Getting Around in Wuhan

I thought I would try to give you a little getting around in Wuhan.  Mr. Huang is our driver.  (They'll be a little more about him in a couple of days.)

We have a Honda Odyssey -- funny since we just sold an Odyssey in Indiana just before leaving.  See the photo below along with one of Mr. Huang strapping Lorren in his car seat.

Mr. Huang takes us wherever we need to go around Wuhan whenever we need to go somewhere.  He takes me to and from work every day.  On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays all of us go to school and work at the same time.  He drops everyone off at school and then we head to Cummins.  He also takes Chessie and Lorren home at lunch time on those days.  (The girls ride the bus other times.)

He takes Chessie to the store which allows her to buy groceries in a similar way to how she was used to in Indiana -- one or two weeks worth at a time.  Most people have to carry home their goceries walking or on the bus, so loading up the car and bring it home is quite a luxury here.  He waits for her at the checkout line and help bag and take the items to the car.

My most frequent business trip is to Xiangyang about 300 km northwest of Wuhan.  This is convenient, because I would much rather drive than have to fly.  When I need to go to Xiangyang, we just get in the car and go.  Mr. Huang stays there with me until it's time to go home.  This, of course, requires us to plan if he won't be in Wuhan to drive Chessie and the kids.  But we've always been able to work around it just fine.

One last item.... Wednesday was Ema's birthday.  Here's a photo of her with her requested strawberry Jell-o poke cake -- homemade, of course.

> Clayton

Now Starring.... Ema!

I have noticed that Chinese people really like music. Especially when I started to learn the recorder! Of course I had no idea what the notes were, but there's always time to learn. I first learned to play the B note (the first note in "Mary had a little lamb"). Then I learned to play the A note (the second note in "Mary had a little lamb"). Then I learned to play a korean song called "Dragonflies". Imagine that! Me playing an actual song! It was really fun! Then I learned to play the G note ( the third note in " Mary had a little lamb"). Finaly I learned how to play a song I knew! Mary had a little lamb!

Yikes! There's a moth in the office! This reminds me about something that happened over  the summer....

It was a wenesday evening.  Dad was on a business trip so Mom had to take care of us. Then Mom told us to be quiet. I asked why and she just pointed at the bakers rack. I looked over there and saw what Mom was talking about. Bella shivered. There right in front of the bakers rack was a giant spider! I was terrified! Mom got out the vacum cleaner to suck up the spider. It was really funny! First Mom lunged at the spider, but the spider ran away. On about the forth lunge, Mom got the spider to get in the vacum cleaner. Anyway the moths dead so thats it.

Ema

The Force wil be with you, Lorren.... always.

One of the forseeable consequences of moving to China was Lorren would miss regular preschool.  The international school has a preschool, but it's insanely expensive.  My company will only pay for school beginning at age 5.  So we planned to be without.  Theresa made us a preschool activity box that Chessie could use with Lorren to start the learning process, and we would just work a little harder to make the appropriate social connections.

Chessie and I considered putting him in a Chinese preschool we could afford.  Then an opportunity arose.  Chessie was asked to volunteer as the nurse at the international school.  In exchange, Lorren gets to attend the K-3 class on Mon, Wed, and Fri mornings.  He was so excited about starting school.  Here is a photo of Lorren with his teacher, Miss Xiong (pronounced SHONG).  He gave her a flower for National Teacher Day.

Lorren is a Star Wars nut.  He's constantly playing with his action figures, turning ordinary objects into lightsabers, and asking to watch any movie episode you're willing to turn on.  He's going to be a Jedi when he grows up -- unlike his father who grew up to be a 'dad'.  I asked him in early August how he was going to become a Jedi.  He said he was going to learn how to use the Force from Miss Xiong!  Strangely, Miss Xiong knows all about the Force and is going to teach what she can!

Lorren may not be learning much about how to use the Force, but he is learning other things.  He loves telling us all about them.  Two weeks ago he learned that he has bones.  He was constantly poking himself and showing his bones and then poking others and showing them their own bones.

Watch the video for him to impart some knowledge about shapes.

> Clayton

Welcome to China!

Many people suggested we should blog about life in China, and we did consider it even before we came here in January.  Finally it seems like the right thing to do to best share stories, photos, and adventures with family and friends that can't be here with us.

We will try to post at least once per week.  Every post will include a photo -- mostly of the kids.  We'll show you photos like....

The kids enjoying the view -- each in their own way -- from the Great Wall....
















Lorren on a camel at the Wuhan Zoo....

















Bella at kindergarten graduation with her teacher, Miss Mott....
















Ema, Bella, and Lorren taking a rest with a Lego man in Beijing's Chaoyang Park....

Or Chessie showing off her new sleeve protectors which are popular when the weather demands long sleeves....

This is just another way to communicate with everyone.  If you're only interested in the witty one liners about life in China -- stick with Chessie's Facebook feed.  The blog will have more about our day-to-day lives and the people and places we've come to enjoy during our time here.

Please subscribe to the RSS, leave comments, and pass on to others that might be interested.

> Clayton