Open House. Hopefully will have more pictures to post.