Sunday, May 8, 2011
It is another special day away from home and family. I always struggle with Mother’s Day because I lost my Mom in 2002. And every Mother’s Day it is yet another blatant reminder that I do not have her here and of how much I miss her. There is rarely a day I do not think of her, but this is a special day to honor her and makes it a hard day.
And not having my own children with me on this special day either… well you get the picture. My Sunday day is their Saturday night… so we had a tough time connecting. Spring is when all the sports stuff cranks up and Saturdays are busy to say the least. But I was able to talk to them on their Sunday morning… my Sunday night… so it was all good. It is the hugs that just don’t work on Skype!
But I was surprised by a lovely bouquet of flowers from Hanne. She is such a thoughtful person. And maybe in some way I am kinda a surrogate since she is not with her Mom, who is far away in Norway. They were white and pink peonies and had a most wonderful fragrance. Peonies are plentiful in Asia and so many great varieties.
We enjoyed a lazy morning and were then off to church. Still not used to the services starting at 3pm, but actually works out nice. We go to JinQiao (pronounced Jin-Chow) to church, and then have dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Element Fresh. And after a satisfying meal, we walk about 3 Shanghai blocks to the Carrefour to pick up a few groceries before cabbing it back home.
This Sunday however, we would be bringing guests to church, Beau, Hanne and Beau’s cousin, Emma. Emma is here on a 6 month scholarship to a University that specializes in language and is fluent in Mandarin. She is from Johannesburg, South Africa. Emma absolutely oozes personality, a very expressive person… she was so delightful to be around. She was so impressed with our church she will be coming back every week.
And as it turns out, the assistant pastor, Brad, delivered the message and he is from South Africa. So Beau enjoyed speaking with him after the service. Once we pulled Beau away, we went to dinner, at you guessed it… Element Fresh!! Emma joined us and she was so happy to have western food. She lives in a dorm room which is barely large enough to hold two beds and she rooms with a young Russia woman. She has to eat out all the time and only Chinese food is available. The University is on the outskirts of the western side of Shanghai. The area has no westerners. So as you might imagine, she was excited about having her cousin and us to talk to.
One message that I hear from everyone coming to Shanghai, which actually makes me feel not so bad about my struggles, is how really hard it is here. It is just so exhausting. Emma mentioned this fact a number of times as well. And she speaks the language. It is just that it is so different from other countries, that it takes so much to deal with everyday life. Beau, Hanne and Emma all have travelled extensively and all think China is the hardest. Beau has been to like 44 countries and he is struggling too. The up side is … if you survive China, any place you might visit/live is a piece of cake.
It is actually Thursday here as I am writing this post about last Sunday and Beau left on Tuesday for Sanyo for his teaching assignment. We spoke to him again this morning and he is really struggling there. Shanghai is modern and Sanyo is REAL China. He is there by himself with no support system. He’s having a hard time. He is hoping that it gets better, but it takes a lot of will to be in a place without knowing anyone or speaking the language or having any western anything. It is putting him to the test for sure. He needs a lot of prayers.
Moving back to Sunday, we had a great meal together. It is always fun to meet someone new and I look forward to getting to know Emma better. She headed for the subway as we made our way to the Carrefour for a few essentials. Our usual rounds after church… if nothing else, we are predictable! Make those cab rides count. Since JinQiao is 7km from the apartment it is too far to walk, so we take advantage of the nice Carrefour. It turned out to be a good day after all.
Monday, May 9… Hanne’s birthday! She was turning the ‘Big 21’!!! We had made plans to make it a spa day at the Dragon Fly. Emma would make the journey back to JinQiao to join us. We made our appointment for 3pm… today would be Chinese massages. These are interesting massages as they are dry massages… no oils. And you put on these outfits… little pants and a wraparound kinda top… made for small Chinese people. It was interesting to see how the others faired with these little outfits. Beau is like 6’4”, Emma has to be around 6’ and Hanne at least 5’10”. All agreed they were clearly not made for them either. But, in spite of the outfits, the massages were wonderful.
After the massages, we talked for a while in the lounge area of the spa… then I took a cab back to the apartment. Everyone else would be having dinner and wander around exploring the area. I needed to get back and prepare for our Monday night language lesson. Ah…learning Chinese… some of the sounds…my mouth and tongue just do not cooperate! But I work really hard at it!
It was a good birthday for Hanne… and fun for all of us!
It’s Wednesday and time for a few more provisions from the grocery store. Today I would not have to go it alone, Hanne would be going along. We would not venture out to JinQiao, but would go to the Carrefour at Thumb Plaza. It is not as nice, but would have what I needed. But the nice thing… the Cold Stone Creamery is in the Plaza… ummmm!
After collecting our groceries, we indulged in a cup of smooth creamy frozen chocolate delight! Ice cream twice in one week… I must be living right! Michael had 3 conference calls during the night and had worked from home today. I decided I would surprise him with a large cup of ice cream too. When I told them I needed it to go, they offered to put dry ice in the bag so it would make it home… well that sealed the deal. He was like a kid when I walked in with my surprise for him. It did not last long enough to melt once I got it home!
Language lessons again tonight… we are getting better. But 1 hour twice a week for 30 weeks will not make us fluent by any stretch of the imagination. But what I am hoping for… I will have enough that I can function to do everyday things with a minimum of frustration! Wish me luck with that!!!
We are only a few weeks away… when I can wrap my arms around the kids and grandkids. I was talking to Jennifer this morning and Austin wanted to come here today. He, at 5, struggles with the duration of time. I had to tell him that he did not have a ticket for today; he would have to wait until the day his ticket on the airplane would work.
The grandkids are all talking about coming to China. Kendall is working on learning Chinese amongst all the end of school year activities. Everyone is getting their things together for the trip. Marcy is on a mission to buy everything on my list I asked them to bring to us. We had to buy more luggage just so they had room for my stuff!!
Wade wanted to know if I would be at the airport when they arrived… like wild horses could hold me back!… I would definitely be there. I told him that after they go through the line at immigration, get their luggage and go through customs there would be a long partitioned corridor that would be lined on both sides with people holding up signs and waiting for the passengers… he should be looking for me at the very front of the line with my arms open wide for all the hugs and kisses I had not had in all the time I have been away. I just hope there is enough of me to handle so much love from so many at one time!! But I am way past ready and eager to find out!
Counting down the days……
We all are counting down the days!!!
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