Please read! My website has moved!
I have been having a terrible time getting this website to update, and my sister kindly offered to host me on her server, which I’ve already determined I can access from within the Great Firewall (for now, at least)!
Please visit me at http://www.nihaoquartcourt.com from now on, and if you follow or subscribe please update your links.
Click over there now and you can read all about Naomi’s face plant yesterday. The fun never ends!
Buses and Taxis and Rickshaws, Oh My!
Traffic in Beijing is crazy. You may have heard that this is the most populous country on the planet, and during rush hour it feels as if all 1.3 billion of its citizens are on the streets – walking, biking cramming onto mass transit, driving, dodging silent electric carts . . . In fact, I try to only go out try to go out between the hours of 1000 and 1400 to keep from becoming completely overwhelmed by it all. This worked great for me when I visited last January and only needed to be out midday, but now that we live here and I have to “get the kids to their first day of school” and “grocery shop for the family” I have less flexibility as to when I go out, and it’s taking some adjusting. For example, I convinced the kids’ school to let me ride the bus with them the first day. I explained that it’s been so hard for them to move here, and we would all feel much better if we were together for that initial bus ride. That was true, but I was more concerned with how the heck I was going to get to their school at 7:30 in the morning! It’s not very conveniently located, and the last time we took a taxi it took us – I am not exaggerating – 15 minutes to make the necessary U-turn to get there.
Riding the bus with the kids was great, but hailing a taxi back to our apartment when I left was hell. It was 15 degrees or so – by far the coldest it’s been since we got here – and EVERY. TAXI. HAD. A. PASSENGER. I walked for about 30 minutes and finally managed to hail one down at a large intersection. When I got home a friend called to see how the kids did and I told her about my experience. That’s when I learned that there is a city bus that goes right from our apartment to their school! I decided to give it a try this morning when I needed to go back there to pay for Will’s after school activities (Kung Fu and Computer Fun, of course). I left at 1000 (obviously), and I waited for about 20 minutes for the first bus, but was at the school 15 minutes later. On the way back I waited another 20 minutes, and again, was home 15 minutes later.
But wait! You haven’t heard the best part! In total, this round trip adventure cost me $0.44. You read that correctly. FOURTY FOUR CENTS! I mean, taxis are inexpensive as well, and I’ve never paid more than $3 for a taxi ride, but the fact that the bus is so easy and it only costs $0.22 to get where I am going is so exciting I can’t even tell you. I am already trying to figure out how the kids and I can use it to get around. I am only familiar with this one bus line so far, but it can get us to the mall and to several grocery stores, which is major.
I was so pleased with my success and with the cost of it all that I decided to treat myself to a foot reflexology massage at the spa in our apartment building this afternoon. I ended up cutting it a little close to picking the kids up from the bus, because it was an 80 minute massage (ahhhhhhh), but it too was a steal at $17.00.
I may never leave this wonderful place. That is, until the next hazardous air quality day . . .
School Days
The kids FINALLY started school today! We’ve all been going a little bit our of our minds these past few weeks, and I am so happy that they’re interacting with kids again. The Philippines’ Cartoon Network was starting to rot holes in their brains.
They’re required to wear uniforms to this school, which is awesome because we never need to fight about what they’re going to wear, but difficult because their uniforms consist of corduroy pants, button down shorts AND red pullovers, most of which are too big on them. Despite these obstacles, they looked awesome this morning (again, I’m unable to upload pictures, but they’re on FB and I tagged Travis AND allowed Friends of Friends to see them, so if you’re reading this you probably have access!)
Will, in typical fashion, couldn’t wait to start, and when he got home he told me that he “thinks this school is going to be OK!” Naomi has been a lot more hesitant, and for the past few weeks had told me often that she wants to go to her old school and see her old friends and teachers. I stayed with her for about an hour at drop off this morning and she was very apprehensive, though finding a tutu to wear over her uniform helped her mood tremendously.
She told us this is a cup of coffee . . .
Thankfully she bounded off the bus this afternoon happy as can be. She liked the painting and her best friend is the girl with the yellow hair, Jenna – who happens to be one of her teachers. Will even got an “Outstanding Award” for having such a great first day and almost always raising his hand when he wanted to talk (a comment that made me laugh out loud)! Here’s hoping the rest of the week goes as smoothly . . .
Decisions, Decisions
Living here is overwhelming for a number of reasons, one of which is trying to decide what eat every day. It’s generally more expensive to buy food to cook at our apartment than it is to go out to eat, but choosing a restaurant can be daunting. Will the menu be in English, or at least have pictures? Will the restaurant have bathrooms? With actual toilets? Will the taxi driver know how to get there? Will we be able to tell him? We’ve only been here a few weeks but twice already have had to go to our standby restaurant, Din Tai Fung, because the pizza place we first tried to go to was closed for the new year holiday and the duck place we tried to go to had too long a wait. And while we have no problem eating at Din Tai Fung at least once a week – because it’s among the best food we’ve ever had – we need to branch out more.
This gave me an idea. Since you all have had the good sense to not move here, but may be interested in hearing about some of the local establishments, where do YOU think we should go?
Here are some resources I’ve bookmarked since our arrival that have great information on local establishments:
The Beijinger: http://www.thebeijinger.com/
Beijing Kids: http://www.beijing-kids.com/
Time Out Beijing: http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/index.html
Trip Advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g294212-Beijing.html
The Purple Passport: http://www.thepurplepassport.com/picks/beijing/Restaurant/ (I JUST found this website while I was researching this post – yay!)
New York Times Beijing Travel Guide: http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/china/beijing/overview.html
If something jumps out at you let us know, and we’ll check it out and let you know how it was. At the very least you’ll be doing me a favor. I’ve always wanted to be a travel writer, and this will give me excellent fodder for my eventual book: Living in Beijing or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Air Pollution and Love the Food.
Boys vs. Girls
It’s been a long few days around here. Will was sick last weekend, then all was well until Naomi threw up *seconds* before we left the apartment for another temple fair on Friday morning. By afternoon I thought she was fine so we ventured out again – and it turned out she was NOT fine after all . . . She was sick again last night, and (knock on wood) has been fine ever since . . . So in a nutshell I wanted to keep her close to home today, but we really needed to get out of the house.
The Boys
Will has always enjoyed going to the Air and Space and US Marine Corps Museums back home, so we thought today would be the perfect day to take him to the Chinese version. The boys ventured out to the People’s Liberation Army Museum (which, much to Will’s delight, took them past the Forbidden City), and they had a great time. They saw many US weapons captured during the Korean War (or, as they call it here, the “War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea”). They were the only Westerners there and, although Will didn’t mind the stares, he did shoot a few sharp looks back when they passed photos of dead or captured Americans.
US U2 shot down over China during the Cold War (not in shot: lots of Chinese people enjoying seeing Will in front of it)
Oh, Chairman Hu. You are hilarious!
US Sherman tank captured during the Korean War
"Really? They don't look like Marines."
The Girls
I’ve been wanting to check out two local flower markets near our apartment so we headed down the road to Ladies Street to the Laitai Flower Market. It took us a while to find it – it’s in a 6 story building where the signs are only in English once you’re very close to where you want to go. We wandered through the clothing section and the electronics section – which carried a surprising number of very inexpensive Apple products! – and finally found the staircase to Laitai. We knew we were in the right place as soon as we hit the third floor and it was SO WARM AND HUMID! Those are two things we haven’t felt in a very long time and it was glorious.
Naomi spotted the fish shops immediately so we paid a visit to the fish before our flower shopping.
She picked a red potted flower for Will and a pink potted flower for her bedroom, which she carried around for most of the rest of our visit.
I’d also read that there are manicure shops in Ladies Street, so on our way out we stopped by the one that was doing the best business and Naomi had her first manicure. It may be the happiest she’s ever been. It was also the happiest I’ve ever been, because when it came time to pay I handed the girl 100 kwai, and she gave me 60 kwai back – it cost us $6 for two manicures!
Hoorah! The boys and the girls both had successful days!
P.S. Less successful have been my attempts at posting photos to this blog. I started 5 hours ago and still cannot get three of the pictures I wanted to include up. I’ll keep trying, but check Facebook for more pics in the meantime!
New Year’s Temple Fair
We were told that everyone had left the city for the holiday . . .
After a few days of sub-freezing temperatures we decided to once again venture out – this time to new year’s temple fair. Initially we figured we’d go to the one closest to our house at Chaoyang Park, but after a Google search linked us to this article, we decided to check out the festival at Ditan Park. Given how quiet the streets have been here since Saturday I in no way expected the throngs of people we encountered. It was crazy. There were thousands of people there – almost all of them Chinese and most of them walking around with bowls of hot soup. Obviously.
Just wait until they hear about fried Snickers bars!
Will really wanted to see a temple and a dragon, which you wouldn’t expect to be as hard as it was at a Temple Fair celebrating the year of the dragon. Unfortunately, the temple got lost in the shuffle of the games and food, and the only dragons we came across were pictured on the gaudy signs hanging on the ancient temple. He eventually managed to touch one of the knobs on the door to the temple, which is apparently good luck, and which I credit for us finding a taxi when we left, which should have taken hours!
Naomi eventually fell asleep on Travis’ shoulders, giving me more fodder for my next blog: NaomiSleepsInChina.com.
We followed our big day with dinner at the local dumpling shop. Yum!
(still no pictures . . . )
We’re going with a group of expat families to another Temple Fair tomorrow – maybe the internet will be fixed by the time we get back!
Year of the Dragon
So it turns out this is my year! This is the year of the dragon, and after a quick Google search I just discover that I am, in fact, a fire dragon. Rumor has it that when fire dragons are “right their vehemence and vigor is an asset to the cause, and though they value objectivity, they do not always employ the best decision-making measures, and sometimes jump to the wrong conclusion. They also suffer from recklessness and quick tempers. Yet, when they do keep their temper, emotions, and rivaling spirit under control, they emanate a commanding influence on other people.” (Uh, yeah, whatever.)
I, of course, had to look up the rest of the family too:
Will is a Fire Dog: popular, charismatic, always surrounded by a group of admirers. Fire dogs are adventurous and vivacious, yet, honest and openhearted. (sounds about right)
Naomi is an Earth Rat: Smart, Magnetic, Well-liked, Affable, Quick-witted, Surreptitious, Selfish, Protective, Calculating (a little spot on, no?)
Travis is a Metal Pig: Outspoken and confident, Metal Pigs give 110% for everything they do. They throw themselves into relationships with others completely, sometimes to a fault. These Pigs are headstrong and diligent in the workplace, honest and caring in a relationship and trustworthy with everyone he meets unless given reason not to be. (no comment)
Not one to be forgotten, Quigley is a Water Horse, with an adaptable nature and ability to go with the flow of things. However frustrating it can be, the Water Horse will always cheer you up and be able to get a smile back on your face before you even knew he had upset you. (Take that, Travis’ allergies!)
Mr. Fire Dog wanted to see how many more fireworks he could get tonight, so after a traditional new year’s dinner at the local Paulaner Brauhaus we swung by the neighborhood fireworks stand and bought a few for the road. The kids were given a few for good measure as well.
(These descriptions were copied from http://www.usbridalguide.com and are in no way my own)
Of course, here they just call it “new year’s”
The Chinese New Year (or Spring Festival) holiday started this weekend, and it’s insane. 90% of the population of Beijing has left to visit family in the countryside, and the remaining 10% is setting off fireworks apparently in an effort to make up for their absence. They are everywhere. We’re sitting in our living room now watching the ones outside our window, but when we open the door to the balcony it’s all you hear – all over the city.
Travis took Will to the local fireworks stand yesterday and the women working there were apparently so taken with him that they just shoved free fireworks in his arms. Which is what every mom wants to happen . . . Travis and a few friends took Will down the street to the riverbank tonight to shoot them off and they had an absolute blast – and didn’t lose any fingers! It’s a happy new year, indeed.
100% Polar Bear?
My favorite joke of all time goes something like this:
One day a baby polar bear asks his mom, “Mom, am I 100% polar bear?” And the mom says, “Well, I’m 100% polar bear and your dad is 100% polar bear, so yes, you’re 100% polar bear.” So he goes to his dad and asks “Dad, am I 100% polar bear?” And his dad says, “Well, I’m 100% polar bear and your mom is 100% polar bear, so yes, you’re 100% polar bear. Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m freaking* freezing.”
Today we learned that we are 0% polar bear. The good news is that the air has cleared up entirely and it’s safe to breathe again. Which also means that the wind has picked up, so it’s 28 degrees with strong winds, so what better day to head to Houhai Lake for some chair skating?! We left the apartment at about 10am this morning for Houhai, which is a pretty major recreation spot here, and which we understood we could rent chair skates, which Will has been talking about since I showed him pictures of the ones I saw last year. After a looong walk through what looked like a lovely “hutong” (like an old neighborhood) we found the lake and ice chair rental office, which was one of the most confusing places ever. After a few awkward exchanges with the personnel we managed to get both kids on a chair and push them around the ice for a few minutes – until we heard (and felt) some major cracks in the ice. Major enough that a guy in an official looking uniform came out to inspect the cracks more closely. At which point we decided it was time to bribe the kids off the ice with the promise of pizza.
Will with his ice pick screwdriver thingies. The only things scarier than the massive cracking in the ice.
Look ma! I can't feel my hands!
“Hutong Pizza” got an excellent write up in this month’s “Beijing Kids” magazine, and was apparently just minutes away (with sit down toilets!). We joined forces with another American family to find it, and it was, of course, closed for the Chinese New Year when we got there. So we headed back with two seriously disappointed and freezing kids to the main street behind the Drum and Bell Towers to find a taxi, which took the longest 20 minutes of our lives because we were all FREEZINGOMG. Thankfully someone finally pulled over for us and took us back to Din Tai Fung, our new standby, where we discovered that Will is now a huge fan of shrimp. Who knew?
So, we’re not 100% polar bear, but we still managed to have a pretty fun morning!
*This joke was cleaned up due to the family nature of this blog.
FunDazzle!
Having been cooped up in the apartment for the past few days I decided that today was the day we needed to get out and do something. Anything. The AQI was down to 120 this morning (“unhealthy for sensitive groups,” which we don’t fall in to. Yet), and it’s the start of the Chinese New Year holiday this weekend and most places will be closed next week. This was our best shot.
I’ve done some research on kids activities in Beijing, and the name that kept popping up in my research was “FunDazzle.” It’s an indoor playground that costs about $8 per kid for 3 hours of play. Perfect! Done! I mean, how could we ignore a place with a name like “FunDazzle” anyway? We rolled in at 10:30 and our tickets were stamped until 1:30pm. I promised Will an hour, but figured we could stay longer if they did well.
The place was pretty cool, actually. Kind of like Chuck E Cheese on steroids, but without the beer, pizza and sanitization. The kids, of course, ran immediately to the olympic swimming pool sized ball pit, and they had a blast in there while I sat and rocked myself in the corner (Seriously – it was literally an olympic sized swimming pool ball pit). Then they climbed around the jungle gym for a while and appeared to play with the other kids without any problems, despite the language barrier.
All was well until Naomi needed to go potty, and if the thought of a giant Chinese ball pit freaks you out, it was nothing compared to the bathroom. There were no actual toilets in the building – just squat toilets. I knew the time would come when our only option was squat toilets, but it never occurred to me that it would be in a kids playroom heavily frequented by Westerners. I mean, they had an American flag hanging next to the Chinese flag over the ball pit! Anyhoo, I positioned her where she needed to be, but miraculously after a few seconds she didn’t need to go anymore. I don’t blame her.
I let them run around for a bit longer and then we disinfected, got lunch and came home for a massive scrubbing down in the bathtub. Nastiness aside, it was a nice little outing and they’re both taking naps now, so I’ll call it a huge success, and I have no doubt we’ll be back soon. After I’ve withheld liquids from them for a few hours.
