We have a lot for which we are thankful, so we thought we would jump on the bandwagon and share some of those things! Here is my list (in no particular order):
Nov 1: I am thankful to work for a company that has given us the opportunity to live in China for a year! While China was not exactly our first choice, we are grateful to be here! We are creating many lasting memories (at least for me and Ryan - lots of pictures for Ava) and are growing so much individually, professionally and, most importantly, as a family!
Nov 2: I am thankful for my beautiful, sweet daughter and the time we get to spend together! Even though I get to see Ava as much as I would if we were home (maybe even more with the holidays), I feel like it is less. Perhaps I feel this way because Ava gets so much daddy time. Either way, I really cherish the times when Ava & I go out exploring on our own! Today we had a date at Starbucks! :)
Nov 3: I am thankful for all of the indoor play centers in China; perhaps one of our favorite things about China! They are really nice and full of fun activities for Ava! Plus, it gives her a great opportunity to play with other kids and explore! We are REALLY going to miss spending our Saturday mornings here when we go back to the States!
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| Ava's 1st "Roller Coaster" ride |
Nov 4: I am thankful that we can find so much Western food here in China! Ryan and I both suffered from a stomach bug this weekend and there was nothing better than a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup after 24 hours of no eating! We are also VERY thankful that Ava didn't get the bug!!!
Nov 5: Most of all, I am so very thankful for my husband! Not only has he moved to China, he took a leave from his job and is Mr. Mom - which he has realized is a lot harder than work! Plus, he has to deal with all of the day to day tasks like paying the bills, getting things fixed around the apartment when they inevitably break (he is getting REALLY good at charades so watch out Brittany and Brian, we may beat you next time we have game night) and dealing with the Chinese paparazzi! I know that life in China has been an easier transition for me as fewer factors have changed. Therefore, I am extra appreciative that Ryan has remained positive through our first 5 months in China and I love seeing how his relationship with Ava grows stronger each day!
Nov 6: Ever since I was a young child, I have loved to read. Of course it became more and more difficult to find time to read throughout the years, but here, I have once again discovered my love for reading! To date (Nov 6), I have read 13 books since we've been in China - and I'm on track to finish at least 3 more by the time we get home on Dec 13! Most days I take advantage of the 40 minute commute to and from work to read, although it gets dark too early now so I cannot read on the way home anymore! Luckily Ryan has also been reading more often now, so I don't feel bad reading before bed - it's so relaxing! So on to what I am thankful for ... I was hoping to read so I packed 6 books thinking that would last me the first half of our stay. Well, I finished those 6 books, plus 3 electronic books, before month 4! Therefore, I am thankful for my coworker, Jean, for bringing me 6 new books when she visited in October! I will definitely be signing up for e-books through my library when I am home at Christmas! They get too expensive to keep buying on my Kindle!
Nov 7: Today I am thankful for our "ayi"! For the first 4 months we cleaned our apartment ourselves. We felt more comfortable this way because we knew it was clean. However, we have a fairly large apartment and you would not believe how quickly it gets dirty! Ava doesn't help and we don't have our dog to clean the floors for us after every meal (this is when we miss Bella the most), but it's more than that! The air is just so dirty that you could wash the floors every day and they would still be dirty! I don't even want to think what this is doing to our health! We finally decided that we were tired of spending every weekend cleaning while Ava napped. So, a neighbor of ours offered to have her "ayi" come clean 2 days per week! And for $25/week (8 hours of cleaning), it is totally worth it!
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| "Whooo-ing" with Nana & Papa |
Nov 8: Today I am thankful for Hallmark's recordable storybooks! Ava is able to hear her grandparent's and great grandparent's voices whenever she wants! :)
Nov 9: High speed trains are the best! Today we took the high speed train to Shanghai to do some shopping! It is only about a 40 minute ride and is so easy! I really wish the US would get with the times and take advantage of this technology!
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| Rong, our driver! |
Nov 10: Since Parker will not let us drive in China - thankfully because it is CRAZY - we are really thankful for our part-time driver, Mr. Rong! Of course we have our struggles communicating at times, but he truly tries to learn English and he is teaching us Chinese. For instance, he taught me how to say Starbucks, Far Eastern (one of the grocery stores we go to) and Suning (one of the malls that has an awesome indoor play center for Ava) in Chinese! Plus, Ava really likes him and he helps us tell the other Chinese people to leave her alone (in a much nicer way than that I'm sure)!
Nov 11: Back home, fall means football and chilli, something we look forward to every year! So being in China, we had to find a way to watch American football! Luckily there are other expats here that feel the same way and they introduced us to NFL Gamepass! For a "small fee" we can watch any NFL game we want! While it is Monday night football instead of Sunday, and we usually order Papa Johns pizza instead of make chilli, we are able to enjoy one of our favorite fall activities!
Nov 11: Back home, fall means football and chilli, something we look forward to every year! So being in China, we had to find a way to watch American football! Luckily there are other expats here that feel the same way and they introduced us to NFL Gamepass! For a "small fee" we can watch any NFL game we want! While it is Monday night football instead of Sunday, and we usually order Papa Johns pizza instead of make chilli, we are able to enjoy one of our favorite fall activities!
Nov 12: We are thankful for technology like Facetime so we can not only talk to, but also see, our family and friends! Being so far away would be much more difficult if we didn't have this option!
Nov 13: We are really grateful for the family that is taking care of our house AND dog! It is such a big relief knowing everything is well taken care of while we are gone.
Nov 14: We are thankful for our mosquito racket as there are STILL mosquitos out and about here! (see previous post for more information on this)
Nov 15: I am thankful for all of the wonderful restaurants we have in Wuxi! Recently, we've decided to try a different restaurant each week instead of going to our typical Western ones. So far, we've gone to Chinese, Indian, Thai, Brazilian and Korean! Perhaps Italian or Japanese will be next on our list! On the downside, restaurants open and close here ALL of the time so, if you find one that you really like, you never know if it will still be open a month or two down the road! 
Nov 16: Thankful that places like City Shop and Fields deliver groceries to Wuxi (from Shanghai) every week!!! We like their meat way better than anything we can find in Wuxi, plus they have Kraft Mac n Cheese! It always makes the day better :)
Nov 17: Thankful that our friends and family are all safe from the terrible storms that hit the mid-west.
Nov 18: Thankful that my dad found out he had cancer in the very early stages and that the Doctor was able to remove it all via surgery! While it was very difficult to be so far away from my family during this difficult time, I was comforted by the fact that family and friends were available to help my parents. Now if only my parents would reschedule their trip to China ....
Nov 19: Thankful to be from a country that does not restrict human rights, such as how many kids you can have. Granted, I am torn about the whole one-child policy. In some aspects, I think it is a good solution to help control population. On the other hand, I am afraid of all of the ramifications it will have on the country in the near future. I guess there are always pros and cons with every decision/policy and you just hope that the pros outweigh the cons. Reading Inferno while in China was very fitting and really made me think. Anyway, for those that haven't heard, China recently made a change on the one child policy. Before, you could have 2 children if you and your spouse were both the only child. Now, you can have 2 children if you or your spouse were the only child. It's a small change and I am curious how much difference it will make. When talking to some of my coworkers, they will not take advantage of the change and will remain with one child. Why? Money and time. Although the time surprises me a little because it seems that the grandparents are the ones to spend the most time with the kids, not the parents.
Nov 20: Thankful that we have remained pretty healthy during our first 5 months in China. I am sure we are over cautious when it comes to what we eat and how we prepare our food, but the extra time and money spent is definitely worth it!
Nov 21: Thankful for coffee delivery! You can honestly get almost anything delivered to you - Starbucks, McDonalds, KFC and, of course, pizza! I have only taken advantage of the Starbucks delivery a few times, but it is well worth the 82 cent delivery fee!
Nov 22: Thankful that my parents are taking such great care of our cat, Gabby, and that she has warmed up nicely to her new surroundings and "sister", Zoey (my parent's dog)! Who knows, maybe she will finally warm up to Bella when we return home. If not, perhaps her new home will be with my parents!
Nov 23: Thankful for all of our expat friends here in Wuxi! They have been so welcoming and really helped us get settled! Without them, life in Wuxi would definitely not be as much fun!Nov 24: Thankful for $13 massages! I am not sure why I waited 5 months to get a massage, but for some reason I did. My friends recommended a local place so, after Ava went down for her nap, I set out on my adventure! Knowing they wouldn't speak English I asked my friends several questions to prepare myself! So when I walked in, I looked at the "menu" and selected what I thought was an hour traditional Chinese massage (I was successful, YAY)! They took me to a room and gave me a shirt and shorts to put on. Then my massage began. A friend warned me that it would be deep tissue, so she told me how to say "softer" in Chinese. Of course I forgot 5 minutes after she told me! So, here I am, laying on this bed cringing with no way to communicate. Luckily it was only certain spots that were difficult to handle and I survived with minimal pain. I will be sure to learn - and remember - the word for "softer" for the next time though!!
Nov 25: Thankful for my Chinese instructor! Learning Chinese is a slow process for me (if you didn't gather that from the above comment), but little by little, I am picking up more words.
Nov 26: I am thankful for the HEATing system we have back in the US! When we first moved here, we asked what to expect in the winter. While it rarely snows, people told us it was really cold (bone chilling cold) and we would never feel truly warm. Since many expats we have met are from the Southern states (North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, California), we thought, "We are from Michigan, we know cold weather ... it cannot be THAT bad!" However, now that it is starting to cool down (the high is averaging 50 degrees, with a low of around 30), we are starting to understand their comments. The difference is definitely in the heating system - which they call air conditioning (perhaps that should be the first hint). The heat comes out of the ceiling and since heat rises, it does not really warm you up. In addition, the insulation is really poor in most buildings. You can feel the cold air coming in through the windows in our apartment. I am already wearing my jacket in the office most days and my hands are freezing as I type - and I think of my American coworkers with their personal space heaters (we truly are spoiled in the US)! It is honestly warmer outside in the sun than it is inside. So, even though the temperatures are not as cold as we are used to, we are in fact colder. Now I know to never take our heating system for granted again.
Nov 27: We are thankful that we have stricter rules and regulations to try and limit the pollution emisisons back in the US. Living in China we have to worry about the pollution levels, something we never had to even consider back home in Michigan (or Ohio). Some days it is so bad that being outside is unsafe. There are worse cities in China than Wuxi, so I guess we should also be grateful we aren't living in those cities!
Nov 28: Thankful that the Red Lion, a Western Restaurant here in Wuxi, had a big Thanksgiving dinner tonight! They didn't have all of our usual dishes, but there was turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls. Next year they really need to at least add pumpkin pie!
Nov 29: I am thankful that my Chinese coworkers are interested in learning about American traditions! Today I taught them a little bit about Thanksgiving and other US holidays! A dear friend was kind enough to make me pumpkin pies to bring into work for the class to try - everyone LOVED them! (Thank you, Heather!)
Nov 29: I am thankful that my Chinese coworkers are interested in learning about American traditions! Today I taught them a little bit about Thanksgiving and other US holidays! A dear friend was kind enough to make me pumpkin pies to bring into work for the class to try - everyone LOVED them! (Thank you, Heather!)
Nov 30: Thankful that we get to go home for the holidays! 8 more days until we are back in the states (San Francisco) and then 6 days after that, we are back in Michigan!!!! woo hoo!
