An Oasis

Pictures forthcoming...
Our first few days in Vietnam were spent exploring the resort, swimming in the pool, combing the beach for beautiful shells, and relaxing in the gorgeous weather. Things didn't start off great as the first morning there, a movie crew of about thirty set up around the pool and the girls were told they couldn't swim. They filmed scene after scene all day and into the night. I finally made a bit of a scene myself when I discovered they were filming a sex scene in the bungalow right next to ours. The darn place was empty except for us and they put these wahoos right next to us. The girls said they could hear the woman making "sex noises". When asked to explain what sex noises sounded like, they started moaning and screaming. Lovely! One of the bartendars, Binh, told us the director was a big VIP. He then said he was more like a Very Impolite Person and not Important. I'm going to remember that one.
Soon things were quiet and we enjoyed being one of only a couple of guests at the resort. The staff waited on us like royalty. While Larry and I got a $10 massage and facial, the girls got their nails painted with intricate little drawing. Unfortunately, they only lasted a couple of days. One of the waitresses, Phuong, really took to the girls...surprise, surprise and told us she would take us to a place where you could feed wild monkeys during her free time. And, Binh said he'd take us to Vung Tau City as that's where he's from. Friday morning, six of us piled into the taxi to get some bananas for the monkeys. Phuong and I walked to the market, while Larry stayed with the girls. We all caused quite a stir. The folks at the market looked from Phuong to me, trying to figure out what the story was. The market reminded me of the fresh market I explored with the expat group, but this one was much bigger and much poorer...if possible. The people were friendly enough, but at the same time, they looked a bit dubious at me. She bought two big bags of mini bananas and another bag of some small fruit. Larry said folks were coming out of their shops to get a look at them. A small crowd surrounded them when we got to the taxi.
We drove along the coastline for a only a few minutes before turning down a dirt road. There were no distinguishing signs, so we never would have found the place on our own. A buddhist temple sits at the base of the mountain and it's under renovation. A monk, who chatted with Larry, told him he'd been there since the end of the "American" war. Over two thousand soldiers died on that mountain alone.
It didn't take us long to spot some monkeys. The younger monkeys had no fear of us at all. The taxi driver carried the bags of fruit up the hill, while we pointed and squealed with delight. There had to have been at least fifty monkeys scurrying around the smaller temple and hillside houses. If you didn't feed them fast enough they'd pummel you with leaves from the roof. One sat down next to Larry and waited for his chance to snatch a banana right out of the bag. The older ones held back and snarled if we got too close...bad memories I guess. There were a couple of moms with their babies clinging to their bellies, those too, stayed a safe distance away. Our ample supply of fruit was gone in record time and the monkeys headed up the mountain for a late morning nap. So amazing that these little guys had no fear of my little girls and vice versa.

"Holiday" in Vietnam

Pictures will be forthcoming
With frequent flyer miles burning a hole in our pockets we decided to go on a pre-holiday holiday. The next decision to be made was where to go. The internet has made the entire world accessible. Areas never before thought of as vacation destinations are now sought out and searchableust. Larry discovered that Vietnam Airlines recently joined the Delta partner group and were offering even more miles. After several recommendations and free airfare we decided on the south Vietnamese coast. Yep, Vietnam for vacation.

Since this Asian adventure has begun, I've gotten pretty good at preparing for anything, but not expecting too much. When we landed in Ho Chi Minh City, we got our luggage and headed to the bathrooms to change into short sleeved shirts. It was hot and humid...perfect. We'd never actually spoken to anyone from the resort as reservations and communications were done all online, we placed bets on whether or not our shuttle would show. We were pleasantly suprised to see a nice large van pull up to the curb. Larry stopped at the ATM to get some dong before heading to the resort. He handed me three bills. He'd miscalculated, thinking 800,000 dong was plenty, but actually it's less than $40. We laughed so hard, the driver looked at us funny. We settled in for the two and half hour ride from h-e-double l. The road, and I mean the entire stretch of road from Ho Chi Minh to Vung Tau was under major construction. It's a wonder
we didn't have to change tires. We were thrown all over the van and to make things more 'interesting' there was absolutely nothing except roadside stands, coffee 'bars' and kareoke cafes lining the road. It was almost ten by the time we reached Anoasis. I'd picked out the place so if it was a dive it was going to be my fault.
It was like driving into paradise.

'Tis the Season for Fun

2010 has whizzed by at a blistering pace and it appears as if this last month will be no exception. The barrage of Christmas celebrations, concerts, dinners and mayhem has begun. With most expats headed to their home countries as soon as school finishes, the rush to squeeze in holiday parties is head-spinning.

Larry and I went to a "Naughty Santa" party last Friday, hosted by Zapata's. Lady Gaga made an appearance atop the bar, but luckily we left before things got too crazy. I had to perform again Saturday morning at the EAS childrens' Christmas party. I'd taken the last of my US-purchased Excedrin, and hoped for quiet kids. The event was held at the Kempenski Hotel's grand ballroom. Not the room I would have chosen for a kids' party...a royal wedding reception maybe. A few of the Panto performers were there and Snow White was already in her costume. I waited until the last possible moment to change as I'd heard from many folks their children were so scared of the Queen. I even put my make-up on in front of all the kids so they could see the transformation. Some still hid behind their parents even after Sarah became a "mini" Queen in an effort to show it wasn't scary. The condensed scenes sans the prince were ok. We made do with what we had, and the kids enjoyed the pie-in-the-face scene. Ever since she saw the scene during rehearsal, Katie wanted to be 'pied'. She got her wish.

Yesterday, Larry and I helped with Sunday School. Fifteen little tikes ranging in age from three to five. All the children will be singing next week during the service so we had to teach them the song, "Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus". Thankfully, most of them know the tune, but all of them wanted to sing their own name.

I'll try to keep up with the picture taking throughout the chaos.

Chaos...so what else is new?

Eight Year Old Twins...Really?!?

Eight years ago today, the Whitfield family expanded by two. Never could I have imaged how wonderfully difficult and horrendously amazing my life would become with the addition of Sarah and Sydney. We were blessed with Katie two years earlier and she was our world. How could our world get any better? Those first few months I was sure it wasn't going to be better as I wasn't sure I was going to be able to handle three babies. Looking back on that time, I remember very little, except lack of sleep and thousands of diapers.

Now as I gaze at my beautiful daughters, I truly cannot imagine my life any other way. Most of the time it's chaotic and stressed pandemodium, but in all honesty that's part of the joy. The Pink Tornadoes, as they were named due to their whirlwind natures, make everyday an adventure. Eight years seems like a blink of an eye. I've asked for a "life" remote control for Christmas, so I can push "pause" for a while. Since there is little chance of that I guess I'll settle in to see what the next eight years will bring. God help us when these two turn sixteen!

Observations

Last year at this time I noticed the trees around Suzhou were being painted. The trunks of every single tree were white. I never once saw someone painting them, but by George, every blasted tree in the city had a white trunk. I became a bit obsessed with finding out the reason why. Frustration set in as I got a different answer from every person I asked. Protection from the cold. But then why wasn't the entire tree painted instead of just the trunk? Next, please. Protection from the salt and sand put on the road when there's ice. Ok, then why are the trees in the parks and lining the canal, which are not near any roads painted, huh? Larry suggested it gave a couple hundred people jobs for a few weeks...valid, but then why don't they just keep painting them a different color each month and keep the trend and jobs going all year round? Overage of white paint? Expected snow fall height? Nope, none of these answers, while plausible, seemed to be probable.

Over the summer, I noticed the white paint starting to fade from the trees and wondered if it was just a fluke. Some strange project never to be repeated. Nope, sure enough, a couple of weeks ago, I actually saw a paint can left empty by a freshly painted trunk. I still didn't see the paint being applied, but as I glanced around the area, I smiled to myself. All the trunks gleamed with their new coat of shiny whiteness. Ok, so there may be a bit of insanity in this post, but darn it! I needed some answers. This past weekend, someone offered the best one so far. Pestiside-laden paint. He'd seen the same thing done in South America. While I still don't have confirmation from a Chinese official as to whether or not this is in fact the reason, this inquiring mind is at least temporarily satisfied.

Movember

I'm all for holidays. All the the better when fundraising is involved. Usually I'm in in the know about these things, but as I'm learning...I have A LOT to learn

Last week, when I was at the school I noticed the male teachers' lack of shaving. Normally, I'm not sure I would have given them a second look, as they usually look so clean shaven and boyish. Any additional facial growth is blatently apparant. What was with these new moustaches and goutees. Was there some sort of bravado competition going on?

Once again, my daughters filled me in. The month of November is now known as Movember. The event was conceived in 1999 by a group Austrailian men from Adelaide. It grew into an event to raise awareness for prostate cancer and depression. The school held a fundraiser last Friday. The kids could dress as twins with someone and/or don a moustache. My twins had a leg up and chose to do both.

Santa's Little Helpers

Decorating the Chirstmas tree is one of my favorite activites of all time. I look forward to it every year. Unwrapping each ornament and recollecting from where it came is a joy in its purest form. Who knew my joy would turn to apprehensive terror. Careful selection of ornaments has replaced my joyous retrospection.

Rosie and Peanut Louis are Satan's spawns. In the words of Edward Cullen (Twilight reference), Christmas decorations are like their "own personal heroine". Who needs cat toys when there's tinsel and shiny things everywhere. If my girls wouldn't disown me I'd offer them as lunch to the workers who are still giving me headaches from the incessant drilling and hammering from next door...so much for finishing in a month.

I still haven't put any of the breakable ornaments on the tree. We're attempting to 'train' the cats with squirt guns, but since they both love water, we may have to find another method. Any and all suggestions accepted!

Grand Opening

I figured it was about time to write an update on the factory's progress. Well, even though the paint isn't dry and certain doors do not have door handles, Sulzer Pumps Suzhou will 'officially' open this Wednesday. Sulzer bigwigs, Suzhou dignitaries and potential customers arrive tomorrow evening and all will be well entertained through the week as there are festivities slated each day. The project management team is working frantically to ensure things go off without too much of a hitch. Long hours and several headaches have been the norm for the past few weeks.

The girls and I went with Larry Sunday, to check out the factory. The last time I was there was back in the spring. There was barely the shell of a building back then. I couldn't believe how much had been accomplished in a few months. The construction crews are working feverishly to get the building ready and there a dozens of folks working on the grounds. There's supposed to be several fish ponds. None of them were done yet, but evidently, they will be by mid-week, complete with fish. The offices are impressive with bamboo, rock gardens, fish ponds and three-story free-standing slate staircase in the center. We walked around marveling at everything. Everything seems so much bigger and grander here in China. I'm not saying better, but definitely different. I do hope, though, the opening is successful. This has been quite an ordeal with lots of highs and many more lows. I was oblivious to it all when my father worked his tail off to open the factory in Easley. My girls at least tell their father that he works too hard. Now, that hard work...will probably continue as there's still lots to do, people to hire and train, equipment to check and recheck, and who knows what else...

Being Bad is Good

Ok, so I must admit. I thoroughly enjoyed being booed. In fact, I'll have to rank Queen Evilynn as my second favorite role behind Rizzo from Grease. I felt a little pang of guilt when I made several small children scream in fear, but that feeling dissipated quickly enough.

The show was a success and everyone did a super job. Katie played her bit as a sausage with as much veracity as she does with everything. Every performance had their own small hiccups, like opening night. Muddles, the silly son (played by a woman) of Queen Evilynn's cook, Clarissa (played by a man), enters the stage on a child's scooter. She is supposed to ride around stage then pretend to crash backstage. She slipped off the scooter and really crashed into the curtain. The audience wasn't sure if it was part of the play. I was standing backstage and saw the entire accident. When she stood up, I knew she was hurt. She held her jaw for a few seconds, shook the stars from her vision and proceeded with the scene. The show must go on. Thankfully, the enormous bruise on her chin, which swelled up right away, wasn't visible to the audience.

Of course, a show of this type has a pie-in-the-face routine. Muddles is on the receiving end, but had been plotting to even the score with Clarissa. Saturday night's show, we all knew it was coming, even Clarissa. The timing had to be perfect or Clarissa could dodge it. The timing was perfect and Muddles nailed Clarissa. Again, the audience wasn't sure if that was part of the script or not. I dodged a misshap of my own making. During my song, I jump onto a couch and sing a verse. It started out as a 'Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch' kind of jump. However, when I put on the dress and heels during the final dress rehearsal then attempted the jump I just about went bass-ackwards over the back of the couch. I opted for a safer mount.

We had a cast party at a local restaurant, Blue Marlin, which is frequented by most expats. I'd never seen it so crowded. Everyone from the show was still in their stage makeup and costumes. I'd been warned I would have to sing again. Sure enough, I hear the opening chords of my song and my name being shouted. For those few moments, I felt like Lady Gaga. The place was crazy loud with cheers and my ego was seriously inflated. But, Larry smiling at me was what I'd been waiting see and I saw it.

The costumes have now been packed away and my girls are glad to have "mommy" back. Even after a sixteen year hiatus from it, though, I do love the stage. Back to reality...

"On With the Show, This is It!"

The last time I performed on stage in a theatre production was 1994 in 'Anything Goes' at Greenville Little Theatre as a chorus member. 'Cabaret' in 1993 at URI was the last show in which I had a lead role. Owning the stage with the spotlight shining in my eyes is my guilty pleasure. There's nothing like the rush right before going on stage and hearing the director yell "Places!" I learned in college though, a career in theatre was not in my future. My skin is not thick enough. However, my desire to perform was never completely squelched.

Having children afforded me the opportunity to perform daily for them. I'd become a different character, complete with accent, every day driving them to school. We'd sing silly songs throughout the house. They now are quite adept at the "In what other movies has that actor played?" I have no one to blame but myself for their dramatic ways, and verve for center stage.

When I learned about the Suzhou Amateur Dramatics Society and their annual show, I thought, "What the heck? It might be fun to don the theatrical hat again". This year's production was 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'...Panto-style. What is Panto? A question I asked myself. Slapstick comedy, audience participation, men playing women and women playing men, all spun together with British humour was what I deduced. A genre I was not familiar with AT ALL. Oh, well, I auditioned anyways and was cast as Queen Evilynn, Snow White's stepmother (major liberties are taken with the story line, but the basic premise is the same). I am the villian. The villian! The one the audience boos and hisses at whenever on stage. Wait! I wanted the applause not the jeers...what had I gotten myself into?

For the past two months, we have rehearsed once a week for a couple of hours. Somehow, we managed to turn chaos into comedy...or at least I hope we have. I don't have any pictures yet. Tonight, the show opens. All three performances are sold out or close to it. Butterflies are in full force in my stomach. Larry has never seen me perform on stage. The only times he's heard me sing is kareoke and in church. This will also be the first performance my parents have missed. So, I'm dedicating my return to the stage to all them as I hope to make them proud...and not completely mortified.

Fun with Phil Continues

The girls and I woke up early Saturday morning and arrived in plenty of time to play some golf games, get some pictures taken and practice our putting at the Interactive Golf Village before heading over to our lucky spot at hole seven. I'd packed lots of snacks and drinks due to past experience and concession prices. The twins are not the avid fans their sister is, but they wanted to see if they'd have any luck getting any golf balls. The volunteers were ready to give up their little seats when they saw us coming, but we opted for the ground and soaked up the warm rays lying in the grass until the first group arrived. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We couldn't have asked for much more.

As the players finished putting, I had to tell the girls their names so they could cheer for each one. They'd come up with something new and they were rewarded for their efforts with a thank you or more often a thank you and a ball. Phil brought the crowds and cameras, but we'd positioned ourselves so no one could get in front of us. He made a par. The girls decided on the "We love you, Phil!" cheer and everyone started laughing and clapping. He walked over and handed a ball to Sarah and told Sydney he would get a ball to her at another hole. The smile he flashed was priceless and I caught it. Richard Green, who was playing with Phil shouted to us, "Hey, don't you love me?" "Yes, we love you Richard." Not so much love with the next group. Tiger, Ian Poulter and Nick Watney came through and all three had good shots into the pin. Nick birdied, but Tiger missed his birdie putt and we were treated to a typical Tiger personal tantrum. A few choice words were said and he angrily threw his putter onto his bag. Katie looked at me and said "I don't think we should say anything to him." We saved our cheers for Nick and he appreciated them.

By the time we left the hole we'd picked up another fifteen balls. We saw the remainder of the groups as we walked the front nine on our way to the eighteenth hole. We were hoping to land some more autographs. Only a few players came out, but the headliners made a beeline past the crowds to the clubhouse and never reemerged. Several players commented how the crowds were not well behaved. Sydney got elbowed in the head by some rowdy kids jockeying for position near the ropes. The barricade wall got knocked down when a famous Chinese golfer came out. When a reporter came over to us we asked if Phil or Nick was coming out and he told us they'd left. He said we might like who was coming out to be interviewed. Luke Donald is quite a cutie and he winked at Katie after his interview. She said he was nice, but Phil was still number one.

Katie and Larry are at the final round today or at least I hope they are. Larry called this morning and said the roads had been closed due to heavy fog. They delayed the first tee time by an hour and a half. Satellite is out so I can't even look for them on t.v. and watching live scoring on the internet just isn't the same.

Fun with Phil...Oh, and Those Other Players - Day Two

We couldn't get out of the house fast enough Thursday. Mr. Liu had found a quicker way to Sheshan and we arrived in an hour, but traffic was much heavier and the guards didn't allow him to drive to the entrance of the club. Katie and I trekked our way, picked up a pairings sheet and made it to the tenth tee serendipitously as Phil's name was being announced. We hurried up to the green and Katie was there cheering him on as he birdied his first hole. He beamed at her and said "Nice to see you again!" If I wasn't so giddy I might have been embarrassed by the attention. I even managed to capture the moment.

Since we had good luck at the 7th green the previous day, we parked ourselves in the same spot and waited to see what the day would bring. It brought plenty. During the Pro-Am the players were pretty relaxed, but usually in a tournament, the players don't socialize so much with the crowd or at least that's what I thought. Katie wasn't aware of that and spoke to every single player as they passed by. She cheered and congratulated them if they did well and consoled and encouraged them if they bogied. Paul Casey told her he would take every cheer he could get. Nine players tossed her their ball, including Tiger. He birdied the hole and as he passed, the crowd was completely quiet except Katie as she cheered, "Nice birdie, Tiger!" He looked right at her, smiled widely, said "Thank you", reached into his pocket and tossed his golf ball to her. The crowd collectively gasped. How much longer could this go on?

Phil came through and birdied. He was getting ready to toss his ball to her, when he asked if she already had one. She said "Yes, sir. Your caddie gave me one yesterday. Great birdie!" Another beaming smile and thanks. One of the marshalls who helped Katie get autographs the day before was with Phil's group told her she was the most polite child he'd seen. She responded "I just love golf!"

We saw all but two groups before we had to leave. On our way out we watched Phil par his last hole and as he came off the green on his way to the clubhouse, Katie told him, "Nice round. We won't be here tomorrow, but we'll be back Saturday". He chuckled and said "Ok".

Phil Mickelson is the epitome of what a professional athlete should be. He is attentive to the fans who cheer for him. I'd like to think he and Katie are best buddies, but I imagine he is like that with all of his fans. Let's see what the weekend has in store...