Weekly Update, 10.19.14

Happy Sunday!

     It's been a busy, crazy, fun, hard, exciting, relaxing, stressed past few weeks! Hence, my two-week + hiatus from the weekly updates.

     Golden week was October 1st-7th, as mentioned before this Chinese holiday marks the day that the PRC (People's Republic of China; started in 1949) was formed (it's now a national holiday) and gives the citizens another six days off to boost tourism within the country.  It's really a time for increased domestic travel so that citizens can visit relatives because there are so few days off here.

     Because of our huge trip to Thailand this January (shhhh, the kids still don't know!) we decided to stay close to home.  We spent the time having PJ day at the house, walking around town, play dates with friends, massages, and movies.  We went back to our favorite park in the area, Jinjiang Park (see past pictures of the blog; new ones will be updated soon).  We also took a long motorcycle ride to Tiger Mountain home to the eastern side of the Great Wall of China.  Nathan also took a 3-day motorcycle ride through southern Liaoning province with our buddy, Dustin.  Both had a great time and loved getting out of the city to see other parts of China.  All in all, it was a great time to relax and rejuvenate ourselves.

      

      In fact, the boys loved it so much that we planned another motorcycle trip the following weekend.  We separated the kiddos, Luka spent the weekend with Leif and Karima and the girls had a girls weekend with our good friend Caroline (Our wonderful British friend and spouse of Peter whom I've mentioned before).  Nathan, Dustin, and Yin (Dustin's girlfriend), and I set off after work on Friday the 10th and began our own 3-day journey through the same areas that Nathan and Dustin had visited before.  We were in the "mountains" between Dandong and Dalian which was a treat because the foliage is beginning to change here so the sites were spectacular.  I'll insert a sad note here to say that one of the most disheartened things about living here in China is the way they treat their environment.  Everywhere you go litter surrounds the area, even in remote beautiful less populated areas, trash is everywhere.  As we traveled you can really notice that some towns are 'cleaner' than others which is usually due to the number of people they employ to pick up the trash that almost everyone throws on the ground (this is not standard practice of the foreigners!).  I will say that the dirtiness of China is one of the most difficult things about being here... .  Regardless, our trip was great and riding on a motorcycle is super fun! 

     We returned from our motorcycle trip relaxed and rejuvenated ready to start another week at EBIS.  Excitedly, we came back to some really cool news.  We found out that the mini-Banek's and I will be traveling to Seoul from 10-26 to 11-1.  As mentioned, I've been approved for our Foreign Expert Visas and now have to leave the country to get everything squared away.  The unfortunate news is that for some unknown reason they have denied Nathan's F.E. visa with no given reason (the sky is blue? They forgot to dot an 'i' on the paperwork? The full moon doesn't correspond with the 17th of October?).  We inquired as to why this is with no explanation in return.  Thankfully he is eligible for a year-long work visa which is great news.  Twice now we've had to go to the customs office here in Dandong to apply for visa extensions.  This means leaving work early, sitting in the customs office for several hours, filling out numerous documents, and losing our passports for 5-7 days.  Once we have the F.E. and work visas we will be cleared from all of these shenanigans for at least a year! 

      October 26th is EBIS's one year anniversary which means that, of course, the school will be putting on a huge ta-do (because China is a faceculture everything here is about the 'show', the biggest fireworkers, the biggest cake at school for your birthday, the biggest one-year anniversary celebration....).  Oh, and yes it's a Sunday - because we do occasionally work on the weekends.  This celebration includes, fireworks, performances by the students, a presentation by the student association, parent observations of actual classes, and more.  After the celebration those of us who have to do this visa run will get on the slow-boat to Seoul and start the process of getting our visas approved.  

    The kids and I are excited about going because we've heard that Seoul is super westernized, International restaurants, International shops, etc... to be honest I have not had a lot of pride in my Americanism in the past but that personal paradigm is shifting as I experience living abroad (post about this later).  What I can say is that the idea of seeing foreigners, seeing recognizable American restaurants and shops, will somehow give our slightly homesick hearts a little healing.  Case in point, yesterday at the grocery store we saw three foreigners that happened to be Swedish and British ambassadors living in North Korea, we were so happy to see them we almost hugged them! 

     I'll be sure to let you all know how the trip to Seoul went.

    As I wrap up I would like to ask for help.  We are beginning to plan our trip to Thailand, have any of you been there? Do you know of anyone who has and could share some information? We are going for a month with a week spent at the elephant reserve and we would like to see as much of Thailand as possible.  Let me know!

    Love all of you beautiful people! Much love from China,

Y. 

     

Karima, Karima!

We hired Karima at the beginning of September so that Nathan and I could hit the gym three days during the workweek and so she could tutor the kiddos in Mandarin.  We are now 5 weeks into our arrangement and it's turned into something so much greater than our original plan.  Let me just say that Karima is our saving grace over here in China! 

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays the kiddos get dropped off in front of Karima's apartment.  She meets them at the bus stop (they ride the EBIS "teenager bus") and takes them upstairs to settle in.  She makes them dinner and either helps them with their homework or they leave the apartment and have an interactive Mandarin lesson.  Having dinner at Karima's is a treat as she is a skilled cook often times making traditional Uyghur food, the region of China where Karima is from.  Sometimes Nathan and I get to benefit from Karima's amazing food also...you should taste her homemade noodles!!

Sometimes she takes them to a restaurant and makes them order food in Mandarin.  All three have been successful in doing this and have even been able to tell the taxi cab driver how to get home! Having Karima help with their Mandarin means that they receive Mandarin lessons both inside and outside of school.  The kids have now become our translators, often times helping us to understand what people are saying to us in Mandarin.  Watching my children speaking a different language is an incredible experience.

Karima (and Leif) are great with the kiddos.  They are a good balance of patient and firm, authoritative and democratic, loving and strict.  They enjoy spending time with the mini-Banek's as much as the mini-Banek's love to spend time with them.  I also think that the kids like spending time in another couple's apartment; another loving safe space where they can be themselves.

Having respite from the mini's has also been great for Nathan and I.  This is a new experience for us ~ living together, working together, having all 5 Banek's in the same place 24 hours a day...I imagine this would be a feat for any family.  Having Karima (and Leif) provide time away from the kids is priceless.  Nathan and I can reconnect, talk, have fun together and do it knowing that our children are with a very special person who has become a part of our village and who is helping us to raise some pretty cool kids.

Thanks Karima for all you do!