If we could only have 5 things in China ...

what would we want?

In the Junior Achievement class I teach at our local middle school (back in Richland, Michigan), we play this game.   The class has to pretend that their family has to flee their home country and they are immigrating to a country far away.  They can only bring 5 things with them so they have to decide, and agree as a class, which items they will bring!  It is always interesting to see what each kid thinks they need - most say their top 2 items are cell phone and computer.  Others prefer photo albums and a language dictionary!  I decided it would be fun to play this game with Ryan.  So, besides what we will call the necessities (clothes, shelter, food, clean water and money), these are the 5 things that we are so grateful for having with us in China!

5.  Washer and Dryer:  Okay, so yes this is two, but they go together right?!  And we are actually lucky because we have a separate washer and dryer!  It is not uncommon for the washer and dryer to be the same unit - IF you have a dryer (most Chinese hang their clothes to dry). 

4.  Stroller:  We walk so much that it would be very difficult if we didn't have a stroller.  We ended up bringing two with us, our Bob Jogging stroller and a small umbrella stroller.  The Bob has been the easiest to maneuver thus far.
3.  Mosquito Racket:  This thing is AWESOME and we will have a post dedicated just to this incredible invention in the near future! 

2.  iPad:  Yep, I feel like one of the kids in my JA class, but having the iPad has been a blessing.  We really enjoy being able to message and FaceTime with our friends and family!  Some of the apps are helpful too - especially the Unit Converter!  Netflix and ABC help too!  We could actually watch our local news if we wanted!

1.  AC/Heat:  I know back in the States this is probably considered a necessity, but not here in China.  With the triple digit temps, we are so grateful we have AC!  And since our AC and Heat units are the same, we get to count it as one item! :) 

Honorable Mentions:  CAMERA (this should probably be in the top 5, but we could technically use the iPad), Ergobaby carrier (sometimes the stroller is just too big to bring with us), portable high chair (many restaurants here don't have high chairs, so we bring our own!), Ryan's guitar (Ava gets a little music lesson every day) 

So this is our list!  What do we think Ava's list would be?  This is our best guess:

5.  Her new Swing/Slide set:  This was her belated 1st bday gift!  While she enjoys swinging and going down the slide, I think her favorite thing is to climb up the steps and push her toys down the slide.

4.  Stride to Ride Puppy:  This was Ava's "Move to China" gift!  She loves the songs it plays - and maybe it reminds her of Bella!! ;)



3.  Foam ABC Mat:  Perhaps Ryan & I are more thankful for this item than Ava considering we don't have any carpet in the apartment.  However, Ava spends a good portion of her day taking all of the letters and numbers out and playing with them.  She even puts the "U" around her neck like a necklace!

 

Before Ava Wakes up



 

5 Minutes after Ava wakes up!



 2.  Alphabet Train:  This is one of Ava's toys that we shipped because it was a little too big for our suitcases.  We didn't get it until maybe the 10th or 11th day we were here.  Ava was so excited when I brought it home from work!  She played with it all morning the next day!

1.  Magnetic Alphabet Letters:  She loves these things!  Something so small and little ...

We did just join a Fitness Center that has an awesome indoor pool.  So I am guessing the pool will quickly make this list!

So what do you think your top 5 things would be?!